Then, on March 22, Veer surprised me by asking, "Will you be my girlfriend?" At first, I was taken aback. It felt like a big step, and I said no. But soon after, I realized that I, too, had feelings for him. I didn't confess directly, but the way I talked to him after that made it clear—I liked him.His reply was calm but persistent. "It doesn't have to be sudden. Just think about it. I like you, Advika. More than a friend."I set my phone down, needing a moment to breathe. Did I like him that way? The question was harder to answer than I thought. Veer was sweet and caring, and we clicked in a way that felt natural. But a relationship? That was uncharted territory for me.When I picked up the phone again, I sent him a hesitant, "I'm sorry, Veer. I don't think I'm ready for this."His response surprised me. Instead of being upset or pressuring me, he replied, "That's okay. I just wanted you to know how I feel. We can still be friends, right?"I smiled at his message, relieved. "Of course."But after that day, something changed. Veer didn't treat me any differently, but I started seeing him in a new light. His little jokes, his thoughtful messages, the way he always remembered the smallest details about my day—it all started to mean more. I found myself thinking about him even when we weren't talking, wondering what he was doing if he was thinking about me too.I didn't confess my feelings directly. I wasn't sure how, or even if I needed to. Instead, I let my actions speak for me. I made more effort to reach out, sent him memes I knew he'd find funny, and started dropping little hints in our conversations. Veer wasn't oblivious; he picked up on it quickly.-------------------------------------------------------------------It was a usual evening, or at least I thought it was. Advika and I were texting, but something about her messages felt... off. Normally, she was full of energy, always quick with a witty reply or a random meme. But tonight, her responses were slower, shorter, and lacked her usual spark."Hey, are you okay?" I typed, genuinely concerned."I'm fine," she replied, but even through the screen, I could tell she wasn't.I pressed a little more. "You don't seem fine. What's wrong?"For a while, there was no reply, and I wondered if I had pushed too far. Then, my phone buzzed."Veer," she wrote, "do you ever feel like someone is trying to tell you something, but you're just not getting it?"I frowned, confused. "What do you mean?""You," she said. "I'm talking about you."I blinked at the screen, completely lost. "Me? What about me?"She sent a sighing emoji, and then the words that completely threw me off: "Can't you understand that I like you?"For a moment, I just stared at my phone, my brain trying to process what I'd just read. Advika liked me?"Advika? are you serious?" I typed, my fingers shaking slightly."Yes," she replied. "I've been trying to tell you for days, but you're too dense to notice."I couldn't help but laugh, though my heart was racing. "Why didn't you just say so earlier?""Because I was scared," she admitted. "But I couldn't keep it in anymore."That was the moment everything changed. "Well, in that case," I wrote, grinning, "I guess we're official now."And just like that, we were. It was simple, unexpected, and absolutely perfect.