Two Tickets, Please

13: breathless

[tw: harassment]

"You look breathless," Nila said, as soon as she took her spot next to Vijay. "Your face is pink, like it's bruised up. Is it because of practice?"

"Yeah. Do you have water? I forgot to bring mine," he said and Nila gave him her water bottle. He took huge gulps of water, dripping all over his pink shirt when the bus wobbled on the broken road. Nila handed him a tissue in exchange for her bottle and noticed that he had finished almost all of the water. She held back a laugh. "Thanks."

"Do you want to sit?" she asked, pointing to the empty seat that just cleared up.

"No, you go sit. I'll be fine," he said, pushing her towards the seat already. Nila knew arguing with him would lead nowhere. She didn't want a repeat of what happened and end up giving up the seat to a random stranger. Taking the seat, she gathered her bag into her lap and asked for his.

"Either you take this seat or give me your bag. No other option, Vijay," she clarified firmly. He knew when to not push it. He gave her his bag. It seemed like he had sprayed perfume over his gym bag but it didn't work. The stench of sweat seeped through it. "This bag has the capacity to rival a deadly bomb. Do you never wash your socks?"

He scratched his neck sheepishly. "It's not socks. It's my running shoes. I forgot it was in my bag and grabbed it for college. Is it heavy?"

Vijay reached for the bag to take it back but she swatted his hand away. "No, it's not."

"By the way, I have something for you in my bag. I forgot to give it to you yesterday. It's in the front zip," he said. Nila opened it and pulled out a silver and ruby pink card. "It's Farah's wedding invitation. She addressed it to you. She wants you there, no excuses."

Nila popped an eyebrow at his words.

"Her words, not mine!" he immediately added and scratched the back of his neck. "Though, it's what I want to say as well. You can't leave me with Krish alone."

Nila opened it and saw Farah's and Aadil's names in elegant cursive print, with only the necessary details on it. It was minimalistic and simple. She liked her taste. "I'll be there for sure. But I don't understand why Krish's company would be so bad. He seems fun. I like hanging out with him. That day at the mall for example, I realised that green tea made no sense being green because tea leaves turn brown when they are dried. And Krish explained why it was so. I was mind blown. I feel like he is a walking encyclopedia. You can learn so much for free."

"I love Krish, okay? He is like my brother. But when it comes to picking a conversation with you or him, the answer is rather obvious here, isn't it?" Vijay said casually, like he was only stating an universal fact. Nila's cheeks heated. He found her more interesting than Krish? Nila would have called him out on the blatant lie if she hadn't had any idea how much effort Vijay made to talk to her. She knew he was telling the truth. And it warmed her heart.