Chapter 13 – The First I Love You
Love doesn't always arrive with fireworks.
Sometimes, it shows up quietly—in a hallway between classes, in the hush of shared headphones, in glances that last just a little too long.
But when it's time to say the words… the world pauses.
—
It had been two months.
Two months since Mehar and Aarav had silently agreed to something deeper than friendship.
Two months of coffee cups, late-night calls, inside jokes, and forehead kisses.
But the words hadn't come.
Not because they weren't felt—but because sometimes, the heart waits for the perfect moment it doesn't even know it's waiting for.
—
The moment arrived on a Thursday.
It was supposed to be an ordinary school day.
Mehar had been preparing for a solo presentation—something she hated. Public speaking wasn't her strength, and even though she masked her nerves with calm, Aarav knew her too well.
He watched her from the crowd as she stepped onto the stage.
Her hands trembled slightly. Her voice quivered at the first sentence. But then she found him in the audience.
And something in her steadied.
When it ended, the applause was thunderous—but all she saw was him.
—
Later, when the hall had emptied and the sky had turned dusky blue, they met in their usual corner behind the auditorium.
"I was awful," Mehar muttered, pulling her hair into a messy bun.
"You were brilliant," Aarav replied instantly. "You always are. Even when you think you're falling apart."
She looked at him then, really looked. His eyes had always been steady, but now they held something even deeper. Something that made her heart ache in the best way.
"I was scared," she confessed.
"I know," he said. "But you did it anyway. That's what makes you brave."
There was a long pause.
Then she whispered it—barely audible.
"I love you."
The world held its breath.
Aarav froze. Just for a second.
Then his expression softened—like everything inside him had been waiting for that moment.
He stepped closer, gently took her hand, and said, "I've loved you since before I even understood what love felt like. I just didn't know it had your name."
—
It wasn't dramatic. No grand gesture.
Just two people standing in the fading light, finally saying what their hearts had been screaming for weeks.
And yet, it felt like the most important moment in the universe.
—
They didn't kiss that day.
They didn't need to.
Because some "I love yous" are louder than touch.
Some are felt in the way you exhale after holding your breath for too long.
And that day, they both breathed.
Together.