What a plot twist you were
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For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
Sid. Here? Standing in front of me? In this apartment?
Older. Taller. Unfairly hotter. His jawline? Sharper. His shoulders? Broader. His presence? A literal hazard to my sanity and I then looked at myself
My face burned hotter than the stove as I stood there mid-dance wearing nothing but Aayush's oversized t-shirt and shorts. My hair was a mess, I was holding a spatula like it was a mic and oh God I had just been dramatically tossing salt into the pan like some overenthusiastic chef in a cooking show.
Kill me now.
And the worst part? He was staring at me the same way like he had stepped right out of one of my ridiculous daydreams and into my reality.
Except in those daydreams, I wasn't wearing an oversized T-shirt that barely stayed on my shoulder.
And in those daydreams, he wasn't looking at me like he already knew every single thought running through my head.
All these years And my stupid heart still hadn't learned its lesson.
I swallowed, trying to form words that didn't sound like a panicked scream. "Youâwhat are youâwhy are youâ"
I stopped, horrified at my own stammering. Great. Just great.
Sid chuckled, shaking his head. "Wow, you still can't form a proper sentence around me? I'm honored."
"Shut up."
He smirked even wider, clearly entertained. "That's the Alia I remember. You looked like you were about to faint for a second."
I turned back to the stove, acting like he wasn't affecting me, even though my brain was screaming. "I'm just surprised to see you, that's all," I muttered stirring the pasta aggressively.
"Surprised?" He scoffed. "I'm shocked. "
"What are you doing here?"I said even though I figured out the sid hriday mentioned about moving in was him
"I live here"He said
"Moved in last week. With Aayush and Hriday."
I blinked. "You... what?"
Stop pretending now ,my brain said to me
"What, did you think I broke in just to watch you dance around"he asked
"I wasn't dancing"I said completely flushed
"What were you doing then "He asked me getting closer to me
"I was cooking."
"And dancing."His arms crossed over his chest
I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.
"I was not," I lied, gripping the spoon like I could actually use it as a weapon if needed.
Siddharth didn't move, didn't blink.
"Alia."
I swallowed.
"You were dancing," he said again, slower this time.
He was enjoying this.
"I will hit you," I warned.
His lips twitched, like he was holding back a smirk. "You've threatened me before."
"And I mean it."
He exhaled sharply through his nose, something close to amusement flashing in his eyes before his expression turned unreadable again.
I turned back to the stove, hoping he would disappear. He didn't.
Instead, he leaned against the counter, watching me.
"So," he said after a moment.
I didn't answer.
He tilted his head slightly. "Did you miss me?"
I choked. "What?"
"Simple question."
I turned to glare at him. "No."
Sid raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying my answer. "No?"
I turned back to my pasta, focusing all my energy on stirring like my life depended on it. "No," I repeated, more firmly this time.
"Oh!" he said as if he was hurt by my words
"Did you ever even try to contact me, Sid?"I stiffened.
He blinked like the thought had never even occurred to him "No."
"Then why would I miss you?"I exhaled sharply, nodding
Sid leaned against the counter, folding his arms. "Thought you might have, I don't know, wondered about me or something."
I let out a short laugh, but it felt forced. "You just disappear without a word, Sid."
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't disappear, Alia. I moved. Life happened."
I turned to face him, searching his face for somethingâanythingâthat showed he understood how much it had mattered to me. "And that's it? That's all it was to you?"
Sid hesitated, then gave a small shrug. "Yeah. I guess so."
My stomach twisted, but I forced myself to smile. "Right."
"So, let me get this straight," he continued, stepping forward "We're neighbors now?"
I tightened my grip on the spoon. "Unfortunately."
Sid grinned, leaning against the counter like he belonged there. "You know what this means, right?"
I swallowed hard, refusing to look at him. "What?"
"It means," he said, tilting his head, "you're going to be seeing a lot of me."
The pasta was completely cooked now and I decided to run and freshen up before eating. Just as I turned off the stove, I glanced at Sid, who was still standing there, arms crossed,
"Aayush said he gave you the keys to our apartment."
"Yeah, he did."he nodded
"Great. Give them to me."I held out my hand.
He tilted his head as if considering it. "What if I lost them?"
I just stared at him waiting for him to give me the keys back becasue I knew he was just trying to tease me again.
He tilted his head, looking at me as if this was all some kind of joke. "Why so impatient?"
I exhaled. "Because I want my keys back?"
He chuckled, pulling the keys out of his pocket and dangling them in front of me. "You mean these?"
I reached for them, but he pulled them back at the last second. I shot him a glare. "Really?"
He shrugged. "I mean, I was told to give them to you. But no one said I couldn't have a little fun first."
"Fine, fine."He said making a show of slowly pulling them out of his pocket.
Just as I reached for them, he pulled them back slightly, his eyes gleaming with amusement. My hand froze mid-air, and I shot him a glare.
I focused on my food. "You're acting like a five-year-old."
"You know, if you were really desperate, you'd fight me for them."
I rolled my eyes. "I am not violent."
"Yeah Right"He said
"Really?"
He chuckled. "Relax, I was just messing with you."
I crossed my arms. "You haven't changed at all. Still the same annoying guy who enjoys irritating me for no reason."
"And you haven't changed either," he replied "Still so easy to mess with."
He let out a low chuckle and finally gave it to me.
I hurried back to my apartment, shutting the door behind me with a soft click. The moment I was alone, I let out a deep breath, pressing my back against the door. My heart was still racing.
The same Sid who had spent years teasing me, annoying me, driving me insane.
The same Sid who had stolen my pens, flicked my ear in class, laughed every time I tripped over my own feet.
The same Sid I had been stupidly, hopelessly, pathetically in love with since school.
The same Sid who didn't bother to check on me.
And now he lived here?
In the apartment right next door?
I dont know what should I make of this,but my heart fluttered with happiness and a also feeling sad.
How was I supposed to survive this?
ugh. Why did he still have this effect on me? After all these years, I was still the same flustered mess around him.
I grabbed my towel and hurried to the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face before hopping into a quick shower. As I shampooed my hair, my mind kept replaying our interaction.
After drying off, I stood in front of my closet, biting my lip. What do I even wear? It wasn't like I was dressing up for him. I mean, why would I? I was just... getting ready. Like a normal person.
I finally settled on a casual white top and yoga pants, something simple. But as I reached for my lip balm, my eyes landed on my rhode lip stain. A deep, soft rose taupe.
Should I?
No. Absolutely not.
I applied it anyway.
Then, three seconds later, I wiped it off.
I stared at my reflection.
Then applied it again.
Then wiped it off.
Oh my god. This was ridiculous. I groaned at myself and finally just went with a no lip balm look, deciding that was safe enough.
Once I was ready, I took a deep breath and stepped out of my apartment, heading back to the boys' place.
As soon as I entered, my eyes landed on Sid in the kitchen. He was making two plates of pasta.
I twirled the pasta around my fork, trying to act casual. But honestly, sitting across from Sid again after all these years felt... weird. Not bad. Just weird.
"The last time we met at the airport, you said you were studying in London," Sid said, raising an eyebrow as he took a bite of his food.
"I did." I nodded. "I studied Computer Science at King's College."
He tilted his head slightly. "And now you're here?"
"Yep." I shrugged. "Moved to Boston for my master's at BU."
"What about you? What are you doing here?"I raised an eyebrow.
"I'm doing my MBA at Harvard."
I eyebrows lifted slightly. " So you just followed me here?"
"Yeah, because I totally planned my entire academic career around you."he scoffed.
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"We're home!" Diya announced , stretching her arms. "And I am starving."
Hriday shook his head. "When are you not starving?"
Diya ignored him and walked straight toward the kitchen, where I was sitting with Sid She froze mid-step when she saw him and me looking at each other. Her eyes darted between us before widening.
Samaira leaned against the doorway, crossing her arms. "Wait...Are we interrupting something?"
Before Hriday could reply, Samaira looked at me, who was sitting quietly at the table. She frowned. "Are you okay? You look... different."
I groaned. "No! We were justâ"
"Fighting," Sid interrupted, smirking.
I shot him a glare. "We were not fighting."
"You were definitely glaring at me," he countered, leaning back in his chair. "Which, by the way, is very nostalgic."
"Nostalgic?"Aayush asked
"She's acting strange," Diya whispered.
"Very strange," Samaira agreed.
Sid, who was leaning against the counter, smirked. "Maybe she's just surprised to see me again."
I glared at him. "I am not!"
"Oh?" Sid raised an eyebrow. "You looked shocked when you saw me earlier."
Aayush blinked. "Wait, you guys know each other?"
Sid crossed his arms. "We were classmates in school. Didn't she tell you?"
Diya and Samaira turned to me, their eyes wide.
"Childhood classmates?" Diya repeated slowly.
"Classmates," Sid corrected. "And eternal rivals."
Samaira tilted her head. "That's news."
"It's not a big deal," I said quickly, avoiding their stares.
Diya placed her hands on her hips. "Oh my god, this is like a movie. Childhood friends reunite as neighbors!"
I groaned. "Diya, please."
"But this is so cute!" she insisted.
"It's not cute," I said quickly.
Samaira smirked at me. "So, Alia, why do you look so flustered?"
"I do not!" I denied immediately.
Hriday chuckled. "She does."
Aayush laughed. "This is great. I can't believe we didn't know this!"
"She just said she had a huge crush on someone back in school."Samaira said
I choked. "Sam!"
Diya and Samaira sat up straight. They didn't say anything, but their expressions showed they were making connections in their minds.
Sid looked at me shocked "A crush, huh?"
"Not on you!"I said immediately
"Hmm," Sid said
Samaira cleared her throat. "So, what was Alia really like? "
Diya beamed. "I am sure Alia was the golden student!"
I smiled proudly, only for Sid to continue, "except when it came to competing with me."
I groaned. "Here we go."
"She was always talking, always laughing. She would trip over air and then laugh it off like it was nothing. She used to draw on her notebooks instead of taking notes."he said
"Some things never change," Samaira muttered.
Diya gasped dramatically. That sounds like Alia, she still doodles a lot,Like a lot!"
I groaned. "I just... had a creative side."
Sid snorted. "Creative side? You once filled an entire page with tiny, angry doodles of me when I beat you in a test. Even labeled them 'The Worst Human Ever.'"
But what Sid didn't knowâwhat he would never knowâwas that if he had just flipped the page back, he would've found another set of doodles.
His name. My name. Hearts.
He never noticed, and I never pointed it out.
Samaira burst out laughing. "Please tell me you still do that."
I huffed. "No!" Then, under my breath, I muttered, "Not on paper, at least."
Sid leaned back in his chair, smirking. "See? She pretended to be all nice and innocent, but deep down, she was ruthless."
Diya's eyes widened. "Wait, was she a bully?"
"Me? A bully?" I gasped. "Sid was the bully! He used to pull my hair and steal my pens!"
Sid smirked. "You attacked me with a ruler once.Iron one that too"
Aayush choked on his water. "You what?"
"It was self-defense!" I insisted.
Sid shook his head, grinning. "She was a menace. But only for me."
I rolled my eyes. "I was not a menace. I was a very well-behaved student."
Sid scoffed. "Sure. Except when you were arguing with me about literally everything."
Samaira smirked. "Alia arguing? No way."
Aayush grinned. "Yeah, totally out of character."
I sighed. " And He was the most irritating person I knew. Always teasing me."
Sid smirked. "You always came back, though."
Samaira was watching him closely. "Wait. So you two spent your entire childhood trying to outdo each other?"
Sid nodded. "Pretty much."
Diya tilted her head. "And you remember all of this?"
Sid shrugged. "Of course. She made it very memorable."
"Sounds like childhood rivalry or something else."Diya grinned.
"shut Up"I said
Diya and Samaira exchanged another glance. They didn't say what they were thinking, but I could feel it.
Sid turned to the group, looking far too smug. "She hated losing to me. It didn't matter if it was math, sports, or who could run faster to the lunch lineâshe had to win."
Hriday smirked. "And did she?"
Sid chuckled. "Sometimes, Maybe when I had some leg pain or soemthing"
Sid never had leg pain. He never accidentally slowed down. He let me win on purpose. And back then, every time I beat him, I had thought it was my victory. I had thought I was the one outsmarting him. But no. It was him. Always him.
And I had fallen for it. Fallen for him.
But what chance did I actually have when he had been letting me win all along? When he had been holding back and I had been running with everything I had?
It should make me mad, right? It should make me want to throw something at him.
But instead, my heart did that stupid thing again. That annoying, fluttery, traitorous thing. Because knowing that he let me win, that he chose to let me win, made me like him even more.
Even the arcade trip where he claimed he was terrible at air hockey only to destroy Hriday in the next round.
That ridiculous arm wrestling match at lunch where he acted like I had actual strength, dramatically groaning like I was some kind of champion.
The math quiz where he miscalculated his final answer, giving me the highest score in class for the first time even when everyone calls him the math genius
That one time in seventh grade when we played chess, and he somehow didn't notice my very obvious checkmate move.
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