Aria living a scheduled life.

College from nine to five. Studio from seven to midnight then sleep and repeat.

No distractions or drama and No boys with good jawlines who smelled annoyingly good.

She was doing perfectly fine with that system.

Until he showed up at 11 PM.

She heard him before she saw him. The soft thud of a bag. The scrape of a chair. She didn't look up from her draft.

"You're still here," he said.

"Wow," she said.

"You can see, Amazing."

He sat down across from her and unzipped his bag without responding. She stole a glance. Still annoyingly put together. Sleeves rolled to his elbow , that was the only concession he made to the hour. Everything else is perfect.

Irritating.

They worked in silence for a while.

Two people figuring out how close they could get to something without getting burned.

Aria's pencil snapped.

She stared at it. Looked up.

Zayan was already holding one out across the table. Eyes still on his own work. Not even looking at her.

"I have my own," she said.

"That one's broken."

She took the pencil.

Didn't say thank you.

He either didn't seem to expect it from her.

At half past eleven he slid a sheet across to her side of the table. She looked at it , a layout for the first section of their project. Clean lines. Elegant and Simple.

Better than what she'd been working on.

"What do you think?" he asked.

First time he'd asked her opinion on anything.

She studied it properly. "The load bearing wall placement is wrong. Too much glass on the east side and morning sun will make the whole space unusable in summer."

A pause.

"You're right," he said.

She blinked.

Just like that. No defense, no performance of confidence. Just "you're right" like it cost him nothing to say it.

She didn't know what to do with that.

"Show me," he said and pushed his chair around to her side of the table.

Closer than she expected.

Close enough that she could smell.

Nope.

She focused very hard on the paper.

"Here." She sketched the correction fast. Redrew the wall line. Adjusted the glass.

He watched without saying a word.

"That works," he said when she lifted her pencil. His voice was different at this hour. "Why didn't you say something in class today?"

"You didn't ask" She replied.

"I'm asking now."

She turned to look at him. Which was a mistake because he was already looking at her. Without the competition sitting between them , his face was different too.

"Because in class," she said carefully, "everything is a performance. Someone's always watching to see who wins."

"And now?" He asked.

"Now it's almost midnight and I haven't eaten a real meal and I just want the project to be good." She looked back at the paper. "That's all."

He was quiet for a moment.

"There's a dhaba two minutes from here. Still open."

"I know it."

"I'll go if you keep working on the east elevation."

Aria looked at him. "You're going to get me food."

"We're partners," he said, already standing and reaching for his wallet.

"Partners don't let each other pass out over a drafting table." He said it simply.

She watched him pull on his jacket and walk out.

Sat very still for a second.

Tried to remember why she hated him.

It was harder than it had been that morning.

She bent over the draft and got back to work.