The Uncool Kids

CHAPTER 9

Ayan called me up that night and we talked for hours.
He called me the next day and I called him the day after that. I felt so good talking to him.Hours seemed to fly away.Eventually, I moved on from Aarav and thought I was ready to fall in love again but decided to wait.

New traditions were being made.I,Saahil and Dibyansh were now a trio and we talked till 1 am in the morning every night. I didn't know what heartbreak was anymore and then rolled around the 30th of October.

I grumpily woke up to my stupid phone's stupid alarm. I hadn't even brushed my teeth when I opened Instagram to notifications from Saahil.The messages were unsent but the notifications told the story very clearly.

"Aish and I broke up"
-12:08 am

I felt weird. I didn't know what I was feeling.There was a sense of having seen it coming,a sense of pity,a tinge of relief and a bit of guilt for feeling like it was a good thing.
I had seen it coming because on the night of the Diwali party,when I was hugging Saahil as a sign of gratitude,Saahil confessed that he didn't feel him and Aish would last and a break up was right around the corner.

"Are you okay?"
"Hmm.Are you coming today?"
I had thought against going but this latest update changed my mind.Saahil was my best friend in the entire universe and was always there for me.He needed me,now more than ever.
"Ofcourse.How can you even think I would miss yours and Ayan's twenty one days late joint birthday party?You and Ayan out of all the people?"
"Keyword:Ayan.Right?"
"Shut the fuck up,okay?"

Talking to Ayan was starting to feel a lot like cheating on Aarav.In theory, I had moved on from Aarav but forming crushes on new people right after a breakup is an extreme sport.Saahil understood my new found infatuation.

Saahil was now a member of the Devdas cult and while Ayan was experienced and busy hosting the party,his co-party host and I were sulking in a corner with our glasses of cola. We both knew how sad we would ne once we left the party. I laid my head on his shoulder and we collectively sighed thinking about our messed up relationship statuses.

The picture of us faking smiles is framed and hung right by all other pictures on my wall.It was his birthday gift to me a couple years back. It is proudly labelled 'colgate',an ode to our running joke that our fake smiles should have been sponsored by the toothpaste company.

It felt nice to lay my head on his shoulder.It was comforting knowing I wasn't alone.Growing up as a single child,loneliness was a constant theme in my life.Out of all my friends,Saahil was the only one who understood how that felt and it just felt better to know that there was finally someone who understood.

A part of me felt like Saahil might be the guy I start liking but I shut the little voice in my head off and turned my eyes to where Ayan was.