CHAPTER - 3

The room was filled with silence, but there was an unmistakable tension between us-something unspoken lingering in the air. I wanted to say something, to break this strange stillness, but what could I even say?

We have been dancing together for days, yet he never once tried to talk to me. Not even a simple conversation beyond what was necessary.

And now, here we were—standing face to face, no rehearsals, no music, just this silence stretching between us. I shifted slightly, debating whether to speak or simply walk away.

At that moment, the silence was broken by the sound of footsteps.

"Yooo, Percii!" a voice called out, full of energy.

I glanced toward the entrance and saw a few of his friends walking in, grinning as they approached him. His expression immediately turned into a frown.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" he muttered, clearly annoyed.

"Come on, Perceus!" the guy teased, throwing an arm around his shoulder.

"I've been calling you that since forever. You should be used to it by now."

Perceus. So, that's his name.

That kinda suits him—strong and commanding yet mysterious.

"Hi, you're the new girl right?", one of them asked, his voice friendly and curious.

I nodded, trying to smile, though my nerves were getting the best of me. "Yeah, I just joined."

The group looked at each other for a moment, then one of them added,

"I'm Kathith. We'll be in the same section in the future."

He offered his hand for a handshake, his expression warm and welcoming.

I shook his hand, feeling a bit more comfortable with the friendly gesture.

"Nice to meet you, Kathith."

This somehow made me feel less out of place.

After that, he gave me a slight grin and said,

"Now that I see, the words about you were true."

"Words about me?" I asked, completely surprised.

"What do you mean?"

He chuckled, sensing my confusion.

"Oh, nothing bad," he clarified quickly.

"People have been talking about you, you know. About how you've got this.....vibe."

He then shrugged it off casually saying,

"It's a good thing, don't worry. Just a little curiosity."

"You know, beauty should be appreciated!" one of his friends said while glancing at me.

I felt a little weird with that statement. It wasn't something I was used to hearing, especially from someone I didn't know. I looked away, trying to brush it off.

Kathith must have sensed my discomfort because he quickly added,

"Don't mind them. They just like to joke around."

I nodded, forcing a smile.

But for a moment, I could sense something different in Perceus's eyes. He was looking at the guy who had just made that comment and there was a brief flicker of something I couldn't quite place—anger, irritation, maybe even protectiveness? It was hard to tell.

Or was I mistaken? I couldn't quite tell. Perceus's gaze had shifted quickly and by the time I tried to analyze it, his expression was back to being unreadable.

Just then, Mani had the best entry. She walked in with a carefree energy, completely unaware of the situation in the room.

"Let's start with the rehearsal guys!!"

She said with a wide smile, glancing between the group and me.

"It's already time!!"

"Ohh!!! you just came and what about others?", one of the guys asked, glancing around.

"Others are almost here," Mani replied, looking at her watch.

"Mam said it will take her some time to reach."

The mention of the others arriving seemed to settle everyone down, and the group started to prepare for the rehearsal.

I continued with the practice, but the thought of what happened earlier in the morning—our brief alone time—kept creeping into my mind. I couldn't help but wonder what had been going through his mind during that moment. What did that brief silence mean to him? Did he feel the same as I did?

The days went by and gradually, everything started to feel more natural. Rehearsals became smoother and the initial awkwardness faded as we all settled into our routine.

However, there was a real shift between me and Perceus. We worked great as partners, exchanged words and started to get along well with each other. But even after that, I kept trying to convince myself that it was nothing—that it was just a passing attraction, something normal that would fade with time.

I didn't want to ruin our bond just because of my feelings.

It was easy to tell myself that it didn't mean anything, that Perceus just thinks of me as a friend.....nothing more. I told myself it was just the novelty of being in a new place, adjusting to new people, but deep down, I knew it was more than that.

Finally, the day came.

It was the day of the performance.

The moment we had been waiting for, the culmination of weeks of rehearsals and anticipation, had finally arrived. The performance went flawlessly, each move and step perfectly synchronized with the music.

As I stepped off the stage, my heart raced, still echoing with the thrill of it all. It felt surreal, like I had just lived a dream. We did it. We had all given our best, and the applause was the loudest affirmation of our hard work.

But as the buzz of the performance settled down, I found myself walking to the green room with one thought in mind—my phone.

I had forgotten it there earlier and now, all I wanted was to check if it was still there. Little did I know that walking into the green room would be the beginning of something I wasn't prepared for.

As I stepped in, the dim light was casting long shadows and the faint echoes of cheers still rang in my ears. I wasn't expecting anyone to be in there, but there were three girls talking, unaware of my presence.

"Did you hear about that new girl.....she's quite the hot topic now." one of them said, her voice low yet clear.

I froze in place, the words echoed in my mind.

"Ahhh!!! Not her again!!"

"Girl, she is literally Perci's dance partner!"

"I really wish he was my partner.", One of them said.

"Don't remind me of him!", said one with blonde hair, her voice was stern.

"You guys used to look so good together.", one of the girls continued,

"Why the hell did you broke up with him Kayren?"

"Ohhh!!! you don't know.", Kayren continued,

"I thought dating him would be fun but-it was quite boring, so I decided to get out of it....but now I regret it so much!!"

I clenched my fist. They used to date.

She was his Ex-girlfriend?!

....

That realization was hitting me like a wave.

That comment made my stomach churn slightly. The idea of them being a couple, even in the past, made me feel a little unsettled. I had no right to feel any of this, but something about the situation left me questioning things.

Was there more to him than I realized?

A drop of tear slipped from my eye, and I didn't know why. I wanted to leave, to escape the awkwardness that seemed to surround me.

Just then, as I turned, my heart nearly stopped.

Perceus was standing right there.

As I saw him, a strange anger surged within me, burning hotter than I expected.

Why? Why did it feel like something inside me had cracked just hearing those words? I had no right to feel this way—he wasn't mine, and I wasn't his. But still, the thought of him once being with her made my chest tighten painfully. It was irrational, unfair even, yet I couldn't shake it off.

And then there was him—standing there, silent, unreadable.

His dark eyes held something I couldn't decipher, something that made my breath hitch. I wanted to turn away, pretend I didn't care, but my body betrayed me. My fists clenched at my sides, my heart pounded in my ears and I knew—I knew—he had seen it all.

Panicked, I turned to leave, my steps hurried and uneven. But in my rush, my foot slipped and before I knew it, I was falling.

A sharp gasp escaped me as I braced for the impact, but it never came. Strong hands caught me just in time, steadying me before I could hit the ground.

For a moment, everything stilled. My breath, my thoughts—everything.

Then, as I tried to move, I felt it. A tear.

I glanced down and realized, to my horror, that there was a rip in my dress. My face burned with embarrassment, and I instinctively tried to cover it.

Without a word, he took off his jacket and draped it over me. In the same motion, he pulled my phone from his pocket.

"You left this on the desk near the stage," he said, his voice steady, though I noticed a hint of something unspoken in his tone.

As he handed it to me, I felt my chest tighten, the weight of everything that had just happened—the conversation, my own turbulent feelings, and his unexpected kindness—slowly settling inside me. That moment—just that simple gesture—made all the anger, all the sadness, disappear.

It was as if, in that single act, he had silenced every doubt, every ache clawing at me. I looked up at him, my heart still racing, but for a completely different reason now.

That day, we won the competition. The energy in there was electric and the cheers of victory rang in the air as our results were announced. It felt surreal-everything had come together perfectly, and I couldn't help but feel proud of what we had accomplished.

In the midst of all the excitement and congratulations, something hit me. As I stood there, catching my breath, my eyes searched for him among the crowd. There he was-standing with his friends, his expression calm yet content. And in that moment, it hit me like a wave.

He wasn't just a dance partner to me, but something more....

The realization was sudden and undeniable. The way my thoughts always wandered back to him, the small moments we shared that had felt so significant.

I felt something for him.....which I couldn't even explain myself.

It was a kind of moment, where I was, caught in the middle of all those rom-coms and novels. Everything felt so cliché, yet so real.

That's when he suddenly looked at me from across the hall, his eyes locking with mine. For a brief moment, everything else seemed to fade away. He gave me a warm smile.....It wasn't just any smile-it was one that made my heart skip a beat. There was something about it, something that felt like it was meant just for me. It was as if he knew exactly what I was feeling, even without a word exchanged.

My heart fluttered and I couldn't help but smile back. It was a silent acknowledgment, an unspoken connection. And for a moment, everything in the world made sense.

That day, after I got home, I sat down to unwind and scrolled through my phone. As I checked my notifications, my eyes landed on something unexpected-there was a follow request on my Instagram.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw the name: Perceus.

It took me by surprise, I stared at the screen for a moment. A small smile tugged at my lips and I couldn't resist.

I tapped 'Accept.'

The notification disappeared, and I sat back, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness.

As I scrolled through his profile, I couldn't help but think about—the conversation I had overheard and the way he had looked at me after that.

I really wanted to ask him about it. About her. Kayren. Who was she to him? What had happened between them? And why did it feel like there was more to the story than what I had heard?

But I knew it wasn't my place to ask.

No matter how much curiosity gnawed at me, no matter how much I wanted to understand what had happened to him, I had no right to pry.

So, I pushed the thoughts aside and focused on my thoughts—on the way I felt.

Why did it matter so much to me? Why did I care about what had happened to him?

I knew my feelings for Perceus were getting deeper and that scared me. I need to avoid it—to stop myself before I got too attached. But a part of me wondered… was it already too late?

Just then, a notification popped up on my screen.

"Hey."

It was from Perceus.

I stared at the message for a moment, my heart picking up pace.

Should I reply immediately? Would that seem too eager? Taking a deep breath, I typed back,

"Hey."

A few seconds passed before his next message came in.

"Did you get home safe?"

A small smile tugged at my lips.

"Yeah, I did. You?"

"Yeah. I'm just tired."

I hesitated for a moment before typing.

"Long day?"

He took a little longer to reply this time.

"Something like that."

I wanted to ask more. I wanted to ask about her. But I reminded myself—not my place.

Instead, I kept it light.

"Hope you get some rest then."

For a while, there was no response. I assumed that was the end of it until my phone buzzed again.

"You too. Goodnight, Mia."

I stared at his message longer than I should have before finally replying.

"Goodnight, Perceus."

After that, we often found ourselves texting.

At first, it was just casual—simple check-in, random conversations about school, rehearsals, and silly things Mani would say. But slowly, it became something more.

Some nights, our chats would stretch longer than I had expected, going from everyday topics to things that felt deeper. He wasn't someone who spoke much, but when he did, there was always something thoughtful about his that.

And before I knew it, texting him became a part of my routine—something I found myself looking forward to. There was an ease between us, something unspoken yet comfortable. And maybe, just maybe, I started to picture us together.

Soon it was August, marking the start of a new school year. The carefree days of summer rehearsals had ended and now it was time to settle into a new routine-classes, assignments, and semesters.

The school was filled with great hustle and bustle. Students greeting each other, some reuniting after the break, others-like me-searching their place in this new environment. The chatter, the footsteps, the occasional laughter all blended into a rhythm and I was slowly getting used to.

Walking into the classroom, I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness. The atmosphere was different from what I was used to, and for a moment, it felt strange. Back in my old school, things had been familiar, predictable. But here, everything was new-including the fact that it was a co-ed school. It wasn't a big deal now, but the change still felt a little unfamiliar.

I took a deep breath and looked around. I spotted Mani, Syiana, Rayon, Aina and Kathith. Their presence made things easier, reminding me that I wasn't't alone.

And then, my eyes landed on him.