INSEPARABLE HEARTS 2

CHAPTER 102

Happy Reading

Keerthi lies on her bed, staring at her ceiling, texting Angad.

Keerthi (texting):

> “I know it’s weird, but I still feel like being friends with you is safer. I can’t lose you again.”

Angad (reply):

> “Even if we’re just friends, you’ll never lose me. I’m not leaving this time.”

She reads his reply with a quiet smile. Then, her face softens into something sad.

Keerthi (whispers):
“I want you forever… That’s why I’m scared of calling this love again.”

______________

Next Day at School

The room is quiet. Sunlight filters in through the blinds. Caroline sits at a corner table, sketching something in her notebook. She looks up and sees Dharshi walk in with Damon. Dharshi laughs at something he says, but her expression falters when she notices Caroline.

Caroline hesitates, then stands and walks over.

CAROLINE
(softly)
Hey... can we talk?

Dharshi looks unsure, then nods. Damon gets the hint and walks off.

CAROLINE
I’ve been thinking a lot lately. About... us. About Keerthi.

DHARSHI
(sighs)
I know. I’ve been weird. Distant. It's just easier this way.

CAROLINE
Maybe for you. But not for me. I mean... we weren’t even friends before all this. But somehow, you became one of the few people I actually trust. So, I can’t pretend this silence is okay.

DHARSHI
(sincerely)
Caroline… it’s not you. It’s just... everything. Me and Keerthi, we’ve been off since forever. Even when we tried to fix things, it always breaks again. And I... I don’t know how to be around her without feeling like I’m the villain.

CAROLINE
You’re not. And you don’t have to fix everything at once. Just… don’t lose the people who stood by you when you needed it. You mattered to me, Dharshi. You still do.

There’s a long pause. Dharshi softens.

DHARSHI
Okay. I’ll try. Not for Keerthi. For us.

They share a small, real smile.

_____________

Angad sits in a corner booth, sketchbook open, brows furrowed. Maeve plops down across from him with her usual confident grin.

MAEVE
Ugh, guess who I saw fake-smiling in the hallway again? Keerthi. She’s always pretending to be the innocent one, but you and I both know how fake that is.

Angad stiffens instantly, his pen halting mid-line.

ANGAD
What did you say?