The usual chaos corner is alive — highlighters, Arnav's open chips packet, Ava balancing her phone on a mug, and Inaya animatedly explaining her mango kulfi theory.
"I'm telling you, mango kulfi is God's apology for midterm stress." Inaya grinned
"And what exactly was your GPA's apology to God again?" Kavya asked
"Rude." Inaya gasped dramatically
"She's not wrong though," Rabin said sketching quitely
Cue everyone laughing — until—
"Inaya Mehta?" Vedant asked suspiciously standing behind Inaya.
Silence. Like someone hit pause on the entire room.
Inaya's smile drops.
She turns slowly. Like she already knows. Like she felt it.
Vedant Yadav. Tall, smug, confidently leaning against the bookcase like it's his runway. Wearing a smirk as sharp as a lie and just as practiced.
"Wow. You still love your dramatic entrances, huh?" Vedant questioned
"Vedant," Inaya mumbled her voice guarded and flat
"Two years and you still say my name like it's an offense," Vedant said as his grin widened
"That's because it is." Kavya said as she sits upright, instantly combative):
"Is NYU handing out library passes to garbage now?" Arnav scoffed not bothering to hide his sneer
"Oh, I missed this. The comedy trio. Still keeping Inaya on a leash?" Vedant chuckles
Rabin's pencil snaps in his hand.
He doesn't say anything.
Just watches.
Dead still. Dead quiet.
But his gaze? It burns.
"Didn't expect to see you here, honestly. Thought you'd run out of things to write about once you were done turning me into the villain in your diary." Vedant said pretending not to notice
"You were never interesting enough to be the villain, Vedant. You were just... a lesson." Inaya answered back finally finding her voice
"Harsh. After all I did for you—" Vedant mocked a pout
"You mean all you did to her?" Kavya snapped
"Don't make me get banned from this library, dude." Arnav growled
"I'm just saying, we were good once, weren't we? Before your little savior complex got in the way." Vedant said to Inaya, voice low, manipulative
"Step back." Rabin growled
"And who are you? Her rebound?" Vedant turned, eyes narrowing
"I'm the reason she doesn't fall for your recycled mind games anymore," Rabin said his voice calm. sharp. lethal
"Touchy," Vedant smirked
"Try disrespecting her one more time and I'll show you just how untouchable she is now," Rabin said his voice soft yet dangerous
Vedant tries to play it cool, but the room has shifted.
Kavya's already cracking her knuckles.
Ava is recording. (For "documentation," she says.)
Hideya's standing like a final boss.
Inaya voiced quietly, but steadily "You don't get to walk into my life and rewrite a single thing. You lost that right the moment you made me question my worth."
"This… This isn't over." Vedant scoffed as he turned to leave
"Oh honey, it was over before it started." Kavya laughed
As Vedant disappears down the aisle, the silence stretches.
Rabin still hasn't unclenched his jaw.
"Thank you."
"Always."
The air is still tight. The squad is tense, but things seem to be settling down — until Vedant, in all his delusional glory, decides to pull an old move.
He takes a step toward Inaya.
"Inaya… I didn't come here to fight. You and I— We've always had this thing, haven't we?" Vedant voiced softly, almost rehearsed
Inaya's spine straightens.
"Oh no. Don't you dare—" Kavya gritted her teeth
"Come on… You always forgave me with just a hug. Just one." Vedant tentatively reached out
He raises his arms like it's the most natural thing in the world.
Like they're still in that cramped Delhi café where he used to spin apologies into affection.
Like time didn't happen. Like heartbreak wasn't real.
He steps closer—
Rabin moves.
Swift. Silent. Final.
He steps between Vedant and Inaya like a wall made of steel and storm clouds.
"Touch her and I'll forget this is a campus library," Rabin said voice low, deadly calm
Vedant blinks.
"Woah, alright. Overprotective much?"
"No. Just not a coward who lets someone like you rewrite her story with cheap moves and fake guilt." Rabin said not blinking even once
"She doesn't need a bodyguard." Vedant mocked
"No. She needs people who don't make her earn basic respect."
Beat.
"I forgave you too many times because I didn't know love wasn't supposed to hurt. That's not on you. That's on me."Inaya said from behind, voice shaking but fierce
She walks up to stand beside Rabin, shoulders squared.
"But if you ever try to touch me again like you have some god-given right to my forgiveness — I'll remind you that I've outgrown your sorry little redemption arc."
"Iconic." Kavya whispered loudly
"Whatever. I hope he's ready for your drama." Vedant scoffed while backing away
"I write her poems about her chaos. You used to try and silence it." Rabin smirked
Vedant finally turns and leaves, visibly fuming — but this time? No power in his exit. Just rejection in every footstep.
Silence.
"Ten bucks says Rabin's a secret MMA fighter." Hideya says to Arnav
"Ten bucks says he's writing angry haikus about this moment right now."
"Caption idea: 'My ex tried it. My current ended it.'" Ava cheered
Inaya looks at Rabin. He's already looking at her.
She doesn't speak.
She just mouths: Thank you.
He doesn't speak either.
But his hand?
It finds hers under the table — steady, warm, safe.
Not because she needs saving.
But because he knows what it means to be held through the healing.
Rabin, Arnav, and Hideya are walking back from the studio wing. The air is dusky, golden, quiet. Just until—
"Well, well. Look who's still playing the brooding boyfriend."Vedant said leaning against a wall like he's the final boss of entitlement
Rabin stops mid-step.
Turns slowly.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing. Just surprised. Didn't expect someone like you to fall for her drama." Vedant shrugs
Hideya stiffens beside him. Arnav stops chewing his gum. The tension? Sharp. Immediate.
"Watch your words," Rabin answers calmly
"Come on, man. She's always been like that. Needy. Over the top. Needs someone to fix her — or pretend she's some kind of poem." Vedant laughs
"Say one more thing, I swear to god—" Arnav gritted his teeth
"Wasn't talking to you, backup dancers." Vedant cut in
"If this were Tokyo, you'd be apologizing by now." Hideya spoke finally
"You boys really think she's worth all this energy? Inaya Mehta? She cried her way through every breakup like she was auditioning for a film. You think you're special to her? You're just another phase, bro." Vedant mocked
Everything goes still.
Rabin steps forward. Quiet. Controlled.
But his eyes? Fire. Ice. And something in between that hurts.
"She's not a phase. She's not a project. And she sure as hell isn't yours to talk about." Rabin muttered his voice deadly
"You really think she didn't cry about me, too? All it took was a hug and she came running back every time." Vedant snorted
And that's it.
Rabin shoves him back, fast and rough enough for Vedant to stumble into the wall.
"Don't you ever talk about her like that again. You don't get to turn her past into a punchline. You don't get to define the parts of her you broke."
"She's gonna leave you, too. Just like everyone else—" Vedant spat
"Do not finish that sentence unless you want a black eye and a police report." Arnav said jumping between them
"You've done enough damage. Now do what cowards do best — disappear." Hideya spoke his voice icy calm
Vedant glares.
Wipes dust off his shirt.
Mumbles something under his breath and storms off.
Silence.
The three of them stand there for a moment, catching their breath.
"You good?"
"No. But I'm better now."
"She doesn't even know this happened, does she?"
"She doesn't have to. Not right now. She's fought too many battles alone. Let me take this one."
"Damn right. And if he ever shows his face again—next time, we all throw hands."
"Fair. But Rabin gets first punch. That one was beautiful."
The city breathes below. Fairy lights flicker like they're holding their breath. Inaya sits cross-legged on the low wall, knees pulled to her chest, Rabin next to her — sketchbook in hand, unopened.
She's been quiet for too long.
"I thought I was over him. I was. I am. But seeing Vedant again felt like hearing a song I used to cry to on repeat. My stomach dropped before my brain even caught up." Inaya barely whispers
"You don't have to explain it. Not if you're not ready." Rabin spoke softly
"No. I need to. For both of us." Inaya shook her head
She exhales. Deep. Painful.
"We were together for almost a year. On and off. He was charming. Confident. Knew exactly what to say to make you feel like the only person in the room."
(Beat)
"And exactly how to make you feel worthless the next day."
Rabin's hands twitch against his knee. He doesn't speak. Just listens.
"He never hit me. Never screamed. He didn't have to. Guilt is quieter than anger. He'd gaslight me, make me feel like everything was my fault. Like my emotions were… too much. Like I was always 'overreacting.'"
She looks down.
"I used to beg for his attention. One text would have me up at 3 a.m. rewriting everything I did wrong. He'd leave, and I'd let him back in with just a hug."
Rabin's voice is tight, barely holding it in.
"He tried that again, didn't he?" Rabin gritted his teeth
"He reached out for a hug. I froze. I don't know what scared me more — that he thought I'd still say yes... or that for a second, my body remembered the script." Inaya nodded
Rabin closes his eyes.
"I saw him today."
Inaya looks up sharply.
"Outside the design wing. He ran his mouth. About you. About how he thought he still had power over you."
Her face pales.
"What… did he say?"
"He called you needy. Said you were dramatic. That every time you cried, it was for attention. That all it ever took to win you back was a hug."
"That's exactly how he used to justify it. To me."
"I lost it. I shoved him. Told him never to say your name again unless it was with respect. Hideya and Arnav were there. They backed me up. But honestly? I wanted to do more than shove."
She blinks. Her eyes fill.
"You stood up for me." Inaya said her voice small
"You didn't deserve what he did to you, Inaya. And you don't have to keep carrying the shame he handed you like a gift."
"I never thought anyone would fight for me like that."
Rabin turns to face her fully.
"I'd fight the world for you. Not because you need me to. But because you shouldn't have to do it alone."
Tears fall freely now — not weak, not broken. Just free.
She reaches for his hand. He takes it like it's home.
"I wish I could unlive those months with Vedant. But maybe… maybe I had to survive him to recognize what real love looks like."
"Then let's write the rest of your story without him. Every damn word."
He pulls her into him, careful but close. Her head fits against his shoulder like it's always belonged there.
They sit like that — not fixing each other. Just holding what's real.
"Next time he shows his face…"
"You'll fold him into an origami regret?"
"No. I'll let Kavya punch him. She's been waiting." Rabin smirked
The campus buzzes around them — laughter, music, spring breeze — but at the far end of the courtyard, under a cherry blossom tree in full bloom, the tension is a different flavor.
Inaya stands facing Vedant, her spine straight, eyes steady.
Across the quad, Kavya, Ava, Arnav, and Hideya linger. Pretending to give space. Not actually doing it.
Rabin, walking toward the group, slows as he hears the tone in her voice — something between steel and closure. He doesn't interrupt. Just stops a few feet behind the tree, her voice the only anchor in the wind.
"You're different now. Sharper. I always told you college would toughen you up." Vedant smirked
"No, Vedant. You made me hard. College helped me soften again." Inaya replied coldly
"Is this how you talk now? In metaphors and pretty little lines? Or is this just for show?" Vedant asked tilting his head
"No. This is me. All of me. The version you didn't want me to become."
He scoffs, trying to recover his swagger.
"I just think it's funny. All these people around you now. You act like you're healed, but you still flinch when someone raises their voice."
Her jaw tightens, but she doesn't step back. Not this time.
"And I think it's funny how you still think I owe you anything."
Vedant's smile falters for a second. Then he asks it — the question dripping with toxic curiosity.
"So who is he? This guy I keep hearing about. The one who 'changed' you?"
From behind the tree, Rabin's breath catches. He doesn't move. Just listens.
Inaya's lips curve into something not quite a smile — something prouder.
She steps forward. Voice calm. Clear.
Inaya (softly, with all the weight in the world):
"You can call him my love,
You can call him my existence.
He can be called my friend.
You can call him my everything."
She pauses. Looks Vedant in the eye.
"But me?
I'll call myself his —
Rabin's Inaya."
There's silence.
Not the empty kind.
The powerful kind.
The kind that makes bullies fold.
Vedant's lips part like he's about to say something — a weak apology or a pitiful excuse — but he catches the sharp, quiet fury in Kavya's stare, Arnav's folded arms, Ava's death glare, and Hideya's barely concealed smirk.
He says nothing.
Just walks away — because what can you say to a girl who's finally found her worth and refuses to hand it back to you?
Inaya watches him leave.
From behind the tree, Rabin steps forward.
She turns — startled for just a second — then softens instantly.
"Rabin's Inaya?" Rabin mumbled gently
"Only if he wants me," Inaya replied shyly
He closes the distance.
No speeches. No poems.
Just a quiet, reverent kiss to her forehead.
"I've always wanted you." Rabin murmured
The others erupt behind them.
"I TOLD YOU SHE WAS GONNA DROP A LINE LIKE THAT," Kavya screamed
"BRO I FELT THAT IN MY KIDNEYS." Arnav gasped
"If that man even thinks of returning, I'm hitting him with feminist rage and a hockey stick." Ava cracked her knuckles
"Raise your hand if you're also now emotionally attached to BinAya's poetic tension." Hideya said alreading raising hand
All hands go up.
Golden light stretches across the rooftop, painting the edges of the sky in honeyed hues. The chaos of the courtyard is far behind them now.
Rabin and Inaya sit on their favorite bench — the same one from their first letter reveal.
She's fiddling with the paper crane he handed her weeks ago. He's watching her like she's poetry that doesn't need editing.
Silence. But the good kind.
Then—
"You meant it?" Rabin asked quietly
"What?"
"Back there. What you said. 'Rabin's Inaya'."
She blushes. Shrugs. But her voice is firm. "Yeah. I meant it."
He nods. Something shifts in his gaze — deeper now, heavier in a way that feels like falling and flying all at once.
"I never believed people belonged to each other."
(pause)
"But if I had to belong to anyone…"
(he looks at her)
"…I'd want it to be you."
Her breath hitches. Her eyes widen — the way they do when she reads a line in a book that feels too close to her heartbeat.
"Rabin…" Inaya barely whispered
But he isn't done. His voice grows softer. Surer.
"You can call yourself mine, Inaya Mehta.
But me?
I'll call myself yours —
Inaya's Rabin.
The boy who wrote his way to you and never looked back."
And that's it.
That's the line that breaks her composure.
She lets out the softest gasp — eyes blinking fast, cheeks turning that warm shade of rose she can't ever hide.
She throws her face into his hoodie, squealing into his chest like a twelve-year-old girl who just got a love letter in homeroom.
"STOP SAYING STUFF LIKE THAT I'M GONNA ASCEND." Inaya said, her voice muffled
"Then take me with you. I'm not letting you go to heaven alone." Rabin smirked while stroking her hair
She shoves him lightly.
He laughs — full, loud, unguarded.
They fall into a hug — her arms looped around his neck, his hands at her waist.
And somewhere between the laughter and the flush in her cheeks, Inaya realizes—
She doesn't just belong with him.
She's safe with him.
Just a little below the rooftop, on the steps leading up, Kavya, Arnav, Ava, and Hideya are piled together like a human burrito of chaos and curiosity. Ava has her phone out, pretending she's not recording. Spoiler: she's recording.
They peer through the slightly ajar rooftop door, whispering, eyes wide, collectively holding their breath.
"Did he just say Inaya's Rabin?" Kavya whispered
"SHUT THE HELL UP THAT WAS SO CINEMATIC," Arnav said, sounding as if he is suppressing a scream
"Do you guys smell that? That's love in the air. And mango kulfi. Go,d I'm starving." Ava sniffled
"I've seen five K-dramas and a Studio Ghibli film end this way. If they kiss right now, I'm jumping." Hideya deadpanned
"NO BECAUSE WHY IS THAT HOT—WHY IS HE SAYING STUFF THAT BELONGS IN A SPOTIFY POETRY READING??" Kavya said, messing her hair dramatically
"I'm tagging this under #BinAyaCanon and adding lo-fi music to it." Ava mumbled already adding the video on her story
"I don't care if they break up in Season 6 — this right here? THIS IS PEAK ROMANCE." Arnav mock whispered
"Their love story has sponsored my emotional stability and two expired protein bars," Hideya said, pretending not to smile
Suddenly, Inaya hides her face in Rabin's chest, squealing.
"She's GONE. Our girl's GONE. Full love-struck Shakespearean protagonist mode." Kavya bite her finger
"If she starts quoting Neruda, I'm shoving you off these stairs," Arnav said, looking at Ava
"Worth it."
"Guys. Shut up. They're hugging again." Hideya screamed calmly
"AAAHHHHHHHHHH—"
Click.
The rooftop door creaks.
Rabin looks toward it.
Squad? SCATTERS like cockroaches in a kitchen with the light turned on.
"They were watching, weren't they?" Rabin looked at them with wide eyes
"Let them. I'm busy writing our season finale right now." Inaya buried her face deeper into his chest
"Then make it a good one."
The city glimmers below like a galaxy flipped upside down. Stars blink faintly. The wind is soft, like it knows it's about to carry something important.
Inaya stands in front of Rabin, bouncing slightly on her heels, heart pounding like it's trying to drum its way out.
"So… I did a thing." Inaya laughed nervously
"You tend to do a lot of things. Most of them chaotic."
She sticks her tongue out at him playfully — then exhales, pulling out a small leather-bound journal from her bag.
Not a journal.
A book.
His eyes widen.
The cover reads:
"A Symphony of Us"
By I. Mehta
"You finished it?" Rabin looked at her in disbelief
"Published it. Quietly. Just a few hundred copies. No big launch, no marketing… but every word in here? It's ours. The letters. The waiting. The breaking and rebuilding. It's all you." Inaya nodded
She flips it open, turns to the first page — not the dedication.
The poem.
Handwritten. Just for him.
Poem: "For the Boy Who Wrote Me Back"You were ink before you were skin.
Paper before presence.
You taught me how to speak in silence,
How to read between
My lines.
I was a storm.
You didn't run.
You folded it into an origami bird
and called it
beautiful.
You made me feel like a letter someone would never throw away.
You made me feel
kept.
"And I thought… maybe you should have the first copy." Inaya whispers
She hands him the book.
He's still frozen.
Still staring.
He flips to the blurb on the back:
In a world where love began with a blinking cursor and ended with a rooftop promise, two people wrote each other into something lasting. This isn't fiction. This is memory. This is Rabin and Inaya—rewritten, remembered, real.
He looks up at her.
Completely stunned.
Completely his.
"Inaya…" His voice cracked
She shrugs. Teasingly. But her eyes? Full of everything.
"Told you I'd write us into forever."
Rabin closes the book. Sets it down.
Walks to her slowly, like she's the plot twist he's been waiting for.
And then—
"You call yourself mine in poetry. Let me say it in prose."
He takes her hand.
"I was a blank page, Aya. You wrote me in full color."
She blinks.
"Rabin…"
"Chapter One started with a letter. But this? This is our sequel."
The book rests between them. Rabin still holding her hand like he's afraid letting go would unravel the universe.
The air feels charged — not stormy, not chaotic — but sacred. Like the moment before a firework lights up the sky.
Inaya's breath catches. She tilts her head slightly.
"Is this the part where you kiss me?" Inaya whispers
"No. This is the part where I fall." Rabin answered with a smirk
And he does.
Leans in — slowly, reverently — as if memorizing every breath she takes before he touches her.
Their lips meet.
Soft.
Sure.
Shattering.
And then—
"OH MY GOD THEY'RE KISSING—SOMEBODY CALL WATTPAD—WE'VE GONE CANON—WE'RE IN CHAPTER FREAKING TWENTY-THREE!" Arnav screams
"My babies. My disaster poet children."
"If y'all don't let me post this on my private story, I will combust."
"YESSS! EMOTIONAL RESOLUTION AND TONGUE. WE'VE BEEN WAITING!"
Inaya and Rabin?
Still kissing.
Still pressed into each other like their hearts had finally found the same rhythm.
Until—
"They're watching." Inaya giggles
"Let them. I've been writing this moment since the day you first called me RT." Rabin pressed their foreheads together.
The group cheers harder. Arnav might have teared up (he'll deny it forever). Ava has dropped her toast. Hideya throws origami hearts into the air like confetti.
"So who's getting matching couple hoodies first?" Kavya grinned
"Shut up, let them vibe!"
They all gather around — a blur of limbs, laughter, and loud affection — dragging BinAya into a group hug sandwich so tight that Rabin's glasses almost fall off and Inaya's dupatta ends up on Hideya's head somehow.
"So… this is what family feels like?"
"Yeah. Loud. And beautiful." Inaya laughed
The door to Room 407 creaks open slowly like it's been locked by trauma.
Rabin steps out.
And he looks…
Unwell.
Unshaven. Disheveled. Hair doing its best impression of a sad bonsai tree. Dark circles so intense they look like they've been sponsored by insomnia.
But his eyes?
They're glowing.
Like he's seen the divine.
And the divine was written in Inaya's handwriting.
He clutches the book to his chest like it's a holy manuscript.
"Holy shit. He lives." Hideya is sitting at the table with cereal
"Bro. Did you even sleep?" Arnav spits out his chai
"She wrote me into her story. Word for word. Scene by scene. That beach day? Chapter Eleven. The letter I sent when she cried during exams? Chapter seventeen. The first time she thought she loved me? Page ninety-four." Rabin said dazed, voice hoarse
"Are you... quoting her book?" Hideya blinked
"She didn't just love me. She archived me." Rabin said like he's been spiritually awakened
"Okay, but when was the last time you ate actual food?" Arnav questioned
"This is food. This is soul nutrition. This is character development." Rabin pointed dramatically at the book
"Do we need to exorcise you or buy you a coffee?" Hideya said sounding genuinely worried
"She called my voice 'the calm before the storm she'd survive in every timeline.'" Rabin stared into distance
"Oh he's gone. We've lost him."
"Call Inaya. Maybe she can bring him back from the literary abyss."
"No. Let me be like this a little longer." Rabin suddenly grinned, eyes still haunted but very much in love
He hugs the book tighter. Walks past them barefoot, like a man who's seen heaven and chosen to live in the purgatory of his emotions.
"I need to highlight page 147. That's the first time she imagined forever with me." Rabin muttered to himself
"I need to bleach my ears." Arnav deadpanned
"This is what happens when a poet falls for a novelist. They ruin you and make you thank them for it."
The door swings open with peak Inaya Mehta energy.
"Hideya, I swear if you don't come help me right now, my aloo tikki is threatening to turn into coal! AGAIN!" Inaya yelled.
She storms in, apron half-on, bindi slightly askew, her hands covered in coriander betrayal.
But she stops.
Dead in her tracks.
Because in the middle of the room…
Rabin Takahashi is curled on the couch like a haunted Victorian widow, hoodie sleeves half-pulled over his hands, the book Inaya wrote clutched to his chest like a life vest.
He blinks up at her. Eyebags. Hope. That boy has not known sunlight in days.
"Are you… Okay?" Inaya choked on a laugh
"You wrote about the time I made you laugh so hard you snorted your tea."
"Rabin. That happened in real life." Inaya laughed
"And now it happened in fiction. That's two timelines. That's canon."
"Oh my god, you're high on literature." Inaya giggled
"IS SHE TALKING ABOUT THE COAL TIKKIS AGAIN?" Hideya yelled from the kitchen
"I came here for culinary CPR. Instead, I found my boyfriend in full romantic meltdown." Inaya said while staring at Rabin
She walks over. Sits beside him.
He's still staring at the book like it wrote him.
"Have you slept at all?"
"Only in flashbacks. Chapter 14? You described my smile as a bookmark between your worst and best days."
"That line was supposed to be subtle!"
"Nothing about this book was subtle. It was everything I ever hoped I meant to you."
"You meant more."
He looks at her like she is the poem now.
"Come on, Takahashi. You look like a sleep-deprived raccoon philosopher. Time to go to bed."
"Not until I re-read the part where you wrote 'He made grief feel like an echo, not a thunderstorm.'"
"You're quoting me at me. That's illegal."
"Arrest me with cuddles."
"You're not getting cuddles unless you brush your teeth." Inaya laughed
"I would've chosen jail." Rabin groaned
She tugs him gently toward his room, her fingers laced with his, and as he passes Arnav—
"Bro's been emotionally sleep-paralyzed by prose." Arnav said as he watched Rabin zombie-walk
"Also your tikkis are currently threatening the fire alarm." Hideya said pointing at Inaya
"Let them. This is what happens when a girl writes her heart and her boyfriend binge-reads it like fanfiction."
Rabin collapses onto the bed, head on Inaya's lap. Her hand brushes through his hair.
"Next time… write a sequel."
"I already started. Chapter one? You sleeping like a baby after 72 hours of emotional damage."
They both giggle.
And just like that, the chaos settles into comfort.
Rabin is half-asleep, curled into Inaya like she's his emotional heating pad. Her fingers thread gently through his hair as they sit tucked under the blanket on his bed.
"I'm 90% sure I've dreamt this exact scene before."
"Oh? And in this dream were you also a literature-devoured zombie?" Inaya smirked
"Don't ruin the vibe. I'm fragile. I cried when I got to the chapter about the paper cranes." Rabin pretended to sulk
"You should cry. That chapter had character development, poetry, and emotional violence. Triple threat."
He shifts, nestling into the crook of her neck.
"Can we live in this moment forever? No deadlines, no flights, no boys named Vedant?"
"Only if you agree to watch Kuch Kuch Hota Hai with me tonight."
"Fine. But I reserve the right to insult Rahul's fashion choices."
From the kitchen—
"AYA. THE TIKKIS ARE DEAD. I REPEAT. I HAVE RESUSCITATED YOUR ALOO TIKKIS BUT THEY MIGHT HAVE TRAUMA." Hideya yelled
Inaya gasps. She's about to get up but—
"No. Let the man fulfill his destiny."
"But he's using the spatula like a samurai sword—"
"WHAT THE HELL IS GARAM MASALA DOING IN THE FRIDGE???"
"He's gone feral. There's no saving him now."
Hideya, sleeves rolled up, hair a mess, proudly presents a plate of slightly revived tikkis on the dining counter. He wipes sweat off his brow like a man who just won a culinary war.
"Presenting: 'Resurrected Aloo Tikkis with a hint of desperation and crushed masculinity.'" Hideya grinned
Door creaks open.
Kavya enters. In a deep emerald green salwar-kameez. Bangles clinking. Jhumkas swaying. Bindi precise. Hair curled. Kajal bold. An accidental goddess, just trying to find her phone charger.
Hideya's brain? BLUE SCREEN.
"...Holy chutney." Hideya blinked
Kavya looks up and blinks at the stunned boy.
"What? I've a reel planned" Kavya asked raising an eyebrow
"You—you look like a saree commercial fell in love with an earthquake."
"That's oddly poetic. You good, chef boy?" Kavya snorted
"I saved the burnt tikkis, Kavya. But I've been completely roasted now." Hideya mumbled utterly lost
Rabin walks in holding a plate and deadpans—
"Okay, who poured pheromones into the garam masala?"
"Let's not forget who was cuddling like a koala five minutes ago."
"I can't leave y'all alone for one night without returning to find a food-based romance and my best friend simping in high resolution." Arnav sighed dramatically
"This is reel content. Caption: 'From frying tikkis to catching feelings.'" Ava announced clapping hands excitedly
The room is dimly lit. Half the squad has crashed after the chaos of the night — Ava and Arnav are bickering softly over Spotify playlists, Rabin and Inaya are curled up in their own world on the beanbag, leaving one couch… and one unresolved tension.
Kavya is angrily scribbling something in her journal.
Hideya flopped across the other end of the couch, is chewing on a pen lid and watching her.
"You know, if you press the pen any harder, it'll file a harassment complaint." Hideya smirked
"And if you breathe any louder, I'll file one." Kavya said without looking up
"Why are you always so hostile toward me?"
"Because you're insufferable. You always have a comeback, always have that smug grin like you run this place—" Kavya snapped
"Maybe I do. Rent-free. In your head." Hideya interuppted
She glares.
"God, you're like the male version of period cramps. Annoying. Predictable. And always showing up when I don't want you to."
"Then why do you always end up sitting next to me?"
Pause. Her eyes flicker.
"Because I hate when you're not there."
"What?"
She finally looks up.
"I hate the way you laugh when you make fun of me. I hate how you always notice when I'm upset before anyone else does. I hate how I know your stupid boba order by heart. I hate how… I don't actually hate you."
Silence.
Dead, loaded, heart-thumping silence.
Hideya blinks. Drops the pen.
"Kavya."
"This is the part where you say something dumb and ruin the moment, isn't it?"
"No. This is the part where I say — I feel the same. I just didn't think you'd ever say it first."
"You what."
"I don't flirt with everyone like I flirt with you. And I don't care this much when anyone else calls me annoying. Only you."
A beat. They're both breathing too fast.
From the floor, Ava whispers to Arnav "Wait. Did they just—?"
"They confessed. Oh my god. THEY CONFESSED." Arnav screamed his eyes wide
"SHUT UP. LET THEM HAVE THIS." Inaya sat up
"So… what now?" Kavya whispered
"Now you stop writing angry journal entries about me and maybe let me buy you a chai sometime?"
"Only if you admit I'm the better debater."
"Never. But I'll let you win. Occasionally."
They're still holding hands.
The room erupts in silent squeals and mock fainting.
"Damn. Was that confession sexier than ours?" Rabin gasped
Everyone's scattered post-Hideya-Kavya Confessionpalooza™. The vibes are soft. Chill. But slightly electric.
Arnav is perched on the window ledge, staring at the skyline like it holds all his future regrets. Ava walks in with two mugs of hot chocolate, hoodie sleeves half-swallowed by her hands.
"Drink. Before your brooding gets frostbite." Ava said
"You gonna psychoanalyze me now?"
"Nope. I'm off duty. Tonight I'm just the friend who makes bad jokes and warm beverages."
"That's the thing. You're not just anything."
She pauses. Slowly sits beside him.
"Where's that coming from?"
"Just been thinking. Everyone's pairing off. Finding their person. Making it look so easy. And I'm… still the funny guy who flirts with waiters and dodges feelings like dodgeballs."
"Well, to be fair, your flirting is tragic." Ava teased
"I flirt with you all the time." Arnav grinned
"…Yeah. You do."
Silence. Their laughter fades. There's a heartbeat between them that neither of them knows what to do with.
"I didn't think you were my type, you know."
"Ouch. Thanks."
"No, like… I always imagined someone dramatic. Loud. A whirlwind. But then there's you. Calm. Sharp. The kind of quiet that doesn't beg for attention , it earns it."
She blinks.
"And I thought you were all talking. Charming, arrogant, too cocky for your own good."
"Not wrong." Arnav smirked
"But then you held my hand when I had that panic attack during midterms. And didn't let go. And made me laugh about failing macroeconomics like it was a sitcom episode."
"I'd do it again. In a heartbeat." Arnav said softly
She looks at him. Really look at him. Like maybe she's been trying not to see this for a while now.
"Arnav?"
"Yeah?"
"If I kissed you right now… would that ruin everything?"
"Or finally make it make sense."
Pause.
They lean in slowly, almost scared to break the moment. And then?
"GUYS. RABIN'S WEARING A PINK APRON AND MAKING ROTI WITH INAYA. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." Kavya said bursting in
They break apart. Arnav nearly spills the hot chocolate. Ava freezes like she's buffering.
"Okay. That's illegal levels of domesticity." Arnav deadpanned
"…Later?" Ava grinned while blushing
"Definitely later."
They clink mugs. And that? That's a beginning.