Start of everything
It was the start of a new school year, and I was moved to a new class because of my good grades. When I entered the classroom, there was only one student inside, looking out the window. It started with just one look, a small wave that pulled me in. I felt like I was drowning in feelings I had never felt before. Even though I didn't know her, I was already falling in love. It was love at first sight.
Her name was Aarya.
She sat there with her glasses low on her nose, sunlight making her hair shine like gold. She looked far away, as if she was lost in thought. She seemed so close but also far away, quiet and graceful. She didn't try to get attention, but somehow she did.
I kept looking at her like a flies drawn to light. She was calm and collected and everything that I wasn't. I wondered what she was thinking about when she stared out the window. Was she thinking about love? Or something else? Did she feel the same nervousness I did?
Then she looked up. Our eyes met.
Time seemed to stop.
There was a moment of something, maybe she noticed me, maybe she didn't. She didn't smile or look away. She just looked back out the window. That moment left me with so many questions. Was it real or just my imagination?
From that day, something inside me changed. This was no ordinary crush. It felt like the start of a story I couldn't stop reading.
The Group Project
A week later, our teacher told us we had a group project. I was put in a group with Aarya and two others.
"Make sure everyone helps," the teacher said.
We sat together. Aarya opened her notebook.
"Should we split the work or think together first?" she asked.
It was the first time I heard her talk. Calm and confident.
"Let's think together," I said, trying not to sound nervous.
She smiled a little. "You're the new guy, right? The topper?"
"Yeah," I said shyly.
She held out her hand. "I'm Aarya."
I shook it awkwardly. "I know."
She laughed softly. "Do you know everyone's name or just mine?"
"Just yours," I said quickly.
She turned back to the notebook, and I felt something had changed between us.
The next morning, I found a folded note on my desk. No name. Just seven words.
Stop staring. She notices. So does everyone.
I felt cold. Who had left it? A friend? A bully? Aarya?
I put the note in my bag and tried not to look at her. But my feelings didn't go away. They only got stronger.
The Small Gesture
One day in class, the teacher was tired of noise and made Aarya the monitor. She stood up and walked between desks, quiet but in charge. I'd never seen anyone do that so easily.
After I handed in my work, I came back and someone was sitting in my seat. Aarya saw me and said, "You can sit in my seat."
She moved without fuss. It seemed small to others, but to me it meant a lot.
The next day, people started whispering. My friends teased me at lunch.
"You two looked good together yesterday," Pratik said, grinning.
I laughed nervously. "Nothing happened."
Pratik smiled wider. "Are you sure? People say you already told her you like her."
My heart beat fast. "I didn't say anything."
"Then why do people think you did?"
I didn't know what to say. The teasing got worse. Every look and laugh felt like it was about me. Aarya never said anything. She stayed distant, like it didn't matter.
The Confession
Before the Tihar holiday, I couldn't keep my feelings inside. I wanted to tell Aarya how I felt. But I was too scared to say it myself.
So I asked my cousin, who was friends with Aarya, to talk to her for me. She agreed.
That evening, they walked home together, and I followed at a distance, my heart pounding.
I watched as my cousin told Aarya everything, how I felt and how long I had kept it inside. Aarya listened quietly. I couldn't see her face well, but she didn't seem surprised.
Then I stepped forward and asked softly, "Aarya, what do you think about me?"
She looked at me calmly.
"I'm sorry," she said gently. "I don't feel the same."
It was simple and kind, but it broke my heart.
I went home and closed my door. I cried for the first time in a long while. All the hope and pain came out.
When I stopped crying, everything was quiet. Outside, the lights of Tihar twinkled. The world kept moving even if I felt stuck.
The Principal Threat
Back at school, I felt better. But then I heard Aarya saying she would tell the principal about my feelings.
My heart sank.
At break time, I found her and said, "I'm sorry, Aarya. I won't look at you like that again. Please don't tell the principal."
She looked at me for a moment and said, "I won't. Just don't make things weird."
Something inside me broke. This wasn't love anymore. It was the end of a dream.
Raj Case
As time passed, I focused on my studies to forget the pain, but things around me kept changing. My friends who once joked about love started having their own relationships.
Then Aarya moved on too, but with Raj, my close friend. Their relationship lasted only twelve hours. It was a brief spark that faded almost as soon as it began.
To others, it was just a funny story, but to me it felt like a sharp pain in my heart. While love came and went for everyone else, I was left feeling alone and broken. I teased Raj about how fast it ended, trying to hide how much it hurt inside.
One rainy evening after class, I was walking home with my friends, including Raj. We all carried umbrellas to stay dry. I saw Aarya walking ahead with my cousin. On a sudden impulse, I called out, "Aarya, Raj said bye to you!"
Right after that, I noticed a man on a bike making a U-turn and wow it was Aarya's father. Panic hit me. I quickly hid behind my umbrella, and Pratik did the same. We slipped quietly toward Raj's home while the others walked on, unaware of the danger.
Later, Aarya told me she had convinced her father that nothing had happened. Still, the fear stayed with me. Everything about Aarya felt fragile and distant, and I worried I had made things worse.
But I thought later focusing in these stuffs might break me further. So, although the teasing Raj arc was never over... I started removing Aarya from my mind.
Focusing on Studies
I threw myself into studying. If I couldn't win her heart, I'd win with my grades.
I studied hard every day and night. I ignored everything else.
When results came out, I tied with Pratik as the school topper. Aarya was below me.
The win felt bittersweet. It didn't fix the past, but it gave me closure.
I learned that sometimes love doesn't end with a person. It ends when you choose to move on.