"I will gauge your eyes out."

🌀

Suhana and Arav arrived at the Lake Mall. The place was bustling with people. Girls moved in groups with hands full with paper bags, talking with each other animatedly. There was an energetic buzz in the air. They headed towards the food court.

"What do you want to eat?" Arav asked. Suhana looked around before settling on a small cafe at one corner. She walked up to it. The guy behind the desk looked up at her.

"One strawberry smoothie please," Suhana said with a smile. She turned around to look at Arav. "What do-"

"Make that two." Arav smiled at the guy who nodded in return.

"You drink strawberry smoothies?" Suhana arched an eyebrow.

"Trying it for the first time because you ordered it," Arav confessed timidly. Suhana laughed at his shyness.

Their order was serves in no time. Ignoring Suhana's protests, Arav paid for their order. He handed one of the smoothie to Suhana and looped his hand through hers.

Suhana was taken aback by this gesture but soon eased into the touch. She took a sip of her smoothie and sighed in ecstasy.

"It's actually good," Arav complimented after taking a sip. Suhana grinned at him.

"Of course it is," replied Suhana haughtily. "It's my choice after all."

Arav laughed and soon, Suhana joined in.

"Tell me where do you want to go now?" Arav asked. Suhana hummed as her eyes scanned the possible targets.

"Let's go to that store first." She pointed towards a store whose front is decorated with mannequins decked in colourful clothes. 'Fashly' was written in bold flashing letters above the store.

Suhana dragged Arav towards the store. They kept their school bags at the counter and wandered in the store. A slow calm music was humming in the store through some hidden speaker in there.

Rows and rows of colourful dresses drove Suhana into insanity. She freed herself from Arav's grip and practically ran towards the section displaying ethnic wears. Arav trailed behind her. Suhana turned around and pushed her smoothie in his hands.

She pulled out a red elegant looking lehenga. The body had been intricately designed with designs made of golden threads and golden sequins. Suhana's eyes shone with excitement.

"How is it?" Suhana asked, excitedly.

"Pretty," Arav replied. "But why do you need it now? Unless you have any wedding coming..."

"You don't need to attend a wedding to buy this beauty." Suhana gazed at the dress lovingly.

Arav chuckled. "Seems like you are shopping for your wedding."

"Shut up," Suhana murmured shyly. She kept the dress back begrudgingly and moved towards the section of shirts. Arav chuckled and followed her. Suhana shuffled through the clothes until one caught her eyes. The shirt was grey with purple floral printed and frilled sleeves.

"This one is beautiful," Arav said. "You can buy this."

Suhana smiled at him. "Let's look at men's section."

"No, I won't buy anything."

"Who said we'll be looking for clothes for you?" Suhana had a mischievous smile gracing her lips.

"Ouch, I am hurt." Arav put a hand on his heart and pouted. She swatted at his hands and then, dragged him towards the men section. She started shuffling through the shirts before choosing one. She pulled out a grey shirt. She took the smoothies from him and pushed the shirt in his hand.

"Go!" she pushed him towards the trial rooms. "Try it on."

Arav made a face at her before getting inside the trial room. She chuckled and sipped at her smoothie. Soon, he came out wearing the shirt.

"Ooh, you look dashing." Suhana winked at him while sipping her smoothie.

"Are you mocking me?" Arav sounded offended.

"Oh, no, no!" Suhana protested, waving her hands around. "I am being serious. You do look good. Scratch that. You look ravishing."

"Is that so?" Arav asked, arching an eyebrow at her and a suggestive smirk on his lips.

"No shame in saying the obvious." Suhana shrugged nonchalantly but her cheeks were burning red.

"Thanks to know you think I am handsome."

"Ho, actually," Suhana corrected. "I thought it was obvious. Or else half of the girls in our school won't be drooling over you. Not that many girls can have bad choices, can they?"

"Wow," Arav said, stunned. "This is surprising coming from Suhana Sharma."

"I tend to say the facts." Suhana kept up her nonchalant act. "You should go and change back."

Arav nodded and went back inside the trail room. Suhana let out a breathe.

'I acted too bold today,' she thought. 'What's wrong with me?'

She sipped the remaining of her smoothie quickly. When Arav came out. she handed back him his smoothie and took both their shirts to the paying counter.

"I am going to pay for mine," Arav insisted.

"No, you already paid for the smoothie."

"That was just a smoothie!"

"So, what?" Suhana dismissed him. She paid for their purchase and walked out of the store. She took their school and handed Arav his school bag and the paper bag having his shirt. Suddenly, he stopped walking.

"What?" Suhana asked.

"I think I forgot my phone in the trial room," he said.

"How careless you are!" Suhana took his belongings from him. "Go!"

Arav hurried back into the store. Suhana walked over to a bin and tossed their now empty plastic cups in it. She pulled out her phone from her pocket. No text or call from Ruhi. She sighed. Even though she was having fun, there was still a gnawing feeling at the back of her mind reminding her of her fight with her best friend.

She shook her head. She should be having fun and not worrying. She looked up to see if Arav was coming, but no sight of him.

"Where did he go?" she thought, growing impatient. "Did he go to hunt dinosaurs?"

Soon, she saw him sauntering towards her lazily with a paper bag in his hand.

"Wasn't one shirt enough for you?" she asked. "Or did you buy a matching jeans?"

Arav extended the bag to her. "This is for you."

Suhana took it from him, skeptically. Peeking inside the bag, she gasped. It was the lehenga she wanted to buy!

"Why did you buy it?" She asked, shocked. "It was expensive."

"You paid for my shirt," replied Arav, casually.

"It was just a shirt!"

"You set the standards, now you can't complain about it." Arav smiled at her cheekily.

Suhana sighed but still smiled. She didn't think twice before planting a kiss on his cheeks. Arav was greatly taken aback by the sudden show of affection.

Suhana who realised the weight of her action, took a step back. "Sorry."

Arav having recovered from the shock, smiled at her cockily. "It's fine. I know I am too hot to rest."

"I can literally see your ego right now." Suhana rolled her eyes but a small smiled tinted her lips.

They walked back to the food court and occupied the table with two chairs at the corner by the window. Arav went and ordered two tacos from the Taco Bells. He soon came back to their table with the orders. Suhana was staring out the window with misted eyes filled with melancholy. Arav put a gentle hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the sudden contact ad relaxed once realising it was Arav.

"Oh, it's you." Suhana turned to face him.

Arav took his seat opposite her. "Why were you expecting someone else?"

"No." Suhana took a bite of her taco. She closed her eyes and smiled. "I really love tacos."

"I know. They are the best," Arav said.

A pleasant, comfortable silence fell between them.

"I had fun today," Arav broke the silence.

"Me too." Suhana smiled at him.

Arav, suddenly, got up from his chair and leaned towards her. His face was soon hovering inches away from hers. Her eyes widened in panic. She backed away a little. Then, she felt it. The touch of his fingers on her lips. They were soft as they grazed over her lips. She started panicking.

"You had cheese all over there." Arav pointed around her lips as he sat back.

"Oh." Suhana sighed in relief. At least, what she thought was not true. But she still missed the touch of his warm fingers on her lips. The thought of Ritest filled her mind. The thought of his lips on hers invaded her mind. Her eyes widened at the thought. She clenched them close and tried to get rid of those thoughts.

The thoughts were too tempting for her. Alluring, beautiful. Exactly what she wanted. But she couldn't let her indulge in those thoughts, they were never going to come true. If she wrapped her up in these fantasies, she was going to end up getting hurt more in the end.

"You okay?" She heard Arav's voice say. Realising how weird it was to see her sitting there with clenched closed eyes and angonised face, she opened her eyes and forced a smile on her lips.

"Yeah, fine," she croaked through her dry throat. Arav didn't look convinced but didn't push her any further.

An awkward silence settled between them. It was growing more palpable every passing moment. They both felt it pressing down on their chests, suffocating them but no one dared to break it.

Once it grew unbearable, Suhana spoke up. "Why don't we talk? Why are we even enemies? It was so fun with you today."

As soon as the words slipped out of her tongue, she realised how wrong the question was and how big of an idiot she was.

Arav looked at her intently for a long time. When she thought he won't be answering, he spoke up. "Ruhi and you were enemies of Vivaan since birth and since I am his best friend, it was kind of destined that I would hate you too."

"You are right." Suhana nodded.

"And also because you are irritating," Arav added mischievously.

"I am not." Suhana mock glared. "I will gauge your eyes out."

They looked at each other for a moment before breaking into laughter. Once it died, Suhana asked, "No really, why are you even friends with that jerk Vivaan?"

"He isn't a jerk," Arav said, calmly. "He just acts like a jerk to protect himself. If you get to know him, he isn't that bad."

"Protect himself from what?"

"Bro-code. No secret sharing with third party." Arav smiled. "Top secret."

Suhana showed him a thumbs up. "Got it."

"Why were you crying earlier today?" Suhana was thrown back from the intensity of the question. She was having a good time, did he really need to throw this question at her now?

She sighed and went quiet for some time. "I had a fight with Ruhi. She acted like a jerk and heartless person today and when I called her out, she acted oblivious and denied everything. Then, she accused me of being delusional."

"I never thought I would see a day when you two would have 'trouble in paradise'," he said with air quotes. Suhana glared at him. "Sorry. Coming back to topic, what was it about?"

"There is this guy whom I like but the guy likes Ruhi. This afternoon, as a dare, Ruhi kissed him. She knew he had feelings for her but still did it anyway. She hurt him really bad. He ended up crying in the bathroom."

They both went silent for a moment. "I feel bad for him. No one deserves this."

"I know right," Suhana said, quietly.

"I am sorry for what happened between you two." Arav placed a gentle hand on hers.

"It's fine." A single tear fell down her eye. She quickly wiped it away.

"All I can say it that you should talk with her properly. Maybe, she genuinely doesn't know."

"It's quiet hard to miss. It's obvious he likes her."

"Maybe, she is oblivious to it."

"Okay, I will talk." Suhana nodded.

Arav pulled out his phone and earpods from his pocket. He untangled it and plugged it into his phone. Then, handed the other part of the earpod to Suhana. As she put it in her ears, Carolina by Taylor Swift poured into her ears. She closed her eyes in contentment and put her hands on the table as the song resonated inside her, giving her an odd sense of peace. She felt fingers lacing with hers. She opened her eyes to see Arav lacing his fingers with hers. He smiled at her which she returned. They both gazed out at the city outside the window. Large drops open rain pattered against the glass, misting the view. It felt weird beautifully to see the cacophony of the city through the lens of raindrops. It was like a kaleidoscope; beautiful yet confusing.

"We never really got to know each other, actually," said Suhana, looking him in the eyes.

"Like secret lovers, let's become secret friends," Arav suggested. Suhana squeezed his hand in response.

A/N- Ok, I am back. It was so much fun writing this chapter. And, the most awaited cricket match is coming near. Maybe 2 or 3 chapters later?

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