Aarav had always been the quiet one, the kind of boy who watched the world from the sidelines, content in his solitude. But then there was Zara - the girl who had unknowingly turned his world upside down. She was everything he was not - vibrant, outspoken, and full of life. She had a laugh that could melt the coldest of hearts, and every time she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, Aarav found himself completely lost.

They had known each other for years, sharing the same college, the same lectures, and sometimes even the same bench. She talked to him like a friend, teased him about his bookish nature, and smiled at him in ways that sent his heart racing. But was it just friendship? Or was there something more? Aarav never dared to ask.

Every day, he rehearsed in his mind the words he wanted to say. He imagined looking into her deep brown eyes and confessing, "Zara, I think I have loved you from the moment I saw you." But when the moment came, his throat would tighten, and the words would die on his tongue.

His fear was simple yet overwhelming - what if she didn't feel the same way? What if he lost even the friendship they shared?

One evening, as they walked back from college, Zara looked at him with a softness in her gaze. "Aarav, why do you always hesitate to say what you feel?"

He froze. Did she know? Could she see right through him? His heart pounded.

"I?" He swallowed hard, looking down at his feet. "I just - some things are better left unsaid."

She sighed, a gentle smile playing on her lips. "Not always," she whispered, and for a fleeting moment, he thought he saw something in her eyes - something deeper, something waiting to be acknowledged.

That night, he lay awake, her words replaying in his mind. Not always.

Maybe she was waiting too. Maybe he wasn't the only one afraid.

But fear still held him captive, and so the words remained unspoken.