Darmiyaan :- Incomplete but beautiful...

Ch - 13 Emotions Unplugged

Vansh stepped through the door of his house, the familiar scent of home washing over him, yet his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. The echoes of their duet still played in his head, the way Anny’s voice blended with his, and how every note felt like it resonated within him. He dropped his backpack by the door, his heart racing as he sank into the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

How had everything changed so quickly? One moment, they were just friends, and the next, he was grappling with emotions he had never allowed himself to feel before. As he thought back to that moment in music class when they had harmonized to Raabta, he couldn’t help but smile.

Memories flooded back to him:

It was the first day of school for Anny, and Vansh had been absent for three days. When he finally returned, he found that the classroom was nearly full. The only seat left was next to a girl he had never seen before—Anny.

He had approached her, trying to break the ice. “Kya tum new student ho?” he had asked, a friendly smile on his face. Anny nodded shyly, her eyes wide with a mixture of hope and nervousness.

“And tumhara yahan koi dost nahi hai?” he continued, and when she shook her head, he felt a surge of empathy. “Aaj se main tumhara dost hoon,” he declared, and just like that, a beautiful friendship began.

They had shared everything—schoolwork, dreams, and secrets. Anny was the one person who understood him completely. He could talk to her about anything without fear of judgment, and she always knew how to make him laugh when things got tough.

But now, as he sat in his living room, he was filled with confusion. Did Anny feel the same way about him? Was there something deeper between them, something more than just friendship? The thought of confessing his feelings made him uneasy. What if it changed everything?

He could picture Anny’s face—the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed, how she bit her lip when she was deep in thought, and how her heart seemed to shine through in every little thing she did. She was emotional and sensitive, and he knew how easily she could get hurt.

What if he told her how he felt, and she didn’t feel the same? Would it ruin everything they had built together? Their friendship meant the world to him, and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her.

Vansh leaned back on the sofa, running his fingers through his hair. “Maybe it’s just a phase,” he murmured to himself, trying to convince his racing heart. “Maybe I just got carried away because of the song.”

But deep down, he knew it was more than that. There was a flutter in his chest whenever Anny was around, an unexplainable pull that drew him to her. He thought about how they had supported each other through everything, the comfort they found in each other’s presence. Couldn’t there be more?

He took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions inside him. As he leaned back against the cushions, he closed his eyes, letting the memories of Anny wash over him, hoping that clarity would come with time.
___________________________________

The next morning, Vansh woke up with a sudden jolt, his heart racing for no particular reason. He blinked at the ceiling, trying to remember what had startled him, and then it hit him—Anny. Her face appeared in his mind like it had been waiting for him the entire night.

He let out a breath, turning his head to the side. What’s happening to me? he thought, confused by how much he had been thinking about her. They’d been friends for so long, and yet something felt different now. His realization yesterday—that he didn’t just care about her as a friend—kept playing over and over in his mind.

As Vansh sat up in bed, running a hand through his hair, he wondered what it all meant. Do I like her? The question lingered in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more obvious the answer seemed. But then again, this was Anny—his best friend, the girl who sat with him during lunch, who laughed with him over silly things, who shared songs with him. She had been so much more than a classmate since the day they met.