SAY MY NAME AGAIN

After the campfire game

The fire had died down to glowing embers, conversations had quieted, and everyone began scattering toward their rooms. But Siddhartha didn't move. His gaze was fixed—burning into one person.

Eyana

She stood at the edge of the circle, nervously twirling a ring on her finger, laughter still faint on her lips from Tejal's latest joke. But Siddhartha saw through it.

He got up.

Deliberate steps.

No one noticed. Except Avyansh—whose jaw ticked the moment Siddhartha walked toward her.

"Eyana," Siddhartha called, his voice low, almost intimate.

She turned, startled. "Yeah?"

He stepped closer. Too close.

"I need to tell you something."

She blinked, heart stuttering. "Now?"

"Yes. Now."

And then—he cupped her face. Gently. As if she were something breakable.

"I tried staying quiet... waiting for the right moment. But it never came, did it?" he murmured. "And I can't just keep standing in the shadows, watching you burn for someone who doesn't even know what to do with your light."

Her breath hitched.

Behind them, footsteps approached. Fast.

Avyansh.

His eyes—black fire.

"Siddhartha," he growled.

But Siddhartha didn't move his hands. He leaned in, forehead brushing hers. "If you ever get tired of being confused... you know where to find me."

Then he let go.

And walked away.

The silence left behind was deafening.

Eyana turned—only to find Avyansh already behind her.

He didn't speak. He didn't wait.

He grabbed her wrist, tugging her with a force she couldn't resist.

"Avyansh—what are you—"

"Not here," he said, voice razor-sharp.

They reached her room. The door slammed shut.

He turned to her. Eyes wild. Chest heaving.

"You let him touch you?"

She backed up. "It wasn't like that—"

"Don't lie to me, Eyana," he said, voice dark. "I saw the way you looked at him. Like you were about to break."

She couldn't meet his eyes.

In two strides he was in front of her.

His hand slammed on the wall beside her head, caging her.

"You keep saying you don't know what you want. But your eyes—they scream when I'm near you."

Her heart raced. "You're not being fair—"

"And what was that song, huh?" he demanded, voice lower now—dangerously soft. "Who was that for?"

His hand brushed up, fingers curling behind her neck.

"I've been patient, Eyana. Too damn patient."

His other hand came up, brushing a trembling strand of hair behind her ear. Then—his thumb grazed across her bottom lip, slow... possessive.

"You melt every time I touch you," he whispered. "And now you're gonna stand here and act like it doesn't mean anything?"

Her back hit the wall.

His body was close. Too close.

"Say it," he whispered. "Say his name meant something. Say you liked his hands on your face."

She shook her head, voice barely audible. "I didn't..."

His eyes darkened. "Exactly."

Then—

He tilted her chin up. His lips brushed her jawline—not a kiss. A claim.

"Eyana," he whispered, full of hunger and restraint, "stop running."

She could barely breathe. Her hands trembled as they hovered near his chest, not sure whether to push or pull.

"I'm not your enemy, baby girl," he murmured, lips near her ear. "But I swear to God, if he touches you again, I will be."

Eyana's POV

His words still echoed against my skin.
I'm not your enemy, baby girl. But I swear to God, if he touches you again, I will be.

I was pressed between him and the wall—his breath warm, his touch devastating.
And yet... I wasn't afraid.

Because somewhere in the chaos of his jealousy, I saw something raw. Real.

Him.

I lifted my eyes to his, voice soft but sure.

"You think pulling me away like this will make me forget how you disappear every time I get close?"

His gaze flickered. His hand loosened slightly on my waist.

"You say I melt when you touch me," I whispered, "but what do you do when I look at you like this?"
I met his stare, refusing to break it. Letting my heartbeat speak louder than any confession.

He didn't answer.

So I reached up slowly, my fingers tracing the collar of his shirt. Just lightly. Testing him.

And then... I did something even I didn't expect.

I leaned up—brushed my lips along the edge of his jaw. Barely. Like the ghost of a kiss.

His breath hitched. His hand gripped my waist harder.

"Eyana..." he warned.

I looked up at him, fire meeting fire.

"Stop calling me baby girl... if you're too scared to be the man I'd actually fall for."

Silence. Thick. Breathless.

Then he stepped back, but only a little—like he needed space before he completely lost control.

His thumb returned to my face—brushing my lower lip again, gentler this time. Reverent.

"You're driving me insane, Eyana," he murmured.

"Good," I whispered. "Now you know how it feels."

For a moment, the tension balanced—knife-sharp between lust and love, longing and fear.

Neither of us moved.
But neither of us stepped away either.

Eyana's Room – The Door Bursts Open

Just as Avyansh leaned in, his eyes burning into mine with something possessive and almost dangerous—
the door creaked open.

"Eyana?"

Siddhartha.

He stood at the threshold, brows furrowed, jaw tight as his gaze flickered between me and Avyansh—whose body was still far too close to mine.

Too close.

The room fell into a tense silence, thick enough to choke on.

I gasped and stepped aside, smoothing my hair, avoiding eye contact with both.

"Were you not answering my calls for a reason?" Siddhartha asked me—his voice low, but there was a storm behind it.

Avyansh didn't even flinch. He turned slowly, eyes fixed on Siddhartha with a smirk that barely masked his fury.

"Didn't know she was yours to check up on, bro," he said, venom-slick.

"She's not anyone's," Siddhartha snapped back. "But she sure as hell deserves better than being pinned to a wall like a possession."

"Careful," Avyansh said. "You might be confusing jealousy with concern."

I finally found my voice. "Stop. Both of you."

Siddhartha looked at me, hurt flickering behind his sharp expression. "You okay?"

I nodded quickly. "Yes. Just... please give me some space."

He gave Avyansh one last glare before stepping back into the hall, fists clenched.

The door clicked shut.

Silence again.

Avyansh took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, eyes still smoldering with rage and something else—regret, maybe.

"I told you," he whispered, gaze heavy on mine. "I'd kiss you in front of him."

"You didn't," I replied, heart racing.

His eyes softened just a little. "Next time I won't stop."

He turned and walked out—leaving my world spinning.

The campfire cracked in the distance—laughter, music, someone playing a guitar out of tune.
But none of it touched the silence between us.

Avyansh had pulled me away again. No words, no warning. Just his hand around my wrist—firm, urgent, a silent command I didn't refuse.

Now here we were.
The shadows of the forest swallowing us whole.

His back hit the tree first. Then he spun, switching places so I was the one pinned between the bark and his body—tall, heated, overwhelming.

His breath was unsteady.
So was mine.

"You knew what you were doing," he growled softly, his fingers brushing a stray curl away from my cheek. "Singing that song. Looking at me like that. Smiling like you didn't know you own me already."

"Avyansh—" I whispered, barely a breath.

"No," he interrupted, voice low and dark, "say my name again. Like you did earlier. When you tried walking away."
He leaned in, brushing his nose along my jaw. "Say it. Real slow."

"Avyansh," I breathed. It escaped before I could stop it.

He chuckled—deep and dangerous.
"There she is," he murmured.

Then, he tucked another strand of hair behind my ear, fingers trailing down my jawline—and brushed his thumb across my bottom lip, his touch so soft it made my knees weak.

"You said 'kiss me if you dare', right?" he whispered, voice laced with fire. "Careful what you ask for, baby girl."

And then... he kissed me.

Not gently.

This kiss had a hunger to it.
Possession.
His hand slid down, gripping my waist and pulling me flush against him, so close I could feel every heartbeat slamming against his ribs—and mine.
His mouth devoured mine like it was the only language he knew, lips moving with a force that stole the air from my lungs and replaced it with heat.

My hands, without even thinking, clutched at his hoodie. My legs threatened to give out, but his arm was around my waist now, holding me there, keeping me from falling—even though I already had. For him.

I melted into him, trembling from the electricity of his touch, lips parting against his as if begging for more.

He broke the kiss, just barely, our foreheads pressed together.

"You taste like trouble," he muttered, eyes hooded, lips still grazing mine.

"And you look like sin," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

He pulled back just enough to look at me. My cheeks flushed. My lips swollen. My chest rising too fast.

"You melt so easily, Eyana," he murmured, his voice velvet and fire, saying my name like it belonged only to him. "And you dared me to kiss you?"
His smirk twisted into a wicked grin.
"Careful. I don't stop once I start."

My heart thudded, breath shaky. But I didn't flinch.
I didn't run.

And he knew.
That's what made him lean in again.

Not for a kiss this time.
He pressed his lips to my cheek. My neck.
And then, right beneath my ear, he whispered—

"You're mine. And I'll prove it until you never forget what it feels like."

Return to the Campfire

The fire crackled louder than before. Or maybe it was just the silence between us as we walked back—side by side, yet worlds apart from where we had been just minutes ago.

No one noticed.
At least, no one seemed to.

Laughter still floated in the air. Marshmallows burned on skewers. Someone passed a guitar. Meghana sang out of tune and Aarav was teasing her.

But I couldn't hear any of it clearly.
All I could feel was the way Avyansh's fingers had curled into my waist.
The ghost of his lips still lingered on mine.
The way he had said my name—Eyana—as if it was sacred. His.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. I needed to look normal. Breathe normal.
Not like my pulse was still dancing in places I couldn't even name.

Across the fire, Tejal raised her brow. Jhanvi too.
They knew. Or maybe just suspected something.

Avyansh, though?

He sat back down as if nothing happened. Hoodie sleeves rolled up, legs stretched out, smirk painted lazily across his face.

But every few seconds, he glanced at me. And every time he did, his eyes burned a little longer than necessary. Like he was daring me to feel what I already felt.

And the worst part? I did.

I tried not to stare.
But I was hyper-aware of everything now—how he sat closer than before. How his arm brushed mine when someone shifted around the log.
How when someone offered me hot chocolate, he quietly took the cup, tasted it, and handed it to me without a word—his lips having touched it first.

A secret passed. A promise made.

Avyansh leaned in closer to me as the group began playing another song.

"You've been quiet," he said under his breath. "Did I ruin your lips for the night?"

I looked away, biting the inside of my cheek. "You're impossible."

"Mm. But you're still here."

I hated how right he was.
Because I could have stood up. Left.
But I didn't.

I was still sitting next to him, still feeling the invisible pull between us.

And when his knee brushed mine and didn't move away... neither did I.