Invisible String

Chapter 2 : Do I hear wedding bells?

Word count: 1398
Naina's POV

Watching Samaira pace back and forth, I couldn't help but feel a pang of amusement. Who would have thought a guy could rattle her so much? It was entertaining, to say the least.

"Naina, do you think I was a bit too harsh? I mean, I shouldn't feel bad if he was at fault, but this man was being so freaking annoying. Argh, just thinking about him is making me angrier," Samaira vented about her morning encounter.

"Okay, as much as i am enjoying this, you need to stop loosing your shit over some random dude or I’m going to think you are in love with him," I said, trying to lighten the mood, "Now, let’s focus on the more important things in life such as which one of these should I wear to Kriti's wedding? The red or the black one? I can't decide."

Our best friend was getting married in less than 24 hours, which was why we decided to have a shopping spree after work. But taking Samaira shopping was a piece of work in itself. My outfit mattered for three reasons: first, the guy Kriti was marrying was one of my clients-such a small world we live in; second, I was one of the bridesmaids; and third, well, I am one of the main characters, so, of course, my outfit mattered, duh.

"Wear anything, you'd slay," Samaira responded absentmindedly, still glued to her phone, probably sending a few emails.

“Thank you Sam for being of absolutely no fucking help” I called out to her and huffed in annoyance. I just decide to buy the red one because it made me look as if it was my wedding day but it didn’t matter because you could never outshine an Indian bride no matter what you wear.

After shopping until our wallets were practically empty, we ended up crashing at Samaira's place, greeting her parents before plopping onto the couch.
"Beta, you're here after so long," her dad exclaimed.

"ha uncle, Samaira se shaadi karke aa rahi hu ab ghar jamai toh me hi hu aapki"
(Yeah, uncle, Samaira and I just got married so from now on I'm your stay-at-home daughter-in-law) I joked, earning a chuckle from everyone.
We continued to joke around, and eventually, I decided it would be best to sleep over and get ready with Samaira for tomorrow's wedding because I had a feeling, we were in for a lot more than just a simple wedding.

***time skip***

Reaching the venue, I couldn't help but awe at Kriti, who looked like the prettiest bride to exist. She was indeed like a celestial nymph descended from heaven itself. (Swarg se utri hui kokil kanthi apsara lag rahi ho)

Samaira, always the social butterfly, found one of her clients and decided to have a chat, leaving me standing there like a lost kid at the supermarket. So, to avoid standing there awkwardly like a statue, I made a beeline for my favourite spot at any wedding-the pani puri counter a.k.a the entire reason I go to weddings.

Heading straight towards my first love, I placed my order with the incharge
“Bhaiya, ek teekha (give a spicy one)," I said, anticipation building as I waited for that burst of spicy goodness to hit my taste buds.

****************

Aditya's POV:

Usually, I'm not one to attend weddings, but today was an exception. It was Mr. Sharma's daughter's wedding-Mr. Sharma, our teacher back in 12th grade. Kabir and I were his favourite students, and receiving such a heartfelt invitation compelled me to attend with Kabir. We even spotted a few of our batchmates there.

As I strolled around, searching for Mr. Sharma, my attention was diverted by the sight of the pani puri stall. Sorry, sir, you'll have to wait a while longer because I've just found the love of my life. Approaching the stall, I overheard something that made my heart skip a beat.

"Bhaiya, ek teekha," a girl beside me with a voice as sweet as honey asked, her jhumkas and bindi accentuating her beauty. She looked absolutely flawless in that red lehenga of hers. Her eyes looked like pools of molten chocolate that looked so easy to drown in. The way she was laughing at something her friend said, it was like a symphony I would never grow tired of hearing, ever. Her smile could light up even the darkest of dawns. No doubt I had met many models and actresses but something about this girl made me never want to look away.

I was never the one to believe in stuff like “love at first sight” and thought that it was just bogus but right now, I wasn’t so sure. Might as well take a chance, I mean come on how bad could it be?

Deciding to use my face card, I approached her with my smoothest line, "Hey sweetheart, Aditya Chauhan here, how you doin’?" Half expecting her to swoon all over me. But instead, she looked me up and down as if I were some alien and continued with her pani puri muttering a small "Dumbass."

Did this girl just ignore me? Never once did I think I'd be humbled by a woman like this. Determined to at least know her name, I tried again. "Aside from being drop-dead gorgeous, what do you do for a living?"

Naina PoV

I was busy savouring the best treat to ever exist until this man hit me up with Joey's pick-up line and had the audacity to call me “sweetheart”. I can’t deny that he looked extremely handsome with the kind of chiselled face that made him look like a piece of art. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t annoy the fuck out of me the second he opened his mouth. Didn't expect this from an international football player. I tried to avoid him and focus on my pani puri until he spoke again.

"Aside from being drop-dead gorgeous, what do you do for a living?" he asked, his tone dripping with confidence.
Placing my plate on the rack, I turned towards this handsome young man.
I stepped a bit closer to him and his smile widened in anticipation and hope. Poor guy must be thinking I’m into him.

"Has that line ever worked for you? Even once? And as for your question, I tend to crush egos of cocky men like yourself for a living," I said with a sarcastic smile on my face, noticing the surprise in his expression.

He quickly regained his posture, his smirk widening as if he was about to say something good. "Well, I was trying to say something cute, but I couldn't think of anything cuter than that smile of yours.”
Okay that line actually shut me up. My cheeks heated up, giving him a view of my blushing cheeks. His smirk widened; yeah, he definitely saw that blush. “I must say you look even more beautiful when you’re flustered” he says with that stupid smirk on his face.

I quickly jump to my own defence saying, “I am not flustered. I’m nauseous, so if you excuse me I have much more interesting matters to tend to than your idiotic attempts at flirting. What a waste of good looks.” As soon as I said that, I regretted it almost immediately because I saw that his smirk had now turned into a big smile and he said, “You think I’m good looking?”

Exasperated, I throw my hands out. “That’s all you gathered from that? Unbelievable”. I immediately start to walk away, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks.

“See you later, sweetheart” He calls out behind me and I just shake my head and keep walking without looking back, biting back a smile which was about to creep out on my face.

I would be lying if I said he didn’t even interest me a bit, but I didn't know what kind of man he was. Every other month, he had a dating rumour with one actress or another. Besides, I had learned my lesson the last time and I wasn’t in any mood for a repeat telecast.

I start looking for Samaira, walking far away from there only to witness a scene which I wished I had popcorn for.