"one day the sun will not burn my skin, one day i'll feel safe"

the spring has arrived | the finale

There was a freshness in the air, birds chirped in the distance and the flowers were in bloom all across the city.

Chavi pedalled fast, she didn't want to be late for her first day in her new grade. She slowed down by the entrance and walked till the shed of cycle parking. Footsteps and hollers could be heard from the large playground where students had been practicing for the early selections this year.

As she bent down to check the lock, and got up after fixing it in place, a smile formed on her lips when she felt a familiar presence behind her. She didn't have to turn back to see who it was, this had been their routine for months since they have started dating.

No words were exchanged when Garvit wrapped his arms around Chavi's shoulders and pulled her in for a quick hug, a kiss to the side of her head as Chavi took in the softness of the fabric as his muscles flexed underneath her fingers.

Of course she was familiar with the feeling of his short hair in her hands, the warmth of his embrace and the softness of his lips but she will never get used to it, it was never enough. They found new ways to know each other all the more, everytime.

.

Garvit smiled to himself as he put the non-fragrant moisturizer to his skin, he had a bigger bottle of it at his house which his father stocks up every two months, it wasn't very unusual for men in his house to look after themselves, his father had made sure of it since their mother left.

This certain one whereas was special to him because Chavi got it for him, to have more pocket-sized products. They saved up money to get each other pocket sized products, it was their thing.

A door closed behind him and he looked at mirror in front of him, to see Jay walk out clad in school uniform and the air around him wafted with the freshness of deodorant. Garvit pressed his lips together and moved the bottle from his front into his duffel bag unnoticingly.

Gifting each other was one thing but keeping it lowkey was an another task itself. For now. Garvit reminded himself, he and Chavi had decided together to keep it down for the new school year to get settled and well, to not broadcast it to the town.

"Sup", Jay tried initiating a small conversation, the smudge of darkness under his eyes were really apparent. He had been trying to stay up late for his girlfriend, Kavya as she had gone to England for her Student Exchange Program, definitely a curve ball in their situation but when Garvit could see the glimmering smile on his lips, he knew they could work this out.

you don't get time, you make time

Garvit nodded back simply with a small smile by pressing his lips together, he respected Jay for being a good team member and sportsman but now since the former was dating and realized how much he still had to learn from the person in front of him.

They walked out of the washroom as the bell rang and entered their class at the end of the corridor but before both of them could enter, the door slid open and a small figure came rushing outside almost colliding into Garvit, but he held her shoulders before she could fall. His hands had been so used to the mould of her body, that he fought the urge to not hold her waist and brush his fingers against her ribs.

Time seemed to have slowed down as the sunlight seeped in through the classroom and lit her soft hair and the slopes of her silhouette. She looked up with her eyes wide and lip parted in shock before her eyes went to the figure waiting beside them to enter the class, Jay.

They slowly peeled away from each other, each movement felt like a chore but they somehow managed to create some distance and make space for Jay to enter, who scrutinizingly looked at them and then between them before looking inside the classroom and slowly walking away.

Slowly the corridors started becoming clearer again as the crowds trickled inside with the commencement of the following period, they just waited outside their class and said nothing. The silence between them was peaceful and the stolen glances and sneaking out just added to their sweet and sour dynamics of dating life.

.

"Here", Garvit said softly standing under the shade of a neem tree, the chaos and shouting students in the background almost drowned his voice but Chavi didn't need to listen to know what he was saying, as he had already pushed something in between them, resting on the palm of his right hand.

His voice had been soft and apprehensive but his eyes tried their best to hide the uncertainty he felt at that moment, he resembled the soft flakes of snow that melt as soon as they land on you fingertips, almost on the brink of melting.

Chavi looked down and again at his face, the beaded jewellery shimmered as it caught the sunlight infiltrating through the dancing neem leaves to the spring breeze.

"Garvit", his name left her lips softly as she gently took the two strings of beaded jewellery.

Gravit stood in anticipation to hear what the beautiful person in front of him had to say when she blurted out, "Why would you gift me jewellery made by someone else?"

He blinked twice before laughing to himself, he had been used to it but yet it caught him by surprise all the time. He clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth, before he shook his head sideways to himself, a small smile lingered on his lips as he slid the beaded pink and green string around her wrist.

As he slid it on, he slowly met her confused pools of brown eyes and said, "I made this myself".

Chavi's breath caught in her lungs as she couldn't help but stare into his dark eyes before squeaking, "Really?"

"No, dreamingly", he replied back before tapping on her small button nose which she scrunched up in response.

"You started again", she replied with a pout resting on her lips.

A soft wind was blowing, spring was here and winter was still tracing back it's steps around the corner. Garvit took a step closer after taking a look around before saying, "What, tulip? arguing is our love language, remember".

"I still can't believe you made this", Chavi's voice almost got lost in the crisp spring air as kids played in the background, the white flowers from the tree above fluttered a bit in the air before falling and getting stuck in their hair and clothes. She  tried removing the petals stuck on his short ends before sticking one behind his ear.

Garvit gave one of his rare smiles, he saved only for his personal tulip inspired person. Chavi smiled back at him when suddenly something clicked, "Wait did you grow tall even more than yesterday, just stop already".

He went into a fit of laughter, "Only you can say something like that. Come on, we are young and supposed to grow. It's just you who stopped growing", he patted her head for the extra effect.

"You! you always do thi-", before she could speak any further, he bent down and pecked her lips so fluidly that it took her some moments to realise what had happened.

Chavi closed her parted lips, "Did you just-?"

"Aaaah! What just happened?", a feminine voice spoke out from somewhere.

why was no one letting her finish her sentences, but wait!

They both peeled their eyes of each other and finally met three pair of eyes looking at them in shock. It felt funny as if your parents had caught you sneak in that cake which you had promised that you will eat it the next day. They sheepishly looked back at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Should we tell them?", Garvit asked still trying to wrap his head around the situation, as he rubbed his hands on the sides of his pants.

"I mean yeah, that's what we decided upon but firstly I want to know how did they even find out?", Chavi asked more to herself and tried to think of any situation that she might have slipped out the information. 

Garvit broke her trail of thoughts when he asked the question again, to which she replied, "I mean they already got to know".

"But I think, it's better if we tell them", he reasoned.

She looked away from their friends who were kind enough to let them collect their thoughts as they waited at a distance. Devlina was sporting her usual flannel shirt and bright dungarees, Vijay was scratching his head clad in his lazy joggers and loose t-shirt, then there was Jay in his clean and crisp clothes with a knowing smile on his lips and holding a phone to his ear, probably giving Kavya, his girlfriend, the real time updates.

 "What if there are rumours again?", uncertainty reeled in her eyes, the thought that she chose to wear non-water resistant mascara was the proof that universe had been conspiring against her from a very long time.

Garvit could see the shift in her emotions as he titled her face towards him to meet her eyes, when he reassured her, "But ain't we famous for them already?",followed by his rare smiles again.

"Moreover, they are our own, our friends", he spoke again and tapped her nose, which scrunched up like everytime in response.

"Hello earth to love birds! Would you give the honours to tell us now", Devlina asked again, even she had a smile hanging on the corner of her lips as if they knew something that they didn't.

"Okay, we can do this", Chavi spoke when Garvit's hand found hers before they walked up to their friends, hand in hand, fingers intertwined and rapid breathing when they announced, "We are dating".

"It was about time you guys confessed. But since how long buddy?", Jay spoke up finally, the phone was still glued to his ear and they could hear Kavya giving him instructions as if to interrogate the guilty.

Devlina stepped up and asked, "That doesn't really matter, the real question is dating as in we like each other enough to not fight over silly thing, or dating as in-"

"We love fighting over silly things with each other", Garvit announced again.

"So were the rumors true?", Vijay asked looking at him, a look of understanding passed through them when the latter looked at his girlfriend by his side and their intertwined hands. 

After giving her hand a little squeeze, he replied, "Well that's a secret".

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21/12/2024

the end.