There was a guy and there was a girl. They met in 8th grade, and became friends in 9th. They chatted a lot on Facebook, even revealed secrets. They were each others secret buddies. No one knew. The guy flirted with the girl a lot, but the girl did not realize it much. She could not come to terms with the fact that a guy could actually like her. So she kept her quiet, and enjoyed the flirtations. The guy would tug at her hair sometimes, or would compliment her for her smile.
This went on for a long time. The guy noticed the girl, the slightest changes in her moods or her hairstyles. Before she knew it, the girl started falling for the guy. She did not realize it at first, but it wasn't long before the guy's absence made the girl sad. She knew that this was something different and oh-so lovely.
But the girl got nervous about it all. Also, class 10 had begun and she had joined Aakash. It was time to get serious. She started to subdue her feelings for him. For some weird reason, she started withdrawing from the guy who would stare at her from the seat behind the girl. It was getting too serious. Is this really happening? The guy felt it too. When they made eye contact, they felt it. No one knew before, but now, it seemed that with the two, the entire class could feel the obvious attraction. Their class never made fun of the two, 'cuz even they knew it was not something to make fun of. It was something.
It was something and it was seriously happening. And they both knew it. If they didn't put an end now, they will fall for each other. Hard. So the girl kept a polite distance and the guy.. He didn't understand at first so he was hurt. He was hurt and he had an insanely huge ego to show for it. He started ignoring the girl. He started boasting about his future plans, his superiority. The girl could see that he was trying to prove that he would do so very well without this, whatever this was.
The guy reached a new high in 11th grade. He wanted to go to the US for his graduation, so he took up SAT classes, VMC classes, extra hours at school. His ego had inflated like a balloon, like his plans. He occasionally hurt her friends, just because he could. The girl confronted him when the guy insulted her best friend. She told him to mind his own business.
The distance was clearly unfamiliar territory. The guy and the girl did not talk for months, after that confrontation. Both were hurt. The girl found it abhorring that the guy would mock her very best friend and the guy felt insulted at having been so openly told to get lost. Months passed without a word, but it was never the end. They both looked straight into each others eyes while walking through the corridors and they happened to see each other everyday, by a matter of coincidence. The guy kept on staring at the girl even when she would catch him doing so. The girl could not help but feel the genuine like she had for him. It felt wrong.
The fight. The distance. That felt wrong. They both knew it. But the guy had an ego so big, he could never apologize. Or at least, initiate a conversation. She knew the guy he had become was not the guy she had liked anymore, but she also knew that it was her decision to stop whatever they had that brought him to where he was. She wanted to give him a second chance. She wanted to make him realise that it was for his own best. It was 11th grade. They had to move on, for better grades and as a better person.
So the girl sent the guy a message on Facebook and after a rather short conversation, they became friends again. They both had feelings for each other but they misunderstood each other now, because of the fight. They talked formally now, as if nothing ever happened, no feelings, no flirting. It hurt the girl a lot. She often cited what happened as her fault. It was because of this blame that she carried with herself that she always tried to talk to the guy. Even if it was a casual 'When is this test? Are you giving that test?' Sort of a conversation. The guy clearly felt a huge blow, to his ego or his heart the girl did not know, from that fight. He would reply to her messages and even compliment her sometimes, but it was never the same. It wasn't long before they both stopped trying.
However, both of them knew that the other was, if not 'is', special. After a brief period of time, they became friends. This time, for what the term really meant. They talked to each other like old classmates and/or new friends. 12th went by in a blur of cute but simple Facebook messages. They talked now for real. They had moved on. It was nearly the end of the school year, and the girl wanted to tell the guy how she had felt for him for the past four years. She just wanted him to know. So on Scribble Day, she did. Out in the open, everything. In person. But the guy did not confess his feelings. He never did. He just smiled and said, 'You should've told me before.' It wasn't the answer the girl was expecting but she was glad that she told him anyway. The guy said that he got into a great college in the US. He showed the girl his acceptance letter and asked for her number. He said that he'd keep in touch. He does. The guy and the girl text each other, even reveal secrets and concerns, but.. Because now, both know that their dreams are in front of them and they must chase them down. The both are now good friends, with a cute past and a wonderful future ahead of them. And they promised to always stay in touch. :)