He Earned It

When you first talk to Parth, what he tells you will give you the impression that he’s that boy, the one everyone loves to hate. Infamous, as you may say. “Once you know me better you’ll hate me too, so enjoy this time” He’ll tell you. He seems quite at ease with that fact and you wonder if it’s honesty or modesty.

But when you know him like I do, it’s hard not to fall in love with his irresistible child-like charm and on other occasions, his hot, grown up aura. He becomes your bestest friend in the world with his dependability and amazing listening skills. You find yourself telling him things about your life that you didn’t even think were possible to remember. The first conversation lasts an hour and it’s the shortest in the ones to come.

When you know him like I do, he’s your biggest inspiration with his quiet, hardworking nature. You can’t be around him and not feel your ears burn up with shame for being a lazy ass underachiever. Not like he needed to boast about his accomplishments, his one day’s homework schedule is quite enough. He’ll get terribly exasperated with you if you ask him to explain a maths problem to you slowly or twice, he might even accuse of being stupid (“You’re really slow, aren’t you?”) but then when you grow sullen and quiet, he’ll soften and explain it to you with all the patience in the world.

He’ll be the only one who gets all your stupidest jokes and joins in to make it a silly, random conversation, like:
Me: Parth, do you like onions?
Parth: Yes.
Me: Are you an onion?
Parth: No.

Parth: Unless you mean I have multiple layers to my personality.
Me: No, I mean you make people cry.
Parth: Only girls na, when I reject them.
Me: And you smell putrid.
Parth: Haw!
Me: And you have dry, weedy hair.
Parth: ........

Your friends will love him and never fail to ask about him when they talk to you because they can hear the love in your voice.

When you know him like I do, you’ll get exasperated because he will point-blank refuse to share his issues with him. You fight and cry and stamp your foot for months, but he won’t give in. Finally the dust settles and you comfort yourself with the thought that maybe one day he will trust you enough to tell you. And every time he does, he makes your day.

You’ll fight a lot too. Sometimes for months at a length. More of cold wars than open ones. Even when you’re insanely upset with him, you will want to run and hide till things get better but never to break away. Every fight will bring about this paranoia in you, that maybe you’ve done something so drastic that he’ll go back into his shell and never tell you anything ever again, but life always does go back to normal.

It’s funny how we bonded over how much long distance relationships suck and commitment phobia because almost a year into a long distance relationship with him, I can’t remember ever being happier than I am now.