The te-afternoon sun snted across the sidewalk as Marisol and Bharath walked up the quiet, familiar street toward the modest Rivera house. It was strange how quickly it had come to feel familiar - the lemon tree out front, the sagging wooden gate, the slightly crooked wind chime that always seemed to rattle half a second too te.

  Marisol exhaled slowly. “Okay. You ready for my mom?”

  “No,” Bharath said immediately. “But I’m good at improvising now.”

  Marisol smirked and squeezed his hand as they stepped up to the porch.

  Before they could knock, the door flew open.

  “Mia-?” Marisol began, but stopped short.

  It was Mia.

  But… not the version she was expecting.

  No smoky eyeliner. No crop tops. No strategically ripped jeans or glittery accessories. Instead, Mia wore loose pajamas stretched across the front, a pair of soft leggings, and her hair pulled up in a no-nonsense bun. A pencil was stuck behind one ear, and she had what looked suspiciously like a textbook tucked under one arm.

  “What in the Fresh Prince is going on here?” Marisol blurted.

  Mia ignored her. Her eyes had locked onto Bharath the moment the door opened - and they lit up like someone had switched on a thousand-watt bulb inside her.

  “Bharath!” she squealed, beaming as she reached for his hand. “You finally came back!”

  Before he could say a word, she grabbed his wrist and tugged him into the house like a prize she didn’t want to share, practically dragging him past a baffled Marisol.

  “Wait-Mia-hello?” Marisol called out, shutting the door behind them.

  “Later!” Mia shouted from down the hall.

  By the time Bharath realized what was happening, he was in Mia’s room, standing in front of a desk covered with neatly arranged fshcards, printouts, a calcutor, and a small dry-erase board on a stand. Her bookshelf, once more decorative than functional, was now crammed with SAT prep books and chemistry manuals.

  She spun around, eyes sparkling. “Okay, so first - look! I’ve been practicing vector problems. Mr. Alvarez said we’re covering this next week, but I wanted a head start. And I’ve been doing mock SATs every other weekend - don’t tell Marisol, she says I’m crazy.”

  Bharath stared, genuinely impressed. “This is… wow. This is incredible, Mia.”

  “I mean, I’m still struggling with some calculus topics,” she said quickly, biting her lip, “but I hope I will get through it.”

  He smiled, touched by her earnestness. “You’re doing all this by yourself?”

  She nodded. “Well, mostly. Sometimes I rope in friends. But no one takes it seriously.”

  She paused, then added - just a bit too casually, “I’ve decided I’m only applying to Georgia Tech. Or maybe Georgia State, if I really don’t get in. But Tech is the dream.”

  Bharath blinked. “You’re aiming for Tech?”

  Mia tilted her head, watching him carefully. “Would that be… weird? If I ended up there?”

  “Are you kidding?” Bharath said, grinning. “That would be amazing.”

  Mia’s eyes widened slightly. “Really?”

  He nodded, stepping forward to look over her notes. “You’d crush it. Honestly, I wish I had been this organized at your age. You’re focused. Motivated. You’ve got the drive. If you keep this up, you'll get in easy next fall.”

  Mia looked away quickly, a faint blush rising in her cheeks.

  Bharath gnced at a sticky note by her desk that read “GT 1999. Get in. No excuses.”

  He turned back to her with a soft smile. “You remind me of your sister, you know.”

  That made Mia look up, a little caught off guard.

  “She’s one of the smartest people I know,” Bharath continued, his voice gentler now. “Not just in books - though yeah, she’s brilliant. But in the way she sees people. The way she fights for the people she loves. The way she never gives up.”

  Mia’s face softened as she watched him.

  “I’m so proud of her,” Bharath said. “And proud to be with her. She’s… one of a kind.”

  The silence that followed was warm. Charged. Mia gnced down, pretending to fix her pencil case.

  “I think she’s proud of you too,” she said quietly. “She talks about you like... you’re everything.”

  Bharath’s voice dropped. “She’s everything to me.”

  Mia swallowed hard, then smiled again. “Well. You better stick around, Bharath.”

  He tilted his head. “Why’s that?”

  “Because if I make it to Tech,” she said, giving him a mock stern look, “I’ll need a study buddy.”

  Bharath ughed, bowing slightly. “It would be an honor.”

  Mia smiled - but this time it lingered. Deeper. Softer. She didn’t look away quite as fast as she normally would. Her eyes studied Bharath’s face just a little too long. The sharp line of his jaw, the careful warmth in his gaze, the way he made her feel like she mattered not because she was pretty or clever, but because she was trying. Because she was becoming.

  And in that quiet, unspoken space between them, something shifted.

  Mia Rivera, for all her teasing and sass, had never once been seriously impressed by a boy before. Not like this.

  She’d flirted. Toyed. Fshed a smile or a gnce, always in control, always keeping boys at arm’s length like pieces on a game board. But Bharath didn’t fit any of the rules. He wasn’t smooth. He wasn’t loud. He wasn’t trying to impress her.

  He was just... there. Steady. Encouraging. Kind in a way that felt rare. Safe in a way that made her question every defense she’d built.

  As he bent over her notes again, pointing out a correction with his index finger, she found herself watching the way his lips moved when he spoke. The way his brow furrowed when he expined a formu. She wasn’t hearing the math anymore.

  She was thinking about how he spoke of Marisol - with awe and respect, not just love. Like her sister was made of gaxies.

  And Mia - for all her pride and bravado - had never seen a man look at a woman like that before.

  No wonder Marisol is so protective of him, Mia thought, heart thudding softly. He’s rare.

  She felt something flutter inside her chest, uneasy and foreign. Admiration, yes - but something sweeter too. A longing she hadn’t known how to name until this very moment - to be seen not just as clever or pretty, but worth the effort. To have someone look at her the way he looked at her sister: like she was already enough.

  And God, how rare that felt. Something that twisted with guilt even as it bloomed.

  Because how could she feel this way about the man her sister loved?

  And yet… there it was. A warmth that crept in under the ribs. A longing not for attention, but for inclusion. To be seen like that. To be spoken of with that same reverence someday. To be worthy of that kind of love.

  She tried to shake it. “You know, you’re making it really hard to stay focused on academics,” she said lightly, hoping her voice still worked.

  Bharath looked up with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I tend to derail focus with my overwhelming charisma.”

  Mia ughed, maybe too loudly. “Right. That’s what it is. Your dad joke energy.”

  “Hey,” he said, mock offended, “I’ve been working hard on that persona.”

  “And succeeding wildly,” she quipped, but her tone had softened again.

  He leaned against the edge of her desk, arms crossed casually, not pressing in but not retreating either. “You’re really serious about Tech.”

  Mia nodded. “More than anything. It’s all I think about tely. I mean, yeah, Georgia State’s a good backup, but I want to be there. I want to walk the same halls you and Marisol walk. I want to be where the best people go.”

  Bharath tilted his head. “You are one of the best people, Mia. Don’t doubt that.”

  Her throat tightened. “I’m not. Not exactly. But I’m trying.”

  He watched her a moment, something unreadable in his eyes. Then he said, more gently, “Trying counts for everything.”

  She looked down, her voice almost a whisper. “I guess I want to matter. Not just be the pretty girl or the wild one or the kid sister everyone underestimates.”

  “You do matter,” Bharath said quietly. “You don’t have to prove anything to matter, Mia. Not to me. Not to anyone. And you’ve got more grit than most people I’ve met at Tech already. That has nothing to do with who your sister is.”

  Mia swallowed. “But I want you to be proud of me too.”

  That came out before she could catch it.

  And the second she said it, she wanted to rewind time.

  Bharath blinked, then smiled. “I am proud of you. Seriously. You’re killing it.”

  She forced a ugh, covering her embarrassment. “You sound like an overinvested soccer dad.”

  He smirked. “Better than being the weird tutor who vanishes after midterms.”

  “Don’t,” she said, pointing at him. “No vanishing. I need you around when I get my acceptance letter. I need someone to gloat to.”

  “Promise,” he said, crossing his heart. “You’ll be at Tech. And I’ll be there to take you out for pizza to celebrate.”

  Her heart flipped at the way he said it - like it was already written. Like he’d just given her future a heartbeat.

  Stop it, she told herself. You’re getting carried away.

  She sat down on the edge of her bed, trying to collect herself. “So… you and Marisol. It’s real, huh?”

  Bharath nodded immediately. “She’s everything.”

  Mia nodded slowly, heart clenching and softening at once. “Yeah. I see that.”

  He gave her a warm, genuine smile. “But you’re something else too, Mia. I hope you know that.”

  Her chest swelled. The words sat in her like light.

  Before she could respond, there was a soft knock at the door.

  Marisol peeked in, eyebrows raised, but her voice was casual. “Everything okay in here?”

  Mia stood up quickly, clearing her throat. “Yeah. Just showing off my empire.”

  Marisol gnced around the room, eyes skimming over the notes and textbooks. “Damn. You weren’t kidding. This is impressive.”

  Bharath nodded with pride. “She’s locked in. GT 1999 - calling it now.”

  Mia tried to keep her smile measured. “Well, I have the best consultants.”

  Marisol stepped in and wrapped an arm around her sister, pulling her close for a quick squeeze. “I’m proud of you, chiquita. Even if you’re trying to dethrone me.”

  Mia grinned. “Just keeping the Rivera legacy strong.”

  The three of them stood there for a beat - something fragile and warm hanging between them.

  Then Mia gently pulled away, brushing imaginary dust from her pajamas. “I should probably get back to my reading.”

  Bharath looked like he might say something else, but Mia was already slipping toward her desk.

  Marisol caught his hand and tugged him out, gncing over her shoulder. “Don’t let the calcutor bite.”

  Once the door shut behind them, Mia let out a slow, steady breath.

  She leaned back in her chair, staring down at her SAT notes, though her eyes weren’t focusing on the equations anymore.

  This is going to be a problem, she thought, heart thudding against her ribs.

  Because somewhere between the ughter, the compliments, and the soft way he said her name…

  She’d started falling for Bharath.

  And she had no idea what to do about it.