I'M REALLY SORRY, I JUST DISAPPEARED LIKE BUBBLES AND DARING TO SHOW MYSELF NOW. I PROMISED A DOUBLE UPDATE, BUT COULDN'T DO IT, DUE TO SOME ISSUES.BUT THE NEXT CHAP WOULD BE UP IN A FEW DAYS. SO HOLD TIGHT, AND BRACE YOURSELF FOR THIS CHAPTER!

  I wake up with a thud sound. I look around myself and see that I am lying on floor with a pile of bed sheets covering my feet. I hit my forehead, get up, fold the sheets, and go downstairs yawning.

    I see that there's some commotion happening around. 

   Suddenly my father comes into my view. "What are you doing? Your friend came looking for you, and here you are, standing in your pajamas and frizzy hair", he says with disgust on his face, but light teasing in his eyes.

   "Yeah, bath and come down honey, let's have breakfast. Why did you never tell you had such a good friend?", my mother goshes.

   What friend? Who visited me? That too, this early in the morning! 

   As I move to get a view of who came, my father pushes me by my back and says,"Go up first, you can see your mother later."

   He turns as I go up and says, "She always want her mother's hugs. She'll be as clean as a pig in a drainage and she'll still want those", with a laugh.

   I hear a deep chuckle. It definitely wasn't a girls one. I ready up, wondering who might have visited me. Finally after half an hour, I am trimmed to prim, and head down. 

   Mom is setting up the table while pa is talking to a person with a smile on his face. I wonder, 'Since how long have I been vying to see my family this colorful?' I thank the unknown visitor in my head, and stride towards them.

   There, I see a guy wearing cream pants, a blue colored T-shirt, and gelled hair, who is none other than Aarav. He is looking extremely handsome in that dress, like an eye-candy. 

   Wait, what? I throw away all those heart emojis around me, he still owes me an apology.

   I turn back to go to my mom, but my dad sees me and calls, "Here you are Amaira, finally! Come, say hello to your friend. I guess your mother needs some help in the kitchen. I'll be there if you guys need anything", and he goes off.

   I sit down at the farthest end of sofa and hiss, "What do you think you are doing here? Leave before I get mad and do something unimaginable."

   Aarav moves towards me and says, "Unimaginable? What would you do? The last time you kissed me, it was unimaginable too", with another chuckle.

   Damn his chuckle, they make me forget what I want to say.

   I shake my head and say, "It can also include me kicking your sorry ass down the street."

   "From where did you get this confidence? Last time I checked, you wanted to do nothing with the society and keep to yourself, going out of your way for others to not think bad of you", he looks at me skeptically.

   Yeah, since when did I become like this? Where is this confidence coming from? I rub my hands over my face and think about the previous occurrences. Recently I am laughing more, getting angry more, talking more, more like living my life more. What changed? Is it because I am liking someone?

   'You like two guys, not one, so the confidence must have doubled', my conscience starts again.

   'And here I thought you were gone for good', my brain activates.

   'Will you just stop for a freaking minute?', I shut both of them up.

   They both look at me like I am a villian from a cliche movie, trying to separate their eternal love and tears start flowing down from their eyes.

   'Okay, sorry, my wrong, you can...', I start to say.

   'Cbfover', my conscience says fast.

   'What gibberish are you speaking?', my brain retorts.

   'You can never get it', they're conscience's words.

   "OKAY, STOP!", I shout.

   My mother asks, "Everything alrighty, sweety?"

   Guess I spoke out aloud. I open my eyes and see her head popping out from kitchen, my dad's neck slowly following hers. 

   Aarav is looking at me with bewilderment written all across his face as he says, "You really did something unimaginable. You were talking in your head, right? HAHAHAHA!"

   Me saying, "No, I was not", further emphasized his point.

   Utterly embarrassed, I mutter out, "Nothing mom, please continue your work", and I hide my head in one of the pillows.

   Aarav moves towards me slowly, and removes the pillow. By gauging from his facial features, and subtracting the handsomeness, I think maybe he is going to apologize now. His serious and gallant face comes closer to mine, and I start turning beet root red. My heart starts racing against Hamilton's car as he removes a small tendril of hair away from my face and tucks it behind my ear. 

   I bet even my mom can hear my heart pounding against the sound of oil hissing from the pan in the kitchen. Everything pauses, as if held on a switch. 

   The only thing moving is Aarav's hand as he clicks a picture of mine.

   What the hell? How dare he take a picture of me when I'm self conscious and blushing?

   'Serves right for you', my conscience comes into the picture again.

   'Now's not the time', my brain hisses.

   Without taking my anger into consideration, Aarav starts laughing, clutching his stomach.

   "You should have seen the look on your face Amaira, you were....I can't even describe it. Oh my God! This is gonna be your contact picture in my phone. By the way, give me your number, I should save this picture to it", he says in between his fits of laughter.

   My father comes running, like literally, as he asks Aarav, "Show me that picture, I'll have to order a frame for it."

   They both see that picture and laugh, as if I am a rare creature on exhibit in a zoo, giving a high-five to each other. 

   My mother shouts from the kitchen, "Stop embarrassing that poor girl."

   Awwww, thank you mom, for being on my side.

   "Wait until you see this picture Bharati", my father says laughing as he takes the phone to my mom.

   Everything is silent for a while apart from Aarav's snorts. I hear something sounding like a cooker whistle and then the valve bursts. My mother was apparently trying to hold her laughter in, but she bursted.

   I shout in embarrassment, "Mom..you too..."

   "Sorry Amy, but you are hilarious in this picture", my mom says with a not-so-sorry tone. 

   I run to them and see my picture. I thought I was looking prim, but apparently not. My hair's got it's own highway, as my lips are starting to pucker forward, my face's flushing red all over.

   I try to delete that picture, but Aarav snatches his mobile away from my hands, and says, "I'm intelligent than that Amy", pronouncing 'Amy' in my mother's tone.

   I hate it when people call me Amy, apart from my mother. Even my father didn't call me that after I told him off. Aarav made it his mission today to vex me to the degree where I would become a patient in one of those psychiatric clinics. In annoyance, I go over and sit at my previous position.

   "Okay stop it you guys, let's start....BAHAHAHAHA......sorry darling, give me some time to recuperate", my mom further embarrasses me.

   After a few sniffles and grunts, my mom finally shuts up and says, "Let's have the breakfast guys."

   Aarav and me head over to the dining table and turn up our plates. Mom made aloo paratha for breakfast, which is smelling delicious already. My mom makes the best aloo parathas. She was always called to do them in the relatives and neighbours parties. 

   She usually applies the curry to the paratha and rolls them around, coating it with chocolate sauce for children. With the smoke still rising out of them, I try to take one from the hot pack.

   My fingers burn in the process and I spill that dish all over Aarav, who was initially smiling cheekily at me like a monkey.

    I should've totally recorded his reaction, his face is looking like a monkey's ass, all red from burning and unease.

   My mom shouts at me, "Oh My God, what have you done Amaira? Can you see his face, it's burning. Hurry take him up to your room, I'll get him your father's clothes."

   Hello mom, I'm your child, not Aarav!

   Aarav stands up knocking his chair backwards and orders, "Show me your room", with a no-nonsense tone.

   I take him to my room, close the door, turn around and mock, "Chill out Aarav, it's just a stain, it'll wash off. I should've taken your picture, it'd be the contact picture for you in my phone."

   "Do you think this is funny?", he fumes, enclosing me by the door.

   "Uhh....why are you getting so angry over a stain? I'll dry clean it for you", I try to understand his point of view.

   "I can't get angry? It is the last gift my mom gave me, it is very special to me. And here I thought, 'Maybe I could talk to Amaira and apologize to her. This is my lucky dress, it'll surely work out'. Do you think dry-cleaning would clear out the problem? Do you even know how much its costs for dry-cleaning?", he says angrily.

   "You practically ruined my life at school, and causing a fuss over a dress. But I am still thinking of how hot you are, and serving you breakfast at my home. Get out of here at this instant, you filthy piece of existence", I shout at him and open the door.

   He stumbles out, clearly not expecting me to burst out.

   He starts, "Uhh...Amaira...""I don't want to hear anything. Out!", I shout again.

   My mom shouts from below, "What is happening upstairs Amaira? Any problem?"

   "Something which does not belong here is going away mom, nothing much", I reply.

   Aarav goes away, muttering 'thank yous and next times' to my mom and dad.

   "You alrighty dear?", my mom asks.

   "Yes ma", I say taking the chair out.

   Everything becomes pin-drop silent after Aarav leaves. 

   I think of what he said while taking a bite of the paratha. What did he mean by last gift from his mom? His mom is dead? But I clearly saw her the day I visited their house. However, he was very hot and cold to her during their interaction. So is she his step mom like I thought? His mom died and his father remarried? 

   Uhhh...I don't want to think about this anymore. 

   After completing my breakfast, I head to my room. I lie on my bed, and scroll through Instagram. I already said to my parents to not disturb me, and they nodded. I plug in my earphones and listen to 'Life Goes On' by BTS.

   And I didn't hear the noise of my window cracking open and someone falling on the carpeted floor with a dull thud.

   Someone grabs my sheet away from my body, and takes one of my ear phone out and plugs it in their ear. I turn around to look and see Aarav, changed into different set of clothes, and a smile on his face.

   He lies his head on my left shoulder, and says, "Please stay like this for some time."

   I let him rest against my neck, and think of possible reasons of his arrival. His breath is fanning on my neck, making me tingle all over, and hindering my mind of having any reasonable thoughts.

   After few minutes of silence, the song being long completed, Aarav speaks up, "I am really sorry for what I have done. I should not have done it. And I'm sorry that it has taken this long to apologize to you. I want to make it up to you. Will you come with me?"

   I mull over internally and finally decide to give him a chance.

   "Yeah, sure. Let's go", I reply with enthusiasm.

   HOW ARE YA'LL DOIN'? AND, HOW DID YOU ENJOY IT? THANK YA'LL, FOR THE 2K READS!