Holding On

Chapter 13- The Backstory

13 years ago. When it all started -

                         Natasha

Midterms had just ended. That's when I first met him.

Aryan.

The guy I fell in love with.

We went on the same bus. I had never noticed him so closely before. We were supposed to play together for the music festival. A genius. That's what he was when it came to music. And to top it all off, he was a pretty faced boy. Perfect hair. Perfect glasses. It's like he knew how to make himself look perfect. But I wasnt in love with him back then. I was dating someone else. Someone I didn't love but I was with for the sake of social status.

So with all the rehearsals, we ended up becoming friends. Conversations were always in the air because we were opposites. Opposites attract. Contradictions were our speciality. A flood of opinions.

Two months passed and we became really good friends then. Somedays we would bunk classes or sneak into the empty classrooms together. Other days we would study together in the library. I had never been this sort of a person. But with him, I had fun for the first time. I was always this nerdy kid who followed rules no matter what. I was even the vice captain for one of the four divisions of the student groups.

But he made me discover a side of me I didn't even know existed.

A few more months went by and we had the title of 'best friends' on us. People around us still had doubts that maybe we were together and shit, but no, it wasnt like that. It was only 'best friends'. For now.

Everything was smooth in school but it was pretty much the other way round in my 'other than school life'.

I felt happy around him. I missed him whenever I wasn't with him. We would stay together all day and text till midnights. Apart from all this emotional drama, we bonded a lot over music. We had different tastes in it but eventually ended up trying new genres. I'm still thankful that I tried the music he made me listen to. Those are one of my favourites now.

The winter break came by and went soon enough. We never lost touch though. Texting each other was almost a ritual. We didnt leave the city but we didnt meet during the break either.

When the break ended, I was so excited to see him after so long. Although it wasnt so long. The break was only 10 days but they felt like 10 years! The minute I saw him I went running to him. It was the first time we hugged each other. It's probably not a big deal for anyone but it meant a lot to me.

One of these days, it had rained pretty bad so barely a few students came to school. Most of the people were attending the lectures online. But I went. And so did Aryan. And so the day was really really boring. No one and nothing much to do. But things got better on the way back home.

It was the first time he held my hand...