"From Rivals to Forever: A Journey of Love"

Chapter 1

The early morning sun cast a warm, golden hue over the school, the light filtering through the sprawling neem trees that dotted the grounds. Students streamed into the main building, their chatter blending into a familiar symphony of adolescence. As I reached the class, amidst the crowd, I spotted Aditi Sharma, her head buried in a textbook as usual. She was a whirlwind of determination and focus, her every step measured, her every action precise.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched her. She was everything I admired and everything I envied. Her dedication, her relentless pursuit of perfection—it was something I found myself striving for, not just to keep up with her, but to be noticed by her. She made it all look so effortless, and yet I knew how much she pushed herself. In my own way, I did the same, though I never let it show.

"Aur bhai, Kabir," came a voice from behind me. I turned to see Raghav, my best friend, grinning widely. "Yaar, ye ladki jis hisaab se padti hai, use tere nahi, tujhe uske piche hona chahiye tha."

I glanced at Aditi. "Pure 2 saal se to hoon uske piche," I replied.

He then slapped my head. "Abe bc, class mein rank ki baat kar raha tha. Warna to wo terko bhav bhi na de. Aya bada."

I was about to hit him back when our class in-charge came, and we all settled into our seats. "Bach gaya bete," I said, and Raghav just laughed.

The school day began like any other, with a flurry of classes and assignments. My mind, however, was elsewhere. During the break, I found myself in the library, a place Aditi frequented. Sure enough, there she was, seated at her usual spot near the window, the sunlight dancing off her hair.

I approached her table with a casual air, though my heart raced. "Hey, Library Lover," I said, leaning against the bookshelf beside her. "Burning the midnight oil again?"

Aditi looked up, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Mehra, some of us actually need to study to get good grades," she retorted, her tone sharp but not unkind.

I chuckled, taking a seat across from her. "Ye joke tha?" I asked her.

She came closer and replied, "Tha to?"

I moved closer this time. "Vo, I don't like jokes," I said in a taunting tone.

She moved even closer, leaving only an inch between our faces, and said, "And I don't like you."

I looked at her lips. They weren't all pink and glossy, but they looked pretty. I thought, can I get just one kiss?

"Is there something you need, or are you just here to annoy me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

I snapped out of my silly thoughts. "Has anyone ever told you that you have quite a nice mustache? Good growth, you know," I said jokingly, in a teasing way.

"You know, everything can't stop like your height," she said, sounding hurt.

Damn, did I just make her insecure? Oh god, no, it's all my fault. Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut? I mentally punched myself. She grabbed her pencil case and started walking away when I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me.

"Um, Reena ma'am told me to give you the script for Founders Day Celebration. And hi, I'm the co-anchor," I said.

She looked dead into my eyes, grabbed the copy of the script, pulled her hand out of my hold, and left.

Fuck, I have to say sorry. I ran towards her. "Hey, I'm really very sorry. I didn't mean to say any of that about your upper lips. I was just looking at your lips."

She stopped, then looked at me. "Look, I don't want to accept your apology, but just because I made fun of your height, it's okay, and I'm sorry too."

Listening to her, I kept my hand behind my head. "I don't care. I'm literally 5'11". I'm not insecure about it, y'know," I said casually.

"Well, it doesn't seem like it because in 9th grade, you were literally bragging about crossing 6 feet and blah blah blah," she said.

"You literally keep track of everything I say and do, don't you, Library Lover?" I said, looking at her.

"Well, says the one who has track of my upper lip hair growth," she said.

Suddenly, the bell rang. "I think we should head to class," she said.

"After you, Library Lover," I said.

She laughed as she started walking towards the class.

Her laughter was infectious; it did things to me that even I couldn't understand. I wished, instead of getting her attention through academic rivalry, I had tried to be her friend so that I could hear her laugh every day. But she never seemed interested in any drama or random silly stuff.

As we entered the class, chaos ensued. Two guys were beating each other mercilessly. Everyone was cheering. Suddenly, our physics teacher came and dragged both of them to the principal's office. While the class was bickering about the fight, Aditi sat quietly without any reaction.

In the maths period, thankfully, a student came into our class. "Good afternoon, Sir. Reena Ma'am is asking for Kabir and Aditi to come to Class IX C."

The teacher nodded. We both made eye contact and left with our scripts. We walked side by side behind the student. As we entered the classroom, our shoulders brushed against each other. My heart raced, and heat started radiating in my cheeks. Why did she have this effect on me?

"You both sit in the corner of the classroom and start practicing with each other. From tomorrow, I won't send anyone to call you. You both should be present in the old library for practice," ma'am said. We nodded. 'Yay, no maths period for a week!'

We sat on the bench in the corner and started speaking our lines. While we were practicing, we were laughing and talking. Her pretty smile and her melodious, infectious laugh—aur yaha mai pighal gaya. Uff.

Later, when the bell rang, we ran to our classroom to pick up our bags. Her bag was packed, but mine wasn't. Then, something unexpected happened. She came towards me and helped me pack my things.

I was about to pick up the bottle, not knowing she was going to do the same, and our hands brushed against each other. God, that effect. She took the bottle as I pulled my hand away, and she placed the bottle inside the side pocket of my bag.

"Jaldi chal," she said as we ran out of the class and started moving towards the gate. There, I saw Raghav waiting for me. I said bye to her and ran towards him.

"Koi bohot khush hai aaj," he mocked me. I slapped the back of his head as we started moving towards our bikes.