Chapter 1

He was not so popular, but well known; with clear-cut features and all. "He is from class B and he will be studying with us from now onwards", continuing the teacher said, "Why don't you introduce yourself.." For a long time, nothing came out of him. He was still as stone ..no movement, no sound. At last, when he began to speak..his soft clear voice came out from the faint expression of his lips..he sounded so lonely and so sad. " Hi! I'm Gan Thank You~" as he stood still…

The teacher asked him to sit in an empty seat next to me.

"As he drew closer my heart pounded like a blacksmith's hammer in my chest. I unwillingly examined every feature of him that my eye could catch...He had his eyes a regular brown which were perhaps cold..not so bright. His hair was dark brown with messy medium length...he was tall and wasn't quite muscular, ..but there was an air of hidden strength..loneliness, sadness about him.

As the days went by...I helped him in some of the class activities but he didn't use to talk about anything more than the class activities. Many students had a crush on him...they tried to talk to him but he was cold towards them.

After a few weeks that day, Gan seemed slightly off than the usual….there was something different about him…. He was way too quiet than usual…I was wondering as well as worried about him.

That day I was so occupied observing him that I didn't even notice the time until a familiar sound of the school bell pierced my ears as I saw Gan walking outside the class. I quietly followed his way in and out of the crowd towards the library.

I don't even know why I was so interested in him...maybe he sounded sad... lonely.. or maybe some other reasons... I grab a random book and settle down in one of the unoccupied seats behind him. After a few minutes I hear a familiar voice "I'm Sorry...We should stop seeing"

As I turned back I see Gan holding A-wut's hand

(A-wut my childhood friend...We were in the same neighborhood for 2 years and after they moved out we stopped talking...Who had thought that I could see him suddenly after 5 years)

"Please…I LOVE YOU...How could I live without you…you have become my habit" as Gan speaks in a quavering voice.

"I'm Sorry" A-wut replied.

"Can't you...you~change your mind A-wut...Please!!! I love you...Don't do this to me"

"Gan ...I'm sorry...I cannot ….we should stop seeing each other…Bye" as A-wut walked away… I heard Gan sobbing quietly

I felt kinda sad and I couldn't see him crying...so I went to him and asked as if I haven't heard them breaking up "Hey Gan...Is everything alright? Are you sick? Should I take you to the nurse room?"

He looked at me with tearful eyes and just walked away...

Next-Day…

**beep beep beep beep**I opened my eyes half awake looking at the alarm clock " What is wrong with me today...I overslept...Argh!! I'm going to be late for class"

I rushed to class. When I entered the classroom my eyes got stuck in his seat..**Gan seat** It was empty ...he didn't come...

"For the next few days Gan is on leave," said the teacher...as the teacher started the class My mind recapped what happened in the Library.

As the day passed by I kept thinking about him ** Is he still heartbroken? Is he still sad? Is everything alright?** a bunch of questions crossed my mind...but no one was there to reply to them.

A few days after in a class *looking at the empty seat* I thought— "Maybe I should find his address and go to his home and check how he's doing" "How can I go????... He doesn't even know me...We are not even friends ``'' Maybe as a class president ...I should call him" I was having many thoughts…

Later that Afternoon the bell suddenly rang, I realized it was time to go home. As I walked to the door I recall A-wut, my childhood friend, I thought "I should meet him and ask about Gan and him"

I walked towards the main gate of the school and I saw A-wut waving at me, "Thank God! I found him, I should probably ask about Gan" I murmured.

"Hey, Aat! Long time no see...How have you been?" said A-wut, "I'm good...I didn't know that you joined this school and did you recently transfer to the school?" I asked.

"I saw you at the library the other day...I was having a serious talk so I didn't get to talk to you...I transferred last semester...It's so good to see you" A-wut replied..

"Let's sit somewhere and talk," I said...As we went to the nearest coffee shop "Library oh yeah...I heard some of your conversations that day...so I thought it better not to talk at that moment...Is it okay for me to ask the reason for breaking up with Gan?" I asked.

"You know Gan?" he questioned, surprisingly taking an empty seat at the coffee shop. "Not really, he recently transferred to our class.."I replied.

"Aat you know how I am," said A-wut

As I recall how he was in the past *He used to be one of the naive and naughty boys in the neighborhood as well as in school. He was never sure about his feelings. Once he had a boyfriend and in a week they broke up and in a few days, he fell in love with a girl. He used to say "I don't know what's wrong with me, I should probably date more to know the true me" After A-wut moved from the neighborhood we stopped talking, so I don't know whether he found his true feelings or not.*

"A few months ago I met Gan at my friend's birthday party… He was so drunk that I dropped him home...we shared our contact and we started talking day by day...I kinda felt like we loved each other so I asked him out. After we got in a relationship I started having a few conversations with him…I didn't felt the same way though Gan was fully in love"

As I listened to A-wut I realized that the thing they had didn't love….It was a kind of attraction. You think of it as love but it isn't loved mostly the attraction towards each other like a crush I guess.

"I tried to tell him long ago but I just couldn't…also how could I keep him in the dark right? So that day in the library I finally told him" continued A-wut.

"So how is he doing? Have you talked to him after that?" I asked curiously

"No we haven't been in contact since that day" replied A-wut "Don't he come to class?" he asked.

"No he has not come to the class ..it's almost been a week" I replied. "Can I get his number?" I asked hesitatingly. "I need to inform him about the group project...he is in my group so I need to inform him," I said.

I got Gan's number and after a short conversation, we went home.

On my way home looking at his contact I thought - "Should I call him and inform him or should I just send a text...Argh!!! Why am I getting so nervous"

At night looking at his number again, " Maybe I should call him tomorrow if he didn't show up...yeah that's the best idea" I talked to myself.

The Next Morning

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