The days that followed blurred into a quiet rhythm.
Karthik and Ananya didn't talk about that night in the park again. But the silence between them had changed—no longer awkward, but warm, like a shared secret only they understood.
Their hands didn't always touch. Their conversations weren't always deep. But the way they looked at each other had a softness now. A quiet understanding.
Still, not everything was perfect.
Karthik noticed the stares.
At school, people whispered. Some openly teased.
"Yaaru da, indha love birds?" one boy chuckled in the corridor.
Karthik felt the heat rush to his ears, but Ananya brushed it off with a grin. "Jealous much?" she'd winked, grabbing his wrist and walking away boldly.
He admired that about her—her confidence, her defiance. But it also made him feel small sometimes. Like he was still hiding when she was out in the open.
In chemistry lab, they sat beside each other, flipping through notes while Mrs. Prabha explained some complex reaction.
Ananya leaned in and whispered, "Are you okay with all the… attention?"
Karthik hesitated. "I'm trying."
She nodded. "Let me know if it gets too much. I know we're not exactly low profile."
He gave a half-smile. "You were never low profile. I just… wasn't used to being seen."
"Now you're seen with me," she teased.
That made him laugh, and the tension faded.
Later, during lunch, Thiru pulled him aside.
"Bro… you and Ananya. What's going on?"
Karthik froze. "Why?"
"No reason. Just… people are talking. I'm happy for you. But if you need backup, you know I'm here, right?"
That surprised him. For the first time, he felt like he wasn't alone. Like he had more than just Ananya. Like maybe—just maybe—he was part of something.
That night, he opened his journal.
He hadn't written in weeks. But now, the words poured out.
"She's not a cure. She's not a dream. She's just… here. Real. Laughing. Teasing. Looking at me like I'm worth something. And maybe, just maybe, I am."
He closed the book and smiled.
Maybe things didn't need to be said out loud all the time. Maybe being together, even in quietness, was enough.
For now.
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End of chapter 105