I've liked Vivaan for three years.
Not love at first sight.Just a slow, quiet kind of feelingthat kept growing.
I don't know why exactly.
Maybe it's the way he talks.Or how he laughs without thinking.Or how he always seems… bright.Like nothing could ever really break him.
I never told him.Of course I didn't.
I just kept it to myself.Drew his face in the corner of my notes.Watched for him in the hallways.Stayed quiet whenever he was around.
Reva, my best friend,she knows everything.
She always does.
One evening, she looked at me and said—
Reva: "It's been three years, Priya. Don't you think that's enough?"
I shrugged.I didn't know how to explain it.How do you let go of something that never even started?
Me: "I'm trying."
She didn't believe me.I didn't blame her.
Reva: "He's not good for you. He likes the way people look at him. That's all."
Me: "I know."
Reva: "Do you? Or do you just like pretending it could be something?"
I didn't answer.I couldn't.
She sighed.Pulled her braid over one shoulder, like she always does when she's tired of my silence.
She wasn't wrong.
Vivaan was always surrounded by people.He smiled at everyone.He made you feel seen for a second—and then he was already somewhere else.
But that second...it was enough to keep me holding on.
Maybe that's the problem.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
The sky outside my window looked too still.Our academy floated high above the world,drifting quietly through the stars.
My room was silent.
Until I heard it.
A hum.
Soft.Steady.Coming from the wall.
Our rooms have whisper walls.They carry sound,but not faces.
It's meant for focus.To help us learn without distraction.
But right now—it felt like someone was singingjust for me.
I sat up.Listened.
It wasn't a song exactly.Just a tune.A voice.
Low. Gentle. A little rough around the edges.
Something about it made my chest feel tight.
It reminded me of him.
Vivaan.
Could it be?
The humming stopped.
I waited.
Then—
Tap. Tap-tap.
Like a rhythm.
I held my breath.Then tapped back.
Just once.
Silence.
And then—a soft laugh.From the other side of the wall.
I didn't sleep much after that.But I felt lighter.
And for the first time in a while,my heart didn't feel so heavy.