Chapter 48
Basit was flustered at first but got himself together quickly.
"Do you truly want me to keep appearing in front of you like this?" He asked with a raised brow. A faint saddened smile on his face.
"Rihannat... I can't.....not anymore. I believe you know about my feelings for you now?....., or if you want me to spell it out, I can."
"I am not sure If i can still continue to be indifferent now. The more we converse, the more I am attracted to you. What do you want me to do in this situation? It's hard for me but I don't want to make it harder for you."
"I know you don't like me. And I will rather not pressure you with all you are going through now, so I choose to step back, call me a coward." He shrugged, a faint bittersweet smile touching his lips.
"Though..... you surprised me. I never thought you will come to me in class today. I've been the one trying to make our friendship works then. Never knew you would miss my presence?!" He joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Rihannat didn't respond immediately.
Her fingers tightened slightly against the fabric of her dress, her gaze fixed somewhere between him and the ground—as if the answer she needed was buried there.
Basit watched her quietly.
He had expected silence.
He had prepared for it.
Still…..
A soft breeze passed between them, rustling the leaves above, carrying with it a stillness that felt almost deliberate.
Then she exhaled.
Slowly.
"You always do that," she said at last, her voice calm but layered with something deeper. "You decide everything on your own… and then present it to me like it's already final."
Basit blinked, slightly taken aback.
"That's not—"
"It is," she cut in gently, lifting her gaze to meet his.
"And you're wrong."
That caught him off guard.
His brows drew together slightly. "About what?"
She hesitated. Just for a second.
Then—
"I never said I don't like you."
The words landed softly.
But they echoed.
Basit stilled completely.
"…What?"
Rihannat swallowed, her composure slipping just enough to reveal the nervousness beneath.
"I said… I never said I don't like you."
This time, she didn't look away.
"I just didn't understand what I was feeling."
Silence.
Heavy.
Fragile.
"I thought…" she continued slowly, choosing each word with care, "if I ignored it… it would go away."
A faint, almost self-conscious smile touched her lips.
"But it didn't."
Basit's heartbeat picked up—loud, uneven.
Hope.
Unexpected hope.
"Rihannat…"
She shook her head lightly, stopping him.
"Let me finish, please."
He nodded immediately.
"I was okay before," she admitted. "Everything was simple. You were just… you. My friend. My rival in class. Someone I could argue with and laugh with without thinking twice."
Her voice softened.
"But after that day….. at the party"
She didn't need to explain more.
They both knew. "…something changed."
Basit's gaze dropped briefly, his jaw tightening.
"I saw it," she said quietly. "In your eyes. Fear and..."
"Your gaze was different, you've never looked at me that way before, not like I've seen or .....noticed.
"And ever since then… I haven't been able to act the same either."
The air between them shifted again.
No longer tense. Its just… real.
"I told myself it was better this way," she added. "If you stayed away, everything would go back to normal."
A small, humorless laugh escaped her.
"But it didn't."
Her hand pressed lightly against her chest.
"It just… hurt....here."
Basit's expression softened instantly.
"Rihannat…"
"And that's what scared me," she admitted, her voice almost a whisper now. "Because I don't even know when it started mattering this much."
For a moment, neither of them speak.
The weight of everything unspoken… finally spoken… settled around them.
Basit let out a slow breath, running a hand through his hair.
"You're not making this easy, you know," he said quietly.
A faint smile tugged at her lips. "You weren't either."
That earned a soft huff of laughter from him.
"Fair enough."
"Sigh, if you had said you didn't like me, it would've been easier."
He looked away briefly, his voice softer now.
"I would've known where I stand. I would've forced myself to move on… eventually."
His gaze returned to her.
"But this?"
A pause.
"This gives me hope."
The word lingered between them.
Hope.
Something fragile.
Rihannat's chest tightened.
"I didn't mean to—"
"I know," he cut in gently. "You don't mean half the things you do, Rihannat."
There was no accusation in his tone.
Only understanding and surrendering.
Another pause.
But this one felt different.
Lighter.
Still uncertain—but no longer suffocating.
"I need to tell you this basit..… don't decide for me next time."
His breath caught slightly.
"If you want to step back," she continued, "then let it be because we agreed it's best. Not because you think you're protecting me....Or my choice"
Her voice steadied.
"I don't need you to disappear to make things easier."
Basit studied her face carefully, searching for doubt.
He didn't find it.
"You're really something, you know that?"
She rolled her eyes lightly. "Don't start."
"No, I mean it," he said, softer now. "You just turned everything I planned upside down in a few minutes."
"Good," she replied. "Now you know how I've been feeling all this while."
He chuckled under his breath.
Touché.
He leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on his knees.
"Tell me something," he said quietly.
She hesitated… then nodded.
"When I stopped talking to you… when I started avoiding you…"
His voice dipped.
"Can you tell me how you felt? What bothered you?"
The question hit her harder than she expected.
Her lips parted—but no words came out.
Because she didn't have a simple answer.
Instead, memories surfaced.
His constant presence.
His teasing.
The way he always showed up—whether she called him or not.
And then…
The sudden absence.
It had felt like something important had been taken away.
"I…" she started, then stopped.
How do you explain something you don't fully understand yourself?
Basit watched her closely, but didn't interrupt.
Didn't push, he gave her space.
"I got used to you," she admitted finally, her voice barely above a whisper.
His expression shifted to something softer.
"I see…"
She shook her head quickly.
"No—wait, that's not all."
She forced herself to meet his eyes.
"It's not just that."
Her brows drew together slightly, frustration creeping in.
"I just… didn't like it."
"Didn't like what?"
"The distance," she said immediately. "The silence. The way you wouldn't even look at me."
Her voice wavered slightly.
"It felt like I did something wrong."
Basit blinked, caught off guard.
"You didn't."
"I know that now," she replied quietly. "But at that time… I didn't."
Another pause.
Then, more softly—
"And it hurt."
That word lingered.
It hung heavier than anything else she had said.
Basit's chest tightened at the sound of it.
He hadn't expected that.
Not from her.
Not ever.
He was always afraid she might find him disturbing, troublesome, unwanted and distance herself from him then, he didn't expect her to miss his absence that much.
For a moment, neither of them speak.
Then he let out a small, almost disbelieving laugh, running a hand through his hair.
"You're really going to confuse me today, aren't you?"
A faint smile tugged at her lips despite herself.
"I'm confusing myself too."
That earned a genuine chuckle from him.
But it didn't last long.
Because reality crept back in.
"Rihannat…" he said more seriously now.
"You have to understand something."
She straightened slightly.
"If I stay close to you like before… nothing will change for me, but there will be a little distance now that I've express my feelings for you. It might not be much since we never cross the boundaries before." I'm sure you know and understand this well.
His gaze held hers firmly whilst she blushed.
"I won't suddenly stop feeling this way."
The honesty in his voice made her chest tighten again.
"So what are you saying?" she asked softly.
"I'm saying…" he hesitated briefly, choosing his words carefully, "I want to be with you every moment from now on, Allah knows."
Her breath caught.
"But I also don't want to lie to myself. I need an identity. I want to meet your parents and.... take you to mine."
The wind rustled the leaves above them, filling the silence he left behind.
"I can't be 'just friends' with you the way we were before," he continued. "Not anymore."
Even if it clearly cost him something to say it.
"Because I've already told you where I stand."
A beat passed.
"Now I need to know… where you stand."
Her heart skipped.
She looked at him.
At the sincerity in his eyes.
At the vulnerability he wasn't even trying to hide anymore.
This wasn't just about confusion anymore.
This was a choice that could change everything.
Her fingers curled slightly into her palm.
Rihannat looked away, absorbing everything. She didn't respond immediately.
"I… need time."
Basit didn't look surprised.
If anything, he looked like he had expected it.
He nodded slowly.
"Take all the time you need."
Then, with a small, almost teasing smile—
"But don't take forever."
She let out a soft breath that almost sounded like a laugh.
"I won't."
And for now…
That was enough
Then—
"But just so we're clear," he added, a hint of his usual teasing returning, "I'm still winning the next exam."
She scoffed immediately. "In your dreams, class president."
"There she is," he smiled.
And just like that…
Something between them settled.
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