# 🌸 **EPISODE 3 — "A Clash of Worlds"**
**Genre: Romance • School • Slow Burn • Love Triangle**
**Long, detailed, Webnovel-style**
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The school courtyard buzzed with lunchtime chatter. Groups sat under the trees, by the basketball court, or in the cafeteria spill-over area. Laughter echoed everywhere—everywhere except one quiet corner.
Bhanu sat alone beneath the old banyan tree, her lunchbox on her lap, her eyes glued to a book she wasn't actually reading.
She liked this spot.
No one came here.
No one noticed her.
At least, until today.
---
## **A Quiet Interruption**
Bhanu flinched when a shadow fell across her book.
She looked up slowly.
Arjun stood there, lunchbox in hand, smiling his soft, polite smile.
"Um… is this seat taken?"
Her heart skipped. "No… you can sit."
He settled beside her, not too close, but close enough for her to feel his presence.
She lowered her eyes, unsure what to say, but he saved her from the awkwardness.
"I hope you didn't mind me helping yesterday," he said gently.
"No," she replied immediately, surprising herself. "It… actually helped."
Arjun's face brightened in a way she wasn't prepared for.
"Really? I'm glad."
They ate quietly for a bit. Bhanu nibbled at her food, still painfully aware of him beside her. But something about Arjun's calmness slowly eased the tension inside her.
He wasn't loud.
He wasn't pushy.
He didn't stare.
He simply sat there… quietly, comfortably, warmly.
For the first time, eating lunch next to someone didn't feel like torture.
---
## **A Soft Laugh**
Arjun opened his box—and froze.
Bhanu blinked. "What happened?"
He sighed dramatically. "Mom packed bitter gourd again."
Her eyes widened, then… she let out the tiniest laugh.
Arjun looked up sharply, surprised.
"You laughed!" he said, smiling even more.
She covered her mouth, embarrassed. "No—I mean—I'm sorry—"
"Don't apologize," he chuckled. "It's just… nice. You should laugh more."
Her cheeks warmed. She looked away.
Arjun watched her with gentle admiration, eyes soft and full of something unspoken.
---
## **A Pair of Eyes Watching**
But across the courtyard, someone else was watching.
Goutam stood beside the basketball court, his teammates talking loudly around him—but he wasn't listening.
His eyes were locked on Bhanu.
Sitting with Arjun.
Laughing.
His jaw clenched.
"Yo, Goutam, you good?" a friend nudged him.
He ignored the question.
Because something inside him was twisting sharply—something he didn't want to name.
He watched Bhanu's soft smile, Arjun's relaxed posture, their quiet comfort.
And he hated it.
Not them.
The feeling.
The unfamiliar burning in his chest.
He crossed his arms tightly, trying to force it down.
*Tch. Why do I care? She's just a girl who doesn't even look at me.*
But then he remembered yesterday.
Her trembling voice in class.
Her startled eyes.
The way she bumped into him earlier.
And Arjun—always there.
Always near her.
A spark of jealousy flickered again.
He turned his head away, annoyed with himself.
---
## **Fate Brings Them Closer (Literally)**
Sports period.
The class gathered on the ground for warm-ups. Bhanu stayed at the very back as usual, hoping no one would notice her lack of athletic ability.
But fate had a different plan.
During a relay practice, students shuffled around. She misstepped, stumbled, and—
**Bumped right into someone.**
Someone tall.
Someone who smelled faintly of cologne and crisp air.
Goutam.
Her eyes widened instantly.
"I—I'm so sorry—I didn't mean to—"
His expression was unreadable, sharp like a blade.
"Watch next time," he said coldly.
The words sliced through her.
She stepped back quickly, nodding silently, her throat tight with embarrassment.
His teammates stared. A couple of girls sneered.
Bhanu wanted to sink into the ground.
She turned away and walked off quickly—
But she didn't see the way Goutam's expression softened the moment she turned.
His cold tone hadn't been intentional. It was reflex—his defense mechanism. But seeing her shrink, seeing her walk away with lowered shoulders…
Guilt hit him hard.
He rubbed the back of his neck, frustrated.
*Why did I say it like that?*
He glanced toward her again.
She was standing alone, holding her arm, looking painfully self-conscious.
And he hated that he was the cause.
---
## **Arjun Comes Running**
"Bhanu! Are you okay?" Arjun rushed toward her, concern painting his features.
"I'm fine," she whispered.
"You're sure? You look shaken."
She didn't tell him why.
Arjun followed her gaze—toward Goutam.
The moment their eyes met, something silent passed between the two boys.
A spark.
A silent challenge.
An unspoken rivalry neither had acknowledged yet.
Arjun gently placed a hand on Bhanu's shoulder.
"You don't have to do the running," he told her softly. "I'll ask the teacher to excuse you."
Her eyes widened. "N-No, it's okay—"
"It's not," he said firmly, but kindly. "You don't deserve to be uncomfortable."
She swallowed hard.
Goutam watched from a distance, his chest tightening.
He didn't know what made him more irritated:
Arjun touching her…
Or the fact that she let him.
---
## **The Storm Inside Goutam**
Later, while the rest of the class ran their laps, Goutam stood off to the side, pretending to tie his shoelace but actually watching Bhanu again.
She sat on the bench, hugging her knees slightly. Arjun sat beside her, talking quietly, easing her embarrassment.
She relaxed in Arjun's presence.
That made something flare inside Goutam.
He had never cared whom people talked to.
He had never minded attention, whispers, or rumors.
But this—
This quiet girl avoiding his eyes—
This warm boy sitting beside her—
This strange pull toward someone who didn't even try to impress him—
It all tangled inside him like a storm he couldn't control.
He punched his fist lightly into his palm, frustrated.
He didn't understand it.
But he knew one thing:
He didn't like seeing her with Arjun.
Not one bit.
---
## **Bhanu's Confusion Grows**
That night, Bhanu lay in bed, staring at her ceiling.
Today was too much.
Why did Arjun sit with her again?
Why was he so warm, so kind, so patient?
Why did Goutam's cold words hurt so much?
Why did his quick glance linger in her mind?
Why did both boys… look at her at all?
Her heart felt like it was being pulled in two directions.
One gentle.
One intense.
One familiar in a comforting way.
One unfamiliar in a terrifying way.
She didn't know what to feel.
But she knew this:
Her world wasn't quiet anymore.
And she didn't know how to stop it.
---
### 🌸 **End of Episode 3**