Aryan's POV
We were sitting on the hostel terrace, the four of us.
Vedant was scrolling through his phone, Mudit was ranting about some group project, and Nihal was half-asleep with his hoodie pulled over his face.
I wasn't planning to say anything.
But the words had been sitting in my chest for days, and tonight, they refused to stay quiet.
"I think I like someone," I said.
Mudit stopped mid-sentence.
Vedant looked up.
Nihal blinked like he'd misheard.
"Wait—what?" Vedant asked. "You? Like someone?"
I nodded, slowly. "Yeah."
Mudit leaned forward. "Who?"
I hesitated.
Then said it.
"Isha."
There was a pause.
Not mocking. Just surprised.
"The girl who sits with Meher and Arohi?" Nihal asked.
"Yeah," I said. "She bumped into me outside the café. I caught her. It lasted maybe three seconds. But something about her… stayed."
Vedant raised an eyebrow. "You've barely spoken to her."
"I know," I said. "But I've seen her. First day of class—she was quiet, focused. Didn't try to be noticed. But I noticed her anyway."
Mudit smirked. "So it's a crush?"
"No," I said. "It's not loud enough to be a crush. It's quieter. Like recognition."
They went silent again.
I wasn't used to being this honest.
But I kept going.
"She has these eyes—hazel, soft. Not the kind that sparkle. The kind that hold. And when I held her, just for a second, it felt like I'd touched something I wasn't supposed to understand yet."
Vedant looked at me carefully. "You're serious."
"I think I am," I said. "I don't know what she thinks of me. Maybe nothing. But I haven't stopped thinking about her since that moment."
Mudit leaned back. "So what now?"
"I don't know," I said. "I just needed to say it out loud. Needed to hear her name in my own voice."
The silence that followed wasn't awkward.
It was… honest.
Then Nihal spoke.
Quietly. Like he hadn't meant to.
"I get it," he said. "I think I've been carrying something too."
We all turned to him.
He looked down, then up.
And said it.
"Meher."
The name landed softly.
No one laughed. No one teased.
"I don't know when it started," Nihal said. "Maybe the day she called me out for interrupting someone in class. She didn't raise her voice. She just looked at me like I should've known better."
I smiled. "That sounds like her."
"She's calm," Nihal continued. "But not passive. She sees things. And when she speaks, it's like she's already considered the consequences."
Vedant nodded slowly. "You've never said anything."
"I didn't want to ruin it," Nihal said. "She's… different. She doesn't play games. And I don't want to be another boy who tries to impress her."
I leaned back, watching the stars.
"I think we're all a little gone."
Mudit laughed. "Speak for yourselves."
But even he didn't sound like he meant it.
And for the first time, the terrace felt like more than a place to hang out.
It felt like a place where things began.