The knock came in the form of a name.
Not shouted.
Not whispered.
Just… dropped.
"Aira."
She turned.
The girl standing there wasn't from her class. Older. Confident. Sharp eyes. The kind of presence that didn't ask for permission.
Aira straightened instinctively. "Yes?"
"I'm Mira," the girl said calmly. "Reyhan's… past."
That word landed wrong.
Past.
Like a shadow pretending to be a person.
Aira didn't flinch. "Okay."
Mira blinked, clearly not expecting that response. "You don't look surprised."
"I am," Aira replied honestly. "Just not intimidated."
That earned a faint smile.
"I like you already," Mira said. "That's rare."
They stood near the staircase, students flowing around them like a river pretending nothing important was happening.
Mira crossed her arms. "You know people are talking again, right?"
Aira nodded. "They always are."
"This time it's different," Mira said gently. "Because they're using me."
Aira's chest tightened. "Using you how?"
Mira hesitated — just a second too long.
"They're saying Reyhan hasn't changed," she said.
"That this… whatever you two are… is temporary."
Aira didn't respond immediately.
She thought of Reyhan's tense shoulders.
His fear of disappointing her.
The way he carried his reputation like armor.
"And what do you think?" Aira asked quietly.
Mira studied her. "I think he tried once. Really tried."
Aira met her gaze. "And?"
"And it ended badly," Mira admitted.
"Not because he didn't care. But because he didn't know how to stay when things got heavy."
That stung — not because it scared Aira, but because it sounded too familiar.
"Why are you telling me this?" Aira asked.
Mira sighed. "Because if you're going to be here… you deserve to know what people will throw at you."
Aira nodded slowly. "Thank you."
Mira tilted her head. "That's it?"
"Yes," Aira said simply.
"Because I'm not dating his reputation. I'm standing next to him."
Mira's expression softened.
"You're different," she said quietly. "He wasn't lying."
Before Aira could ask what that meant, footsteps approached.
Reyhan.
He stopped the moment he saw them.
"Aira?" His voice was calm, but his eyes sharpened instantly. "You okay?"
She turned to him. "Yeah."
Mira stepped back slightly. "I was just leaving."
Reyhan didn't look at her.
Not cold.
Just… finished.
When she walked away, silence filled the space.
Reyhan exhaled slowly. "She shouldn't have talked to you."
Aira shook her head. "She didn't cross a line."
He frowned. "You didn't have to deal with that."
"I wanted to," she replied softly.
That surprised him.
"You don't have to protect me from your past," Aira continued.
"You just have to be honest with me in the present."
Reyhan looked at her for a long moment.
Then nodded.
"They'll say things," he warned quietly.
"They'll try to scare you."
Aira took a small step closer.
"Let them," she said.
"I'm not here because it's easy."
Reyhan's throat tightened visibly.
"You don't even know everything," he murmured.
"I don't need to," she replied.
"I'll learn at your pace."
That was the moment something in his eyes broke.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just… softened.
He didn't touch her.
Didn't pull her close.
He just said quietly—
"Thank you for not walking away when my past showed up uninvited."
Aira smiled faintly. "I already told you."
"Told me what?"
"I don't run," she said.
"Not anymore."
They walked to class together.
The whispers followed.
But for the first time, neither of them listened.
RULE #31: Don't ask Reyhan Malhotra about his past.
Because it bites back…
and he only trusts you to see it when you don't flinch.