The silence between Viara and Keilan stretched, heavy and unspoken.
Her eyes glistened as she looked at him. "You said you wanted to know, right? Then listen… this is where it began."
Keilan nodded slowly, his heartbeat picking up as her voice softened — distant, like she was speaking to the past.
------------
Flashback
The evening sky glowed in shades of orange and purple, the sun slowly dipping behind the rooftops. The colony street buzzed softly — kids laughing, the wind carrying the faint smell of dinner from nearby houses.
The thwack of a shuttlecock broke the calm air. Viara spun her racket with a grin.
"Point for me again!" she teased.
Alley rolled her eyes, breathless. "That doesn't even count, you cheater!"
Before Viara could reply, a loud truck horn echoed through the narrow lane. Both turned their heads.
A large moving truck crawled into the colony, headlights cutting through the dusk. Men jumped down, pulling boxes and furniture from the back.
"Looks like someone's shifting here," Viara said, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead.
"Yeah… maybe," Alley replied, resting her racket on her shoulder. "Let's just hope it's not another loud family."
"Yeah, that's Kinda true or else they will break our ears with their loud"
They both giggle But then a sleek white car rolled in behind the truck. Its engine purred low — smooth, powerful. The car stopped under the streetlight, and a boy stepped out.
He was tall — around 5'6 — with light brown eyes that reflected the soft glow of the sunset. His hair was slightly curled, falling carelessly over his forehead. Both hands slid into his jeans pockets as he looked around, walking with that slow confidence that can instantly caught everyone's attention.
Alley froze. "Oh. My. God. No way."
Viara frowned. "What?"
"That's Elvric," Alley whispered dramatically. "From my school."
"You know him?" Viara asked, curious.
"Sadly, yes," Alley groaned. "He's bad news, Viara. Total bad boy vibes. Always late, always fighting, never listens to teachers, and girls? Ugh — they fall for him and end up crying a week later."
Viara laughed softly. "Bad boy? You mean like one of those movie types who's all look handsome and no manners?"
Alley widened her eyes. "Exactly! He's cold, full of attitude, thinks he owns the place. He's got that whole mysterious act and people still fall for it!"
Viara tilted her head, still watching him from across the lane. "Maybe people just misunderstand him."
"Or maybe he enjoys being misunderstood," Alley shot back.
Just then, Elvric turned — his gaze met Viara's for a brief moment.
The sound of the evening faded. The cicadas, the laughter, even the breeze — gone.
His deep brown eyes locked with hers — calm, unreadable.
And then, just as quickly, he looked away, walking past as if she wasn't even there.
Alley panicked. "Viara! Stop staring, oh my god! You're making it worse!"
Viara blinked, looking down, trying to hide a small smile. "Relax, Alley. He's just a boy who shifted here."
"Yeah," Alley muttered. "A boy who'll ruin your peace of mind."
Viara laughed quietly, her gaze still following him for a moment as he disappeared behind the truck.
As the movers carried boxes inside, she murmured under her breath — almost like a secret challenge,
"So he has this much attitude, huh?"
A playful smirk touched her lips.
"Let's see how long it lasts."
The game ended as the sun dipped behind the colony gates. The sky had turned a soft shade of orange, and laughter still echoed in the air as everyone slowly headed home.
I walked with Tara and Nisha, the three of us chatting about the new boy who'd just moved in. As soon as we stepped inside, Tara rushed to Mom and said, "mom! Someone new has shifted here!"
Mom looked up from chopping vegetables and smiled. "Oh really? That's nice."
I joined them at the counter, helping mix the vegetables, but my mind wandered.
After a while, I excused myself and stepped out onto the balcony.
The colony was quiet now—just the faint sound of kids talking in the distance and the breeze brushing through the trees. My eyes drifted down to the road, where I saw him again—Elvric.
He was walking alone, hands in his pockets, his white shirt half untucked, that same careless attitude in his steps. For some reason, my eyes followed him until he disappeared around the corner.
"Viara! Come here, dinner's ready!" Tara called from inside, breaking my thoughts.
I blinked and turned away, going back inside. The three of us sat with our parents and grandmother in the hall, watching TV while eating dinner. It was a cozy scene—Dad laughing at the comedy show, Mom telling us to eat faster, and our grandmother complaining that everyone was too loud.
After dinner, we washed the dishes, helped clean the table, and made our beds in the room we shared with grandmother. Tara kept talking about school, Nisha kept giggling, and I just lay there listening, the sound of the ceiling fan humming softly above us making us drifted to sleep.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The next morning came quickly.
The alarm buzzed at 6am at morning, the sun peeked through the curtains, and grandmother was already awake, telling us to hurry or we'd be late for school.
Tara and I got ready in our uniforms, braiding each other's hair in front of the mirror. Nisha sat on the bed, sleepy-eyed, watching us.
"Come on, Viara, we'll be late!" Tara said, pulling her bag over her shoulder.
"I'm coming!" I said, tying my shoelaces quickly.
We rushed out, waving goodbye to Mom, who stood at the door with our tiffins.
By the time we reached school, the morning had settled into its usual rhythm chalk dust, teachers' voices, and the sound of pages turning. Now it was a Lunch break time and after eating lunch me and NY friends head towards the ground.
"viara we have news for you! " sami said excitedly.
"Well what is it? " I asked
"you know what, you crush is into another girl and guess what who is she? "sami explain
"you know what, don't create an drama just speak up already" I said
"Maria is the girl he's into" she said excitedly
"ohhh...so, so what?" I said not caring about anything.
"aren't you jealous bro" maria asked confusingly
"hey, know one thing that you can have several crush and if you we'll care about every crush than you're dumb bro and he doesn't even talk with me, I like Ash as a friend but I don't think he'll even notice me once so, take a chill pill and I don't have problem with he having a girlfriend , why would I should care right" I said making everyone shocked with my sentence
"But I rejected him yesterday, I think you liked him so much " maria said
"Who cares" I smirked
And bell rings telling us that lunch break is over and lectures after lunch is started Buty mind was somewhere else, I was thinking that when will evening will come and when I'll go to play because I just don't enjoy being in school and being with school friends. Hours passed in a blur until the afternoon bell rang.
The school bell had barely stopped ringing when I stepped into the colony lane, my bag slung carelessly over one shoulder. The air shimmered with warmth, that lazy kind of sunlight that made everything look almost unreal.
That's when I saw him —
Elvric.
He stood near his friend's house, half in the shade, half bathed in sunlight. One hand in his pocket, white shirt rolled up at the sleeves, posture sharp like he didn't even belong here. His laughter was low, almost careless — the kind of sound that could make people turn their heads without knowing why.
When his eyes met mine — even for a second — something inside me froze.
Deep brown. Too calm. Too unreadable.
I looked away first, rolling my eyes. Seriously? What's with that face?
I walked past them, pretending not to care.
---
At home, I changed into a royal blue kurta, tied my hair loosely, and sat down to eat lunch. The clinking of the spoon against the steel plate was the only sound in the house.
But somewhere in my mind — that look kept replaying.
Elvric. Full of himself. Definitely a playboy type.
By the time I opened my books, the afternoon light had turned sleepy. I read two pages before my eyelids betrayed me. The world blurred — and I was gone.
---
[4:00 PM.]
I woke up to the quiet hum of the ceiling fan. My room glowed in amber light. The kind that made even the dust in the air look soft.
After washing my face, I started helping around the house — sweeping, folding clothes, tidying the balcony. But my mind wasn't quiet.
That boy… his face just screams "trouble." Better keep distance.
---
By evening, the colony had changed.
The air was cooler now, the laughter louder. Kids ran barefoot across the lane, aunties chatted near the gates.
Alley's voice broke through the noise.
"Viaraaa! Get out here! Everyone's waiting!"
I grabbed my racket and stepped outside. The orange sky dripped behind the rooftops, painting everything in warmth.
Our usual crowd was there — Tara, Nisha, Sia, Hana, Mira, and the boys Arin, Liam, Jace, Ryan, and Eshan — all already teasing and arguing about who'd be on whose team.
"Look who finally decided to show up," Alley called out dramatically.
"Oh please," I said, walking toward her with a smirk. "Without me, your team wouldn't last a minute."
"Big words, sleepyhead," Nisha laughed.
We were still setting up the net when a small voice piped up from behind.
"Um… can I play too?"
Everyone turned.
A little girl stood there — bright yellow dress, big curious eyes, clutching a badminton racket that was almost taller than her.
I tilted my head. "You look new here. Who are you?"
"I'm Kiara," she said with a grin. "We shifted here yesterday."
Alley smiled, "Welcome, Kiara! You came to the right place. We're the evening champions of this colony."
Kiara giggled. "Can my brother play too?"
"Brother?" I folded my arms. "And where's this mysterious brother of yours hiding?"
"His name's Elvric," she said proudly. "He's fifteen. I'm eleven!"
That name hit me like a soft electric shock. I didn't even need to know who it was.
And just like that someone one stepped out from his house and he just walked near from us and everyone knew that who it is.
Elvric.
Same calm arrogance. Same lazy confidence. The kind that wasn't loud — but impossible to ignore. His hair caught the last bit of sunlight, his eyes looked darker in the dusk.
Kiara waved both arms and ask shout besides us to call his brother "Hey El! Come play with us!"
He didn't stop walking.
"Not interested," he said flatly.
I crossed my arms. "Full of attitude," I muttered loud enough for him to hear. Then, to Kiara, "You can play with us. Let your brother enjoy his mood swings alone."
But then — his voice came again..
"I'm in."
Every head turned. He stood near the gate, expression unreadable. "But I'm on the opposite team," he added, eyes landing directly on me.
The air shifted. I didn't back down.
"Fine," I said, stepping forward and holding out my hand. "Hope you can handle losing."
He took my hand, grip steady, eyes locked with mine. For a heartbeat, the world went silent.
Then he smiled — a slow, dangerous smile. "We'll see that!"
I smirked "I'll make sure that you'll lose this match and you will never forget it"
"So game is begin now" he smirked.