After the chaos of rooftop rumors, suspicious classmates, and the birth of a completely made-up "Project Siya," the school day somehow managed to limp back into normalcy. Or at least, what looked like normal on the outside.
But inside Ren's brain?
A warzone.
When the final bell rang, Ren didn't even bother to say goodbye to Sam (who was still sulking about not getting Nina's number). He made a straight line for home, his backpack bouncing behind him like it too was tired of the drama.
🦋🦋🦋
At Home...
Ren threw his bag onto the chair and flopped onto his bed dramatically, staring at the ceiling as if it would explain everything.
Five seconds later, he jumped back up.
"I've got homework to do," he told himself like a soldier sent to war.
He sat down at his desk, opened his notebook—and began writing at the speed of lightning. His pen flew across the page like it had a deadline from NASA.
Halfway through solving a chemistry equation, he stopped and groaned, rubbing his face.
"Why am I writing like this? Am I… stressed?"
He stood up, walked out of his room, and walked back in again like that would reset his system.
"Ren, dinner!" his mom called out from the kitchen.
He ran to the table like he hadn't eaten in years.
But the moment he started eating, something was off.
He was… chewing faster?
Why was he chewing fast?
He didn't even like eating quickly!
He paused, stared at the half-bitten piece of tofu on his chopsticks, and sighed.
"Okay… okay... Let's process this like a rational, intelligent, non-delusional student," he mumbled to himself.
He stood up again, walked in a circle, then sat back down at his desk.
The Inner Monologue Begins...
Ren opened his math textbook, but instead of x and y, all he saw was S and I and Y and A written in his notebook margins.
"Great. Now I'm doing algebra in her name," he grumbled. "What's next, writing love equations?"
He slammed the book shut and stood up again.
Pacing.
Thinking.
Overthinking.
"What happened to me yesterday? I mean, okay, helping her when she fainted—basic humanity. I'm not a monster," he told himself.
"But running with her in my arms like some knight from a k-drama?"
He paused mid-pace and stared at the wall.
"AND—without asking permission—I just… said I'll take her out every day like I'm her personal bodyguard!"
He groaned again and flopped face-first onto his bed. His pillow muffled his scream.
Ren's Brain: The Frustration Olympics
"They probably think I'm a CREEPY person now!"
"I don't even know why I said it. I don't even talk to people."
"Forget people—I don't even talk to my mom unless it's important."
"And now I've promised to go out with her. DAILY."
"DAILY!!!"
He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling again, dramatically this time.
"But… but…" he muttered.
His heart thudded once.
Softly.
Not panicked.
Not loud.
Just… warm.
He sat up, eyes wide.
"Why do I feel... good? Is this—NO. STOP. SHUT UP, BRAIN."
He jumped off the bed and started doing squats in his room like exercise would kill the emotion forming inside his chest.
"She's just a girl. A loud, laughing, nature-loving, flower-talking, cat-feeding girl. Nothing special. Okay—maybe kind of special. But—"
He stopped squatting.
"I'm doomed."
Thirty Minutes Later...
Ren had finished his leftover ,washed his face, and even ironed his school uniform for the next day (because stress-cleaning was now his new personality trait).
He stared at the clock. 4:40 PM.
He had exactly 20 minutes left before his 'study block' ended.
"Okay. Focus. Ren. You are a future doctor. You are not a lost puppy following a girl with honey-colored eyes."
He sat at his desk again and forced himself to read.
One paragraph in.
Two paragraphs.
Then... a thought.
"Siya probably talks to plants at night too…"
"OH COME ON!" Ren shouted, slamming the book shut again.
He leaned back, covered his face with his hands, and let out a long sigh.
Then he looked at the ceiling and muttered under his breath:
"Siya... let me study. Please. I beg you. Give me one hour. Just one."
"Then... I'll think about you."
And for the first time that evening, he smiled.
Just a little.
Like a secret he was trying to keep even from himself.
But it was there.
That small, warm smile.
Because no matter how much he tried to deny it, something had changed in the time between heartbeats.....
🦋🦋🦋
Meanwhile, just across the town, in a mansion that had been a little too quiet until recently, a certain someone was not quiet at all.
Siya.
The girl who had always preferred birds over people, trees over traffic, and freedom over fancy things—was currently waiting by her window like a dramatic heroine from a novel she never finished reading.
She had already completed her homework an hour ago. Sharp, fast, efficient—as always. But after that?
Nothing.
Not even her usual habit of feeding the birds outside. No poetry reading, no sketching, not even her secret playlist of sad soft songs. Just... waiting.
She stood by the window.
Arms crossed.
Then uncrossed.
Then crossed again.
Peeking.
Peeking again.
Peeking for the fifteenth time.
"It's 4:12... why does time feel frozen?" she whispered, checking the sky like it owed her something.
Wearing her favorite white floral corset dress that reached just above her knees—delicate, soft, like a spring breeze—her hair open and slightly curled, bouncing with every restless step, a small pastel pin holding back just a little strand that insisted on falling over her eyes.
And her eyes?
Those large doe-shaped brown eyes sparkled—not from makeup—but from the kind of hope a child gets while waiting for their birthday gift.
Was she waiting for her rival?
Or something... else?
She refused to name it.
🦋
Siya's mother, ever so observant, peeked into her room. Again.
That was the third time in ten minutes.
Still found her at the same spot. Near the window. With that expression.
She leaned on the doorframe, one brow raised, a soft smirk playing on her lips.
"Siya darling," she said gently, "the sky will not send him early if you stare at it this hard."
Siya turned, blinked, and tried to act casual. Very casually dramatic.
"Me? I'm not waiting. I'm just… looking if the weather's okay."
Her mother chuckled, walking in and adjusting the fall of Siya's hair from behind like she did when Siya was younger.
"It's not even 5 yet. Calm down, sweetheart. He might be on his way... or still at home."
"Yeah… maybe..." Siya replied with a very fake, very dramatic sigh and a smile that was pretending to be forced, but not quite managing.
She walked away from the window, sat on the edge of her bed, bounced once, then stood up again. Back to the window.
Her mother gave her a knowing look.
"Okay, okay! Yes, I'm waiting," Siya finally confessed, throwing her hands in the air. "But it's not like THAT! I just don't want to miss him. What if he rings and goes away thinking I'm not ready?"
"Siya, sweetheart, this isn't Cinderella running from the ball. You'll be fine."
"But mom, what if he doesn't come?"
"Then we sue him for emotional damage," her mom joked.
Siya giggled and shook her head.
"Okay, okay. I'll wait calmly."
She sat by the window instead of standing, hugging her knees to her chest, her hair falling softly around her face. Her cheeks had that soft pink glow, not from makeup—but from anticipation.
Her Thoughts? Chaos.
"Ugh, why am I like this? He's just Ren. The boy I fight with in class. The boy who always comes first. The one who annoys me with his 'know-it-all' attitude…"
Pause.
"The boy who carried me home like I was made of glass. Who didn't wait for permission before helping me. Who actually… cares."
Her heart did that thing again.
That soft fluttery thing that annoyed her because it made her want to write poetry and hum songs and braid flower crowns for no reason.
"Ugh. Ren. What are you doing to my brain?"
She peeked out the window one more time.
4:32 PM.
Her fingers drummed on the windowsill.
Her heart? Drumming louder.
"Please show up. Or I'll start believing in fate and I really don't want to become that girl," she muttered.
🦋🦋🦋
Just as Siya turned away from the window, telling herself for the hundredth time not to look outside again, she caught a glimpse of something—or rather, someone—coming towards the house.
A bicycle.
A boy.
And not just any boy.
Him.
Ren.
Riding his bicycle with the kind of speed that would usually earn him a warning from a traffic cop, but his face?
His face was calm. Too calm.
Siya leaned slightly, hiding behind the curtain like a secret agent in her own house, watching closely.
She could tell he had been pedaling fast—his chest rising and falling quickly—but as he neared the house, he slowed down. And then he controlled his breath like he wasn't racing the wind just seconds ago.
"Trying to act cool, huh?" she whispered to herself with a tiny, amused smirk.
And then…
It happened.
Their eyes met.
Right there—through the curtain, across the short garden, above the bicycle handle and past the nervous thoughts.
A gaze that felt like a quiet song. Slow motion. Timeless.
Neither blinked.
Neither looked away.
It wasn't dramatic like in the movies, but it felt more real than anything.
And then—as if they both realised they were doing a lot—they instantly turned away at the exact same moment.
Siya ducked behind the curtain, heart pounding like a school bell.
"OH. MY. GOD."
Ren, on the other side, coughed into his fist and kept pedaling casually.
"Too long. That was way too long," he muttered.
Ding Dong? Nope.
Ren reached the gate, hopped off his bike with fake calmness, fixed his shirt collar that didn't even need fixing, and walked up to press the bell.
But just as his finger was an inch away from it—
Click.
The door opened.
And there stood Siya.
Looking like she'd just sprinted to beat him to the door (which she did, actually).
She gave him an awkward half-smile, which she hoped said 'Hi I'm normal' but probably looked more like 'Hi I'm malfunctioning slightly'.
Behind her, her mother appeared, walking towards them with the warmth of someone who's been watching the whole show from behind the curtains.
"Oh dear, Ren! You came!" she said cheerfully, her eyes twinkling. "She was waiting like a fool for an hour."
Siya's eyes widened.
"MOM!!"
Ren blinked.
"But... I'm on time. It's 5:05. Not too late, I think…"
Her mom waved her hand dismissively.
"No, no, you're perfectly on time. She's just… like that. Way too excited."
Siya: internally combusting
"I wasn't excited," Siya said, crossing her arms and glancing at the floor. "I was just checking the sky. Like normal people do."
Her mom chuckled, leaning over to fix the hairpin that was slightly off on Siya's hair.
"Okay, okay. Now don't waste the rest of the daylight with your dramatic denial. Go on, go out. Enjoy."
She kissed Siya on the cheek.
"Bye Mumma. Love you," Siya said quickly, trying to brush away the embarrassment.
"Love you too," her mom replied warmly. Then turned to Ren, placing a soft hand on his shoulder.
"Take care of her. And yourself too. And thank you, my child, for helping my other child."
Ren, somehow looking cooler than he felt, smiled softly.
"Oh, it's nothing. Really," he said in his usual calm tone. "Just… glad to help."
But inside?
He was screaming: "PLEASE STOP LOOKING AT ME WITH THAT MUCH TRUST I MIGHT ACCIDENTALLY PROPOSE OUT OF PANIC."
The Moment Outside the Door
And then they were outside.
Just the two of them.
Siya closed the door behind her and turned to him.
There was a pause.
The kind of pause where no one knows what to say even though there are a hundred words bumping into each other in their minds.
"So… can we go now?" Siya asked, breaking the silence.
Ren nodded quickly.
"Yeah. I mean, yes. Let's go."
They started walking side by side.
Not too close.
Not too far.
Somewhere in between rival and something else.....