Stupid in love ✔

18~ "A perfect Kodak moment."

One fine day on a freezing afternoon, a girl stood before the bulletin board. Her eyes caught attention on something very interesting. She brought her cold palms near her mouth and let out a foggy breath. 'Interesting,' Pragya thought, smiling.

It had details regarding a competition about a wall painting competition. It will be held in a district at the end of the week. She has never painted in a wall before  but she had seen youngsters doing it. She was doing a creative course anyway so why not go for it. There was one condition though. Atleast three people were needed to participate in it. And she knew who those two people be.

"Wall painting sounds like a lot of work. I love digital art more."

"It does sound exciting but I'm not good at any kind of painting, to be completely honest. You'll be bound to lose if you take me."

Those were the replies from Lisa and Ahana after Pragya told them about it. She didn't expected this.'I have got such great friends.' She thought sarcastically, getting disappointed.

"But I'm not into winning. This is more like a fun event. I just want to try this out. Please do this for me," she pleaded, throwing a puppy eyed look.

Lisa and Ahana exchanged glances at Pragya and then at each other. Lisa had already painted walls when she was a kid. She had also decorated the walls in her bedroom once, which is why she wasn't enthusiastic about it. Ahana, on the other hand, was definitely interested but was afraid of Pragya making fun of her, after witnessing her terrible brushing skills.

"We'll think about it," they finally said to Pragya, giving her a ray of hope.

To be on the safe side, Pragya asked other two classmates of hers. Surprisingly, they agreed to her request quite easily. These two casual friends turned out to be better than Ahana and Lisa. In the end, Pragya reassured them that they weren't needed.

Pragya passed the gates of the college expecting Vansh and Dhruv. The three of them often went to the dorm together except when one of them had other plans. She spotted Vansh waiting for her near the gates with his arms crossed.

"Where's Dhruv?" She asked the obvious.

"He's having extra practice today. He'll come by later," Vansh answered quite hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head. She caught on his odd behaviour but decided to pass it.

Pragya was surprised by his actions again when he offered to treat her hot soup. Vansh was the kind of guy who often relied on others to buy him food since he was adamant on saving money. He would even befriend a stranger, provided they offered free food to him. So buying food for someone else was rarity and this happened to be one of those rare occasions. Something was definitely odd.

"Spill it before I force the words out of you," Pragya finally said, her tone commanding.

"By all means, go ahead and do a post mortem of my body," he said spreading his arms for her, "You still won't be able to find words inside. But maybe if there's a device that can extract information out of the brains cells or neurons. No, that-" he continued and got lost in his own world.

She facepalmed. At times like this, she desperately wondered what she ever saw in this idiot that fascinated her? Even after four and a half years, she couldn't find the answer.

"Get to the point, Van, otherwise I'll leave you here. I'm sleepy thanks to the magic of winter," she yawned.

Vansh stopped rambling at once. He had her full attention now. "Finish your soup first," he said, motioning his hand towards her untouched soup.

Thus they ate soup in silence. Vansh kept exchanging glances between, Pragya and his surroundings, growing tensed by the minute. He didn't knew how to approach the subject but he knew he had to discuss it today. He even stalled away Dhruv to grab this chance. It was now or never. Man, did he hated these kind of touchy moments.