"Finally, we're going home," Ayaan said while walking out of the hotel, exhaustion visible in his voice.
"You were missing home a lot, weren't you?" Mahira asked.
"Yes," Ayaan replied.
"Same," Aarshi added.
Jihan looked at them and asked, "Why do you both agree on everything? Why do you always support each other's words?"
"Because both of us are tired of you," Aarshi taunted.
"There's no point talking to you," Jihan replied.
"Then why do you even talk?" Aarshi shot back sarcastically.
Soon, the two of them started arguing again.
Mahira and Ayaan stepped in once more to settle their fight. Mahira tried to calm Jihan down while Ayaan tried to quiet Aarshi. After a while, both of them finally calmed down.
Throughout the entire seven-day trip, those two had spent most of their time arguing. Yet despite all the arguments, all of them had enjoyed the trip immensely. Aarshi had made a new friend during the trip, and their bond had become quite strong.
Ayaan didn't talk much with Aarshi, but he listened carefully to everything she said and always responded to her.
Mahira had also enjoyed the trip a lot. Her main motive had been to spend time with Ayaan. However, whenever she saw Ayaan looking happy while talking to Aarshi, she felt satisfied as well and would spend her time with Jihan instead.
During those seven days, they all had a lot of fun. They had done so much shopping that their luggage was no longer enough to carry everything back home.
Even at the end of the trip, Jihan and Aarshi could still be seen arguing.
While returning, the seating arrangement on the flight was the same as before: Jihan and Aarshi were seated together, while Mahira sat beside Ayaan.
After sitting down, Mahira said,
"Maybe we should change seats. Aarshi and Jihan will start arguing again."
But this time Ayaan said,
"I'll go sit beside Jihan."
This felt very strange to Mahira.
Ayaan went to Aarshi and said,
"You go sit with Momo."
Aarshi happily went and sat beside Momo, while Ayaan took the seat next to Jihan.
After the flight took off, Jihan looked at Ayaan and said,
"I can't believe you're sitting next to me. I always thought you didn't like me."
Ayaan replied with a calm expression,
"It's not that I don't like you. I just don't like talking much with people. And honestly, I usually don't like Momo's friends either… but among all of them, you seemed the most decent to me."
Jihan found his words a little strange. After a moment, he asked directly,
"How did you become so close to my sister?"
Ayaan answered politely,
"We're not actually close. Your sister is just like you. The way you talk to Momo, she talks to me in the same way. The only difference is that you like my sister… but she and I don't have that kind of interest in each other."
Jihan's expression changed.
"How do you know that?" he asked.
"Obviously I'm not deaf," Ayaan replied. "Your sister tells me everything. She even told me that you don't have a single female friend. And if you only talk to Momo, then you must definitely like her."
Jihan said quietly,
"My sister never hides anything. And she told you all that too?"
Ayaan shrugged lightly.
"It's fine. A lot of boys have liked my sister since school days, so hearing this didn't bother me. Besides, you seem like a good person."
"Why do I seem like a good person to you?" Jihan asked.
"Because you're Aarshi's brother," Ayaan replied.
Hearing that, Jihan fell into deep thought, wondering what exactly Ayaan meant.
After lowering his gaze for a moment, Ayaan said,
"I actually needed your help with something."
For a moment, Jihan thought he would say something about Aarshi. But he simply replied,
"Hmm… what kind of help? Tell me, I'm ready."
"I need your autograph," Ayaan said. "My friends really love your songs."
Hearing that, a completely different smile appeared on Jihan's face.
"That's all? I can do it right now."
"I brought my notebook for your signature," Ayaan said.
Jihan smiled and replied,
"Hearing something like this from you feels quite special."
Ayaan immediately handed him the notebook and said he had four friends, mentioning all their names.
Jihan signed every page with each friend's name and even wrote a short message on every page saying, "Thank you for listening to me."
He signed five pages in total.
Ayaan said, "But I only have four friends."
Jihan smiled and replied, "The fifth one is for you."
Ayaan then said, "My friends are waiting for your face reveal."
Jihan replied, "If you want, I can meet them personally."
Ayaan laughed softly. "That won't be necessary. If you meet them through me, they'll bother me for the rest of my life asking for meet-ups again and again."
Jihan laughed and said,
"Today feels special for me. Talking to you made me feel that you're even better than your sister… and far more sensible. That's probably why my sister feels comfortable around you. Otherwise she usually stays away from boys."
Hearing this, Ayaan smiled slightly and replied,
"Your sister is good too… but more than you. And hearing that she feels comfortable around me gives me relief."
Neither of them had expected that their conversation would turn out like this while sitting together.
Meanwhile, in another row, Aarshi and Momo had enjoyed some snacks together and then fallen asleep.
After landing, they all walked out of the airport. It was around 2 a.m., and Mahira's parents were waiting outside.
Seeing them made Ayaan happy, and he said to Momo,
"Now I just want a chance to spend some time with them."
Mahira smiled and said,
"They were waiting just for you."
Aarshi pointed toward Ayaan's mother and whispered to Momo,
"That lady is so beautiful."
Mahira laughed and said,
"Come, let me introduce you to my parents."
Aarshi and Jihan greeted Mahira's parents. By then, their car had also arrived.
Jihan said,
"We should leave now," and said goodbye to Mahira and Ayaan.
Aarshi hugged Momo before leaving.
Ayaan was standing beside them. He simply bent his head slightly and smiled at Aarshi.
But suddenly, Aarshi stepped forward and hugged him too.
Everyone was shocked.
Even Ayaan himself was shocked, wondering why she had hugged him.
For Ayaan's mother, the moment was so surprising that she whispered to Ayaan's father,
"How has Ayaan changed so much?"
Jihan's face had completely lost its color after seeing Aarshi hug Ayaan.
Mahira even took a photo of that moment.
When everyone finally sat in their cars to go home, Jihan asked angrily,
"Do you like Ayaan?"
Aarshi made an annoyed face and replied,
"Keep your thoughts to yourself. He's a good person, and I just wanted to say goodbye properly. What's wrong with that?"
Yet deep inside, Aarshi regretted hugging Ayaan.
Meanwhile, Ayaan's mother asked him,
"That girl… she's your good friend, right?"
Ayaan simply replied,
"Hmm…"
But deep down, Ayaan himself was confused about everything that had just happened—because he had never even shaken hands with a girl before.
Mahira, however, was extremely happy. On the way home, she kept smiling while remembering the beautiful moments of the trip.
This trip had brought changes into everyone's lives.
For all four of them, the trip had become something truly special.
And from now on, they would always remember it.