At the ramp walk centre, Aditi glided across the polished floor, her heart racing with a mix of excitement and anxiety. The final practice for the Miss Supranational was crucial and she poured her energy into perfecting her walk.

As she practiced, she stole glances at her phone, hoping for a message or a call from Ishan.

She could almost hear his voice in her mind, recalling the day's events, sharing jokes and laughs, and easing each other's burden. Maybe tonight would be different. She wished for him to reach out and forget their argument.

As she struck a pose, the thought of their usual chats filled her mind and she silently wished for reconciliation, eager to hear about his day and share her own, no matter how small.

"Done!" her choreographer called out, breaking the tension in the air. She felt a rush of relief and pride as she walked over, her heart still racing from the practice. "You did so much better than yesterday! Your focus today wad incredible." her choreographer praised, a bright smile lighting up her face.

"Thank you! Appreciate all your hard work too." Aditi replied, returning the compliment with gratitude. It felt good to hear the encouragement, especially after the long hours of practice. With a sense of confidence, she grabbed her phone and headed towards the dressing room, excitement bubbling inside her.

As she entered the room, Aditi glanced at her phone, hoping to see a message from him. The anticipation of hearing his voice made her heart flutter. She took a deep breath before unlocking it, reminding herself that tonight could be the night they would reconnect, just like they always did.

Aditi unlocked her phone, the familiar wallpaper of her with her family bringing a smile on her face. Sliding the screen down, her heart raced as she scanned through the notifications, hoping for a glimpse of his name. But her heart sank as she found nothing – no calls , no texts.

Flinching her head backward in disbelief, she murmured to herself. "He didn't sent me a message yet?" A wave of confusion washed over her. He should be back from practice by now. Maybe he just needed some time to cool off, she thought, trying to reassure herself.

Determined to find some connection, she quickly navigated to her social media, her fingers trembling slightly as she scrolled through her messages. But still, there was nothing from him. The silence felt heavy, she couldn't understand why he hadn't reached out.

Was he still upset? Did he really wanted to talk to her? The uncertainty ate her up, leaving her more anxious and alone.

Aditi tried to distract herself. Opening her favorite playlist, she let the music wash over her, hoping it would lighten her mood. As the familiar tunes filled the room, she began to change out of her gown.

With each song, she felt a little more at ease, reminding herself that she had her own journey to focus on. She knew whatever was going on, she could handle it. If Ishan reached out later, great. If not, she would keep moving forward.

After finishing her quick change, Aditi went to her room. As she lied down on her bed, she thought about the upcoming performance and how much she had worked for it.

Feeling a bit more grounded, she picked up her phone again, just to check if there were any updates. Still nothing. She sighed but instead of dwelling on it, she reminded herself that she had friends and family to connect with.

With a small smile, she texted her family to see what were upto. It was a good way to shift her focus and enjoy the evening.

—

Ishan had just returned from practice and washed his face, feeling the cool water refresh him after a long , exhausting session. After changing into comfortable clothes, he took a moment to gather himself, as he had dinner plans with his teammates.

But with some time left, he instinctively reached for his phone, hoping to connect with a few friends.

As he scrolled through his feed, Ishan's heart skipped a beat when he stumbled upon Aditi's recent photo from the gym, her smile confident. A small smile on his face as he thought, "Better off me, no?" But that moment of joy was quickly replaced by a wave of guilt that washed over him. He remembered how their conversation had ruined the night before. He didn't mean to upset her, he was just trying to express his thoughts but it had came out wrong.

Ishan sighed deeply, feeling a pang of regret for the way he had reacted, wishing he could take his words back. He knew he needed to reach out make things right but the uncertainty of how she was feeling left him hesitating, caught between wanting to apologise and fearing how she might respond.

Just then, Mayank called him for dinner, pulling him back to the present moment. Ishan tucked his phone back into his pocket, decided that maybe tomorrow would be a better time to talk to Aditi. With a mix of hope, he pushed his thoughts aside and walked toward the dining room and enjoy the evening.

As he entered the room, laughter and chatter of his teammates filled the air, distracting him from the conversation he still needed to have.

He settled into his seat at the table, the aroma of the delicious food surrounded him and he couldn't help but feel a little more relaxed. He joined his teammates in the banter.

As dinner progressed, Ishan found himself laughing along with his teammates, but a part of him remained distracted. He knew he would have to face the situation sooner or later, but for now he focused on the camaraderie around him.

Some of his teammates decided to head to the lounge for a few games while others voted for relaxing and watching a movie. Ishan hesitated for a moment, stuck between joining them and retreating to his room.

Finally, he chose to join the group at te lounge. The atmosphere was lively, filled with friendly competition and laughter. As Ishan played a few rounds of pool, he found himself forgetting about the earlier tension. His teammates cheered him on and for a moment it felt like everything was right in the world.

—
The next morning.

Aditi headed straight to the auditorium for the final practice, the contest just a day away. With a determined mindset, she focused on her performance. As she moved through her routine, she felt the adrenaline rush that came from being so close to the competition.

In the back of her mind, thoughts of him still lingered, but she made a decision to let it go for now. She realised that checking her phone wouldn't change anything and that she needed to concentrate on what mattered the most.

As the practice session progressed, Aditi could feel the weight of her worries lifting. This was her passion and she was reminded of why she had worked so hard to reach this point. By the end of the session, she was exhausted, knowing she had given it her all.

—

Ishan was preparing for practice, the air thick with anticipation of the match between MI and KXIP the following day. He noticed how his injury had nearly healed. As he carefully packed his kit bag, each item, his jersey, water bottle and other things, felt like a step closer to be back in the game.

In that moment, Ishan reached for his phone, intent on calling Aditi to apologise. Just then, a knock echoed through his room. With a whispered curse escaping his lips, he rose and opened the door, greeted by Hardik. "Good morning." Ishan said. Without hesitation, Hardik grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the practice ground.

"Wait, I need to talk to someone." Ishan said, urgency in his voice.

Hardik shook his head, a look of impatience on his face. "Come with your bag, we're going to be late! Everyone won't wait for us." He replied.

Ishan sighed, realising there was no point in arguing. He turned back and went inside to grab his bag. "Just my luck." He muttered under his breath, feeling frustrated and disappointed. He knew he would have to save the conversation for later, but the words lingered in his mind as he joined Hardik and the others in the lobby.

A/N:-

Hey everyone! I realised this is my first ever AN in this story.

My thanks and gratitude to each and every one of you who are reading my story. I truly appreciate you all. Keep reading and loving!

And one more thing, yesterday I was scrolling through Ishan's profile on instagram and stumbled upon one of his old posts. The one with the "watching you watching me" caption.

I started scrolling through the comments, that's when Ishan's friend, Yashasvi, his comment caught my eye. He had commented "Connection, wow" something like that. And I noticed both Ishan and Aditi liked his comment.

What could this mean? What's brewing between them? 🤔

Comment down what you think about this!