We are parallel lines; him and I.

Always close, but never together.

We were in the 8^th grade when we met for the first time. I was the ‘new girl’ in his tuition class, and he was the ‘know it all’. He had an answer to every question, and annoyingly, it was always the right one! I despised him for this.

A few days passed and he sent me a chit, “I like you.” Obviously, I ignored it. Soon after this, he sent me a friend request on Facebook. This, I accepted. We started chatting casually about our lives and studies but it was never more than that. We continued being in the same class till the 10^th grade and just before our boards, he asked me out. I declined. I told him that I wanted to concentrate on my studies, as should he. He didn’t say anything after that.

One evening, after our last exam, a group of us went to café to celebrate. After this, he asked me if he could drop me home. This wasn’t new, as he always dropped me home when it got late. I agreed and we started walking back. This time, he took another route home, it was through a lovely park. And this is where he got down on his knee, and asked me out again. I was thrilled!

This was unexpected and all I could do was hug him and say yes. Pretty soon, our friends found out and for them all, ours was the love they aspired to have in their lives.

There was only one condition to this relationship. He would stop smoking and drinking. I don’t have a problem with people who do so, but he had severe bronchitis and I’ve always been worried about his health. He agreed instantly.

Everything was smooth sailing after this. Our parents knew about us and they even became family friends. We began making plans for our future and decided that we would study in the same University for our further education. We were together for almost one and half years, when one day, I found out that he smoked. When I confronted him about this, he denied everything, but soon realized that I wasn’t going to back down and told me the truth. I was appalled. How could he lie to me about this? And break my promise? I broke up with him immediately. He asked me for a second chance, but soon enough, repeated the same thing. I asked him to pick between his friends or me and he picked his friends. I was devastated.

Both of us ended up blocking each other in real and in our online lives.

I decided to move out of the city for my education, it was tough to be in the same place that he was and I knew that a change would help me. Two months passed since I was at this new University when one day, a friend called me to tell me that my ex had got admission in the same place.

I was unsure of my reaction to this news: on one hand, the thought of seeing him every day seemed comforting, and on the other, the thought of seeing him every day seemed painful.

And now, here I was, stuck with him for four years. Every time I see him, my heart still skips a beat, but we lower our heads and walk faster. At times, I do wish to go and speak to him, but I’m not sure I would know what to say. I still do care about him and I’m happy that he’s moved on. She doesn’t seem to worry about his health as I did, I guess that’s what he wanted. I don’t know when I can move on, but all I know is that the next four years here are going to be tough for me.

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