Sameera's POV:
Janvhi's room looked like a battlefield that had lost to a hurricane made of straighteners, scrunchies, open compacts, and eyeshadow palettes. A curling rod was dangerously close to melting a pile of clothes. It was chaos, the exact kind of chaos I secretly loved.
And of course, I was doing everyone's makeup.
"Hold still, Shreya! I swear your eyeliner is about to stab your eye," I warned- one hand holding her face like a sculpture and other dragging a thin stroke of kajal as precisely as possible.
In the background, Sanskruti was straightening Manjiri's hair while Sneha was digging through someone's bag looking for highlighter. Aryan texted "Where tf are y'all?" three times already. He clearly didn't understand the emotional complexity of girls getting ready.
I hadn't even started getting dressed.
"Sam , what are you wearing?" Janvhi asked, adjusting her earrings in the mirror.
I shrugged, applying mascara to Shreya's lashes. "No clue. Probably jeans and a kurti or something. I didn't bring anything too fancy."
That's when Sanskruti popped up from behind the bed. "Wait wait wait, try that white dress I brought! The puff sleeve one I made you try once!"
" Noo yaar, that's yours and it barely fit me properly the last time."
Destiny. Huh. Dramatic much?
They practically dragged me into the bathroom with the dress, and I stood in front of the mirror, slipping into it. It hugged me better than I remembered - soft, airy fabric, a neckline that made my collor bones pop just a little, and sleeves that gave it most elegant vibe. I stared for a second, not sure if this was still me in the reflection.
I opened the door, fidgeting the dress. "It's tight na? I don't think I should wear this..."
For a second, the room actually went silent.
Then... Whistles, literal whistles.
"Holy crap, you look like a Disney character," Manjiri said.
"Or a walking pinterest board," added Sneha.
Shreya gasped dramatically. "Every guy's going to faint, mark my words."
"Oh especially Saharsh," Sanskruti said with the fakest innocent smile she could muster.
My eyes rolled before I could stop them. "Oh god, don't start."
"You know he was looking at you during the decoration setup," Janvhi chimed in. "Like I had to literally wave a hand in front of his face to bring him back to earth."
"Yeah, maybe because I fell into his arms like a total klutz," I muttered.
Sanskruti smirked. "And he still didn't let go for a whole extra second. We saw that too."
"You guys are being ridiculous."
"But you're blushing," Shreya teased.
"I'm not. This is just heat," I lied, adjusting my hair and trying not to smile. "Anyway, he's just opinionated. Kind of annoying. Always acting like he knows everything."
"Sounds like someone's protesting too much," Sneha sing-songed.
I tried to brush it off, but inside... yeah maybe a tiny part of me was wondering if he would notice this dress.
Maybe.
Saharsh's POV:
The venue was almost ready, 'almost' meant "don't touch anything or it'll fall apart."
The fairy lights were holding up (barely), the speakers were working (until someone accidentally disconnected then again), and the welcome banner still hanging on for dear life with double tape. But still everything looked beautiful.
The event was technically supposed to start in ten minutes.
But of course, the girls were still missing.
And by missing, I mean they hadn't made their dramatic entrance yet.
"Bro, what's the point of giving them a time slot if they are gonna invent their own timezone?" Aryan muttered, waving a fan in front of his face.
"They've probably been doing makeup for the last three hours," Ujjwal added, lounging on the edge of the table like he'd given up on life.
"Why do they need this long to get ready anyway?" Atharva groaned. "They're literally the same girls we see everyday."
Shivam scoffed. "Nope. Not today. Today they're goona arrive like runway models and act like we are not allowed to blink."
We all chuckled.
"You're just worried about Kiara," I smirked.
"I'm worried about survival," he replied dryly. "If I say the wrong thing about her outfit, she might choke me with a hair straightener."
"Fair," Aryan nodded. "Remember last year when Janvhi wore black and every guy said something stupid? She made a guy cry."
Everyone laughed.
I looked around, trying to look casual. Cool. Collected.
But my eyes... Well, they were definitely looking for someone.
It was stupid, really. I didn't even know her name until a few days ago. And even now, after catching her- quite literal mid-air during decorations, I hadn't had an actual conversation with her beyond awkward eye contact and a mutual"uh thanks" moment.
Still.
Something about her made the air different. Like I was waiting for something to happen the moment she walked in.
"Dude," Atharva nudged me. "Who are you scanning the crowd for? There is no chief guest coming."
"I'm not scanning," I muttered.
"Lies," Aryan said, elbowing me from the other side. "We've seen you do that eye-wander thing. Just accept it that you're waiting for someone."
"Tell me it's the girl from the ladder you're looking for," Ujjwal grinned. "You looked like a Bollywood slo-mo when you caught her."
"It's not like that," I said, a little too quickly.
As the jokes kept flying, I laughed along, but my gaze kept flickering toward the entrance. Not on purpose, obviously just... in case she came early.
Or late.
Or exactly when the sky started turning that perfect pink-gold, and the lights above the gate switched on by themselves.
And that's when I saw her.
Sameera.
Wearing a white dress so effortlessly graceful it actually made me forgot how to blink for a second. Her hair fell over one shoulder, soft curls catching the fairy lights. Deep Kohl-lined eyes. Glossy lips. A faint blush accross her cheeks, like she'd just stepped out of a poetry.
Beautiful.
And completely unaware of how she looked.
I straightened my collor, completely forgetting how to be a normal human being for a few seconds.
"Aha," Aryan muttered behind me. "Found her."
Atharva smirked. "Should we all faint one by one just to set the mood?"
I shook my head l, trying not to smile. "You'll need help."
Shivam nudged me, grinning. "That dress is dangerous, you good lover boy?"
I couldn't answer.
Because she looked up- just for a moment and our eyes met.
The moment felt like fire and snowfall all at once.