Enchanted : A Story Of Love And No Love

CHAP 15. Polar Opposites

ABHINAV'S POV

Class XI, 18 May 2016

"Shit!" I sprung back when I realised that Zara was standing just behind the door.

"Who stands behind a door like that?" I said in a goofy tone only to not offend her.

It was necessary since we weren't the kind of friends the way we were before anymore. I didn't know what now could have offended her anymore.

It's funny and ironical how I grew so distant to her in order to be around her. Not to hurt her. She needed space at that time. She had gone through a harsh luck at first love and my emotions weren't going to help her anyway. But I didn't realise it then that I was pushing her so away from myself.

Once, a dear friend now was mere acquaintance. Fate plays it's part, I sigh.

"Hey, It's not like I did it purposely!"

She had a mocking expression at her face while she said. Oh, how much I missed this face. I missed looking at the lines that formed at her forehead and near her eyes. I missed staring at it, all. If only I could confess the same to her.

"But still I had no idea." I replied while we were still standing at the door to my classroom. I was about to continue but some or other person came up between us both to get out or in of the classroom. After all it was time  for lunch break.

"Ugh, so what you close and open classroom doors now?"

A sly smile spread across her face as she asked me the question.

"Noooo" I laughed. "And I seriously hadn't thought you'd be there."

"Aghh, It's been awhile huh? How's life?"

A weird tension started building around us both as she asked the question to me.

"Life?" I pause there "Class 11 sucks! Been missing certain people... "

I left my sentence hanging. I didn't feel like completing. It would have meant that I was giving away my thoughts. And I didn't want that. I wanted her to interpret her own meaning out of my words.

"Hmm.. " She scooted in her place. She was small with respect to the height of mine. But not too small. And this made her all the more cute.

Just like those little dogs and puppies with viral videos on web and internet.

"Can I come in, Afreen's there?" She asked after what felt like an hour of silence. She and her silence always had this effect on me. I dreaded them before but now I was more in control of myself. I could restrain myself now from showing emotions that people saw but lacked to understand.

It took a lot of me to drive away from her. And I wasn't going to give her away my peace now only to have myself pushed back again.

"Huh, inside" I half scoffed. Guilty at first as I was avoiding to offend her but quite ironically I just did that. Or I thought I did that.

Then suddenly I remembered that if it was me keeping low and away neither did she try to reach out. And with that all my guilt washed away justifying my coldness.

I have a conversation with her after around five months and this is what I give her coldness. She tried to reply back with a small smile but I outed my self from her presence halfway.

Deep down I urged myself to go back at her. Or wanted her to come calling. But there was a imaginary wall between us now. I don't even know how we created it so tall. Maybe not seeing each other around for long did the job at hand. It is easy to grow distant nowadays.

And the change of subjects into Class eleventh solidified that. I always deemed her quite artistic and had thought we'd end up in same section. However, it didn't surprise me when she took Physical Education as her fifth subject. She was always a sport, a runner.

I went downhill thinking about our endless conversations about nothing and now when we had things to talk about, to resolve...we barely survived a minimal conversation.

It wasn't like I totally shut her down after the confessing about needing me. I was always ready to be her friend, give her time. It was she who changed instantly that day. Aloof and weirded out when people were around us. And I sometimes wonder what happened that day that has caused her go like the way she is now.

I mean we still talked but the last straw was the day of exhibition. After that day it's like she never knew me in the first place.

She now often showed up only to meet Afreen. It was weird how they came to become friends. Because they were polar opposites.