I had thirty minutes. Just thirty minutes to plan everything.
"Okay, destination first," I muttered under my breath. "I can figure out the rest on the way."
I sprinted toward the hostel. Ravi my roommate was sitting on the steps, glued to his phone.
"Ravi! I need your bike—for today," I said, already snatching the keys from his hand.
He looked up, startled. "What's the hurry?"
"I'll tell you later!" I shouted, already halfway to the gate.
I started the bike and rode straight to the same place.
While waiting for Aadhya, my thoughts wandered — about how long it had been since we'd had a moment alone, then I saw her walking down the path, the breeze catching her hair slightly. She was wearing a dark blue dress—simple, but somehow she looked different today. Maybe it was the way she smiled when she saw me waiting there.
"Did you decide what we're going to do?" she asked as she came closer.
I shook my head. "Nope. Couldn't think of anything. But hey, we've got the bike, so…"
She smiled knowingly. "Nice. I knew you wouldn't decide. So here's the deal—we have until evening to meet them at the movie. Do you actually want to see it?"
I hesitated. "Yeah, I do want to see it… but we can skip it if you want."
She thought for a moment, then said, "No. If you want to watch the movie, we'll go now. We'll skip the evening show and instead go to Golconda for the sunset. By the time we reach there they will be returning for the movie and we can meet them at the dinner"
I stared at her for a moment, slightly shocked at how fast she had planned everything. Sunset at Golconda… yeah, this would be perfect.
"Alright, then," I said, trying to sound casual, "let's watch the movie first. It's been a long time since we watched one alone."
She smiled, and we hopped on the bike, the wind brushing past as we headed to the theater. The movie felt different this time—quiet, just the two of us, no interruptions. It reminded me of all the little moments we'd shared before.
After the movie, we stopped at a nearby restaurant for lunch. The aroma of food filled the air, but I was only half-aware of it, my thoughts looping back to the evening plan.
I pulled out my phone and called Adithya. "Hey, where are you guys?". Don't want to bump into them accidentally
He on the other end. "We just started from Golconda to the movie. You guys coming?"
I said. "Nah, we'll meet for dinner. Aadhya and I talked about it."
"Alright then," he said, "see you later."
I pocketed the phone, turned to Aadhya, "Let's head to Golconda," I said.
And just like that, we were on our way, the day finally moving toward the moment I had been waiting for.
We reached Golconda around four in the evening and started walking inside. She seemed a little disappointed, so I asked, "What's wrong?"
She sighed softly. "It feels like the day's almost over… and we only have a few hours left."
I nodded, thinking fast. "Yeah… should we skip dinner and head straight back to the hostel?"
She shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips. "No… then they'll know we're not at the hostel today. And you know the arguments we'd get into. We still need to meet them for dinner and return with everyone."
I ran a hand through my hair. "Still… we've got two hours before that. I guess we can make the most of it."
We started climbing the hill. At the top, the view opened up and stretched below us in a warm, golden light.
We found a spot on the old stone wall and sat down, side by side. The breeze was gentle, and for a moment, the world felt like it belonged just to the two of us.
I grinned and nudged her lightly. "Aditi…"
Aadhya froze for a moment, a little shock on her face. Then she tilted her head. "Aditi? Sid… what do you want, boy?"
I laughed, shaking my head. "Nothing… I just wanted to see your reaction."
She smiled softly. "Those days were good… just the two of us roaming around every weekend. Now, if we want to go somewhere, we have to make up a hundred little stories."
I reached out and gently cupped her face in my hands. Her cheeks warmed instantly.
"What…?" she asked shyly, looking away.
"I love you," I said simply, my voice steady.
She blushed deeper, looking down. "I… I know that," she whispered.
I smiled softly. "Yeah, but I've never said it in words"
Her eyes met mine, full of warmth. "Fine… I love you too."
I felt a rush of relief and joy. "Shall we… make it public? So we don't have to hide like this anymore?"
She paused, biting her lip, thinking. "I don't know… I wonder how my brother will take it. Will it go well… or badly?"
I looked at her, "At some point, we have to tell him. If we do it now, it'll be easier than waiting."
She nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah… okay. You tell him first and let me know what he says."
I grinned. "Nice. I'll ask Arun to be there too. Just in case Adithya… you know… kills me, he can tell you exactly what happened."
Aadhya laughed, "Okay… we'll both tell him. But… how?"
I tapped my chin, pretending to think. "We'll drop some clues first."
"Like what?" she asked, curious.
I smiled, the plan forming in my mind. "They all think we skipped the movie today, right? So next weekend, let's tell Adithya that we're going to watch it—and see what he says."
Aadhya's eyes lit up. "Hey, that's good! If he agrees, we can go out for one more weekend. But… what if he says he wants to come too? Or asks if it's just the two of us?"
I chuckled. "Then we'll know exactly what he thinks about us."
"Okay," she said, smiling softly.
We watched the sunset together in silence, letting the moment sink in. By the time it faded, it was almost time and we meet the others for dinner. We headed to a nearby restaurant, ordered our food, and just waited, enjoying the quiet before the group arrived.
At dinner, I asked the group, "So… how was the movie?"
Everyone chimed in, "It was good… but a one-time watch."
Aadhya and I exchanged a quick glance. She frowned playfully. "Oh… that's too bad. We missed it."
I shrugged, smiling. "That's fine. We both can go next weekend."
Adithya didn't react—he just stayed quiet, which made me a little nervous.
Aadhya nudged him lightly. "Bro… will you come again next weekend with us?"
Adithya shook his head. "No, there will be new movies coming next week. You two go watch this one."
Arun piped up, "Adhi, we can go with Sid and Aadhya—watch the movie in the morning, and in the afternoon we can watch the other one."
I felt a little uneasy, wondering why Arun was trying to get involved. Aadhya looked like she was about to say something, but Adithya cut in.
"Why waste money? Just go watch it. We'll meet you for lunch after your movie."
We both smiled, quietly happy that we'd get another weekend together. Still, neither of us could tell exactly what Adithya thought about our little plan.
Back at the hostel, I flopped onto my bed and pulled out my phone. I typed a quick message to Aadhya:
"What should we do now?"
Aadhya replied, "I think we have to tell him directly. Otherwise, he won't see us the way we want him to."
I typed back, "Okay… shall we tell him tomorrow?"
She replied, "Let's do it after next weekend's movie, during lunch."
I agreed, "Okay."
The week passed, and finally, the weekend movie was done. We met up with Adithya, Arun, Krithika, and Sneha for lunch. Aadhya and I sat next to each other, directly opposite Adithya. We ordered our food, and a quiet tension built up as we waited for the right moment.
I took a deep breath. "Everyone… I have something to say."
All eyes turned to me, curiosity written all over their faces.
Aadhya spoke up immediately, "Actually… we both have something to say."
Then, almost instinctively, we both said it at the same time, "We're in love. And we've loved each other since we were kids."
The table went silent. Arun and Krithika looked shocked. Sneha just smiled lightly. "I expected this," she said.
And then… Adithya. He leaned back, calm as ever, and said, "Yeah… I know."