NEXT DAY

Zara somehow managed to go to school, after listening to her mom's angry rants that how she's too lazy to do anything....

"Good morning Zara" Agastya chimed, his voice energetic.

"Morning," Zara said, her voice barely audible.

"Good morning, Zara" Agastya said, again a smile on his face stayed. She knew he was trying to lighten up her mood.

"Good morning, Agastya" Zara said, now with a small smile on her face.

Aaradhya who was walking near them, now cringed at her brother, when she grabbed Zara near her.

"Why do you keep on irritating her?" Aaradhya asked, giving him a side glare.

"She didn't say that I irritate her, no Zara" Agastya said, as three of them- Aaradhya, Siddharth and Agastya started looking at her.

"I-uh-" Zara started to talk, but because of all eyes lingering on her, her anxiety increased and she got quiet.

"What happened Zara?" Agastya asked, when Zara looked up

"Please don't look at me when I'm talking, I tend to get confused," she said, biting her lips. She thought that they'll laugh at her but to her surprise, they just looked in different directions sensing her uncomfortable.

"Now tell" Aaradhya said, when Zara looks at Agastya.

"He's also my friend, and I don't mind" Zara said, when a smile came on his face.

When Siddharth and Agastya went further, Aaradhya nudged at Zara's elbow, when she looked at her.

"Something something?" Aaradhya asked, raising her furrows to tease her, when Zara looked at Aaradhya while shaking her head negatively.

"Nothing," Zara said, "I'm not open for dating— so nothing, vaise bhi we just have a platonic bond, why to ruin it and make something special?"

"Yeah, vaise bhi how can you find something good in such a stupid guy, who has no speciality" Aaradhya said, when Zara looked at her.

"It's not like that, he's good— it's just that I... can't. Relationship and love... I don't think I deserve that" she said, shrugging her shoulders, her voice stuttering.

"Come'n Zara, who told you that you don't deserve it? You're so sweet and even the worst people who've done wrong things, don't make them less worthy of love, so you're so sweet how can you not?" Aaradhya explained.

Zara was left with no words— always being surrounded by people where love and friendship were merely just words, where she was shut down whenever she tried giving her opinions, she'd always learnt to be quiet.

She smiled weakly— as they walked to the lift.

..🩷..

Agastya opened the door knob, while Aaradhya went back to her parent's house for weekend.

He saw his father, who was watching television, while he kept the warm pulao in front of him.

"Good afternoon, papa" Agastya said, formally.

"Why're you so formal? Talk normally!" His father ordered.

"Me? No" he said, when he opens his room and went inside. He took a deep sigh— his father was about to have a court marriage soon.

He looked at the picture of his mother once, when he went to change.

He was 7 when she died.

He couldn't blame his father for moving on, but a part of his heart still breaks every time he thought about the future...

No matter how hard he tried to forget the recent events, it keeps on ringing in his head.

..🩷..

Zara bits her lips, as she was about to go to sleep. Sleepy was the last thing she'd even feel. She saw Agastya sad whole day, and even Aaradhya told the same thing to her.. and somehow deep inside her heart, she felt heaviness.

She tossed and turned on her bed, staring at the dull walls of her room. She reached for her phone, but the light hurt her eyes.

"Oww who the hell increased its brightness?" She muttered, yawning when she heard a knock on her door.

It was Siddharth.

"Janwar bhi insaano vali harkate krte hai? Tu knock karke aaya aaj door" Zara said, as she half stood from her bed, when Siddharth kept the plate on her bed.

"Start eating, or else you'll die" Siddharth said, as he switched the lights of her room on.

"I'll survive anyway, I can't let my part of property go" she said, while Siddharth sat on her bed.

"And I can't miss the chance to dance 'gadi vala aaya, kachra utha' on your marriage, so you better start eating, I saw you last night, how weak you're" Siddharth said, as Zara's eyes widened in shock.

"Last night?" Her stomach twisted, as she remembered how she struggled to reach the kitchen, the way she fainted while eating.

"Yeah, how can you just doze off when you were studying, Sunita aunty was like she fell unconscious," Siddharth said, when Zara took a deep sigh in relief. He didn't saw her late at night. "And you grew so weak"

"Hm, of course"

"Are you okay?" Siddharth asked, "Look, I know you're but still if there is something, tell me, or else I don't want to be that bad brother"

She shook her head negatively. "Of course not, and you're already very bad to be worse"

Siddharth rolled his eyes, "no matter what I do, I'll be always labelled as a bad brother"

"Because, you're that... monkey. WORST HUMAN BEING" Zara said, when Siddharth asked her to eat the food, when her throat went dry.

All the words died inside her mouth. She parted her lips to speak, but nothing came.

Siddharth who was looking at her,  now became tensed.

"Oii?" He asked, long gone those casual eye rolls.

" You are just overthinking, Sid" Zara said, as indicated him the time in the clock. It was already 3:30  which meant that he soon had a class Sidharth, who was the randomly just sitting now stood up and went away as he looked at her sister, who was uncomfortable

Zara, who was just sitting now, decided to message Agastya.

"Should I message him, or what?" She thought, hiding the plate. She didn't wanted to eat.

She lay down on her bed again, this time half-closing the door.

"I shouldn't call or text him, it'll look odd..." Zara muttered under her breath, "I shouldn't care about him, so much,"

Zara thought, it'd help her sleep, but her mind was struck with his thoughts... how can she abandon him? After all he's her friend.

But then he's a guy, what if he takes her friendship as something else? She doesn't want to ruin the platonic bond she shared with him. Maybe it would be the same from his side, so why risk it?

She opened her phone and started scrolling Instagram— because sleep was the last thing she'd...

It's been days since she used her own phone, her Instagram account....

She opened the old account after like 8-9 months. She removed the account after she broke up with Tanav. Her hands shaking as she opened the account, as if she was trying to do something illegal....

The account bombarded with messages— as if her whole school texted her up, but her throat went dry as she saw the pinned message.

She was no longer blocked by him.
He texted her?
4+ messages— 2 days ago.

..🩷..

Agastya wanted to pack his things and leave the home at that point, his father just left the home to go back to his work, but the home grew suffocating...

He lay down on the bed, his willingness to do anything disappearing... he didn't knew what it was but everything in his head was juggling.

A lone tear escaped his eye. He just wanted to escape, from the life he was living...

Even though he'd his friends who deeply cared for him, and he can never forget it— he knew it very well that there's no one he can actually share with...

The worst thing about having male friends is that they will never understand the emotional weightage of your heart... you just can't share that with them or else it starts becoming weird.

He couldn't share it with anyone... because he felt as that attention seeker which he doesn't want to be. The burden he thought he'll become right after he told all this to someone.

..🩷..

It was again night time, he didn't even knew when he was again at terrace, and again he saw her...

"Aa gayi aap, terrace ki bhoot" Agastya said, expecting no reply from her, as she sat but no— she replied.

(You came? The ghost of terrace)

"Sahiba se sidha terrace vali bhoot? Bahut ache chal rahe hai aap, kamyabi ki raahh par hai" She said, when Agastya just chuckled. "Agastya"

Zara said, as he lowered his eyes at the floor and hummed. Since, she cleared that she wasn't comfortable talking with looking in someone's eyes and then talk so he decided not to talk in that way...

"You know I'm not good at emotions, and everything, so I can't hide that I'm concerned for you, you can share anything with me and it'd be confidential between us" She said, when Agastya looked at her with widened eyes. He never thought Zara caring about him, not even in his expectations... "and don't think I'm doing this because I pity on you, I, myself have struggled with many things..." she struggled to say, as he stomach twisted.

After taking a long breath, Zara looked at him, ".... And I'm still struggling. It hurts, but that doesn't make you stupid, I mean we've feelings so we're supposed to talk no?"

Agastya wouldn't have had this much collective conversation with her as they do now.

"You can say whatever is in your head, I'm all ears" Zara said, when he broke into tears.

It started with small sobs, when he stopped blinking fast, and within a few minutes, it turned loud.

"I miss my mom, you know, when I was a child my life was completely different", he said, "my parents used to be happy, but suddenly mumma died— she'd an accident, she was about to come after shopping, but then... she never came, she died on the way to hospital..."

Agastya cried, while Zara silently heard him. She didn't spoke a word, as she kept on listening to him.

"I was 7... papa left me alone... sometimes dadi used to come, but nobody wanted to take my responsibility. I was abandoned by everyone... my father appointed a maid for me" he said, wiping his tears. His voice was shaking, when Zara quietly heard him, her hands trembled. "I didn't wanted to be the burden Zara,"

"It's not like my papa.. didn't tried.. but he is not the man he was... after mumma went, he just couldn't be that man. He stopped showing up, and whenever he did, he was either tired or annoyed. Most of the time— both"

Zara couldn't utter a word, or maybe words never came from her mouth.

"... I can't even think that I hate them... I don't want to be that cry baby, problematic one"

"You never were" Zara said, when he shook his head.

He just stood up... "Zara please try not to see me with the eye of pity" he said, when she looked at him.

"I can never pity on a strong person, Agastya" she said, a smile came on her face.

There was a silence between them.. but it sounded comfortable.

Agastya smiled at her. "Sahiba, I never thought you speak so much"

"Phir shuru ho gaye!" Zara muttered under her breath, taking a deep sigh.

"Main khatam hi kab hua tha" Agastya teased her, when she was just giving him frustrated looks. "How do you feel after being a friend with the most popular guy of school?" He asked, passing a hand through his hairs.

"You are not the only one who's popular... you just haven't seen me in my last school, you'd known the meaning of popular" Zara said.

"I guess your marks got ruined after watching my charm, or else if you're popular so you'd be a—" Agastya was speaking when Zara glared at him.

Her glare felt so sharp as if someone pieced a glare through his soul. Agastya looked at a blank space...

"Good night then?" Agastya asked, when Zara hummed.

Her eyes fell on the watch, which showed 2:30 AM.

"Holy shit, it's too late!" Zara said, when Agastya said.

"Come'n, we're always here at this time" Agastya said.

"Hm, still I shouldn't come this late" Zara said, going back.

"Why Zara, something something?" Agastya winked at her.

"Nothing!" Zara said, turning back to him. "Vaise bhi we can be nothing more than friends,"

She said, as she went downstairs.

.....

Tbc <3
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