ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴇᴀᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀʟʟᴡᴀʏꜱ

.New Couple༊˚

AUTHOR'S POV :

After Avni replied, "I will see," the bell rang, signaling the start of the first class. They exchanged glances and headed to their seats.

At lunch, they all met in the cafeteria. Aaron continued teasing Ishan about the party, while Nidhi tried to persuade Avni to join the study session.

"Come on, Avni," Nidhi said. "It'll be fun, and we can help each other out."

Avni smiled and replied, "Alright, I'll come."

Ishan, who had been quiet, seemed relieved. He gave Avni a quick smile before turning back to his food.

The rest of the day went by. When the final bell rang, the group gathered their things and made their way to the library, ready for their study session and whatever the evening might hold.

Nidhi and Avni walked towards the library, chatting about their classes, while Aaron and Ishan trailed behind them. The boys exchanged a glance, noticing how engrossed the girls were in their conversation.

Aaron nudged Ishan and joked, "Looks like they don't need us."

Ishan smirked and replied, "Let's see how long that lasts once we start studying."

The group soon arrived at the library, ready to settle in for their study session. They all took their seats and began opening their books, notebooks, and stationery.

They started studying together, helping each other with difficult topics. Avni explained physics to Avni, while Nidhi helped Aaron with Chemistry. They worked quietly, focused on their subjects, making sure no one had any backlogs.

They studied for a good two hours and then began packing up their things.

Avni spoke up, "There's something I've been thinking about."

Nidhi asked, "What?"

Avni hesitated, "I'm not sure if I should bring this up, but....are you and Aaron dating?"

Everyone fell silent.

Avni continued, "I might be wrong, but I-"

Nidhi cut her off, "How did you know?"

Avni asked, "So it's true?"

Ishan joined in, "You two?"

Nidhi and Aaron looked at each other and then nodded.

Nidhi explained, "I wanted to tell you, but it just happened so quickly."

Avni asked, "When?"

Nidhi replied, "Yesterday. After you both left, Aaron asked me out."

Nidhi and Aaron who were sitting facing each other, their elbows resting on the table. Their fingers intertwined. Their hands held each other in a tender grip.

Nidhi continued, "And I agreed."

Avni smiled and said, "That's great! I'm happy for both of you."

Ishan added, "Yeah, congratulations. I guess we'll have to get used to this new couple."

Nidhi blushed slightly and said, "Thanks. We didn't want to keep it a secret, it just happened so fast."

Aaron nodded in agreement and said, "We didn't want to make things awkward."

Avni reassured them, "Don't worry, it's all good. I'm happy for both of you."

Ishan joked, "You were asking me about a party, right? Looks like you'll have to throw one now."

Aaron replied with a grin, "Sure, I’m not like you. I'll actually organize it."

"Inform us of the dates then," Ishan said.

Aaron nodded in agreement.

As they finished packing their bags, Nidhi asked, "But how did you know about it, Avni?"

Avni replied with a grin, "Oh, that. From your matching bracelets."

Ishan raised an eyebrow and said, "Wow, I didn't even notice that."

Avni smirked, "It's because I'm smarter than you."

Ishan chuckled and said, "Sure, Miss Detective."

As they left the library, the group walked towards the school gate. Ishan and Avni fell into step beside each other while Aaron and Nidhi walked a little ahead, still holding hands.

"Smart and observant," Ishan teased, glancing at Avni.

Avni shrugged with a smile. "Someone has to keep an eye on things."

Nidhi turned back and said, "You really surprised us, Avni. We thought we were being cautious."

"Well, you can't hide anything from me," Avni said playfully.

Aaron laughed, "Guess we'll have to be more careful from now on."

As they reached the school gate, Nidhi said, "So, see you all tomorrow?"

"Yeah, tomorrow," Ishan replied, giving a small wave.

Avni nodded. "See you."

As they parted ways, Avni couldn't help but smile as she headed home. On the bus, she sat by a window, put on her earphones, and listened to some music. As she thought about Nidhi and Aaron, she smiled. She had always considered love a mere concept from books, something that didn’t truly exist in real life. Her busy life and anti-romantic stance had kept her from believing in it.

But seeing her friends together made her reconsider. Maybe love did exist, at least for others. If not in her own life, then surely in the lives of those she cared about. Avni was happy for Nidhi and Aaron and found herself wondering if love, though not part of her world, was very real for those she cared about.

As Ishan took his bike, he thought about Nidhi and Aaron’s relationship. Maybe he should give love a chance, even if he'd always been skeptical about it.