"Some truths are too loud to speak aloud—they echo between glances, held breath, and aching silence."
The bell rang.
Lena didn't move. Her notebook was still open, half-filled with sketches she hadn't meant to draw. A tree growing out of a book. A girl curled like a comma in the margin. Eyes—his eyes—drawn over and over again until the pencil nearly tore the paper.
She should have gone to the next class. But her legs didn't get the message. Neither did her hands, still gripping the pencil like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.
The classroom emptied. Footsteps faded. The silence that followed felt personal, like it had wrapped itself around her, breathing softly down her neck.
"Lena."
His voice.
She froze.
Aarav stood in the doorway, schoolbag slung lazily over one shoulder, as if he hadn't just missed three weeks of school, as if he hadn't disappeared after that night at the train tracks. As if everything between them hadn't imploded.
Her lips parted, but no sound came. It felt like her voice had fled before he walked in.
He stepped closer, cautiously, like she was a deer that might bolt.
"I'm sorry," he said.
The words dropped heavy between them.
Lena stared at him. He looked different. Not in the way his hair was messier or his uniform wrinkled. It was something in his eyes. Like something had cracked and hadn't fully healed.
"I thought you were gone," she said. Her voice didn't tremble, but it felt like it could.
"I was. I mean… I needed time. Things got…" He exhaled. "Complicated."
"You could've told me."
"I was scared." He laughed bitterly. "Of how much you meant. Of how much I could ruin you."
"I'm not porcelain."
"You're not. But you're quiet. Gentle. And I'm… not."
They stood in silence for a beat.
Then Lena spoke, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "What do you want now, Aarav?"
He stepped forward until they were inches apart. "I want to fix things. If I still can."
Something stirred inside her. Not forgiveness, not yet. But something less jagged than pain.
A knock on the open door startled them.
Riya.
"I—Sorry," she said, blinking at them. "Didn't mean to interrupt."
Aarav stiffened.
Lena saw it. The way his jaw tensed. The flicker in Riya's eyes.
"You weren't answering your phone," Riya said to Lena, her gaze unreadable.
"Battery died," Lena mumbled.
Riya nodded. Then looked at Aarav. "You're back."
He didn't reply.
"I'll wait outside," Riya said to Lena, her voice softer now. "Take your time."
She left.
Aarav ran a hand through his hair. "You and Riya…?"
"Friends. Complicated friends."
"Like us."
Lena didn't deny it.
He sighed. "I want to earn your trust back. Even if it takes a lifetime."
She studied him, then reached for her notebook. Tearing out the sketch of the eyes, she folded it and handed it to him.
"Start by being here tomorrow."
"I will."
And for the first time since that night, she believed him.
---
The next day, he was there. Not just in the background or behind her like a shadow—but next to her, at the bus stop, waiting.
Lena noticed the tiny things: how he had started carrying a pen instead of just a phone. How his sleeves were rolled up neatly. How he hesitated before sitting beside her.
She let him.
As the bus rumbled through potholes and morning fog, Aarav quietly reached into his bag and handed her something wrapped in brown paper.
"What's this?"
"Open it."
Inside was a copy of her favorite book—The God of Small Things—worn at the edges but still intact. His voice was low. "I remembered you said it reminded you of home."
Lena's fingers tightened on the pages. "Thank you."
They didn't talk much after that, but the silence wasn't hollow anymore. It felt shared, like a bridge neither of them had the courage to cross just yet—but both were walking toward.
That afternoon, as they left school together, they bumped into someone neither expected.
Raghav.
He leaned against the gate, arms crossed, eyes sharp. "Didn't take long, did it?"
Aarav stepped in front of Lena instantly, protective.
"Back off," he growled.
Lena tugged at Aarav's arm. "Don't."
But Raghav smirked. "I'm not here to fight. I'm just watching the story unfold. The girl who disappears. The boy who left. The boy who stayed."
"Don't turn this into a circus," Lena said.
"Too late. We're already the main act."
He turned and walked away.
Aarav looked at her. "You okay?"
She nodded. But inside her chest, something began to twist. This wasn't over.
It had just begun.