Falling in Love, Again

Chapter 10- Still The Same!

"So how was it yesterday? He's a good guy no?"

"Umm...we were only studying Kavya, you think I actually noticed what kind of guy he is?"

"Oh yeah, why would you even right. I'll do that." She chuckled.

Aarushi gave a fake smile.

"Hey Aryan." Kavya greeted seeing Aryan entering the class.

He smiled and moved towards his seat without looking at Aarushi. Aarushi too moved her face away from him.

                         *******

5 pm

Aryan entered Aarushi's house and knocked at the door of her room. Adya opened the door and seeing him, moved out without saying a word.

He entered and took his seat.

After a few minutes of silence, Aarushi spoke up," Hey, will you have anything to eat?"

"No, thanks."

"Water?"

"No."

She then took her books and started writing something on her notebook.

                             ******

Adya entered the park and sat on an empty bench, plugged her earphones in and closed her eyes.

Pratik, who came for walk, saw her and went towards her.

"Hey, Adya."

Adya opened her eyes. She saw him, removed her earphones immediately and stood up in front of him.

"Yeah what?" She said, angrily.

Pratik laughed. His laugh annoyed her more.

"How shameless creature you are!"

"Okay sorry sorry" He said laughing, "but I saw you yesterday walking in frustrated so I-"

"So you decided to frustrate me some more?"

"Oh no no, actually I saw you yesterday and I knew you were my new neighbor. "

"Oh so you came her to trouble your neighbor. "

"It was just a prank dude."

"Wow"

"Okay forgive me miss. Okay lets start it again, Hi I am Pratik, your new neighbor and you?"

"Adya, your new enemy."

"Oh hi Adya my new enemy,  so you some here for the walk daily?"

"Not at all dude! Just that my twin is in my room with her ex working for a group project and I just can't stand him!"

                          ********

Aarushi looked up and saw Aryan making notes. She looked at his face, which hadn't changed much with time, only he had some extra dark circles under his eyes now, looked like he had worked days and nights tirelessly. Nonetheless he hadn't quite changed in priorities too. Focused dedicated and silent.

Would he have missed her in all that time? Oh no, how would he. Because he was the one who decided to end everything between them. He didn’t even looked at her,  neither spoke anything to her. Though she also didn't say anything to him, but still he seemed to have moved on from a long time.

Aarushi's mind was processing all her thoughts when her eyes saw him looking up at her and then again down at his books. But she was still lost in observing him.

"Why is she staring at me like this?" He thought. He looked at her again,  keenly this time.

"Oh no not again Aarushi!" She realised she was looking at him since she was thinking all that and turned her face towards her books.

Aryan smiled.

"She's still the same!" He thought, "beautiful and lost in her own world. But more silent and less expressive now.

But why would she express to me. Maybe she's still as talkative as she was, just the difference is, she doesn't talks to me now." He couldn't help looking at her again.

"You are mine,  Aryan, just mine."

He smiled again. He was no longer hers, there was nothing between them now, but just silence and some unsaid emotions. He sighed and started writing again. Again, the silence prevailed in the atmosphere.

                            *****

"Oh so your sister and that Aryan again met, and you say they knew nothing of each other's whereabouts before that?"

"Yeah, and you know what, both didn't want to end up here."

"Haha seems like destiny has different plans for their love." Pratik chuckled.

"But I have no plans about that. It shouldn't happen again."

"That's fine but why are you so anti of love?" He asked curiously.

"Umm...I am not anti of love, but for me this is not the definition of love."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I have different perspective of love than the people around me. Crying and being sad, ignoring each other for no reason, waiting for other to text first, hiding their flaws, how can it be love?

Like being in a relationship means you have a partner with whom you can laugh, cry, share everything, then why hide the flaws or why judge them for their flaws? If you people have issues, then talk about it, why make it complicated and cry about it? If the person is yours then he or she wouldn't judge and if someone judge you for everything,  how can he be mine? When he can't understand me, how can I call him my partner? And if my definitionis not what people believe,  then I won't definitely fall in love."

"Hmm, your views seems good."

"Why, you have similar?"

"Not exactly, I don't know, like I have never fallen in love. And how can I even fall in love, its not anything to fall in, it infact is a feeling. You'll eventually get the feeling when you are with a right person, with whom you feel comfortable. Then that doesn't matter from how much time I am with that person, I will just go and tell her that I love her."

"Seems like you are very eager to find one."

"No, but one day I will find one. Like, yeah, I think so."

"And then you will too end in this complicated love?"

"Yeah maybe. But you know what, unconditional love maybe complicated. But I believe that true love can't be unconditional. It is and has to be conditional."

"And what are those conditions?"

"Respect, honesty, understanding,  freedom and most importantly trust. If you can't trust your partner then you have no right to call him or her your partner. And same goes for if you break other person's trust. I have a friend, and they have trust issues all the time, but on social media they have a perfect love, from proposing under a lot of balloons to those costly gifts, how can it be love?"

"Yeah exactly,  that's why I stay away from so called love."

"When I'll fall in love, I'll go to that person directly and confess my feelings. If that person feels the same for me, she wouldn't wait for a good decoration or setup, she would just say yes, because in the end it's not about surroundings, it is and should be about us!"

"I liked that hehe."

"Thanks, enemy."

"Yours most welcome, neighbor."