Aria had a new rule.

Whatever happened in the studio at midnight doesn't matter anymore.

The chai, the almost hand touch, the crack in his perfect picture, none of it counted.

It was late, she was tired, her energy was low. That's all it was.

She walked into college the next morning with that mindset.

The rule lasted exactly four minutes.

"Aria!"

She turned. Priya was walking toward her with a smile. While her dupatta flying, chai in one hand, phone in the other

"Tell me everything," Priya said. "You were in the studio till 1 AM with Zayan Rathore and you didn't text me once. NOT ONCE."

"There's nothing to tell."

"Your left eye twitches when you lie."

"It does not."

"It literally just did."

Aria walked faster. "We worked on the project. That's it. He got food from the dhaba. It was purely professional."

Priya stopped walking.

"He got you FOOD?"

"Keep your voice down."

"Aria." Priya grabbed her arm. "He got you food. At midnight. Zayan Rathore who has never done anything for anyone but got you food."

"We're partners. Partners get each other food. It means nothing."

Priya gave her a long look.

The kind of look that said she wasn't buying a single word but was choosing her battles.

"Fine," Priya said. "It means nothing."

"Thank you."

"But just so you know — " she follows back into step "half the girls in our batch would sell their semester notes for one hour alone with him in a studio."

"Good for them," Aria said simply. "They can have him."

She walked into the studio.

He was already there.

Of course he was.

Same seat as yesterday. Sketchbook open, pencil moving and not looking up.

Aria sat down at her spot without saying anything. Opened her notes and got to work.

Five minutes of silence.

"You're late," he said. Without looking up.

She checked her watch. "By three minutes."

"I said don't be late."

She turned to look at him slowly. "I said don't be late. You said I never am. Those were two different conversations."

Something flickered in his expression.

He looked back down.

She looked back at her notes.

Ten more minutes of silence.

Then --

"Your correction on the east elevation was right," he said. "I redid the whole section last night. It's better."

Aria looked up.

He wasn't looking at her. Just saying it, like it was an information.

She didn't know why that bothered her more than when he was being difficult.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay," he repeated.

They got back to work.

At lunch Priya dragged her to the canteen and spent twenty minutes watching Zayan across the room with the focus of someone conducting scientific research.

"He keeps looking over here," Priya said.

"He's not."

"He literally just did."

"Priya--"

"And now he's looking away because you turned around." She picked up her samosa. "Very suspicious behavior for someone who means nothing."

"You're imagining things."

"I have perfect vision and excellent observational skills."

Aria ate her lunch and said nothing.

She did not look across the canteen.

She did not check if he was looking.

She absolutely did not feel anything when Priya whispered "he's looking again".

Nope.

Not her problem.

Not even a little bit.