Segment #1
Taking a deep breath, Amyra let the familiar scent comfort her. She would never be able to decode the mystery of Suyash's shirts. There was something about them and their crisp cotton fabric that just smelled so wonderful. Amyra always felt like she was floating on a lake, during sunset, maybe with some beautiful swans floating around her. So calm, so peaceful. Even now, after everything, it was the one piece of her life that had remained unchanged. How ironical, considering the man behind the shirt was the one who brought in the whirlwind.
Although blaming him entirely was wrong, she supposed. She herself was just as much to be blamed.
Maybe more.
She used to be so sneaky initially, only smelling him for the briefest moments when they hugged. But after last week's fiasco, she didn't bother hiding anything from anyone anymore. What was even the point? She'd already crossed all limits of embarrassment; nothing could faze her after this. Death by mortification, that's what she'd attained. The only thing left to decide was her afterlife. Was she a zombie or a vampire?
She sniffed some more. Maybe, with some luck, she could be a mermaid at the bottom of the lake. Hopefully a beautiful one.
"Seriously, I should just give you my fabric softener. Then you can keep a bottle around and smell it whenever."
Amyra sighed, finally lifting her head from the crook of his neck where it'd been buried for the past few minutes. His pristine white shirt was now creased and crumpled, two of the buttons having come undone. She'd feel guilty, but this disheveled look suited him far better than his previously stiff outfit. No one should look like a suffocating giraffe walking into a date, even if they were walking hand in hand with someone like Amyra.
Still, she smoothened out the creases as much as she could, finally meeting his eyes with a slightly accusatory look.
"Your shirts just smell different, okay? I don't even know what you do to them. I already smelled your fabric softener and it wasn't that."
"You smelled my—" he snickered. "Of course, I should've known. You really are crazy, My." His gaze turned fond.
Amyra scowled and looked away, something inside her feeling restless at his words and his expression.
"Let's just go, Suyash."
She turned and started walking ahead, unsure where the sudden irritation had come from, but not wanting to analyse it either. Irritation was good — better than the hopeless misery she felt these days. And Suyash was plenty irritating, anyway.
A hand on her wrist stopped her.
She turned around, already anticipating the kicked puppy expression on his face and steeling herself against it. "What?"
"Are you still mad at me?"
"No."
"You seem like you're mad at me."
"I'm not."
"Well, you—"
"I'm not mad at you, okay! Can we just get going?"
Yeah, the puppy eyes were out in full force.
She sighed, forcing herself to calm down.
"Look, we should keep walking. We need to actually get to the cafe. Or do you want us to just sit here, have lunch and call it a day?"
He smiled. "I didn't know you were that excited for the date, My."
She snorted. "Not as much as you, that's for sure."
Again, she kept walking ahead, fast steps that made her heels go clack-clack-clack against the pavement.
Again, she was stopped by a hand on her wrist.
She turned, this time ready to just scald him—
"We're here." He held both his hands up in surrender. "That's all I wanted to say. Look."
Amyra looked, and sure enough, the bright yellow signboard of Daffodil Café was staring back at her.
She checked her watch. Two minutes to two.
She was here. For her date. Finally, a chance to maybe fix everything.
She looked at Suyash and smiled, a genuine smile. He looked a bit taken aback, like he hadn't been expecting it.
"So? Let's enter?"
There was something in his eyes that she couldn't read, but it was gone the next moment. He smiled back, just as genuine, and whispered, "Have a great date, My. I hope Vikram realises how perfect you are... for him."
~
A/N: This is purely romcom-y 🙈 I tried to keep it open enough that any of the popular tropes can be fit into it. Two things:
1. "My" is a nickname that Suyash calls Amyra. Just in case that didn't show up clearly enough
2. Suyash is also on a date acc to Amyra. They walked here together, so it may be in the same cafe, in an opp cafe, or maybe it's just a friendly date that he's bluffed to My about. Take it however you want.
Have fun! 🥳🤗
comment:
p_commentcount