"EVERYTHING OKAY?" Adarika managed to convince Ishan to sit on a bench instead of the tree they were meant to lie under, having assumed it was a bad omen of some sort. Now she's half-lying on the bench, physically and verbally.

"Yeah, just thinking." Ishan chuckles as he leans over to fish out a bottle of water from the basket perched between the two. "That's new."

Despite seeing nothing but bright darkness, Adarika still manages to weakly slap Ishan's arm, unable to come up with a good comeback.

"What're you thinking about then?" Ishan asks, eyes focusing on the little kids running around in the meadows and playground.

"Ways to covertly die." Ishan nearly chokes on his water and Adarika peels one eye open to watch him struggle, stifling a laugh. "Just thinking about this guy I like," she declares like it's nothing at all, but it shocks Ishan more than the death comment.

"Really? Who's the unlucky guy?" he jokes and the déjà vu hits Adarika so intensely that her mind short-circuits.

A sigh escapes her so quietly that it would've been impossible to notice unless one were to pay close attention to her body language (which Ishan, being Ishan, did).

"Just someone I'm too afraid to confess to because I know they like someone else. You know, the typical infatuation experience."

Ishan lets out a singular laugh. "Yeah, I know how it feels. I'm going through the exact same thing right now actually."

Adarika isn't surprised but tries not to show it. "Mister-School-Heartthrob-Who-Rejects-Everyone-That-Confesses-To-Him has finally met his match?"

"Well, we're getting closer to each other so hopefully she'll accept my heart."

"How poetic."

"Love does that to you."

"You're in love now?" Adarika slips out before she can stop herself, and her eyes shoot open, only to squeeze them back shut when it hits her how snappy she just sounded.

Guilt washes over her like rain in a thunderstorm, and she prays that Ishan doesn't take her comment the wrong way.

'Thankfully, he's gone back to wistfully gazing at the children. "I mean, it's something like that I guess? I don't know, it confuses me too."

"What do you like about her?"

Ishan hums thoughtfully, "Well, she's got a nice personality. She brings joy into conversations, she's always passionate about what she does, she always manages to find solutions to a problem and she's pretty too.

There's a lot more than just that, but I can't seem to find the right words to describe it. It makes sense though, because I don't think I can often think straight when my entire mind is consumed by my feelings for her."

Ishan stays quiet and tries to process it all, letting his short rant sink into her. The guilt has morphed into some hybrid of self-disappointment and envy, and the rain in her mental thunderstorm has turned acidic.

He shakes his head. "Sorry, that rant was really unnecessary. I'm sure that your crush will reciprocate your feelings. I mean, I think I know you well enough to recognise all the qualities that make you, you-Someone who's very likeable."

Adarika sighs again, opening her eyes and turning to meet Ishan's stare, which looks so grounded that the irony of it all almost makes her burst out into hysterics.

It somehow hurt her more than when Ishan had straight up told her who he liked.

She knows what a great person Kashika is and she understands. Maybe she's not even jealous. Maybe she's just upset because she could've been better enough for Ishan to not even consider how he felt about Kashika in the first place.

But that's not any of Ishan's business, so instead she offers him a grin. "Thanks, loverboy."

Ishan returns the nickname with a two-fingered salute, and they both chuckle. He turns back around, both hands securing the half-empty bottle of water in front of his knees, and they go on with a different conversation until the sun begins to set and the children are gone.

Hours later, Adarika lies on her bed with a heart heavier than the night before. She doesn't cry, but her heart swells up and squeezes so hard that she feels choked.