"Almost, Always"

Chapter 1: First Look, Lasting Glance

The school assembly yard boiled under the 9 AM sun. Students stood in lines, mumbling the pledge while teachers barked orders to stay straight.

Nirav? He was at the back row, swaying, yawning, and tapping a plastic pen like it was a drumstick.

“Why are we even standing like cattle every damn Monday?” he muttered to no one.

That's when his eyes landed on someone new in Class 11-B's line.

Neat hair, tucked shirt, clean shoes, and most importantly — bright blue-frame glasses perched on a sharp nose.

Nirav squinted.

“Looks like a chapri trying to act elite.”

The guy didn’t even glance back. Just stood like a statue.

Nirav smirked.

Boring. Pass.

.....

Chapter 2: Impressions Crack Slowly

The guy turned out to be Priyansh.

Top scorer. Zero tolerance for nonsense. Sarcastic in the quietest, most intelligent way.

He barely spoke to anyone. But when Nirav got paired with him in chemistry class, something clicked — not like lightning — more like static that refused to fade.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” Nirav asked, chewing gum.

Priyansh didn’t look up. “I talk. Just not to people who think loud is the same as smart.”

Nirav’s mouth dropped open. Then he laughed. “Damn. You’re savage, Glasses.”

Priyansh finally looked at him, expression unreadable. “And you’re exhausting.”

It should’ve ended there.

But it didn’t.

.....

Chapter 3: From Arguments to Inside Jokes

Despite the rocky start, they kept getting paired. Nirav started making Priyansh laugh — just a little. Priyansh started showing up near Nirav’s bench before classes started — just sometimes.

Nirav didn’t notice how his eyes searched for those blue frames every morning. Or how he got angry when Priyansh talked to someone else too long.

He only knew Priyansh was his.

His project partner.

His debate rival.

His unofficial best friend.

Not that he’d ever admit it.

Chapter 4: The Breaking Point

It happened one rainy afternoon. They were waiting out the storm near the school stairwell.

Nirav said, “You know, if someone ever messes with you, I’ll beat the hell out of them.”

Priyansh shook his head. “Why does everything with you end in a fight?”

“Because that’s how I protect people!”

“People don’t always need fists, Nirav. They need consistency. Calm. Support.”

“Then maybe we’re not friends the same way, huh?”

Priyansh looked at him, calm but firm. “Maybe not.”

That cracked something inside Nirav.

“You think I’m a joke, don’t you? I care like an idiot and you stand there like I’m some stray dog following you around!”

Then the words slipped—rough, bitter, sharp.

“Chal nikal yaha se, saala emotional robot. Tere jaise logon ki wajah se logon ka bharosa toot ta hai.”

He regretted it instantly.

But Priyansh didn’t flinch.

He just nodded slowly and walked away.

Didn’t turn back.

Didn’t come back.

Chapter 5: Two Years of Noise Without Sound

Time moved on.

Nirav made new friends. Got in more fights. Laughed louder.

But deep inside, there was a space shaped exactly like blue frames and quiet sarcasm.

He never blocked Priyansh. Never deleted his number. Never moved on, no matter how much he tried.

Priyansh, meanwhile, stayed invisible. Moved on to college life, library corners, and quiet evenings.

But some nights — some slow, heavy nights — he stared at his old texts with Nirav.

Unread. Unreplied. But never forgotten.

Chapter 6: Realization Is the Loudest Silence

One day, Nirav stood in the middle of a festival crowd. Lights. Music. Laughter.

But nothing felt... full.

He looked up at the sky and whispered,

“I think I loved you, Priyansh. I just didn’t know that love wasn’t supposed to feel like a battlefield.”

He walked out of that crowd and into Priyansh’s campus.

Chapter 7: After the Silence

Nirav stood at the gate, fists clenched.

When Priyansh came out, Nirav nearly forgot how to breathe.

“I don’t have a speech,” Nirav said. “I just... I can’t live with this silence anymore.”

Priyansh didn’t move.

“I didn’t know it was love. Not then. I only knew I needed you like breath. And when you left, it felt like suffocating with eyes open.”

Still no reply.

“I don’t want apologies. I just want you to know... I’m not the same. But my feelings? Still are.”

After a long pause, Priyansh finally whispered,

“I never stopped missing you.”

Nirav blinked. “Then why?”

“Because loving you scared me. You were loud. Wild. I felt like I’d get swallowed whole.”

“And now?”

Priyansh exhaled. “Now? I’m still scared. But I’m tired of missing someone who never really left.”

Nirav’s voice broke, “Then don’t miss me. Just… be with me.”

Final Scene: Not a Love Story — A Continuation

They didn’t kiss that night.

Didn’t promise anything stupid.

They just walked side by side again.

No words.

But hearts wide open.

Because some bonds don’t need names.

Some feelings don’t need confessions.

And some love stories begin again… exactly where they shattered.

Nirav didn’t know that blue-frame guy would one day break him and heal him in the same lifetime.

........

The End!!

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