The evening was quiet.

Yusra sat on her bed, her history book open in front of her, but her eyes weren’t on the pages. The words blurred together as her phone screen kept lighting up again and again.

Ping.

She sighed and picked it up.

It was Irfan.

Or rather… a stranger who had somehow entered her life like he already knew her.

Irfan:

History ka chapter 13 ka long ka last question bhejdo

Yusra:

Thik hai

Irfan:

Ek ladka hai tmse baat krna chahta hai

Yusra frowned.

Her fingers paused on the keyboard.

Yusra:

Hamko kisi se baat nhi karna hai

Irfan:

Tmko pasand krta hai

Yusra:

Matlab kuch bhi

Irfan:

Shi me

Yusra:

Kon hai ye mahan insan

Irfan:

Wahi insan jo tumhare nakhre jhel sakta hai

Yusra rolled her eyes.

This boy was impossible.

She threw her phone on the bed and muttered,

“Dimag kharab hai iska.”

But the truth was… a small smile had already appeared on her lips.

She didn’t even know why.

Ping.

She picked up the phone again.

Irfan:

There is always someone who exists to bear your tantrums.

You just have to find the right one 🥺💛

Yusra stared at the message.

Her heart skipped for a second.

Then she quickly typed.

Yusra:

Nhi mil raha

Irfan:

There is always someone who exists to bear your tantrums

Yusra:

Yup in my imagination

She put the phone down again.

Why was he talking like this?

Why did it feel like he was indirectly saying something?

And most importantly…

Why did she care?

A few minutes later, another message came.

Irfan:

Are you into K-drama??

Yusra blinked.

What kind of random topic was this?

Yusra:

Yes I do

Irfan:

Business proposal??

Yusra:

Nahh

Irfan:

Then what kind of K drama do you watch??

Yusra:

I don't have any specific type in K dramas

and I have only watched one Kdrama

Irfan:

Crash landing?

Yusra smiled slightly.

He guessed correctly.

But then suddenly…

His messages changed.

Irfan:

Even the moon feels shy when you come out from your home 🙂

Yusra sat straight.

Her cheeks turned warm.

Yusra:

Well is this you or someone else

Irfan:

Just a stranger who wants to explore new things with you

And try to live the best life as possible

Her heartbeat got faster.

This was getting weird.

Or maybe…

Dangerous.

Bro just go to hell

Irfan:

With you I can go to a place worse than hell 💔

Yusra:

Bhai WTF

Irfan:

Anyways… for today it's enough

YThe silence that followed felt heavy.

For the first time…

Yusra felt something strange in her chest.

Something like curiosity.

Something like fear.

Something like attraction.

A new message popped up.

Irfan:

You want to talk or not with that boy

Yusra:

I just want to know his name

Irfan:

Apne class wala Arham nahi hai

Mere ghar ke idhar rehta hai

Wo bhi St Joseph’s me padhta hai

Yusra narrowed her eyes.

Yusra:

Wo hamko kese janta hai

Irfan:

Just because

Her fingers stopped moving.

Then another message came.

Irfan:

However… he’s quite sharp

Yusra:

But I already like somebody

Irfan:

Yes I know

Her breath hitched.

He knows?

How?

Irfan:

So what

Yusra:

So what

Irfan:

You like to talk

Yusra:

With whom

There was a pause.

A long pause.

Then finally…

Irfan:

Arham

Yusra’s eyes widened.

Yusra:

Nahh

And ye janne ke baad to bilkul bhi nahi

The chat ended there.

But her mind didn’t.

Because somewhere deep inside her heart…

A question was echoing again and again.

Was Irfan really talking about Arham…

or was he talking about himself?

Yusra:

Kya

Irfan:

Chit chat

Yusra pressed her fingers on her forehead.

“Is ladke ko hua kya hai aaj?”

She typed quickly.

Yusra:

Fir itna bakwas kyu kar rahe the

Irfan:

Tumhara patience level check kar raha tha

She froze.

Patience level?

What kind of test was this?

Yusra:

Kyu

Irfan:

Aise hi

The next morning felt unusually heavy.

Yusra woke up with the same conversation running in her mind like a broken recording.

“Tumhara patience level check kar raha tha.”

“He’s quite sharp.”

“Yes I know.”

She sat on her bed, staring at her phone.

No new message.

No notification.

No Irfan.

And strangely… that silence bothered her more than his teasing.

School corridors were filled with noise and chatter.

Students were laughing, running, complaining about homework, discussing exams — everything felt normal.

Except Yusra.

She walked quietly toward her classroom, adjusting her dupatta slightly, trying to ignore the strange feeling in her chest.

As she entered the class, she noticed Irfan sitting on the last bench.

Talking to Arham.

Laughing.

As if nothing had happened.

As if last night’s conversation meant nothing.

Her steps slowed down.

For a second, she looked at him.

Irfan noticed.

Their eyes met.

And then he smiled.

A calm, teasing smile.

The same smile that always made her confused.

Yusra immediately looked away and went to her seat.

“Pagal hai bilkul,” she muttered under her breath.

Arham leaned toward Irfan and whispered,

“Bhai, dekh rahi thi tujhe.”

Irfan smirked slightly.

“Chup reh.”

Arham grinned.

“Kal kya bakchodi kar raha tha tu uske saath?”

Irfan shrugged casually.

“Bas aise hi.”

“Tu usko pasand karta hai na?”

Irfan stayed silent.

His eyes slowly moved toward Yusra, who was opening her history notebook.

Her hair fell softly on her face as she tucked it behind her ear and started writing.

He looked away quickly.

“Pata nahi,” he said quietly.

Arham chuckled.

“Jhooth bol raha hai tu.”

During the history period, Yusra tried to focus on the lesson.

But her mind kept drifting.

Why did Irfan say he already knows she likes someone?

Who told him?

Was he guessing?

Or…

Was he observing her all this time?

Her phone vibrated inside her bag.

She hesitated for a moment.

Then slowly opened it.

Irfan:

History ka last question bheja kya

Yusra rolled her eyes.

Yusra:

Nahi

Irfan:

Kyu

Yusra:

Dimag nahi hai

Irfan:

Jhoot

Yusra:

Sach

Irfan:

Tumhara dimag sirf attitude me kaam karta hai

Yusra pressed her lips together to hide her smile.

Yusra:

Shut up

Irfan:

Okay

Two seconds later…

Irfan:

Gussa ho kya

Yusra:

Nahi

Irfan:

Jhoot

Yusra:

Tumhe kya

Irfan:

Bas puch raha tha

Yusra:

Kyu

There was a pause.

A long one.

Then his reply came.

Irfan:

Because I don't like when you are angry

Her heart skipped.

She stared at the message.

Read it again.

And again.

She quickly locked her phone.

No.

This was not normal.

This boy was not normal.

After school, Yusra was walking toward the gate when someone called her name.

“Yusra.”

She turned.

Irfan was standing there.

Hands in pockets.

Calm.

Confident.

And looking directly at her.

For the first time… they were face to face after that conversation.

“History ka question bhej diya?” he asked casually.

Yusra crossed her arms.

“Nahi.”

“Accha.”

Silence.

Awkward silence.

Wind blew softly between them.

Students were passing around, but it felt like time had slowed down.

Then Irfan spoke again.

“Kal gussa ho gayi thi?”

Yusra looked at him.

“Tum ajeeb ajeeb baatein kar rahe the.”

He nodded slowly.

“Haan.”

“Why?”

He looked at her quietly.

For a few seconds, he didn’t say anything.

Then he smiled slightly.

“Tumhari patience level check kar raha tha.”

Yusra frowned.

“Har cheez mazak hoti hai tumhare liye?”

He shook his head.

“Nahi.”

“Then?”

Irfan looked straight into her eyes.

And said softly,

“Har cheez mazak nahi hoti… Yusra.”

Her heartbeat got louder.

For a moment, she couldn’t speak.

Arham suddenly appeared from behind.

“Oye Irfan, chal na!”

The moment broke.

Irfan stepped back.

“History bhej dena.”

Then he walked away.

Leaving Yusra standing there.

Confused.

Restless.

And strangely… smiling.

That night, her phone buzzed again.

Irfan:

Tumne kaha tha tum kisi ko pasand karti ho

Her fingers froze.

Yusra:

Haan

Irfan:

Kon hai

Her heart started beating fast.

Yusra:

Tumhe kyu jaana hai

There was a pause.

Then came the reply.

Irfan:

Because I want to know if I still have a chance

Yusra’s breath stopped.

Her eyes widened.

Her hands trembled slightly.

Yusra:

What

But Irfan had already gone offline.

And for the first time in her life…

Yusra realized something.

The stranger who was testing her patience…

Was slowly becoming the reason behind her heartbeat.

That night, Yusra couldn’t sleep.

Her phone screen kept glowing in the dark as she read Irfan’s last message again and again.

“Because I want to know if I still have a chance.”

Still have a chance.

Still.

Have.

A chance.

Her heart was beating so fast that it felt like it would come out of her chest.

“What does he mean by that…?” she whispered to herself.

Was he serious?

Or was it just another one of his jokes?

She turned to the other side of the bed and hugged her pillow tightly.

“Pagal ladka…”

But deep inside, she knew something was different this time.

Very different.

The next day in school, everything felt awkward.

Yusra entered the classroom and quietly went to her seat.

She avoided looking at Irfan.

Avoided looking at Arham.

Avoided looking at everyone.

But her eyes betrayed her.

They slowly moved toward the last bench.

Irfan was there.

Talking to Arham again.

Laughing like nothing happened.

Like he didn’t drop a bomb on her heart last night.

Yusra felt annoyed.

“Khud message karke offline ho gaya… aur ab hasi mazak kar raha hai.”

She opened her notebook aggressively.

Meanwhile, Arham noticed her behavior.

He leaned toward Irfan.

“Bhai, lagta hai gussa hai.”

Irfan glanced toward Yusra.

She was writing, but her face looked slightly upset.

He sighed.

“Pata hai.”

“Phir kya kiya tune?”

Irfan smirked lightly.

“Sach bola.”

Arham raised his eyebrows.

“Kaunsa sach?”

Irfan looked at him and said quietly,

“Wahi jo tu samajh raha hai.”

Arham’s eyes widened.

“Tu pagal hai kya?”

Irfan shrugged.

“Ho sakta hai.”

During break time, Yusra went outside to drink water.

She stood near the corridor window, staring at the playground.

Children were playing football.

The sun was shining softly.

Everything looked peaceful.

But her mind wasn’t.

Footsteps approached.

She didn’t turn.

She already knew who it was.

“Irfan,” she said without looking.

He stopped beside her.

“Hmm.”

Silence.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then Yusra turned and looked at him.

“Kal jo bola tumne… kya matlab tha uska?”

Irfan leaned against the wall casually.

“Kaunsa?”

She frowned.

“Tumhe pata hai kaunsa.”

He smiled slightly.

“Tumhe kya lagta hai?”

Yusra crossed her arms.

“Mujhe lagta hai tum mazak kar rahe the.”

He shook his head slowly.

“Nahi.”

Her heartbeat increased.

“Then?”

Irfan looked directly into her eyes.

And said calmly,

“Main mazak nahi kar raha tha.”

The world around her suddenly felt quiet.

“Matlab…?”

He stayed silent for a moment.

Then said,

“Matlab simple hai.”

“Tum kisi ko pasand karti ho.”

“Haan.”

“And I want to know… if I still have a chance.”

Her breath got stuck in her throat.

She whispered,

“Chance for what?”

Irfan stepped a little closer.

“For you.”

Yusra immediately stepped back.

“This is not funny, Irfan.”

“I’m not joking.”

“Then Arham ka naam kyu liya?”

For the first time, Irfan looked slightly uncomfortable.

He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Because… agar main directly bol deta, tum baat karna band kar deti.”

Yusra stared at him.

“So Arham doesn’t like me?”

Irfan shook his head.

“Nahi.”

“So that boy… doesn’t exist?”

He smiled softly.

“Exist karta hai.”

“Kon hai?”

He looked at her quietly.

For a few seconds, he didn’t say anything.

Then he spoke slowly.

“Tum already jaanti ho.”

Her heart started racing.

“No… I don’t.”

Irfan chuckled lightly.

“Jhooth bol rahi ho.”

“I’m not.”

He leaned closer and whispered,

“Yusra… it’s me.”

Her eyes widened.

Everything around her froze.

The corridor.

The students.

The noise.

The wind.

Everything stopped.

Only one sentence echoed in her ears.

“It’s me.”

She looked at him in disbelief.

“You… like me?”

Irfan smiled softly.

“Thoda sa.”

“Thoda sa?”

“Haan.”

“How much?”

He looked at her with calm eyes and said,

“Utna… jitna tum soch bhi nahi sakti.”

Her heart melted and panicked at the same time.

“This is wrong.”

“Kyu?”

“We are just classmates.”

“So?”

“Log kya kahenge.”

Irfan laughed lightly.

“Log to kuch bhi kahenge.”

Yusra looked down.

“I don’t want complications.”

Irfan’s voice became soft.

“I don’t want to complicate your life either.”

“Then why?”

He took a deep breath.

“Because I like you.”

Simple.

Honest.

Direct.

No jokes this time.

No teasing.

Just truth.

Yusra stayed silent.

Her mind was confused.

Her heart was scared.

Her emotions were tangled.

“I need time,” she said slowly.

Irfan nodded.

“Take it.”

“And don’t talk like this again.”

He smiled.

“Okay.”

“And no patience testing.”

“Okay.”

“And no fake boy stories.”

He laughed.

“Okay.”

As she turned to leave, Irfan spoke softly.

“Yusra.”

She stopped.

“Haan?”

He said quietly,

“I’ll wait.”

Her heart skipped again.

She didn’t reply.

She just walked away.

But a small smile appeared on her face.

Because somewhere deep inside…

She knew.

Someone was finally waiting for her.