"Okay," Aryan yawned, collapsing back onto the air mattress, "can we all agree this is either a really committed troll or one of you sleep-texts really dramatically?"
Ron snorted. "Probably Saachi. Her phone autocorrected 'goodnight' to 'I see you even when you dream' once."
Saachi groaned. "That was one time!"
"But I'm serious," Kiara said, sitting cross-legged now. "Yeah, the message was creepy, but like... maybe it's just a prank? A weird one, but still."
Aditya stood by the window, arms crossed tightly.
"It's not a prank," he said flatly.
Jaanvi sat quietly on the edge of the couch, knees tucked to her chest. Her eyes hadn't left the phone in her lap.
She knew.
She felt it.
This wasn't random. This was personal.
And then—buzz.
Everyone froze.
Jaanvi didn't want to look.
Aditya did it for her.
4:51 AM
Unknown Number
"So tense now, aren't we? Interesting, considering the way you curled into him like he was the only safe place left in the world."
His grip tightened on the phone. But it wasn't over.
Buzz.
4:52 AM
"He didn't mind either. Not when his fingers gripped your waist just a little tighter every time you breathed in. Want me to send the video?"
Jaanvi gasped, a hand flying to her mouth.
The room went dead silent.
"Video?" Meera whispered. "What the hell—?"
Saachi's voice dropped. "Okay... not funny anymore."
Aryan sat up, all sleep gone from his face. "That's not something a troll just guesses. That's—someone watched them. Closely."
Rey looked at Aditya. "You said you checked the room. Everything locked, yeah?"
"I did," Aditya said, voice razor-sharp now. "But clearly not well enough."
Jaanvi's face was pale, the blood drained from it completely. She was shaking, and not just from fear.
The message. The words.
Whoever it was... they'd seen something intimate. Private. Real.
Something she hadn't even admitted to herself yet.
And now it was twisted into this... this threat.
Buzz.
4:54 AM
"You were never good at hiding, Jaanvi. You give too much away when you're scared. Or when you want something."
Aditya turned to Siya, voice tight but level. "You have any way to track that number?"
Siya nodded slowly, still stunned. "I mean, maybe. I'd need a laptop and time."
"You'll have both," he said, grabbing his own phone. "I'll help."
Jaanvi didn't speak. She sat frozen, eyes locked on the floor, the words echoing in her skull.
You were never good at hiding.
Aditya sat beside her — not too close, not too far. Just near enough that she felt it again. That quiet presence. That wordless "I'm here."
And this time, she didn't pull away.
But inside?
She was unraveling.
There's fear you can laugh off.
And then there's fear that feels like it knows your breath.
Fear that watches. Waits.
And whispers things no one else should know.
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