"Okay," Aryan muttered, voice still scratchy from sleep, "so are we just not going to talk about how Jaanvi and Aditya were basically an inch from being face-to-face this morning?"
Jaanvi froze.
Aditya, who had just taken a sip of water, nearly choked.
"We were asleep!" Jaanvi blurted. Her voice cracked halfway through.
"Exactly," Saachi said with a smirk, pushing her hair back into a loose bun. "And yet somehow you still managed to wake up practically merged."
"We were not—!" Aditya started, then immediately gave up, waving his hand in vague frustration. "It was late. Everyone was crashing in the same room. Stuff happens."
"Mhmm," Siya said knowingly. "So you just accidentally ended up that close? Because I could've sworn your knee was literally touching hers."
Ron raised a brow. "Pretty sure your arm was over her blanket at one point too."
Jaanvi groaned into her hoodie sleeve. "You're all ridiculous."
"I mean, we're not mad about it," Meera added cheerfully, tossing a cushion at her. "It was kinda cute, honestly. Terrifying stalker drama, but still — you two were giving off soft fanfic energy."
"We're just trying to lighten the mood," Kiara added, noticing how tense Jaanvi had gone. "Last night was... yeah. Intense. But you two woke up like a scene from a moody indie movie, and honestly, it was the one bright spot."
Aditya muttered something under his breath that suspiciously sounded like, "I liked it better when we were being stalked."
Rey smirked. "Nah, bro. That moment? Too good. You two were lying there like the universe finally decided to stop fighting itself for five seconds."
Jaanvi gave him a look. "It wasn't a moment. It was two people sleeping next to each other on a couch. Because there wasn't space."
Saachi grinned. "Yet somehow, all that space in the room and you ended up exactly there."
The teasing swirled through the air like a breeze — quick, sharp, and filled with just enough affection to be safe. They weren't trying to embarrass them (well, not too much). They were trying to breathe.
To remind themselves they were okay. Still a group. Still them.
Aditya let out a long breath and finally cracked a small smile. "Fine. Laugh it up. But when this creep sends more messages, I'm not sharing the emotional support couch again."
"Oh please," Jaanvi shot back, crossing her arms. "You were the one radiating space-heater energy. I was practically being slow-cooked."
The group lost it.
And for the first time since the messages started... Jaanvi laughed too.
Only for a moment.
But it was real.
And it helped.
Because even if the fear still lingered in the corners of the room... for now, at least, they weren't alone in it.
Sometimes laughter is armor.
Sometimes teasing is safety.
And sometimes, invisible threads are pulled closer
not in silence —
but in the echo of people who remind you:
you're not the only one holding on.
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