4

Aarav waved one last time before joining his friends and disappearing through the college gate.

For a few seconds, Naina kept looking in the direction he had gone.

Only when he was completely out of sight did she finally turn back.

At that exact moment, Krishna returned carrying a bottle of water.

"What happened?" he asked. "Why are both of you smiling like idiots?"

Priya immediately laughed.

"Because Madam's crush just left."

Krishna looked at Naina.

Then shrugged.

"Oh. Nice."

That was it.

Naina rolled her eyes.

"That's all you're going to say?"

"What else should I say?" Krishna replied. "You like someone. Good for you."

Priya, however, was much more interested.

"No seriously, Naina," she said. "He's actually really nice."

A smile instantly appeared on Naina's face.

"I know!"

Priya laughed.

"There it is. That's the smile."

Naina ignored her.

"He's genuinely a good person. He talks respectfully to everyone. He never acts rude. He listens when someone is speaking."

"And?" Priya teased.

"And nothing."

"There is definitely an 'and'."

Naina tried to hide her smile.

"Okay... and he pays attention when I'm talking. Like, he actually remembers things."

Priya nodded dramatically.

"Green flag."

Krishna sighed.

"You two are impossible."

The girls ignored him completely.

Naina continued talking.

She told Priya about their chats.

About how he always replied politely.

About how comfortable she felt talking to him.

About how he never made her uncomfortable.

And most importantly...

About how he made ordinary conversations feel special.

Priya listened patiently.

By the end, she had only one conclusion.

"Your choice is good."

Naina looked away shyly.

Hearing that made her happier than she wanted to admit.

A little later, the three friends said goodbye and headed home.

The winter evening was already beginning to settle over the city.

When Naina finally reached her room, she placed her bag aside and changed into comfortable clothes.

Then she sat on her bed.

And picked up her phone.

Nothing.

No message.

She opened another app.

Closed it.

Checked again.

Still nothing.

"Why am I waiting?" she muttered to herself.

But she already knew the answer.

For the next hour, she pretended to study.

Every few minutes, however, her eyes drifted toward her phone.

Waiting.

Hoping.

Wondering if a notification from Aarav would appear.

And somewhere deep inside, a feeling she still refused to call love quietly continued to grow.

That evening, Naina was sitting in her room with her notes spread across the bed.

The next day's Computer Science exam was in another college, and she was trying to revise as much as possible.

Her phone suddenly vibrated.

A message.

Aarav.

For a second, her heart skipped a beat.

She quickly opened the chat.

Aarav: "Hey, do you have the previous year Computer Science questions? If yes, can you send them? I want to revise before tomorrow's exam."

Naina smiled slightly.

The smile disappeared just as quickly.

She didn't want to look too excited.

After all, they were friends.

At least officially.

So she replied normally.

Naina: "Yes, I have them. Wait a minute."

She searched through her files and forwarded the PDF.

A few moments later, another message arrived.

Aarav: "Thank you."

Naina: "No problem."

That was it.

A simple conversation.

Nothing dramatic.

Nothing romantic.

Yet somehow her mood became lighter.

A little later, her brother entered the room.

"What are you studying?"

"Computer."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

The conversation ended there.

No one asked who she had been texting.

No one knew.

The night continued.

Around the same time, another notification appeared on her phone.

This time it was a friend request on social media.

The profile name caught her attention immediately.

Aarav.

Her eyebrows furrowed.

Something felt strange.

The profile picture looked different.

The account barely had any posts.

Curious, she took a screenshot and sent it to Aarav.

Naina: "Is this your account?"

A few minutes later, his reply arrived.

Instead of answering, he simply sent a screenshot of another profile.

Aarav: "No. This is my real account."

Naina looked carefully.

Different username.

Different profile picture.

Different account altogether.

A small laugh escaped her lips.

Someone had clearly made a fake account.

Without wasting any time, she deleted the suspicious request.

Then, for the first time, she opened Aarav's real profile.

For a moment, her thumb hovered above the screen.

Then she pressed Follow.

A few seconds later, the request was sent.

Nothing extraordinary had happened.

No confession.

No grand romantic moment.

Just a follow request.

Yet somehow it felt like she had crossed a tiny invisible bridge between friendship and something she still wasn't ready to name.

Outside, the winter night grew quieter.

Inside her room, Naina returned to her books.

But every now and then, her eyes drifted toward her phone, wondering if Aarav had accepted the request yet.