The car stopped suddenly and Aryan got out and began walking away.

"Where are you going?" asked a perplexed Shahana.

"Wait here, I will be back in a moment." Aryan shouted back at her, before disappearing somewhere.

Shahana was waiting impatiently in the car. It has been fifteen minutes since Aryan had gone. She was wondering where could he have gone.

Her train of thoughts was broken by a knock on the window. 

"Come out, I have got something for you." Aryan said with a smile.

As soon as Shahana stepped out of the car, Aryan held an ice cream cone in front of her.

"From where did you bring this?" Shahana cast a questioning glance at Aryan.

"That's not important, just have it before it melts." he smiled.

They parked the car and sat on the bonnet, enjoying the ice cream.

Shahana was feeling very light. Sitting there, having ice cream with Aryan seemed so perfect. She felt a surge of happiness flowing through her, as if the missing piece of her life has been filled.

"Thank you" she looked at Aryan with grateful eyes.

"Mention not. Remember, it's not for you. I brought it because I was craving for it." he said with a smile.

"I know." she giggled.

"You look cute while laughing." Aryan blurted out accidentally.

"Huh?" Shahana stared in surprise.

Aryan felt caught and smiled sheepishly. "I mean...... you look better while smiling than when you fight with me." he tried to cover the slip up.

Shahana didn't say anything and turned her face. It stuck Aryan as odd.

"What happened? You didn't retort back?" he could not prevent himself from asking the question.

Shahana stared at him. She was having a war of thoughts in her mind,  deciding whether to tell him or not.

He is a reliable guy, you can trust him.

How can you be so sure that he will understand you?

But he knows something is troubling you. He said in the forest.

It's your secret, nobody should know about it.

Sharing your problems reduces the pain.

 "Are you in any dilemma? You can share it with me if you want. If you don't want to tell the reason, I won't mind at all." Aryan said as he noticed Shahana getting into thoughts which he didn't want. He wanted her to be happy.

These words assured her a lot. She knew that she could trust him. Her senses told her that he would never betray her.

"No, actually you reminded me of someone....... the person whom I loved a lot." she said a bit sadly.

"Loved?" the past tense caught Aryan's attention.

"Hmm.....loved. She is no more now." Shahana said with tears filling up her eyes.

"May I know, who is she?"

"She is the one because whom I have seen the light of this world, the one whose priority was me before herself. She is my beloved mother, my maa. Do you know Aryan, how much I long to use the words maa, how much it pains to be reminded every time that you are an orphan. I know Prachi and maasi loves me very much, but.....still she is maasi not maa. No one can take the place of a mother. People say that they are unlucky because God has not given them luxuries of life, but they forget that they have God himself in the form of mother. Actually I envy you, Ranbir and even Prachi because you all have mothers. I am surrounded by lots of people yet I'm alone, as if there is a vacuum in my life. You may think I'm over reacting or that I'm weird, but believe me, it pains.....pains a lot. " Shahana said with tears clogging her voice.

She poured out her heart to Aryan. The feelings and pain she was hiding within herself for years was out now. She cried to her heart's content.

Aryan was surprised by Shahana's confession. He didn't knew that the bubbly girl whom everyone knew was hiding so much within her. It made him think if he should share his worries with her. But, he decided against it. It was the time for comforting her, not burdening her with his problems.

He hugged her almost immediately and began to console her by caressing her back and hair. 

"Ssh...... don't cry. You are not wrong to feel such. You are not alone. Me, Ranbir, Prachi, aunty and everyone is there for you. Maybe we can't take the place of your mom, but we love you very much. You are our dear Shahana. Aren't you the brave Shahana who is not afraid of anything." he consoled her while rocking her back and forth gently.

After a while, Shahana stopped crying. She became aware of her position and immediately moved back a bit.

"I.....I'm sorry to bother you." she mumbled.

"Not at all. I'm glad that you blurted it out or it would have killed you internally." he replied holding her small hands in his.

"Thank you for understanding me. I thought no one will be relate with all that I had blabbered and also sorry for being so weak." she thanked him.

"Hey! Don't you consider me as your friend? Friends don't say either thank you or sorry. And never say that you are weak because you cried. Tears make a person stronger as they signify how much pain that person is holding inside them, which requires a lot of strength."

Both Aryan and Shahana were gazing into each other's eyes. They were lost in the depths of the other's eye, emotions swirling inside them. They failed to notice that they were gradually inching closer to each other.

Their faces were just an inch apart, breaths mingling with each other. An another aura seemed to surround them, shielding them from the outer world. Everything seemed surreal. They were about to kiss,...........................

Tip, top, tip, top......

Cold drops of water fell on their face, bringing them into reality. They immediately drew away from each other.

Aryan's POV:

What was I going to do? Why her tears affected me so much?

Come on,  she is my FRIEND (stressing on it) and friends feel for each other.

Then what was I about to do just now? Kiss her? But why?

It was because I was not in my senses. Yes, it was just the heat of the moment.

Why didn't she stop me then? Does Shahana likes me?

No, what nonsense I'm thinking. She considers me a friend and may be she also did it from the heat of the moment.

Shahana's POV:

What was going to happen right now? We were about to kiss!

Forget it Shahana. It was just the heat of the moment. Aryan isn't interested in you. You are just like any other friend to him.

Why did he sympathize with me?

He is a kind soul. He must have felt pity for me.

Whatever, but I felt good when he hugged me.

Don't start again. For God's sake, he is just a FRIEND!

Aryan and Shahana forced themselves to believe that they had normal friendly feeling towards each other and whatever was going to happen was due to the heat of the moment.

The rain began to fall heavily, forcing them to get inside the car. Both of them couldn't muster the courage to face the other. They kept staring out of the window.

Aryan's phone rang. It was Ranbir who was calling. Since his phone was connected to the car's speaker, Shahana could hear the conversation clearly.

"Hey bro, where are you lost? Why didn't you arrive yet?" Ranbir's voice boomed out of the speaker.

Aryan cast a glance at Shahana who shook her head indicating a NO.

"You remembered about us at last! I thought that you have forgotten us in midst of your romance." Aryan said dramatically in a teasing tone.

"He, he, he......" Ranbir laughed lightly. "Sorry for that. When are you joining us?"

"No, you enjoy your romance with Prachi. We aren't coming to disturb you. But remember you owe me for this favour."

"Thank you, thank you so much." Ranbir said happily and cut the call.

"I have a request. Please don't tell anything to anyone else. They might feel bad." Shahana pleaded to Aryan.

"You don't need to plead. You can trust me. I was never going to tell about it to anyone without your permission and now it has been locked in my mind forever, inaccessible to everyone. It will be a secret between us."

"Yes, our own secret........." said Shahana with a light smile.

Please koi chota mat bolna😭😭  Pure 1450+ words hai. Bari mehenat sai likha mai.