Monday morning felt… different.
The school looked the same. The sky was cloudy. The bell rang right on time.
But for Karthik, everything had changed.
He walked into class with a calmness that didn't belong to him.
And then she walked in.
Ananya.
Hair tied up in a messy bun, carrying a water bottle that had more stickers than actual space, smiling like nothing in the world had shifted.
But the moment she saw him, her eyes softened.
And no one else noticed it.
No one saw that tiny change in her smile.
But he did.
"Good morning, loverboy," she whispered as she passed him.
Karthik's ears burned. "Can you not?"
She grinned. "You're the one who confessed."
"Yeah, and you were supposed to keep it secret."
"Where's the fun in that?"
He groaned and dropped into his chair.
Shruthi, from across the aisle, narrowed her eyes. "What's going on with you two?"
Vikram looked up from his textbook. "Yeah, you're being... suspiciously normal."
"We're always normal," Ananya said, sitting down next to Karthik.
"You're sitting closer than usual," Shruthi pointed out.
Ananya leaned a bit closer.
"What, like this?"
Karthik choked on air. "Ananya!"
Vikram raised a brow. "Wait. Are you two...?"
"No!" Karthik blurted.
"Not yet," Ananya added smoothly.
Karthik banged his head on the desk. "I'm going to die before I graduate."
---
After school, the two of them walked home like they always did.
But this time, the space between them was shorter. Their hands brushed more often.
She didn't tease him. He didn't flinch.
They just... existed.
Together.
At the corner where their paths usually split, Ananya stopped walking.
Karthik paused too. "What's wrong?"
She stared ahead for a moment, then turned to him.
"Can I walk you a little further today?"
Karthik blinked. "But your house is the other way."
"I know."
She didn't explain. And he didn't ask.
They just walked—two steps, three, five... ten minutes more.
No words, no teasing.
Just the sound of their footsteps, and the feeling that something small, something precious, had finally begun.
---
End of Chapter 32