Chapter 30

Naina sat in her room, still fazed by Ayaan and her conversation. She wasn't sure what to think of it. It's clear that he wanted them to be more, but she didn't want that. Or did she?

She sighed, looking up at the clock. 12am.

The festivities of today were done and everyone had gone to their room, fast asleep. Deciding to make a cup of coffee, she walked into the kitchen. There, she checked her phone. She was added to a new group.

Opening it, she saw the members: Meera Rohan Ananya, and 2 unsaved numbers. She looked closely and noticed it was Arjun and Ayaan. She couldn't help but zoom into his profile picture.

He looked good, she thought.

Then, she checked her Instagram and noticed she had a follow request from him as well. She accepted it. Then stalked him. Of course!

Wow, she thought, his page is bold and loud.

She thought about her own page. It was dull. Just a few pictures of herself which were forcefully uploaded by Meera and Ananya, and a bunch of highlights, since she loved to picture.

As if he had taken over her thoughts, she heard a ping on her phone. Seeing it, she noticed his message. 'Hi'

What should she do? Should she reply? She was in a double mind until she decided to finally reply. She texted back a Hi, matching him.

Within seconds, he replied, 'You haven't slept yet?'

'I'm not sleepy.' She sent back.

'Are you okay? Are you unwell?' His text sent a shiver of goosebumps, warm goosebumps, through her body. He's caring, she thought.

'I'm fine. Just not sleepy. Why aren't you asleep?' She asked him.

'Studying.' He replied, and then sent a picture of his laptop and notes.

'You should sleep. Study tomorrow.' She sent.

'I can't. Got a whole lot of performances lined up tomorrow along with stall prep.'

'Do you have to be at the stalls?'

'I don't have to be anywhere. I want to be there. Plus I need to perform.... Speaking of which, why don't you perform with me tomorrow?'

Her eyes widened, how can she perform? 'What? No. How can I?'

'Oh come on! I've heard you sing, Naina, you sing really well. It'll be fun.'

'No. I... that wasn't meant for your ears. I can't sing.'

'Maybe it was meant for my ears, otherwise you would have buried your talent within yourself.'

She felt in awe of his words. No one had ever really pushed her to pursue her talent except her friends. But even her friends didn't know about her singing. She smiled a little. 'Thanks. But I'm really not comfortable in front of everyone.'

Him, in his room, smiled at the message. He was glad that she was having a conversation with him. For him, anything was a progress. 'No problem, but if you ever want to. I'm here.'

He waited for her reply.

While waiting, his eyes stumbled on her profile picture again. She was looking at the camera with a puppy in her hand. She looked gorgeous, he thought.

'Thank you, Ayaan. I need to go sleep now. Goodnight.' He got a reply back.

He smiled, and replied back, 'goodnight darling.'

Setting his phone aside, he walked over to his friends, who were also sitting with him when studying. Along with them was Shaan. Ayaan didn't want to see Shaan after today, but he also knew that Shaan has no idea about Ayaan and her, so he couldn't blame Shaan.

"Bro," Shaan said, almost fueling Ayaan, "Is Naina single?"

Ayaan felt himself feeling weird. He didn't want to reply, but he couldn't lie. Or could he? He saw his friends looking at him, as if asking what to say. Then, Ayaan smirked, "Why bro?"

"She's cute. And I wanna persue her. But I'm not sure if I should, what if she's taken?"

Rohan felt weird by this. Why isn't Ayaan telling him the truth? He quickly opened his phone and messaged Ayaan, 'Why aren't you telling him bro?'

Ayaan replied back instantly 'Naina wouldn't like everyone knowing. So I can't.'

Then, he looked up and replied, "She's single. But is she really your type?"

"I'm still exploring it, to be honest. She isn't my usual type. But she seems interesting."

While Shaan was talking about her, Ayaan felt a weird knot in his stomach. But, he masked it well. He didn't believe in moving others away from her, instead, he would bring her to him.

~•~

The next day came sooner rather than later. For Naina, it was another day of attending stalls with her friends. She was still thinking about Ayaan. His words seemed so clear, so focused.

It made her shiver.

Maybe I shouldn't go, she thought to herself.

Saying so, she thought to stay at home. That was until she got a message from Meera, forcing her to show up. Sighing, she got dressed in her usual jeans and a thin sweatshirt. Braiding her hair, she took one last look at herself, then grabbed her phone and headed to the venue.

It was loud and bubbly. An atmosphere which she liked. But she wasn't always a part of it. It had the same energy as yesterday.

When she caught her friends, she walked towards them, until she noticed Ayaan standing next to them—deep in conversation. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards them.

Stay strong, stay unaffected, she told herself.

"Hi." She said, pulling all eyes to her.

Meera smiled, "Hello! About time. I thought you weren't coming."

"Why wouldn't she come?" Ayaan's husky voice ran through her ears as she made eye contact with him. His smirk was masked with his voice.

"Because she's Naina and she'd rather be anywhere but here." Ananya answered.

Naina chuckled, "No.... I thought I'll stay home and study today. So that's why, I—"

"You can study later!" Meera interrupted, "Let's enjoy these two days. Today is the last day of the fair anyway. After this, it's back to work."

Ayaan, who was watching this interaction with amusement, couldn't help but glance his eyes on Naina every now and then. He was trying to understand how this girl had got him so into her without even trying. He didn't want to brag, but girls would wish they were in her place. But here she was, trying to push him away. Was that why I'm attracted to her? He thought. He didn't want to fall for the wrong reasons.

Brushing his thoughts, he looked at his group, "How about we have a party today? After this?"

Ananya and Meera instantly nodded, "That would be the perfect end to the fair!"

Everyone was on board. Except Naina.

She was fearful. A party with him? That's the last thing she wanted. Especially after last time.

Ananya noticed her friend's discomfort and understood the reason behind it. So, she answered for her, "Naina? You would not want to come right? Studying?"

Naina nodded, silently thanking her friend.

But Ayaan wasn't going to have it. "Come on. It's one evening. You'll still be a topper, Naina. Plus it's not fun if the whole group isn't there."

"He's got you there," Ananya whispered to Naina, "Just come. I'll take care of you!"

Naina nodded, but she wasn't going to let her take her of her. She didn't want to feel like a burden on her friends whenever they go out. "Alright. I'll come." She said softly.

Ayaan smiled, glad that she could be convinced.

Soon, the whole group dispersed as people started to come towards the stalls. Naina walked around until she bumped into a hard body.

Shaan.

"Hi Naina!" He said, recovering from the bump.

"Shaan, sorry I wasn't seeing where I was going." She said, embarrassed.

"No worries at all. How are you? I didn't think you would come again today, after yesterday."

Naina chuckled, "I was forced by friends."

As she spoke along, she felt a weird sense of being watched. Unknown to her, Ayaan had been watching. He didn't mean to stumble on this sight, but now that he did... it was difficult for him to turn away.

"Why do you always pick the hard way, darling?" He whispered, his eyes glued on her.

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