I had just reached home, but it didn't feel like I had actually reached anywhere.My body was inside the house, but my mind was still stuck somewhere behind… in everything that had just happened.Without thinking, I opened Snapchat."pop" notification soundRight… we had already exchanged Snapchat IDs.It felt small at that time.But it wasn't.I sent him a snap — "Reached home."I kept my phone down.A few seconds later—Snap saved notificationHe had saved it.That one small action made something pause inside me. I didn't even understand why it mattered so much… but it did.Then I put my phone aside.The room was quiet. Fan was humming. Outside, normal life sounds continued.But inside me… nothing was normal.I kept replaying everything.The car ride.His voice.The laughs.The goodbye.Everything felt simple then… but now it kept repeating in my head.I would randomly smile… then suddenly go blank.Then—Buzz… phone notificationI ignored it at first.Then checked.It was him.He had sent a meme.Ping soundIt said:"9vi ke bachon ko insta chalna shobha nhi karta.😭"Yeahhh... Soo that time I was in 9th and he was in 11th ...I laughed and replied:"Excuse me?? 😭"Him:"Reality check 😂Me:"Wow okay sir 😌"Him:"Facts only."And just like that… it started.Ping. Reply. Ping. Reply.Memes turned into reels.Reels turned into chats.Chats turned into daily routine.My phone slowly became the loudest thing in my silent room.At first… it was just fun.Just friendship.Just jokes.That's what I believed.We roasted each other constantly:"You're so dramatic 💀""Says you 😭""I'm always right.""Delusional."But slowly… something else started building underneath all this fun.He was an overthinker.Someone who doesn't say everything… but feels everything deeply.And around that time… he had just gone through a breakup.He didn't talk about it much.But I could feel it.In his silence.In his short replies.In the way he sometimes just stopped mid-conversation.Still… he kept talking to me.And I stayed.Because slowly… I became his comfort space.Days passed like this.Then nights became our world.11:47 PM — buzzHim: "You awake?"Me: "Unfortunately yes."Him: "Same."Me: "Overthinking again?"Him: "…yeah."Me: "About what?"Him: "Everything."That one word said more than anything else.I replied:"You think too much."Him:"I can't stop."And I didn't know what to say… so I stayed.Late-night chats became normal.Fan humming.Dark room.Phone glow.Constant notifications breaking silence.Then one night… everything shifted.It was around 2 AM.Buzz… message notificationNot a meme.Not a joke.Just a song.And below it—"I love you."For a second… everything stopped.Even the fan noise felt far away.I stared at the screen without blinking.My mind went blank.Confusion. Shock. Nervousness.And something I couldn't even name.I typed:"What…?"Him:"I don't know how to say it properly."Me:"Say what?"No reply.Typing…Then:"What I feel."Silence.Heavy silence.I could literally feel my heartbeat.After a few seconds, I didn't know what I was doing… but I replied with a song too.And wrote:"I love…"Not complete.Just confused emotions.He immediately asked:"Are we in a relationship now?"That question changed everything.Because we both didn't fully understand what was happening.We liked each other… yes.But naming it felt too real.Too fast.Too confusing.I typed.Deleted.Typed again.My hands were shaking slightly.Finally:"Maybe."And after that—Silence.Not empty.Heavy.Like something had just changed between two people who didn't even plan it.I kept staring at my screen.Thinking:Did this really just happen… or am I imagining it?But it was real.And that "maybe" became the beginning of something neither of us fully understood.And just like that… without understanding anything fully, we became "us" somewhere between sweet smiles and salty silence.....
