The Friend.

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The weeks that followed were a blur of silence, avoidance, and unspoken words. Divangshi and Hamza drifted further apart with each passing day, each locked in their own worlds, both too stubborn or too scared to reach out. The corridors that once echoed with their laughter now felt cold, sterile—places where their eyes would meet for fleeting moments before quickly darting away.

Divangshi buried herself in her studies, trying to convince herself that she was fine. That she had made the right decision. Hamza was with Jiya now, or at least that’s what she told herself every time she caught him in her peripheral vision. She didn’t know what hurt more—the silence between them or the fact that it was all built on a lie.

Jiya was still relentless, her attempts to grab Hamza’s attention growing bolder every day. She seemed convinced that he would eventually come around, that all she needed was time and persistence. But Divangshi had noticed the way Hamza had started brushing her off, the irritation in his eyes every time Jiya tried to insert herself into his space. He was distant, cold even, and it was clear that Jiya wasn’t getting what she wanted.

But none of that mattered to Divangshi. She had made her peace with it—or at least tried to. The ache in her chest was still there, raw and gnawing, but she was getting better at hiding it. Better at pretending like everything was fine.

And then there was Anuj.

Anuj had been a classmate for as long as she could remember, but they had never really been close. He was quiet, thoughtful, the type of guy who didn’t push too hard or try to invade her space. But after everything with Hamza, after all the turmoil and heartache, Anuj had started showing up in her life in ways she hadn’t expected.

It started small—he’d sit next to her during breaks, offering her a smile when she felt like she was drowning in her thoughts. He’d ask about her day, make some offhand joke to lighten the mood. And slowly, without her even realizing it, he became the person she could lean on when everything felt too heavy.

One afternoon, they sat together under the shade of a tree, his presence grounding her in a way she hadn’t felt in weeks. The silence between them was easy, comfortable. Not like the painful silence that had grown between her and Hamza.

"Thanks for sitting with me," Divangshi said quietly, her fingers idly tracing patterns in the grass.

Anuj glanced over at her, his expression soft. "You don’t have to thank me, Diva. I like hanging out with you. You’re good company."

She offered him a small smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. "I’m not sure about that. I haven’t exactly been fun to be around lately."

"You’re allowed to have bad days, you know," Anuj replied gently. "You don’t have to pretend to be okay all the time."

And that’s what made Anuj different. He didn’t expect her to be fine. He didn’t expect her to plaster on a smile and act like everything was perfect. With him, she could be vulnerable. She could be real.

"It’s just..." Divangshi hesitated, biting her lip. She hadn’t talked to anyone about what had happened with Hamza, hadn’t let herself open that door. But with Anuj, it felt safe. "There’s so much I’m holding onto, and I don’t even know where to start."

Anuj shifted closer, his shoulder brushing hers. "You don’t have to start anywhere. Just... talk. I’m here."

And so she did. She told him about Hamza, about the confusion and the hurt. About Jiya and the lies she had fed her. About how she had tried to walk away, even though it felt like tearing herself apart. She talked, and Anuj listened—really listened—without judgment, without trying to fix everything. He just let her speak, let her pour out all the things she had been holding inside for so long.

By the time she finished, she felt lighter. Like a weight had been lifted off her chest. And for the first time in weeks, she felt like she could breathe again.

"That sounds... rough," Anuj said quietly after a long pause. "But you don’t have to go through it alone, Diva. You’ve got people who care about you. Me, for starters."

She smiled at that, a real smile this time. "Thank you, Anuj. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear that."

He grinned back at her, his eyes warm. "Anytime."

But even as she started to find comfort in her growing friendship with Anuj, there was always that lingering feeling in the back of her mind. Hamza. No matter how much she tried to push him away, her thoughts always circled back to him. Every time she saw him in the hallway, every time she caught him looking in her direction, the hurt resurfaced. And now, it wasn’t just hurt. It was something more complicated. Something that tugged at her heart every time she saw the flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.

What she didn’t realize was that Hamza had been watching too. Watching the way she and Anuj had grown closer, the way Anuj seemed to be there for her in ways he hadn’t been. And it was eating at him.

Hamza had always been good at keeping his feelings in check, at keeping the world at arm’s length. But with Divangshi, it had been different. She had slipped past his defenses before he had even realized it, and now that she was pulling away—now that someone else was there in his place—he couldn’t ignore the way it bothered him. The way it burned.

But Divangshi didn’t know that. She only saw the distance, the silence. And in that silence, she convinced herself that she had made the right choice. That Hamza was better off with Jiya, that whatever she had felt for him was better left buried.

Even as Anuj became a source of comfort, that lingering ache in her heart never really went away. Every time she laughed with him, every time she opened up about her pain, she felt the ghost of what she had lost with Hamza.

And Hamza—he was always there, just on the edge of her vision. Watching, but never saying a word.

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