Nova's POV
Gossip never announces itself.
It slips in quietly, disguised as concern, wearing the voice of a friend.
It was after class, when the corridor was half-empty and the noise had softened into echoes. Swasti walked beside me, her steps quick, her expression tight like she had been holding something in for too long.
"Nova," she said suddenly, lowering her voice. "Have you noticed Dishita lately?"
I already knew where this was going, and yet, I didn't stop her.
"Noticed what?" I asked carefully.
Swasti scoffed. "Everything. The way she acts. The way she sits with Harshith all the time. The way she pretends nothing's changed."
I stayed quiet.
"She's acting like we don't exist," Swasti continued. "Like we were just… convenient until someone better showed up."
Her words felt sharp, but underneath them, I heard something else.
Hurt.
Swasti's POV
I wasn't trying to gossip.
At least, that's what I told myself.
"I mean, think about it," I said to Nova. "First the distance, then the fight, and now this." I gestured vaguely in the direction of the classroom. "She doesn't even look back anymore."
Nova didn't respond, which somehow made it worse.
"And Harshith," I added, my voice dropping. "Don't you think it's weird? All sweet and quiet, like he's doing her a favor."
The moment the words left my mouth, they felt ugly.
But I didn't take them back.
Nova's POV
I stopped walking.
"Swasti," I said gently. "I think you're hurting."
She looked away.
"That doesn't mean Dishita is doing this to hurt you."
Swasti's jaw tightened. "So you're taking her side now?"
"There aren't sides," I replied. "Not really."
She laughed bitterly. "That's easy for you to say. You're not the one being replaced."
The word replaced lingered between us.
I thought of Dishita's blush during snack break. Of Harshith's quiet kindness. Of Swasti's silence after the fight.
No one here was winning.
Swasti's POV
I hated that Nova sounded reasonable.
"I just don't want to look stupid," I admitted softly. "Like I meant nothing."
For the first time, my anger slipped.
"What if she never cared the way I did?"
The question scared me more than the answer.
Nova's POV
I placed a hand over Swasti's.
"You mattered," I said. "You still do."
But as we stood there, I couldn't shake the feeling that words—once spoken—don't stay between two people for long.
They travel.
And soon, everyone would hear them.