The school auditorium buzzed with chatter and light footsteps as students filed in for the morning assembly. Karthik sat near the back, eyes distant, arms folded. Ever since their quiet, unspoken moment after the confession, things between him and Ananya had shifted. Not broken—but heavy, like a weight they were both learning to carry.
She hadn't come to school the next day. Nor the one after that. Today, she was back—but she hadn't looked at him even once.
He glanced at her across the hall.
Ananya stood with her friends, smiling politely, answering questions, but something in her eyes was missing—like she was somewhere far away. Karthik's fingers tightened around his notebook. Was it regret? Was she pretending nothing happened between them?
The worst part was... he understood.
He hadn't said it back.
Not "I love you," not even "I like you." All he'd offered was silence, and now it was echoing between them.
At lunch, he mustered the courage to approach her. She was seated by the courtyard bench, her sketchbook open, pencil moving in smooth strokes.
"Ananya."
She didn't look up. "Hey."
"Can we talk?"
She paused her drawing. "Are you going to talk this time? Or just stare like last time?"
Her voice wasn't cruel. Just tired.
He sat down beside her, unsure if he even deserved to.
"I... I panicked."
She looked at him now, really looked at him.
"I didn't know how to react. No one's ever looked at me the way you do. Like I'm more than... whatever I've told myself I am."
Her gaze softened, but she stayed quiet.
"I'm scared, Ananya. Of you. Of this. Of how much I've come to need you."
She finally smiled—a small, fragile curve of her lips. "Took you long enough to say something."
He looked down, embarrassed. "I'm not like you. I don't know how to be fearless."
"You don't have to be," she said. "You just have to be honest."
A gust of wind swept through, scattering a few leaves across her sketchbook. He reached over, held it down. And as he did, he saw it.
A drawing of them. The two of them under an umbrella, close, quiet, safe.
His throat tightened.
"You drew this?"
"I didn't want to forget it," she whispered. "Even if you did."
"I didn't." His voice cracked. "That moment meant everything to me. I just... didn't know how to hold it."
She closed her book gently.
"Then learn, Karthik. Because I won't always wait in silence."
He nodded, eyes meeting hers with quiet determination.
"I'll learn. For you."
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End of Chapter 62