Pearl didn't argue this time.
When Vansh grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the shattered side door of the school's old gymnasium, she ran.
Inside, it was pitch black — only the distant lightning gave the room shape: broken bleachers, peeling banners, echoes of forgotten cheers.
Vansh pushed her down behind a storage shelf, crouching low beside her, his breath sharp and fast.
The silence stretched, broken only by the rain hammering the roof and the faintest creak of someone else's footsteps… somewhere inside.
Pearl's heart was hammering, adrenaline roaring in her ears.
Her voice was barely a whisper. "Do they know where we are?"
Vansh's hand found her arm in the dark, firm and grounding. "Not yet."
Another silence.
A beat.
Too long.
Too close.
Pearl turned to him, her face inches from his, rain still dripping from her hair.
"You almost kissed me," she whispered.
He didn't deny it. Didn't look away.
"I wanted to."
She swallowed, voice thick. "Even after everything?"
He leaned closer, voice like a knife through the quiet: "Especially after everything."
Pearl's breath hitched, pain and heat clashing in her chest. "You ruined me, Vansh."
"I know."
"And I still…"She cut herself off, choking on the truth she wasn't ready to say.
He reached up, brushing his thumb across her jaw, barely touching. "You still what?"
She stared at him. At the boy who burned her life down… and somehow lit something else in her chest now.
But before she could speak, the footsteps grew louder — deliberate, close.
Vansh stiffened, whispering against her cheek.
"If they find us, you run. No questions."
"No," she said fiercely, gripping his arm. "Not without you."
A single heartbeat.
Then—
The door creaked open.
A beam of flashlight light swept across the gym floor.
They both went still. Breathing as one. Silent.
Waiting
The flashlight beam passed once… twice…
Then faded.
The intruder stepped further away, into another room, unaware of the storm still brewing behind the storage shelf.
Pearl let out a shaky breath, but her body was still tense, coiled like a wire stretched to its limit.
Vansh hadn't moved. His face was still inches from hers, his eyes locked on hers through the dim.
"You were going to say something," he whispered.
Pearl's lips parted, but no words came.
Because what could she say?That she hated him? She did.That she didn't trust him? She didn't.That he still made her feel everything she swore she'd buried?
She reached up slowly — almost like she didn't realize she was doing it — and touched the side of his face.
Vansh froze. Then leaned into her palm, eyes burning.
"You ruined me," she said again, softer this time.
His voice cracked. "Then ruin me back."
And just like that — they collided.
The kiss wasn't careful. It was a war. All the anger, the betrayal, the pain — it poured out between them in a way neither of them could stop.
Pearl gripped his collar like she wanted to push him away — but she pulled him closer.
Vansh kissed her like he didn't know if he'd live to kiss her again.
It was heat and rain and breathless fury, and something breaking open between them that had been locked up for far too long.
Then—
A crash outside the room.
Both of them pulled apart, gasping, eyes wide.
Reality snapped back like a blade.
Pearl wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Her heart was still racing.
"We need to move," Vansh said, voice hoarse, his thumb brushing the corner of her lip.
She nodded. "But we're not done."
He didn't argue.
They weren't.
Not even close
They moved fast and silent, slipping through the school's back corridor like ghosts.
Rain still hammered the windows, and every shadow felt like a trap waiting to spring.
Pearl's thoughts were chaos — the kiss, the gun, the fire, the way Vansh had looked at her like she was the only thing left in the world that mattered. She wanted to scream and cry and kiss him again, all at once.
But none of it mattered when they reached the library doors… and found them open.
Vansh pulled her behind a pillar. His hand went instinctively to the gun holstered at his side.
"Someone's been here," he whispered.
Pearl's heart twisted. "They're after the file, aren't they? My family—my past."
"Or after you," he said darkly.
He pushed the door open fully and stepped inside. Pearl followed, slow and cautious.
The library was empty. But something waited on the center table.
A folder. Thin. Old. Yellowed from years of being untouched.
Pearl picked it up with shaking hands. The name written on the label stopped her breath cold.
PROJECT PEARL: OBSERVATION RECORD
She flipped it open. Inside were surveillance photos. Of her. Her school. Her house. Her friends. Her childhood.
And at the bottom of the page… a name.
Authorized Lead: Vansh Malhotra
She staggered back like she'd been slapped.
Her voice was nothing but a whisper.
"You led it…?"
Vansh eyes widened as he looked at the file, horror sinking in.
"No—I didn't. I swear to you, I didn't know I was the lead. I thought I was just a piece. Just a watcher."
Pearl's hands shook violently now. "They named the whole operation after me."
He took a step toward her. "Pearl, please—listen—"
She held up the gun, eyes filled with betrayal and heartbreak.
"Don't. Say. Another. Word."