Morning didn't start gently.
It smacked me in the face.
My alarm went off like it hated me personally, sunlight stabbed through my curtains as if trying to interrogate me, and my brain?
Still stuck on Aarav's "Can't sleep if I don't know."
Bro, who says that and then sleeps peacefully after ruining a girl's oxygen supply?
Not him.
Because he texted at 2:17 AM:
Aarav: You awake?
And then again at 2:18:
Aarav: Nvm. Sleep.
Which only made me MORE awake.
So yeah, I barely slept.
And now I had school.
With him in it.
Breathing.
Existing.
Looking at me with that stupid soft face he pretends he doesn't have.
I dragged myself out of bed like a rejected zombie and got ready mechanically, trying not to overthink the moment at the school gate yesterday.
Except I DID overthink it.
I replayed it like Netflix charged me for every pause.
by the time I reached school, the whole place felt louder — students, bells, footsteps — but mostly… my heartbeat.
I blame Aarav.
As I walked through the corridor, I kept telling myself I was chill, normal, emotionally stable.
My heart: you sure about that?
I turned a corner — and bam.
There he was.
Aarav leaned against the wall like some Wattpad boy special edition — one earphone in, bag slung, hair messy but intentionally perfect. He wasn't smiling, but his eyes softened the second he saw me.
That should've been illegal.
He straightened.
"You didn't reply after last night."
I swallowed. "I slept."
He raised one eyebrow. "Liar."
Yeah okay maybe I deserved that.
Before I could defend myself, some girls walked past us whispering, giggling, looking between us like they were collecting data for a gossip report.
I felt heat rush to my cheeks.
Aarav noticed.
Of course he noticed.
"You okay?" he asked gently, stepping a bit closer. Not too much — just enough that only I could hear him.
"I'm fine," I said, lying again.
He leaned his head slightly down, voice dropping.
"Stop running away from me."
I blinked. "I'm not running—"
"You are."
Then he smiled faintly. "It's kinda cute though."
My face. Literally on fire.
"Don't say things like that in school!" I hissed.
"Why?"
He tilted his head. "Scared someone might think we're… you know."
I glared at him. "There is no 'you know.'"
"Not yet," he said softly.
I froze.
Not when.
Not if.
Not maybe.
Yet.
He was planning growth?!
Emotional development?!
Character arc?!
Before I could unfreeze, his friends called him from the end of the hall.
"Aarav! Come here man!"
He didn't look away from me right away. His gaze held mine like he was waiting for an answer I wasn't ready to give.
Finally, he stepped back, hands in pockets.
"I'll see you after class?" he asked.
I nodded faintly. "Yeah…"
He turned away but said one last thing under his breath.
"Don't disappear today."
Oh.
So now he knew my habits too.
Great.
Fantastic.
Wonderful.
My entire personality was now under surveillance.
First Period — Chaos Begins
I sat in class pretending to listen, but my head kept drifting back to the gate moment, the wrist-holding, the texts, his voice this morning.
Our teacher droned on about something — honestly I could've sworn she said "photosynthesis is the growth of feelings between two stubborn teenagers" at one point.
Halfway through the period, my friend Meena poked me.
"You look like you fought with your pillow," she whispered.
"I did," I whispered back. "It won."
She snorted. "Is it about Aarav?"
I stiffened. "No!"
"So yes."
"No."
"So very yes."
I sighed and covered my face with my textbook. "I don't know what's happening."
Meena smirked. "Girl, he's into you. And you're into him. This is not rocket science."
I peeked over the edge of my book. "How do you know?"
She rolled her eyes. "Because when he looks at you, he looks like someone turned on his heart for the first time."
I choked.
Teachers turned. Students glanced.
I ducked like a criminal.
This school was not built for teenagers with feelings.
They should have comforting lighting and emotional support chairs.
Recess — The Confrontation I Didn't Expect
I hadn't planned to meet him during recess. I was on full avoid mode — Mission: Don't Let Aarav Melt My Brain Again.
But the universe hates me, so obviously when I walked into the empty hallway to refill my water bottle, I bumped straight into him.
He caught me before I fell.
Of course he caught me.
Because gravity likes to embarrass me and Aarav likes to be the hero.
"Careful," he murmured.
I stepped back immediately, face turning the color of ripe tomatoes. "Can you stop appearing everywhere?"
He shrugged. "Maybe you're just looking for me."
"I am NOT—"
"You are."
His stupid confident smile proved he enjoyed this too much.
He leaned closer, voice low.
"Since when do you avoid me?"
"I wasn't avoiding—"
"You were," he said quietly. "And it kinda… hurts."
I froze again.
He looked down at his shoes, shoulders tensing like he wasn't sure if he should've said that.
Suddenly he looked younger. Softer.
More vulnerable than I'd ever seen him.
"Aarav…" I whispered.
He looked up immediately.
"I just needed time," I said. "It's a lot."
He nodded slowly. "I know. But… don't shut me out, okay?"
His tone wasn't demanding. It was pleading.
I had no idea how to handle him when he was being real with me.
"I won't," I said softly.
He smiled — a real smile this time — small, warm, and rare.
"Good."
Then the bell rang, as usual ruining everything.
He stepped away, but before leaving he tapped the top of my hand gently with his fingers.
Not grabbing.
Not holding.
Just a small, soft reminder.
"I'll see you after school. Don't run."
My stomach did a whole gymnastics routine.
After School — The Moment That Changed Everything
I waited near the gate like he asked.
Which was honestly the most rebellious thing I'd done in my entire existence.
He came jogging toward me, hair messy, breath uneven like he'd been searching everywhere.
"I thought you left," he said breathlessly.
"I said I'd wait."
His expression softened into something I couldn't decode but definitely felt.
We started walking, talking about small things — classes, annoying teachers, how he nearly fell asleep during math.
But halfway down the empty lane, the conversation turned serious out of nowhere.
Aarav stopped walking.
"I need to ask you something."
My heart went into ultra-speed mode. "What?"
He took a deep breath.
"Yesterday… when I asked if I'm the only one feeling this…"
He paused.
"You never answered."
I froze.
He stepped closer.
Not too close — just enough that I couldn't pretend I didn't feel everything.
"You don't have to say yes," he said softly. "You don't have to like me back. But I can't keep pretending this is nothing."
My breath caught.
"Sara…"
His voice dropped.
"Do I matter to you?"
And that question…
hit harder than any confession.
Because it wasn't romantic drama.
It wasn't teasing.
It wasn't a cute line.
It was real.
My throat tightened.
I looked at the ground because his eyes were too much.
"Aarav… I don't know what this is… but yes."
I swallowed.
"You matter."
The silence that followed wasn't awkward.
It was warm.
Alive.
Charged.
He let out a breath he'd clearly been holding.
"Good," he whispered. "Because you matter to me too. More than you think."
I felt dizzy.
He reached out — slowly — and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
My heart almost jumped out and ran home.
But he didn't push.
He didn't grab me.
He didn't force a moment.
He just said, "Let's take it slow. But don't hide from me anymore."
I nodded, unable to speak.
He smiled — that soft, earth-shattering smile — then stepped back.
"I'll text you tonight."
And he walked away, leaving me standing there with a heart that felt too big for my body.