Nitya and Avyan

Nitya didn't want to admit it but she knew that Avyan cared for her. A lot. If he didn't, she wouldn't have to go to such lengths for a guy. And he was just not any other guy for her. As much as she wanted to deny it, Nitya knew that her feelings for Avyan ran deep. Probably not as deep as the Pacific Ocean yet, but she was halfway there.

This was the kind of moment she was dreading since she had started her game. Since that day, whenever she had encountered Avyan, he was either guilty or angry. She was the one who had grabbed the upper hand. Always.

But no! This Avyan seemed like the old Avyan.

The Avyan she had witnessed when she was alone. The Avyan who had swiftly carried her in his arms when she was freaking out over lizards in the abandoned warehouse where they had accidentally gotten stuck together, back when they considered each other as enemies. The Avyan who had pushed her under the shower in his bathroom when she had barged into his room impulsively to yell at him for something he had no hand in. The Avyan who had caressed her face on his bed back when they were still denying that they considered each other anything more than enemies. The Avyan who had kissed her on the opening night of their music festival. The Avyan whom her mind wished to avoid since the day she decided to play this game with him. The Avyan whom her heart seemed to long for since that fateful night despite her being extremely hurt by his actions.

Avyan closed the distance between them with his long strides and came to stand just five inches away from her. Nitya craned her neck upwards to gaze into his brown irises that always seemed like chocolate syrup on top of coffee to her. The swirling emotions in his eyes matched her own.

Love. Care. Longing. Hurt. Anger. Guilt.

Avyan lifted his right hand hesitatingly, giving her time to back away before resting his palm on her cheek softly. He brushed her cheek with his fingers which sent shivers down her spine. Tucking a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes, he whispered, "Beautiful."

Nitya didn't know whether to cry and lean into his palm or shove him away. Her mind was telling her to protect herself, to stop him from having that control over her again. Whereas her heart was encouraging her to fall in his embrace, to hold him close. If not forever, maybe just for one night.

"What are you doing here, Avyan?" Nitya stood there still in his arms, her one arm resting on his heart and the other clenched into a fist behind his back, debating with herself whether to give into his embrace completely or not.

"Even I don't know the answer to this question, Nitya." Avyan's eyes were fixed on her eyes. Neither of them wanted to move, afraid of breaking the moment. She wanted to stay in his arms just a little while longer before she had to push him away. And he was afraid of coming back to reality, where Nitya wasn't his anymore.

"I want to be mad at you. For dressing up for someone else. For smiling at someone else. For spending time with someone else. For giving that opportunity to arrange a special night for you to someone else. For having someone else to be your first partner." Avyan breathed out as his eyes clouded over with hurt and anger.

"But, this is what you wanted. Isn't it, Avyan?" Nitya replied back with a question of her own.

"I didn't know it would hurt this much. I didn't know it would make me want to drag you out on my shoulder and lock you up in a tower. I f***ing didn't know that each living moment, I would be wanting to punch myself in the face over and over again." Nitya wanted to laugh out loud at Avyan's words but she didn't say anything.

She didn't want to bare her heart to Avyan; not yet, at least. She might trust him in matters concerning her physical being, but her emotional being had taken a huge toll when Avyan broke her heart. She was fresh out of her teens with no guiding figure in sight who would help her explain to her the matters of the heart and mind. One might argue that she had her Aunt, an Uncle and even a doting grandmother to share her feelings with. But the Sanghvis were a semi-conservative family who was still not open to communication between the younger and the older generation. The only hope was Nikith who had just entered the picture not a long while ago.

"But I never was yours, don't you remember?" Nitya's tone was soft but her eyes were filled with agony. Her words sent a jolt of sadness down his heart. He was aware of his actions and their consequences. But did he regret his actions? Not yet.

Sometimes people forget that someone's eyes are the windows to one's soul. Like a blank canvas, they display each and every emotion to anyone who wants to see past the glass. And Nitya always saw what lurked behind Avyan's usual arrogant brattiness; she knew that he was not yet apologetic for giving her up for his best friend.

It was not like she wanted him to disregard his best friend and consider her his first priority. She was more annoyed by the fact that let alone her, he didn't prioritize himself in front of his friends. If he had broken her heart because he didn't want to be with her, she would have preferred that more than putting her in someone else's lap like coaxing a child with a toy.

So, as much as it hurt her to admit this, she and he had a long journey ahead of them.

From Avyan and Nitya, two separate individuals to 'one'!