Zara woke to the sound of her phone buzzing relentlessly on the nightstand. Her eyes were still heavy, her lips still tingling. She hadn't slept much—not after the rooftop.
She stared at the screen. Three missed calls from Teni, her best friend. One text from Malik.
**Malik:** *Hey. You okay?*
She didn't reply.
Instead, she sat up, wrapped herself in the oversized hoodie she always wore when she needed to feel invisible, and padded to the kitchen. The kettle hissed as she poured water into her mug, the steam fogging up her thoughts.
What did that kiss mean?
Was it just nostalgia? A pact fulfilled? Or something more?
Her heart said one thing. Her brain, another. And her pride? It was already building walls.
---
Later that morning, she met Teni at their usual café. Teni was already mid-rant about her thesis advisor when she paused, squinting at Zara.
"You look weird," she said. "Like you saw a ghost. Or kissed one."
Zara nearly choked on her tea.
Teni leaned in. "Wait. You didn't."
Zara hesitated. "It was just… a moment."
Teni's eyes widened. "With Malik?"
Zara nodded, barely.
"Oh my God. You kissed Malik? After all these years of pretending you weren't in love with him?"
"I'm not in love with him," Zara said quickly.
Teni raised an eyebrow. "Then why do you look like someone just rewrote your entire life?"
---
That night, Zara finally replied to Malik.
**Zara:** *I'm okay. Just… processing.*
**Malik:** *Me too. Can we talk tomorrow?*
She stared at the message for a long time before typing back.
**Zara:** *Yeah. We need to.*
And as she turned off her phone, she realized something terrifying.
She didn't want to go back to how things were.
But she wasn't sure she was brave enough to move forward either.