Aira Kapoor didn't know how long she stood there outside the cafeteria with Reyhan.
Seconds?
Minutes?
Lifetimes?
Time moved strangely when he was this close —
soft, warm, steady in a way she didn't expect from someone who normally acted like a walking hurricane.
She finally stepped back, wiping under her eyes.
"Sorry," she whispered, embarrassed. "You didn't need to see all that."
Reyhan shook his head. "Don't apologize for being human."
Aira swallowed.
Emotional damage: fatal.
She tried to speak normally. "We should… go back before the bell rings."
"Yeah," he said softly.
"I'll walk with you."
Aira hesitated.
Not because she didn't want him beside her —
but because she did, and that was the problem.
"If we walk in together," she whispered, "people will talk."
Reyhan raised an eyebrow. "People already talk."
"That doesn't help!"
He smiled — a real one, small and devastating.
"Then let them talk."
Aira's heart flipped so violently she almost tripped.
Seeing this, Reyhan moved a little closer. "Careful."
"I'm fine," she muttered, cheeks burning.
"You say that a lot," he noted quietly.
"And it's almost never true."
Aira glared. "Stop being observant."
"Can't," he said simply.
---
As they walked back inside, students in the hallway absolutely noticed.
Whispers.
Glances.
Raised eyebrows.
Full-on staring.
A girl whispered loudly, "OH MY GOD, are they dating now?"
Someone else said, "Reyhan NEVER walks anyone anywhere."
Aira wanted to slam her head into a locker.
She leaned closer to him and hissed,
"SEE?! This is why I said no."
Reyhan shrugged like a menace.
"Let them."
"I care!"
"Then stop walking next to me," he teased lightly.
"I CAN'T, YOU'RE TOO TALL AND TOO FAST—"
Reyhan blinked, then laughed quietly —
soft, genuine, the kind of laugh that made Aira's knees remember gravity exists.
"Oh really?" he smirked. "Blame my height?"
"I blame your everything."
"Thanks," he said, smiling way too fondly.
"That wasn't a compliment!"
"It felt like one."
Aira groaned. "I'm so tired of you."
"No, you're not."
"I AM."
"Then why didn't you push me away earlier?"
Aira froze.
He had a point.
A very painful, very inconvenient point.
She didn't answer.
Reyhan didn't push it.
He just walked in silence beside her, letting her breathe, matching her pace exactly.
Not too slow.
Not too fast.
Just right.
And that was worse.
So, so much worse.
Because it made something inside her soften —
dangerously.
---
At the entrance to the cafeteria, Zayden stood waiting with Sia.
Zayden's smile faltered the moment he saw Reyhan beside her.
Sia's eyes widened like she was watching the season finale of a drama.
"BABEEE," Sia whisper-yelled, "OH MY GOD— WERE YOU CRYING??? DID HE MAKE YOU CRY?? DO I HAVE TO FIGHT HIM??"
"No!" Aira shouted, mortified. "I wasn't— he didn't— PLEASE STOP TALKING."
Zayden stepped closer, concern written all over his face. "Aira… are you okay? You look a little shaken."
Reyhan's posture stiffened instantly.
Aira noticed it.
Everyone noticed it.
Before Reyhan could say something territorial again, Aira quickly answered,
"I'm okay. Just overwhelmed."
Zayden nodded gently. "If you ever need someone to talk to—"
"She has me," Reyhan cut in.
Aira's soul left her body.
Zayden blinked. "Reyhan—"
Reyhan stepped closer. "She does."
Aira grabbed Reyhan's sleeve under the table of her panic and whispered harshly,
"Stop being… whatever THIS is!"
Reyhan leaned down slightly.
"Whatever this is," he murmured, "it's not going away."
Her entire heart malfunctioned.
Sia clapped her hands once.
"OH MY GOD I CAN'T BREATHE—"
Aira shot her a death glare.
"Silence."
Sia: "I'm physically incapable of silence right now."
---
The bell rang again, and students started moving toward their next class.
Aira took a step away.
Reyhan gently caught her wrist —
not tight, not demanding.
Just a soft touch asking her to pause.
Her breath caught.
Reyhan's voice dropped low.
"Aira… thank you."
She blinked. "For what?"
"For letting me be there for you."
Her heart cracked open.
She pulled her hand back — not because she wanted distance, but because she wanted too much closeness.
"Reyhan… stop saying things like that."
"Why?" he whispered.
"Because I don't know what to do with them."
Reyhan smiled faintly — not smug, not teasing, just… soft.
"Then let me teach you."
Aira's breath hitched again.
She looked away quickly.
"I— I have class."
Reyhan nodded.
"Walk with me?"
"No," she whispered.
"Okay," he said softly.
"But I'll be a step behind you anyway."
Aira froze.
Turned.
He was already looking at her —
quiet, protective, and too gentle for her own good.
RULE #23: Don't let Reyhan Malhotra walk you inside.
Because everyone else will see it…
and you'll finally see it too.