Chapter 16

Ayaan watched in awe as she was studying her notes silently, unaware of all the conversation and discussions going on in front of her. She had zoned herself out entirely.

He was not one to get distracted from work. But today, it was different. What she had told him last night had caught him off guard. He knew she was lying, but at the same time, he didn't know her well enough to assume it.

Maybe she was right.

Maybe he needed to move on and forget about it. But she was making it difficult to.

Ever since they had made eye contact that day, he had felt the urge to read those eyes. To understand the woman she was behind the mask she wears, but perhaps not all mysteries were meant to be solved.

"Ayaan bro?" Rohan called his friend out, seeing himself zoned out, "Is everything good?"

Ayaan, now brought back to reality, looked around to see everyone had turned to him except the one person he was thinking off. She was still lost in her notes. He smiled at Rohan, "All good bro, just zoned out for a bit."

"I think we all really need a break." Meera added, noticing the energy change in the room, "How about we go grab lunch?"

"I support." Ananya chirped, "I'm famished."

"Likewise." Rohan added too, "Let's go?"

They nodded and were getting up when they noticed Naina still lost in her work. Chuckling at her nerdiness, Rohan snapped a finger in front of her, shaking her for a second before she looked at them.

"What happened?" She asked, confused to see everyone getting up.

"You want to crack your exams right now only, right, Naina?" Rohan chuckled, "Anyway, we were asking that do you want to grab lunch? We're pretty hungry."

"Oh." Naina said, noticing everyone stand except Ayaan. She hadn't looked at him once but now she saw his eyes look away from her, then, she replied, "I'm fine. I have a lot to do."

"I told you Rohan," Ananya said, "Nothing comes in between her and her work. I feel bad for her future boyfriend. He'll be third wheeling between Naina and her books!"

Naina glared at her friend and then broke into a small laugh. That small laugh pulled Ayaan back into reality as he looked at her smiling.

And he felt refreshed again.

"Alright. Do you want us to get you anything?" Meera asked.

"Uh, Maybe pasta? And coffee."

"Coffee." A deep voice said at the same time as her.

She turned to him. Ayaan.

"Damn Ayaan, you've started knowing what order she wants now. Interesting." Rohan smirked.

"Shut up." Ayaan said, "I wanted coffee too. I said that for me, not her." He said, but he knew he was lying. He knew she liked coffee when she worked.

Soon, they all left the room, leaving just Naina and Ayaan in it. Naina felt a sudden heat rushing through her body at the mere realization of being alone in a room with him.

He noticed her body stiffen a little. Why is it stiffening if there's no tension? He thought. To him, she was like a mirror of illusion, she showed something else but she was entirely different. She says something but her eyes say something else, her body reacts differently.

"How's your studying going?" He asked her, trying to gauge if his thoughts are correct.

She looked up at him, for the first time today, and her light brown eyes snapped in his mind, a frame being fixed in a part of his brain - refusing to leave.

"It's good." She replied, putting on the mask yet again, unfortunately for her, "Yours?"

"It's going great. I'm done." He replied confidently.

"Why are you still here then? Don't you have a performance today?" She blurted out. Then, she realised what she said and instantly widened her eyes and turned away.

Ayaan, on the other hand, chuckled seeing her realize what she said. It was news to him that people knew the timings and days when he used to perform, but her knowing them was a big deal. Her knowing anything about him seemed like a win for him - a big one.

"I'm glad to know that you are aware, Naina." He said and smirked, to which Naina looked away, "I'll be performing in an hour. Would you like to come watch?"

"No." She said, "I... I'm good."

He stood up and scouted near to her, "Are you sure you're good?"

"Yes." She said, not meeting his eyes.

"I think you should come. Infact," he took his phone out and sent a message which Naina couldn't see, so she sat there confused, "Here."

When Naina saw his phone, she internally groaned. He had message Rohan to bring everyone to his performance instead of coming back to the study room. Naina was not happy with this decision - she wanted to stay away from him and everyone around her was dragging her towards him. Why!

"Let's go." He said and closed her laptop.

"Your performance is until an hour. Why do we need to be there so early?" She asked him.

"Because we need to set up. Plus, it'll take time to get to the main stage. We're on the other end. Now come on. I'll help you pack."

He was exaggerating. He very well knew the way and he knew it wouldn't take too long. There's not much to set up. It could all be managed in 30 minutes, but he wanted to spend the additional 30 mins with her alone.

To figure her out.

She got up and started putting her stuff in her bag while Ayaan watched. He observed how her eyes would move around, not being able to stay in one place for too long. Her hands would fidget whenever he was there. She was nervous around him. Her braid was a little loose and it made her look even more attractive.

When she looked at him, she noticed him already looking at her. As an attempt to hide her blush, she turned away and put a hand on her face pretending to fix her hair.

"Let's go." Ayaan said, and opened the door for her.

She followed him silently. The last thing she wanted was to be walking with the attention magnet of this University, so she made it a point to walk a little behind and keep her eyes glued to her phone or book.

Ayaan, however, wasn't dumb. He noticed the way she didn't like attention and felt genuinely upset because he didn't know how to solve this situation. He can't undo the attention he gets but at the same time he wants to walk with her. So, he quickly held her hand and took them into a direction where there weren't any people.

Naina was startled but when she realized, she was grateful, "Thank you."

He looked at her, amused, "Why so?"

Naina sighed, "I don't like walking when all eyes are on me. And you can't seem to go anywhere without all eyes going on you."

Ayaan walked close to her, so close that she felt herself backing away until he caught her hand to stop her from backing, "Stay where you are."

Naina gulped at the increasing proximity.

Ayaan came in slow steps, "Why do you get so nervous around me, Naina? What's the matter with you? I've seen you before, before that day, you were still nervous but your eyes didn't run away from me. Now, you never meet my eyes. And do you know who avert their gaze?"

She looked at him, knowing the answer.

"Those who have something to hide." His voice came firm, slow and rough, almost knowing, "So, what are you hiding Naina?"

Her skin had paled. How did he know? Was she that obvious? To prove him wrong, she had tried to meet his eyes but his intense gaze made her weak in the knees - forcing her to look away.

"I... I'm not hiding anything." She replied.

Ayaan's chuckle was slow, almost like it was a mixture of scoffing, "Right," his hand came on her chin, cupping it gently and guiding it to look into his eyes, "Look at me then. Without looking away."

She couldn't. She tried to escape but her face was being held. Plus, she wouldn't be able to leave his grip. His gaze was intense and it was as if he was looking into her soul. He was nearing her like a predator nearing his prey.

"What are you hiding, Naina?" He asked again, but this time it felt like he was asking himself. His eyes were trying to figure her out, "I know what you're hiding."

She looked at him, almost feeling exposed, "W...What?"

"You're hiding your feelings. Just like you were before. You claim that there's nothing you felt, but the way your eyes are looking at me right now, it exposes your lie. You claim you don't remember anything, but the way your eyes flicker to my lips when mine flicker to yours, it exposes your lie. You say that it didn't matter, but the way your body stiffens when I'm near, the way your breath gets uneven everytime we're in the same room.... It exposes your lie."

His words were sharp, almost possessive and authoritative, while his eyes pierced into hers. She wanted to look away but he held her jaw so she had no choice.

"You remember everything from that night. You felt everything I felt that night. It mattered a lot for you and you are feeling things even now." He said, almost announced it to her.

Naina felt as though her mask had being pulled away. Her eyes were giving it away and she was being forced to be honest.

Oddly enough, he gave her a sense of confidence. Her mind had started to feel comfortable in expressing her thoughts to him, maybe it was an after effect of kissing him. It was only this confidence that led her to finally accept it.

"Fine." Her eyes meeting his, "You're right. I do remember, I might have felt something which is why I kissed you.... But."

"But what?" Ayaan asked, a little urgently. Naina accepting it had risen a sense of hope in him. Now, he was determined to know.

"But, I can't do anything about it." She said, looking down in acceptance.

"Why not?" His tone was a little louder as he held her shoulders, pulling her closer.

"Because," her tone increasing as well, "Look at you, and look at me. There's as much of a difference between us as there is between white and black. The truth is, we need to forget it happened so we can continue our normal lives."

"Normal?" He scoffed. His eyes had darkened and his voice was low and rough, "Nothing has been normal since you kissed me. Nothing has been normal since I've felt your lips on mine because now.... The only thing I find normal is having those lips back on mine."

"Stop it." She whispered, trying to hold her guard.

"No, Naina." He argued, "Why are you running away from this? I know you felt something, you just don't want to admit it. You know I felt something too, so what's the problem?"

"The problem...." Naina said, almost yelling, "is that you are the University's heartthrob, who pulls girls left and right. Your past, present and future is parallel to mine. We might coexist, but we can never meet. My world is different. I am different. I'm not like you. Effortlessly talkative, everyone's favorite. I'm not like that. I'm someone who people forget within an hour of meeting me."

"Naina, so what?" He almost begged.

"So what?" Naina scoffed, "You're not thinking practically Ayaan. It might seem fun right now because it's only been a few days, if we do this, then one month later, you'll not want to be seen with me. I'm too boring for you Ayaan. Opposites may attract, but its like-minds that last."

"Don't think I can't make this work. I can." Ayaan said, "Why did you kiss me then?"

"I don't know Ayaan." She said, her courage boosting, "I had a crush on you since first year and I must have gotten carried away with my crush giving me attention and the alcohol made it worse. The truth, Ayaan, is that we are too different. Our worlds are too different. So, just forget like this happened, and move on."

She clasped her bag and was about to leave when his hand held hers as he pinned her to the wall, "Our worlds may be different, but I'll bring them together. Run away from me as much as you can, but all your paths will lead to me, because I know what we felt.... And I won't stop until you tell me you felt the same way... and you still do."

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