FOOLS AND GENIUSES | ✓

CHAPTER 22

Vijay and Kiara being the cutest besties above.

toska

(n.) a dull ache of the soul

Having to reschedule their weekly movie night for the third time this week, Vijay was done with tiptoeing around Kiara and complying to the professional attitude she imposed with him on set. He barged into her house fully intent on demanding answers but stopped abruptly the minute he saw her curled up form wallowing in her own misery, eyes puffy and red-rimmed from crying.

Slowly walking towards her, he knelt in front of her and gently cupped her face, "Hey, hey, hey. What's wrong?"

She stammered, "I-It's my own fault."

"What is, sweetheart? I'm gonna need you to be a little more specific."

"I made him feel small and unimportant."

Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Why did you do that?"

"B-because he shouldn't l-love me."

Biting back the rage-fuelled words on the tip of his tongue, he sighed, "Says who?"

"Jay."

"Kiara," he parroted, equally sternly.

Practically blowing steam from her ears as the wheels in her head turned, Kiara looked away to avoid making eye-contact with Vijay.

After a long pause, she faced him again, "He deserves more than me."

He gaped at his best friend, gobsmacked as to how she could ever even consider the possibility of being less than perfect, "Sweetheart, you are more than enough and if Chris doesn't realise tha–"

"He does. It's me that doesn't want a relationship."

"Let me guess, you think the enemies you've made might affect him and you can't figure out why he'd stick around? I'm hurt you don't care that much for me!"

"Jay, you and me? We're connected for life while my dad and Karan have no choice in the matter. Everyone in my life is associated with me by necessity. Not him."

"Kiara, sweetheart, necessity is only a minor fraction of the reason. We're associated with you because we love you."

Taking a steadying breath, Kiara wiped away the tears drying on her cheeks and leaned over to hug Vijay tightly.

He laughed and choked out a joke, "Plus if he has a functioning brain and dick, he loves you too."

With that comment, she quickly released him and glared, "Not funny."

"Kinda is. Telling a commitment-phobe that the guy she's sort-of dating might love her? Oh yeah, hilarious."

They spent the remainder of the afternoon watching rom-coms and eating ice-cream as Vijay accompanied Kiara in her pity-fest. One pint of blueberry cheesecake ice-cream and two pints of Belgian chocolate ice-cream later, he found himself utterly confused while she was blubbering as Ryan Reynolds panted out his romantic speech to Sandra Bullock.

As the end-credits panned on-screen, he wondered, "Tell me you don't actually believe guys like that exist outside the fictional world of movies?"

She slapped his arm, "A girl can dream!"