Riya

I walked across the campus towards the cafe, scrolling through Abhay's Instagram. He had posted some new pictures that I made sure not to like accidentally. The clouds in the sky were making the weather pleasant, but now I was starting to miss the sun. When thoughts run in your mind, the weather that you find pleasant may also turn into a dislike.

I was almost there when I spotted Dhruv leaning against the lights, scrolling on his phone. My feet stopped, and for a while, I contemplated whether to ignore him or not. I was going to his place this evening, but that was more for the elders. I would show my face, pretend everything was fine, and run away. This way, the issue would quietly go back under the rug because I had no intention of talking it out with this guy.

He had made his point that day after the game. My anger had subsided considerably, and instead of boiling anger, all I felt was a resigned indifference. Sometimes, no matter how hard we tried, saving someone was not an option when the person himself wanted to drown.

I walked towards him, making up my mind. He looked up from his phone when I stood in front of him.

"Are you done tattling to my mother? Or do you have anything else to tell her?" I asked, folding my hands in front.

He straightened up, his eyes narrowing. "I didn't tattle. Your mother made that conclusion herself."

I scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping me. "Oh, so you're just going to pretend like you didn't have anything to do with it? She wouldn't have said anything if you hadn't opened your mouth first." I intended each sharp tone in my voice.

He shoved his phone into his pocket. "I'm not the one who's the problem here. You're the one who's always playing the good sibling, acting like you have it all together when it's obvious you don't. You just want to pretend like everything's fine when it's not."

"You think I'm the one pretending? You've been shutting me out for weeks, Dhruv. I'm trying to figure out what the hell is going on with you, and all you do is push me away. Don't act like I'm the one causing all of this."

"Oh please, Riya. You're just mad because you think I'm ruining your perfect little idea of a family. You've got your friends, your perfect grades, your perfect...everything. Meanwhile, I'm just trying to keep it together, and you–" He stopped himself, frustration bubbling up. "You don't even see it."

The words hit me harder than I expected, and for a moment, I couldn't respond. Instead, I just stood there, staring at him. "What do you want me to see, Dhruv?"

His jaw clenched. "Maybe I need you to stop acting like you're the only one who's allowed to have problems. I'm not you, Riya. I don't need to wear everything on my sleeve. Maybe you're the one who should start seeing that."

I took a step back, ignoring the sting of his words. None of his words were unexpected, but still, the sting persisted. "I never asked for you to be like me, Dhruv. I just wanted to know what was going on with you. But you've been shutting me out, acting like I'm the enemy, and I'm so tired of trying to figure it out when you won't let me. You have chosen your friends over and over again. Acting like I am the nuisance of your life. Then, accusing me of...this."

My whole life revolved around my family and my people. After making up so many lies to cover him, creating excuses for him, and saving him from the wrath of his parents, this is what I get.

He didn't answer at first. The silence between us felt heavy, and I could see the weight of everything he wasn't saying in his eyes. But instead of softening, his gaze hardened. My plea went unanswered.

"You don't get it," he muttered, running a hand through his hair, "I don't need you to fix me, Riya. You want everything to be simple, to just sweep it all under the rug. But that's not how things work."

I held back the frustration threatening to rise, trying to keep my voice steady. "I'm just trying to help, but if you won't let me, what am I supposed to do?"

His eyes flickered with something—regret, maybe, or just plain anger—but then he turned away, looking down at the ground. "I don't know," he said, his voice quieter now, but the tension was still there. "Maybe it's better if you stop trying so hard."

I stood there, staring at him, the weight of his words settling on me like a thick fog. No words were going to fix this. Trying to do so was pointless. Dhruv had made up his mind, and I was done playing the one left trying to catch up.

I exhaled slowly, fighting back the frustration and hurt that bubbled up. "I already have."

With that, I turned on my heel, walking away without looking back. My heart was heavy, and my mind was racing, but I knew that this—whatever this was—wasn't something I could fix. Not today. Not ever. This was something he needed to figure out on his own, and in the search, if our relationship was going to suffer, then so be it.

I walked ahead, rationalizing my hurt. But the thing about hurt was that it didn't work on rational thoughts. My nose was tingling, and I prayed to all the goddesses that I wouldn't bawl my eyes out here.

I took a deep breath and opened the door of the cafe, carefully plastering a smile that would not give away that I was on the verge of crying. The smell of coffee and the baked goods enveloped me in a hug and some of my stress dissolved right away.

My eyes instinctively went to the table in the corner by the window, and as usual, Abhay sat there with his eyes on his phone. He looked up when the bell on the door tinkled and his eyes met mine.

A warmth spread through me, but I reminded myself that he had a big part in Dhruv turning like this. I turned my head away and walked to the back room to change into my T-shirt.

After changing, I came out to see Angie at the cash register.

"I can take it up from here," I said, and she nodded, stepping aside. Since the day of the party, there was this awkwardness hanging around us. I agree, most of the time I was oblivious to what went around, but even I knew what was going on between them. Whatever it was, it was between them and I was no one to question it. But somehow, she was being roped up into Dhruv and mine issue and I didn't like that. And it showed on my face.

Dhruv's behavior was messing with the only genuine friendship I had in the college and I was letting him do that. Why did he have to go after my friend?

"A cappuccino, please." A student asked, and I got busy with the orders to take my mind off things, all while feeling his eyes on me, which I promptly ignored.

The evening started turning darker and darker, and the quiet hum of the cafe turned silent as slow music flowed in the background. It was time to close the cafe, and it was my turn to do that. I looked outside to see the campus lights turned on. Angie and Sam had left for the day.

I looked at Abhay, who still sat in the corner, typing away on his laptop. Three coffee cups without the cafe's symbol-which was a coffee cup overflowing with coffee beans-were scattered around on his table. I didn't bother picking them up as there was no point. It was his usual routine. On the way to become a workaholic.

I couldn't ignore him anymore. Making up my mind, I started walking towards his table. Whatever he worked on, it was definitely not a college assignment. Was it related to his company? Was he helping out?

I stopped in front of him, waiting for him to acknowledge me. He didn't.

"Abhay," I said, his name tasting strange on my tongue for some reason. "We're closed."

He looked up. The bags under his eyes told me he had been staring at the screen for a little bit too much. Or maybe he didn't sleep last night.

The silence stretched, and he cracked his neck with leisure as if he was in no hurry. It pissed me off.

"You've been here for hours," I said, turning it a notch sharper. "Don't you have a place to go to?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "Concerned about my well-being, Ms. Saviour?"

I narrowed my eyes. "It's called irritation and annoyance. You take up the whole corner like you own the place."

"Well, considering how often I'm here, I might as well." He smirked.

I exhaled, reminding myself not to let him get under my skin. "Look, I don't care what you're doing, but you can't stay here all night."

He didn't reply for a second, looking straight into my eyes. I was still not used to the intensity. It was as if he could read everything that went inside my mind. "You look like you've had a rough day."

I stiffened, caught off guard by the comment. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Right," he said, still looking. "But you do know you're terrible at hiding it, right?"

He raised an eyebrow when I didn't reply, his gaze steady. "I want to know why you're acting like I've personally offended you."

I scoffed. "Maybe because you're too full of yourself to realize that not everything is about you?"

"Hmm," he said lazily, and for some reason, I could feel the vibrations to my toes. "So, it's not about me. Then what is it about?"

When I didn't reply, he got up, pulled a chair, and gestured for me to sit down. Without a thought, I sat down in front of him.

"It's Dhruv, okay? It's everything. He's shutting me out, and I don't know what to do anymore. I'm trying—" I took a deep breath to not lose it all. "I was trying so hard to fix things, and nothing was working. Then, I gave up. Now, I feel guilty about giving up. And then there's you, sitting there like none of this affects you when you've been such a big part of why he's changed."

His expression softened the sharp edges of his usual demeanor dulling. "Riya, I know you're trying. I see it, even if Dhruv doesn't."

I blinked. "You...do?"

His voice was quieter now. "You tried holding everything together for everyone else, and it's exhausting. I get it." He leaned forward slightly, his gaze locking with mine. "But maybe that's the problem.."

I crossed my arms, the frustration still simmering. "If you see so much, then why aren't you helping him? You're supposed to be his friend. Yet these days, it's like you're not even there for him."

Abhay's eyebrows furrowed. "I am there for him, always,"

"That's not good enough," I said, looking down at the empty cups. "You were practically inseparable before. Now you're barely together. What happened?"

He blinked as if thinking if he should say it or not. "Why do you think, we're barely together?"

I frowned. "Most of the time, you're here. He's somewhere alone." I searched his face for answers. "Is it because of me?"

His eyes widened, startled. "What?"

"Because we don't get along," I pressed, my voice quieter now. "Is that why you've distanced yourself from him?"

"Little Ms. Svaiour, I'm not going leave my friend because his sister doesn't approve of us." His eyes turned somber. "What you're friends are for you, Dhruv is for me."

I took a shaky breath, "Then why." I whispered. "He looks up to you, you know."

For a moment, he didn't answer. The silence stretched between us, heavy and full of things neither of us knew how to say. Finally, he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm not the best person to look up to, and he knows that." He said, looking outside the glass windows.

I exhaled, resigned. "I just..." My voice faltered. "I don't want to lose him. And I feel as if I have already lost him. I know I can not help him. And I have no idea what to do."

He studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, quietly, he said, "You don't need to help him. Something he needs to sort out himself."

The weight of his words settled over me, and for the first time, I felt a strange sense of solidarity with him. Maybe that was enough, for now.

"I work most of the time. So, we're not together most of the time these days. I've taken up some work at...dad's office." He said, looking outside.

I stared at him, processing his words. "Why are you telling me this?" I asked softly. It was new for him to divulge personal information so causally.

He shrugged, his gaze returning to me. "Because you needed to know."

The vulnerability in his voice, though faint, was enough to make me pause. For a moment, the weight of everything, Dhruv, Abhay, and my own emotions, felt like too much to carry. But his presence, as annoying as it could be, grounded me in a way I couldn't explain. And that scared me.

"I don't know what to do with any of this," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.

Abhay leaned back in his chair, studying me with a look that felt too knowing. "You don't have to figure it all out tonight. Sometimes, it's okay to let things be. And when you're ready, talk to him."

I nodded absentmindedly. "Are you sure your mother wouldn't mind me painting the wall?" I asked, trying to change the topic. I suddenly felt too exposed.

"I talked to her. She said it's fine." He said, observing me as if I was some exotic animal.

"Wasn't it supposed to be a surprise?" I asked.

"Yeah. Veer thinks she doesn't know." He said, amused at the antics of his brother. A smile formed on the face. I ignored the warmth blooming inside and looked at the wall clock, It was already too late.

"I'll lock the place up," I said, getting up.

"I'll help out." He said, getting up from his chair.

"What? No."

"I didn't ask for your permission. And Riya-" I jumped when he took my name. "Instead of stalking my account, you can just follow me." He smirked, and I wanted the earth to open and swallow me whole.

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