The moment Aanya stepped outside, the evening air felt different.
Not colder.
Not warmer.
Just different.
She stood outside for a few seconds, her bag hanging loosely from one shoulder.
The door behind her had already closed.
Sagnik was still inside.
She knew that.
For some reason, she could almost feel the quiet of his room behind the door.
Aanya looked ahead.
Then started walking.
Slowly.
She didn't know what she was supposed to think first.
There were too many things.
Too many pages.
Too many small details that had suddenly rearranged themselves in her head.
She had thought the sketchbook would contain random things.
Landscapes.
Buildings.
Maybe old drawings.
Something he had done when he was bored.
She had expected to laugh.
Instead—
she had stopped laughing.
Because page after page had been familiar.
Not the same drawing.
Not even the same version of her.
Different moments.
Different expressions.
Different days.
Things she hadn't even realized he had noticed.
She remembered one page.
Then another.
A version of herself she barely remembered.
A moment she had thought was insignificant.
A stupid expression she'd made.
A day she had forgotten.
And there they were.
Preserved.
Quietly.
She swallowed.
How long had he been doing that?
The question had stayed with her even after she had closed the sketchbook.
She had asked him.
How long?
And he had answered—
Long enough.
Aanya smiled faintly.
It wasn't an answer.
But somehow, it had been enough.
She continued walking.
The strangest part wasn't that he had drawn her.
It was that he had never told her.
He hadn't used those things to make her feel guilty.
Hadn't shown them to her.
Hadn't expected anything in return.
He had simply kept them.
For himself.
And that realization did something to her.
Because Aanya knew what it felt like to care about someone and wonder whether they would choose you.
She knew what it felt like to wait for someone to notice.
To hope.
To give pieces of yourself away quietly and wonder whether anyone had even seen them.
And now—
She had discovered that someone had been seeing her all along.
Perhaps more carefully than she had realized.
She stopped walking for a moment.
Her eyes lowered.
A small smile appeared.
Then disappeared again.
She shook her head and continued.
The campus gates were quieter now.
The evening had settled properly.
Aanya walked through them, her thoughts still somewhere else.
She remembered the way Sagnik had looked at her when she came out of the bathroom.
He hadn't asked what she thought.
Hadn't demanded an explanation.
He had simply waited.
Even after she had stayed silent.
Even after she had fallen asleep.
He had waited.
And when she had finally walked toward him—
he hadn't hesitated.
Not for even a second.
His arms had come around her.
As though he already knew what she needed.
Aanya pressed her lips together.
Her eyes stung slightly.
She blinked.
Not now.
She wasn't going to cry again.
Not because she was sad.
It was something else.
Something warmer.
Something she didn't have a name for.
Maybe relief.
Maybe gratitude.
Maybe the strange ache that came from realizing that the thing you had quietly wanted for so long had already been sitting beside you.
She kept walking.
By the time she reached her room, she had almost convinced herself she was calm.
She opened the door.
And stopped.
Aditi was sitting on her bed.
Waiting.
Her arms were folded.
Her expression said she had been waiting for quite some time.
Aanya blinked.
"Why are you sitting like that?"
Aditi stared at her.
"Where were you?"
Aanya closed the door behind her.
"Out."
"Obviously."
Aanya put her bag down.
Aditi didn't look away.
"With Sagnik?"
Aanya paused.
Just for a fraction of a second.
Aditi noticed.
Of course she did.
"Yes."
Aditi's eyebrows lifted.
"Okay."
Aanya looked at her.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Then why are you looking at me like that?"
"Because you look..."
Aditi stopped.
Aanya waited.
"Different."
Aanya's heart skipped slightly.
She looked away.
"Different how?"
"I don't know."
Aditi studied her.
"You look peaceful."
That caught her off guard.
Aanya looked at her again.
Peaceful.
She thought about the word.
Maybe.
Perhaps she was.
Aditi tilted her head.
"Did something happen?"
Aanya opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
There were so many things she could say.
She could tell her about the sketchbook.
She could tell her what she had seen.
She could tell her that Sagnik had apparently been carrying feelings for her through pages and pages and days and months without ever expecting her to know.
But somehow—
she didn't want to tell anyone.
Not yet.
That knowledge felt too fragile.
Too personal.
So she simply smiled.
"No."
Aditi narrowed her eyes.
"That's a lie."
Aanya laughed softly.
"Maybe."
Aditi groaned.
"You've been spending too much time with him."
Aanya's smile widened.
"Maybe."
She moved toward her bed.
Aditi watched her.
"You really aren't going to tell me?"
Aanya shook her head.
"Not tonight."
Aditi stared at her for another moment.
Then sighed.
"Fine."
Aanya sat down.
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
Then Aanya looked down at her hands.
A tiny smile returned.
She thought of the sketchbook.
Of the pages.
Of his expression when he realized she had seen them.
And, most of all—
of the way he had held her afterward.
She hadn't needed him to say anything.
For once, she didn't need words.
She knew.
And somewhere across campus, perhaps he was sitting alone with the same knowledge.
The thought made her smile again.
Aditi noticed.
Of course she did.
But this time, she didn't ask.
And Aanya was grateful.
Because tonight—
she wanted to keep the feeling to herself.
Just for a little while.
She wanted to know what it felt like to be loved quietly.
To be chosen without having to ask.
To discover that perhaps, all this time, she hadn't been standing alone on one side of something.
Maybe—
just maybe—
they had been standing on the same side all along.