YOU ONLY FALL ONCE

Chapter 3 : Just Friends

I went back to the class with my bag and Zaheer behind me ,when the supervisor was taking roll calls . Luckily, she didn't say much .
As the supervisor was  distributing the answer sheets , we started filling the necessary informations in it , I glance sideways towards Zaheer and find him setting his pencil,ruler and eraser neatly in a line on the desk . 'Such a cutie . What ! I did not just think that . . '

I quickly turned away from him but something caught my eye , he was scribbling something on the desk yesterday and on that exact spot the scribbling said ' ZAQ ' .
What the freaking hell . What is Zaheer's full name , I peek towards his answer sheets where in front of the name category it's written ' ZAHEER ALI QURESHI ' .
This can hardly qualify as coincidence. But how.. I think back to the note from my sixth grade which is currently stashed under the piles of books on my desk .

On the front it said -' Don't stress . Take a chill pill , Arche .'
And on the back - ' ~ZAQ '

Does that mean that the rumours my friends were talking about were actually true . I look sideways towards him , he looks up , smiles at me and goes back to his pencils . How can this possibly be true . I didn't even know his freaking name up until yesterday.  This is not the time to worry about that I guess .

The paper is snatched out of my hands as I attempt to complete my last answer , once the bell rings . I think I could have done better if I hadn't been sick , damn my stomach and it's damn ache .
" Was the test that bad or are you not feeling well again? . "
I look sideways towards Zaheer , he's searching my face with a strange look on his face that I can't put my finger on .
" No , no , I'm fine , it's just I could have done better if I had more time . "
" Ohh , don't stress ,Avya . You did great . "
I smile at him for his kind words .
" I can just hope . "
" Okay everyone , you can leave now . Have a great day. "
The supervisor says , while stacking the answer papers neatly .
" Okay then , bye . See you tomorrow. " I wave and start to pack my things .
" Bye . And Thankyou by the way . "
" For what ?"
His lips turn up and his smirking at me in such a adorable way that it makes me giggle .
" For ... Let it be . "
His ' I'm the happiest person on the planet ' face turns into a ' I could die from sadness ' face .
He waves at me and leaves the classroom before I could muster a word .
' Woah that was freaking confusing. '
I'm broken out of my trance by the supervisor .
" Ms Murthy , do you want something or are you just going to stay here until tomorrow ? "
" Huh ,oh yess- I mean no , I'll just get going now . "
I hurry outside to find Zaheer but he is  nowhere to be found . I look around but no , nada . I'm interrupted again by a havoc which goes by the name DISHA.
"Why are you late ? Everyone left without us , come on let's go . "
" Disha, remember in our sixth grade when I lost my bag and you gave it me - "
" Yes , I remember you being a irresponsible brat and me being your saviour and bringing back your ba-"
" Listen , Disha . What I want to know is who gave you that bag ? You said someone from our class gave it . Who was it ?"
" I don't remember actually, I think it was a girl ,no ,not a girl , I think it was the discipline guy from our class . No no wait but that the discipline guy never comes to a picnic so it's not the discipline one . I think it's -"
" Just let it be . "
" Okay anyways , how was the test for you ? Mine went great, I think I'm going to pass this one atleast. "
I laugh at that and we dive into the conversation.
              

                  5 DAYS LATER
I wait by the door of the classroom on the last day of our semester exams. I guess this the correct time to ask Zaheer about the note .
I purposely dropped all his belongings down on my way out and he asked me to go when I offered help . His been ignoring me since the day he helped me when I puked in the boy's bathroom . Eww , gross , that was so embarrassing. I'm brought back to the reality by the sound of the door closing. I look around to see the supervisor walking away and the hallway deserted . Ohh shit he escaped again . I make my way out of the hallway towards the stairs when a hand touches my shoulder . I freeze , no this can't happen, there was no one in the hallway, I checked. I am about to scream a hand is pressed firmly on my mouth . I'm being turned by those hands and come face to face with the person, for whom I was waiting for, for last 10 minutes.
" Shush , Avya . It's me .  I thought you were waiting for me . "  I took a deep breath.
" That .. right .. I was .. infact I was waiting to ask you that what is the reason that your ignoring me . No smiles , no hiis , nothing . Why is that ?"
" I wasn't ignoring you , I was just behaving..... normally ." I scoff at that . I'm downright pissed at that .
" Normal , that is not normal . "
" It is normal , Avya . That is normal for us . Us not talking to each other that's normal . What's not normal is this . This is unbearable for me . So that's what I wanted to tell you . Stop waiting in the hallway for me , stop picking up things for me , stop sitting on the edge of the bench for hearing excuse me from me , just stop trying to be my friend. "
" But ..but why can't we just be friends. "
" Because.. "
" Because, what ? Because you like me so you can't be friends with me ? Be-"
" Because I can't  be just friends with you . It's hard for me , I can't just stand here and suggest you which dress would look good on you so the guy your dating won't leave you , I can't just sit here and watch you rant about how he ruined your life when all I want is for you to dress up just for me , for you to rant about how good you feel when your with me , how you can't believe that we are so wonderful together ... So Avya I guess you got your answer. I can't be friends with you and start a new chapter because I already love you in a chapter and I'm a stranger to you in it and that chapter isn't over for me because my love for you is not over yet and I don't know for how long I'm going to love you so I suggest you to stop entertaining any ideas of us being friends. Because I just don't like you , I love you for godsake. " He looks at me walks closer , raises his hand and wipes my cheeks , that's when I realise I was crying . Why am I crying ? He looks me in the eyes with that strange look he always looks at me with , its affection and something that I can't tell . He leaves then with me on the stairs thinking about what just happened here .

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