The next morning, I saw him again — standing in the same spot, with that usual calm demeanor of his. It was almost comforting in its predictability. Like every other day, his gaze floated past me, never resting on me, as though I were just another face in a crowd. And like every other day, I told myself I was okay with it.
But I wasn’t.
Days passed in a blur — each one a quiet repetition of the last. Yet amidst the monotony, one thing stood out like a glowing ember: the friendship between Dev, Sara, and me. It kept blooming, effortless and warm. With Sara, it felt like we were always meant to find each other, like our bond had been written long before we’d even met. There was comfort there. A sense of belonging.
But Dev… Dev had started changing. Or maybe not changing, exactly — just unraveling a side of himself I hadn't seen before. I noticed it in the way he replied to my stories with offhanded comments like,
“Who’s this girl now?”
Or how his voice took on a different kind of energy when he mentioned her — Celine.
“She sent me this reel last night,” he once said, grinning. “It’s dumb but kinda cute.”
He talked about her in a way he never had about anyone else. His smile lingered longer, even when the conversation moved on. He was falling — truly, this time. And though we’d always shared stories about crushes and silly flirtations, something about this felt different. More real.
Watching him fall in love made me wonder:
Is this what love feels like?
That steady ache, that gentle spark?
Will anyone ever feel this way about me?
Will someone wait for me, think of me the way he does for her?
With a quiet sigh, I pushed the thoughts away. Some things are easier to bury.
The sunshine boy — Prajwal — had by now become part of my daily rhythm. We hadn’t spoken since that one interaction, yet we crossed paths almost every day. And still, we moved around each other like shadows. It was like we had an unspoken agreement to ignore one another. Or maybe it was just me. Maybe he truly didn’t notice me at all.
Love, I told myself, was something sacred. Something beautiful.
But maybe… not something meant for me.
Then, one morning, a message popped up in our trio group chat. It was from Dev.
Dev:
“uhm guys, Celine and I are dating :)”
The group chat immediately exploded.
Sara:
“WHATTTT??????”
“How?! Since when??”
“Omg Dev spill now.”
I blinked at the screen, stunned. The only thing that escaped my lips was a quiet:
“What…?”
Then I typed:
“Who proposed first?”
My thoughts flashed back to just a few days ago — when Celine had been talking about another guy from Jacob’s. And now this?
A strange sense of unease settled over me.
Dev replied with a screenshot. I zoomed in, my eyes catching a particular message.
Celine:
“Let’s keep this between us… don’t tell Sanvya yet.”
There it was. A name that stung.
Mine. Being handled like a secret.
The next day, I walked to class with my thoughts tangled. I was still trying to make sense of it all when Celine appeared in front of me, wearing her usual cheerful smile.
“Hey, Sanvya!” she said brightly. “What’s up? How’s the exam prep going?”
“It’s good,” I replied, the words tighter than I intended.
Her smile flickered, then flattened.
“What’s wrong with you? Why are you always like this? Such a mood killer, honestly.”
And just like that, she walked away.
I stood frozen.
Was I… the problem now?
Later, in class, I spotted the girl group deep in conversation. Celine, of course, held center stage. She was glowing as she spoke, gesturing animatedly. Her voice was excited, almost musical.
But the moment her eyes met mine, her smile disappeared.
The story ended abruptly.
Weird, I thought.
It was exam season, and all of us were drowning in textbooks and notes. There was barely time to sleep, let alone process emotions. Yet somewhere in the back of my mind, a quiet ache remained. Something unfinished.
Dev’s birthday was approaching, and Sara and I found ourselves scrambling to figure out what to do. We didn’t want to overcomplicate things, so we settled on something simple.
“Let’s just write him letters,” I suggested. “Something real.”
Sara nodded. “Yeah, simple but meaningful. That works.”
But as I sat down to write, my mind kept drifting.
To him.
The silent boy.
Prajwal.
The one who never spoke, but whose presence I could always feel. The one who’d unknowingly carved a space for himself in the back of my mind.
In a moment of quiet courage, I let my pen move freely.
“The boy who's been occupying my thoughts lately... is your dear friend Prajwal.”
The next day, while scrolling mindlessly through Instagram, I saw a birthday post from Dev. It was for Prajwal.
My breath caught.
“Wait… Prajwal and Dev share the same birthday?”
What are the odds?
“How can so many coincidences exist in this universe?” I thought, half-laughing, half-exasperated.
If the universe was going to keep throwing signs at me, I might as well take the hint.
I opened his profile, hit ‘Follow,’ and after a long pause, sent a message:
“Happy Birthday :)”
That evening, we met up with Dev. Prajwal was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Prajwal?” I asked, trying to sound casual.
Dev shrugged. “Something came up. He couldn’t make it.”
“Hmm.” I nodded, pretending it didn’t bother me.
We handed Dev his gifts, spent time laughing and talking, and eventually went our separate ways. But my thoughts stayed behind.
At home, I kept checking my phone.
Once.
Twice.
Too many times.
Nothing.
Just as expected, I thought. A cold shoulder, like always.
But then —
A notification.
“Thank you.”
Two words. A full stop. A wall.
Still, I couldn’t leave it there.
“Hey, I’m Sanvya. I’m Dev’s friend. We’ve met before.”
I hit send. Waited.
Silence.
The next evening, finally, a message.
“Hey. I’m Prajwal.”
That was it. But it felt like a tiny crack in the wall.
My fingers moved quickly across the screen.
“Hey! How was your day? It’s such a coincidence — you and Dev sharing the same birthday!”
Send.
Then… nothing. Again.
Two days later, another ping.
“Yeah.”
That was all.
And that was when I knew.
He was trying to keep his distance. Trying to ignore me, to pretend I didn’t exist in the space that was slowly drawing me closer to him.
But I wasn’t ready to give up.
Not yet.
Not when I had barely begun.
Not when I still wanted to know the stories behind those quiet hazel eyes.
I wasn’t here for a fairytale ending. I wasn’t expecting magic.
I just wanted a chance —
To try my luck.
_____________________________
Hey lil loves, i hope you like today's chapter.
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Love you all!❤️
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