# 🌸 **EPISODE 2 — "A Name He Remembers"**
**Genre: Romance • School • Slow Burn • Love Triangle**
**Long, detailed, Webnovel-style chapter**
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The second day of the semester felt heavier than usual for Bhanu.
Not because of the classes.
Not because of homework.
Because someone had said her name.
Someone she never expected.
Arjun.
She repeated the moment in her mind again and again as she walked through the corridors, keeping her books close to her chest like a shield.
*Why did he smile like that? Why did he say my name so softly? And how did he even know me?*
Her thoughts tangled until they felt like knots she couldn't undo.
---
## **A Nervous Morning**
"Bhanu!" the teacher called.
She tensed instantly.
Every head slowly turned toward her. She could feel their eyes like sharp needles.
"Yes, ma'am…" she whispered, barely audible.
"Read the next paragraph."
Her throat tightened. She stared at the words on the paper, but they swam like ink in water.
She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice trembled.
A few boys snickered. Someone whispered:
"She's so nervous."
"Does she even talk?"
Bhanu's fingers trembled around the book.
Then—
A soft voice from behind whispered, calm and encouraging:
**"It's okay… take your time."**
Arjun.
She didn't turn, but she felt the warmth of those words wrap around her like a blanket.
She inhaled shakily and tried to read again. Her voice quivered, but she pushed through the whole paragraph.
When she finally sat down, her cheeks were burning.
But then she heard it.
A small, gentle clap.
Arjun.
Just him.
Just one.
He was smiling at her—proud, encouraging, completely genuine.
Her heartbeat stuttered.
---
## **After Class**
Bhanu was packing her books quickly, hoping to escape before anyone approached her. But Arjun walked right up to her desk, carrying his own notebook.
"Hey," he said softly, tilting his head. "You did really well."
She looked at him in disbelief. "I… I didn't. I messed up."
"No," he said firmly, but kindly. "You were nervous… but you still did it. That matters."
His sincerity hit her harder than praise ever had.
He held out his notes. "Here. I wrote down the explanations the teacher rushed through. It… might help you."
She hesitated.
He noticed.
"You can trust me," he said gently. "I won't make fun of you."
No boy had ever said something like that to her.
Slowly… she took the notes.
"Thank you," she whispered.
His smile grew wide and relieved. "Good. Also—"
He looked like he was about to say something more. Something important.
But at that exact moment…
A shadow fell over them.
---
## **The Second Presence**
Goutam stood in the hallway, leaning against a wall, pretending to scroll his phone—but his eyes weren't on the screen.
They were on **them**.
He had overheard almost everything.
His jaw tightened.
His fingers stopped moving on the screen.
His eyes flicked to Bhanu, then to Arjun, then back to her.
Something unfamiliar flashed across his expression.
Annoyance?
Irritation?
Jealousy?
Even he couldn't name it.
The moment Bhanu noticed him, she froze.
Arjun followed her gaze.
Their eyes met Goutam's.
Goutam didn't look away.
He didn't smile.
He didn't greet.
He didn't act casual.
He just stared—silent and unreadable.
Then he pushed off the wall and walked away without saying a word.
But not before glancing at Bhanu one last time.
A quick glance.
Sharp.
Loaded with something unsaid.
Bhanu's stomach flipped for reasons she didn't understand.
---
## **Arjun Notices**
Arjun watched Goutam leave and frowned slightly.
"Did… something happen between you two?" he asked quietly.
"No," Bhanu said quickly, shaking her head. "Nothing."
But even she wasn't sure if that was true.
Arjun didn't press her. But something shifted in his expression—something thoughtful… something protective.
"Don't worry," he said gently. "I'm here if anything bothers you."
Her chest tightened.
Nobody had ever told her that before.
---
## **Goutam's Irritation**
Later that day, in the boys' locker room, Goutam threw his backpack on the bench harder than he meant to.
A friend raised his eyebrows. "Bro, who made you angry?"
"No one," Goutam muttered.
"You sure? You look like you want to punch a wall."
Goutam didn't answer.
Because he didn't know why he was irritated.
Why a simple conversation between Arjun and Bhanu bothered him.
Why her trembling voice in class stayed in his head.
Why her soft "thank you" to Arjun made something twist inside him.
He ran a hand through his hair, annoyed at himself.
"Tch."
He didn't like this.
He didn't like feeling anything.
Especially not for a girl who didn't even look up when he walked by.
But…
That made her even harder to ignore.
---
## **Bhanu's Heart is Confused**
That night, Bhanu sat on her bed with Arjun's notes in her lap.
His handwriting was neat. His explanations were clear. He even added an encouraging smiley face at the bottom of the page.
She touched the paper lightly.
*Why is he helping me so much? Why does he care?*
And then another face flashed in her mind.
Confusing. Cold. Sharp.
Goutam's eyes in the hallway.
The way he looked at her.
As if she'd done something without realizing.
She pressed a hand to her chest.
Her heart reacted to both boys.
But differently.
Arjun made her feel safe.
Goutam made her feel… something she couldn't name.
And that was the scary part.
---
## **The Quiet Girl Is No Longer Invisible**
The next morning, when Bhanu entered school, two girls whispered behind her:
"She's the girl Arjun helped yesterday, right?"
"She's also the one Goutam keeps looking at."
"What's going on with her?"
Bhanu's breath caught.
People were noticing her.
Attention—her biggest fear—was slowly finding her.
And the reason stood on two sides of her world:
Arjun… warm like sunlight.
Goutam… sharp like a storm.
Her peaceful invisibility was slipping away.
And for the first time… she didn't know if she wanted it back.
---
### 🌸 **End of Episode 2**