~•Amara•~
"Ummm… friends then?" He extended his hand towards me but retracted it back when he realized that he was still clutching on to my right hand in his left one.
Seeing his actions, I couldn't help but let out a heartfelt chuckle.
He finally let go of my hand after recovering from the embarrassment which he had so willingly brought up on his own self.
"So, are we friends now?" He spoke up as he extended his right hand towards me once again, passing me an uptight smile.
It didn't require a genius to tell that he was nervous, even a little bit of jittery if I might add. But why? That was the question which piqued my interest in him, and made me curious. Or was it just the matter which was having an effect on me and my thoughts? I highly doubted that it could be the latter. I wasn't that petty now, was I?
"Yeah!" I bobbed my head up and down as I finally accepted his extended hand and gave it a firm shake. This time, I didn't bother to hold my strength back as I gave it a firm squeeze.
My lips couldn't help but become more curled up when I felt him doing the same in return. He squeezed my hand with a hell lot of force, but it was nothing before what I was capable of tolerating without even flinching for once.
The way he stared back into my eyes with a relaxed look embracing his face had me doubting his strength. He was deliberately holding back.
'He surely cares for you.'
There it was, my stupid subconscious ruining a completely good moment while peppering some flakes of awkwardness over it.
'Will you keep your mouth shut and let me focus on the man?'
I spat back at it as I shoved it back inside the hole it kept crawling out of. It had become a thing for us by now as it continued to poke it's ugly nose in my matters while enjoying the dilemma I was thrown into. It made me wonder at times whether or not it was my own subconscious.
"Great."
I heard him say as he retracted his hand back. The moment his palm and fingers were no longer in touch with mine, I was starting to miss the warmth which they were providing me.
"So, we will see each other around now?" He spoke up once again, but was a little hesitant with his words.
What was wrong with him now that I had said yes to him? Where were his insecurities sprouting from?
"It's inevitable. Are you forgetting that we are enrolled in the same courses?" I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him. Where did his brain go? I would more than love to knock some sense into his brain.
"I am not that stupid now, am I? I meant as friends. Because usually, you avoid me like a plague." His words were laced with sheer sarcasm as he stared back at me with a mocking grin gracing his face.
"It was not like that." I spoke up in my defense. "It's just it feels weird to me. I am not used to having people around me."
I was sure I looked like a defense attorney, one who was ready to go through an intense argument just to prove herself not guilty and innocent.
"Maybe I am the one people avoid as a plague. That is why you being at ease around me felt… weird." I added while shrugging my shoulders.
I knew it wasn't right to share every single thing with him, but I couldn't lie to him. It was better if I was being honest than a liar.
"Are you sure that it was them avoiding you like a plague, and not the other way around?" He looked at me with a questioning gaze while waiting patiently for me to answer him.
His words were like a cruel knock on the shut door of my subconscious mind, and I could help but ponder over them.
Throughout the years, I never bothered to pay much attention over it. I always had the same thoughts lingering in mind that it was me being avoided all this time because I was different.
It had never been hard for me to stand out in a crowd or my class. All this time I had been thinking that it was the reason people around me didn't have a liking towards me. But was it the whole truth?
After hearing his words and the surety they were laced with, I couldn't help but doubt it now. Maybe some of the people I have met or passed by in all these years were actually like what I perceived them to be, but not everyone could have been the same.
Every time the old man tried to knock some sense into me, I ended up exclaiming the same things which I did earlier to Aden. But I guess I was wrong, I had been wrong all this time.
I stared back into his oceanic blue eyes as my mind struggled to process his words, while he kept staring back at me with a gentle look on his face.
He could have interrupted me if he wanted to. Not like I would have killed him for it. But he chose to stay quiet and wait patiently. Keeping his mouth shut, he gave me all the time which I needed to process my thoughts.
I exhaled out a long sigh before I bobbed my head up and down in agreement.
"I guess you may be right." I spoke as I finally shifted my gaze away from him.
"You know that I am right." I heard him say as I kept staring at the empty green field.
'Where did everyone go?' I thought to myself as my eyes wandered around. 'How long we have been sitting here?'
"We have a class in five minutes. Shall we go?" He spoke up again to get my attention, not bothering to keep arguing with me over how right he was.
Given no other choice, I could only nod in response.