After that message — "I missed you too" — something in me shifted.
I started noticing the little things.
How Adithya waited for me outside the class.
How he never teased me like he teased others.
How he always smiled when our eyes met.
And somehow, I smiled too.
Everyone noticed.
They would tease us in that playful, childish way.
"Aysha is special to him."
"He doesn't talk like that with anyone else!"
I'd laugh it off. But deep inside, I wondered — why only me?
While I was caught up in these quiet moments with Adithya, I didn't realize what I was doing to someone else.
Arskaan.
He was always there — smiling, making jokes, sending funny reels.
He was the one who said good morning with memes, the one who'd tug at the crab clip in my hair just to make me roll my eyes and smile.
But lately… I had started replying less.
I laughed more with Adithya.
I sat beside him. Walked beside him. Talked to him. Waited for his messages.
I didn't mean to ignore Arskaan.
But I did.
And he noticed.
One afternoon, he didn't sit with me during lunch.
No teasing. No reels. No usual banter. Just silence.
When I finally asked, "Why are you so quiet today?"
He gave me a soft smile — the kind that didn't reach his eyes — and said,
"Nothing, Aysha. Maybe I'm just… not part of your little world anymore."
My heart sank.
I hadn't realized how much space Adithya had taken in my world… and how little I had left for Arskaan.
And it hurt.
Because he had always been there.
Cheerful. Kind. Real.
I wanted to say sorry.
But sometimes, silence is louder than words.
After that message — "I missed you too" — something in me shifted.
I started noticing the little things.
How Adithya waited for me outside the class.
How he never teased me like he teased others.
How he always smiled when our eyes met.
And somehow, I smiled too.
Everyone noticed.
They would tease us in that playful, childish way.
"Aysha is special to him."
"He doesn't talk like that with anyone else!"
I'd laugh it off. But deep inside, I wondered — why only me?
While I was caught up in these quiet moments with Adithya, I didn't realize what I was doing to someone else.
Arskaan.
He was always there — smiling, making jokes, sending funny reels.
He was the one who said good morning with memes, the one who'd tug at the crab clip in my hair just to make me roll my eyes and smile.
But lately… I had started replying less.
I laughed more with Adithya.
I sat beside him. Walked beside him. Talked to him. Waited for his messages.
I didn't mean to ignore Arskaan.
But I did.
And he noticed.
One afternoon, he didn't sit with me during lunch.
No teasing. No reels. No usual banter. Just silence.
When I finally asked, "Why are you so quiet today?"
He gave me a soft smile — the kind that didn't reach his eyes — and said,
"Nothing, Aysha. Maybe I'm just… not part of your little world anymore."
My heart sank.
I hadn't realized how much space Adithya had taken in my world… and how little I had left for Arskaan.
And it hurt.
Because he had always been there.
Cheerful. Kind. Real.
I wanted to say sorry.
But sometimes, silence is louder than words.