Unknown To Known

Stalkers

Aditi settled down on the bed, exhausted from the ramp walk and fitness practices. She decided to reach for her phone to relax before sleeping.

She suddenly remembered the account which was sent to her by the boy with whom she was playing.

She opened the app and went through their conversations. Her lips curved into a smile suddenly, she didn't realise that. After scrolling, she found his account.

"Might be his instagram!" She said to herself and quickly opened hers. After liking a few posts in her feed, she hit the search button and typed his name.

"Just wanna see who he is actually." She thought.

After a minute, finally it showed her accounts which had the same name. She tapped on ishankishan23 .
Her eyes widened as she scrolled through his profile. Verified account, cricket news, team members' photos filled his feed.

"Wait? He is a... cricketer?" Her mind reeled. She suddenly felt a mix of emotions as she had no idea!

"And he plays for... Gujarat lions!!"

"What's..he like on the field? If I text him, would he think I'm just a fan?" Her thoughts swirled. "How could I not know? Why didn't he tell me?"

She revisited their conversations and started searching for hints. But there were none. She was beginning to think she stumbled upon a wrong one. As she scrolled, she came across a video of him. To be sure, she tapped on it, to check if the voice was same.

It indeed was! His deep voice was like music to her ears. The way he laughs, smirks, that video was driving her crazy. She felt stupid. She turned of her phone and let out a deep breath.

"Why did he hide this from me? Is he genuine or just someone playing games?"

Aditi needed time to clear her head and figure out her feelings. As she drifted off to sleep, her mind whispered,  "what's next?"

—

On the other hand.

Ishan, too, was winding down after his practice session. He lay in bed, phone in hand and scrolling through his feeds.

That's when he saw Aditi's profile. He scrolled through it and his heart skipped a beat as he gazed at her photos. He chuckled, "she's still as beautiful as I thought."

Ishan's fingers hovered over the "follow" button on the instagram account: aditihundia . But then, doubts crept in.

"Wait, what if everyone gets hold of this? Gujarat Lion's player Ishan Kishan follows random model on instagram... "

"Ishan's new love interest?" Or "Distraction from the tournaments?"

He hesitated, considering the rumours.

Taking a deep breath, he decided.

"I don't care about the rumours. I want to stay updated about her."

With a subtle smile, he tapped "follow ."

"Mujhe pakka stalker samjhegi!" Ishan said to himself, giggling.

Next day.

Aditi was having her breakfast while watching a show on her phone. As she took another bite of her parantha, she noticed something which made her lose her senses.

ishankishan23 started following you.

She almost choked on her food and her hand instinctively covered her mouth, holding back a squeal.

"Oh. My. God!" She whispered, eyes fixed on the notification. "Ishan? Cricketer? Is following me?" Aditi thought.

"What does this mean? Is he interested? Should I respond?" She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She then walked to the window, staring out, lost in thoughts.

"Aditi, don't overthink this! He might have mistakenly did that."

"Ain't no way that's a mistake. He legit stalked me?" She yelled out of frustration as her mind was battling against the two possibilities.

Yash, Aditi's brother, walked into the room after hearing her shouts.

"Kya hua?" He asked, plopping down on the bed.

Aditi quickly composed herself, trying to play it cool.

"Nothing, just..um.. sent a voice message to my friend." She said hesitatingly.

Yash raised an eyebrow. "You just shouted. Tell what's wrong."

Aditi's face scrunched in annoyance. "Apko kya? Haan?"

Yash noticed her behaviour and his curiosity piqued. He was sure that she was hiding something.

"Bata rahi? Nahi toh mumma ko bula raha hoon!" Yash said, suppressing his giggles.

Aditi was done. She sat beside him and told him about the scene which happened a minute ago.

"Ishan, the cricketer, followed you?" His eyes widened.

Aditi nodded. "How did you?" Yash chuckled. "Tell me the story behind it." 

Aditi hesitated before sharing their interaction. Yash listened to her and a grin spread across his face. He started laughing the next moment.

Aditi playfully slapped him. Yash's expression then turned serious. He was concerned about media attention.

"Well, did you knew about him or came to know just now?" Aditi asked Yash.

Yash gave her a sly smile and replied, "Papa kuch din pehle hi dekh rahe the uske matches, kya badhiya khelta hai woh banda."

Aditi smirked at his brother, who was almost dying due to laughing. "Aapko pata hai ya nahi woh puch rahe hai."

"Listen! I know you are hesitant, but Ishan seems genuine, and honestly it's exciting!" Yash said with a grin, ignoring his sister's previous statement.

Aditi huffed and looked away.

"But what if it's just a casual follow?" Aditi asked.

Yash shrugged and replied, "One way to find out, follow back!"

Aditi looked at him, as if asking, "Really? Should I?"

Yash nodded enthusiastically and said, "Yes! Maybe you can get to know. Although I won't be surprised if it turns out to be something more."

Aditi poked her tongue out at him, annoyed with his teasing.

With a bit of confidence, Aditi picked up her phone. She navigated to ishan's profile and tapped on "follow."