Strange Feelings

After seeing Shravan's genuine efforts to seek my forgiveness, my heart melted and I decided that he deserved another chance. He looked at me with big eyes and asked, "Wait, for real? You forgive me? Does this mean we're friends again?"

I couldn't help but smile at his excitement. He really was a little kid at heart. I laughed, "Yes, we are friends. But, promise me that you'll never lie again".

He frowned, "I learnt my lesson well. No more lying!".

There had been one thing on my mind that kept bothering me since the party and only Shravan could answer that question. I took a deep breath, "At the party, Anish said that the girl you liked was me. Is that true?"

He looked down nervously and stuttered, "I...the thing is...ever since..."

I cut him off. Suddenly, I was afraid to know his answer. I looked away and said, "Look Shravan, you are a good friend and I really hope you weren't anticipating anything more than friendship to happen between us because I'm not ready for anything like that in my life. We can never be anything more than friends". I wanted to make my intentions clear with him. I am focused on my goal to join the army and don't have the time to be emotionally invested in a romantic relationship. I touched his elbow gently and said, "I really hope nothing changes between us".

He smiled, "Of course, I'm just glad that you've forgiven me". He averted his gaze and said, "By the way, that girl I was talking about wasn't you. It was someone else. So you don't need to worry about me developing any feelings for you. We will always be good friends".

For some reason, I felt slightly disappointed at his answer. "Oh...so, who was it?"

He gave a smirk and winked, "Let's save that for another day".

Months went by and with every passing day, Shravan and my friendship grew deeper. I loved spending time with him. He was easy to talk to and always made me laugh. I've had a lot of friends before but Shravan was different. I don't know what drew me to him. He is everything that I disapprove of: He's reckless, doesn't follow rules, and lives life on his own terms. Yet, despite being so different, I feel like no one understands me better than him. I find myself trusting him so much that I tell him things I've never told anyone before. He listens so intently as if my words are the most important thing on earth. I've never met anyone like him before.

I broke out of my thoughts as the class bell rang and I looked around. He wasn't in class yet. Did he even come to school today? Then, I remembered that he went to a party last night. I bet he's probably skipping school because he has a hangover. Typical Shravan.

During break, I messaged him: Hope you had a fun night. Don't expect me to help you with the lesson you missed in class today.

School had ended but Shravan still hadn't replied to my message. He probably wants me to come meet him so he could beg me to do his homework. Although I was aware of his plan, I still wanted to see him because I missed him. I feel restless if I don't talk to him for too long.

I knocked at his house and Uncle opened the door. I smiled, "Hello Uncle. Is Shravan home? He didn't come to school today so I brought his homework".

"Thanks for coming by, Suman Puttar! Actually, Shravan won't be coming to school for a while. He got into a minor accident last night".

My heart dropped and I frantically asked, "Accident? Is he okay? Is he hurt?"

Uncle chuckled, "He's fine. It was a bike accident and he has a couple of fractures. Don't worry too much about this spoiled boy".

"Can I go see him?" I became really worried for Shravan.

"Yes, of course! He's been sleeping all day because of his medicines. He needs to wake up or he'll become even more lazy".