The Story Of Us

CHAPTER 5: The Escalation

As I reminisce on the past, a particular memory resurfaces, one that brought about a drastic change in the dynamics of our friend group. It all started with Reva and Rahul. I remember it was the 14th of September when Rahul finally mustered the courage to confess his feelings to her. Little did he know that it would be the start of the unraveling of their friendship.

I still vividly remember the expression on Reva's face when she replied, "WHAT? I didn't consider you more than a friend EVER, you were my best friend and I love you ONLY as a friend and I have no feelings for you otherwise". Hearing this, Rahul was completely shattered, as I had already conveyed my concerns to him about Reva possibly being in a relationship and why she would choose him over Prathu without any solid reason.

As expected, this created complications within our friend group. It was inevitable that for Rahul to move on, he needed to distance himself from Reva. But that was easier said than done, as their social circle was intertwined. This caused a ripple effect, and our friend group was never the same again.

The next few days were tough on Rahul. He had to come to terms with the fact that he couldn't be with Reva. Initially, he thought that the damage to their friendship was temporary and that things would be okay. He decided to act normally around Reva because he valued their friendship, but it was difficult for him.

Rahul didn't hold any ill will towards Prathu. He simply believed that Reva deserved someone better, someone, who could appreciate and understand her fully. However, he knew that it wasn't up to him to decide who Reva should be with. Despite everyone's opinions, Reva had the final say in who she chose as her partner.

While the rest of us were caught up in our own lives, Rahul was silently suffering. Akash, Shiv, and Piyush noticed that Rahul was struggling and decided to help him out. I wasn't particularly close to Rahul, so I wasn't involved in their efforts. Looking back, I think it was a good decision for them to intervene and take care of him.

It was my turn to gain Rahul's trust after the whole Reva incident, and I knew just how to distract him from his feelings for her. I decided to confide in him about my own crush on Alizeh. When I first told him, he laughed it off and didn't take me seriously. But as I explained just how much I liked her, he began to understand that I was serious.

Of course, he warned me that nothing could come of it, since Alizeh was already in a committed relationship. But I assured him that I wasn't looking for anything more than a friendship with her, and that I knew my feelings were one-sided. I made jokes with Rahul about how only he and our friend Priyank could convince Alizeh to give me a chance.

As my birthday approached, I decided to tell our other friends Piyush, Shanaya, and Akash about my crush. Akash seemed to believe me, but Piyush and Shanaya just made fun of me. Shanaya, who was Kabir's sister, also pointed out that it was unlikely Alizeh would be interested in me since she was committed to Kabir.

But despite their teasing, I still hoped to at least become good friends with Alizeh. After all, that was all I really wanted in the first place.

A few days before my birthday, we all started gathering in front of G2. Initially, it was Shiv's idea, as he used to stalk a non-B.Tech girl, and we teased him about it. However, eventually, everyone developed a reason to sit there. For me, it was the chance to spend time with Alizeh, while for Rahul, it was an opportunity to spend time with Reva. Akash just wanted to bond with Kiara, while Piyush, Shanaya, Nikhil, and Sahil, the new guy who had already bonded with us and knew Alizeh, Rahul, and Nikhil, tagged along wherever we went. It was great fun to sit together and enjoy each other's company. Even though we had our individual reasons to be there, it was the perfect place for all of us to just relax and have a good time.