The rumors didn't quiet. They screamed louder.
By now, Ayan didn't even have to walk into a room before he felt them—eyes, whispers, the weight of mouths shaping his name.
He didn't falter, not where anyone could see.
But Kairo?
Kairo fed on it. Every look, every whisper seemed to sharpen his grin, like the whole school was fanning flames he'd been waiting to unleash.
When they met again—back in the suffocating silence of the student council room—the air was already heavy.
"Guess what they're saying today," Kairo said, tossing his bag onto the chair with theatrical carelessness.
Ayan didn't answer. He kept writing, movements controlled, precise.
"They say you can't stand being near me without trembling."
Ayan's pen paused mid-line. A tiny slip of ink marked the page.
"Does it amuse you," he asked, voice flat, "to parade yourself like this?"
Kairo tilted his head, eyes narrowing in mock curiosity. "Amuse me? No, Omega. It drives me. You should know by now—I don't back off when the fire gets hot. I lean in."
Ayan looked up then, slow and deliberate. His eyes were cold steel, his posture rigid, but the flicker in them betrayed something else—something dangerous.
"Keep leaning in," Ayan whispered, "and you'll burn."
The words should have ended it. But Kairo stepped closer, closing the gap to nothing. His shadow fell across the desk, his hand flattening on the paper between them.
"Maybe I like the burn."
For one long, unbearable heartbeat, neither moved. The air itself seemed to strain.
Ayan's jaw tightened, his body still, but his pulse roared in his ears.
It would have snapped—something would have snapped—if not for the sudden knock at the door.
Both froze. The spell shattered.
"Library's closing," a voice called.
Kairo's smirk returned, slower this time, almost wicked. He straightened but didn't step back immediately, letting the proximity linger like a threat.
"See you tomorrow, partner," he murmured, low and deliberate.
And when he finally walked away, Ayan's hand was still clenched around the pen like it was a blade.
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Well² im back my people's all fixed and well, did anyone miss me or Ayan and kairo?