ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴇᴀᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀʟʟᴡᴀʏꜱ

.Teasing & Glances༊˚

AUTHOR'S POV:

Ishan grinned, clearly not dissuaded by her teasing. "I'll win, you know that, right? So you better be ready."

Avni raised an eyebrow, smirking back. "We'll see."

Up ahead, Nidhi and Aaron turned around, clearly catching on to the tension between them. Nidhi, never one to miss out on the fun, gave them a knowing look.

"What's going on here? Did something happen while we weren't around?" she asked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity as they darted between Avni and Ishan.

Avni quickly shook her head, trying to play it cool. "Nothing! We're just talking about the basketball match," she replied, though the glance she exchanged with Ishan gave her away.

Nidhi's smirk widened. "Oh, sure... just the basketball match," she said with exaggerated suspicion.

Aaron chuckled. "Yeah, right. Just the match," he added, clearly enjoying the exchange.

Avni groaned internally, knowing she couldn't hide anything from Nidhi, who was practically a detective when it came to picking up on gossip.

Ishan, enjoying the moment far too much, grinned even more. "It's true, though. Just the match... for now."

Avni shot him a playful glare, eyes narrowing. "You're impossible," she muttered, trying to keep her cool while her cheeks betrayed her with a soft flush.

Nidhi leaned in with a mischievous grin. "Oh, I'm sure there's more going on than just the match," she teased, nudging Avni's shoulder.

Aaron chuckled again. "Yeah, looks like we missed something big," he added, casting a sly glance between the two.

Avni groaned aloud this time, her cheeks growing warmer. "Will you two stop? It's nothing like that!" she protested, flipping open her textbook in an attempt to change the subject.

Ishan raised his hands in mock innocence. "I have no idea what they're talking about either," he said, though the playful twinkle in his eyes betrayed him.

Nidhi, refusing to drop the subject, leaned closer to Avni. "Come on, you like him, don't you?"

Avni shot her a sharp side-eye. "Why would I like him? I don't," she said, trying to sound firm but failing to hide the small smile tugging at her lips.

Nidhi laughed softly. "I was just saying..."

Avni rolled her eyes, deciding it was best to ignore her friend, though her smile lingered just a little longer than she intended.

The bell rang, signaling the start of the next class. Avni muttered under her breath, "Saved by the bell!"

Ishan leaned in, whispering just loud enough for her to hear, "Run as much as you want, but you can't hide this time."

Avni rolled her eyes, trying to focus on the teacher, but a small smile tugged at her lips.

As the lesson began, the teacher's voice droned on about the topic of the day. A few minutes later, Avni felt a gentle knock on her desk. She glanced sideways to see Ishan casually knocking his knuckles against the table to grab her attention.

He slid a small, folded piece of paper toward her, keeping his eyes on the teacher as if nothing unusual was happening. Avni picked it up, giving him a questioning look. Ishan just nodded, subtly encouraging her to open it.

With a sigh, Avni unfolded the paper. Scrawled in Ishan's familiar handwriting were the words, "Ready to lose?"

She rolled her eyes again, but couldn't help the smile that appeared. Quickly, she scribbled her response: "In your dreams."