Breaking stereotypes

Chapter-24

September~
We are at Adya's home today to help her out with her school project. Her aunt is not at home. As usual she left her alone. She knows we would be coming though.
Paper house! We are making paper house for her project, sitting at the floor of the varanda.
We finish the project neatly and Adya seems happy about the outcome.
'What to do now?' was what written on everyone's face and the same idea popped on everyone's head as well.
We decided to make toys and planes with the papers left.
Adya started making paper boats and I started making a game for us to play later on. I wonder who is the kid here.
~
Ryan makes a paper ring and gives it to me with the same apologetic face as that day. My heart cries at his expression. I can't do this anymore. If the ring is an apology from his side, I will accept it and go back to how we used to be.
He hesitates and takes it back. "Nevermind."
I don't say anything.
His phone flashes with an unnecessary customer service spam and I see his wallpaper. It's the three of us at the beach. They were trying to hold me and throw me at the seashore. It's the best candid picture of my life. We are laughing our hearts in that picture.
I look at my wallpaper. A planned candid selfie of the three of us from my side. I wrap my right hand around Ryan's neck while he was trying to fix Adya's tiara. I smile at the picture. I miss that day.
~
We leave. Silence surrounds us throughout our way back. Before, we realise we were near Ryan's building standing at the same spot where we first met. I am wearing a black and grey coat frock and boots. Half open hair with a grey bunny clip on my back. Same peach lipstick and mascara on. He is wearing an ocean blue light hoodie and still his usual half denim jeans and kittos. What kind of cold does he feel?
I am the one to break the silence.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Can't you see why?"
"No, I can't."
He takes a deep breathe through his mouth as if he is done and about to do something.
He takes out the same red string tied to our pinky fingers the first time we met from his pocket and the same paper ring through which he was trying to apologise on his other hand.
I look at him with surprise and wonder. He looks sure about whatever he was about to do but a little nervous. 'CUTE!' Jas, it's not the time. We might even lose our friendship at this moment. Focus.
He glances at me while he was tying the two things together like a necklace.
My heart makes a skip. What's about to happen? I am getting nervous and confused.
I look somewhere else and he returns his focus on what he was doing. He is done and looks at me. Both of us are nervous. I am more nervous this time. He steps forward, towards me and stands right infront. Cartwheels on my stomach. It's getting hot again at the start of autumn. Wait, the weather is actually chilly. Not all these climatic chaos again.
He tiptoes to catch up to my neck. Okay, that's way too cute for my heart to handle. I don't move. I am too nervous and shaking and so is he but less than me. My heartbeat goes fast again.
He wraps the necklace he made from the red string and the paper ring around my neck and ties it.
The tension, our loud heartbeats, the friction between us without even touching each other. I can feel his warm chilly breath on my neck again. This time it gives me shiver because the weather is chilly as well or may be that's not the actual reason I don't know, I can't logically think right now. I try my best not to bend my neck from the heat, from the friction too much. Instead the chills reach my bones, every cell of my body. I try to be still but fail successfully.
He is done and comes back to his foothold. He looks at my eyes. Half afraid, half confident. Curiosity fills my face about what just happened and what's about to come.
"I like you." "No", "I love you."
It's autumn and the leaves are changing their colours and starting to fall. The wind is chilly but as usual, no this is not as usual, it's different, I feel hot from tip to toe. My face till my ears, everything turns red.
"What?" To make sure I didn't heard it wrong because of the chilly wind blowing and the oranged dried leaves falling.
"Look I am sorry even after promising not to ruin our friendship, even after knowing how you struggled with boys and friendships in past, I could not help but fall for you. I tried my best not to. I don't exactly know when, why or how it happened but that day, that summer at the beach, I realise now that I already was in love with you by then otherwise why would I have tried to. . I understand it now, I understand it this late. I know I shouldn't have acted in such a confusing way but I was confused myself regarding my own behaviour. You were right about me being a tubelight. Look I am sorry, I assure you I am not going to ruin our friendship but I just needed to tell you, it's killing me now. I think of you all the time, when you are not around I miss you so much it starts hurting. If you are sad, I want to take away all of your pain, when I see you smiling or laughing, I want to make you happier, I want to give away even my share of happiness. Your smile, it soothes my soul, my heart but these days when we are not talking like we used to my heart hurts. This is love right? See I don't want to lose you, I don't want to lose our friendship either and I won't I promise. I really want to go back to how we used to be because everything is killing me now but I really needed to tell you this, I am in love with. .
Tears fall from my right eye as I stand there to understand what was happening, too stunned to say anything.
"Hey, look I am sorry, you don't need to cry. I promise I won't. .
"Are you an idot?" I interrupt.
"I am a human too. I have feelings too and I could not control it. It's just that's how amazing you are. I just want you to know my feelings for you are not like those other guys from your past. I really. . .
"I am a human too. I have feelings too."
"I am sorry. . Please don't be angry."
"I am not angry, idiot. I am in love."
"You? In love? With whom?" He asks with a shock look on his face.
"Who is there in my life other than you?"
"Who is there?" He asks with another shock and dense look on his face.
"You idiot!! I am in love with you!!!"
I jump into his arms hugging him. He stands still. Still in shock. Too stunned to say anything or to even hug back. Okay, the roles are being reversed again.
He pulls me back, his hands on my shoulders. Face still shocked and dense. "YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH ME?!?!?"
"YES IDIOT, YOU!!"
"Heyyyyyy. . It's the 5th time you are calling me an idiot."
"Yours still ranks higher you know that?"
"Are you sure you are in love with me? Why? When? How?"
"Let's leave all these questions for the time being. No, actually don't leave. You say when did you. . Ah you already said."
"Wait, wait, I cannot believe it. When did you realise?"
I put my hands at my back and lean forward. "Way before you." I say smiling.
He is even more shocked now. "How is that possible? How did you fall in love with me and even realise it before me?"
"I am smarter than you, you know."
"You are." Still too stunned.
"I still cannot believe it. . Are you sure. .
I give him a quick kiss on his right cheek. Our first kiss. Yay! And I was the one to make the first move!
"Just shut up already."
He is too stunned to even flinch a little.
I touch the paper ring around the red string. "Thankyou for this." I look too happy, he is still too stunned to process what was happening.
"I should go now. My brother must be waiting." I turn back and cross the road running.
I look back and he is still standing there, touching his right cheek with his left hand too shocked and stunned. Still could not process.
"We will talk about this later on." I shout.
I turn to our building street and lean to the wall to process what the hell did I just do. I feel red and hot in this chilly autumn season.