Not in the Script: An Ahaan & Aneet Collection

The Green Eyed Monster

By the next day, she had 7 missed calls, two voice notes, and a FaceTime request.

Voice note #1: "Good morning. I know you're awake. You can ignore me, but I'll keep talking anyway."

Voice note #2: "Mohit sir says I should stop annoying you. I told him that's literally impossible. Also, he said to tell you hi, and that you're insane for thinking I'd rather be chest-to-chest with anyone else. His words, not mine."

She couldn't help it—she smiled, her heart softening against the armor she tried to keep up.

The FaceTime request came that night, and for a moment, she considered not answering, just to mess with him. But something inside her caved, and suddenly his face filled the screen — messy hair, hoodie, eyes lighting up at the sight of her.

"There she is," he murmured, his voice a low, beautiful pull. "My favorite ghost."

"I'm not a ghost," she grumbled, sinking into the pillows, trying desperately to ignore the funny, weightless thing her heart always did when he looked at her like that.

"You've disappeared from the world, baby," ," he said gently, the teasing gone now, replaced by a raw longing. "I haven't seen you in like two weeks. Do you know how long that feels when you're me?"

Her chest tightened, a familiar, heavy ache. "I know... But It's important," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "This movie... I can't afford to mess it up. Not now."

"And you won't, you're gonna kill it, I know you will" he promised, his voice the steady anchor she desperately needed. "But you don't have to disappear from me."

Her throat went dry. She opened her mouth to reply, ready to let go of her little game. All she wanted to do was to reach inside the phone and bury herself in his arms. "Listen babe, I have to go, speak to you soon, don't be mad at me still" he said blowing her a kiss and hanging up.

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Raina showed up to her apartment the next day, looking far too smug for a simple hangout. 

"2 things, 1) I missed you so I came. 2) I was sent," she admitted, dropping onto the chair.

"Sent?"

"Tera banda mere phone mein dharne pe bitha hai ki mai tujhe manaau." Raina grinned mischievously. "He's probably pacing like a caged tiger. Baksh de usse behen."

Aneet couldn't help but grin back, the victory a sweet, mischievous taste on her tongue. "Mai naaraaz nahi hu yaar...kabhi kabhi toh mauka milta hai use pareshaan karne ka, thoda mujhe bhi enjoy kar len de na... He's being dramatic."

Raina leaned forward, a genuine warmth in her eyes. "He's also crazy about you, you know?, I'm glad he came into your life."

Aneet's eyes softened.

"thoda zyaada senti mahaul ho gya nahi?" Raina grinned out.

The laughter of the two best friends filled the apartment, the tension finally broken.

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The next day, after a particularly tiring workshop, Aneet finally dragged herself back to the apartment. All she she needed right now was mindless escapism. The plan was simple: Vampire Diaries and oblivion.

 She was halfway to the kitchen, contemplating the logistics of heating an entire bowl of leftover pasta, when the bell rang. A pause. Then, a firm, unmistakable knock on the door. 

Her breath stalled in her chest. Every muscle tensed, a primal certainty locking her in place. She knew. She didn't need to see the peephole. The timing was too audacious, the knock too demanding to be anyone else.

Aneet walked to the door and pulled it open.

Ahaan stood there.

He was dressed in travel-rumpled sweats and a baseball cap, looking completely exhausted and perfectly, heart-stoppingly handsome. He held a single, deep red rose, like a peace offering, his eyes finding hers like he was starved for her.

"You're supposed to be in Shillong," she managed, the whisper betraying the way her breath had utterly abandoned her.

"I was," he said, his voice husky with fatigue and something deeper. He stepped inside, the door clicking shut behind him, sealing them into the quiet bubble of the apartment. "But now I'm here. Because apparently, FaceTime and voice notes aren't enough for you until I'm on my knees, you heartless creature." He mocked glared at her, and added "it wasn't the same without you, so we all collectively decided to cut short the trip. We will go again only when you come with us."

He held the rose out to her, and her heart did that thing it always did when he was close.

She tried for the tough act one last time. She couldn't give in this easily. But her voice betrayed her. "I'm busy."

But he wasn't leaving. Not yet. Not until he had his answer. He stepped closer, the scent of his cologne washing over her, the heat of his presence impossible to ignore. He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek so tenderly it almost made her heart shatter.

"You can fake it all you want," he murmured, his voice dropping lower, "But I know you. And I know you really wanted to come, you're not pissed or jealous. You're just stressed out, you wish you were there. Aaaannnnd.....you miss me." He said matter of factly,

Her pulse hammered against her ribs. She couldn't breathe, let alone form an argument. Every piece of denial evaporated under the scrutiny of his gaze.

"Say I'm wrong," he said, his voice soft but insistent. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't miss me."

She couldn't. She couldn't tell him that. Not when everything inside her screamed that she'd missed him more than she was admitting.

With a shaky exhale, she whispered, "You're impossible."

And then his arms were around her, pulling her in with a sudden, desperate strength. Aneet clung to him, burying her face against the familiar warmth of his neck, her fists instinctively grabbing the fabric of his hoodie, nails digging in like it was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.

He pulled back just enough to look at her, his gaze flicking from her eyes to her lips and back again. "Still mad at me?"

She opened her mouth, but no protest came. Because before she could say a single thing, his lips were on hers. Slow. Tender. Desperate. It was everything they hadn't been able to say to each other. Two weeks of longing, two weeks of missing each other poured out in that one kiss.

When they pulled apart, breathless, foreheads pressed together, he grinned.

"So... are we good?" he asked, his voice a quiet, satisfied challenge.

Aneet's laugh was shaky, a thread of sound, but her smile was real, wide, and unguarded. "You're lucky you're cute."

Ahaan didn't need words for his response. He simply kissed the tip of her nose and, keeping his hand tightly laced with hers, led her fully back inside the apartment, finally dispelling the ghost of her isolation.

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Alright, that's it for this chapter! Updates are tough these days because, honestly, there's nothing new going on. And the lack of content is making inspiration a bit of a ghost right now. But hey, I started this book to channel my delulu thoughts somewhere, so we're making it work. 😅

I'm really hoping Aneet's birthday is about to rain inspiration on me, iykyk. I'm still debating if the next chapter will be Ahneet or Krishvaani... but eh, we'll see.

Until next time! 

Love,

Author