Heyy Guyss!!! Do you even remember me or this story??? I am sorryy!!! I know I am very late, and I am very sorry for that! I was very busy, and couldn’t update. And thank you very much to all those who commented in my previous part! Its good to know that you all liked it. This is the last part and I hope you will enjoy this one too.
*Hidden Feelings*
Shivaay POV:
At cinema hall…
Did I just see her?! No kidding, I just saw her!!! Like really! But why the heck did she run away? I just found her, and she again left me. No Shivaay! You can’t let her go this time! My inner self shouted. It was true. There is no way I am going to let her leave me again!
I rushed out of the hall only to be stopped by a stranger.
“Shivaay!” An unknown girl shouted my name and came over to me.
“How do you know my name?” I asked confusedly. “Do I even know you?”
“Umm… I know you, but you don’t…” She told me, making me puzzled.
“I am Anika’s best friend Malika.” She cleared my confusion. “Wait, do you even remember Anika?”
Of course, I do! How can I just forget her?
I nodded.
“Actually, I don’t know what happened, but Anika just ran out of the cinema hall for some reasons and she seemed really worried…” Malika said. She seemed really concerned for her.
I know that. And I have a feeling that she ran out of here because of me…. But then it makes no sense. I mean why would she do that?
“So… can you please find her and make sure she is safe?” Malika continued.
That’s exactly what I was going to do, but she was the one who stopped me. But wait, why is asking me to do that?
“But why aren’t you doing that?” I asked.
“Well, she isn’t even listening to me! I tried to talk to her, but she just ran away!” She explained.
“You are her best friend and she isn’t listening to you. Then why will she listen to me?” I questioned.
“Cause she lov—” Malika stopped in between. “I think we should stop talking and find her instead….”
She was right! Anika is much more than these questions.
“You don’t worry. I will find her!” I assured her and left from there to find Anika.
.
.
Oh no! I lost her! Now how do I find her? Manhattan is so damn big, and she could be in any corner. Calm down Shivaay. She must be somewhere near…. I started to search for her in nearby shops and streets but couldn’t find her…. Gosh! Where could she be?
Suddenly, I saw something shining on the road. I picked it up. It was a bracelet with moons and stars hanging. Isn’t this Anika’s? I remember how she used to wear this bracelet to school all the time. It means she is nearby. I looked around to see the entrance of the central park. Yeah! She must be in there! I put the bracelet safely in my pocket and hurried inside the park.
Finding her seems impossible right now! And all the credit goes to the central park being so big! I spotted a couple in the park and went to them.
“Excuse me! Have you seen a girl about my height—a bit smaller than me, with long wavy hair and brown eyes?” I asked them as I described Anika.
“Umm… I did see a girl, but I am not sure if that’s the same girl whom you are talking about…” The tall boy responded.
“It’s ok, just tell me where did you see her?” I asked them.
“I saw her going towards that side,” He told me pointing towards a path.
“Ok thank you…”
I started following the path. It was quite dark. Did she not get scared when coming here?
.
After few minutes of walking, I still couldn’t find any trace of her. Should I scream her name? She might respond? No… I don’t think that would work. Suddenly, an idea struck me. I quickly took out my phone and played the song “My heart will go on” from Titanic. I remember how she once told me that it’s her favorite song and how she always sings along whenever the song plays.
I played the song… and my idea worked! In no time, I heard a sweet melodious voice. I followed the voice until I saw her…. There she was… Her face looking angelic as the moon shined over her.
I took baby steps towards and I could feel her stiffen as she heard my footsteps.
“Hey…” I greeted her in a soft voice from behind.
.
.
.
“Where were you?” I suddenly asked her. I was sitting on the muddy grass right behind her.
“Right here…” She answered, not looking at me.
That’s not what I meant.
“I mean where were you all this time? In the past two years?” I explained my question.
She looked at me with her deep chocolate brown eyes.
“How does that matter?” She asked, her voice being soft and vulnerable.
Her question hurt me. How can she even ask me that?
“It matters…” I told her. “It matters to me, Anika… A LOT.”
Anika POV:
Today has been very shocking for me. First, meeting him after two years, then finding out that he actually remembers me. And now, he gave me another shock by telling me that it actually mattered to him that I was gone. I keep telling myself that it must be a dream… but if it is, then I am not able to wake up.
“What you mean?” I asked. I gathered a handful of stones and started tossing them in the water.
“I liked you Anika…” He whispered to me, giving me another shock. This one was probably the biggest shock.
The stones fell from my hands and I looked at him with my wide eyes.
“WHAT?” I still couldn’t believe what he just said.
“It’s true… I liked you…” He again repeated.
I still couldn’t believe him. But… what does he mean by he liked me?
“You know Anika… when I first saw you, I hated you!” He started telling me the story from his point of view. “I hated you because you never gave me attention like others did. You were always busy with your studies, and that didn’t go very well with me…”
I remember how studies used to be my first priority. I used to ignore talking to people and just concentrated on my studies. Some people even used to call me a nerd, and I accepted the fact that I was one.
“So, to grab your attention, I started to do those stupid antics…. Poking you with my elbow, kicking your chair, blocking the board from you and what not?” Shivaay continued, “It sure annoyed you, but at least you were finally giving attention to me…”
Seriously? He did that all from my attention? But I guess, he was successful… not only in stealing away my attention, but also in stealing away my heart.
“And I don’t how…. But I started feeling for you during the process of grabbing your attention. I started liking being with you… talking with you…” He said smiling, as if he was reminiscing those days.
I smiled. It means that the feelings were mutual? And I was thinking as if I was the only one who had started to get those feelings…
“Then entered Vikram….. Gosh! I hated him!” He told me. “It really annoyed me that you were not sitting with me anymore, but with that Vikram!”
True… even I cursed Vikram so many times for times for separating me from Shivaay! Bechara Vikram!
“But then… what about Tia? I thought you liked her?” I asked all of a sudden.
He looked at me with with his blue eyes. His eyes were trying to say something which I couldn’t decipher.
“Perhaps not…” He said in a soft voice. “When she entered, I was physically attracted to her… she is very beautiful you know…”
I rolled my eyes. I agree that she was beautiful, but I didn’t like Shivaay saying that in front of me.
“But not more than you.” He suddenly completed his sentence, leaving me with loss of words. Did he actually mean that?
“I didn’t realize that back then though,” Shivaay continued. “When Tia entered, I was so fascinated by her external beauty that I completely ignored your internal beauty. And that was my biggest mistake!”
“I realized that mistake during summer… when I was away from you… and I so wanted to fix everything as soon as possible!” He kept speaking. “But unfortunately, we didn’t end up in the same class.”
I remember… how sad I was when I found out that… But he could have spoken to me during lunch?
“I couldn’t even talk to you during lunch…” He said as if he read my mind. “I didn’t have the courage to do so… and plus you never tried to talk to me either. I thought u didn’t care…”
Great! So, we both weren’t talking to each other because we were scared of each other’s feelings?!
“And the next year…” He started speaking, his voice seeming to be broken all of a sudden. “…you weren’t there… at first, I thought u were sick and would return after a few days… but you never did. One day, I found out that u had shifted to Brazil… and that day, I realized that you were gone…”
Tears made their way through my eyes as I remembered how hard it was for me to leave him. I regret not telling him that I was leaving! He liked me… he had the same feeling as me… and I failed to understand that! Is this what you call “love” Anika?… when you can’t even decipher his feelings?
“So… you don’t like me anymore?” I asked in a broken voice, emphasizing on how he said that he liked me. Maybe he has another girl in his life now…
He remains silent for a few minutes while I just look at him, waiting for his answer. I could feel the cold breeze making me shiver, but it wasn’t that important right now.
“You’re right, Anika,” He finally said, breaking the silence. “I don’t like you anymore.”
I turn around, not facing him anymore, and putting my hands over my mouth, I silently weep. I lost him…! I lost him forever! I couldn’t stay here anymore. I was too weak to handle myself. Wiping my tears, I got up and turned to leave.
“Don’t go Anika….” Shivaay requested suddenly. “Please don’t…”
I stopped listening to his voice. His voice seemed to very delicate and fragile.
He got up and came over to me. He tenderly took my hands into his and looked straight into my eyes, while I looked down. I just couldn’t meet his eyes.
“Last time, I somehow handled,” He told me, “but this time I won’t be able to do that… because I don’t like u anymore….I love you now!”
I looked at him in a big shock. Did he just he loves me? Did I hear him right?
“Yes, Anika… u heard me right. I love you… all this distance between us just made me crave for you more…and I realized that I had fallen in love with you…”
I still couldn’t believe this. I mean I had the same exact feelings, but I never expected this from him. I must be dreaming. I must be. I pinched myself only to realize that it was all real. I saw him chuckling at my antics.
He then took out something shiny from his pocket, which apparently turned out to be my chaand bracelet. I looked at my wrist to be empty. I must have dropped it somewhere.
Shivaay made me wear my bracelet and bent down on one knee. He then looked passionately into my eyes. This time I looked into his eyes with the equal passion.
“Anika… would you like to be my evil friend forever?” He proposed me.
Tears of happiness brimmed in my eyes, and without wasting a second, I hugged him. His hands also wrapped around me tightly, as if he would never let me go again.
After a few minutes, we broke the hug.
“Shivaay…” I finally said. “I love you too… but I am not here forever.”
He frowned.
“I just came here for a week… and I need to go back.” I told him.
He pulled me into a tight hug as soon as I told him that. His hold was firm.
“No Anika! I won’t let you go now!” He shouted possessively, as if he was a little kid and someone was snatching his toy.
I gently stroked his hair, making him calm down.
“I will be back, Shivaay…” I comforted him. “After four years, I will graduate and I will be back in New York for college… then, I will be with you… forever!”
Shivaay slowly broke the hug.
“Promise?” He asked cutely. I just wanted to pull his cheeks at that moment.
“Promise!” I said as I took his hands into mine.
He smiled, but then stopped a few seconds later. He looked at me, more specifically at my lips. Wait, is he going to—
I couldn’t complete my thoughts as his cold, rough lips brushed along my soft lips. He then put his forehead on mine, as his breath fanned on my face.
“Promise accepted!” He said in his husky voice making me blush.
He then pulled me into a wild kiss… At first, I was too numb to react, but then I started to respond as passionately as him…. Our lips moving in sync. After a few minutes, we broke our kiss due to lack of breath.
I looked down blushing as he walked away from me.
Does he realize that he is going away stealing my first kiss?
Suddenly he turned around and shouted over to me, “Central park closes at 1 am! You don’t want to stay her after it closes, do you?”
Realizing what he just said, I ran over to him…. And then we started leaving… TOGETHER….
I am done with this short story now! Thanks to all those readers who have supported me! Hope you all share your thoughts on this part down below. Thank you!!! Bye! Hope to see you all again!!!