Part 9 : A Little After Midnight
A few days had passed, and somehow, the silence between them had begun to feel different.
It was almost eleven at night when Vedha logged into Zozo.
The room was alive as usual, filled with random conversations, teasing remarks, and the kind of harmless flirting she had always enjoyed. She slipped right back into her familiar rhythm, throwing witty replies at random IDs as though nothing else occupied her mind.
Then Sarang joined.
An attitude emoji appeared beside his name.
Vedha noticed it almost immediately.
Vedha: "What's with the attitude?"
Sarang: "Nothing."
Vedha: "That nothing looks suspicious."
Sarang: "Some people forget that other people exist."
She paused.
Vedha: "Who forgot you exist?"
Sarang: "Someone who didn't reply to me."
And just like that, she understood.
She had logged out of Snapchat for a while and hadn't realised how long it had been since she'd checked it.
But beneath that realisation was something she wasn't ready to admit.
She had been waiting for him too.
All day, she had wondered why he hadn't messaged her. Had he forgotten about her? Had something changed? She had even been a little angry, though she couldn't quite explain why she felt entitled to be.
Now, hearing that he had been waiting for her, the anger dissolved into something embarrassingly close to relief.
She opened Snapchat and messaged him immediately.
The conversation that followed stretched far beyond what either of them had probably intended. One message became ten, ten became a hundred, and the minutes slipped away unnoticed.
Somewhere between one conversation and the next, both of them wanted something more.
A call.
Vedha wanted to hear his voice. She wanted the familiar sound of him speaking directly to her instead of reading his words on a screen.
But she didn't ask.
She wondered why she was always so hesitant to ask for the things she wanted. Was it because she didn't think she had that right over him? Or was she simply afraid that he might say no?
Across the screen, Sarang seemed caught in the same hesitation.
Neither asked.
Until finally, his message appeared.
Sarang: "Can I call you?"
Vedha didn't make him wait.
Vedha: "Yes."
She had been waiting for those four words longer than she wanted to admit.
A moment later, her phone rang.
And there he was.
The conversation began as naturally as their messages did. There was no awkward silence, no desperate need to impress each other. They talked, laughed, interrupted one another, and wandered from one subject to another without noticing how late it was getting.
It felt familiar... Comfortable...
At some point, Sarang grew quiet.
Sarang: "You know I missed you today, right?"
Vedha's fingers tightened slightly around her phone.
Vedha: "I missed you too."
The words came out softer than she had intended.
For a moment, neither said anything. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence. It was the kind that settled when two people had finally said something they had been holding back.
Then he spoke again.
Sarang: "Vedu..."
There it was.
That name had a way of making even an ordinary moment feel a little more personal.
Vedha: "Mm?"
Sarang: "I wish you were here."
She turned beneath her blanket, hiding her face even though he couldn't see her. He was miles away, separated from her by a phone, and still he had managed to make her forget every clever reply she had prepared.
Vedha: "And what would you do if I were?"
Sarang: "I'd probably spend a long time looking at you before saying anything. I'd look at you. Probably longer than I should, because I doubt I'd get tired of it.
He continued...
"I'd watch that little smile of yours, especially the one you try to hide when you're embarrassed. I'd want to know what you're thinking every time you look away from me."
Vedha pressed her lips together, hiding a smile.
Sarang: "I'd hold your face gently in my hands, brush my thumb across your cheek, and tuck those loose strands of hair behind your ears whenever they fell across your face. And if they kept falling back, I'd keep moving them aside. I wouldn't mind doing it a hundred times."
Vedha buried her face in her pillow.
Sarang: "I'd want to hear your voice without a screen between us. I'd sit close enough to feel your presence, take your hand in mine, and trace little circles across your palm while you talked. And if you rested your head against my shoulder, I'd probably forget whatever I was going to say."
Vedha: "You seem to have planned all this already."
Sarang: "Not even half of it, sweetheart. I'm only telling you what came to mind first. Imagine what might happen when I actually have you sitting beside me."
Vedha: "Sarang..."
Sarang: "Hmm, Vedu?"
Vedha: "Nothing."
Sarang: "Then why are you smiling?"
Vedha: "Who said I'm smiling?"
Sarang: "I know you well enough to imagine it. And if you're hiding your face right now, I'm counting that as a victory."
For once, Vedha had no immediate comeback.
She could hear the smile in his voice, and it made her smile too. She tried to look unimpressed, but her cheeks betrayed her. She hated how easily he could leave her speechless. She stared at the ceiling, trying to recover her composure.
Sarang: "You're quiet now. That's unusual."
Vedha: "Don't get used to it."
He laughed.
She loved that sound more than she intended to.
Then Sarang said her name again.
Sarang: "Vedu?"
Vedha: "Hmm?"
There was a brief pause.
Sarang: "Can I kiss you?"
To be continued...
A few days had passed, and somehow, the silence between them had begun to feel different.
It was almost eleven at night when Vedha logged into Zozo.
The room was alive as usual, filled with random conversations, teasing remarks, and the kind of harmless flirting she had always enjoyed. She slipped right back into her familiar rhythm, throwing witty replies at random IDs as though nothing else occupied her mind.
Then Sarang joined.
An attitude emoji appeared beside his name.
Vedha noticed it almost immediately.
Vedha: "What's with the attitude?"
Sarang: "Nothing."
Vedha: "That nothing looks suspicious."
Sarang: "Some people forget that other people exist."
She paused.
Vedha: "Who forgot you exist?"
Sarang: "Someone who didn't reply to me."
And just like that, she understood.
She had logged out of Snapchat for a while and hadn't realised how long it had been since she'd checked it.
But beneath that realisation was something she wasn't ready to admit.
She had been waiting for him too.
All day, she had wondered why he hadn't messaged her. Had he forgotten about her? Had something changed? She had even been a little angry, though she couldn't quite explain why she felt entitled to be.
Now, hearing that he had been waiting for her, the anger dissolved into something embarrassingly close to relief.
She opened Snapchat and messaged him immediately.
The conversation that followed stretched far beyond what either of them had probably intended. One message became ten, ten became a hundred, and the minutes slipped away unnoticed.
Somewhere between one conversation and the next, both of them wanted something more.
A call.
Vedha wanted to hear his voice. She wanted the familiar sound of him speaking directly to her instead of reading his words on a screen.
But she didn't ask.
She wondered why she was always so hesitant to ask for the things she wanted. Was it because she didn't think she had that right over him? Or was she simply afraid that he might say no?
Across the screen, Sarang seemed caught in the same hesitation.
Neither asked.
Until finally, his message appeared.
Sarang: "Can I call you?"
Vedha didn't make him wait.
Vedha: "Yes."
She had been waiting for those four words longer than she wanted to admit.
A moment later, her phone rang.
And there he was.
The conversation began as naturally as their messages did. There was no awkward silence, no desperate need to impress each other. They talked, laughed, interrupted one another, and wandered from one subject to another without noticing how late it was getting.
It felt familiar... Comfortable...
At some point, Sarang grew quiet.
Sarang: "You know I missed you today, right?"
Vedha's fingers tightened slightly around her phone.
Vedha: "I missed you too."
The words came out softer than she had intended.
For a moment, neither said anything. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence. It was the kind that settled when two people had finally said something they had been holding back.
Then he spoke again.
Sarang: "Vedu..."
There it was.
That name had a way of making even an ordinary moment feel a little more personal.
Vedha: "Mm?"
Sarang: "I wish you were here."
She turned beneath her blanket, hiding her face even though he couldn't see her. He was miles away, separated from her by a phone, and still he had managed to make her forget every clever reply she had prepared.
Vedha: "And what would you do if I were?"
Sarang: "I'd probably spend a long time looking at you before saying anything. I'd look at you. Probably longer than I should, because I doubt I'd get tired of it.
He continued...
"I'd watch that little smile of yours, especially the one you try to hide when you're embarrassed. I'd want to know what you're thinking every time you look away from me."
Vedha pressed her lips together, hiding a smile.
Sarang: "I'd hold your face gently in my hands, brush my thumb across your cheek, and tuck those loose strands of hair behind your ears whenever they fell across your face. And if they kept falling back, I'd keep moving them aside. I wouldn't mind doing it a hundred times."
Vedha buried her face in her pillow.
Sarang: "I'd want to hear your voice without a screen between us. I'd sit close enough to feel your presence, take your hand in mine, and trace little circles across your palm while you talked. And if you rested your head against my shoulder, I'd probably forget whatever I was going to say."
Vedha: "You seem to have planned all this already."
Sarang: "Not even half of it, sweetheart. I'm only telling you what came to mind first. Imagine what might happen when I actually have you sitting beside me."
Vedha: "Sarang..."
Sarang: "Hmm, Vedu?"
Vedha: "Nothing."
Sarang: "Then why are you smiling?"
Vedha: "Who said I'm smiling?"
Sarang: "I know you well enough to imagine it. And if you're hiding your face right now, I'm counting that as a victory."
For once, Vedha had no immediate comeback.
She could hear the smile in his voice, and it made her smile too. She tried to look unimpressed, but her cheeks betrayed her. She hated how easily he could leave her speechless. She stared at the ceiling, trying to recover her composure.
Sarang: "You're quiet now. That's unusual."
Vedha: "Don't get used to it."
He laughed.
She loved that sound more than she intended to.
Then Sarang said her name again.
Sarang: "Vedu?"
Vedha: "Hmm?"
There was a brief pause.
Sarang: "Can I kiss you?"
To be continued...
kiss is here babymaaaa
