Chapter 7 The Accidental Confession
432 Words
Aarav had never walked this fast in his life.
Not even during his morning jog.
Not even when the canteen announced buy one samosa get one free.
He was practically sprinting toward the college library, clutching the book Aadhya had dropped earlier that morning.
“Why am I running like a Bollywood hero in slow motion?” he muttered, completely ignoring the fact he was running in fast motion.
Inside the library, Aadhya sat in her usual corner, doodling flowers on her notebook and pretending she wasn’t waiting for someone.
When she saw Aarav panting at the door like he had just escaped a tiger, she burst into laughter.
“Aarav! What happened? Did someone chase you?”
“You,” he said.
She blinked. “…What?”
Aarav froze.
His brain screamed: NOOO that’s not what we practiced! Say something smart! Say anything!
But all that came out was:
“I mean—your book! I was chasing… your… book.”
Aadhya tilted her head. “My book was running?”
Aarav rubbed his face. Smooth. Very smooth.
He walked over and handed it to her. “You dropped it. I thought you might need it.”
Aadhya smiled softly. “Thank you. You always notice small things.”
That one sentence was enough to turn Aarav into a malfunctioning robot.
Small things.
She noticed that he noticed small things.
Before he could respond, the librarian appeared like a ghost.
“Silence!” she snapped.
Aarav whispered back, “I am silent.”
The librarian glared. “You are whispering loudly.”
Aarav opened his mouth to argue but Aadhya grabbed his sleeve and pulled him to the other side of the shelves.
“Aarav, listen…” she hesitated, her fingers nervously tracing the spine of a book. “There’s something I wanted to tell you.”
His heart hammered.
Was this it?
Was the universe finally giving him a sign?
“Aarav, I…” she began softly.
But suddenly—
THUD!
A stack of books fell behind them, scattering like an explosion of paper.
Aarav jumped.
Aadhya jumped.
The librarian roared.
And the moment was gone.
Aadhya sighed. “It’s okay… we’ll talk later.”
Aarav nodded, trying to look calm even though every cell in his body was screaming.
But as she walked away, she turned and said with a tiny smile:
“By the way… I like that you ran for me.”
Aarav stopped breathing.
Completely.
If someone had asked him the alphabet at that moment, he would have replied:
“A… A… AAA… Aadhya.”
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- Writer
