The Classy Thirteen

Single and useless.

Sarthak's POV

Airports always smelled like coffee, tension, and unspoken things. And today, that mix felt heavier than usual. I stood with Anaya near her boarding gate, her suitcase beside her, her scarf tucked behind her ear in that way she always did when she was nervous. I held her hands loosely, as if tightening my grip would betray how desperately I didn’t want to let go.

The announcement for her flight buzzed overhead. “Passengers for Flight LX2408 to Barcelona via Madrid, final boarding begins…”

Her fingers squeezed mine, I felt my throat tighten.

She looked glowing yet sad like she wanted to bottle this moment too.
“Your eyes are getting wet,” she whispered gently.

“My eyes stay hydrated naturally,” I lied like a clown.

She laughed. “Drama king.”

But her expression softened.“Sarthak… this isn’t goodbye.”

I nodded, but my chest didn’t agree. “You’ll video call me immediately after landing?”

“As soon as the wheels hit the ground,” she promised.
Then she lifted her hand and brushed her thumb under my left eye. “And I’ll miss you more than you’ll admit.”

I swallowed hard, she was right.

She stepped back, my fingers slipped from hers, and she turned to walk toward the boarding gate.

With every step she took away from me, something inside me clenched. My heart was already grieving the temporary distance. She was almost at the line dividing “with me” and “going away”.

She paused.

My breath stopped.

She spun around and ran back to me.
Before I could blink, she wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face in my chest.
“I’m going to miss you… so much,” she whispered, voice shaky.

I held her back tighter than I should have.
Because gods, I’d miss her too.

She pulled back after a moment, looked at me with eyes too pretty for the world, and leaned forward to press a soft kiss on my cheek.
Warm. Gentle.
The kind that stays longer than it lasts.

“If I stay for more than a minute, I’m not leaving,” she said, trying to smile.

I smirked weakly. “Then don’t blame me if I chain you to the pillar.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Stop being cute. Let me go.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

I sighed. “Fine. Go. Otherwise I’ll actually not let you leave.”

She gave me one last look, it was heavy, emotional, packed with something deeper and then turned and walked toward the crowd.

Every few steps, she turned back.
Waved.
Smiled.
And finally disappeared into the boarding tunnel.

My chest dropped, but the strange thing? I wasn’t destroyed. Not like I expected.

Yes, I was hurting, my insides felt like squeezed lemon pulp, but there was this small joy blooming too.

Because she was my girlfriend now. My best friend.
My person. And this… this temporary distance was nothing compared to that.

Still, I needed distraction. Something stupid. Something chaotic.
Something that could only be found in one place—

The canteen.