Between Butterflies and Home

Between Two Conversations

By the fourth week of college, Ananya had stopped thinking of Vihaan as the new boy. He had become part of the classroom without anyone really noticing when it happened. He knew which professor expected everyone to bring their own notes, which canteen counter served food faster during lunch and which classroom had the broken fan that made everyone complain. He had also become someone Ananya spoke to almost every day, though their conversations were still simple and mostly connected to college.

Sometimes they discussed assignments while waiting for the professor. Sometimes Vihaan would ask her what topic the class had covered before he joined, and Ananya would explain it while complaining about how boring the lecture had been. Once, when he asked her where the library was, she confidently led him to the wrong building and only realised her mistake after they had walked halfway across campus. Vihaan laughed when she admitted that she had no idea where she was going.

"I thought you knew this college."

"I do."

"You just took me to the wrong building."

"That's different."

"How?"

Ananya smiled. "I was testing you."

"Right."

He didn't argue with her after that, but the next time he needed directions, he asked someone else. Ananya pretended to be offended, and he laughed. It was easy with him. There was no need to impress him or worry about what he thought of her. Their friendship had started quietly, almost without either of them deciding that they were becoming friends.

Aarav, however, had noticed.

He had never said anything directly, but Ananya had started catching small changes in him whenever Vihaan joined their group. Aarav would sometimes become quieter during conversations or find an excuse to sit besides her. He still behaved normally most of the time, teasing her about everything from her handwriting to the amount of food she ordered at the canteen, but there were moments when his attention seemed to stay on Vihaan longer than necessary.

One afternoon, the three of them were sitting in the library working on an assignment. Meera had gone to return a book, leaving Ananya, Aarav and Vihaan at the table. Ananya was trying to understand a question when Vihaan leant slightly towards her notebook.

"You skipped this part."

"I didn't skip it. I was going to do it."

"You've been saying that for five minutes."

"Because I'm thinking."

Aarav looked up from his own notes. "She's always like this."

Ananya frowned. "Like what?"

"She takes forever to start something and then finishes it in ten minutes."

"That's because I work well under pressure."

"That's because you create unnecessary pressure."

Vihaan smiled and went back to his notes. "You two really do sound like you've known each other forever."

"We have," Aarav said.

There was something in his voice that made Ananya glance at him, but he was already looking back at his notebook. She didn't know why that small statement had caught her attention. It was simply a fact. Aarav had known her longer than anyone else in their college, and sometimes she wondered whether that was why being around him felt so natural. He didn't need explanations for the things she did. He already knew the stories behind them.

Vihaan, on the other hand, was learning everything from the beginning.

He didn't know that Ananya hated overly sweet drinks or that she always checked her phone twice before leaving home. He didn't know that she became quiet when something was bothering her or that she tended to laugh when she was nervous. He was learning those things slowly, one ordinary conversation at a time.

That difference stayed somewhere in the back of her mind.

A few days later, Ananya had one of those mornings when everything seemed to go wrong. She woke up late, missed breakfast and arrived at college only a few minutes before the first lecture. By the time she reached the classroom, she was already irritated with herself. Aarav was sitting in his usual place, and the moment he saw her, he held up the packet of biscuits he had brought.

"You didn't eat, did you?"

Ananya stopped besides his desk. "How do you know?"

"I know you."

She took the packet from him. "You're annoying."

"I've heard that before."

She smiled and sat down.

It was a small thing, but it reminded her of how well Aarav knew her. He didn't need to ask whether she had eaten because he already knew what she was like when she was running late. He had been doing things like that for years.

Later that afternoon, however, something else happened.

Ananya had received a message from home that left her distracted for the rest of the day. It wasn't anything serious, but it was enough to put her in a bad mood. She didn't feel like explaining it to anyone, so when Meera asked if she was okay, Ananya simply said she was tired.

Aarav noticed too.

"You've been quiet."

"I'm fine."

"You're not."

"I'm just tired, Aarav."

He looked at her for a moment before trying to make her laugh. He started telling her a ridiculous story about something that had happened in class, exaggerating every part of it until Meera laughed. Ananya smiled too, but she didn't really feel like talking.

When the three of them were leaving the classroom, Vihaan walked besides her for a while without saying anything. Ananya expected him to ask what was wrong, but he didn't. They reached the staircase before he finally spoke.

"You don't have to tell me what's wrong."

She looked at him.

"I wasn't going to."

"I know."

She smiled slightly. "Then why did you say it?"

"Because sometimes people keep asking when they can see you're not ready to answer."

Ananya didn't know what to say to that. They continued walking down the stairs, and after a few seconds, Vihaan added, "If you want to talk later, I'll listen."

That was all.

He didn't ask questions or try to make her feel better. He didn't tell her that everything would be fine. He simply left the choice with her.

For some reason, she appreciated that more than she expected.

That evening, Ananya found herself thinking about the difference between the two boys. Aarav always knew when something was wrong and immediately tried to make it better. Sometimes that was exactly what she needed. Other times, she wanted someone to simply sit besides her without asking her to explain herself.

She wasn't comparing them intentionally. The thought just appeared.

And once it did, she couldn't completely ignore it.

The following week, their class was given a group assignment. The professor divided the students into teams, and Ananya ended up in a group with Meera, Vihaan and two other classmates. Aarav was assigned to a different group.

"I hate this," Aarav complained when he saw the list.

"You'll survive," Ananya told him.

"I was planning to work with you."

"You'll still see me."

"Not the same."

She laughed. "You're being dramatic."

"I've always been dramatic."

Vihaan, who was standing nearby, smiled. "At least he's honest."

Aarav looked at him. "You agree with her too quickly."

"I've only known her for a few weeks. I'm still collecting evidence."

Ananya laughed, and even Aarav smiled.

The assignment gave Ananya and Vihaan more time together. They stayed back after class to work on their section, exchanged notes and occasionally messaged each other about changes they needed to make. Their conversations slowly moved beyond college work. Vihaan told her about his previous college and the reason he had transferred. Ananya spoke about some of her plans for the future and admitted that she wasn't completely sure what she wanted to do after graduation.

"Everyone keeps asking," she said one evening while they were sitting in the library. "What do you want to do? Where do you see yourself in five years? And I'm just trying to get through this semester."

Vihaan laughed. "Maybe that's normal."

"Everyone acts like they have a plan."

"Most people are pretending."

She looked at him. "Do you have one?"

"Not really."

"That's disappointing."

"I know. I'm very mysterious."

She laughed again, and the conversation moved on.

There were no butterflies. No nervousness. No feeling that she had to remember every word he said.

And perhaps that was why Ananya didn't think of him romantically.

With Aarav, every small thing had started feeling important. A look across the classroom could stay in her mind for hours. A message could make her smile. A touch could make her heart race.

With Vihaan, she simply enjoyed being around him.

She didn't realise yet that there was something important in that difference.

One afternoon, after their group assignment was finally completed, Ananya and Vihaan walked towards the college gate together. They had been talking about the presentation when they noticed Aarav waiting near the parking area.

"Finally," he called when he saw Ananya. "I thought you'd forgotten about me."

"I didn't ask you to wait."

"I know."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I wanted to be."

Ananya smiled and walked towards him. Vihaan stopped a few steps away, giving them space.

Aarav looked at him before turning back to Ananya. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah."

She looked at Vihaan. "See you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

Aarav waited until they had started walking before asking, "You two spend a lot of time together."

Ananya glanced at him. "We have a group assignment."

"I know."

"Then why are you asking?"

He shrugged. "Just asking."

She smiled because the answer sounded familiar. "You're asking too many questions."

Aarav looked at her and smiled. "Maybe you're noticing more."

Ananya laughed, but something about the conversation stayed with her during the ride home.

That night, she opened her phone and found messages from both of them. Vihaan had sent her a picture of the presentation slide they had worked on, followed by a simple Don't forget to check this before tomorrow. Aarav had sent a completely unrelated message complaining about how boring his group was.

She replied to both.

Then she placed her phone besides her and stared at the ceiling.

For years, Aarav had been the person she naturally turned towards. He knew her past, her habits, her moods and the stories she had forgotten herself. Being with him felt familiar in a way nobody else could match.

Vihaan was different. He didn't know her history, but he was beginning to notice the person she was becoming. He listened when she wanted to talk and didn't push when she didn't. Their friendship had no expectations attached to it yet, and maybe that was why it felt so easy.

Ananya wasn't in love with Vihaan.

At least, she was sure she wasn't.

Her heart still belonged to the feeling she had discovered with Aarav—the excitement, the nervous smiles, the butterflies that made everything seem more important than it really was.

For now, she was simply learning that two people could occupy very different places in her life.

She just didn't know yet that those places would not stay separate forever.