𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟯 - 𝗥𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀

◦•●◉✿ Who wants to leave, Leave either way. ✿◉●•◦

𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗵𝗶 𝗣𝗼𝘃

Despite being the worst morning of this month, somehow it’s not the worst day. Today is Friday, which means 𝗙𝗨𝗡 𝗗𝗔𝗬. Today our group is together which means— 🅽🅴🆆 🆁🅴🅴🅻.

I’ve been looking at this trend for a long time now. It’s almost gone but— who cares? People have flooded my DMs for not doing this trend, and I just dropped a story for them to wait for THE BEST. And it can be us all together.

It took me a good three hours to teach the choreo to our most tensed-up persons— 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝘃 and 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁.

Today we specifically came to the mall to make this one specific dance reel. 𝗞𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗿 is a dancer, so of course he pulled it like a pro. As for 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗺𝗮𝘆 and 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶 — they are naturals.

At first, I thought Tanmay would NEVER contribute himself for reels, but this guy blew my mind when he joined me randomly on Ta Ta Ta remix with the Bollywood song Cheez Badi H Mast.

I was shocked by his skills. Our group is energetic and super hyper. We have ganged up and went to weddings with no invitation, and our only goal is to eat and dance.

We hog their stage, give them a performance, and leave before anyone asks us— From which side are you? Groom or Bride?

As soon as I set up everything in the basement so we could film it, our Preet got offended.

"OH HELLO! I practiced my ass off with this fucking shaky-shaky dance just to do it hidden in the FUCKING basement of a mall?" She glared at us, hand resting on her waist.

"𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲," Shiv quickly interjected.

"I OBJECT!" She spoke louder this time. Kabeer sighed, rubbing his sore back while Pari paced around. I looked at Tanmay who just shrugged, while Shiv— poor guy— gave me pleading eyes.

I looked at him apologetically, making him sigh.

"Let’s do it inside. And YOU are talking with the security team because you want to show it off." I pointed my index finger at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh please!" She left toward the lift whistling as if she OWNED the whole mall.

"I swear, I’m leaving the moment she gets kicked out," Pari mumbled under her breath.

"I am a reputed dermatologist and she treats me like a dog," Tanmay groaned, glaring at Preet’s back but not saying it to her face. Pussy!

"𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿, 𝗚𝗼𝗱! 𝗢𝗿 𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹," Shiv said dramatically, clasping his hands, making Kabeer laugh and pat his back.

"You will pull it, I know. Relax yaar, take a chill pill," Kabeer cheered him up, only to get an offended look from Shiv.

"Take a ChILL PiLl," he mocked, moving his hand here and there, making faces. "Easy for you to say, haramkhor. You are a dancer." He grumbled in frustration while Kabeer giggled nervously.

(𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗱.)

"It’s okay, Shivu. If you mess up, make sure you kick down Kabeer, then you won’t be embarrassed alone." I grinned at him. Shiv’s eyes widened with a chaotic flicker; he eyed Kabeer with a menacing smirk, making him gulp.

" 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’t 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁, 𝗯𝗿𝗼! 𝗜’𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆!" Kabeer’s threat turned into pleas, making us all laugh, while Shiv finally rested in peace knowing what to do.

As soon as we reached inside the mall, Preet went toward the staff, chatting as if she had known them for years. We had just arrived here like six hours ago.

We were all in Udaipur— 𝘄𝗵𝘆? Because I cannot risk dancing in our local malls because of the number of relatives I have there. I’ve been hearing enough taunts for pursuing my dream as a choreographer, leaving something which others value most.

I lied, saying I had early classes and had been gone since 6 in the morning from the house. It took us a long four-hour ride to get here and then another hour to teach these two the whole choreo. Now, it’s almost 1 in the afternoon.

Guards came toward us with their guns. Tanmay turned his back quickly while Shiv walked away acting like he was on the phone. I turned to Pari, wanting to reach her, but she started blinking her eyes, flapping her hands, stumbling— what the fuck. I turned to Kabeer, who was long gone. I gaped at them.

"I am a prestigious dermatologist, I cannot afford such disgrace," Tanmay mumbled, rushing toward the antics, blowing non-existing dust. I looked at him with horror.

" 𝗜’𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁," Shiv said on his call, which was on but with no sign of a call. I muttered curses under my breath.

"Kamine saale!" I pinched Pari, making her squirm and run away.

"Are you here for a dance video?" The guard stood in front of me. He wasn’t some bloated sausage figure guy but actually a muscular man, giving bodybuilder vibes. I gulped audibly in fear.

" 𝗜𝗳 𝗵𝗲 hits 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗵𝗶. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆," Tanmay whisper-yelled, which was everything but a whisper.

"Y-Yes, yes. We want to film a dance reel for my account," I murmured back. He asked for proof, so I showed him my I*******m account. He nodded and cleared space for us.

"You have 30 minutes," he said and stood by. Preet hopped back to us. "This is my power, huh!" She flipped her hair dramatically while I glared at them.

"Haramjado, let this video be made first. I’ll break each of you after that!" I slapped the back of Tanmay’s head hard. "And you— what were you thinking when you whispered that, huh?" I fisted his hair. He yelped in pain, chanting sorry like a mantra.

"R—Roohi, time is slipping ," Kabeer whispered, maintaining a safe distance. I let go of Tanmay.

Pari quickly set the ring light and put our filming phone. We practiced twice. The public started stopping by to watch. Shiv was anxious all the way, but Preet was confident. I gave a thumbs up to the guard, who was now officially our music player.

He played the song. We started hitting the choreography. I didn’t know about others until we changed positions as planned and everyone looked fine. I focused on our smooth-going choreo until— a kid ran in the center.

I was ready to stop, but when I saw him matching steps, I let it be. We exchanged glances but shrugged it off, vibing with the song till the end.

As soon as the music faded, we stopped. Pari turned off the camera and saved the video first. I turned toward the kid. He looked down, ready to run away. I gently grabbed his arm and knelt in front of him.

"Why are you running? After such a beautiful performance, you won’t even tell your name?" I smiled at him.

He fiddled with his shirt, looking down. Preet pinched his cheeks lightly. He directly glared at her, puffing his cheeks, making her gasp.

"Sorry, she won’t do that again," I spoke gently and rubbed his cheeks softly. What? I can relate— I also hate when someone pinches my cheeks.

"My name is Arnav," he introduced himself with a huge smile. Kabeer patted his back with a grin.

"You are quite a dancer."

"Correction— he is a cutie dancer," Pari giggled, fisting her hands, making pinching signs. I was damn sure she wanted to squish the hell out of this boy.

"You know, we will upload this video on YouTube " Tanmay crouched down to Arnav’s level.

Arnav raised his brow arrogantly. "Why? Are you not an adult enough to have I***a?" He folded his hands around his chest. Tanmay just looked at him, baffled.

"I wouldn't have tolerated, Bro! " Kabeer laughed in the background.

"Are you lost, by chance?" Shiv spoke from behind. Arnav shook his head no.

"Then where are your parents?" Preet looked around.

"I’m with my Chachu, aunty," Arnav’s words made Preet gasp in terror while we laughed hysterically. Oh God! This boy was a walking daily soap opera, just the funny version.

" 𝗠𝗲… 𝗮𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆? 𝗢𝗵 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳-𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂—" Tanmay held the wild Preet back.

Arnav looked at her up and down with a frown. " .𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹? 𝗠𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲-𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗰𝗵𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹"

" 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗱, 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗼! " Preet thrashed in Tanmay’s arms. "I’m taking her out."

Kabeer gasped for air from stomach-aching laughter.

"He is too good, I swear."

I opened my mouth to ask him about his Chachu, but three men came panting toward us. They looked in their twenties. His chachus ( Uncles ) were handsome, I’ll give them that, no lie.

"Why do you always have to run away, little troublemaker?" one of them said while checking Arnav for injuries.

"Are you his Chachu?" Pari eyed them while Shiv looked at her with eagle eyes. Uh-oh, looks like Uhm—

"Yeah, sorry if he caused trouble," he spoke politely but certainly not welcoming.

"He is good at dan—" "She looks so beautiful, so I came to say hello to her," Arnav cut Pari’s words. I looked down at him as he looked at me with his doe eyes, pleading.

"He is very cute," I smiled back and patted his head.

"Just that?" one of them interjected as if observing. I smiled softly.

"We were just recording a video for my page. He must have found something new, so he came. It’s normal, we encounter many kids like that." I smiled sweetly, looking at him with those bestie-coded eyes.

He nodded, smiling more widely, showing his gums. At this rate, oh boy. "Yes, yes!"

I giggled nervously and pulled him back. Dramatic ass.

"That’s very good. I am Manik, and he is my eldest brother Karan and the youngest Vivan." He smiled and shook hands with us.

"Nice to meet you all. I am Roohi, this is Kabeer, and she is Pari." We shook hands with them.

"Do you guys live here?" Vivan asked, making me realize— FUCK! I had been out the whole day.

My eyes widened. "I am Doomed !" I ran outside, leaving the ring light to Kabeer and Pari, who collected it fast and ran behind me.

We threw everything in the trunk and sat in the car. Tanmay was already in the driver’s seat, while angry Preet sat on the passenger side.

"Fly this car back! I HAVE to reach before 6," I yelled. Tanmay flinched and quickly started the engine, taking off like a jet.

"It’s 3 in the afternoon," Preet mumbled.

"And I have to reach before 6," I snarled at her. "Mummy gave me an ultimatum to reach before 6. I lied to her, saying I had packed classes today." Kabeer took my cold palm, rubbing it.

"Relax, stress won’t magically transport you there. It’ll take 4 hours if the road is all clean," Tanmay said calmly.

"It’s okay, Roohi. Just tell them your classes stretched," Pari patted my knee, but I paid no heed.

"They don’t care. Dance is useless to them," I mumbled back, shrinking onto Kabeer. It’s good that we girls are slim and these two are not fat, or else we four would have suffered from suffocation.

"If you want, we can accompany you to your house," Preet smiled reassuringly, but I shook my head.

"They will get more angry. No need."

I sink further on Kabeer.

𝗧𝗼 𝗕𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲…