Chapter 12
The next evening, Meera stood in front of her mirror for the third time.
She adjusted the hem of her dress nervously.
It was a soft blue dress she rarely wore — simple, but pretty. Her hair fell neatly over her shoulders, and she had even put on a little makeup.
Not too much.
Just enough.
She stared at her reflection for a moment.
Why are you this nervous? she thought.
It was just ice cream.
Just Rohan.
Still, her heart was beating much faster than usual.
When she reached the small mall where they had agreed to meet, Rohan was already there.
He was leaning against the railing near the ice cream shop, scrolling through his phone.
When he looked up and saw her, he froze for a second.
Then a slow smile spread across his face.
"Well," he said, pushing himself off the railing, "you look… different."
Meera raised an eyebrow.
"Different good or different bad?"
Rohan looked her up and down quickly before meeting her eyes again.
"Definitely good."
Her cheeks warmed immediately.
They walked toward the ice cream counter together.
"What flavor?" Rohan asked.
"Chocolate," Meera said instantly.
"Of course," he said with a small laugh.
They sat down on a bench nearby with their cups.
For a few minutes they just talked about random things — school, football, annoying teachers.
At one point, Meera accidentally got a little ice cream on the corner of her lip.
Rohan noticed.
"Hold on," he said.
Before she could react, he reached forward and gently wiped it away with his thumb.
Her entire body froze.
Their faces were suddenly very close.
"Messy," he teased softly.
Meera felt her heart do a dramatic flip.
She quickly looked down at her ice cream.
"Shut up," she muttered.
Rohan laughed.
After they finished eating, they walked further into the mall.
Near the entrance there was a small arcade-style game booth.
"You see that?" Rohan said suddenly.
"If I win that game, I'll get you something."
Meera crossed her arms playfully.
"Confident, aren't you?"
"Very."
The prize shelf behind the booth had a bunch of stuffed toys.
Rohan grabbed a basketball and aimed for the hoop.
His first shot missed.
Meera burst out laughing.
"Oh wow. So impressive."
"Relax," he said. "Warm-up shot."
His second shot went straight through the hoop.
The third one too.
A few minutes later, the game operator handed him a small brown teddy bear.
Rohan turned and handed it to her.
"For you."
Meera took it, smiling.
"You actually did it."
"Of course I did," he said proudly.
Then he handed her the ball.
"Your turn."
Meera rolled her eyes but stepped forward.
She threw the ball.
It bounced off the rim.
"Ugh," she muttered under her breath.
She tried again.
Miss.
"Seriously?" she groaned. "What the hell was that?"
Behind her, Rohan started laughing.
"Oh my God."
"What?" she said defensively.
"You have a pretty bad mouth."
Meera smirked.
"Don't act innocent. You're telling me you never curse?"
Rohan tilted his head slightly.
"Nope."
She stared at him suspiciously.
"That's impossible."
"Well," he said casually, stepping a little closer, "I guess that means we balance each other out."
Meera's heart started beating faster again.
"What do you mean?"
Rohan leaned slightly closer.
"I mean… maybe we're a perfect match."
For a moment, everything around them seemed to fade.
The arcade lights.
The noise of the mall.
Even the people walking past.
They were standing very close now.
Closer than before.
Meera could feel her breath catching in her throat.
Rohan looked at her for a long second.
It almost felt like he was going to kiss her.
She didn't move.
Neither of them did.
But at the last second, Rohan stepped back slightly.
He cleared his throat.
"So… uh… we should probably head out," he said casually.
Meera blinked, still slightly dazed.
"Yeah… probably."
As they walked out of the mall together, Meera hugged the teddy bear to her chest.
Her heart was still racing.
Because something about that moment felt like it could have changed everything.