The library was unusually quiet for a Wednesday.
Maybe it was the upcoming exams. Maybe it was the rare cool breeze outside that made students stay in the sun. But for Ananya and Karthik, the quiet was perfect.
They sat across from each other, a pile of books between them. Supposedly studying. Supposedly focused.
But neither of them had turned a page in ten minutes.
Karthik's gaze wandered from his textbook to the small, neat writing in Ananya's notes. Then to her fingers, twirling a blue pen absently. Then to her face—calm, sharp, beautiful.
She looked up suddenly. "Caught you."
He blinked. "What?"
"You're staring."
"No, I'm not."
"You're even worse at lying now," she smirked.
He smiled sheepishly. "You're distracting."
"You say that like it's my fault."
"It is," he said, and she laughed.
They fell into silence again, this time a little warmer, softer. The kind that didn't demand words. The kind that lingered between people who were slowly learning how to exist together.
Karthik reached for his pencil. "You're still okay with this?"
"This?"
"Us," he said, voice quieter. "The attention. The assumptions. The… pressure."
Ananya leaned back, her eyes thoughtful. "Some days it's too much. But I've lived with eyes on me for a while now, Karthik. I can handle it."
"And me?"
"You," she said, meeting his gaze, "are the only part of my life that doesn't feel like a performance."
That stunned him into silence.
Not because it was grand. But because it was real.
They packed up just before the bell. As they walked down the corridor, shoulder to shoulder, Karthik noticed something.
His hands didn't tremble like they used to.
His mind didn't spiral with self-doubt every time she looked at him.
He was still him—awkward, anxious, a little broody. But with her beside him, it all felt... manageable.
As they reached the stairs, she suddenly stopped.
"Hey, you know what I never got?"
"What?"
"You never actually told me why you fell for me."
Karthik looked at her, stunned. "What kind of question is that?"
"A fair one," she grinned.
He thought for a moment, then said, "Because… even when I hated the world, you made me feel like there was something worth loving."
Ananya blinked.
And for the first time in a while, she didn't know what to say.
Karthik smirked. "Caught you."
She rolled her eyes, but there was a soft, misty smile on her face as they walked the rest of the way.
Between the lines of teasing and silence, something beautiful was blooming.
Something called love.
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END OF CHAPTER 133