Chapter 55: Why are you behaving like this?

And he didn’t even realize when his pupils slowly began to dilate, and a second later, he couldn’t stop the faint smile creeping onto his face even if he tried. The panic and fear that had settled inside him because of the demon were now slowly being left behind.

​Who knows why, but every single movement of Priya sitting in front of him felt so important to him. Like every little thing was attracting him even more.

​But before Himanshu could properly feel these emotions, the final school bell rang loudly.

​As all the students were packing their bags and heading out, Himanshu’s heartbeat was slowly getting faster. After all this, talking to Priya was actually feeling really hard for him.

​It felt somewhat like those heavy moments right before proposing to your crush.

​Like always, without looking back, Priya walked out of the class chatting with Monica.

​Somehow acting normal, Himanshu also slowly walked along with the rest of the students.

​But as soon as he got a little away from the crowd of his classmates, his feet automatically picked up pace. Walking toward his cycle with long strides, his eyes were just desperate to get out of the school’s main gate.

​Panting, Himanshu reached the same alley where he had seen Priya for the first time.

​Wiping the sweat off his forehead with his hand, he stopped his cycle and looked ahead. There were just a few people walking and a couple of cars passing by in the distance.

​Getting off his cycle, Himanshu let out a deep breath. Looking around, he walked his cycle a few steps forward. The faint sounds of people talking, the noise of cars coming from the main road, streetlights, and birds chirping in the gardens of the houses across the street were the only things he could hear. And mixing in with all those sounds was the sound of his own slowly calming breaths.

​"Hey... I’m over here! Look here."

​Just then, a soft, excited, and slightly panting voice fell on Himanshu’s ears from behind.

​Himanshu stopped dead in his tracks for a second, then slowly turned around.

​Behind him, on the other side of the road, gripping one strap of her bag tightly... and waving her other hand in the air, Priya was standing there with that same familiar smile.

​For a split second, that same classroom smile appeared on Himanshu’s face. And along with it, that same classroom nervousness returned too.

​To hide it, Himanshu gave an awkward smile and raised his hand to wave back.

​And that’s when he noticed that Priya was also taking deep, heavy breaths.

​Wait... did she also run all the way here like me?

​And then Himanshu noticed something else. Priya’s slightly changing behavior. Like she was a bit excited and acting a little childish. It looked like both these things were mixed together in small amounts.

​For a second, Himanshu thought maybe this behavior was because they were getting closer. But a part of his brain was also telling him that he hadn’t even seen Priya act like this with her best friend Monica. Yeah, she’d get excited, but there was never this childish vibe to it. And this was exactly what Himanshu couldn’t figure out.

​With that same behavior, Priya crossed the road and jogged right up to Himanshu.

​Seeing Priya like this, Himanshu’s nervousness vanished into thin air.

​"I kept calling out to you from behind at the school’s main gate..." Priya said, leaving Himanshu behind and walking ahead. "And you just kept walking without looking or listening. You know? I had to run all the way here."

​Himanshu just looked at her for a few moments. Trying to understand this new behavior of hers.

​She had never talked like this before, and Himanshu knew her well. There was definitely something going on.

​While talking, Priya turned back, looked at Himanshu standing there, and said, "What are you standing there for? Aren’t we going?"

​Himanshu shrugged and pushed his cycle forward.

​Matching her steps, Himanshu looked at Priya and opened his mouth.

​"Sorry... I thought you’d be waiting for me here."

​Like always, Himanshu said it with a bit of hesitation, as if he was talking to the same Priya who had rejected all the guys in school.

​But without looking at Himanshu, staring straight down the road, Priya let out a weird laugh and said, "Look at that... we were both looking for each other."

​Who knows why, but the expressions on Himanshu’s face didn’t change at all. Because Priya’s laugh was just limited to her cheeks.

​Looking away from her, Himanshu stared ahead at the road.

​Slowly he was starting to feel that the invisible bond he had made with Priya in the class was now slowly stretching and fading away.

​Her eyes were missing that spark from earlier in the classroom.

​In that same tone, putting her hands behind her back, moving like a kid, Priya said. She grabbed her bag straps with both hands and said with a little bounce, "A new collection dropped at the store today." She turned back and said with that same smile, "Walk faster, or the whole collection will be gone."

​Himanshu just kept looking at her, blinking. As he walked forward with her, through her words and her actions, he slowly started to realize something. That there was no closeness behind this behavior, and no nervousness either. The real reason behind this was—running away from what happened this morning.

​And one more thing was bothering him. If she didn’t want to talk about this topic, she shouldn’t have. But why put on this weird behavior?

​After walking in silence for a while...

​Himanshu stopped in his tracks. Priya kept talking and walked a bit ahead. Keeping his hands on the cycle handle, staring down at the road, Himanshu finally blurted it out.

​"I need to ask you something."

​Priya’s words hung right there in the air.

​For a second, she froze right where she was.

​A heavy three-second silence fell between them. Just the sounds of passing cars, people, and birds echoing in the background.

​She slowly turned around.

​That fake laugh had completely vanished from her face, like it was never even there.

​That weird childishness in her eyes had also disappeared, turning into a calm and steady gaze.

​Since the class, Himanshu, who had been feeling like she was some stranger, instantly felt the vibe of his old ’classroom Priya’ again.

​"I’m gonna reject him."

​Like always, she answered with that same calmness and clarity.

​Hearing this, Himanshu’s gaze clashed straight with Priya’s eyes. And his eyes widened the moment he looked at her.

​He wasn’t expecting this at all.

​That she would just say it straight up like this.

​That too so easily and with such clarity.

​He just wanted to ask, "Why are you behaving like this?

​Silence swept over them again for a second.

​Deep down, Himanshu was really happy with Priya’s answer. And that relief was slightly showing on his face too. But along with that happiness, a question was also clouding his mind. If answering was this easy, then why did she ask Vaibhav for a day’s time?

​Himanshu wanted to ask this. But he felt like the distance between them was still too much to ask for an answer to this question.

​Blinking twice, looking into her eyes, Himanshu said softly, "Got it."

​After standing in silence for a few moments, they started walking again.

​Who knows where Priya’s weird behavior vanished after Himanshu said that line.

​And Himanshu had understood one more thing about Priya—in what kind of situations she reacts like this.

And also, I wasn’t the reason she rejected him.

​For a while, without looking at each other, staring straight at the road, their footsteps slowed down again just like that day.

​After feeling that old vibe again, Himanshu’s mind felt a little lighter now.

​Slowly, other things in life that had been left behind were starting to come back into his head.

​And that’s when he remembered that Priya was also a fan of the ’Demon Queen’.

​He couldn’t figure out how to break this silence. And right then, he remembered that thick book kept in his bag. The moment the thought of the Demon Queen crossed his mind, without thinking much, he broke that long 15-minute silence and asked...

​"Do you... know anything about the marks on the Demon Queen’s wrist?"

​Hearing this, Priya had the exact same reaction that Himanshu had listening to her.

​Her eyelids also fluttered two or three times looking at him for a moment.

​Well, anyone would have a reaction like this if you suddenly ask a weird question in such an intense situation.

​But to Himanshu, this felt like the perfect time to ask this question. To break that awkward silence, and to get a very important answer about that demon.

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