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(Sabrina Carpenter)

-somewhere else-

“Well then, I’ll ask the boys to stay in extra time today. Make sure you get the best pictures.” The coach gushed, his eyes twinkling. Ivy nodded, making no effort to hide the amused smile on her face. He quickly shrugged his raincoat on and grabbed a bunch of keys. “Follow me.”

Ivy quickly fell into his pace as he began showing her the way to get to the basketball court. It was the first job the university gazette team gave her. And so, Ivy fully intended to get the best shots she could. After a few minutes of walking, where the coach talked continuously about the places from where she could get her shots, they reached a huge door. Coach Andrews asked her to wait before going in and emerging again a few minutes later. He nodded, as a sign for her to go in. Ivy entered and was immediately taken by surprise. The court was as clean as she had thought it won’t be. 

The surface was shining brightly and the entire place smelt of wood and of something warm and homey. She made a mental note to come here often from now on, as the boys in red shouted loudly. She looked towards them, they were all gathered around one of the hoops and were cheering and slapping each other on the backs. 

Ivy silently made her way towards the stands and turned against them, opening her bag. She took out the camera and started setting it up with the right lens and cleaned it before assembling it together. She spent the next hour going from place to place in the entire court. And by the time she was done, it had stopped raining outside and her clothes were wet with sweat. She smiled at the pictures, and started prancing towards where she had kept her bags. Ivy quickly packed up, forgetting to zip one of them up in her dreams of a cold, cold bath (in the middle of the rains, yes). 

Just as she was about to leave, her bag fell to the floor noisily, making her gasp and lean forward to grab her stuff. She hastily checked if anything was wrong with the expensive things. And then, suddenly everyone was shouting.

“The chick!”

“Hey!” 

“Shit!” 

“Move!” 

She turned to see what was wrong, and as if in slow motion, saw something bright and round and orange hurtling towards her face. Ivy closed her eyes tight, and felt back. 

There was silence. 

“Are you okay?” someone asked, making her slowly look up. Apparently, one of the guys had caught the ball. She squinted while trying to see his face, as light from one of the windows fell on her retinas, rendering her sight blind for a second. She tried to speak, her mouth opening and closing in an attempt to form meaningful and offensive words. But none came out. So she nodded, and took his hand. 

“Oh? Airpods girl” Vivaan smiled, amused.

“You! And don't call me that” she snapped.

-Time skip-

“So, where do you want to go?” Vivaan asked, jumping around instead of walking. Ivy let out an exasperated breath, increasing her pace and hoping against hope that he would cool down. 

“Chill down bro, you’re attracting too much attention!” she snapped. Vivaan laughed, but then quietly fell in step beside her. 

“Aw come on, dont be a buzzkill. Let me be happy, will you? I finally got a date with the girl I like!” 

“Oh my god, for the last time! IT’S NOT A DATE!” 

“Where are we going?” Vivaan shrugged and asked as if he hadn’t heard a word from her. 

“I am going to my dorm. And you are going to stop follo-” Ivy gasped in surprise, her eyes bulging wide open as Vivaan took a hold of her free hand. 

“Look, it fits like a glove, doesn't it?” A sheepish  smile was pasted across his face, perfectly showing his dimples. It was blooming to Ivy how Vivaan held her. It didn't offend her, it somehow cured her. Ivy wondered how a person of such nuisance can make her feel safe and enclosed in some way. And that thought made her frightened. 

“Look, just- just mind your business, okay? And let go of my hand.” Ivy loosened her grip from the form of a sportsperson before her. Vivaan's face fell, instantly disappointed and going from happy to the highest form of sadness. The disappearance of dimples was the one which made her regret her actions. 

The boy suddenly turned away from her while Ivy stood there in astonishment.  Did she feel a punch in the gut? Yes, absolutely. Ivy turned towards the leaving silhouette of the guy and saw him take a look at her for the last time. He gave a feeble wave of goodbye before sticking his hands into his pockets and leaving at a fast pace. 

Ivy blinked, not sure if she hallucinated the glint of tears in his left eye. She gulped, wondering what it was that made him leave with tears. Sure, he kind of pestered her. But that made her actually feel better somehow… Each time! Somehow, some why, he made her feel like she was his whole world. It made her feel included in this busy world, unlike her family. It made her feel like she belonged. 

So she fell before the urge to follow him. To know what made his smile disappear. To eradicate the cause responsible for it. And to make sure he kept smiling. She ran, desperately, wanting to know answers. All of a sudden, she realised he was the first person to show real care towards her. She remembered their little encounters then and there, smiling, while running. 

Ivy felt that somehow, she had to bring back the twinkle of mischief back. Make his face glow in the playfulness, the laughter and the dimples. And she was damn sure of succeeding in her mission. When she turned the corner, She saw Vivaan leaving the street and approaching the other. Ivy took a pill of adrenaline and ran as fast as she could. 

“Hey! Wait!” She grabbed his hoodie from behind, with the sternest grip on the cloth. The boy turned towards her, confusion masking the sadness in his eyes. 

And then, he… He looked away. 

Didn't look into her eyes as he did and that made Ivy feel like the pathetic loser in the whole world and she blamed herself for it.He lowered his head in the direction of the female, not meeting her eyes. 

“I'm sorry if I had said something to piss you off, I really didn't mean to,” She blubbered while gasping for breath. Ivy didn't let go of his hand, it was as if she was holding on to it for dear life. 

Vivaan just shook his head while he desperately tried to stop the tears from reforming in his eyes. “Oh n- no- no,” he shook his head, blinking, “you- you didn't,” He relieved himself from her grip and continued following suit. Running a tongue over his dry lips, he lightly shook his head once again.

Being the hell of a determined woman she was, she grabbed his hand. And this time, dominant urgency was radiating off her. “Why are you crying?” 

“It's nothing.” Again, the eyes fixated on the floor. “I don't feel so good, I'm going to the dorm,” 

“No, you aren't. Not unless you say what is wrong with you,”

Vivaan let out a bark of laughter before looking towards the 4 O’Clock sun. “I’ll be fine”

“Tell me.” She repeated, desperately trying to find in herself why she was feeling like so.

“Why do you care?” Vivaan abruptly raised his voice. "Not a moment ago, you wanted my ass to be out of your sight, yeah?” He glowered, glaring at her. Her grip faltered, making him look away once again. He ran a hand through his already tousled hair. Then before she could reply, he started walking away. Ivy was taken aback but just a second later, she started following him again.

“No, Vi-” 

“Listen-” he turned to face before faltering and going on again, “Its- its not you. You didn't do anything wrong… I’m just- I’ll just-...” 

“Why are you mad at me?” Ivy knew she was laying her self respect down. “Just tell me what's wrong Vivaan, I want to he-”

“For fucks sake, Ivy! Nothing is wrong with me!” Vivaan was not himself. He was clearly broken. “Why do people assume that some things are wrong with me! I'm perfect, I'm good, I'm better than I ever was! Look at me, Ivy… I'm fine. So- so just stop as-”

Ivy blew out heat as she spoke. “People ask because they care, goddamn it! They care about you and you don't think they deserve an explanation about what is wrong with you as a token of their care? If not we will all be acting or faking our lives in front of each other! That's not FINE!”

That made very much sense. That made too much sense. And the thing Vivaan least needed was sense. 

“Oh stop with that bullshit. You know and I know, no one cares! They fucking don't! If they cared for me, why would someone lie to my face?” He had entered an abandoned park, talking with her from over his shoulder. He didn’t look at her. He couldn’t look at her.

“Because some things are better if you don't know about them, Vivaan.” Ivy replied, her soft voice making him stop in his place. He sighed, looking down at his feet. 

“I dont want to ta-”

“You're not the one to decide that. You just can't blow people off without properly confronting them about it! You don't think they deserve an explanation as to why you are ghosting them? You thought it was okay if you just vanished for days and then popped back in as if nothing happened? It is not fair at all, Vivaan. Not to them, not to you… not to me.”

At this point Vivaan was a mess. He wanted to get out of there, run to a far away place and cry. He always did that which surprisingly, worked. But this time, it seemed cowardly to do so. At that moment, standing in the midst of a kids garden, empty if not a homeless man lying nearby; he felt so alone. So totally, utterly, brutally alone. 

“Stop, please just-” 

And then she hugged him. With every bit of emotion she felt, she hugged him. And she stroked his hair and let him cave into her body. Under his weight, they both slowly fell to the ground, sitting on their knees on the soft grass. Just two young people trying to save their sanity. Vivaan had no idea just how long he cried. Like then, on her shoulder, before something in him struck him out.

Everything Ivy said made sense. It scared the shit out of him… But she was correct. Life is like rubber. The more authentic it feels when you stretch it, the more agonizing it is when you let it come back. It's actually the process that takes you back to the original phase that is more painful than the actual one. When our mind conspires to achieve something, it doesn't let us stop till we achieve it. Likewise, Vivaan was determined not to talk to the one who hurt him. It was as if he would trust them blindly and then they just stab right at his blind eye. 

The boy gathered himself and finally lifted his head off her shoulders. Ivy smiled at him, gently tousling his hair. Vivaan closed his eyes, sighing contently. 

Vivaan looked deep into her eyes, a strange kind of affection blossoming over both of their faces. They were still sitting in an almost abandoned kind of children park. The sun was almost about to set, and the light pink-orangish light that it cast, made their facial features stand ever brighter. 

There was no time to wonder what it was because questioning it made everything seem bleak. Questioning this made everything bleak. All of it, their strange companionship, their meetings, their conversations, the way they always kept running into each other…. Thinking made them question all of it and still yet, none of it. They just were, they just existed in this moment. Under the pink sky, in the middle of a park, over wet grass, in the midst of a foggy, cold evening.

Vivaan looked somewhere deep into her brown eyes. His own filled with tenderness in every sight. Their faces were so close, he could feel her warm breath on his skin. And they were so far, she couldn’t feel him lose himself in her. Vivaan hesitated for the smallest moment before leaning forward slightly. He took a deep breath, charging himself with some courage. And then… 

He placed a small but core kiss on her forehead and waited for her to react, to scold or to trash the hell out of him, anything! Because that was what had become their new love language. He'd do something mischievous and she'll put him in his place. 

He took another breath, opening his eyes only to find her already looking back at him. A question and an answer on her own. A question, are you sure? An answer, I’m fine. And somewhere, a disappointment. Because, 

Heck, why wont he do it?! 

Vivaan let out a sigh of sadness, believing he crossed some line once again. He pulled back, about to stand up. But then- 

Then something happened. Ivy grabbed his jaws and ferociously went for it. Risking everything she knew and winning everything she didnt. This was the boy who made her understand why all the female characters made shitty choices in their lives. He made her realize just why they lost their senses when they fell in love. Meanwhile Vivaan? He was shocked beyond shock. Her action flashing through his brain on repeat as if a broken record… A beautifully broken record. 

She. Kissed. Me. On. The. Lips. 

The. fucking. Lips. 

Vivaan was a goner. Because something had happened. And it was something amazing, something mesmerizing. Something euphoric. And that something was Ivy. And that something was Vivaan. And that something was him kissing her back. 

A/N:

Hey swifties and gorgeous people!

Yes its me, the not-so-best-author-who takes longer to update her stories. That'd be me. I'm prone to take long breaks and this was one of them. I hope to be more consistent but who knows? I really really wish to complete TWYS but my lazy self won't let me.

Anyhoo

Hope y'all are keeping good health and yes, I'm fine!

Thanks for all your support and patience!

Have that smile on your gorgeous face!

See you!
agustadearly18
ivyB4winter