Karan's POV:

"Usha," the teacher's voice rang out, the roll call punctuated by the rustle of papers and the occasional shuffle of feet.

"Present, ma'am,"

"Neerja,"

"Present,"

"Jayant," the teacher called out, her voice trailing off as the echo of her words dissolved into an unsettling silence.

But there was no reply, the void of Jay's absence casting a shadow of unease over the classroom. The hushed murmurs of speculation and concern reverberated through the air, each whisper adding a layer of apprehension to the palpable tension that filled the room.

Archita Mam's gaze flitted across the room, her expression tinged with a mixture of curiosity and mild concern.

With a resigned sigh, she marked the attendance, the scratch of her pen against the paper underscoring the disquiet that lingered beneath the surface.

I glanced around, my mind churning with unanswered questions and unresolved anxieties.

Jay's inexplicable absence left a trail of disquietude in its wake, each passing moment shrouded in a haze of uncertainty that gnawed at the edges of my consciousness.

I clung to the hope that he would show up, even if it meant a tardy entrance. Jay was never one to skip class entirely, and the sheer weight of his absence bore down on me with an unsettling intensity.

Was he planning something, or was there another reason for his sudden disappearance?

The questions spiraled through my mind; each query met with a frustrating lack of answers that only served to deepen the mystery that enveloped Jay's whereabouts.

In the midst of the lunch break, I made my way to our usual spot, my footsteps tracing an unsteady path across the tiled floor. The cacophony of voices and laughter that filled the air felt distant and detached, a stark contrast to the overwhelming solitude that wrapped around me like a suffocating shroud.

A tap on my shoulder jolted me from my reverie, and I turned to find Arav standing before me, his gaze haunted and burdened with an unspoken remorse. I met his gaze with a glare of seething resentment, my anger simmering just beneath the surface.

"I... I am sorry," Arav stammered, his voice barely audible above the din of the surrounding crowd.

"Sorry for what, Arav? Tell me," I seethed, my temper flaring as I reached out to grab his collar. To my surprise, he offered no resistance, his gaze resigned to the impending confrontation.

I released my grip on him, my anger dissipating into a haze of uncertainty as I grappled with the weight of his remorse. "For everything..." he murmured, his voice tinged with a vulnerability that struck a chord deep within me.

We stood there, enveloped in the deafening silence that stretched between us, each moment pregnant with the unspoken weight of our shared history and the fractured remnants of a bond that had once seemed unbreakable.

"Can we go somewhere private?" he asked, his voice tinged with an urgency that mirrored the urgency of my own conflicted emotions.

Aware of the prying gazes that lingered on us, I nodded, my gaze fixed on the ground as we made our way toward the secluded greenery behind the bustling canteen.

The tantalizing scent of freshly prepared sandwiches and simmering soup drifted through the air. My senses were briefly tantalized by the aroma before the weight of my emotional turmoil dragged me back to reality.

As we found a quiet spot, the verdant foliage shielding us from prying eyes, I grappled with the tumult of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me. My hunger paled in comparison to the gnawing ache of betrayal that tugged at the frayed edges of my tenuous composure.

How could he dare to abandon us after all the promises and shared experiences that had bound us together in an unspoken pact of solidarity?

"Look, I know you're worried for Jay. He's at the old factory we used to hang out at. I saw him heading there this morning," he revealed, his gaze earnest and uncharacteristically solemn.

A surge of curiosity mingled with concern coursed through me, my mind racing with the implications of Arav's unexpected disclosure. "Why are you telling me this, Arav?" I probed, my tone tinged with suspicion.

Arav's features softened, his guarded expression momentarily replaced by a flicker of remorse. "I may have made some questionable choices lately, but I still care about you guys, you know?" he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.

I regarded him with a mixture of wariness and cautious gratitude, my mind whirling with conflicting emotions. "Thanks, I'll check on him," I replied, my voice conveying a reluctant sense of acknowledgment.

As I made my way to the deserted factory, a labyrinth of unanswered questions and unresolved mysteries clouded my mind.

The derelict structure of the factory materialized before me, its weathered façade a haunting echo of forgotten memories and forsaken dreams. The eerie silence of its abandoned corridors reverberated through the stillness, amplifying the weight of the unknown that lingered within its forsaken walls.

"Jay?" I called out tentatively, my voice echoing through the desolate expanse.

A faint shuffling sound in the distance drew me closer to the heart of the factory, my senses on high alert as I navigated the tangled passages that concealed the secrets of its past.

"Kan?" Jay's voice floated through the darkness, a faint beacon of familiarity that guided me through the maze of forgotten corridors."

Jay, what are you doing here?" I queried, my concern palpable in the muted glow of my flashlight.

"I needed to find something. Something that might give us answers," Jay replied, his voice tinged with a sense of urgency that mirrored my own.

I surveyed the dilapidated surroundings, the shadows of the factory's forsaken history casting a ghostly pall over our clandestine meeting. "What could possibly be here that we haven't already uncovered?" I pondered aloud, my gaze scanning the dimly lit expanse for any sign of the elusive answers that had eluded us thus far.

Jay's expression was a mixture of frustration and determination; his unwavering resolve was a testament to the unyielding pursuit of truth that bound us together in this perilous journey.

"I stumbled upon a set of old records, buried beneath layers of dust and neglect," Jay revealed, his voice barely above a whisper in the stillness of the abandoned factory. "There's something here, Karan. Something that connects the dots, but it's all shrouded in obscurity. I remember seeing this factory's mention even in Arav's chats. We're definitely missing out on something very major," he continued, his words laden with the weight of revelation.

I approached him, the glow of the flashlight casting an ethereal halo around us as we stood in the heart of the forgotten edifice. "What did you find, Jay?" I inquired, my curiosity mingling with a sense of trepidation at the prospect of unraveling the truth that lay dormant within the confines of the factory's forsaken history.

Jay's hands trembled slightly as he extended a weathered document toward me, its faded parchment a relic of a bygone era that hinted at the secrets concealed within its fragile folds.

"It's a ledger of sorts, detailing the factory's operations and its former employees," Jay explained, his voice tinged with a note of revelation. "But there's something peculiar about one of the entries. It doesn't quite add up," he added, his gaze fixed on the cryptic inscription that danced across the yellowed pages.

I scrutinized the ledger, my mind racing to decipher the enigmatic clues that lay embedded within its meticulously transcribed contents. "What's off about it, Jay?" I probed, my voice barely concealing the urgency that pulsed within me.

Jay's finger traced a series of numbers and dates, his brow furrowing as he attempted to unravel the tangled web of discrepancies that marred the ledger's otherwise pristine façade.

"There's a gap in the timeline, a period where the records abruptly cease and then resume without any explanation," he revealed, his voice laced with a sense of frustration.

A surge of realization coursed through me, the pieces of the puzzle finally falling into place as the truth unfurled before us in all its unsettling clarity. "This could be the key, Jay. The missing link that connects Maya, Arav, and the inexplicable vanishing act that has consumed us," I declared, my voice filled with a newfound sense of conviction.

Jay's gaze met mine, a silent understanding passing between us as we grappled with the implications of our discovery. "We have to delve deeper into this, Karan. We can't let the shadows of the past conceal the truth any longer," he asserted, his resolve mirroring my own.

As we made our way out of the desolate factory, the weight of our findings settled heavily upon us, a harbinger of the tumultuous journey that lay ahead. In the fading light of dusk, amidst the whispers of the evening breeze that carried the echoes of the past, I found solace in the unyielding strength of our bond, a beacon of hope that illuminated the path to uncovering the enigma that had enveloped us in its relentless embrace.

❛between connecting and
disconnecting with people,
life happened.❜

A/N:

I wanted to bring about Arav's confession in this chapter, but, that would mean that the upcoming scenes wouldn't have as much impact. He definitely had remorse. He didn't want to be seen be-friending his bullies by his so called "friends" He regrets a lot of things, but, we don't see the impact until a certain time ;)

#rrs - were you scared the same incident was going to happen? Jay disappearing and them finding him somewhere else? o.O haha nope, just not yet, we'll have to wait until things come around.

#ftrs- what was the whole i want to tell you something, but, only dodged info about Jay's whereabouts? o.o Where do you think this would go?

alr, those things aside, there's a lot of juicy stuff coming up in the next chapters. tighten your seatbelts ;D

Feel free to leave loads of comments, suggestions and feedback! constructive critic is always appreciated ^.^