Chapter 12

Third person point of view

Aravind let out a long sigh as soon as they were out. Dev laughed at his exasperation. " So where are we going ? " Dev asked with a smile. " To my house ". " That's it ? " Aravind nodded. " I said we have somewhere to go. My house ". Dev laughed again. " Nice. Let's go then ". They really did go to Aravind's house. 

Music was blasting through the house as soon as they entered. Atharva was also at home and probably working. The loud music was his stress reliever. The house beside theirs was empty and the on the other side was Dev's. So luckily there were no complaints. Dev spoke loudly due to the volume of the music. 

" Your parents aren't home ? " Aravind shook his head. " They had to go to some party or something ". Dev nodded. They went to Aravind's room. " Your brother never changes ". Dev said and Aravind laughed and nodded. Dev smiled. He sat down on the bed after putting his bag away and groaned. 

Aravind also put his things in their places and frowned. " I will take a shower and be back. I smell like a cafe ". Dev chuckled. Aravind pouted a little. " Really. Here ". He stepped closer and held his shirt, letting Dev smell it. Dev stiffened for a second. But he leaned down a little and took a breath. 

Aravind really did smell like a café. Dev clenched his fists as he almost pulled Aravind closer to smell it properly. Weirdly, he kind of liked Aravind smelling that way. He controlled his expression and looked up. He didn't say anything and just gave a small nod. Aravind moved away and pointed out. 

" See. Just give me five minutes ". He went to the bathroom with his towel. Dev finally came back to his senses after the door was locked with a click. He let out a light gasp. He felt Aravind's body heat and smell so closely that he almost lost his rationality. He let out a groan and put his head in his hands. 

He could hear the drowned out music coming through the closed door. And even with it, he could hear the water splashing in the bathroom like it was right beside his ear. The more he tried to ignore, the more amplified it felt. His mind couldn't stop thinking about all kinds of things. The images forming in his mind were hard to get rid of. 

Dev felt his heart speed up little by little. Every time he saw Bhargav, he felt something that was almost a sense of crisis. It was like he was helpless and even if he was acting like he was more than a friend, it was not the case in reality. The conflict in his mind was something he didn't know how to handle. 

The sound of the door opening fished him out of his thoughts. Dev turned in the direction and his pupils dilated. Aravind walked out after finishing his bath. He only had a towel around his waist and droplets of water were gliding down his body. Aravind had been fit even without exercising a lot.

As he was the type who didn't gain weight even if he ate a lot, he definitely had a nice amount of muscle. Dev just stared at Aravind, forgetting to even blink. Aravind was in a hurry and forgot to take a change of clothes with him. So he had to walk out like that. Not like they hadn't seen each other like this before, but it was a rare occurrence. 

So it was a bit awkward for him. Aravind wanted to say something to ease his own mind but he froze when he met Dev's gaze. Aravind blinked not able to decipher what Dev's eyes meant. Dev's eyes slowly travelled up from Aravind's waist till his eyes. Aravind felt a shiver down his spine.

Dev stood up slowly and took a few steps before stopping in front of Aravind. Aravind was still in the same place, just looking at Dev not knowing what was happening. Dev's eyes were fixed on Aravind's lips. He gulped and lifted his eyes from Aravind's lips. His eyes traced along the contours and he noticed Aravind's eyelashes were actually long.

They looked beautiful at the moment and like feathers dipped in black ink. He finally met Aravind's eyes. Aravind pursed his lips. Aravind felt a bit of a danger at the eye contact. His instincts were starting to kick in. But before he could think properly, Dev moved forward. Aravind couldn't even register it. 

Dev already held his face and kissed him on his lips. Aravind was shocked out of his mind. He could feel the touch of Dev's lips on his own. Dev just stayed like that without doing anything else. Aravind came out of the stupor and quickly pushed Dev away. Dev took a step back. Aravind stared at him in utter shock and disbelief. 

Dev moved forward again and Aravind walked backwards. His back finally hit the wall and he felt a little scared. His heart was running so fast, it was starting to scare him. He raised his hand and slapped Dev. Dev's face turned to the side due to the impact and Aravind just watched him, still not able to digest the whole situation. 

His hand stung a little, giving him a bit of clarity. He saw Dev blink a few times as if coming out of a daze. And now when he looked up at Aravind, he looked only half apologetic. Aravind didn't know what the other half was. He couldn't grasp the situation and frowned. Dev's cheek turned red.

Dev did come back to his senses and realized what he just did. But he didn't know what to do or say. He knew very well that a sorry is not going to solve this. And he also had a lot of explanation to do now. Aravind watched as Dev's jaw clenched as he stared right back at him. The red on his cheek became a bit more prominent.

Aravind did not use that much of his strength but it definitely would hurt. He abruptly remembered one of his classmates saying that Dev was the most handsome when he looked mad. The thought flashed in his mind and it suddenly hit him why they said so. He didn't know this guy was this handsome. Had he always been so ? 

Aravind knew that back then he just dismissed it but now seeing it up close, he knew that girl was right. He gulped and curled his fingers. The sting in his hand from the slap brought him back to his senses once again. He got rid of all those thoughts and grit his teeth. " Get out ". Aravind said and looked away. 

Dev wanted to speak but Aravind appeared really reluctant, so he left the room. He closed the door softly and walked out of the house. Aravind let out a shaky breath and leaned back onto the wall. It was as if the brave front just now was an act and he used up all his will to keep the facade. He slid down to sit on the floor. 

He could now hear the music coming from his brother's room once again. He felt himself come back to his senses fully. Looked like his brother didn't know the things happening in this room; especially since the doors were also closed. " What is this ? " Aravind talked to himself and touched his lips. 

It felt like he was struck by lightning. He pulled his hand away in a flash. His brain didn't even register the kiss completely. There were a million questions in his mind and he wanted to know the answers. He also knew that now was not the right time. He sat there for a few seconds till he felt better. He then got up and put on some clothes. 

He sat down on the bed and just stared into space not caring about how much time passed. He came out of the trance when Atharva knocked on the door. Aravind opened the door. " What is it ? " " Dinner ". He walked out and had it. Once he was done, he went back to his room and sat in the chair at his desk, falling into a daze. 

On the other hand, Dev felt like punching something. He didn't know why he did that. He kept blaming himself for acting like that without thinking. He kept typing different messages but didn't send any of them. He didn't even know what to do. He screamed into the pillow and felt mad at himself. But had nowhere to show any of this or anyone to share with. 

He did use some ice on his cheek which swelled a little. Luckily he escaped his parents after giving some excuses. He would have no explanation for it if they saw it. He also put on some ointment to get rid of the marks and redness. He couldn't even sleep on that side so not to press on it. The both of them couldn't sleep well for some different and some similar reasons.

-MG