POV: Ram
She wasn't herself lately.
Max, the girl who usually replied with a dry joke or a sarcastic "what now?", had gone silent.
I noticed it first in her texts.
Then in her eyes.
And today, when she walked past me like I was just another classmate, not the guy who knew her favorite playlist by heart—that's when I knew something was off.
So I did what I don't usually do.
I called.
The line rang longer than usual.
She picked up.
"Hey," I said. Voice low, careful. "Everything okay?"
A pause.
Then, "Yeah. Just tired."
But it wasn't tiredness. It was something else. Something heavier.
I wanted to ask more, dig deeper. But something in her tone made me stop.
Like if I said one wrong word, she'd shut the door completely.
"I just wanted to check," I said instead. "You seemed... different."
She didn't respond.
Only silence.
And then: "Thanks, Mike."
Mike. Not Ram. Not even the Max-style mockery like Mr. Calm Face.
Just Mike.
That name used to sound soft in her voice. Now it sounded like a stranger's.
Before I could say anything else, she ended the call with a "Take care."
And that was it.
Later that day…
I walked into the class, still replaying our conversation, wondering if I should've asked more—when I saw Kitty.
She was holding something in her hand, wrapped in a tiny box with a note stuck on top.
"Ram!" she called out, jogging toward me. "I made this yesterday. Thought you might like it."
It was chocolate.
Handmade.
I blinked. "You made this?"
She nodded, grinning. "Yeah. My grandma's recipe. Don't judge if it's too sweet."
I smiled politely and took it, but my mind was elsewhere.
Kitty laughed and walked back to her seat, cheeks pink.
I could feel it. The shift.
Someone was giving me more attention than I deserved…
…while the one I wanted to hear from was slipping away, further with each passing day.
And for the first time in a while, the silence between me and Max…
Was louder than anything else.
----