chapter 2-Accidents & Almosts

That day should have ended like any other school day but it didn’t.

As soon as Supriya reached home, she threw her bag on the bed and sat down, her mind refusing to calm down. No matter how hard she tried to distract herself, one name kept replaying in her head.

Naman Sharma.

She grabbed her phone without thinking and opened Instagram. Her fingers moved on their own as she typed his name into the search bar. And there he was—his profile popping up with a big, charming smile. Thankfully, his account was public.

She hesitated for a second… then started stalking him.

Scroll.

Scroll.

Her heart skipped when she saw it a picture of him flexing his body.

Okay wow, she thought.

And then it happened.

Her thumb slipped.

Liked.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Oh my God no, no, nooo,” she whispered, panic rushing through her. “Now he’ll think I’m a stalker. What is wrong with you, Supriyaaa?”

She stared at the screen, hoping the app would magically undo her mistake.

Five minutes passed.

Then her phone buzzed.

@naman4sharma requested to follow you.

Her breath hitched. Without overthinking it this time, she accepted the request.

Almost instantly, a message popped up.

Naman: Stalking me, beautiful?

Supriya threw her phone on the bed, buried her face into the pillow, and screamed.

She picked the phone back up and stared at the chat. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she typed… deleted… typed again. She didn’t want to sound nervous. She didn’t want him to think she cared.

Finally, she sent it.

Supriya: Nope. Who would stalk you, dork? It was just an accident—don’t get too hyped up.

On the other side of the screen, Naman smiled. He hadn’t expected her to reply so fast—and he definitely hadn’t expected to care this much.

A reply came almost immediately.

Naman: Yeah, sure. Accidents happen on flexing bicep pics now?

(He leaned back, enjoying this more than he should have.)

Supriya rolled her eyes, even though she was smiling.

Supriya: Whatever, dork. I’m sorry.

(Her heart was still racing.)

Naman: Relax, I’m kidding. I kinda liked the attention 😌

(He smiled at his screen, wondering why her replies felt different.)

Supriya: Wow, confidence level = 100

(She tried to sound casual, even though her cheeks felt warm.)

Naman: Can’t help it. House captains do that to people

(He was enjoying this maybe a little too much.)

Supriya: Oh please, you were confident even before that

(She didn’t know why she typed it, but it felt true.)

Naman: You noticed?

(For a second, he actually cared about her answer.)

Supriya: Don’t read too much into it

(She bit her lip, hoping he wouldn’t.)

Naman: Too late. I already am

(And he wasn’t lying.)

Supriya: You’re annoying

(But she was smiling like an idiot.)

Naman: And yet… you’re still replying

(He felt oddly proud.)

Supriya: Unfortunately

(She knew she wasn’t going to stop.)

Naman: Then I’ll take that as a win

(He felt lighter than he had all day.)

Supriya: 🙄

(Her cheeks burned.)

There was a small pause.

Naman: By the way… you did really well today

(His tone softened without him realizing.)

Supriya’s smile faded into something quieter.

Supriya: Thanks… I was actually very nervous

(She rarely admitted that.)

Naman: I know. That’s why I said I trusted you

(He meant every word.)

Her heart skipped.

Supriya: …you remember that?

(She stared at the screen.)

Naman: Hard to forget

(Especially when it was her.)

Supriya: 😐 stop

(She buried her face into the pillow again.)

Naman: Okay okay. Goodnight, House Captain

(He stared at the chat a little longer than needed.)

Supriya: Goodnight… dork

(And for the first time that day, she slept with a smile.)

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