Aanya's POV
The crowd was louder than expected.
Lights flashed. Cheers echoed. The college ground was packed with students, phones raised, excitement buzzing in the air.
But for Aanya, everything quieted the moment she stepped on stage.
Because Aarav was standing beside her.
And the world beyond him didn't matter.
She held the mic. He adjusted the guitar strap on his shoulder. Their eyes met one last time before the music began.
No words.
Just a nod.
They were ready.
As the first notes played, something shifted.
They didn't just sing.
They felt every lyric.
Every chord held the weight of what they couldn't say before.
Every glance between them felt like a secret unraveling.
And when their voices harmonized—it wasn't perfect.
It was honest.
Raw. Emotional. Deep.
Their voices wove together like two halves of a story long forgotten but finally remembered.
The crowd swayed, clapped, even shouted their names by the end.
But Aanya didn't hear them.
Because her heart was beating too loud.
And Aarav—he wasn't just looking at her.
He was seeing her.
His gaze said everything his lips hadn't dared to.
It was a look of recognition, of longing, of peace.
Later that night…
They stood beneath a tree at the edge of the lawn, fairy lights twinkling softly above them. The music from the stage faded into the background.
Aanya held her shoes in one hand, the cool grass brushing her feet. Aarav stood beside her, quiet.
The silence between them wasn't awkward.
It was full.
Then—
"I knew it was you," he said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.
She looked up, surprised by the softness in his tone.
"That day in the corridor," he continued. "When our shoulders brushed… something in me just stilled. Like I'd found something I didn't even know I was missing. There was this ache in my chest. Not painful—just… familiar."
He looked away, struggling to find words. "I didn't understand it. But now I do."
Aanya's eyes shimmered. "I felt it too."
She stepped a little closer.
Her voice was soft, but steady. "I've been waiting for you… for so many years. I didn't know your name. I couldn't see your face. But I could feel you. Every night. Every dream. Every part of me knew… you were out there."
She paused, tears threatening her lashes.
Then whispered—
"And now I've finally found you. I know you're the one."
Aarav's breath hitched — all his usual confidence replaced by raw emotion.
"I didn't believe in this kind of connection," he admitted, voice low and shaken. "But every time I'm near you… I feel like I've known you forever. You bring peace to the chaos in me."
He stepped forward, his eyes locked on hers.
"I don't know what this is," he said, "but I know that I don't want to run from it anymore."
And then—he pulled her into his arms.
And for the first time in both their lives…
It didn't feel like the beginning of something new.
It felt like the return of something eternal.
The kind of love that had existed quietly for lifetimes.
And had finally come home.