Hoops and Heartstrings

Chapter 5: Spark!!!!!

Ava's pov

I was dancing the night away with my gang having the time of my life until my toes started screaming for mercy. I decided to take a break and sat down, watching Sophia still bust a move on the dance floor. That's when I saw Reyansh walking towards me."What are u doing? Sitting all alone".

"Nothing much, just my ankle hurting from all this dancing," I said, wincing in pain. " yeah Otherwise, I would've noticed you sooner and seen you making a fool of yourself on that dance floor, I would've known it was you in seconds!" Reyansh said, chuckling. I just rolled my eyes and said, "Ha ha, very funny." We'd been classmates since primary school, and I considered him my partner in crime and closest male friend.

Reyansh handed me a juice and said, "Here, drink this." I smiled and thanked him, surprised by his thoughtful gesture. "When did you became so kind, Reyansh?" I teased. He chuckled and replied, "I've always been a kind person, Ava, you just didn't notice!" I playfully rolled my eyes and joked, "Oh, I didn't know you were the next disciple of Buddha!" He laughed and said, "Well, now you know and don't forget it!"

''How's your mom?'' I asked, ''Oh, she's fine". "She kinda misses you a lot, tbh". Reyansh said ''Oh, that's so sweet, Reyu'' You joked, ''Stop calling me that name, Ava". I giggled and said, ''It suits you, Reyansh!''

I confessed, ''I miss her too, and her food, of course I would love to visit sometime, I said". "Yeah, sure, why not? I'll let you know once I'm free, Mom would be so happy to know you're coming to visit. She'll prepare all your favorite Indian dishes.''

I reminisced, Reyansh and I grew up together. Our moms were coworkers, and we lived next door until his parents moved to reyansh's grandma's house two years ago, She was sick, and wasn't ready to leave her house, so they had to shift.

I inquired, ''How's your grandma?''. "She's fine, but her health is still an issue'' he said. ''I was sad knowing he was leaving, but in the end, we both ended up going to the same college and decided to attend the same university.''

"We chatted for a bit, but then he received a call and left. Sofia was busy with Cameron, so I didn't bother disturbing her. I gazed out at the night sky shining its beautiful, glimmery light on me and i smiled. Feeling bored, I decided to take a stroll in the garden. I wore my heels and walked until I reached the fountain, where I spotted a cat.

I approached it and tried patting it, but it ran off. As I turned to leave, my leg twisted, and I fell down. 'Ouch, that hurts!' I exclaimed, holding my leg. I removed my heels and sat down, not bothering to get up.

Still sitting on the ground, someone approached me. 'What are you doing here?' I looked back to see Ethan. ''Is this fate or what?'' I asked, surprised by our second encounter. 'Maybe',he replied, looking at me with a hint of a smile. I twisted my leg again and struggled to get up.

''Do you have a habit of twisting your leg?''he asked, 'Maybe' I said copying his earlier response. He smirked at my behavior, but then sat beside me, and said, ''Isn't it beautiful?''. ''It definitely is,'' we both looked up at the sky. we both lay down on the grass. ''Aren't you worried that your dress will get ruined?'' He asked. ''Nah, it's already ruined, so why bother now?'' I replied. He just smiled.

''So, how was my singing?'' I asked him. ''It was amazing, Ava. Your voice is magical,'' he said, his eyes sparkling with sincerity.

''Really, thank you so much! It means a lot to me. I praticed a lot for this, and I really gave my best. I know I don't know you much, but seeing you on that stage, singing wholeheartedly... I can tell you love singing, and it means a lot to you.'' There was a comfortable silence between us for a few minutes but it wasn't awkward. Instead, it felt familiar and comforting like I'd known this feeling before.