The Seat Beside Him

Saira never believed in dramatic love stories.

No confessions under the rain. No grand gestures. No promises whispered at midnight.

Her story began with something much simpler-an empty seat beside a boy who had always existed at the edges of her life.

Aarush was sarcastic, annoyingly smart, impossible to read, and somehow always bathed in sunlight like the universe had favorites. He became her best friend in the quietest way possible-through shared lunches, saved seats, lingering glances, and small acts of care that meant far more than words ever could.

Somewhere between physics numericals, annual functions, and moments that felt too intimate to be called friendship, Saira fell for him.

There was just one problem.

She never told him.

The Seat Beside Him is a story about growing up, loving silently, and the kind of connection that exists painfully in the space between friendship and love.