It was 4:23 PM.
He was home, freshly showered, still in the same jeans from earlier, sprawled across the bed with no real purpose. Music played in the background — not anything special, just soft enough to distract him from the silence. His eyes rested on the ceiling, but his mind wasn't still.
It kept returning to the beach.
Not even the moment where she hugged him. But everything before that.
The way her hair moved in the breeze. The way she reached for the waves without saying a word. The way her presence made even the sea seem quiet.
He smiled, for no real reason.
And then instantly hated that smile.
Why am I smiling like this?
He picked up his phone, opened and closed Instagram twice, and finally landed on their last chat. The one from the night before. Her typing style. Her use of 'duffer' every now and then. The way she texted like she talked — slightly chaotic, slightly clever, unintentionally charming.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
He didn't type anything.
Instead, he threw the phone aside and got up. Tried to drink water. Looked at his notes. Scrolled through a playlist.
But every few minutes — her voice cut through. That one line from earlier:
"You always drive like this? With a girl you barely know asleep next to you?"
It hadn't felt like a tease. It had felt like a test.
And the weird thing was, he'd felt strangely… protective. Responsible. Like she wasn't just a passenger in the car — but someone who belonged there.
He sat back down.
There was this weight in his chest. Not heavy, not painful. Just present. Like something inside was slowly shifting. Quietly growing.
He didn't know if it was love.
Maybe it wasn't.
Maybe it was just comfort. Maybe it was just liking someone too much.
But if it was just liking… then why was she the last person he thought about before falling asleep… and the first person his heart searched for in class?
Why did he notice when someone else laughed a little too loudly with her?
Why did he remember the way she said "goodbye" differently when she meant it?
And suddenly, it wasn't one moment. It was all of them.
The slow build-up of glances. The way his heart picked up pace when she was nearby. The quiet panic he felt when she looked upset. The warmth that followed every time she smiled because of something he said.
He wasn't smiling because she was pretty.
He was smiling because she was herself.
And slowly, like clouds shifting over time, the realization settled in.
He didn't fall in love with Aanya today.
He had been falling.
For weeks now.
One small moment at a time.
And tonight — it just became undeniable.