honestly didn't know why Mom was so excited.
She only said we were going to her best friend's house after a long time. That's it.
Still, I got properly ready. Not because I was interested—just habit.
When we reached the house, everything felt normal.
Smiles, greetings, and then tea.
I sat beside Mom, quietly sipping tea and scrolling through my phone.
Aunty called someone upstairs, but there was no reply.
She called again, then looked at me.
"Arnav, beta, can you go and call Aavya from her room? Maybe she didn't hear."
I nodded and went upstairs.
I stopped outside a room and knocked.
"Knock knock."
From inside, a voice replied casually, "Yeah, come in."
I opened the door and said,
"Aavya, your mom is calling you—"
She suddenly turned around.
For a second, she looked completely shocked.
Then she quickly muted her mic.
She stood up, came toward me, pulled me outside the room, and said softly,
"You go downstairs. I'm coming."
Before I could say anything, she went back inside and closed the door.
I stood there for a moment, confused.
Then I looked at my phone and went downstairs quietly.
Inside the room (Aavya POV)
Inside the room, I was sitting in front of my setup.
Camera was on. Game paused for a second.
I was Rabbit Gaming — a YouTuber with 750K subscribers, slowly moving towards one million.
No face reveal yet. Just my voice, my gameplay, and my space.
"Alright guys, last match—"
That's when I heard the door open.
"Aavya, your mom is calling you—"
I turned around.
For one second, my mind went blank.
A boy? Here? Now?
Without thinking, I instantly muted my mic.
I stood up, walked to him quickly, pulled him outside the room and said in a low voice,
"Please go downstairs. I'm coming."
I didn't wait for his reaction.
I went back inside and shut the door.
My heart was racing.
The chat exploded.
"OMG, a boy's voice?"
"Who was that?"
"That voice sounded like Mr. X Gaming 😳"
I didn't even read properly.
"Guys, guys, I need to go. Something important came up.
I know I'm ending the stream very early, but it's really urgent.
Bye bye."
And I ended the live stream.
I took a deep breath and went downstairs.
In the kitchen, Mom stopped me immediately.
"What are you wearing? Go change into something nice."
I was already irritated.
"No. I told you not to disturb me during my live streams.
Because of you, I had to end it in between."
Her face softened at once.
"Sorry beta, I didn't know you were live.
If you don't want to change, it's okay.
Go sit and say hello properly."
"Okay," I said and walked into the living room.
I sat beside Mom's best friend and smiled politely.
"Hello… namaste."
Everyone smiled back.
Normal talks started. Tea, weather, random things.
Then suddenly Mom smiled and said,
"You know, we even kept your names together."
I froze.
I looked at him. He looked just as shocked.
"Look at them," his mom laughed.
"They used to play together when they were kids."
"Aunty," I said quickly,
"that was when we were kids. We're grown up now. Things have changed."
"Oh?" Mom smiled at me.
"Then go and talk alone for a while."
I looked at her like, seriously?
Before I could say anything, his mom also said,
"Yes, go. Talk properly."
So we went upstairs, to the terrace.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I said,
"So… you're my mom's best friend's son."
He nodded.
"Yeah. You're Aavya, right?"
"Do you know anything about me?"
"Only that you're my mom's best friend's daughter. Nothing else."
I nodded.
"Same."
I took a breath.
"So this relationship ends here."
He frowned.
"Which relationship?"
I looked at him.
"Don't act unaware. You and your mother came here to see a rishta."
He looked genuinely confused.
"What? Didi, I only came with my mom to meet your mom.
What rishta ?"
I sighed.
"Our moms planned it.
Dates, turning their friendship into familyship…( i write familyship just for vibe)
maybe that's why they even kept our names together."
He stayed silent for a second, then said,
"Sorry, but I like someone else."
I didn't feel bad.
Instead, I felt relieved.
"That's good," I said.
"Because I don't want to get married right now either."
He looked relieved too.
"I don't want an arranged marriage anyway."
"Same," I replied.
"That's why I rejected nine boys.
And the tenth one was you— I mean—"
Before I could finish, we heard both moms shouting from downstairs,
"Both of you, come down!"
We looked at each other.
Still strangers.
Still confused.
But somehow…
on the same page.