The Whispers of Heart

Chapter 21

The night air was crisp as Rohan and Adwaitha made their way down the quiet street, the sounds of their friends’ laughter fading behind them. The teasing from the restaurant still lingered in the air between them, and Adwaitha couldn't resist keeping the fun going.

"Okay," she began with a mischievous grin, "you've got to admit, Dhruv imitating your game face was the highlight of the night. He looked like he was trying to swallow a lemon."

Rohan laughed, shaking his head. "Dhruv? He looked more like he was in serious pain. And let’s not forget Viyaan’s attempts to imitate my 'stoic' expression"

Adwaitha giggled. "Yeahh, The family beside our table looked genuinely concerned for his health. I think Viyaan was turning purple trying to hold that serious face."

Rohan smirked, glancing sideways at her. "No one can pull it off like me."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Mr. 'Emotionless Idiot' at his best. But seriously Ro, how do you keep that face all the time? It’s like you’re in a permanent state of poker face."

Rohan shrugged, his voice casual. "Years of practice. It’s a skill."

Adwaitha snorted. "A skill? More like a curse. Remember the time Yara thought you were mad at her for two days because you didn’t laugh at her pineapple-on-pizza joke? Bechari ladki she was about to launch a full apology campaign."

"I wasn’t mad, it was just a terrible joke. Pineapple on pizza? Who finds that funny?"

"How dare you insult pineapple pizza! It’s a classic!" She gasped dramatically, putting her hand over her chest

"You’re no better than Yara." Rohan replied giving her a deadpan look

He sighed. "I remember Dhruv and Krish made a bet last last year that I couldn’t go an entire week without smiling. Did they ever settle that?"

Adwaitha nodded, stifling her laughter. "They did. I think Dhruv won. You smiled when Viyaan did that ridiculous dance after we won the match last year."

"That wasn’t a smile, that was me trying not to laugh at how ridiculous he looked." Rohan replied groaning a little

"Oh, please. You cracked a full-on grin!" Adwaitha teased him, mischievous smile playing on her lips

As they were walking their hands slightly brushed, the contact was brief, but enough to send a slight tingle up both their arms. Adwaitha paused for a second, glancing down at their hands, then continued walking, her heart beating a little faster.

Rohan noticed the pause but chose to play it cool. "Fine, I smiled. But only because Viyaan almost tripped and took Dhruv down with him."

"Excuses, excuses," she said, giggling. "But hey, that was a legendary fall, Krish nearly lost it when Dhruv tried to recover by doing some kind of weird  moves"

"Yeah, and then they both crashed into the bench." Rohan chuckled at the memory. "I think Viyaan’s pride was more bruised than his knee."

"You’ve worn that title Emotionless idiot proudly. Though lately, you’ve been slipping."

"Slipping?" Rohan asked raising an eyebrow

"Yeah," Adwaitha teased. "Smiling more, letting us see that you’re human after all."

He shot her a sideways look, playfully defensive. "I don’t smile that much."

"You do Ro" she replied, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Especially when you’re around us... or maybe, when you’re around certain people."