Aryan's POV
"I need to say something," I blurted, standing in the middle of the common room like he was about to announce exam results.
Meher looked up from her sketchpad.
Riya paused her playlist.
Vedant raised an eyebrow. "You're not switching majors again, are you?"
I shook my head. "It's about Isha."
That got their attention.
"I kissed her," I said.
Then corrected myself. "She kissed me. And I kissed her back."
Silence.
Then chaos.
Meher shrieked.
Riya jumped off the beanbag.
Vedant clapped like he'd just seen a plot twist in a K-drama.
"You kissed Isha?" Meher gasped. "Like, actual lips-on-lips kissing?"
I nodded, grinning. "In the rehearsal room. After she performed her monologue. I added my own lines. She kissed me. I kissed her back. It was—"
"—cinematic," Vedant finished. "Of course it was. You two are walking tension."
Riya threw a cushion at him. "You're telling me the robotics queen and the mango juice menace are finally a thing?"
I laughed. "I guess we are."
Just then, Isha walked in.
Hair tied up.
Eyes wary.
She froze at the doorway.
Everyone turned.
And then, like it was choreographed,
the entire room erupted.
Cheers.
Claps.
Meher doing a dramatic slow clap.
Vedant bowing like he was at a wedding.
Isha blinked. "What did you do?"
I walked over, took her hand, and said loud enough for everyone to hear:
"I told them the truth. That I'm yours. If you'll have me."
Isha rolled her eyes. "Still cheesy."
Riya shouted, "SHE SAID THAT IN THE MONOLOGUE!"
Meher wiped a fake tear. "Our girl's in love."
Isha looked at me.
Then at her friends.
Then back at me.
"I'll have you," she said softly. "But only if you stop quoting me."
I grinned. "No promises."
And the common room, for once, felt like the center of the universe.