DESTINY

Chapter Twenty-seven

"Move." I say sitting beside Darshan with Chinese takeouts in my hand.

Darshan had this idea to have our dinner at Juhu beach. So here we were, he had got us some silent corner place where no one could actually see us considering what happened at the amusement park.

"Hey!" I yell as he eats from my plate of noodles.

"I deserve it, after what you did to me today." He says with his mouth filled with food. I roll my eyes and continue eating when my phone vibrates with an incoming call. I give a quick glance and silent it flipping it upside down beside the food.

"Why aren't you picking his call?" Darshan questions pointing at my phone.

"Ah nothing! I will call him afterwards." I shrug.

"He has been calling from so long. It might be something important." He points out, taking another bite from my plate.

"Nah! It's nothing important."

"How can you say that."

"I know." I push my plate with remaining noodles towards him. I suddenly lost my appetite.

"Did something happen? Even yesterday when I came to your place I could feel something was up between you two." He says completing everything left on the plate.

"You know you can talk to me about anything." He says after a while when I didn't reply.

I sigh. "Well, yesterday while we walked home together, Kabir confessed that he loves me."

"Oh!" Is what he said.

"And.." I began as his eyes met mine, intrigue in knowing what more.  ".....we kissed." I said as his expression changed from calm to confused to dissapointment, I guess? I don't know. But he quickly avert his eyes.

"Do you love him?"  He questions looking back.

"I don't know. Like. No. I like him. But not in that way. I don't know why did I even kiss him back. Maybe it was alcohol." I reason out everything I had been thinking.

"You should talk to him and let him know. Rather ignoring him like this." He says matter of fact.

"I know. But I don't know how would I say this to him. We had been friends for so long. I don't want to hurt him" I sigh and rub my hands over my face.

"Ignoring him like this is indeed hurting him."

"I will talk to him tomorrow." I say looking back at Darshan as he smile.

"Let's go now." He says getting up and I follow suit.

I fidget with my phone as my mind goes through the ways I would try to tell it to Kabir. I don't want us to be awkward after it. Whatever it is he is a dear friend who had my back all this years.

"You don't wanna go home?" Darshan says startling me as he stood at my side of the door.

"Ah, sorry!" I say footing outside.

"It will be okay. He will understand." Darshan says, engulfing me in a hug. I snuggle in his warm arms, which provided me a sense of comfort, like always.

"Thank you! I had a great time today." I say genuinely.

"Will do it sometime again." He sits back in his car as I watch him drive away.

I was about to turn and head home when I saw Kabir, his eyes evidently showing how hurt he was. He clecnched his fist and turned to walk away. Finally realisation dawned in me as I moved my legs to follow him.