Tenth Grade was Fun!

16. SAINT-LIKE REP

The next week passed with us moving our things and unpacking them in our new house—it was already semi-furnished and we had to bring the rest of the furniture from our old house—the one on the same floor as my grandparents'.

I had told about this to Nikhil through a text message first and I met up and explained later, leaving out our financial problem.

"You're changing houses? And you never told me? And you're changing your school too!" He had yelled with surprise and hurt.

"They never told me until 2 hours before we started shifting." I had muttered.

"But you knew about the school-change shit before that!" He had exclaimed.

Running his hands through his hair before letting out a sigh, he hugged me tightly and my traitor of a heart started palpitating.

"Just because you're about an hour away from me or changing schools doesn't mean I'm letting you go anytime soon." He spoke, which came out muffled due to our hug.

"Wouldn't dream of it." I said honestly.

"So...um..."

"When did things get so awkward between us?" I asked with a chuckle to lighten up the mood which fortunately worked.

"Let me think." He tapped his forefinger on his chin and suddenly snaps them.

"Aha! When we kissed each other." He said as if it was the invention of the century.

I blushed profusely and slapped his arm to which he leaned closer and whispered in my ears, "You look cute, you know that?"

This only made me blush even more if that was even possible and he pulled away, kissing my cheek while doing so and we continued to Ajay who was waiting to pick me up—just for few days till the bus-changing formalities are done.

"Hey man, how are you?" Ajay asked Nikhil as they did a bro-hug.

"I'm good. You?"

"Great! So, I can't help but overhear that you two kissed..." He trailed away.

That bitch! You 'told' him during the sleepover. He didn't 'overhear' it.

But that saves me from getting caught that I was the one that told him right?

Ah. Right.

A tinge of red appeared in Nikhil's cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck while stuttering, "I...w— we jus—"

"Relax, I'm just kidding. So how's that trying-to-improve-in-social-science thing going?" He changes the subject and they talk about their mutual hatred for that subject for some time before Nikhil goes to his bus.

The drive back to home was full of Ajay rooting for 'Rikhil' and me deadpanning about rooting for 'Rijay' and finally bursting into laughter about how our ship names sucked ass.

Mia and the twins had noted down my new address since we'd be doing our projects in my house and I almost had a migraine when Shravan came to our house the same time as them once and then joined with Darsh, going on a full-on improv.

Harsh had done some harmless flirting per usual and Mia...

Oh, god!

She didn't let me go, like literally, till I told her what happened during our so-called 'Mission like like' and I had to listen to her shift from squealing to pouting as she heard about our near-kiss, where we didn't kiss.

Obviously.

In the end, I commented about how she and Darsh would make a cute couple that would suit the 'opposites-attract' policy for which she scowled but I still noticed the slight reddening of her cheeks.