Chapter 22 – We Were Never Just Friends
There are moments that redefine everything.
Not with grand declarations. Not with fireworks.
But with a single look that whispers the truth you've both been avoiding.
This chapter began with one such look.
—
It was a Sunday.
The sky was pale. The wind was soft.
Mehar and Aarav found themselves at their old favorite spot—a quiet corner in the city garden, the one with the rusted bench and overgrown vines.
They hadn't planned to meet. They just ended up there. Together. As usual.
"You ever wonder," Mehar said suddenly, "if we were ever just friends?"
Aarav turned to her slowly. His eyes didn't flinch. "No."
"No?" she repeated, blinking.
He shook his head. "I knew from the beginning there was something more. I just didn't know what to do with it."
Mehar's throat tightened. "I think I lied to myself for a long time."
"I think we both did."
—
They sat in silence. Not uncomfortable. Just... honest.
The kind of silence that feels like it's cradling the truth.
She looked at him. Really looked. The boy she'd known for years. The one who'd become her safe space, her loudest argument, her calmest quiet.
And for the first time in a long time, she let herself feel what she'd buried for too long.
"I used to imagine it," she admitted, voice low. "Us. Not as best friends. But as something more."
Aarav's voice was even quieter. "So did I."
Their eyes met.
And there it was—that moment.
Not a confession.
A revelation.
—
He reached for her hand, slowly, like it wasn't something new but something familiar.
Her fingers laced through his like they had been waiting years to do so.
No drama. No big speech.
Just the truth between them finally spoken—without a single word.
—
Later that night, she texted him:
> "We were never just friends, were we?"
And he replied:
> "No. We were always just... almost."
Until now.
—