Kiara's POV:

"You were too good." I said to my grandfather when he descended the stairs of stage and came towards me.

"Thanks my child. I have a surprise for you." He replied. Oh wow, I love surprises. I was going to ask him what the surprise was but before I could do he, he was called by someone. Busy man.

"What must be the surprise he was talking about?" I asked Anika and Veer. Vihaan was not with us because once our performance was done, he went away.

"I guess he is going keep you the legal nominee for his position. After all you are his favourite grandchild. Just imagine, you will be the head of this College." Anika replied excitedly. I don't know if she was teasing me or was being serious but I was not able to control my laugh. Hilarious.

"You are very funny."

"Come on, It is not impossible and moreover you said your left eye was twitching this morning so something good is going to happen." She replied making me laugh again.

"For that matter even my right eye is twitching and nothing bad has happened yet, So I already have to deal with it." I said somewhat sadly. I don't believe in this myths except for the twitching of my eye. When it's the right one I get a bad news and it's the other way when my left eye twitches.

"Whatever, just keep quiet and sit with me." I demanded. There was no fun in the event apart from seeing my family members being felicitated and hearing their little speech. I was bored but being the good kid, I was still sitting inside the hall.

"Shall we leave now?" Veer asked after sometime.

"Why do you want to leave so soon?" Anika asked.

"It's going to rain." He replied. We both gave him a confused look.

"It's winter season why would it rain now?" I asked. He didn't reply me, he just unlocked his phone and passed it to me. There was a message from his mom, who told him to come soon as the weather looked like it was going to rain. My favourite kind of weather. I'm definitely running from here now.

"Let's go." I declared.

"Yeah. I don't think your grandfather is transferring his property in your name." Anika said making me chuckle again.

Funny girl!

I signalled mom that I'm leaving and came out of the hall. Wow, was the only thing that left my mouth once I went outside. The dark clouds were hovering around the sky, those sounds of thunder and then my most favourite, the cold breeze. The weather was exactly the one which makes you remember your loved one even when you are single.

"Do you miss Ritik?" Anika asked. If I'm not going to lie to myself then yes, I missed him. I felt like enjoying this weather with him.

"Such weathers make me feel so lonely. I really wish I had a boyfriend." She said dramatically.

"Why are you girls so filmy?" Veer asked and started walking out of the campus. We followed him and stood outside the main gate.

"Kiara, how are you going to go home?" Veer asked. Oh no, I didn't thought about it.

"I guess I will book a cab." I replied immediately. I came with my parents and now that they were not going to come out soon it was better for me to book a cab.

"Ok. You guys carry on. I will bring my bike." Veer said and went to get his bike whereas Anika and me started walking further. Cabs are available a little away from our college so we had to walk.

"There is no signal." I said annoyingly. I mean just when I was in need of signal, why does it has to disappear?

"Ritik." Anika screamed. When looked up, I saw Ritik coming out of the gym however he was not in clothes appropriate for exercise, he looked like he was going to some party.

"Why are you calling him?" I whisper asked.

"You just wait and watch." She replied and waited for Ritik to come towards us.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came here to order my regular protein supplements. What about you guys? Done with the event?" He asked.

"No but we decided to leave. Kiara was booking a cab but there's no signal in her mobile. Will you drop her?" Anika asked very boldly. I don't think she even thought for a single second before saying that. Anyway, I'm not going to go with Ritik and that's for sure.

"If she doesn't have any problem, I will."

"Why would she have any problem? Infact she will be the happiest." Anika replied.

"And why would I be the 'Happiest'?" I asked immediately. I agree I will be happy but was it so necessary to tell it in infront of Ritik? What Anika said was wrong but even I did wrong by asking this question to her. Now that I have dug my own grave, let's see how I land in it.

I waited for Anika to reply me however she just shrugged her shoulders almost saying, 'Isn't it obvious?'. When looked at Ritik, I saw him smile as well. Even he figured out Anika's answer. All my mistake, I should have keep my mouth shut that day rather than telling everyone about my feelings.

"I will be back in a minute." Ritik said and went away.

"Why did you do that?" I asked slapping Anika's arm.

"Don't act like you aren't excited. Enjoy your ride baby and tell me the details tomorrow." She replied excitedly.

"And yes, if possible confess your feelings for him."

Geez girl, stop please!

I ignored whatever she said and waited for Ritik's one minute to get over.

"I'm definitely not going with him now." I declared the moment I saw Ritik on his bike. I'm not doubting Ritik's driving skills but I was scared to sit on a bike while I was wearing a saree. I never ever tried to pull off this stunt and even today I was not going to do it. I told the same to Anika however an eye-roll was all I got in return.

"Let's go." Ritik said. I'm sorry, I can't.

"Anika let's go. We are getting late." Veer announced. Wow now even Anika will leave, how am I going to answer Ritik?

"Bye guys. Take care." Anika said and then came to hug me.

"Enjoy your night." She whispered in my ear and went away. Girl you are a devil.

"Shall we leave?" Ritik asked again.

"If you won't get angry, should I tell you something?" I asked. When Ritik told me to continue, with atmost honesty I told him everything.

"You are very funny." He said with a little giggle. What was so funny in that? Idiot.

"Anyway, if you are not comfortable I won't force you. Take this and search for a cab. If it doesn't works I will ask Viraj to bring his car or will go search a cab and send it here." Ritik said handling his mobile to me. Okay, now that I have options I will not have to sit on his bike with this saree.

I happily took his mobile and started searching for a cab. Unlike mine, his sim card had full network and was also doing it's job perfectly.

"Kiara." Ritik called making me look at him. The way he looked at me, I knew something was coming.

"Don't you trust me?" He asked. I don't know what power his eyes held but I was unable to take my eyes from them. I don't even know what magic he did but all my worries about sitting on a bike were gone, instantly.

"Let's go." I said as I went towards his bike. I was going to sit but was stopped by his next question.

"You sure?"

I was confident to go with him until this question. All my worries came back to me with just a simple question.

"Yeah I guess I am. It is going to rain soon, so it's better if we leave now." I replied and saw him nod. He then instructed me how to sit and also assured me not to worry about anything. Nonetheless, it didn't had any effect on me as I was still scared.

"Listen, this is the first time I'm going to sit like this. So if I fall and god forbid if I die, tell my family that I love them." I said sincerely. Out of all the fears I have, one is of dying without letting my parents know how much they mean to me. I do confess my love for them every now and then but still I feel like it's not enough.

"Can you talk about something good?" He asked with a bit of distaste.

"But I'm serious. You know about my fear, don't you?" I asked. Ritik knew about this fear of mine because even he has the same. Considering how family oriented man he is, he should have understood me rather than being angry.

"Yeah I know but please don't talk about it."

Why is he acting weird?

I agreed and decided to get settled but then I thought about annoying him more.

"Tell the same to Anika and Veer, ok?" I asked. Ritik shot me with a glare and gave a forced nod. Hehe, so funny and enough, I should go home before it rains.

"And what about your crush? What should I tell him?" Ritik asked. If I die, I will be with you only...so why do you want to tell something to yourself? Idiot.

"Tell him, he is an idiot." I replied and got settled on his bike.

"I'm offended but then again, I know how to take revenge from you." He said and started driving. The moment I felt the bike move, I was scared as hell and ended up hugging Ritik like there was no tomorrow.

"You are very bad." I said.

"I know." He replied and continued driving.

After sometime I felt comfortable and so I slowly opened my eyes and removed my hands from Ritik however I still kept one hand on his shoulder. Sitting like this isn't a difficult task, why was I so scared?

"Now why are you smiling?" I asked when I saw Ritik glancing at me through the mirror with a smile on his smile.

"What why? Didn't you just proved 'objects in mirror are closer than they appear'?" He replied causing me to blush. I wanted to bang on my own head on a wall for again committing the mistake of coming with him but there was no wall near me, neither a hard substance other than Ritik's back.

"Shut up and drive." I said and looked away. For the whole ride, I didn't dared to glance in the mirror again because I knew he will tease me. I kept looking at the sky, enjoying the movement of those dark clouds. Bike rides with Ritik were always the best and today I got to experience one more such best ride.

"Thanks for the ride." I said once I saw my home. I got down from the bike and heard Ritik's phone ring.

"One second." He signalled me and received the call.

'I can't.'

'Sorry, maybe some other day.'

'Yeah. Bye and sorry again.'

Ritik said and ended the call. Was he supposed to go somewhere? Am I the reason why he didn't went where he was supposed to go?

"Did you had any plans for today?" I asked.

"No." He replied immediately.

"Why did you cancel them Ritik?" I asked seriously, I knew he was lying. I don't like when people do any kind of sacrifice for me.

"Dropping you home was more important, isn't it?" He asked.

Why are you doing this?

Why are you making things difficult for me?

With this care of yours, how will I get over my feelings for you?

"I'm sorry Ritik and once again Thanks for the ride." I said and turned to leave however was disappointed immediately.

"I guess Sameer is not inside." Ritik said. I turned around and gave him a sad nod. All the lights of my home were off so it was obvious that Sameer was not home. I called him and came to know that he was out, partying with his friends.

"Didn't you told me today that you want to be a monk?" I asked angrily.

"I was not serious Kiu." He answered.

"Enjoy and take care of yourself." I said and disconnected the call. I then called mom however she didn't receive it. I guess I will have to sit alone but I don't want to, the thunders were scaring me.

"Anyway, I should leave now. See you." Ritik said and within no time started his bike. Man, please don't be so insensitive. You can't leave me alone.

"You are going?" I asked.

"Yeah." He replied and started driving. I almost thought that he was going to leave me alone but instead, he took the bike inside the main gate of our house. Idiot, you should have done this directly rather than scaring me.

"Stop blushing now." He said as I went towards him.

"I'm not blushing and there is no reason for me to blush." I stated.

"You want a reason?" He asked. I would have loved to say yes but then I remembered that either he will tease me about my confession or will say something so cheesy and to avoid both, I shook my head and went to sit on that three stairs in front of home whereas Ritik decided to sit on his bike only.

The weather was still pretty breezy and also there was little drizzle. It is everyone's dream to be with their loved one in such weather and here even when Ritik was with me, We were far away both mentally and physically.

"It's raining. Come inside." I said. By inside I meant the shade in front of our home. The stairs on which I was sitting were under the shade and so there was not even a drop of rain on me.

"Why don't you say it clearly that you want me to sit beside you?" He asked. There was nothing wrong or a hint of teasing in his tone yet I found myself blushing. The day I get to tease him, I will make sure to take proper revenge from him.

"Drown in that rain. I don't care." I said and looked away from him.

I thought Ritik will get angry after what I said however forget about anger, he came and sat beside me while giving a heart melting smile. There was more than enough space for three people to sit on the stairs yet Ritik was sitting very close to me and as if he was still not satisfied with the place he got, he moved more towards me. The weather and his closeness were creating wonders inside me and to stop them I moved a little away however Ritik did the same. I moved more aside and yet again he copied me.

"If you move more closer to me, I will fall now." I said almost warned him not to do it but Ritik being Ritik moved again. That's it, I'm not sitting here. I got up to leave but Ritik immediately stopped me my holding my wrist. His touch, I'm going to die with all this sensations.

"I'm sorry. Please sit." He apologized and moved away so that there was enough space between both of us.

"You always Loved rain, why aren't you going out?" Ritik asked breaking the uncomfortable silence between us.

"I don't know. Why aren't you going? Even you Love rain."

Since we were kids, I loved dancing in rain and Ritik loved playing football, for that matter when I started having feelings for him along with dance, I loved watching him play. The aggression on the field, the aura which he carried with him, his expression of anger and disappointment and then those cute smiles he passed whenever our eyes met, made him look so hot and adorable. Good old days.

"Maybe because we are not living that 'good old days' phase."

"Aren't you the same now?" I asked.

"I am but I miss the old you." He replied looking straight into my eyes. His words brought a different kind of pain inside my heart, the pain of hurting him.

I'm not changed Ritik, I'm still the same Kiara it's just that I have to stay away from you.

"I figured." Ritik answered as if he read my thoughts. No, maybe I'm overthinking.

"What?" I asked however he just shook his head and sat quietly. There was again silence between us until he spoke again.

"Will there be any problem to you if your neighbours see us like this?"

"No, why so?" I asked and came to know that the neighbour to my left was seeing us from her window.

"Aha ..leave her. There won't be any problem because mom won't pay any heed to her nonsense." I answered. All my male friends visit my home from time to time, there was a time when this neighbour aunt was bitching about the same to my mom however mom slapped some nice response on her face and since that day, she never interferes in our lives.

"Viraj said you wanted to tell me something, What was it?" I asked.

"You look beautiful." He answered, this time with no nervousness infact he looked very much confident when he said that. It felt like it was almost after a decade that Ritik complimented me. My heart was full with happiness and the result was those sudden tears in my eyes. If someone would have asked to describe my happiness in words, I would have been very incompetent.

"Hey, why are you crying?" Ritik asked shaking my hand a little. Tears of joy.

I love you so much Ritik.

"Nothing." I replied and blinked my eyes several times to stop my tears but they refused to do that. I have the power to control my emotions, I have been doing it since long time but today for the first time I felt like telling everything to Ritik. I wanted to scream my love for him, I wanted to open my heart but I knew I shouldn't do that. Stop it Kiara.

"Something went in my eye." I said and quickly wiped my tears. Ritik didn't disappoint me by asking the same question again, he sat quietly just like me.

"Say something." I said completely ignoring that sad moment.

"You say."

Before I could say anything, I heard my phone ring. It was a video call from Anika and so without thinking much I recieved it.

"How was the ride and..." She asked excitedly but stopped in mid probably because she saw Ritik next to me. Thank god, she didn't start her sentence with something stupid.

"Hi Anika. I promise to give you all the details tomorrow but using phone while It's raining with thunders is got a good thing for both of you, right?" Ritik asked as he took my mobile from me.

"Yes you are absolutely right. Sorry I forgot it because I was so excited." She replied.

"By the way, I have a message for you kiu. Before keeping your phone aside see that." Anika said further and disconnected the call. I was going to take my phone back but Ritik didn't allow me to do that.

"Wait." He said as he stopped my hand from moving further. Now he will definitely see my message.

"Hey, that's invasion of privacy." I stated angrily.

"Who cares?" He asked and read the message which Anika said. I'm sure that stupid girl must have told something to tease me. I just hope she didn't say something which Ritik shouldn't read.

"Take." He said and handed my phone to me. I tried to read his expressions but they were blank. What must have Anika said? Without wasting a single second, I opened her chat and saw the messages.

'How was the ride?'

'Did you tell him that you still love him?'

'And and, since you are wearing yellow and Ritik is wearing white shirt with black jacket, please consider recreating that 'Tip tip barsa pani' song 😜'

Damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!

Should I cry? Should I laugh? Should I scream, curse Anika or should I just go and bang my head somewhere?

Bestfriends are the best part of our life, they help us escape from trouble and are the same creatures who create trouble for us. I was so embarrassed when I read Anika's message and the fact that Ritik read those messages added to my embarassment.

But wait, did he read them? If yes, why didn't he teased me yet? If no, why did he became so quiet?

Not wanting to come at any conclusions I kept my head on my knees and hoped for mom and dad to return soon. It was all quiet until I heard Ritik humming that 'Tip tip barsa pani' song. Why God why?

"Dude, please stop" I said slapping his arm.

"Why stop? I'm just singing a song."

"You read the messages, didn't you?" I asked and in return he just shrugged his shoulders while giving me a very evident smirk.

"Man, this is so embarrassing." I cried and got down the stairs so that I can atleast stay away from him.

"I love you." I heard Ritik say. The moment his words hit my ears, I felt my world stop. No, this can't be true.

"What did you say?" I asked as I turned and looked at him. Even he got up and stood before me.

"I love you Kia, I always did."

"I tried to get over my feelings for you but now I can't do that. I don't want to."

"I love you and I really do." Ritik confessed making me totally numb.

                                ***

Thanks for reading.