“Let her watch, Aryan,” she says mildly, not even glancing up from whatever she’s working on. “You always disturb.”
“I don’t disturb,” I mutter.
Vedant makes a noncommittal sound from the other end of the couch that somehow translates perfectly into you absolutely do.
Traitor.
I shift slightly, leaning back into the couch. And, very naturally—completely unintentionally, of course—I let my shoulder fall against Ishika’s. She stiffens for a second but then relaxes, not dramatically. Not in a way that calls attention to itself. Just enough for me to feel it. I let my arm rest along the back of the couch, close enough that it brushes against her shoulder every now and then, like it’s accidental.
It’s not. The screen flashes something ominous. The music builds. Something moves in the dark—I lean in closer to her.
“Did you see that?” I murmur, lowering my voice like I’m genuinely concerned.
She doesn’t even look at me. “Sit properly.”
“I am sitting properly.”
“You’re practically on top of me.”
“That’s because I value my life.”
“That is a fictional creature.”
“That is a very convincing fictional creature.”
She exhales sharply, somewhere between irritation and amusement. I take that as encouragement and shift even closer, my arm sliding more securely around her shoulders. Before she can say anything—Radhika pauses the show. I freeze. “That’s it,” she says, turning toward me with narrowed eyes. “Get away from her.”
I blink. “Excuse me?”
“You’re ruining the experience.”
“I’m enhancing it.”
“You are clinging to her like a scared toddler.”
“I am emotionally invested.”
“You are emotionally dramatic.”
Ma chuckles softly under her breath. Vedant doesn’t even bother looking up. “He’s always like this.”
I look at Ishika for backup. She’s biting her lip, trying not to smile. Traitor number two.
“Ishika,” I say, offended. “Say something.” She finally looks at me. And there’s that look. That soft, amused, slightly disbelieving look she gets when she’s watching me behave like this.
“You are being a bit dramatic,” she says carefully.
“A bit?” Radhika scoffs. “He’s unbearable.”
“I am right here.”
“Unfortunately.”
I narrow my eyes at my sister. “You’re just jealous.”
“Of what? Your inability to sit through a scene without needing emotional support?”
“Of the fact that she likes me more than you.”
