Chapter 5: Bonds and Echoes
The soft glow of desk lamps illuminated Room 214 as Ruhan and Niwan settled into the comfortable silence of shared space. Textbooks lay open before them, but the energy from the canteen still hummed between them.
Niwan looked up from his notes, a genuine smile playing on his lips. "Ruhan, we had so much fun in the canteen today. How do you always know how to make everyone laugh like that?"
Ruhan leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking softly. "Haha! Just comes naturally, I guess." His expression turned more thoughtful. "But seriously, you should have some fun with friends. Life's too short to always be serious."
Something in his tone made Niwan pause—a weight that seemed too heavy for such a simple statement. Before he could respond, Ruhan had already turned back to his books, the moment gone.
Across the Hall - Unspoken Feelings
In Room 217, Neerav and Kavya sat with their assignments spread across the floor. But Kavya's attention kept drifting to where Anvesh was explaining a complex physics problem to a group of first-years across the common area.
He's so patient when he teaches, Kavya thought, her cheeks warming. Anvesh... I wish you looked at me the way I look at you. Not as just another friend, but as someone special.
"Kavya?" Anvesh's voice cut through her thoughts. "Did you understand this derivation? We should probably start the assignment before it gets too late."
The practical, friendly tone stung more than it should have. "Yeah, okay," she said, forcing a bright smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Neerav watched the exchange from his spot by the window, his heart aching with familiar resignation. Kavya... I like you too, he thought, tracing patterns on the windowpane. But it seems your attention is always on Anvesh. Always has been.
Sadhya and Nisha - A Comfortable Love
Down the hall, Sadhya and Nisha had transformed their study session into something far more intimate. Their textbooks lay forgotten as they sat cross-legged on Nisha's bed, talking in hushed tones between shared smiles.
"Sadhya," Nisha said, her voice dropping to a playful whisper, "did you prepare today's notes?"
"Of course," he replied, matching her tone. "But I wanted to show you..." He leaned forward, his shoulder brushing against hers.
She met him halfway, their foreheads nearly touching. "Show me what?" she breathed, her eyes sparkling.
In response, he picked up a piece of chocolate from the bedside table and gently fed it to her. She reciprocated with a grape, her fingers lingering near his lips a moment too long. Their love was a quiet, steady flame—an anchor in the chaos of college life that their friends both admired and sometimes envied.
Ishika's Heartache
Back in Room 214, a soft knock interrupted the studying. Ishika stood at the doorway, her usual confidence replaced by a hesitant uncertainty.
"Ruhan," she said softly when he opened the door, "can I talk to you for a second?"
He stepped into the corridor, closing the door partially behind him. "What's up, Ishika?"
She twisted her fingers together, a nervous habit she thought she'd overcome years ago. "You still consider me just a friend, right?" The question hung between them, vulnerable and raw.
Ruhan's smile was gentle but firm. "Yes, Ishika. And friendship is the strongest bond there is, don't you think?"
The words, though kindly delivered, landed with the force of a rejection. Ishika's heart squeezed, but she mustered a laugh that sounded almost genuine. "Okay... even if it's just as friends." She turned away before he could see the tears gathering in her eyes.
Game Night Interruption
Niwan, who had been pretending not to eavesdrop, chose that moment to swing the door open fully. "Hey, stop all this love talk!" he announced with exaggerated drama. "Let's play some games before we all die of boredom!"
His timing was perfect, breaking the tension and gathering everyone into the common room. Soon, controllers were being passed around, and the air filled with the familiar sounds of their favorite racing game.
Ruhan and Niwan quickly emerged as an unstoppable team—Ruhan with his aggressive driving style, Niwan with his strategic use of power-ups. They moved with an almost psychic synchronization, anticipating each other's moves without speaking.
"Wow, you two have been friends for what, two days?" Anvesh joked as they won their third straight race. "Looks more like you've been doing this for years."
Kavya used the opportunity to sit closer to Anvesh, her shoulder deliberately brushing against his. "Maybe we should team up next," she suggested hopefully.
Neerav watched them, a bittersweet smile touching his lips. "Remember," he said softly to Kavya, "I'm here too."
Kavya flushed, but Anvesh just laughed, oblivious to the undercurrents. "Come on, let's focus now! I'm not letting these two win again."
Across the room, Nisha and Sadhya had claimed a corner couch, their controllers abandoned in favor of whispered conversations and shared smiles. Their love created a bubble of contentment around them that even Ishika's lingering disappointment couldn't pop.
Ishika positioned herself next to Ruhan, laughing a little too loudly at his jokes and finding reasons to touch his arm. Each time Niwan and Ruhan shared a look or inside joke, a flicker of jealousy crossed her features before she masked it with another bright smile.
The room had become a tapestry of intertwined emotions—the easy comfort of established relationships, the aching hope of unrequited feelings, the budding intensity of new connections, and the quiet resignation of hidden heartbreak.
The Shattering Moment
It was during the final race, with Ruhan and Niwan neck-and-neck for first place, that the atmosphere shifted.
The television screen—which had been displaying vibrant colors and smooth animations—suddenly crackled with static. The cheerful game music cut off abruptly, replaced by a deafening silence.
Then the screen went black.
"Hey, what happened?" Sadhya asked, sitting up straighter.
Before anyone could respond, the screen flickered back to life. But the racing game was gone. Instead, they were staring at a grainy, black-and-white photograph that seemed to be from another era.
The image showed a group of students standing on what appeared to be the very ground their college was built on, but decades earlier. The young men wore old-fashioned blazers, the women in modest dresses, all staring solemnly at the camera.
But it was the two figures at the center that made the blood drain from every face in the room.
Standing side by side, with arms casually slung over each other's shoulders, were two young men. One had Ruhan's exact features—the same strong jawline, the same intensity in his eyes, even the same way of standing with weight shifted slightly to one side. The other was Niwan's mirror image—the same gentle eyes, the same slight build, the same hesitant smile.
The photograph was clearly ancient, the edges yellowed and cracked with age. Yet the faces were unmistakable.
For a long moment, nobody breathed. The only sound was the faint hum of the television.
Ruhan slowly stood up, his controller clattering to the floor. "What... what is this?" he whispered, his eyes fixed on the screen.
Niwan felt the room spin around him. The face in the photograph wasn't just similar to his—it was identical. And in that frozen moment from the past, he saw the same connection between the two young men that he and Ruhan had felt since they met.
The screen flickered once more, then went completely black, plunging the room into a silence more profound than any of them had ever known.