Celebrity Crush

S - 1

As soon as he steps into the airport's terminal gate, continuous flashing starts to engulf him. He doesn't look away nor freeze. He just continues walking like it's just another day, because for him, it is.

"Saaku! Saaku here!"

"Over here!"

Click. Click. Click.

"Excuse me. Please back away," security warns the paparazzi as he continues walking, guarded by 4 of them.

Saakith Venkat, famously known as Saaku. Actor, model, part time photographer. He's Tollywood's current biggest rising star, labelled as one of the most handsome men in India and Hyderabad's most eligible bachelor.

"Saakith, one picture please!" fans of all ages scream as he walks by the line of crowds waiting for him.

He slows down for a fraction of a second and looks at his main security guard for approval. The guard nods but keeps close as Saakith makes his way towards the fan and poses at a safe distance.

Fans scream and click pictures as fast as they can before he's forced to keep walking, this time at a quicker pace. He's late.

He slides into the backseat of the car and the engine roars to life. Fans and paparazzi are piling around the car as it slowly weaves its way through the crowd. Saakith sighs a breath of relief once they make it onto the local roads.

"Any water, sir?" his driver asks him.

"Yes, please," he replies.

The driver hands him a bottle of water and he takes a slightly shaky, out of breath sip before slipping the bottle into the cup holder.

"I must go to the studio to get ready for the interview. I'm already kind of late because of my delayed flight," Saakith says calmly, masking his slight nervousness. He hates being late.

He's not a big fan of interviews because they always ask him the same questions but in different variations over and over again.

After 30 minutes, he arrives at the studio and is immediately surrounded by all kinds of stylists. They spend a bit of time getting him ready. He finally changes out of his airport outfit and into a stylish suit.

Saakith makes his way through the busy backstage and enters the interview area once announced. The audience clap and cheer loudly, some scream.

"Welcome to In-tea-view, Saakith! It's so wonderful to finally have you on the show!" announces Rahul, the talk-show host as he extends his hand to Saakith.

Saakith takes his hand with a smile and shakes it firmly. They sit down and the crowd settles down with them.

"So Saakith, let's first ask how are you feeling right now?"

"I'm feeling great! Just a little jet lagged because I just landed back here today but I feel better because I really missed the Telangana weather. It was way too hot in Chennai. I felt like I was going to melt into a puddle," the audience chuckled.

The show goes on for a good 30 minutes and Saakith is fully comfortable as he jokes around with the host. Then comes the questions he dreads and he plasters a fake smile on his face, one he's mastered before he even entered the film industry.

"So Saakith... Many of your fans have the same question I have," Rahul grins and rests his elbows on his knees, "We've heard of rumours regarding you and actress Priya Chaudhary. Let's talk about that, shall we?"

Saakith chuckles and shakes his head. He shrugs, "Ask away."

A picture shows up on the big screen of them eating ice cream and the audience giggles. Rahul turns to Saakith with a sly smile, "We heard that you both had a bit of off-screen chemistry in your recently released movie despite her not being the lead actress. That means there must be something going on that you chose to have a connection with her."

Saakith blinks a few times at the absurdity of the question but quickly masks it with a slightly neutral expression, "There's nothing going on, trust me. We just connected because she reminds me of my cousin. They have the exact same humour."

The audience playfully boos him and he chuckles. Rahul raises an eyebrow.

"Not even a little spark?"

"Not even a little. That's insane," Saakith shakes his head and chuckles, clearly feeling uncomfortable with the invasion of his personal life.

"What's insane is that the most eligible bachelor of Tollywood decides to spend time with another actress and not expect us to feel even a bit of suspicion. Am I right?" Rahul asks the audience and they all cheer in agreement.

Saakith chuckles and sighs quietly. He wants to leave but he can't.

After a long 20 more minutes, the outro happens and the audience are all screaming and cheering as he leaves. He turns back and waves as he blows kisses to the audience.

He makes his way backstage to change out of his studio outfit. When he finishes, some members of the crew ask for his autograph and he gives it to them.

After two hours, he finally gets back to his hotel room so he freshens up and jumps under the covers. He pulls out his phone and types in her username on Instagram.

D...o...l...

His heart skips a beat when it comes up as the first username in the list. As always.

He clicks on it and checks her latest posts. Nothing new for now.

"Up to date," he says as he continues scrolling down her page anyway.

He clicks on a post that he's seen at least 50 times in the past few weeks.

Her in a pretty purple lehenga. Dark brown hair let loose in soft waves, hovering just above her hips. Olive brown skin with a facial bone structure that compliments her deep, dark brown eyes and eyebrows. She doesn't have the so-called "perfect" teeth, which many people oftentimes judge her for, but he doesn't care. He likes her the way she is.

Except she doesn't know.

His crush.

And if anyone knew, the world would go into chaos. That would be detrimental to both of their lives... So instead, he keeps quiet.

They've never spoken before. He doesn't have her number or even follow her on any socials. Just like most fans, he just observes from behind the screen.

He fondly zooms into the pictures in the post, memorizing every detail of her face so he can etch it into his memory until he slowly falls asleep.

Unknowingly, he likes the post. This is the one thing he dreads when he does his nightly ritual. He's done it before by accident on multiple occasions but it's always when he's fully conscious so he immediately unlikes it but this time... this time he's not.

He sleeps peacefully after having a long day. Tomorrow is an off day so he set no alarm.

He dreams of her.