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Sona cried. A lot.

Tarni was sitting beside her on the bed, it had been three days and since then both of the best friends were in complicated moods. Sona felt her heart was breaking, each time she read the letter her heart cracked a little more.

Why Aksith? What stopped you? What is stopping you?

"He's dumb," she cried out as she lay on her bed with her stomach down.

Tarni pursed her lips. "It's so weird," she said. "Sona, it's so fucking weird! I never read the whole thing because I was scared and I just thought it was for me but now that I think of it, he didn't give it to me directly. He just left it on the desk on the last day of college and I thought it was for me because I sat beside him in class, you know?"

Sona rubbed her red eyes, humming in answer.

"Maybe he always liked you, Sona," Tarni said, her voice a little hurt. "Damn! He just pretended to like me to be close to you."

"Don't say that!" Sona said, defending her other best friend. "A-Aksith wouldn't do that!"

"He clearly has liked you for a long time," her lips were in a straight line. "And here I was trying to drown myself in guilt, thinking he was waiting for me!"

A soft sob left Sona's lips. Was it because of her that he was never serious about any girl? Was it her fault? To know someone was hurting because of her and, her best friend at that, was heart wrenching. But why did he never say anything? Why did he never tell her he liked her? If he would have she wouldn't be feeling so confused about him or Abhay. If he would have taken his chance Abhay wouldn't even be in the picture anymore!

"He wants you, Sona," Tarni said. "But at the same time he doesn't."

"What is that suppose to mean?" she asked.

"Aksith was always yours more than mine," she said with a sad smile. "It's nothing bad, I guess, But if you look back to our friendship, to college days, he always had a soft spot for you, didn't he?"

"Yeah."

"But he never made a move."

"Uuhuh."

"Do you think it is because he never wanted to ruin your friendship?"

Sona pondered, her head in her hands. If it was a matter of when they were in college she sure would've agreed. But now they were not! They were perfectly at a marriage age, there is nothing to be afraid of was is? She had asked him if he would get into a relationship just for dating or marriage and he said it depended on the girl. So if it came to her, if he really liked her for so long, he would date her for marriage would he not?

"That's a stupid excuse," she scoffed.

"Maybe he thought you were never over Abhay?"

"No! That's bullshit!" Sona cursed, "H-He is the one I spoke to Abhay about. He knows everything. How I felt, what I felt. It was weird talking to you about him, so Aksith was always there to listen."

Tarni sighed sadly, her eyes slightly welled up too. "Fuck you Aksith. You dumb piece of shit."

"He liked you but he listened to you talk about someone else, does he have a heart made of steel?"

Sona felt more bad, by every passing second she felt she would drown. Her heart ached for Aksith. If he loved her so much to let her go, how much had that love hurt him? How much had that love made him cry?

For she knew how much one-sided love hurt.

🦋🦋🦋

Sona had tried getting in contact in Aksith, he was away for the workshop he had been working for. It was easy to get in touch with a text or call but whenever it went through she just felt like crying. If she couldn't talk to it about it on phone would she be able to do it face to face?

"Are you missing me so much, Sona?" he laughed through the other end. "It has just been four days and you've called me eight times."

Sona bit her lip, her heart clenching. "Shut up."

"Do you want me to get something for you?" he jested, "Is that it? That's why so many calls? Just tell me, already. Do you want me to go thrift shopping in Delhi?"

"When will you come back?" she rolled her eyes.

"In another day or two," he mused. "Come on, Sona. Do you want to say something? Why are you hesitating?"

Her fingers tightened around the phone. How did he know? "W-What happened to all the songs you used to write?" she squeaked. "After college you neither showed any to me and neither did we sing together!"

"Ahh. . . " he chuckled. "So you were reminiscing college days? Don't tell me you were looking through the pictures of our Shimla trip?"

"I wasn't!" she screeched.

"Well. . . I never really thought about pursing music," he said. "So I just let that part of me go. Maybe I should also publish all my songs into a poetry book like you."

Sona's heart throbbed. What did he mean by that? He knew why she had decide to publish her poems, because she wanted to let go of her 18 year old self. Was he doing the same? Was he letting her go? She didn't know what to think.

"Come back soon."

🦋🦋🦋

In the next week when Sona tried to meet Aksith either he was busy or she was. She couldn't get the time to talk to him and it was eating her up. She wanted to question him. She wanted answers and staying in the dark was only making her more blind, that she couldn't even walk the path she had learned on the back of her hand.

"Where are we going, Abhay?" she frowned as she got into his car. He had been insisting her to take her somewhere, all she knew was their date was suppose to be at night so why was he driving her to places at 3 in the afternoon?

"It's a secret," he whispered with a smile.

Sona's mood had been down lately and it would probably stay that way until she talked to her best friend and got things straight.

"Why so down, Sona?" Abhay detected her mood. "Is something wrong?"

Sona sighed, not knowing what should she even tell him. Was it okay to talk about Aksith to him? Will Abhay be able to help her? Unbestowed to her, she wasn't looking at him like a suitor but just an elderly figure who had always been in her life.

". . . . Aksith likes me. . . " she nodded, feeling a little dizzy.

The car went quiet for a second and then he spoke in a deep and irritating tone. "I know."

"Um?" she blinked. "You do?"

"It's obvious, is it not?" he asked, his voice strained.

"How is it obvious?" she questioned. "It's not, okay?"

"Friends don't flirt," he said. "Neither do they hold hands."

Sona's face flushed. He knew? How? She coughed. "Uh. . . okay."

The silence blanked them once again, Abhay didn't take the topic further so only Sona could speak again. ". . . . He's liked me since long. . ."

"Is this a way of you rejecting me?" he asked, his voice a little hoarse as he continued to drive forward. "If it is, please not today."

"W-What?" she stuttered. No, she wasn't trying to reject anymore or accept anyone! "No I am not!"

He pursed his lips. "Aksith is not a nice guy, Sona."

That made her angry, she scowled at him. "Hey! You can't say that!"

He bit on his lip but didn't say anything, his silence only worsened her mood. She didn't speak either, she just wanted someone to talk to about it, because it was eating her up. Maybe it was her mistake to think that Abhay could be the one she shared her worry with.

🦋🦋🦋

He had brought her to a bookstore but what astonished her was that it was crowded than usual. When she descended down the stairs she saw a sign board with her name on it. Her eyes widened.

Book signing?

She was doing a book signing? She turned to look at Abhay, giving him a questioning look. Her whole face was a question mark itself.

"Yeah," he sighed as he forced out a smile, his mood was uncharacteristically different and that bothered Sona. "This is your surprise. You will be shocked to see that many people came."

And shocked she was.

She didn't think that people who followed her on ThePage app were still active, or still cared about her poetry. She was just any other girl writing her sorrows away but there were people who still valued it. She was close to tears and overwhelming emotions stuffed inside her chest. About 50 people were inside, all of them holding her poetry book.

She touched one, her fingers gazing over the spine as a shiver ran through her. Shooting Star. Her first and last book. But it held emotions she could never hold. And as she looked at the lilac cover book she smiled. A real smile after a tiresome week.

"Thank you," she hugged it to her chest and smiled at Abhay, her brown eyes shinning in gratitude.

She went on the small make shift stage, many unfamiliar faces waved at her and she waved back with equal gusto. Her hands were sweating and she felt a little nervous when Abhay thrust a mic in front of her face.

She looked at him and he raised an eyebrow, titling his head slightly.

"Oh my god, hi," she blurted out and everyone laughed.

". . . . I am not prepared because this guy over here brought me here as a surprise," she pointed at Abhay and rolled her eyes. "But I can't believe there are so many of you all!"

Her eyes glistened as she continued. "Thank you so much for coming! After years I would have never thought that my poetry would touch somebody's else heart. I never even thought that my built up emotions could be turned into something so beautiful as poetry. . . . . "

Soon she was signing copies, her small smile turning into a real grin as she talked to her readers. She felt like a teenage girl again as she talked about the part of herself who was hopelessly in love.

"So, did you ever tell him?" a girl, who looked like she was fresh out of college asked. Sona's poetry book was clutched towards her chest as she beamed at her.

"Yes," Sona smiled, her eyes fleeting towards Abhay but unmistakably it connected with someone else's. With Aksith's.

He was standing far away, smiling at her as he gave a little wave. Tarni was beside him too. She looked away with a fast beating heart.

"Did he say yes?" the girl squeaked.

"Of course he did," Abhay had been eavesdropping on their conversation came in. He stood next to her as he put his elbow on the top of the chair she was siting on. "Who would dare to reject her after the poems she'd written?"

Sona's mouth turned dry. Her mind went to Aksith's poem. Who would are to reject that poem? And all his songs? And all his music?

The girl seem mesmerised by both Sona and Abhay. Her eyes were practically sparkling, she looked like a girl in love as she smiled.

"But you didn't publish that one poem?" she asked Sona, a little confused. "Oh my god! Is it because that was the one you gave him as a confession? It's suppose to stay a secret now?" she giggled in the end.

Sona frowned but didn't say anything, when she walked away she looked at Abhay who was just about to walk away. She caught his arm, "You didn't listen to me, did you?"

"Sorry," his ears were flushed, he looked guilty.

"I told you to publish it, didn't I?" her voice got a little louder but she couldn't be making a scene in front of everyone. She stood up and excused herself, pulling him with her. She found Aksith and Tarni in a heated discussion and her heart clenched.

"Sona," Abhay mumbled. "I am sorry."

Sona glared at him as she stood behind the bookshelf. "Why?"

"I was being selfish," he rubbed his neck, not meeting her eyes.

She pursed her lips. What was se suppose to say? What was she even suppose to feel? Abhay probably thought she wouldn't mind it, seeing they had gotten closer since before, but she still felt the undeniable ache in her heart. She trusted him, didn't she? Why was he playing with her?

"It's okay," she rubbed her head as frustrated tears build up in her eyes. She walked away from him and that's when her phone pinged.

It was Vedika, she internet friend of long time.

I am here! Where are you??

She took a deep breathe, trying to clear her mind off. She didn't want to meet her with a frown. Some excitement bubbled up in her stomach as she texted back.

I am at the section where your books are!

She looked at the message and locked her phone, craning her neck to find someone she had never seen before. She walked towards the section where her books where, there were so many girls here. But one person stood out.

It was Aksith and he was looking right into her eyes.

DUN DUN DUNNN

THE CLIMAX IS HERE

maybe you should go and read aksith's poem again 🥺😔🤚 (sorry i just love it so much)

who do you like more? abhay or aksith?

should i give myself the name of wtf author or something??😌🤚

lol as the end is nearing it is harder to write. probably two- three more chps left??

the most funny thing is that my sister who is sitting beside me keeps asking me when i will post the next chp😂🤚