19 Come here, let me measure your waist.

Oh, nothing much, I love you too.

Right after Rohan uttered the words, he gave me a small Rohan smile and this time, he fled the room. So much for trying to sound nonchalant. But I didn't run after him like he did. Sometimes we just want to need some lone time.

Or that's what I tried to say as I pounded my head and fists repeatedly on my pillow and bed wanting so bad to yell at the top of my lungs like Tarzan (with the whole pounding chest and howling package) and shout “he loves me!” But certain factors like being in a dorm and the fact that everyone thought we were both guys and the fact that being homosexual wasn't all that encouraged in India, I muffled my happy anguish. And please, don't ask me if happiness and anguish can go together. For me, they can.

Stop grinning like an idiot. You look like the Joker.

I look that impressive?

You look that scary.

And leave it to my conscience to make me feel like crap. The sound of the door creaking open made my body fall limp, pretending—well, trying to pretend that I was asleep, my face buried in my pillow. A light shuffling sound came near my bed as I felt Rohan's gaze on me. I smiled.

He's going to say something cute.

"U-Uthra..?" I didn't reply and even added soft snores to emphasize that I was sound asleep. Where is my Oscar, people? "Uthra, bud?" More aggressive snoring. "Are you asleep this early? It's just past eight." More aggressive snoring. A sigh followed. "Uthra." Almost gorilla equivalent snoring. This time a chuckle followed and I felt my bed dip. My grin widened. "I know you aren't sleeping so cut the act.” Gorilla snoring switched to blocked-nose elephant snoring. Wait, do elephants have noses? Only trunks, right? "If you don't stop pretending, I'm going to kiss you." I jerked up and howled in pain as my head came in contact with another solid surface. Another strangled moan told me I had hit Rohan. I turned towards him to find him rubbing his chin, which was slowly starting to bruise.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I lost my Oscar nomination. Or how I just gave a bruise to the boy I love. And who, somehow, still miraculously loved me back.

"Rohan!" I still tried to pretend that I was surprised. What I had been trying to achieve by making him believe that I had been asleep was beyond me. Maybe I expected him to leave me alone since I was asleep so that it would be a lot less awkward between the two of us? Rohan's face broke down into a small amused smile, his obsidian eyes smiling wider than his lips. Traces of the small dimple I had only seen rarely appeared and something tugged at my heart. So cute.

"I'll be sleeping in Rohit's room from today onwards." And just like that, the tugging stopped.

"Huh?" Rohan gave a short smile before ruffling my hair.

"I'll be sleeping in Rohit and Ryan's room from tonight onward."

"No, I heard you the first time," I said as I straightened into a more decent sitting posture and not one that had me looking like someone who had bolted up after a defibrillator procedure. "I was just asking why?" Rohan's easy smile slowly vanished and a small blush started creeping up his neck and cheeks. Heck, even his ears looked a little red, and without thinking twice, I reached for his ear and twisted it a little. "You cute boy!" Hey, can you blame a girl? I've been thinking he was cute from the time I apologised to him for waking him up with a wolf whistle. He stood up from the bed and coughed before gently removing my hand from his ear and moving a safe distance away from me.

"This," he started, but stopped when it came out squeaky. He cleared his throat. "This is why."

"I seriously don't understand you. If you want, I'll stop twisting your ear."

Rohan groaned. "Not that! You're a girl and I'm a boy."

"Well no shit, Sherlock."

"And we l—love each other." This time I didn't sound so snarky, sarcastic and cocky in my mind when I repeated “no shit.” I kind of knew where he was going with this. This time, we both coughed, with Rohan rubbing his neck and me clutching my comforter as if it was a lifeline.

"Well, we've been roommates for such a long time. What's so different now..?" I failed miserably to sound casual and backtracked, realizing I’d answered my own question.. "Okay," I said, nodding when Rohan remained silent, "but what will you tell Rohit and Ryan?"

"That you kicked me out."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

I rolled my eyes. "And what would I tell them when Rohit punches me yelling about his room not being a motel?”

"Just punch him back."

"Rohan, be serious!" My hands shot up of their own accord to smack his shoulders and for a second, I froze at how familiar it all felt. So yes, we’d both just confessed each other's feelings and now we were in a relationship (I guess). But even if we go all boyfriend and girlfriend, in the end, at the baseline, we were friends. Best friends who trusted each other and who couldn’t exchange endearments like “buddy” and “mate” for “baby” and “love.”

"I am being serious!" He flicked my forehead, looking a little sullen, and a huge grin grew on my face. Maybe my inner voice was right. I should stop grinning like the Joker.

"Did you see that?!" I jumped up from my bed and clutched Rohan's hands. He looked like he thought I had gone crazy.

"See what?"

"You flicked my forehead!"

This time Rohan rolled his eyes. "I flick it all the time."

I thumped his shoulders yet again. "That's what I'm saying!" The words wheezed out of my mouth and I didn't know why I was this excited. Maybe I really am losing my mind. But I continued. "You flicked my forehead! I thumped your shoulders! Everything is like how it always is. Now that we both suddenly have laid everything on the table doesn't mean that suddenly all we want is to eat each other's faces!"

Rohan opened his mouth to give a comeback but closed it, a small frown rising in that adorable way. He bit his lower lip as he contemplated everything I said seriously as if he was deciding on a business contract. "You're right.." he slowly said after about five minutes of frowning and nibbling of his poor lower lip.

"I'm always right." I pounded my chest to prove it even more and Rohan laughed, giving me a “seriously?” look.

"So just stay here like how it used to be. Like always."

He nodded and shot me a thumbs up. "Alright then."

My feet took a step towards Rohan as he turned away from me. Without my command, my hands stretched and though my brain was screaming “no!” like a banshee, my feet took another quick step towards Rohan and my hands went around him, caging his tall frame between my arms. He froze.

"Wha—"

"Shh," I interrupted him. Where the courage to hug him like this came from was even a mystery to me, but I didn't regret it. "I'm trying to measure your waist size."

The hearty laugh Rohan gave shook both of our bodies, and this time his amusement was so obvious as he turned yet again to face me so that my face was pressed into his chest and not his back. "Seriously, Uthra?"

"Seriously, buddy."

"What happened to not eating each other's faces?" I chuckled as I pulled back a little, just enough to look up at his twinkling black eyes. Thank god I’d said something lame and made him laugh. Otherwise he'd be already inside Rohit's room with the bolt up after my bold hugging session, which was equivalent to molesting him in his opinion.

"We aren't snogging," I pointed out and winked cheekily, "and I never told you anything about not measuring each other's waists. So go on, measure mine."

Rohan burst out laughing, disbelief and amusement being the top emotions in his laugh. And like always, he flicked my forehead before slamming my face into his chest. The next second, I felt large, strong arms enclosing my body. "You little demon!"

I clicked my tongue. "I like that endearment better than 'buddy.'" A human version of a dog pawing my head under the pretext of ruffling my hair followed my comment, and after that he let out a content sigh.

"I love you."

"Heck yeah! I love you too!"