Mystery Crush

Aften and Indica sat with books spread across the floor. The upcoming dance kept creeping into their study session. Aften shrugged when Indica asked about dates. "Maybe I'm not even interested in guys at all right now. Maybe it's time to try something new." Indica blinked, then fell quiet, eyes moving like gears turning in her head. They went back to equations and left the subject hanging. Days later, Indica waited alone in an empty classroom, knee bouncing. Aften walked in clutching a folded note she'd found in her locker. She opened it. Her eyebrows lifted. "Sounds like a love note, but not something a guy would write." Indica covered quickly, saying she spotted an unknown girl slipping the note inside. Aften's surprise warmed into a cautious grin. Indica exhaled. Next visit, chocolates waited on Aften's desk. Indica stuck to the same story. Suspicion flashed across Aften's face, yet Indica held the lie steady and Aften let it pass. Indica tucked away a quiet thrill. A week dragged by. When Indica showed up for another study night, fresh flowers sat on the porch. She handed them over, claiming she found them outside. Aften's patience snapped. Questions tumbled out, each one tighter than the last. Indica stammered. Silence settled, thick, before Aften's eyes widened. The truth landed all at once. Indica froze like headlights caught her mid-step, then confessed. She was the secret admirer. Aften stared. "Why not just say something?" Indica admitted fear had sealed her lips. She hadn't known if Aften liked girls and couldn't risk saying it straight. The clues were her only safe way to ask her to the dance. Aften gripped Indica's hands. Shock lingered, but her voice steadied. "I'm glad you finally told me." Indica swallowed, relief barely formed before Aften leaned in. The kiss caught them both, tentative and hungry, opening into something neither had planned. The mystery dissolved in the heat between them.