I looked really out of the place among my friends. While they were clad in new shiny attire, I was wearing the same clothes I had worn for college. Yasir and Rehman kept scolding me for ruining our crew's image and commented that anyone would have thought that the guys had kidnapped me.

I was really not in the mood to fight with them, so I ignored their taunts.

We had reached Bandra after a journey of one and a half hours and were walking towards the venue. Somehow, I wanted to return and had started regretting my decision of coming along. I didn't know the reason, but my heart was acting crazy. I was feeling the same anxiousness I had felt while giving auditions.

"I really can't understand you," Yasir said to me while giving a stinky eye.

"Don't start again," I groaned.

"Why can't you just put some more effort into your style? We are seeing you in the same type of clothes since we were babies."

Rehman nodded. "Right, bro. We know she is an adult, but anyone else will think that we are bodyguarding a malnourished kid."

Shlok raised his eyebrows in surprise. "That sounds so wrong!"

"Exactly!" I glared at Yasir and Rehman. "Shlok, you are my only friend."

Shlok grinned. "Though... I think that we are bodyguarding a stick."

I kicked Shlok so hard that he stumbled forward and would have landed in a gutter if Vibhan and Akshay hadn't caught him.

"Enjoy your childish fights all you want, but after we reach the venue, don't do anything stupid to ruin my image. Or else, I will crack all of your skulls," Vibhan warned, and he was damn serious this time.

I hopped merrily. "You heard the captain! Don't mess with me."

I smiled cheekily at Vibhan, and he grabbed my ear. "The guys are right. You totally look out of the place."

"I don't have any money to buy new clothes," I said.

"Really?" Vibhan quirked an eyebrow.

I knew he and other guys thought that I was lying, but what I had said was actually true. I didn't have any money to buy blingy clothes like them. But, they didn't need to know about that, or else they would have gotten worried about my family situation.

I sighed. "Just act like I am not here at all."

"We don't have to act for that. You are so short that even a mosquito won't notice you," Rehman said and started laughing at his own joke.

"Anyways, what's with your rotten mood?" Akki asked. "You will get to see TJ outside of the college and dance studio, and still you don't look much excited. Also, why aren't you dressed nicely?"

"What's the use?" I shrugged. "Tejas will never notice me even if I am the only girl on the planet."

"How would he when you look like an alien?" Rehman commented.

"Rehman!" I jumped on him and bit his arm.

He tried to throw me off, but I was stuck to him like a spider.

"You will spoil my new clothes!" Rehman yelled.

"It will be my pleasure." I smirked.

As already warned by Vibhan, he shot us a glare when Rehman and I kept pulling each other's hair even when we reached the venue. We left for the washrooms to tidy up, while the rest of our crew entered the dance club.

In the washroom, I checked my appearance and wondered if what I was wearing really looked not suitable for the place. After scrutinizing my reflection for what felt like an eternity, I gave up - my eyes were hurting to see myself for so long.

I tidied up my hair and exited the washroom. Rehman was waiting for me in the passageway, and I noticed a few girls glancing at him while going their ways. Unfortunately, that idiot was busy admiring himself in his phone's front camera.

He noticed my reflection in his phone and scolded me for making him wait.

"What were you doing in there for so long? If you wanted to take a dump, then you could have told me earlier. I wasted so much of my precious time because of you," Rehman complained.

I raised my hand to punch him but remembered Vibhan's warning. In order to keep my head intact with my body, I controlled my anger and tolerated Rehman's gibberish as we walked towards the entrance.

"Bhoomi, don't get jealous," Rehman said, his head raised high.

"Jealous of what?" I queried.

"Of other girls. I know they won't be able to handle my beauty and may approach me, so don't turn into a bull, okay?"

I fisted my hands. "Rehman..... Don't try your luck."

"Oops, my bad." He grinned and increased his pace.

He crossed the entrance, and I followed him in a slow pace.

Rehman should be thankful to Vibhan, or I would have barbequed him by now.

I entered the club, and my ears almost got blasted. If I wasn't used to the heavy music, I would have lost my eardrums. I squeezed myself between the crowd, trying to locate my friends.

The moment I used to raise my head, some giant would block my vision. I couldn't believe that I was struggling to push the people of my own age to make way for myself.

Why do I feel like I will get lost?

I asked the crowd to give me space, but everyone was busy dancing. I scrunched my nose when the awful smell of sweat mixed with different kinds of perfumes attacked my senses. I decided to call Akki to save myself.

What Rehman had said about me being too short seemed to be true after all. I called Akshay, and the moment he picked up the call, someone grabbed my left hand.

I was pulled out of the thick jungle of humans so fast that everyone looked like a blur. My feet felt like gliding on ice, and within a few seconds, I was standing in a less populated place - I inhaled oxygen as if I was deprived of it for months.

When I noticed that the hand that had grabbed my wrist had vanished as soon as it saved me, I looked around me. Judging by the strength, I knew the person who helped me must have been a guy.

I tapped the shoulder of a guy busy on his phone; I wasn't completely sure though. I opened my mouth to clear my doubt, but he beat me to it.

"What do you want?" The guy asked in an irritated voice.

Not him for sure.

"Sorry," I said.

I searched for my saviour, but the more I tried to concentrate, the more unknown faces seemed to be increasing.

"Oye, Boom Boom Boomer!"

My ears snapped up straight. I waved my hand at Akki, and as soon as he reached me, he knocked me on the head.

"You called me and stopped talking all of a sudden, idiot!" Akki scolded.

I checked my phone and noticed that the call was still ongoing. I cut the call and showed my Colgate smile. Akshay grabbed my hand and pulled me in front of him. Thanks to him, I had no problem reaching the battle arena.

"There are a lot of strangers here, so be careful," Akshay adviced.

I nodded absentmindedly. My eyes were busy taking in the scene in front of me. A huge metallic stage proudly sat in the middle of the arena. Behind it, a long stage accompanied the panel of judges, and on the right, above the audience, sat the DJ with his heavy equipments. The people of various backgrounds had covered every inch of available floor and cheered at the top of their voices for their favourite artists.

My eyes took some time to adjust to the multicoloured lightings bouncing above us. I happily stood behind the thick crowd, not wanting to turn myself into a pulp again.

Akshay pushed me forward, and I complained why he was doing so. Even though I couldn't properly see the stage, I was satisfied.

"We need to go to the front," Akki said.

"But why?" I asked.

Instead of answering me, Akshay paved the way for me, and I was shocked to see my crew comfortably sitting in the front and second rows.

"Did you go to take another dump, Bhoomi?" Rehman asked.

Vibhan shot him a glare, and he shut up. He scolded him for leaving me behind. I agreed with my captain and took my seat beside Pratik, Rehman and Shlok. I had a nice view from sitting between the space behind Akshay, Vibhan, and Yasir. From my spot, the lighting on my eyes also reduced, and I was able to hit Rehman whenever I wanted without Vibhan knowing.

When the host came on the stage and started announcing the artist lineup for the night, I got really excited. I was going to see a lot of famous faces. Soon, the judges signalled for the show to begin, and the stage was thumping like a heart once the performances began.

Between the individual routines, Vibhan left to mingle with the dance crews. He told us to eat if we were hungry. Since our stomachs had started growling, Rehman, Pratik, and I left to stuff ourselves. Akshay, Shlok, and Yasir decided to leave after we returned.

To not get scolded by Vibhan again, Rehman told me to hold his hand while Pratik held my other hand. I really felt like I was walking with my parents. We reached the counter and ordered some food. I was hesitant after seeing the high prices, but fortunately, everything was included in our tickets.

As it was our habit, we began eating like starved hyenas; though Rehman tried to act sophisticated, he could no longer continue with the act. After our bellies satisfactorily looked like footballs, we ordered some dessert.

"Let's hurry up, guys, The Emperors will arrive soon," Pratik reminded.

On hearing, The Emperors' name, Rehman instantly gulped down the whole ice-cream tub in one go. He rushed me to finish my share, and I got annoyed.

"Don't you want to see your crush? Hurry up!" Rehman told me.

Crush...?

I wanted to correct my friend but knew it would have been useless. It was because of my earlier behaviour only that my friends kept teasing me about Tejas.

After I was done eating, we left. As we moved towards our seats, we noticed The Emperors occupying their seats across the stage. My crew waved their hands at them, and they acknowledged our presence by nodding at us.

Hriaan sat in the middle of his crew, leaving a seat for their captain. I wondered where Tejas was but soon reminded myself about what rules I had decided for myself.

I was acting like an elegant person, minding my business, but the idiots beside me started poking me as soon as Tejas arrived. He was wearing a black mask, his head covered in a matching cap and goggles. He looked really mysterious in his all-black outfit, and I could feel the serious aura around him even if he was sitting meters away from me.

I moved my eyes away the moment he snapped his head in our direction after removing his goggles. I observed the crowd that went crazy as soon as Tejas appeared. The cheers of "TJ, TJ!" and "The Emperors!" were echoing in the arena.

"Oye, Bhoomi, where are you looking?" Yasir asked.

I sighed. "I am observing."

Yasir expressed his disappointment at my lack of proper reaction. He ignored me when I didn't reply to any of his further queries. I knew my crew was busy interacting with The Emperors through signals and talking loudly, but I kept my attention elsewhere.

I am here as an audience - I will not make a fool out of myself.

I nodded to myself and looked in front of me. Even if my eyes automatically landed on The Emperors - mostly on their captain - I acted like I wasn't bothered at all. Hearing Tejas's crew's name from the audience reminded me of my own old days. If possible, I would have been the loudest in the arena.

While I was checking out other crews, trying to judge who could be their best dancer and what kind of performances they were going to give, I felt hair on my neck rise.

Why is my heart rate having fluctuations? Am I really going to die young? Or maybe I ate too much and all that food has shifted to other organs?

I ignored the weird feeling, but as the time kept passing slowly, I kept getting knots in my stomach.

"I don't want to go the washroom right now," I mumbled.

"Bhoomi, what do you think about The Emperors' rivals today?" Akki asked, looking behind at me.

"I don't know." I shrugged.

"Seriously, Boomer, where's your attention?" he grumbled. "The crew going against The Emperors is a tough team, but they look really overconfident since TJ won't be joining his team today."

Nodding in agreement, Akki and I discussed that crew's lineup before falling back into silence. Like earlier, I got busy analysing the dancers.

The moment I felt that strong feeling again, sensing a familiar stare on me, I moved my head really fast. I twisted my lips when I noticed Tejas looking at his phone.

I am sure I sensed him looking at me. Are my senses working fine?

But, Bhoomi, why would he look at you though?

Why not? I was in his team after all. He must be throwing leftover curses at me after he saw me.

Really? But I don't think that's the reason.

Whatever.

After I kept feeling the same, I glanced in Tejas's direction to confirm my doubt. I did it for about six to seven times, and every time, my suspicion failed. Pratik told me to stop acting like that as he was getting scared. Tejas was sitting very calmly with almost no trace of any motion.

Am I hallucinating? Is my heart acting on its own due to muscle memory? But why now? Why is my blood pumping source not co-operating with my grey matter?

I tried for one last time, and got the same result. I gave up. I won't let my stupid thoughts win.

I focused on the ongoing battle. Soon, I succeeded in distracting myself. I joined my friends in cheering the crews and enjoyed every match. After a few battles, it was now time for The Emperors to go against their opponents.

Both dance teams walked on the stage and began giving each other once-overs. I kept my enthusiasm in check as I was already anticipating how my favourite team was going to perform without their captain.

Okay, let's get ready. Let me see how much they have improved. Maybe, I will be able to learn some new stuff today.