The corners of his lips tipped up, "You want me to sit with you then."
"I just want company, I don't care whether it's you."
He nodded enthusiastically, totally not buying her words. As the bus started, everyone started gossiping among themselves.
"Look." Kabir tapped her shoulders, gaining her attention.

Her confused gaze shifted from him to the direction where he was pointing. Adil was trying to coax Soha with chocolates.
"Adil is such a..." She sighed, shaking her head as he held in a chuckle.

"Do you wanna listen to something?" Nisha asked, putting an earphone in her left ear, and forwarding the other to him.

He stared at her before taking it.

She turned on the song, giving him an anticipated look. His lips parted as he looked at her.
"This song?" He asked.
"Is Monpura movie's ost too sad?" She asked as he shook his head, "Gives me traumatic flashbacks."
She raised her brows, "Whatever you say, this movie has a soft spot in my heart."
"The movie reminds me of how love is just about... seeing them happy and safe. Most Netflix shows show love in such a different way." She mumbled.

The song played in the background as he lowered the volume a little, smiling at her.

"What is your definition of love, Nisha?" He asked.

She saw the genuine curiosity in his eyes and took a deep breath. What was her definition of love?

"It's a little weird. Floating in the air... like a bird flying across the sky. Free and light, flowy yet deep... wholesome with a touch of care and affection. Happy and bright, blue and grey... all together. Just like the movies." She didn't know when she started grinning.

He stared at her attentively, admiring her enlivened eyes and soft exhilarated smile.

Something in his chest stirred at the sight.

The light of the bus illuminated her honey-brown skin, giving him a view of the prettiest woman to ever exist. 

She was exquisite.

Her lashes fluttered when she blinked confusedly at him — lips turning downwards, "Earth to Kabir?!"

"Huh?" He asked, still not over how beautiful she looked. His eyes trailed down from her eyes to her lips. 

She noticed his gaze, her eyes wandering nervously as she nibbled on her bottom lip.

Looking away, he cleared his throat, "Wow, the song ended."

"Oh." She nodded, pressing the back of her hand onto her cheeks.

All of a sudden, she felt hot all over.

"You can pick the next song." She handed him the phone and he nodded, "I'll turn on something cheerful this time." 

Humming, she closed her eyes as the song continued.
"Kabir." She called. 
"Yes?" 
"What is your definition of love? I told you mine." 

He let out a soft noise, glancing at her.
"Do you want to know?" 
"Yep." 

"The ultimate love." He answered, earning a confused look from her.
"To me, love wasn't anything deep or special before. I think it changed after I returned." He whispered. 
"Did you fall in love with someone?" She asked, eyeing him suspiciously. He choked on his breath, "N-No... I..."
"So you did." She gave him a look and sighed, "Just admit it. It's not cool to deny your feelings." 
"I... what the heck?" He scowled at her, earning a chuckle.

"Tell me more." She looked at him with an unreadable expression as he sighed. 

'Why does she not look mad or jealous? Does she seriously not like me?' He thought, letting out a disappointed huff. 
"Yeah so, I fell in love with a girl. She's... beautiful and annoyingly attractive." He nodded, glancing at her to see that she had taken off her earphones. 
He paused the song and stared at her.

Her head rested on the seat as she spoke, "And? Tell me more." 
"Never mind." 
"Aren't we friends? You should tell me that." She said, looking out of the window. She wasn't feeling excited or anticipating this at all. 
Yet, she wanted to know. 

"Uh..." He looked at her apprehensively.
"Okay. I'll tell you then." He smiled, facing her properly. She noticed how his eyes lit up as he stared at her. Someone would think he was directing those to her but she wouldn't entertain those thoughts. 
Even though her brain and heart itched to.

"The girl I love... is quite inexplicable. She's dumb yet smart, chaotic yet calm. She's like a tornado in the form of a calm ocean."
His gaze didn't leave hers as he continued, "She's like a bird... flying freely and inspiring me to be better in ways I'd feel uneasy to admit. She's exquisite, in both beauty and behaviour. Strong and independent, brave and totally an imbecile. And she draws me in like no other person could ever." 

She swallowed a painful lump at his words. 

Somehow, his words caused an eruption to occur within her heart. 
She felt an uneasy, stinging pain in her chest. She wasn't one to hold onto people's words but his ones made her heart feel heavier.

His goofy self was long gone. The sincerity and depth of his eyes were making her anxious. He loved someone that deeply. 

"You must love her a lot... your eyes are glistening." She muttered, letting out a dry chuckle. 
His eyes slightly widened as he looked away, shaking his head. 
"Don't you wanna know who the woman is?" 
"I doubt I know her." 

He smiled a little at her reply, "You should know her the best, though." 
A glint of surprise overtook her as she faced him, hoping for a further explanation but he smiled, "I'll show you her one day."
"I don't want to see her." She spoke.
"Huh? Why? Are you afraid she's too pretty?" 

She scoffed at his response. He tried to peek at her face but she moved away, "Get away."
"Why do you seem annoyed?" 
"I'm not." 
"Nope, you seem mad." 
"I told you I am not mad." 

He nodded, "Are you jealous?" 
She gave him a look of disbelief, "Do you think I'd be? For you? I'm sad for the girl who got targeted by your devious ass." 
He scowled, "Come on. I might be an ass but I am good to the ones I love. I'm good to you too." 

A pure moment of silence engulfed them.

Her lips parted, a shaky breath escaping her lips. Was he being for real? If right now, he told her the girl was her, she'd probably believe it too. 
But her heart was in denial. 

"Why are you so unhinged with your words?" 
"What did I say now?" 

"Shut up. Let me listen to music." She faced away from him, letting out an exasperated sigh. He nibbled with his fingers, wondering why she appeared sulky.

A few hours passed by as they shared a few talks amidst listening to music. 
Everyone was asleep other than Atif and Ajay, playing games on their phones. 

Nisha glanced at Kabir to find him asleep. Lowering the volume of the blasting music, she changed it to a calm sleeping playlist. 
"He's going to get a sore neck tomorrow." She whispered to herself, eyeing him judgementally. 

"How would I know who you love the best?" She whisper-asked, frowning at him. 
"Immature, annoying, devious... how can he fall in love?" Holding in her frustration, she let out a low scoff, peeking behind.

Priti was sleeping on Shams's chest. 
"They have zero shame in front of their parents. Maa will be so embarrassed." She tried not to chuckle. 

After all, even if they were married, this was Bengali culture where men and women showing PDA meant disaster. 

Her gaze shifted back to the sleeping figure beside her. 

Taking out the neck pillow from her bag, she leaned closer to him, fixing it around his neck. 
He almost fell on her as she gasped, "What the heck? He's so heavy." 
Gently pushing him back to his seat, a smile appeared on her face noticing his cosy expression. 
"You should thank me at my feet for the rest of your life. I'm sacrificing my neck for this." She sighed, leaning her head on the seat and closed her eyes. 

—Time skip—

Kabir scrunched his face, feeling uncomfortable. Taking a few deep breaths, he slowly fluttered his lashes open to find a dark setting around him. 
A dim bluish light entered the bus through the windows, giving him a view of the asleep passengers around him.

He slowly tried to straighten his posture but failed, feeling something hold him down. 

Turning to his right, he was welcomed by a whiff of the familiar floral scent. A soft smile appeared on his face immediately as he looked down. 

Nisha was sleeping on his shoulder. 

He attempted to touch his neck, finding a neck pillow around and realized it wasn't his. 
"Did she make me wear this?" He muttered to himself, taking a peek at her face. 
She seemed uncomfortable, earning a frown from him. 

"Nisha?" He whisper-asked, earning no response from her. Sighing, he sneaked his arm out and brought her closer to his chest. 
He took off the neck pillow and fixed it around her neck with a smile. 
"Stupid." He mumbled, looking around to check if anyone was awake. 
"Only so you can sleep well for some time." He spoke to himself, pulling her to his chest. 

She snuggled into his chest unconsciously, making his breath hitch.

He paused for a moment before resting his palms on her shoulder. The scent of her shampoo enlivened the atmosphere, making tingles spread across his palms knowing that she was in his arms.

Nisha Anwar was in Kabir Zaid's arms. 

He stared at her forehead, wondering if it was okay to place a soft peck there. 
Would it be indecent? He didn't know.

It seemed just right to do so.

After indirectly confessing to her, he could do it, right?

But there were limits he couldn't cross and he knew it well. Forcing the urge down his chest, he looked away.

—A few hours later—

"Remind me to never help you again." Nisha glared at Kabir who sighed, "I promise it's not what it looks like."
"Yeah, every criminal says the same thing." She rolled her eyes.
"Nisha!" He tried to peek at her face but she looked away.
"You seriously pushed me in my sleep and pretended to care? You're so devious." She scoffed. 

The male sighed, shaking his head in desperation.

He was stroking her hair while she was asleep but her mother was waking up and started calling for her dad. 
If she saw her daughter in his arms, she would kick him in the face along with Nisha. 

Impulsively, he pushed her away, causing her head to hit the window and she woke up. 

It had been almost an hour and she was too angry for him to handle.

"Nisha, I'm sorry. I swear it's not what you think." He sighed, looking at her with puppy eyes. She glanced at him, "You pompous fucker. Move away." 
"I won't. Not until you forgive me." 
"Then stay there forever, loser." 

"Come on Nisha!" He wriggled his eyebrows, trying to lighten her mood. She bit her bottom lip, glancing at him.
She would've lied if she said he didn't look ridiculous. But she was angry. 
There was a limit to the things he did to prove his hatred for her.

This one was too much.

"You could be sued for attempted murder." 
"What the fuck, Nisha?!" He stared at her in disbelief as she gave him an indifferent look. 
"I swear... you're unbelievable." He whispered but smiled when she huffed.
"You're in the wrong, don't talk."
"Okay." 

He sat properly, looking at her from time to time. 

"Can we not argue?" 
"You started this." 
"I'm sorry." 

She huffed once again, ignoring him and forwarded her hand to Adil who was offering them some chips. 
He gave Adil a sad look as the twelve-year-old sighed, shaking his head. 

"Nisha. Share the chips with Kabir. I don't have extra for him." He said.
"What do you mean? I'm not sharing it with devious people." She spoke, facing the window. 
Kabir pressed his lips, making a pained face as Wahi shook his head. 
"Nisha..." Priti whisper-called from behind, earning a scowl from her younger sister.

She binged on a few chips, glancing at the sulking Kabir. 

Sighing, she forwarded the pack of chips to him, "You better regret your life decisions." 
His gaze shifted from the pack of chips to her, a smile adorning his face. 
"Thanks." He spoke, taking a chip from the packet.

She smiled a little, looking outside the window. 
The scenery was beautiful. 

"Guys we've arrived!" Not much sooner, Shams called as they all got down from the bus with their luggage and bags.

"This is so heavy..." Nisha gasped, staring at the huge luggage beside her.
"I'll do it for you." A tall figure stood behind her, muffling the essence of the atmosphere. She was heavily distracted by the refreshing scent that surrounded her.
"I can do it myself though."
"Never mind it." He said, pulling it to the vehicles lined up nearby. They were going to the hotel with the books and auto rickshaws. 

"Woah, these look so fancy," Adisha said. 
Soha was trying to touch the rods of the vehicle as Nisha smiled at the kids. 

Unlike the usual auto rickshaws, this one was more open and covered with a fancy colourful cloth as its roof. 
"This is so interesting." She said to Kabir beside her who nodded, "I know right." 

The boys were setting the luggage and bags whereas the elders were settling in the vehicles.

"Nisha, join us. The guys will go together." Priti called as she glanced at Kabir. He was looking at her in a way a lost puppy looked at its owner. 
Pressing her lips, she nodded.
"See you later then." Whispering to the sulking man nearby, she followed Priti.

She sat beside her mother, not forgetting to look at Kabir standing nearby. He gave her a soft smile and turned around at Shams's call. 

She wanted to sit with him. 

But never mind.

Did he want to sit with her? No. 
Then why would she?

"Nisha. Why did you sit with Kabir on the bus?" She heard her mother ask and smiled awkwardly, "There was no seat left... come on." 
"Still, it's quite indecent for you to do that. You even fell asleep. Can you trust men?" 
She immediately shook her head, "Maa... I know we shouldn't trust people we don't know well but he won't do anything strange... trust me." 

The elderly woman sighed, shaking her head. 

She peeked behind as their auto rickshaw started. Catching a glimpse of Kabir's figure was enough for her to sit relaxed. Until the recurring thought appeared in her mind.

Who did that idiot love?