That night, Aaradhya stared at her ceiling.

Why was she smiling?

She replayed the café scene in her head.

The way Yuvaan had said—

“Uska naam dobara liya na…”

Her stomach flipped.

“Shut up,” she muttered to herself, turning to the other side.

Wasn’t she the one who said she didn’t need saving?

Wasn’t she the one who argued?

But somewhere between anger and adrenaline…

She had felt safe.

Not dramatic-safe.

Not movie-scene safe.

Family-safe.

And that was dangerous.

Because the only people who made her feel like that was her family.

And now—
Him.

“Yeh kya ho raha hai mujhe…” she whispered into her pillow.

And then the worst thought came.

This was literally her Wattpad dream.

Protective. Slightly possessive. Calm but scary when needed.

“Bas, Aaradhya. Control,” she scolded herself.

But she went to sleep smiling anyway.

Next Day:

School felt normal again.

Too normal.

Which meant drama was coming.

It started when a senior named Raghav walked over during lunch.

“Hey, Aaradhya, right? You’re in XI B?”

She nodded politely. “Yeah.”

“I saw your presentation last month. It was good.”

Kanika immediately widened her eyes.
Mahima kicked Anvi under the table.

Ryan whispered dramatically, “Plot twist.”

Aaradhya laughed. “Thank you.”

Raghav stayed. Too long.

And that’s when she felt it.

The stare.

She didn’t need to look to know who it was.

But she did anyway.

Yuvaan.

Leaning against the pillar.

Expression unreadable.

Arms folded.

Watching.

Raghav kept talking. “Maybe you can help me with something for the inter-school event?”

Before she could reply, Reyansh jumped in. “Hum log help kar denge.”

Vihaan added casually, “Haan, group help.”

Raghav got the hint.

He left.

The moment he walked away, Mahima leaned in dramatically.
“Ohooooo.”

“Shut up,” Aaradhya muttered.

She risked another glance at Yuvaan.

He looked away.

Too quickly.

Later, when everyone was walking back to class, she slowed her pace slightly so she walked beside him.

“Problem thi?” she asked casually.

“Kaunsi?” he replied.

“Senior wali.”

He shrugged. “Nahi.”

“Achha.”

Pause.

Then he added quietly—

“Achha friend lag raha tha.”

Her eyebrows shot up.

“Jealous ho?”

He looked straight ahead. “Nahi.”

That one word was so flat it was suspicious.

She bit back a smile.

Oh.

This was new.

And she liked it way more than she should.

Later:

Last period, their teacher made an announcement.

“Inter-house collaborative project. Seniors and juniors mixed teams.”

Groans filled the class.

“Roles will be assigned.”

The teacher began reading names.

And of course.

Of course.

“Aaradhya Rajvansh — Presentation Lead.”

She sighed.

Then—

“Yuvaan Suryavanshi— Research & Presentation Coordination. You two will work together.”

The entire class went:

“Oooooo.”

Mahima clutched Anvi’s arm dramatically.

Ryan fake-fainted.

Aaradhya refused to look back.

She could feel his eyes though.

Great.

Just great.

After school, the group decided to meet at a café to work on the project.

“Serious meeting,” Nakul declared.

“Matlab gossip,” Kanika translated.

At home, Aaradhya stood in front of her closet.

Why was she nervous?

It was just a project.

Just a café.

Just—

Him.

She pulled out three outfits.

Too dressy.
Too casual.
Too obvious.

“Main pagal ho gayi hoon,” she muttered.

She finally chose a pastel top with jeans.

Aaradhya’s Outfit:

Effortless.

But not too effortless.

“Bas. Normal lagna hai. Impress nahi karna.”

But she still changed her earrings twice.

At the Café:

Everyone arrived loudly.

Reyansh and Vihaan were arguing about project themes.

Ekaksh brought zero notes.

Advik said, “Main research nahi kar raha.”

Arhan replied, “Tu karega.”

Mahima was already ordering fries.

Yuvaan arrived last.

He glanced at her once.

Just once.

But his eyes lingered half a second longer than usual.

Her brain short-circuited.

“Focus,” she told herself.

They started working.

The teacher had assigned two coordinators per team.

And naturally—

Aaradhya and Yuvaan had to sit together to structure the presentation.

Across the table.

Close.

Too close.

“Slides tum banaogi?” he asked.

“Haan.”

“Main data bhej dunga.”

Professional.

Calm.

Normal.

Except her heart was not normal.

At one point, Ryan loudly said, “Bhai, project kar rahe ho ya eye contact practice?”

Everyone laughed.

Aaradhya threw a tissue at him.

Yuvaan just shook his head slightly.

But she caught the corner of his smile.

Later, the chaos died down slightly.

Most of them were debating fonts.

Yes.

Fonts.

She leaned closer to see something on his phone.

Their shoulders brushed.

Her breath caught.

He noticed.

He didn’t move away immediately.

Instead he said quietly—

“Kal wali baat…”

She froze. “Hmm?”

“You were right.”

She blinked. “About?”

“I shouldn’t decide for you.”

Silence.

Then he added—

“But I won’t stay quiet if someone disrespects you.”

Her heart melted and panicked at the same time.

She looked at him properly now.

“No one’s ever… done that for me outside my family.”

His expression softened.

“You deserve it.”

Simple.

No drama.

No flirting.

Just truth.

And that scared her more than anything.

Because she realized—

She liked this version of him.

The calm. The controlled jealousy. The quiet protection.

It wasn’t loud.

It wasn’t toxic.

It was intentional.

Across the table, Mahima whispered loudly, “In dono ko dekh ke mujhe single feel ho raha hai.”

“Chup,” Anvi replied.

Everyone burst out laughing again.

The moment broke.

But something had settled inside her.

Something steady.

Something real.

As they packed up to leave, he walked beside her again.

Not touching.

Just there.

And this time—

She didn’t pretend not to notice.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hi Lovlies🤍

What did you think? Are we enjoying this slow burn or do you want more drama next? 🤭

Drop your thoughts and constructive criticism below — it really helps me improve.

— Author