"Arnie." I looked at him in shock. I mean how? When? Where?

I had so many questions I wanted to ask him and right now was the right time, I knew once he was sober he wouldn't answer me properly, so I somehow had to take advantage of this situation.

"But you never told me before, in fact you've just been flirting with random girls in front of me, how was I supposed to know what you feel for me?" I asked.

"I was doing it to make you jealous stupid." He looked at me in a very cute manner, drunk Arnav was my favorite, he was so honest.

"And what if I had met someone earlier, I mean before Armaan? Were you just expecting me to someday start dating you out of nowhere without you telling me what you felt?"

"That's why I threatened everyone in college duh. Why do you think none of the guys ever approached you? They knew if they did, I would break their legs, but then Armaan was new and he didn't know, if I would have threatened him later, he would have told you." He pouted like a baby.

"So you mean you are the reason why no guy has ever approached me?"

"I am sorry, I just dint want to lose you."

"So you could flirt with all the girls out there and you literally threatened guys to stay away from me? Seriously Arnie!" I looked at him angrily.

"I am sorry I just dint have the courage to tell you."

"So you decided to threaten people? Why couldn't you just tell me? I am your best friend, I would have understood."

"I was scared that maybe if you dint feel the same way towards me then I was going to lose you as a friend too, I dint want to lose you, not even as a friend Shona." He said sadly.

"And since when have you known about your feelings?"

"It's been a couple of years now." He said.

Wow, I literally had no idea whatsoever, and I also don't know how I would have reacted if he told me about his feelings before I actually started to feel for him.

Right now I really did want to tell him about my feelings, but I was scared, scared of the secret I had been holding on to.

What if it came out? What if he found out? Was he still going to love me? Was he still going to consider me a part of his life?

I don't think so.

Oh God! I was trapped, I really wanted to be with him, I mean what could be better than having your best friend as your life partner right?

But things weren't like that, I had the chance, only that I was too scared to take it.

"Arnie, you need to sleep, come on I'll take you to the room." I said as I grabbed his hand and helped him stand up.

"I don't want to sleep Shona, I want to talk to you. I want to tell you how much I love you and how I feel when I see you with that stupid Armaan.

I feel like killing him, I don't like seeing how you smile or blush when you talk about him, please don't go on another date with him.

Please Shona?" He looked at me like a baby.

This freaking secret! Only if I could change things, maybe I would.

"Arnie, shut up and sleep. We'll talk tomorrow morning, that's if you remember what you just said to me and maybe I'll have thought about it enough." I sighed.

"You don't love me Shona?" He asked.

"I can't answer that, please sleep now." I covered him with a blanket and once he was asleep, I headed to sleep in my room but only if I was going to be able to sleep.

I mean what Arnav said was pretty big, he was in love with me, I had never thought anything like that would ever happen between us, but now that he had said it, it was believable.

Of course I had some feelings towards him too, I might not call it love but there was no denying that I felt something towards him, I was attracted to him and I liked him, not like a best friend but more than that.

I had no idea what I was going to say to him in the morning in case he remembered our talk.

*****

"Khushi. Wake up." Tanvi shook me, I rubbed my eyes lazily as I sat up and looked at her in confusion, usually I was the one that woke Tanvi up, given that she was waking me up had to mean I had over slept.

Of course I had to, last night I couldn't stop thinking about what Arnav had said to me and it wasn't letting me sleep, I had fallen asleep pretty late.

"You okay Khushi? You don't always sleep till this late?" Tanvi looked at me worriedly.

"Yeah I am fine, I guess I was just too tired, maybe we even missed the person that leaves the note outside, I dint hear the doorbell." I said as I finally stepped out of my bed.

"Don't worry I checked, there was no note, maybe it was someone playing prank and got bored." Tanvi said.

"Oh okay, and is Arnie awake?"

"Yeah, I think he's in the shower, now come on get ready we need to go."

"I don't feel like going to college today, I think I'm not feeling well? Can you please share the notes with me later?" I asked.

"What happened? You really don't seem okay to me, you can tell me."

"Nothing, I just have a headache, I think I need more sleep, I'll be fine after I get enough sleep."

"Okay, I'll get going then, if I don't leave now I'll be late for class and by the way, incase Armaan asks, what should I tell him?" She smirked.

"Tell him I'm not feeling well."

"Okay, see you in the evening." She gave me a quick hug and then walked away leaving me and Arnav alone, I just needed to talk to him about what he said last night and if he remembered it.

I walked towards the bathroom and at that exact time, I saw him walk out, with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Hey Shona." He smiled at me, did he not remember what he had said to me last night? If he did, why was he so happy about it? Wasn't he supposed to be worried?

"You okay Arnie?" I looked at him curiously wondering whether I should ask him If he remembered or not.

"Yeah Shona, I'm good but I won't be if I keep standing here like this, it's cold, I need to get dressed." He laughed, so I nodded and let him go get dressed while I admired his body as he walked away.

Damn it Khushi, you can't look at him that way, remember your secret?

I waited for him in the hall, I dint care what happened, we needed to have this conversation today. Once he was all dressed, he walked towards me and sat down beside me, he looked at me and smiled and then grabbed my hand, pressed it in between his palm as he looked me into the eyes.

"Shona, would you like to go out on a date with me?" He asked, I looked at him in shock. Was my best friend asking me for a date? Oh My God!

"You remembered?" I asked, it was very rare of Arnav to remember things once he was drunk so it was surprising that he remembered our conversation, which definitely meant something.

"I know it's surprising given that I was drunk, but I have been intoxicated by you for years now, I wouldn't forget confessing my feelings to you Shona, no matter how drunk I am, a part of my mind would always be sober for you. Look I know you like Armaan, but you aren't together yet, just give me one chance to take you on a date too, to show you that I love you and I need you in my life more than he does. Please?"

"Why would you even think that I would agree Arniee, last night you told me you threatened guys to stay away from me. Why would you do that? You left e wondering if I wasn't ever good enough for even one guy to like me and then you always flirted with girls in front of me."

"I told you I flirted because I wanted to see you jealous, I wanted to see if you felt anything like be and I wish I could tell you Shona, I really wish but I couldn't, because I was a coward, I dint want to lose you. Even yesterday night, I couldn't have confessed if I wasn't drunk Shona, I am very scared of losing the only important person in my life so I did whatever it took for me to keep you around.

Look I know what I did was wrong, but I am really sorry, I just... I dint know what else to do, I dint know how to tell you that I had suddenly fallen in love with you, you would have hated me, but then I couldn't even see you with anyone else. I am sorry Shona." He pouted.

"I am hurt Arniee, my best friend did things behind my back."

"He did it because he loved you."

"it would ruin our friendship Arnie, what if we date and it doesn't work out and we break up, we would never go back to being friends, I don't want to lose my best friend."

"I promise you won't Shona, just one chance please, for your best friend? Just one date? And I promise, if you don't feel anything like that for me, I won't interfere, you can go with that Armaan on another date but at least give me one chance before you do that. Please." He looked at me with puppy eyes and like he was literally begging, how could I say no to that? How could I say no to my best friend?

The truth was, I did want to go, I did want to experience it and see how it felt, given that I also had been having some feelings towards him off late, incase things went well, I guess I just had to figure out a way of hiding my secret deep down so that it would never come to ruin us.

"Okay." I nodded. Wow, I was already nervous about it, I mean it was Arnav, how was it going to be? Awkward? Not awkward? I had no idea.