Snapshots

Chapter Twenty-Two - Butterflies are Disgusting, But This? This I Don't Mind

Aru woke up in the morning, much to her dismay.

As she sat up in her bed, she remembered everything that had happened in the past couple of months. College would be ending in a month. She had to submit her project next week.

Time flew by so fast.

She needed to thank Aiden and Kara for helping her. Her script was already written and finalised.

Aru didn't know what she was doing when she wrote her shitty script. She just kind of poured her situationship with Aiden into words and medievalised it. It was last minute, but something.

She washed up and walked to the living room.

She almost fell over.

"Kara? What are you doing here?" Aru asked, startled.

"I have something to tell you," Kara fiddled with her fingers. Aru waited. Kara embarrassingly spoke again, "You need to sit down for this one."

"Sounds serious. Can it wait? I don't want to listen to something groundbreaking and give dry answers which I most certainly will since it's 9 in the morning."

"No, Aru," Kara shook her head. "There's stuff that should happen and I've already messed up the path to that so sit down."

"Fine," Aru sat, rubbing her eyes. "What is it?"

"I'm bisexual."

Aru's head snapped to her. "Wait, huh? I mean, that's not all that surprising, but what made you realise that?"

Kara sighed again. "You'll be annoyed when I tell you this."

"What is it?"

"I don't like Aiden, after all. I like Camilla."

Aru's eyebrows furrowed slightly, showing her disappointment. "Bitch what."

Kara's eyebrows furrowed too. "I'm sorry, but don't call me a bitch. I know I was a bitch but I feel more awful about it now."

"So you like Camilla then? Go confess," Aru rolled her eyes. "What do you want me to do?"

"Aru," Kara said warningly.

"It's the fucking morning, what do you expect?"

"Aru. I don't like Aiden," Kara repeated slowly. "At all."

Then everything cleared for Aru. It was as if a fog had been lifted and that she could finally think clearly and see something. A good day.

"Wait, hold on," Aru pulled on shoes and took her phone. "I guess I have somewhere to be then."

Kara smiled, relieved and then winked knowingly. "Go ahead."

As Aru rushed out her dorm, she opened her phone and texted slowly, making sure it was correct.

Aiden 💀

I need to talk to you.
Come to the studio, please.

Okay.
I'm already at the studio.

His reply was immediate, which was a relief, since Aru was halfway there already.

As she threw open the studio door, Aiden sat at a desk, seemingly calm and arranging photos. Handsome as ever, with a hoodie and jeans on, he looked at her as she entered.

She took a deep breath. "Hey."

Was it just her or was her voice a tad bit higher? She even knew how quiet it was.

But that all didn't matter when Aiden gave her that warm smile, the one that made her feel pretty, and invited her to sit down next to him. "Hi."

Aru sat down. She avoided looking at his face and looked forward. "It's been awhile."

"It has. What's been up with you lately?" Aiden said, facing frontwards.

"Kara came out to me as bi this morning," Aru started.

"Everyone knew she liked Camilla," Aiden paused. "Except her. And you, maybe."

Aru scoffed. "Excuse me?"

"If you'd known, you would've talked to me earlier," Aiden gave her a sly smirk and through a glance her way.

'Fuck, he knows'

"Shut up," Aru said, eyeing the pictures on the table. She felt her breath being taken away as she looked at pictures of her. Not only that, in the photos, she looked pretty. She was caught in her happy moments, and unexpectedly, Aru could identify every single one.

'That was me in Elixir Park,' She thought. 'The garden.'

"She was obvious about Camilla," Aiden said.

Aru laughed quietly. "Yeah."

"Nothing's holding you back now, right?" Aiden asked her, knowingly. His lips turned up in a smirk, and his eyes twinkled. "Have something to say to me?"

"Piece of shit" Aru glanced at him in the corner of her eye. "You're making this hard for me"

"Hmmmm" he bit his lip, trying not to smile. "Unfortunately, I'm never going to make things easy for you, Shah. So I suggest you get used to it." Aru took a deep breath and steadied herself.

"Well, I'm sure you know this, but I'm gonna say it anyway. I like you, a lot I guess"

"You guess?" Aiden urged further.

"Fine. I like you a lot. Happy?"

"Very," He grinned. "This may be the most casual confession I've ever gotten."

"I'd like you to reject me in a similar manner" Aru joked, knowing he wouldn't.

"Sorry. No can do" Aiden glanced at her. "Are you going to look at me now? Or are you still eyeing the snapshots on the table? I'm pretty sure you've seen all of them already"

Aru looked at him then. Aiden looked at her with such intensity, her insides danced like anything.

Then, finally, his hand went up to her face, his long slender fingers in her hair and his face came closer. Aru felt one of those out-of-body moments where her brain experienced things in a lag, because suddenly, thousands of butterflies had taken flight, and his lips were on hers.

He Aiden Acharya was kissing her.

She felt her heart slip out of her fingers in a second.

'This can't be happening right now,' Aru's brain said. 'No fucking shot.'

But it was. And Aru felt every second come to her in beauty. In bliss. And in thousands of snapshots, all scattered on the table.