@notabhay

Abhishek
Where the fuck are you Sehra?

Sehra
In the parking lot.

Waiting for you.

Abhishek
Fuck.

Go home.

Sehra
I already told you.

I won't go home until we have a talk.

Abhishek
Don't tell me you've been waiting since 7.

Sehra
Yes I have.

Abhishek
Are you out of your bloody mind?

Nahvi called me like 10 times asking
your whereabouts.

She's been trying to reach you since so long.

Do you even realise what time it is right now?

Sehra
Yes.

It's 11:54.

Abhishek
Exactly.

You've been standing there since the
last 5 hours?

Sehra
Naah.

I'm in my car.

Abhishek
Go home.

We'll see what to do tomorrow.

Sehra
No.

I won't go until you come here.

Abhishek
Fuck you.

Sehra
Gladly.

Abhishek
Just wait there.

__

"Are you fucking low on batteries?" Abhishek's yell echoed through the empty parking lot as he marched towards the girl who was standing out of her car, leaning onto it and scrolling through her phone.

"Hi!" Sehra smiled in return, royally ignoring the stunt she just pulled. As Abhishek neared her, he stopped and bent, his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. A strong gush of wind swept through, passing by them. Sehra, who was wearing a sleeveless top and a mesh cardigan on top, shivered.

Abhishek swiftly took off his jacket, wrapping it around his shoulders as he opened the door to her car and pushed her towards the drivers seat. He rounded the car before briskly getting in the co passenger seat.

"Why did you not go home when I refused to meet you at first?" He huffed, shutting the door.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Sehra replied, passing him a small smile.

Abhishek, on hearing her reply, closed his eyes in annoyance as he cupped his face. Sucking in a deep breath, he looked at her once again.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it was for you to stay alone in a goddamn parking lot? How hard is it to understand?" The boy questioned, his voice slightly raising.

Abhishek groaned, leaning back in his seat. His head hit the headrest with a dull thud, and he stared at the roof of her car as if it held all the answers to his frustrations. "Sehra," he said, dragging out her name like it physically pained him to say it. "Do you have a death wish, or do you just enjoy stressing me the hell out?"

Sehra chuckled softly, leaning back in her seat as well. "Neither. I just wanted to talk to you. And I wanted to think about some things. Alone."

"Yeah, well, your 'thinking alone' almost gave me a damn heart attack."

She turned to him, her expression softening. "Nahvi told me something today."

At the mention of her cousin, Abhishek raised an eyebrow. "Oh, great. What pearls of wisdom did the chaos goblin drop this time?"

Sehra snorted. "She told me how much you love me."

The silence in the car grew thick, like the moment before a storm. Abhishek blinked, his lips parting slightly, but no sound came out.

"And I've been thinking about it. A lot," Sehra continued, her voice steady but quieter now. "I've spent so much time trying to handle my feelings, trying to suppress them, push them away, pretend they didn't exist. But they do, Abhay. And it's exhausting."

He turned to her, his brows furrowed, but his gaze softened as he studied her face. "Sehra..."

"Wait, let me finish," she said, holding up her hand. "I realized that maybe I've been scared of... I don't know, of messing it up. Of feeling too much. But I don't want to waste it anymore. I don't want to waste us-whatever the hell 'us' is."

Abhishek leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, watching her like she was the only thing in the world worth listening to.

"So here's what I'm proposing," she said, turning to face him fully. "Let's go on dates for a week. Every day. You let me take you out, you let me plan stuff, and we just... figure this out. Together. No pressure, no overthinking. Just us, going with the flow and seeing where it takes us."

Abhishek blinked, then leaned back, crossing his arms. "Wait. You want to take me out? Like you're gonna pay and everything?"

"Yes," she said, rolling her eyes. "Is that your takeaway from all this? I'm asking you to let me unravel this mess of emotions and give us a shot, and you're worried about who's footing the bill?"

"Well, excuse me for being a gentleman," he shot back, a teasing glint in his eye. "I just don't want my girlfriend-"

"-not your girlfriend," she cut in, narrowing her eyes.

"-fine, my potential girlfriend," he corrected with a smirk, "paying for all my overpriced meals and whatever insane plans you come up with."

"You're impossible," she muttered, but there was a smile tugging at her lips.

He leaned closer, tilting his head. "So what's the plan? Candlelit dinners? Helicopter rides? Private islands?"

"Shut up," she said, lightly shoving his shoulder. "I'm serious. This is a big deal for me, Abhishek. I'm trying here."

His teasing demeanor faltered as he straightened up, the humor in his eyes replaced with something gentler. "I know. I can see that. And... you know I'm in, right? I've been in, Sehra."

A small, relieved smile broke across her face. "Good. Because I want this. I want you. Even if it's messy and weird and-"

"Expensive," he added with a grin.

She laughed, shaking her head, then extended her pinky finger toward him. "Deal?"

Abhishek looked at her pinky, then at her face, before intertwining his own finger with hers. "Deal."

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