Ayyan pov:
The bell rang, finally. End of class, end of this torture. Honestly, I didn't even know why we had extra classes this late—it was just a waste.
I was packing my stuff when everyone started buzzing about Siya.
Siya solved the question.
Siya actually cracked it.
Siya's so smart.
I looked at her once. She was smiling awkwardly, brushing off the compliments like it didn't matter. But still, I could see it in her face—she was proud.
Weird.
I never thought of her as "Smart Siya." She was always just… Siya. The one who helped us in exams, who was always there in the background. Like background music—you don't notice it until it's gone.
I don't even know why I walked up to her. Maybe because the class was ending for ten days, maybe because I just wanted to say something before leaving.
"You said you weren't good at maths… but you actually nailed it."
She looked at me. For a second, her eyes lit up, like my words actually mattered. That confused me. I was just… saying.
She smiled. "It was fate."
I laughed. Fate? Really? "Then I want the same fate."
I didn't mean anything by it. Just a joke, just filler words to make her laugh back. And she did—small, shy, fragile. She even told me to study harder. That was it.
I left without saying goodbye. Because… what was there to say? She's just Siya. My classmate. Nothing more.
By the time I stepped out, I had already forgotten the conversation. I was thinking about something else. About Ayesha. About Tanu. About who I'd text later.
But if I had turned back just once, maybe I would've seen it—
the way Siya's smile broke the moment I left.
The way fate was far crueler to her than I could ever understand.
---
The ten-day vacation had finally started, and trust me, I was more than happy about it. Nights felt lighter now… because of Tanu.
We had been chatting almost every night, and honestly, things between us were going pretty smooth. She was fun, she kept me hooked, and yeah—I liked her. I wanted to meet her, to actually see her outside the glow of a screen, but life wasn't that simple. Distance, timing, restrictions—everything was in the way.
But just when I was lost in those thoughts… she came back.
Not Tanu.
Siya.
I don't even know why, but her face, her voice, her tears—everything replayed in my head. Especially the last thing that happened between us. The messed up crying, the awkward silences, the way the whole class saw her that day.
And then, this random memory hit me like a flash—
That one time she requested Vani ma'am to change her place.
It looked so small back then, but the detail… it stuck. Because the seat she wanted was the one in front of me. Div A Siya's seat. At that moment, I couldn't help but think—
Did she want to sit closer to me? Did she… like me?
It was a weird thought, completely out of syllabus for me. I never saw her that way before. But when she asked that, something inside me stirred. I thought maybe, just maybe, she wanted to be near me. Maybe she noticed me the way I started noticing her.
But now…?
Now it feels like all of that was in my head. Siya doesn't even look at me the same way anymore. She laughs with Ayesha, talks with Aryan, even tolerates Shela's taunts like nothing. She's built her circle, her walls, her comfort zone… and I'm not in it.
Talking to me doesn't excite her.
Looking at me doesn't fluster her.
It's like she's… afraid. Afraid of something. Afraid of me? Afraid of being seen near me? God knows.
But deep down, I know something is happening. I just can't figure out what.
And right when I was about to fall into that rabbit hole of overthinking—
my phone buzzed.
A message. From Tanu.
And just like that, Siya slipped out of my mind.
Back to Tanu.
Back to the texts.
Back to the comfort of something that didn't confuse me.
Something that felt simple. Something that felt safe.