With the sun-rays still peeping from behind the clouds, Fab 5 left the hotel and embarked on their journey to Dehradun. Manik raced his bike on the curvy hills while the rest followed in their jeep. The cold, windy morning pleasantly caressed their faces and even in the utmost silence in which they drove, they felt complete.

The serenity set in with the winding roads, the breeze cooled the five raging hearts. Two of them beat together and stole glances while the naughty twin minds caught each-other's frequencies for songs. And flying along the winds of Dehradun, the solo soul searched for the familiarity he felt. This calmness carried an aura of its own, as if he was home.

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"Come on Nandu!"

"Coming! Hold on to your horses for a sec!" she called out while grabbing her sling bag. She glanced at the mirror for a sneak peak at her flowing straight, long hair and breezy tassel crochet boho tops that were underlined with her blue jean shorts. She loved the aura and her excitement reached an unknown level of happiness. Something was beautifully off but she loved it. Shuffling into her sandals, she hopped down the stairs and made her way through the door.

"Finally, you're here, sexy!"

"I was always here, you weren't!" she cheerfully said and climbed on the bike. "Broom away, magician!"

"Brace up, ladybug!" Shortly after, they zoomed their way down the roads of Clock Tower. Destination- Virasaat.

One side of the road brought along a broken band that looked over their shoulders for each-other, while the other carried along a breath of fresh air- two friends that sang along on top of their voices, enjoying themselves in the breeze. Busy in themselves, neither did they realize when the bikes and jeeps crossed each-others paths and the two moved on from themselves.

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The lights were dim and the sky held a beautiful pearl- pink and royal purple. The rosiness in the sky blended into the aura of the crowd dancing on their beats. Dangling fairy lights, the barbecue smell of the air and the soft EDM ringing carried the carefree jolly mood. Nandini pulled Aryaman along into the crowd and it didn't take time for them to loose themselves int he madness. They were tipsy without a drink, they cruised along without being on a ship, they found themselves without knowing anyone around. In all, Nandini felt she was in better place. Comparison was not what she thought, but, yes, she indeed enjoyed this carefree, fresh life-a life, she had secretly wished for.

It was almost when the sky turned the color of love when Fab 5 pulled their jeep and bike into Virasaat. Stunned at the madness they saw, they made their way into the crowd which cared the least that the rulers of Space had arrived. They bumped into unknown faces that held a smile of apology and a charm of the upbeat music. Everyone was lost. 

A familiar scent strummed Manik's heart and his eyes searched for the familiarity. Failing to locate any home in the strangers around, he continued roaming around but now, in the search of a drink. He stumbled into more people, especially, a particular one who dazzled him at her glance. His search for a drink ended relatively soon but, his eyes couldn't locate the long haired, hazelnut-brown eyed girl dressed in a loose laced shirt. His thoughts raced to join the dots between his sight and sense but, the depiction denied her identity and his brain didn't take long to call it fictitious.

The night rolled in with classic Indian percussions and a star-lit sky. Firecrackers decorated and added to the enthusiasts. The crowed was on a high, enjoying each moment and capturing all they could. Nandini 's eyes twinkled at the sight of the range of colors that crackled up high- the heat was amazing and beamed through her radiating smile. Aryaman smiled at her liveliness. It was a testimony of the efforts he and Abhimanyu had made to break through her. He pulled her along the crowd while miserably failing to avoid her bumping into people. Hearing her quick apologies to people, he made her sit on his shoulders. She enjoyed the height and directed Aryaman to different stalls that caught her eye with food.

"Right! Right, Aryaman!" she childishly exclaimed. "No you duffer! Not that one! You're a failure in geography!"

"How did you know?" Aryaman questioned and pouted while looking up at her.

"Cause I am smart! Now, let's go to that one!" she pointed to a far off chaat-waala.

Aryaman huffed at another demand. He knew she was picking far-off stalls for the very reason to irritate him as whenever they reached somewhere, she denied the shop they landed on. Tired and irritated, he said, "You know what, chirkut- get off! And make your feet do the running around."

Nandini jumped off his back and pouted at him with her narrow eyes. He took off to the streets to save himself from her. And so, the chase began and the tom-and-jerry ran through the bustling crowd onto the empty, streetlight's lit roads where their laughter echoed.

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Soon after their meeting with Stardust backstage, Fab 5 performed a small gig for the unknown audience. The already hyped-up crowd didn't cheer for them like those at Space. Were their cheers for their own celebrations or was it for their performance, it was hard to decipher. This experience was an eye-opener for them. The crowd was different and their possible indifference to their performance hurt Fab 5. They realized they might be the best at Space, but to be lauded across at any random gig, they had to be better and step-up. Soon after, they took the roads to reach their hotel. The night had descended in fast and their phone's battery was dead faster than the liveliness of the Dehradun energies.

"Yaar, Manik! Dude stay close! I know you are a terrific biker but itne andhere mein and kuch pata nahi lag raha where we all are going! It's foreign land to us." Cabir shouted from the jeep to the speeding Manik.

Manik slowed his bike in response to his complaint. Cabir was the last person he wanted to show off to. They had a history of this and moreover, he was right. Though he was riving in his "Manik Malhotra" aura, internally, he didn't knew where he cruised along. Following the roads on which they heard themselves drive off, they tried to re-trace their way back to the hotel. After being lost a few times and re-routing, they came to a dead stop at an unmarked intersection.

"Dude, who does this! Ab how in the world would we know there these two streets go to."Cabir suddenly break-ed and banged the steering wheel.

"Yaar this feels yeh dono opposite direction mein jati hi! Did anyone take note of a landmark here?"Mukti questioned.

"No way, yaar! Manik, do you remember which side we came from?" Aliya called out to him and tried to initiate a conversation. They all had talked everything out and may be things looked crystal from the outside, but the bruises from the past still hurt them. Yesterday's jolly time meant Fab 5 was back in a big way but on the small fronts, the fight was yet to be declared a truce.

"Well, agar tum chaaro ne nahi kiya note then how could I?" he responded slightly curt which clearly hurt Aliya as her face saddened in his side mirror. He didn't mean to be rude and didn't intentionally answer like that, it just spilled. But, he couldn't even pronounce a sorry to her even though he badly wanted to.

His thoughts were broken by a feminine laughter that echoed in the streets. The sense of familiarity settled in his heart yet again. He decided against his urge to turn around and eagerly peeked through the side-mirrors. The flowy long hair. The hazelnut brown eyes. The white crochet shirt. A melodious laughter.

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Hey,

Hmmm... What should I say?

Happy reading!

Love,

HF