I enter office a little early today at around 9.45 Am. I walk ahead and see our counter empty. However, to my utmost surprise, I find Steven, sitting on his chair. He maintains his ever so calm and composed appearance and wears a white and blue striped shirt; sleeves rolled up to the elbows and paired it with brown pants. His hair is back in the form of a semi-bun and though I shouldn't, I get excited seeing him.
I keep my stuff and turn on the computer before going to the washroom. I stand before the mirror and fix my hair, telling myself to not fantasize about Steven and ruin my concentration. I've worked really hard throughout my life to build this opportunity for myself, to make an identity of my own and I won't let a guy with only his good looks damage everything for me.
Complacent with my plan I exit the washroom and notice Steven stretching his arms and leaning back on his chair. I keep stealing glances of him when he lands his gaze on me from the corner of his eyes. I try to look away and move ahead, but somehow find myself smiling at him.
"You're so early today?" I ask, and immediately regret it.
"Yeah," he answers bluntly.
I knit my brows and look at him. He doesn't even look at me while answering my question, only showing how disinterested he's in talking to me. I shake my head and turn on my heels, almost trotting my way back to my chair and occupying it.
I start scanning the top trending news and jot down the five story ideas for the day on my tiny notepad. Venkatesh comes soon, looking in a bit of rush. He doesn't waste time in taking out his laptop and sitting on his chair, commencing to type eventually.
"Morning, sir," I smile. He just nods.
I walk up to him and show him the story ideas. He approves four of them, asking me to find a new fifth option. I cringe internally, but not having the audacity to talk against my Boss, agree anyway. I write the first story, planning to look for a different story idea for the fifth story later.
Deepak comes really late at around 11.30 Am. Venkatesh should blast him, but knowing the composed man he is; he only asks Deepak the reason and tells him not to be late henceforth.
Deepak doesn't waste any more time and dives into work.
Everyone, including our as well as Steven's company and even the other IT Company stays busy throughout the day. The lunch time goes as normal as it can be. Deepak goes out again and I eat Russian salad only that I made after learning from a cooking show. I don't see what Steven does, as shocking as it might sound. He may go out for lunch or eat in the office; I decide to simply stay focused on my work.
When the clock strikes 3.30 Pm I see myself, struggling to keep my eyes open. Deepak isn't here, having gone for reporting. The only person I talk to in office other than Deepak is Steven and I know if I tell him, he will go with me. However, my ego is restricting me.
I shake my head and drink some water before turning my attention to the computer screen. I'm done writing four stories and with the speed I'm going today I think I'll finish two more stories.
Nonetheless, I fail to stay awake and decide that I need to take a break no matter what. I hate that the office doesn't have coffee. It's ridiculous because everyone doesn't drink tea. I can't stand tea and I don't understand how can nearly the whole population of the earth depend on it, it tastes like feet – worse than some of the ugliest syrups I've ever taken.
I rise to my feet and go to the washroom. I fight an immense urge to ask Steven out for coffee, but when I exit the washroom I find myself walking up to him anyway.
His eyes are big and fixated on the laptop screen and he types something on the keyboard.
"Steven?" I rest a hand on his shoulder.
"Hmm," he hums.
"You wanna go out?" I ask.
"We're going out in sometime. I'll call you," he replies, eyes not moving from the laptop screen.
Something slaps me and screams at me from inside that the way he's behaving with me is wrong; I shouldn't entertain that and lose my self-esteem. However, it becomes recessive in my mind right now and I nod at him and turn on my heels.
I sit on my chair and smile idiotically, resuming searching the idea for fifth story. I get a brilliant sports story and excitedly ask Venkatesh about it. I explain to him what the topic is about and he likes it good. Getting the approval, I come back to my workstation. I start writing the fifth story, stealing glimpses of the wall clock every few seconds.
After one hour, I catch Steven's colleague pass me and sit perched on the couch, placed in front of the office door. I don't completely turn back, but from the corner of my eyes watch Steven enter the washroom and come out really fast. When he exits the washroom from the reflection on my monitor I notice him looking at me. I understand that he's going to call me out now, so I pretend to not be busy lest he shies away from calling me.
And within a few blinks of eye, I find him standing adjacent to me, staring at me like I'm the most beautiful thing on earth. I wait for him to call my name, but he doesn't. It's so weird that every time he stands beside me and looks at me, waiting for me to lock gaze with him instead of calling my name. I don't see any reason behind it.
Knowing him these few weeks, I've learnt that even if I don't turn he'll stand there forever, hence; I give up and lock sight with him. He tilts his head and gestures me to come out like he always does. I nod and smile, watching him stroll forward very lazily. I quickly get my mobile and lock my computer. At this time, Deepak enters the office and smiles at me. I open my mouth to ask him how was the reporting and if he got all the information he needed, but seeing him straight away going to Venkatesh I decide to ask him later.
I trod ahead and reach the main door of office. I notice Steven is holding the door open for me while he whisks his dread locks. I smile at the ground and witness his hair is down. I go out of office and pat on his shoulder. He turns around and smiles at me.
"Thank you," I nod, still smiling.
He nods back and moves his hand away from the door. I notice his colleague, standing diagonally left of me and Steven sitting up on the railing right beside me. His knee touches my right elbow, sending chills down my body.
I look up and catch Steven and his colleague, exchanging smirks and glances between each other. I knit my brows, trying to figure out the reason behind such a weird behavior on both of their parts. I feel an uncomfortable vibe from the colleague, who smiles at me all unusually.
"Are you kidding me?" Steven jumps down the railing and looks at the sky. "It cannot rain now," he looks, hopelessly, at his colleague.
"You're worried about rain coming now? I nearly get drenched everyday while going home. It rains every freaking day," I intend to tell Steven only, but for the sake of maintaining a good work relationship, I smile at his colleague as well.
"Don't worry, you won't get drenched today," the colleague smiles widely at me.
I furrow my brows and try to understand what he meant by "not getting drenched now."
And clearing my confusion, Steven looks at me with his evergreen smirk and says, "Let's go now. We've to come back again, yeah?"
I keep my brows furrowed and ask, "Where are we going?"
"Coffee, I told you that we're going there, you don't remember?" Steven retorts.
"Really?" I widen my eyes, super elated.
This will be the first time Steven and I will go out for coffee or at least out of office. After the first time I turned him down when he asked me for going out for a smoke with him and his colleague, who by the way is still smiling all weird at me; I'm super happy about having this opportunity.
"Yes, come, you won't get drenched," the colleague tells me.
I look at Steven and he smiles at me before walking down the stairs. He jogs down, taking tiny, but swift steps. I follow suit with his colleague, walking beside me.
"Your smile is cute," the colleague tells me. "By the way, I'm Shekhar," he stretches his hand at me.
I feel severely uncomfortable at this moment. I'm interested in Steven and I guess, he knows it, then all of a sudden how come his colleague who has never ever showed interest to talk to me is being all clingy?
"I'm Nadia," I smile, but don't shake hands with Shekhar. His face falls and he looks away.
The three of us walk down the stairs and reach the parking lot. No sooner do we reach the lot than we see a blue car entering the space. I don't pay any attention to it until I see both Steven and Shekhar stop beside it. As the driver pulls down the window and reveals his face, I see that it's that friend of Kiran and Steven who came to office a few weeks before.
"Hey, where are you guys going?" he asks, looking at Steven and then landing his eyes on me, a smirk decorating his lips. What is it with the employees of their company and smirks? In fact, what is it with boys and smirks?
I can't see my facial expression, but I anticipate them to be struggling to put up a smile. I'm indeed confused as to how to react at the man's unusual smirk. After a few seconds pass, I break my gaze from him and look at Steven. He stands diagonally left of Shekhar.
"We're just going for coffee, you're coming?" Steven asks back.
"Yeah, let me just park my car," he answers and rotates the steering wheel.
"You wanna walk with us?"
"Obviously. Why would I drive when you guys will walk?" the man laughs off Steven's stupid question. Shekhar and I stifle laughs too.
I walk and move out of the parking lot and stand at the gate of the building. Shekhar comes and stand beside me, flashing me his creepy smile. I don't look him in the eye, but from the corner of my eyes I notice him glaring at me all weird.
Steven and the man exit the parking lot and into the street soon as all four of us start walking. I understand that the man is good friends with Steven and so they are walking with each other, but Shekhar's creepy inclination towards me makes me more and more uncomfortable. I look before me at Steven and wish he stops and asks me to walk with him. However, that is a distant dream, I know.
Suddenly, both he and the man stop walking and Steven looks behind.
"This is Nadia," he introduces me. I smile at the man who is already smiling at me. "And this is Arvind," he finishes his sentence and turns around again.
Arvind stretches his hand before me and we shake hands. He smirks at me and although this should make me uncomfortable I notice how good looking Arvind is actually. He leaves my hand soon and continue his walk with Steven.
By the time we cross the main road and curve into an alley, Shekhar and I have engaged in a deep conversation. It turns out that he's actually good to talk to and strangely I enjoy talking to him. He tells me that he is from Andhra Pradesh (a state in southern India), did his graduation from Bangalore and then went to Geneva for doing his post graduation before coming back to India and doing an internship at Winnow Analytics. I tell him that I'm a Bengali and detail him about my academic qualifications.
"What do you do during the weekends?" I ask Shekhar as we cross some shops en route to the coffee shop, which by the way, I've no idea where is situated.
"Differs, you?" he retorts.
"I work on Saturdays too, but generally I try to go out and drink and hang out with my friends," I answer and think to myself that that day hasn't arrived yet since I joined office.
"So, you're an avid drinker?"
"I'm not, but when I do drink I drink a lot and let loose of myself," I smile.
"So, you know all the bars and pubs of Bangalore?"
"Not all, just the ones I went to. Back in college I used to go out a lot, but now with office pressure things have changed a great deal," I fake sob and Shekhar laughs.
I look at Steven as he audibly tells Shekhar to cross the road and help me cross too. I furrow my brows and think that if he cares about me crossing the road carefully then why don't he trace back and walk with me? I catch his brown eyes locking sight with mine and even in the midst of the road we keep staring at each other. He drinks me in with his hypnotizing looks and I simply get lost, battling to be in my senses all the while.
When we cross the roads, I hear Shekhar ask me something, probably about my favorite drink, but I only watch Steven's gaze still affixed on me while Arvind wraps his arm around Steven and tries to draw his attention. I don't know what to do or think or even say. He's such a different person; I haven't ever met anyone like him in my life. I realize this for the trillionth time.
Finally, after we enter yet another alley Steven breaks his gaze from me and starts talking to Arvind. I blink my eyes rapidly and look at the ground.
"Hey, you there?" Shekhar asks.
"Huh?" I hum, looking in his eyes.
He smiles. "I asked what your favorite drink is."
"Oh," I gasp. "Vodka, orange flavored vodka."
"Nice choice, which company?"
"Magic Moments, any day," I smile and he nods. "By the way, do you know where are we going?"
"Yeah, this way," he points to our left as the four of us take a left turn. "The coffee shop is this way."
"I've never visited this area before. I know the straight way because my colleague, Deepak drops me on his bike at the bus stop near Café Coffee Day every day," I say, while settling my hair and eyes on Steven. He walks with his hands deep inside his pockets - like always.
"Yeah, we know. And that's why Steven wanted to bring you out today," he innocently blabbers.
I feel my heart stop beating. My eyes widen instantaneously and I look at Shekhar in the eye. "What?" I ask.
"What?" he shrugs.
"Steven wanted to bring me out with you guys?" I clear my question.
"Yeah, he did. He knows you don't know this way."
I nod, but don't reply anymore. I land my eyes back on Steven and something from inside me screams out to him, begging him to take an initiative and do something already. I'm done with waiting and I want him to ask me out already, so we can simply start dating. He's so handsome, so intelligent, so funny and so matured. He has got everything I ever want in a man.
At this time he turns back, as if on cue and smiles at me. I smile back, relating our situation to a typical Bollywood movie. However, I don't see his reasons of waiting. My clues and indications are clear enough to know that I like him and if he's interested enough to tell Shekhar to help me carefully cross the road and make me explore areas of Bangalore I don't know then why can't he reply to my messages, accept my offer when I ask him out or ask me out himself? We're both grownups and not living in a conservative society where our families will object our relationship. I know my parents will happily accept, they've always liked marriage between two different communities anyway. And I know, North-Eastern people get married to Bengalis a lot and knowing from his personality, I don't think his family would impose any hurdle as well. What is the problem then?
"Maybe he has a girlfriend?" I think to myself, and shake my head, denying accepting the painful truth.
"Hey, I came out in such a rush. I didn't even inform my sir that I'm going out for coffee and I didn't even bring my purse. I hate enjoying in other people's money, shit," I say to Shekhar.
"Oh, it's okay. Steven is there, he'll pay for you," Shekhar smiles at me.
I curve the upper corner of my lips and try to smile, nodding. "He's so stupid," I think to myself.
"But that's not right. I should've brought my purse," I cringe at myself.
"Even I haven't brought my wallet. In fact, I never bring my wallet when I'm out with Steven. He always pays and that's just how it is."
I look at Shekhar and then at Steven and back to Shekhar again. He talks like a creepy girlfriend of Steven who is proudly talking about his boyfriend's money and how she happily murders her self esteem every time by letting Steven pay for her. And the worst case scenario is that Shekhar is a guy!
We reach the coffee shop soon. Steven orders two teas to the shopkeeper and turns to look at Shekhar and I. As if he knows that Shekhar won't drink anything, so he looks at me. In normal situations, any sane person would just ask the question, but Steven doesn't do that. He lets his hypnotizing look impact me a little and then opens his mouth to talk.
"You wanna drink tea?" he asks.
I bite my lower lip, stifling a smile. "No, I don't drink tea."
"Badam milk, lassi, coffee, anything? You wanna eat something?" he stresses.
"I'm allergic to milk, but thanks," I wave my hand at him and smile from ear to ear.
He breaks his gaze from me, eyes reflecting serious hurt for being turned down my me. I stand on the culvert and take my place in between Shekhar and Steven. I stand before the showcase, exhibiting all the snacks that the shop offers. Steven asks for a smoke and I feel him move a tad closer to me. I smile under my breath.
"Did you have your lunch?" I ask him.
He lights the cigarette and nod, taking a puff deep inside his throat. He blows out a smoke and gestures at the showcase, indicating that he ate something from here only at lunch.
"Ohh," I nod.
The smokes enter my nose a little and I start coughing. I move to my side, behind Shekhar and Steven quickly moves out of my way and stands beside Arvind. I feel good at this gesture and smile at him. He smiles back and nods a tad before mouthing, "It's okay." I laugh mildly and quickly look at Arvind and Shekhar to check if they saw our tiny exchanges of glances or not. Thankfully they didn't.
Shekhar starts asking me about my job and what exactly I do and everything. Steven chats with Arvind about the latter's job as both of them enjoy tea.
"So, Arvind works at Winnow as well?" I ask Shekhar.
"No, he works at IBM, but he's very good friends with Kiran and Steven, so whenever he's free he comes to visit them in the office."
"Oh, I see," I nod, remembering that even Liam works at IBM. I open my mouth to ask Arvind if he knows him, but then the thought fades away.
Steven walks beside me once again and I smile at the ground.
"Are you sure you don't wanna drink anything?" he asks me again, this time smirking.
"Ahhmm..." I think.
"Have something please, I'll feel bad otherwise, please," he requests.
I smile widely and nod. "Alright, I'll have a coffee."
The shopkeeper comes at the counter at this point to attend another customer. "One coffee for madam, make it fast," Steven orders him. I smile at him terming me 'madam'.
He looks back at me and winks. I widen my eyes and my mouth becomes agape. What the hell just happened? Did Steven just wink at me? Oh dear Lord!
He laughs soon and I join him. I'm sure he has lost his mind and I'm just following suit.
My coffee arrives soon and I pick up a tissue paper and wrap it around the cup to take the first sip of coffee. It tastes so good and it's so frothy, internally I kiss Steven for bringing me out. I also smile at the fact that he knows I love coffee and without even asking me, he hitched the idea of taking me out for coffee. And I thought he isn't interested in me.
I drink the coffee and talk with Shekhar because Steven is busy talking to Arvind. And to be honest, the thing starts bugging me now. He called me out for coffee and he isn't even making an initiative to talk to me. I mean, how confusing can he get?
Around five minutes pass when I hear Steven clapping his hands. "Let's go," he says to all of us.
I look at him, worried because I haven't finished my coffee yet. "Can you guys wait for me a bit, please?" I ask him.
"It's okay, you take your time," he bats his hand away and replies, but doesn't even look at me.
I feel so irritated and annoyed at him that I want to throw the cup away and just storm off.
I quickly gulp down the hot coffee and thump the cup on the counter. Steven and Arvind turn on their heels and start walking. Left with no other choice, I start walking with Shekhar. I see them taking a different road from the one where we came.
"Why are we taking this way?" I furrow my brows and ask Shekhar.
"I told you Steven wanted you to explore the unknown areas of Bangalore, so he's taking this road," he shrugs and smiles.
Why the hell is he making Steven look like the daddy of the group? Does everything depend on his whims and wants? Why didn't he come and tell me directly that he wants to take me out for coffee? When I asked him if he wants to go out for a break then only he informed me about their plan? What if I didn't ask him?
I thwart the train of thoughts that attack my head. Shekhar blabbers something to me that I'm only nodding to and hardly listening. I only look at Steven and feel the contents of my skull coil into a tough knot.
We enter the main road and then take a left from where the road becomes familiar to me. We reach office soon and as I answer Shekhar who are my favorite authors I notice that Steven isn't anymore with us. I knit my brows and look around for him before seeing Arvind walk up the stairs, eyes on his mobile.
"Where did Steven go?" I ask Shekhar, totally helpless.
"He must have gone inside the office," he answers.
I walk up the stairs with Shekhar and see Arvind unlocking the door and closing it after he enters. Shekhar reopens the door and we enter the office as well. I don't see any sign of Steven and when my eyes land on my sir I find him filled with rage. Shekhar turns back to look at me, indicating that even he saw Venkatesh's angry eyes. I widen my eyes and stifle a massive laugh.
"I'm sorry sir, I'll just save the story now," I say to Venkatesh.
"You better," he nods, voice very heavy and serious.
When I'm about to occupy my chair I watch Steven already in his chair, typing something on his laptop. I frown and shake my head, disgusted at his ignorance. I decide to pay full attention to my work and not think of him.
End hours roll in and I'm left alone in our counter with Deepak and Venkatesh having left already. I type hard on the keyboard, trying to finish my last story for the day.
"And done," I murmur to myself and sigh deeply. However, I don't waste time and quickly save the writing on Wordpress and publish it along with pictures.
I arrange all my stuff in my bag and head to the washroom, hoping that the story hits the top spot in Google News in another five or ten minutes. When I come back and turn my computer off, I see Steven's footsteps approaching me. I turn around and see him walking towards the office door. Arvind makes some funny statement, making Kiran laugh too and Steven smiles the widest I've ever seen him smile.
His smile makes me smile as well because I still think that Arvind teases him with me. When he turns around to leave I expect him to wave at me like he always does, but he walks off and I see him open the door and exit the office. My mouth remains agape and I'm stunned. This is how he ends the day? He told Shekhar he wants to take me out on coffee, so I can explore Bangalore and then he leaves without even saying bye to me? What is he made of? I want to know how his brain works. It's definitely not normal.
I reach home at around 8.00 Pm and feel exhaustion getting the better of me. I have always known that being a journalist demands inhuman work, both physically and mentally. However, you only understand something when you actually go through it. Additionally, my mind is completely fucked up with Steven and the more I try to avert thinking about him the more I fail.
I adopt a moderate pace and start peeling off my robes. While I stand under the shower, I think of this situation I'm facing with Steven. I realize that he is completely messing up my head and I only wish that this uneasy feeling in me stops, but I'm not even making an attempt. I know I am not, so I decide to start making an attempt – at least give it a go.
After taking a shower and changing into a pair of shorts and tee I make dinner for myself. There was some spare chicken in the refrigerator, so I cooked a less spicy curry and prepared three chapattis (flat breads). It was only 9.30 Pm, thus; I decided to eat after sometime. I sat on the couch and turned on the television, flipping through channels randomly. My mind is hardly there and I get irritated easily.
I leave my apartment, turning the television off and go to the common corridor. The weather is a little on the colder side and I feel cold, wearing a tank top. I see the surroundings and suddenly miss home – my parents, cousins, grandma, friends and especially my own room. It's only been a few weeks that I'm away from them, but I already feel homesick.
I dial Amrita's number – one of my best friends' from Calcutta, and she picks up at the fourth ring.
"Heyyy, what's up?" she asks, excited.
"I'm okay, you tell me?" I ask back, sounding very gloomy.
"I'm good, what happened?"
I sigh. "I met someone and it's heading into the gutter as well."
"Tell me everything," she demands.
I sigh again and consume the next fifteen minutes, explaining everything to her. I hate going back to the beginning because at that moment I expected for something to happen, but now I can clearly see that there is no hope.
"Sweetie, just fuck him out of your mind, alright?" Amrita suggested.
I smile because I knew this is what she was going to advice – like Sirin, like my mind.
"I can't; I'm trying, but I can't, I just can't. I've got addicted to him like a drug, LSD," I put my head in my hand.
"Listen, I'll tell you the truth. Guys don't think so much like us, they go with the flow and if you try to thwart their freedom they won't give a shit about you. I got the feeling that you're doing that, so stop it and give him his space. I mean, he hasn't even accepted your friend request. Let him do that first and if he's even slightly interested then you don't have to do anything. He'll take all the initiatives, trust me. But you've to stop being so impatient and give him his space, and hold your self-esteem especially. Okay?" I hear her taking a deep breath.
The modulation in her voice, the heaviness of the words and the determination with which she talks, moves me and I realize that she is right. Like I thought, I'm not even making an attempt to stop thinking about him. I can't let mere good looks shake my principles so badly; he isn't the only good looking guy on earth.
"You're right; I'm not even making an attempt to stop this madness of mine. I'll do it; I promise I'll do it," I close my eyes and nod rapidly, being awakened to a bitter truth.
"Good because you've lots of great things in your life. Your job is so awesome, you live on your own, you can do whatever you want and this is something every independent woman needs. Why would you want to destroy everything for the sake of a guy only? You aren't any less pretty."
"Thank you, I promise I'll not do it anymore."
"Good, yeah....don't do it," I can see her smile on the other side of the line.
"Fine, I'll have dinner now. Office tomorrow, goodnight," I gasp.
"WhatsApp me when you're free and online, I miss you."
"I will do it, and I miss you too, bye," I smile from ear to ear before hanging up.
It's strange that whenever I'm around people or talking to my friends, the killing temptation I feel for Steven completely evaporates as if it didn't even exist, but everything piles up and chokes me the moment I'm alone. I've faced unrequited feeling even before, but this time hurts like never before.
I keep the mobile away from my ear and turn on my heels to face Niall. He appears to have entirely avoided listening to me, but I can see a teeny grin adorning his lips. He wears a U.S designed vest and black jeans, head bowed down and eyes fixed on mobile – one hand sticks deep inside his pockets.
I'm nosy to know if he heard anything, but the prospect of getting into a conversation with him ceases me especially after the way he behaved with me last week. Satisfied with my plan, I break my gaze from him and turn on my heels to pass him.
"I'm sorry," he hums just as I curve their apartment.
Helplessly, I stop, but don't turn around. I plan to hear him out and simply leave.
"I know I overreacted that night when you were just trying to help me. I'm sorry," he emphasizes his point.
I stand there, thinking if he would say something else as well. I've a yearning to listen to his explanations. However, I hear his footsteps closing on to me and I know he is walking towards me. I stand and wait for him to come. And soon he stands in front of me.
I don't look him in the eye and keep my eyes focused at the ground. To my utmost astonishment, I feel his hands crawling up to rest at the sides of my shoulders. I widen my eyes, but still don't lock them with his. His hold on my shoulders tightens as I feel the temperature of the surrounding increase a tad.
"You're a nice person, Nadia. You care about things that most people on earth don't. You don't need anyone to make you happy; in fact someone should need you to make themselves happier. Forget this guy, he's not worth it," he says, heaviness rumbling in his voice.
I still don't speak a word. I know he is looking at me for awhile, but I only want to listen to him. I've no idea why.
"Something was bothering me that night, something personal. I didn't want anyone to know about it, and you kept pushing me again and again. Anyways, that's no justification to behave badly with anyone, so I'm sorry," he apologizes to me for the third time.
And this time I decide to meet my gaze with him.
When I look him in the eye, I flutter at the sight. This is not the Niall I've known all these days. I see so much care and concern in his features with the blue pigment dazzling at me. I think about the words he just told me and I smile, unknowingly.
"That night after we went for pizza I thought we're at least close to friends," I say.
"That made you think you can ask me about my problems?"
I nod, realizing that he clearly disagrees with my thought.
"We're not friends, Nadia and will never be. I took you out because you looked sad, I didn't have any intention to befriend you," he clearly states forward.
I look at him, stunned. He's back to being the old, rude Niall. How can he make me feel so good at one point and then irritate me the next moment? Talk about bipolar personality!
I roll my eyes and shake off his hands from my shoulders. I adopt the highest pace I've ever adopted and walk to my apartment, entering and slamming the door behind me.
I don't waste any further time and simply serve dinner to myself and sit on the couch, eating it. Generally, I watch television while eating anything, but right now I'm in the least mood for any entertainment. I was just attempting to lighten up my mood. I'm tired of Niall and his tantrums.
Nonetheless, I can't stop being curious about the "personal problem" that Niall talked about. What could it be? Is it something with his family?