It happened unexpectedly.
Aarav slipped on the wet stairs.
Not dramatically—just enough to lose balance and almost fall.
Riya saw it.
And she laughed.
It was soft, natural, and unplanned.
Aarav froze.
"You laughed," he said.
Riya immediately looked away. "No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did!"
"It wasn't funny."
"It was to you."
She tried to hide it, but a small smile remained.
And in that moment, Aarav knew—
He had crossed a barrier.
Riya started waiting.
Not for classes. Not for lectures.
For Aarav.
She didn't realize it at first.
But she noticed how her day felt incomplete without him.
"How did this happen?" she wondered.
Meanwhile, Aarav had already fallen in love.
Not suddenly, but slowly.
It was in the way she listened. The way she spoke honestly. The way she stayed real in a world full of pretense.
But he didn't say anything.
Because he knew—
Riya wasn't ready.