Disclosure - 1. Disclosure

"I love you. I will wait for you. You are worth fighting for."

The words hollowly rang through my mind as I leaned back in my seat on the airplane and looked out of the window into the expanse of blue sky and white clouds passing by.

"You are worth fighting for..."

****

Varun Gupta was the last person who would ever pick a fight with anyone. So it was to the surprise of all when he walked up to Rohan before school on Monday and punched him in the face.

"I'm sorry but you deserved that."

Rohan who had been caught completely unaware, just glared at Varun as he rubbed his sore jaw.

"And how the fuck did I deserve that?" he hissed.

"You know what you did,"

"I don't think I do."

"To Rahul?"

Rohan's eyes widened. Varun seeing that his job was done walked off towards class leaving Rohan and the crowd of classmates that had gathered around to see what was happening.

****

Rohan. I always thought that Rohan was one of the most attractive guys at school. He was quite popular as he was always laughing and joking with everyone. So you can imagine my surprise when one day, he showed up at my house, where he kissed me and told me that he liked me.

****

The door of the bathroom clicked as Rohan locked it behind him. He stepped up to the mirror in front of the bathroom sink and stared at his reflection. He regretted it sorely. He had hurt the one person he had never meant to hurt.

He turned on the water and watched it run out of the faucet and swirl in the sink before rushing down the drain. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape from what he had done and what it meant. He stared up at his reflection again.

"I am sorry, Rahul. I am so sorry for the terrible distress that I have caused you."

****

"Varun! Open the door!" yelled Radhika as she banged on his bedroom door. "Please? It's me, Radhika."

She waited for a second as she heard sniffles and the shuffling of feet. The door soon opened and Varun emerged from his room. However, this was not the carefree and smiling Varun that Radhika was always accustomed to seeing. Now, his eyes were red and watery and there were tears running down his face.

"Oh Varun, no." Radhika quickly pulled him into a hug. "What happened?"

"He left. Rahul left," he managed to whisper. "I went over to his house today after school and his mom said that he had left for Delhi this morning."

Radhika rubbed his back soothingly as Varun rested his head on her shoulder.

"Let's go back into your room."

Radhika closed the bedroom door behind her and led Varun back to his bed. She sat on the side of his bed while he lay back.

"I have to tell him. I just have to go and tell him."

"Why don't you just call him?"

"I tried calling him too but his phone is turned off. I have to go and tell him."

"Varun how are you going to go and tell him?"

"I'll take the next bus to Delhi. He will be staying at his aunt's house. I can get the address from Priyanka."

"But Varun."

Varun got up from the bed with some resolve and wiped some of the tears from his face. "Radhika, I have to go. If I don't I will regret it my whole life. I can't just let him leave without at least knowing."

****

Radhika. I didn't really know her that well. She always hung around with Varun. They dated for a couple of months and then for some reason they broke up and just became good friends. She was really beautiful and she always seemed nice and sweet.

****

Varun picked up his cell phone from his desk and dialed Priyanka's number. His hands were still shaking a bit and he kept sniffling. After a few rings, someone finally picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Priyanka? It's Varun."

"Hi Varun. How are you?"

"I'm okay. I was just wondering if you had the Rahul's aunt's address in Delhi."

"Why do you want his aunt's address?"

"I have to go meet him, Priyanka. I just have to tell him something important. I just need to know the address."

"Okay, well his aunt lives in Vasant Vihar. House number 256."

"Thanks so much Priyanka!"

"You're welcome and I hope you find him."

"Thanks, bye."

"Bye."

Varun dropped the phone of his desk and sat back down on the bed. He was about to lie back when he noticed that it was five-thirty. He had to hurry if he was to get to Delhi on time.

****

Priyanka. She was my best friend. We were really close and I shared all my secrets with her. She was the first person I came out to. She was always supportive and understanding. If there was one person I could always count on to be there for me it was her.

****

Priyanka was sitting on her bed in her room looking at an album full of old pictures of her and Rahul together. She was really going to miss him. She had been surprised when Varun had called her asking about Rahul but she realized that Rahul hadn't told anyone else that he was leaving. She wondered what Varun had to say that was so important that he was going to go all the way to Delhi to find him.

Priyanka had just been staring at a picture of her and Rahul together on his seventeenth birthday when her phone rang again. She pulled it out of her purse and saw it was Rohan. She tossed it aside ignoring it. If there was one person she did not want to talk to at this moment, it was Rohan. He was the reason that Rahul had left in the first place. However, Rohan kept calling back and finally she picked it up.

"What do you want, Rohan?"

"I wanted to talk to Rahul but his phone is turned off."

"He's not going to talk to you and I really don't want to talk to you either."

"But I wanted to apologize. I always wanted to apologize."

"It's too late for that. He's already left, you know."

"What?"

"Stop acting like you care."

"Where did he go?"

"He left for Delhi. He's leaving for good."

With that, Priyanka hung up. She tossed the phone aside and looked back at the picture in the album. Rohan was in the picture too. He was standing next to Rahul and she then noticed that the two were holding hands and Rahul had a big smile on his face. She shook her hand and closed the album.

****

The sun was setting on the western horizon as the auto rickshaw came to a stop outside house number 256. Varun got out, paid the driver, and then cautiously walked up to the gates. He hesitated before opening the gate and going inside. Reaching the front door, he rang the bell. As he waited outside, he nervously wondered what he was going to say. Finally, the door opened and Varun saw a middle-aged woman, which he presumed was Rahul's aunt.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi, I was looking for Rahul. Is he here?"

"I'm sorry honey but you just missed him. He left for the airport a few minutes ago with my husband."

Varun's face fell. "Oh no!"

"You could probably still catch him. He just left."

Without a moment's hesitation, Varun turned around and ran back to the road. He looked around and saw the auto rickshaw he had come in was heading back down the road.

"Wait! Stop!" yelled Varun as he ran after the auto rickshaw.

The driver seemed to have heard him as he came to a stop. Varun quickly caught up with it.

"To the airport! As quickly as possible, please," he said breathlessly.

"Get in," replied the driver as he started up the auto.

The ride to the airport was an agonizing one. He kept telling the driver to hurry. He had to catch Rahul before he left for good. He could not bear to think what would happen if he missed him.

****

Varun. He was Rohan's best friend. Sometimes I think Rohan was closer to Varun then he ever was to me. They were like brothers. When one of them was upset, the other cried for him. Varun cared for Rohan a lot and was always watching out for him.

****

I continued to stare out of the airplane window. I couldn't believe that I was on my way to the US for college. When I first got my acceptance letter, I had decided that I didn't want to go. I didn't want to be apart from Rohan. I was so much in love with him. Well, I guess he didn't feel the same way about me, because he told me a couple of days later that he didn't love me and he wanted to break up. I was totally devastated. In my pain, I decided I needed to get as far away from Rohan as possible. So I decided that I would go to the US. I didn't tell anyone except my friend Priyanka that I was leaving. I just packed my bags and headed for Delhi to catch my flight.

****

Varun reached the airport just as I was going inside.

"Rahul! Rahul! Wait!"

I turned around to see Varun running to catch up with me.

"Rahul. I have to tell you something!"

Varun sat me down and told me the truth that I had not been expecting at all.

"Rohan broke up with you so you wouldn't give up on your studies because of him.

"Why?"

"Because he loves you so much."

"Why are you telling me?"

"Because I can't stand seeing Rohan so depressed without you."

"But I can't do anything now. I've already accepted my admission and I'm leaving in an hour."

Varun sighed. "I know. But at least you know the truth before you leave. You should talk to Rohan before you leave," he said handing me his phone.

My hands were shaking as I dialed Rohan's number. After a few rings, Rohan picked up.

"Hello, Varun?"

"No, it's Rahul."

"Rahul? What are you... oh, is Varun there with you?"

"Yes, and he told me everything."

"Oh, I guessed he would. I'm so sorry, Rahul."

"It's okay Rohan. I understand why you did it even though I don't like it."

"I don't like it either. I miss you."

"I miss you too."

Rohan took a breath and then said those words that pressed into my mind forever.

"I love you. I will wait for you. You are worth fighting for."

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