Chapter 3

I walked into my room and fell on my bed, muttering, "He became rude and arrogant after boarding school. I thought we would have fun since it's been so long. He didn't even care that I might've missed him. I sent him his favorite desserts and cookies with my pocket money so he didn't starve or get bored by the canteen food. Now, he's being a jerk. Dumb and a loser. He doesn't deserve to be my brother."

"He missed you a lot," said a voice. I was startled and stood up from bed to see the guy coming from the bathroom. He changed into Aarav's t-shirt. Great! He overheard my words.

"He talked about you a lot. How did you guys use to team up to win in a fight against others during boxing classes? How he would disturb you while painting and playing video games. He told me about everything. He sees you more like his sister than his own. Whenever he missed you, he'd show me your pictures and tell the stories behind them. He loves you. He doesn't show it to you, just as you never show concern and love for him." By the time he was done, I was on the verge of tears but composed myself.

"Did he miss me?" I asked him eagerly.

"Yes, he did." He answered with a smile. A huge smile appeared on my face, glad to hear that Aarav missed me just as much as I did. The guy looked at me and said, "You two are lucky to have such a strong relationship even though you are cousins."

Aarav came into the room, calling for me as I was about to reply. He handed me a packet, "It's a gift for you." I glanced at Aarav's friend doubtfully since it could be a prank as I took the pack.

The guy must've sensed my hesitance and said, "It's a present for you. Aarav was so confused about what to get for you. He took a long time but finally picked something you'll like the most."

I excitedly opened it to find my favorite game's latest edition, which I wanted to play. I screamed and hugged him, "Thanks, brother. Thank you, thank you so much."

"I knew you'd love it," Aarav said.

"How did you get it?" I asked him, pulling away.

"He booked it three months before its release," The guy said.

"Happy?" Aarav asked, looking at me.

"More than I can express," I grinned.

"Let's not fight anymore because we're no longer kids. We are growing up. Better act like one, okay?" Aarav said.

"Yes," I agreed.

Aarav turned to his friend, "By the way, he is Vihaan, my best friend and roommate who now lives in the house next street. We applied to the same college. You'll be seeing him here a lot," he paused as he pulled me towards him, "And, meet my lovely sister, Siya."

"Nice to meet you, Siya. I was so excited to meet you since I heard a lot about you from Aarav," he said, offering a handshake.

I shook hands with him, "Nice to meet you too, Vihaan."

Aunt called out to Aarav, and he walked out of the room. Vihaan and I stared at each other awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"Should we go as well?" he asked me.

"Yeah."

He was about to walk towards the door when I grabbed his shirt sleeve and stopped him. He turned around with a surprised look, "Do you have anything to say?"

I shook my head as I asked him to wait. I picked up a towel from the bathroom and wet it. I approached him and began wiping the paint near the elbow, "Sorry for ruining the shirt." I apologized after cleaning up the color.

"It's okay. Thank you for helping," he responded.

We went downstairs and got seated for lunch. Aunt Madhuri and Nia served us as we enjoyed lunch together. After lunch, Vihaan returned to his home.

Later that night in bed, I started thinking about Vihaan, recalling today's incident. What was I feeling for him? Is this just an attraction? I fell asleep with all these questions on my mind.