Rabin.
The dorm room was too quiet.
Too clean.
Too not-her.
I sat at the edge of my bed, hands clasped like I just committed a war crime.
Which, in my head, I basically had.
Crime: looking at Inaya like she was made of metaphors and forgetting how to function as a human man.
Hideya tossed a cushion at me from across the room.
"You've been staring at the floor like it insulted your family name. Speak."
I blinked. Once. Twice.
"She tucked her hair behind her ear when she was nervous."
"It was the softest thing I've ever seen in my life."
Hideya blinked back.
"…Okay?"
"And she tapped her ring against her cup when she thought I wasn't looking. Like… rhythmically. Like she had a whole freaking soundtrack in her head."
"Was the chai good or is this a breakdown?"
I got up suddenly and walked to my desk, pretending to look for something.
I wasn't.
I was just avoiding the weight in my chest.
"Her voice, Hideya. It wasn't just soft. It was intentional. Like every word had been thought about twice, edited once, and then released like a breath she forgot to hold in."
Hideya, now half-sitting, fully invested
"So you're saying you're in love."
I turned.
Eyes wide.
Vulnerable.
Quiet in that dangerous way.
"I'm saying... she made me feel written back to."
I sat back down.
Picked up an origami crane.
Put it down.
Folded another.
Unfolded it.
Sighed.
"I folded her a heart."
"You did what?"
"Accidentally. I panicked and turned it into a crane. I think she saw it. I think I broke the poetic tension."
Hideya cackled.
"You broke your poetic tension folding emergency origami. This is exactly why I told you not to wear the black turtleneck. You're giving brooding crisis man energy and she's out here radiating sunlit chai goddess vibes."
"She smiled when I called her Inaya."
"Of course she did. That's her name."
"No—she smiled like… like I'd unlocked something. Like no one had said it in a way that made her feel real in a long time."
Silence.
I laid back and stared at the ceiling.
Not blinking. Not breathing. Not surviving.
"She was real. And now I'm scared I'll ruin it by being me."
Hideya softened—just a little.
"Rabin."
"What."
"You've written to her every night for months. You gave her your fears, your silence, your origami skeletons in emotional closets."
"And?"
"She still showed up."
Pause.
"You didn't ruin it. You just made it real."
I didn't respond.
Just stared at the crane in my hand.
It was slightly uneven.
Like my hands had shaken when I made it.
Like maybe...
She was already getting to me.
"She made me feel like I could be something outside the silence.
And now I don't know how to be loud without losing her."
Inaya.My dorm = is a war zone.
Blanket burrito? Engaged.
Notebook? Open to a page titled "What just happened and why do I feel like I've been run over by a soft jazz song???"
Right now, I am wailing into the carpet while Kavya and Arnav watch like emotionally confused spectators at a circus.
"He looked at me like—like he could see me, you guys."
"Like he's been reading me."
"And now he's met me and I think I'm malfunctioning."
Kavya was sitting cross-legged, nodding solemnly.
Arnav was flopped across the bed, legs in the air, eating chips like this is reality TV.
"Explain," Arnav says, mouth full.
"You sat. You sipped. You stared. Did he confess his love or what?"
I groaned so dramatically even my boba plushie wheezed.
"He said my name. My full name."
"And it sounded like a sonnet wearing a turtleneck."
"He said Inaya?" Kavya asked.
"He said it like it was sacred."
"YOU'RE DONE FOR," Arnav announced the obvious.
I sat up and flung a pillow across the room.
"You don't get it!! He was so calm! So composed! Like his soul had gone to therapy! Meanwhile, I choked on my tea and said 'same' to something that wasn't even a question!"
"Okay but were his eyes doing the thing?" Kavya questioned.
"The 'I'll write poetry about your broken pieces and love you anyway' thing? YES."
I started pacing.
One sock on, one off. Hair in full gremlin mode.
I am now in the 'What do I do with my hands' phase of spiraling.
"I kept wondering if I was breathing weird."
"And then he smiled. And I blacked out for a full second. My soul just went nope."
Arnav rolled over dramatically
"You're in love."
"She's in love. Kavya, call the ambulance. She's been struck by the Sad Boy Ray™."
Kavya smirked
"Should I play the BinAya theme song? The one that starts with tea brewing and ends with sobbing?"
I collapsed back on the bed, hand over my eyes like I was in a telenovela.
"He folded a crane."
"Right there on the table. And I'm 90% sure it used to be a heart."
"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???"
"It means your man has feelings and zero chills," Kavya said.
"It means we are 0.3 seconds away from binayapoetry.png showing up on Pinterest." Arnav declared his excitement too much for my liking.
I grabbed my red notebook and began frantically scribbling.
"Dear universe, explain how one man with sad eyes and quiet hands can make me feel like I've been known, chapter by chapter before I even learned to name myself."
"YOU'RE COOKED. BURNED. ROASTED. WIFE-D." Arnav said.
"You planning on texting him or writing another letter?" Kavya said sipping tea like judgment.
"I don't know. I want to write. But I want to hear his voice again too. I want—"
"I want to sit next to him and not say anything and still feel like I said everything." I melted.
Silence.
Then Arnav slowly lowered his chips.
"That's it. I'm in love with Rabin now too."
"Do you think he regrets it? Meeting me?" I said half laughing half sobbing.
"No. I think he's probably lying on his floor right now, thinking about how he gets to call you Inaya now. Out loud." Kavya said her voice extremely soft.
RabinI was in bed.
Blanket halfway kicked off.
Origami cranes scattered like I'd tried meditating but ended up panic-folding my emotions again.
I wasn't planning to check Instagram.
But i did.
And now i was wide. freaking. awake.
@chai_in_panic just posted a new story.
My thumb trembled. Literally.
And then—
I read it.
he didn't say much
but the silence between his words
felt like a hand I didn't know I missed.
his eyes said
"i see you,"
and my heart replied before I could stop it.
i'm not sure if it was real
_but if it was—
don't wake me.
"oh my god."
I stared at it.
Re-read it.
Zoomed in like it would make the words less lethal.
"What the hell," I whispered to myself, heart doing gymnastics.
"She wrote about me."
Then came the muffled squealing.
"She wrote about me."
"Oh my god, Hideya—"
Hideya peaked, half asleep, under ten blankets.
"No. No. I refuse."
"It is NOT even 2 a.m., if you woke me up over some philosophical mango again I swear—"
"SHE POSTED A POEM."
"What."
"About me."
"Oh my god."
I dramatically turned on the bedside lamp
Eyes wide. Breathing fast.
Holding his phone like it's holy scripture.
"Read it. I'm not making this up. It's literally the café. Our table. And those are my silences."
"You've lost your mind." Hideya spoke squinting.
"his eyes said 'i see you'—"
"Okay wait this is lowkey hot."
"my heart replied before I could stop it—"
"SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU, BRO."
I flopped backward into bed like i'd been hit by lightning.
"What do I do??"
"You write back."
"Write what?? She just turned my eyeballs into a poem!"
"Exactly. This is no longer a drill. This is a full romantic emergency. Text her. DM her. Slide in like a respectful sad boy."
I just stared at the ceiling, my chest rising and falling like I was trying to breathe through a memory.
"I can't believe she felt it too."
"Then go write it down. You're better on paper anyway." Hideya said tossing a book at me.
"What if she thinks I'm being too much?"
"Bro. She posted about you. At 1:37 AM. You are not enough until you scream back with your entire soul."
She didn't tag me. She didn't say my name. But that story? That was mine.
And suddenly, I didn't want to be silent anymore.
Not with her.
Not ever again.
Inaya.I wasn't expecting it.
One minute I was staring at my own story, debating whether to delete it like the emotionally unstable dramatic idiot I believed myself to be.
The next?
@bluelinesandramen
New Story.
My heart hiccupped.
I stared at the screen like it was cursed.
Thumb hovering.
Brain screaming.
"Don't read it don't read it don't—"
I tapped.
And then…
My screen turned dark.
Words glowed like secrets on a matchbox.
i wanted to say something back
but you already wrote the part i was too scared to put into words.
you didn't wake me.
you made me realize i was asleep.
and suddenly, silence doesn't feel safe anymore.
it feels like i'm missing you.
Boom.
My heart fell clean out of my body.
Straight onto the fairy-light-covered floor.
I sat up straight.
Blanket flying off.
Eyes wide.
Breathing? Who needs it.
"KAVYA."
"Mmmfghghgh."
"KAVYA. WAKE UP. RABIN. STORY. NOW."
Kavya flailed like someone mid-nightmare and sat up with murder in her eyes.
"If this isn't about a boy, I will sue."
"IT'S ABOUT THE BOY."
I shoved my phone into Kavya's face.
Kavya blinked once.
"That's… a love letter."
"IT'S A MURDER ATTEMPT VIA METAPHOR."
I leaped off my bed.
Began pacing.
One sock on, one sock missing, blanket now worn like a cape of chaotic heartbreak.
"He saw it. He read it. And he WROTE. BACK."
"No tagging, no name, no obvious reference but—HE SAW ME."
"He knows. He felt. He crafted a full emotional kill shot at 2 a.m."
"Am I supposed to SLEEP after that???"
"I posted a poem and he said he wasn't silent anymore—Kavya, WHAT DO I DO WITH THAT??"
"You write back."
"I can't write back. What am I gonna say?
'Hey lol thanks for the emotional devastation, big fan of your metaphors, pls marry me'???"
"Yes," Kavya mumbled mostly asleep.
I collapsed on the bed again.
Staring up at the ceiling like it held an answer.
Or maybe a new version of myself that wasn't completely down bad for this sad-eyed letter boy.
My hand hovered over my phone again.
"Should I screenshot it?"
"Should I reply?"
"Should I throw my phone into the Hudson and run into the night?"
Arnav sent a "???" into the group chat with the world's worst timing. The dude slept literally on next and was still messaging with his headphones on! He was probably into some serious ass gaming match of his.
"He responded to the story. And now I'm just a human-shaped puddle of longing. Thanks for asking." I replied
He didn't tag me.
He didn't say my name.
But he answered. And somehow, it was louder than anything he's ever written.
I smiled.
"Suddenly, silence isn't safe anymore…" I whispered.
"That's mine now."
I didn't know what I was going to do next.
But I knew this:
I wasn't writing to a stranger anymore.
I was writing to him.
The boy who answered her heart like it was a question he'd been waiting to hear.
—-------------------
The NYU cafeteria is buzzing.
There's indie music playing too low to matter, coffee machines hissing like overworked dragons, and the smell of overpriced cinnamon rolls clouding the air like romance fog.
Inaya walks in with Kavya and Arnav—her heart still doing the soft fluttery jazz thing because Rabin said silence isn't safe anymore. Its been days since that story incidence. They do talk in insta DMS now
"Do I look casual? Like 'I'm not dying inside' casual?" Inaya whispers.
"You look like you inhaled 3 poems and 2 existential crises for breakfast," Kavya replies.
"So perfect," Arnav mutters, holding the tray. "As the token single man, I guess I'll just… carry your cutlery and emotional baggage."
They find a table.
Seconds later, Rabin and Hideya walk in.
Rabin makes eye contact with Inaya across the room.
And oh.
OH.
It's the kind of look that says "I read your story 17 times and memorized your punctuation."
They walk over.
Awkward hugs. Half-smiles. Seat shuffling like a sitcom setup.
Everyone's trying to act chill. No one's succeeding.
Then Hideya freezes.
"Wait." He points at Kavya.
"You… AK?" Kavya blinks.
"Yeah… wait. Hideya?"
"The vinyl rain girl??"
"The 'symphony of silence' guy??"
Arnav blinked.
Inaya's jaw dropped.
Rabin looks like he's just remembered how to breathe through sheer shock.
Kavya and Hideya lock eyes.
"OH MY GOD YOU TWO WERE—" Inaya asked squealing like a kid.
"—WRITING TO EACH OTHER THIS WHOLE TIME??" Kavya said completing Inaya's sentence.
"I thought you lived in Belgium!" Hideya said
"That was a lie. I panicked during sign-up." Kavya answered with a sheepish grin.
They both start laughing—like ugly laughing. Like "I knew you were my type when you said sadness sounded better in C minor."
"Do you think they're going to write a joint poem now?" Rabin whispered to Inaya
"At this point, they'll probably start a podcast." Inaya whispered back while sipping her tea.
Arnav stared at them.
Arnav stared at everyone.
Four people.
Two emotional pairings.
One golden retriever boy slowly realized:
"Wait. Wait just a damn minute."
He dramatically slammed his fork down on his tray.
"AM I THE ONLY ONE NOT IN A POETIC TELEPATHIC LOVE AFFAIR???"
Silence.
Hideya and Kavya paused their googly-eye exchange.
Inaya and Rabin both look up guiltily from the invisible magnetic field forming between their pinky fingers.
"Okay yes," Kavya said.
"But you're the hottest single person here."
"Don't patronize me with compliments," Arnav snapped, folding his arms.
"This is how villains are born."
Inaya reached over and squeezed his arm.
"You're still my No.1 emotional support himbo."
"I want a pen pal," Arnav sulked.
"I want a tragic, slow-burn, boba-flavored love story too."
"Can we get this man a sad French boy with abandonment issues, stat?" Hideya questioned.
"I think I know someone from my design class—" Rabin started.
"STOP. I refuse to be matchmade like a lost puppy." Arnav said pouting.
Kavya and Hideya are still giggling like two teenagers who found out they matched on a dating app after exchanging 20 emotional sonnets via email.
Inaya is smiling quietly, sipping her chai like it's laced with sedatives because Rabin is sitting right next to her and his pinky finger just brushed hers once.
Twice.
Three times.
She's dying.
Silently.
Gracefully.
And then—oh.
He intertwines his pinky with hers.
Softly.
No one notices.
Her breath catches.
He doesn't look at her.
He just keeps listening to Kavya and Hideya's chaotic bickering.
But the touch is there.
Solid.
Warm.
And then?
He's caressing her knuckles.
Under the table.
In full stealth mode.
Like this is a love letter written in skin.
Meanwhile, Arnav sat across the table, watching all this emotional intimacy
"Am I not hot enough?? Is it my shampoo? Should I be brooding??"
"Oh my god, remember when I told you I once cried in a movie theater bathroom because my popcorn spilled?" Kavya said mid-laugh, wiping a tear from her eye
"And I said I cried over a ceramic bowl because it cracked unevenly and I felt a personal connection?" Hideya recalled.
"We're soulmates."
"We're deeply unhinged."
"I'm deeply alone," Arnav said sighing and glaring at the other still pouting.
Rabin cracked the faintest smile and murmured to Inaya:
"I think he's going to start a blog. 'Everyone's in Love But Me Dot Tumblr Dot Com.'"
Inaya giggled.
Quiet.
Breathy.
"Don't make me laugh," she whispered.
"Your thumb is literally grazing my pulse."
He doesn't stop.
"Wait wait wait. What was your cringiest line in a letter? Mine was: 'You remind me of silence in autumn'." Kavya asked suddenly.
"Mine was worse. 'If I were a city, you'd be the alley with all the lights still on.'" Hideya said physically cringing.
"I folded her a heart and turned it into a crane halfway through a sentence." Rabin said his voice as flat as a graphene
Everyone stared.
"That's it. I'm changing my major to 'Applied Romantic Failure.'" Arnav said his voice dead serious.
Then silence falls.
Not awkward.
But… soft.
The kind of silence that wraps around you when everyone at the table is home.
Suddenly, Arnav slammed his hands on the table.
"OKAY, but real talk—where is my pen pal? My poet?? My mysterious internet lover??"
"I deserve to be written about too! Someone should be out there posting 'his smile looked like a sunrise over sarcasm' and crying over my voice memos!!"
"Want me to sign you up for SadBoyPenPals dot com?" Hideya asked.
"You'd be popular in the chaotic bisexual with main character syndrome section." Kavya joked.
"That's not an insult. That's my brand." Arnav said
Well, BinAya?
Hands still entwined.
Fingers still brushing.
He's now tracing a slow line on her wrist.
She's trying not to combust.
Their eyes meet for half a second.
Inaya looks away first.
Smiling like she's holding back a galaxy.
"If one more person looks at someone else like a goddamn sunrise, I'm throwing
Arnav was still fake-pouting, aggressively stabbing his samosa with a plastic fork as it offended him.
"I am literally single-handedly holding up the lonely rep in this friend group. You're welcome."
"Truly an inspiration to sad boys everywhere." Kavya deadpanned
"I am this close to writing a Yelp review about this cafeteria's vibe: 2 stars. Too many couples. No hot strangers." Arnav said.
And then—
A tap on his shoulder.
Light.
Polite.
Almost like fate had good manners.
"Yeah, what—" He said turning around mid eye roll
And froze.
Because there, standing with a leather folder clutched against her chest and a nervous smile tugging at her lips, is Ava Smith.
American accent.
Sleek ponytail.
Oversized flannel over a cropped NYU tee.
Her eyeliner is sharp. Her posture is soft.
"Hi. Sorry—Are you Arnav Malhotra?"
Everyone at the table goes dead silent.
"Uhh—yeah? That's me." Arnav blinked
"Oh, good!" she exhales in relief, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"One of our mutual professors gave me your name. Said you're kind of the 'gold standard' around here for research formatting?"
"Gold what now?" Arnav said trying to act cool even though he was breaking inside.
"Formatting," she laughs.
"Research papers. Citations. He said your file was basically perfect and I should ask you for help if I didn't want mine to look like a hot mess."
"Did he just blush or did the samosa finally hit?" Kavya whispered to Hideya.
"I think he short-circuited," Inaya muttered to Rabin.
"Finally. The vending machine cried back." Rabin answered sipping his coffee smugly.
Ava was sweetly unaware of the emotional nuclear bomb she just dropped:
"If you're not too busy, could we maybe… go over my outline sometime? Just whenever works for you?"
"Yeah. I mean—sure. Totally. I'm a formatting wizard. Ask anyone. I—spellcheck in my sleep." Arnav said trying to recover from social whiplash
"Great. I'll DM you. I'm @avaspeaksnow." Ava smiled.
"Sounds professional," he replied, totally flustered.
"It's from my old podcast," she shrugged.
"Long story. But hey—thanks, Arnav. I appreciate it."
She waved, backed away politely, and disappeared into the crowd.
Silence. Again.
Then all four of his friends—Kavya, Inaya, Rabin, Hideya—erupt like fourth graders watching their friend get passed a "do you like me" note.
"OH. MY. GOD."
"ARNAV HAS A LOVE INTEREST."
"Did she just flirt with your MLA citations???"
"Bro. She asked for your footnotes like she was proposing marriage."
Arnav holds up a hand. "Everyone calm down. This could just be a professional interaction."
"Then why do you look like you're about to start a Pinterest board titled 'Her Eyes, My Thesis'?" Hideya asked.
"Her voice sounds like the calm in a library. She said spellcheck and I felt something." Arnav mumbled.
"So… Ava Smith, huh?" Rabin teased.
"Shut up," Arnav said grinning like a dumb puppy.
"Looks like SadBoyPenPals just got a co-author," Inaya smirked.
Ava Smith had just walked away, back straight, heart pounding.
And then, halfway across the cafeteria, she stopped.
Turned.
Came back.
Her ponytail swayed like a little question mark.
And she smiled. Nervous. Hopeful.
"Um… hi again. Sorry, this is kind of random…"
"But you guys seem—cool?"
"And I don't really… know a lot of people here yet. So, uh—" she laughed, tucking a strand behind her ear
"Would it be okay if I sat with you guys?"
Everyone froze.
And then:
"Girl sit DOWN," Kavya said, already scooting over.
"Welcome to the mess."
"Are you allergic to sarcasm or poetry?" Hideya asked, dead serious.
"Not at all," Ava smiled.
"Perfect. You're in," said Rabin, nodding like it was an ancient ritual.
Inaya beamed "We've been needing a new voice in this chaos."
Arnav, meanwhile, had fully stopped breathing.
His chai had gone cold in his hand.
His ears were turning red.
His brain was playing "Enchanted" by Taylor Swift on loop.
"You okay?" Ava asked, sitting beside him.
"Yeah—uh, yes. Totally. Just… you know. Processing the plot twist."
"Plot twist?"
"HE MEANS YOU," Kavya answered.
They made room.
Shared fries.
Joked about professors and the campus squirrels.
Hideya pulled out mini sticky notes from his wallet (why does he HAVE those??) and started rating their cafeteria samosas.
"This one is 8/10. Good crunch. Low betrayal."
"That one tastes like heartbreak," Ava said, frowning.
"Wow. You're gonna fit right in," Inaya laughed, nudging her.
"This table?" Ava whispered to Inaya.
"Feels like something I wrote about before I even knew it existed."
"That's exactly what we are," Inaya whispered back.
"A bunch of half-sentences who found the same page."
"This is the best day I've had since I got here." Arnav mumbled to himself softly.
Everyone paused.
Even the wind outside seemed to slow down.
Ava glanced at him.
Smiled.
Soft. Steady.
"Me too."
Ava was halfway through a samosa.
Rabin lowkey still caressing Inaya's knuckles under the table like a secret violinist of feelings.
Everything's warm and glowing and stupidly perfect.
And then—Kavya STRIKES.
"Soooo Ava," she says, way too innocently.
"You've seen these two, right?" (gestures with her samosa between Rabin and Inaya)
"These two are like an indie romance film that accidentally got too soft and now has a cult following."
"We call them…" she looks around dramatically.
Arnav and Hideya join in, in synchronized gremlin energy
"BINAYA."
Inaya choked on her tea.
Rabin went dead silent.
"BinAya?" Ava asked confused but intrigued.
"Yep. Bin for Rabin. Aya for Inaya. BinAya.™" Kavya explained.
"It's in all our group chats now. We've branded them. We're launching merch." Arnav said
"I was gonna get it embroidered on a handkerchief for Rabin's birthday." Hideya mock whispered.
And then… they notice.
Rabin has frozen.
Like someone hit the pause button on a very emotionally repressed Netflix character.
His eyes? Wide.
His ears? Pink.
His grip on Inaya's hand? Tightened, like oops I just realized people can see us.
"Oh my god. HE DIDN'T KNOW." Kavya giggled.
"That's… a thing?" Rabin questioned weakly.
"Apparently since day one." Inaya answered blushing like a sunrise
Rabin: "DAY ONE???"
"Bro you thought no one noticed the way you look at her like she's a paperback edition of Emotional Salvation?" Arnav said going full stand-up comedy now.
"You held her hand like it was plot development," Hideya called out.
"The tension between you two could power a small city." Kavya teased.
"You guys are evil." Rabin said burying his face in his hand.
"You're holding my hand harder now." Inaya said laughing quietly.
He peeks through his fingers.
And then? He smiles. Soft. Embarrassed. Devastatingly pretty.
"Good. I'm not letting go."
"HE SAID IT. HE'S LEANING INTO THE FANFIC." Kavya said mock fainting.
"Okay… yeah. BinAya is definitely real. I believe now. I've seen the light." Ava said her eyes wide.
Arnav stood up, dramatically holding a spoon in the air like a microphone.
"I'd like to officially declare this group the most emotionally unstable, poetically doomed, cafeteria table in NYU history."
"Say it louder for the journaling majors." Hideya joked.
"Do we have a group name yet?" Ava asked.
"The Misfits Who Romanticize Everything Club." Kavya declared.
Everyone clinks cups.
Fries are exchanged.
Laughter erupts.
BinAya's hands are still together. Still soft. Still quiet. But now… no longer a secret.
They haven't moved from the table.
Not really.
The world kept spinning.
Deadlines loomed.
But none of that mattered right now.
Because here?
Here were six people who'd somehow found each other in the chaos.
And they weren't letting go.
Inaya's head is now resting on Rabin's shoulder.
She's reading a poem on his phone, and he's pretending not to watch her reaction with the softest smile known to humankind.
"This line's my favorite," she whispers.
"'You are the silence that doesn't scare me.'"
Rabin doesn't speak.
He just laces their fingers together again.
A little tighter this time.
Like he's saying me too without needing to say it.
Kavya's doodling a terrible caricature of Rabin on a napkin.
Hideya's sipping his matcha and rating it like he's a Michelin matcha critic.
"This is you, Rabin," Kavya said, holding up the sketch: sad eyes, oversized headphones, a speech bubble saying 'I miss her but I won't text first.'
"Give me that," Rabin said, trying to snatch it.
"You forgot to add the origami in his sad-boy pocket," Hideya mutters, deadpan.
"MY OWN FRIEND," Rabin groaned.
Arnav & Ava, Are sitting across from everyone, talking in low, soft tones.
Ava's laughing at something Arnav just said—blushing slightly, her eyes warm.
"I like your friends," she tells him.
"They're… chaotic. But in a good way."
"Yeah. They're like a group hug made of poetry and threats."
She laughs again.
"You're not what I expected."
"Oh?"
"You're better."
Arnav does the internal screaming thing but hides it behind a sip of lukewarm chai like a damn liar.
Inaya and Hideya are talking now—off to the side a little.
"You know," she says, "you remind me of my older cousin. You have that 'looks emotionally detached but will punch someone for you' vibe."
"That's because I will punch someone for you," he says, tossing a piece of samosa at her.
"You're like… the annoying little sister I somehow adopted."
"Thanks, bro," she whispers, giving him a quiet side-hug.
Rabin watches it happen and smiles.
Kavya turns to Rabin, all fire and narrowed eyes.
"You. You sad-eyed origami hoarder."
"What??" Rabin laughs, caught off guard.
"You STOLE her. My Inaya. My poetry partner. My chai soulmate."
"You've known her for years. I've held her hand like… twice."
"AND THAT'S TWO TIMES TOO MANY."
"Am I an object?" Inaya asked shocked
"You're MY object." Kavya asserted.
"Technically, she's her own object." Rabin tried correcting it.
"Technically, fight me," Kavya said ready to throw hands.
Kavya was now halfway on the table, stealing fries from everyone's plate like she pays rent in this chaos.
"You okay?" Ava asked concerned
"I'm thriving on salt and codependency. Why?"
"Because you've been chewing for twelve minutes and glaring at me the entire time," Rabin answered.
"Because YOU stole my Inaya, you emotionally constipated seaweed roll." Kavya yelled dramatically
"That's oddly specific and slightly racist to sushi." Arnav said.
"I, for one, support her rage." Hideya said sipping matcha.
"Maybe she just likes being held." Rabin said leaning back smugly
"HELLO?? I am LITERALLY right here???" Inaya choked.
—---------------------
Arnav and Ava are sharing earbuds now, listening to a "lofi & heartbreak" playlist she made during finals week.
"This track is called 'I Missed You Even Before You Left.'" Ava tells,
"Okay so we're skipping straight to emotional damage. Got it." Arnav teased.
She giggles.
He melts.
Inaya makes eye contact with Kavya and mouths:
"THEY'RE SO GROSS."
"YOU'RE WORSE."
Rabin's tracing lazy circles on the back of Inaya's hand under the table.
She's trying so hard to not visibly combust, she's now just biting her straw like it insulted her.
"You do that when you're nervous," he whispers.
"Do what?" she whispers back.
"Straw chewing. You do it before exams. Or when you're pretending not to blush."
"I'm not blushing."
"Okay."
"Shut up."
"I didn't say anything."
"You're saying it with your eyebrows."
"Hey. You okay?" Hideya asked Inaya.
"Yeah… why?"
"Because you do this thing. You shrink into yourself when you're overwhelmed. Like you're trying to disappear without telling anyone."
Inaya stares.
Eyes full.
"You noticed that?"
"I notice everything, tiny poet. You're like my little sister now. And I don't let my sister bottle things."
She nods.
Swallows.
And then says, so softly it could fall apart:
"Thanks, H. I kinda… needed to hear that."
Arnav Finally Loses It:
He stares at all of them.
The cuddling.
The whispering.
The forehead touches.
"I HATE ALL OF YOU."
"You're not single," Ava teases, sipping from his cup.
"You just haven't admitted it yet," Hideya adds.
"You literally said my voice 'sounded like a sunrise in a library,'" Ava says, deadpan.
"I WAS DRUNK ON LYRICS," Arnav yells.
And then?
Kavya stands up dramatically.
"OKAY. GROUP PHOTO. MEMORY LOCK-IN. RIGHT NOW."
Phones out.
Chairs scraping.
Hands flying into place.
A timer. A snap. A moment.
—-------------------
The dorm belongs to Inaya, Kavya, and Arnav—aka the trio of emotional damage but in different fonts.
Inaya's Side:
Absolute poetry-drenched chaos.
Fairy lights tangled in fake vines.
Sticky notes on every surface.
There's a mug that says "I overthink, therefore I am" and a blanket with mango stains on it.
A pile of unread letters she refuses to throw away sits beside a cracked poetry journal.
Kavya's Side:
Neat-ish.
An aesthetic grid wall with tiny clothespins and polaroids.
Candles she never lights (because rules) and a stack of books with titles like "How to Win Arguments Without Crying."
Her bedspread has stars on it. She says it's ✨manifestation✨.
Arnav's Side:
Total curveball.
Everyone expected chaos.
It's immaculate.
Laptop docked. Notes color-coded. One succulent is named "Samosa."
There's a sweatshirt folded with terrifying precision and a playlist board on the wall titled "Songs I'll Never Play Out Loud."
THE DOORBELL RINGS.
Because yes, they installed a $10 battery-operated doorbell. Chaos, but make it civil.
In comeRabin, Hideya, and Ava, holding snacks like offerings to the gods of procrastination.
"I brought wasabi peas," Hideya says, entering like a medieval bard.
"I brought my trauma," Ava adds cheerfully.
"I brought the movie playlist," Rabin mutters, already eyeing Inaya's poetry wall like it's whispering to him.
Shoes are off. Hoodies are on.
Inaya's floor is now a quilted chaos zone of throw pillows, half-eaten chips, and deep conversations waiting to happen.
"Okay okay okay—who's sleeping where?" Kavya asked standing on her bed.
"I call the floor. I need grounding." Arnav announced.
"I'll sleep wherever the emotional damage feels least strong." Ava said.
"Same." Rabin said looking at Inaya.
"I brought my own blanket. I'm built differently." Hideya flexed.
A very real, very dangerous version of Truth or Dare but instead of dares you take a shot of burning hot over-masala chai and cry.
"Okay Arnav—truth: who do you have a crush on?" Kavya asked grinning innocently.
"I literally do not consent to this environment," Arnav said suspiciously.
"That's not a no." Ava said softly.
"OOOOOOH."
Inaya and Hideya are squished into the beanbag. He's playing with her poetry fridge magnets.
"Why do you write about pain so much?" he asks.
"Because it's the only thing that doesn't lie," she replies.
"Fair," he nods.
"But you could write about healing too, you know. That's honest too."
She's quiet for a second. Then flicks a popcorn kernel at his face.
"Stop being my older brother. You're ruining my sad girl aesthetic."
"Never."
Ava's curled into the corner of Arnav's bed, both of them sipping lukewarm chai and whispering about life like it's their secret hobby.
"You always keep everything so neat," she says.
"Because everything inside me is a mess," he shrugs.
"Good. That makes two of us."
"So what now?" he asks.
"We survive the sleepover. Then we take over the world."
He grins. He's never felt more seen.
Kavya and Rabin are still arguing over movie choices.
"We are NOT watching A Silent Voice."
"Why?? It's stunning."
"IT WILL RUIN ME."
"Good. I want to see you cry."
"He's the only man I know who weaponizes anime." Inaya deadpanned.
"What do you want to watch?" Rabin said to Inaya, his voice relatively soft now.
She glances at her bookshelf. Then him.
"Something quiet. But soft. Like letters never sent."
He nods.
Later that night, they'll end up watching Your Name in complete silence—eyes glassy, hands just barely touching under the blanket.
Pillows everywhere.
Kavya and Hideya asleep shoulder to shoulder on the floor like battle-worn siblings.
Ava asleep on Arnav's shoulder. He's pretending to be annoyed but hasn't moved in twenty minutes.
Rabin and Inaya on opposite sides of the same bed—whispering across the pillows like it's a poem they're co-writing.
"Thank you," she whispers.
"For tonight. For everything."
"I'd do it all again," he replies.
"Even the wasabi peas."
"You're the worst."
"I'm yours."
Her eyes widen.
But he's already asleep.
—----------------------
The Next Morning.
Chaos Level:
UNHINGED.
Kavya's eyeliner is smeared like a breakup ballad.
Hideya's wearing one sock and sipping cold tea.
Arnav is muttering at a bagel like it personally wronged him.
Ava's brushing her teeth with her eyes closed.
Inaya? Laughing. On the phone. In her chai-stained hoodie.
Rabin stands at the kitchen counter, half-dressed, hoodie zipped only halfway, watching her from across the room.
"No seriously, you idiot," Inaya says into the phone.
"I miss your stupid face. You still eating Maggi with ketchup like a war crime?"
She laughs. Loud.
That laugh—the one Rabin usually gets in letters.
Not out loud.
Not with someone else.
His jaw tightens just slightly.
His spoon clinks a little louder in the mug.
"Jealous, much?" Kavya asked.
"What? No." Rabin replied too quickly.
"Bro you're holding the spoon like you're gonna bend it with your mind." Hideya joined in.
"Who is she talking to?" Rabin finally asks, almost casual.
"Someone named Aman. Old friend. Lives in India. Sounds hot." Arnav answered.
"I'll kill him." Rabin mumbled.
"He's not even in the same hemisphere, Romeo." Ava laughed.
Kavya's running around in mismatched socks.
"Has anyone seen my other hoop earring?? The big one. The intimidating one. I need to assert dominance in class today."
Arnav's still yelling at the toaster.
"WHY DOES EVERYTHING IN THIS DORM WANT ME DEAD."
Hideya's brushing Ava's tangled hair because she threatened violence.
Inaya is balancing her phone between her ear and shoulder, holding a toothbrush in one hand and a chai cup in the other.
"No, Aman, I do NOT like anyone right now, god—shut up—wait hang on—"
She bumps into Rabin while spinning around.
"Maggi boy, huh?" Rabin asked quietly.
"You jealous?" Inaya asked with a smile, still chewing her toothpaste.
"Nah. I just think ketchup on Maggi is illegal." Rabin answered turning away.
____________________
Shoes flying. Bags over shoulders. Hair still damp. Chai cups abandoned.
They're all headed for the door when something still settles between them.
Like… no one wants to go.
Like this morning meant something.
So,
Arnav turns first.
Walks up to Ava.
Leans down.
Kisses her forehead.
"Don't let the econ professor steal your soul."
She blinks.
Smiles so soft it could melt glass.
—--------------
Hideya steps up next.
Kavya's still wrestling her tote bag when he pauses.
"Oi. Chaos queen."
"What?"
"Hold still."
He flicks her forehead gently.
"Go be annoying on purpose."
"Always."
__________________
And Rabin.
Of course.
He walks to Inaya.
Stops.
They're eye to eye now.
She's still holding her phone like a lifeline.
But she looks at him like he's home.
He leans down.
Soft.
Steady.
Forehead kiss.
"Tell Aman he lost."
Inaya's cheeks go full rosy blush core.
"He didn't even know he was playing."
"Exactly."