Aadi had never really thought much about love. Sure, he had watched those cheesy movies where the hero runs through the airport or stands in the rain with flowers, but real life? It seemed... quieter. Safer. Until he met Meera.

It was the first week of college, and everything still smelled new - fresh books, polished floors, hope. Aadi, with his messy hair and even messier notebooks, was trying to find the economics lecture hall when he literally bumped into her.

Books flew. Apologies spilled. And there she was - Meera - with laughter tucked at the corners of her mouth and eyes that looked like they had already forgiven him.

"Lost?" she asked, brushing dust off her jeans.

"Terminally," Aadi replied, embarrassed.

She smiled, a small curve of her lips that somehow hooked right into his chest.

"I'm headed there too," she said, swinging her bag onto her shoulder. "Come on."

And just like that, walking side by side, pretending not to steal glances at her, Aadi felt something he had only read about before - the slow, heart-thumping realization that he wanted to know everything about this girl.

Their friendship grew quickly, naturally. They would sit on the library floor eating terrible cafeteria sandwiches, sharing music through a single pair of earbuds, complaining about professors and planning impossible trips across the world.

Aadi fell in love the way a page catches fire - quietly at first, then all at once.

One evening, during the college festival, with fairy lights tangled in trees and the sound of music beating through the air, Aadi found himself standing with Meera on the rooftop, away from the crowd. She was wearing a blue kurta that moved with the wind, and her hair smelled like jasmine.

"I wish moments like these could last forever," she said, leaning against the railing, looking at the stars.

"Maybe they do," Aadi replied, heart hammering against his ribs.

She turned to him, her eyes bright and questioning.

"I think I..." he started, the words catching in his throat. He had imagined this moment a thousand times, but now that it was here, it felt too big, too sacred to be clumsy with.

She waited, a patient, beautiful silence between them.

"I think I'm in love with you," he said, voice barely above a whisper.

There was a beat - a terrifying, suspended second - before Meera smiled. A slow, dazzling smile that felt like the world unfolding.

"I know," she said, stepping closer, her fingers finding his. "I've been waiting for you to say it."

Aadi laughed, a sound full of wonder and disbelief, and before he could overthink it, Meera leaned in and kissed him. Softly, sweetly - a promise written in touch.

And just like that, under a sky full of stars, Aadi realized that first love wasn't like in the movies - it was better. It was real.