It was my first day in the new city. The college campus was huge, bustling with students moving in every direction. I felt completely out of place, overwhelmed by the noise and unfamiliar faces. Choosing a corner seat in the classroom, I tried to make myself invisible, hoping nobody would notice me. That’s when I saw him.
He was standing near the window, sunlight spilling over his face, making his hair shimmer as like gold. His smile was both charming and strange, almost like he was hiding something deep inside. My heart skipped a beat, and I suddenly found it hard to focus on the lecture.
The girl sitting next to me whispered, “That’s Aarav. Everyone likes him, but nobody really knows him.”
From that day, Aarav and I kept crossing paths in the most unexpected ways. In the library, he would smile at me from across the aisle. In the canteen, we shared casual conversations over coffee. And once, even in the sudden summer rain outside the college gate, he offered me his jacket and walked me to the shelter. Slowly, our friendship grew, and I found myself drawn to him more than I wanted to admit. He was kind, funny, and surprisingly caring… yet there was always a shadow lurking in his eyes that made me wonder what he was hiding.
One evening, I noticed him outside college, speaking to someone on the phone with a very serious expression. His smile had vanished, replaced by tension and worry. When he noticed me, he ended the call abruptly.
“Who was that?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Just a friend,” he replied, forcing a smile. But I knew he was lying.
My curiosity grew, turning into a gnawing need to understand the truth behind Aarav’s mysterious smile.
Days passed, and one night, my phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number:
“Stay away from Aarav if you value your safety.”
A cold shiver ran down my spine. Who could have sent this? And why?
The next day, I confronted him. His eyes, usually so steady, looked tired and haunted.
“I never wanted you to be part of this,” he murmured, voice trembling slightly.
“Part of what?” I asked, my hands shaking.
Finally, he opened up. Aarav’s brother had fallen into the clutches of a dangerous gang, and Aarav had been secretly working to protect him. The smile he always wore was a mask — a shield to hide his fear, pain, and the dangerous world he was involved in.
My heart ached for him, yet something inside me refused to step back. I took his hand gently and whispered, “I don’t care about the danger. I care about you.”
For the first time, Aarav’s smile was genuine. Not a mask, not a secret—just pure, honest love.
In that moment, I realized something profound: the secret behind his smile was not darkness. It was courage—the courage to protect those he loved, even if it meant risking everything. And I knew, in my heart, that I would stand by him, through every shadow and storm.
