🎵 Song: Iktara – Wake Up Sid (Instrumental)

"Some memories fade overnight...

Some refuse to leave your heart."

The Sharma house was quiet.

The dinner at the Malhotra mansion had ended hours ago.

Everyone had gone to sleep.

Everyone...

Except one person.

Aarohi lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

The room was dark except for the soft moonlight filtering through the curtains.

She turned to one side.

Then the other.

Sleep refused to come.

No matter how much she tried...

One scene kept replaying in her mind.

"These blue eyes..."

"They're dangerous."

"Anyone who looks into them for too long..."

"Might forget where they were going."

Her cheeks warmed all over again.

She immediately hid her face inside her pillow.

"What was that...?"

she mumbled softly.

"He says such strange things."

A few seconds later...

A tiny smile escaped her lips.

Then she quickly shook her head.

"No."

"I shouldn't think about it."

But the smile refused to disappear.

At the same time...

Across the street...

Inside the Malhotra mansion...

Reyansh was lying on his bed with one arm behind his head.

Kabir walked into the room carrying a comic book.

"Bhai?"

"Hmm?"

Kabir looked at him suspiciously.

"Why are you smiling?"

Reyansh looked confused.

"I am?"

"Yes."

"You've been smiling since we came home."

"I have not."

"You have."

Reyansh threw a pillow at him.

"Go to sleep."

Kabir laughed while dodging it.

"Definitely something is happening."

He thought with a grin.

The next morning...

St. Xavier's Senior Secondary School.

The campus buzzed with students returning after the weekend.

Aarohi entered the school gate carrying her bag.

Almost immediately...

She spotted Mehak waving enthusiastically.

"Aarohi!"

"Here!"

Aarohi smiled.

"Good morning."

"Good morning!"

The two girls began walking toward their classroom together.

"So..."

Mehak looked at her curiously.

"How was your weekend?"

Aarohi smiled softly.

"It was nice."

"What did you do?"

"My parents took us to dinner."

"Oh?"

"At whose house?"

Aarohi answered honestly.

"Our new neighbours'."

"The Malhotras."

Mehak nodded.

"That's nice."

"They're Uncle's best friends."

"My father's best friend, actually."

She smiled.

"They're really kind."

Mehak listened quietly.

"Aunty Meera is so sweet."

"Uncle Vikram and Papa kept talking for hours."

"Our younger siblings have already become best friends."

Mehak laughed.

"That happened fast."

"It really did."

Aarohi continued,

"And..."

"There was their elder son too."

Mehak looked interested.

"Oh?"

"What's his name?"

Aarohi answered without thinking.

"Reyansh."

Silence.

Mehak stopped walking.

"...What?"

Aarohi blinked.

"Hmm?"

"You said..."

"...Reyansh?"

"Yes."

"Reyansh Malhotra."

Mehak stared at her for a few seconds.

Then suddenly grabbed both of Aarohi's shoulders.

"Wait!"

"The Reyansh Malhotra?"

"The one in our school?"

Aarohi nodded innocently.

"Yes."

"He's Uncle Vikram's son."

Mehak looked completely shocked.

"You're telling me..."

"The dangerous Reyansh Malhotra..."

"...is your next-door neighbour?"

Aarohi nodded again.

"And our fathers are best friends."

Another few seconds of silence.

Then...

Mehak dramatically looked up at the sky.

"Destiny..."

"What are you trying to do?"

Aarohi laughed softly.

"What?"

Mehak shook her head.

"Think about it!"

"Out of every family in the city..."

"You shifted next to his house."

"Your fathers are best friends."

"You both study in the same school."

"And now you're telling me you've even had dinner together?"

Aarohi smiled awkwardly.

"When you say it like that..."

"It does sound strange."

"It sounds like a movie!"

Mehak exclaimed.

"I swear destiny is planning something dramatic."

Aarohi immediately shook her head.

"No."

"It's just a coincidence."

"Hmm."

Mehak smiled mischievously.

"We'll see."

The school bell rang.

"Oh no!"

"We'll be late."

The girls hurried toward their classroom.

After the first two periods ended...

They sat together during the short break.

Mehak smiled.

"You know..."

"We've become friends so quickly..."

"But we don't even have each other's phone numbers."

Aarohi blinked.

"That's true."

"What if you need notes?"

"Or homework?"

"Exactly."

Mehak immediately unlocked her phone.

"Give me your number."

Aarohi smiled and took out her own phone.

Within a minute...

They exchanged contact numbers.

Mehak quickly saved it.

🌸 Aarohi

Aarohi looked at her phone and smiled before typing.

😊 Mehak

"There."

Mehak grinned.

"Now I can annoy you even after school."

Aarohi laughed.

"I think I'll survive."

"Oh no."

"You definitely won't."

The two girls laughed together.

For the first time since shifting to the new city...

Aarohi truly felt that she had found someone she could trust.

A genuine friend.

At that exact moment...

Down the corridor...

A familiar voice echoed.

"Arjun, hurry up!"

Reyansh casually walked past the senior wing with his best friend.

For a brief second...

His eyes instinctively drifted toward Class 11-A.

Just as Aarohi looked out of the classroom.

Their eyes met.

Only for a heartbeat.

Reyansh gave the faintest smirk.

Aarohi immediately looked away.

Mehak noticed everything.

She slowly looked from Aarohi...

to Reyansh...

and back again.

Then she smiled to herself.

"Destiny..."

"You're definitely planning something."

End of Chapter 13 💙📱