TPQ (Aru Shah) One Shots

Arielle's discontent

Arielle Reddy was the prettiest girl in school, and she knew it. Her dark brown skin was spotless, and had a pretty gleam to it. Her hair, a shiny black, spilled over her shoulders perfectly.

Arielle was beautiful.

And what was perfect for a beautiful girl? A handsome boy.

And that handsome boy happened to be Aiden Acharya. He had a sandy complexion, glossy curly brown hair and beautiful brown eyes.

He was perfect for her.

At least that's what she thought.

Arielle tried to catch Aiden's attention many times, but he never spared her a glance, and went back to fiddling with his camera, and this was weird for her.

No one ignored her.

She was Arielle Reddy, and everyone talked to her.

Was this going to be like one of those Netflix rom-coms when the girl can get everyone's attention except her true love's?

How ridiculous. Arielle had thought.

That very same thought had crossed her mind when she saw Aiden and Aru talking at school.

"Are you kidding me!" exclaimed Arielle to her best friend, Poppy Lopez.

"I can't believe it either," said Poppy watching the sight.

Aru Shah was the girl Aiden wasn't supposed to have.

She wasn't particularly pretty, unlike Arielle, who got compliments on her looks everyday.

Another thing Arielle had noticed is that Aiden and Aru were both nowhere to be seen for a few days, but then came back, even closer than before. It infuriated her. How come Aiden was willing to talk to Aru Shah but not Arielle Reddy, the prettiest girl in the school?

It happened again. Aiden and Aru were both absent for a while, and Arielle expected them to walk into the school the next day laughing, closer than ever before.

But they didn't.

It was only Aiden who walked into school that day, black hoodie and jeans. He looked tired, and worried. He distanced himself from everyone, and Arielle often caught him looking at one of the two photos he kept in his locker with a hurt expression on his face.

This was her chance. This was Arielle's chance to make Aiden like her, now that Aru wasn't here.

"Hey, Aiden," said Arielle, walking up to his locker.

He sighed, put the picture back in his locker, and closed the locker. "What?" he asked coldly.

Ouch. She wasn't expecting that.

Upon closer inspection, Aiden had dark circles under his eyes, as if he was staying up all night, thinking about something.

"Are you alright?" She asked shyly. "You haven't looked your best this whole month."

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Why do you care?" he asked, his tone cold.

What was his problem?

"I just wanted to know if there's anything I could do to help," She said, batting her eyelashes.

"You can't bring her back," said Aiden. "There's nothing you can do to help with that." (Ehem, when Aru gets kidnapped for two months)

With that, he left.

" Who is her?" Poppy had asked when she told her.

"I-I don't know!" exclaimed Arielle.

Poppy's eyes widened as realisation struck her. "What if it's Aru?"

Arielle scowled, "Aiden can't be in love with Aru! She's ugly."

Poppy looked elsewhere and said, "She isn't particularly ugly,"

"What do you mean?" asked Arielle instantly.

"I think she's hit puberty," Poppy said. "She looks prettier these days."

And the worst part was that Arielle saw it.

Over the past few months, Aru Shah had become prettier. Her chestnut brown skin glowed, and her eyes shone.

This was not fair.

2 months later, Aiden had been absent and when he came back Aru was right next to him, along with another girl who Arielle learned was Kara.

For almost the rest of the school year, they were both at school and Arielle could see that they weren't as close as before, but still pretty close.

But then, Aiden and Aru were both gone for two weeks, and returned back to school, their hands intertwined, both of them closer than ever before. (Ehem, NOI)

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Poppy asked, when they saw the sight.

"I wish I hadn't," Arielle whispered.

"Rumor says they're dating," said Burton.

Arielle took one look at Aru's face.

It was glowing, and she looked happy, her big brown eyes bright.

"So are you two dating?" Arielle had asked Aru when they were seat partners in English.

Aru raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Are you and Aiden dating?" Arielle asked, a bit louder.

She saw the tip of Aru's mouth curve up, "Maybe."

"Just give me an answer, Aru!" exclaimed Arielle.

"Ms.Reddy," Their English teacher, Mrs. Miller said. "Would you like to share your conversation with Ms.Shah to the class?"

"I-I," Arielle stammered.

"She was just asking me a question about the reading," said Aru.

Mrs. Miller glared at the two. "Fine." she said, going back to teaching.

"So?" Arielle continued.

"Aren't you going to give me a thank you?" asked Aru.

Arielle rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Thank you, Aru. Now tell me."

"You're very welcome," Aru said, sass evident in her voice.

"So?" Arielle asked again.

Aru smiled, looking down at the textbook. "We are."

And that was enough to break Arielle.

"They're dating, Poppy!" Arielle wailed.

"You know we can't trust Aru!" exclaimed Poppy. "Maybe she's just lying again! Like she always does!"

"Guys!" Another voice said. The girls turned around to see Burton Prater. "The rumours are true. Aiden and Aru are dating," He said, panting for air.

"How do you know?" Poppy asked.

"I saw them kiss at Aiden's locker!" he exclaimed.

"Seriously?" said Arielle, putting her head in her hands.

"I even got a photo!" Burton exclaimed.

They were kissing.

And Arielle saw it for herself in that photo.

She went home that night, and stared at the photo. The people in the background, looked at the two with wide eyes.

Arielle also saw that it was Aiden who initiated the kiss, as Aru looked a little stunned. She imagined her in that photo instead of Aru. These 4 years Arielle had crushed on Aiden were all wasted. There was no point anymore. She closed her phone and sighed.

Just maybe there would another boy.

Or another girl.