My birthday advance treat for y'all!

(2nd Aug is the day *winks* )

Get ready for the race .... 

*sing-song*

Gonna turn Ekta Kapoor from here onwards ;-)

.......................................

[Sid's POV]

Party, after - party and another party after that. 

Our life defined in one sentence.

Cause let's face it, we need to celebrate every moment, every breath and every success. Even loss. For example, Shraddha had once got herself a leg fracture and was in a lot of pain. Medicines and boredom took a toll on her and got her mad. Knowing her helpless state, we friends rushed in to give her a surprise party to cheer her up. Having us around, listening to her whims, made her sparkle like a diamond. That's how we are. 

We need celebrations. 

Life itself is a massive celebration, continuing till your soul departs. And off course the grand after party ensures there up in the sky. 

You see, we weren't any different from this rule. 

Witnessing one of our best man getting the dream of his life sorted, was nothing less than magical. We were truly honoured to have been invited to eye witness that radiant union. We saw that proposal coming but never knew it would arrive this early. Neverthless, they deserve this happiness and love.  

Obviously as you have guessed, we now have decided to throw a bash in their observance. 

Bunny insisted on keeping the close circle surprise at his sprawling apartment in Pali Hill, something he had recently bought. When you enter into his hub, the first thing you set your eyes on is the humongous picture of his grandfather Raj Kapoor, hung on the wall. It was an epic life like image of his from the classic 'Mera Naam Joker.' Letting my eyes travel above, I found one of the most craziest ceiling interior done. It was too fascinating and a delight to sore eyes. The house was a mixture of sleek, modern with pastel, urban texture. Gauri Khan did a great job in creating this dream pad for him. 

Bunny probably was busy with the arrangements for tonight and hence, was not seen anywhere. I spotted Shraddha along with Karan, Abhishek, Ayan and Adi. A true reunion of sorts. Me not imagining Karan in such an exclusive bash would be a crime. He is the master of gossip and knowledge regarding Bollywood. Your one stop for everything grapevine. He must have got the message of #DeepVeer engagement from our sources. He surely was our elder citizen when it came to being invited for every main function. 

What caught my attention quite strong was the balloon message on a wall adjacent to the grand couch. 

"Congratulation, Bhabhi mil gayi !" with an adorable smile emoji balloon. 

"My idea. Cool na ?" asked Shraddha with a bright smile, looking at my amused gaze towards the wall. "Befitting for Rannu. You and Alia are the forever late comers" stated Ayan with a wink. She was busy with few script reading sessions and had a team at her place for narration. I had called her earlier today so that we could travel together but she declined due to the above reason and said would come a bit late. "C'mon it's a party baba. We are bound to be late" supported karan with a wisdom face.

"Says who ? Your always early into functions" exclaimed Ranbir coming into the scene with a grin. Karan rolled his eyes " Haan toh I've always been that way. I absolutely love movie functions and the glamour that surrounds them." 

"Unabashedly"  

"and Unapologetically" added Abhishek and Adi with a knowing gesture. Mocking on two of the favourite adjectives in Karan's diction. Karan threw a 'whatever' look at them. 

To be honest, reality was a stark contrast to the popular opinion on our celebrations. We just had few media constantly following and persuading us to pose before and after the hangout but the inside scene was pretty much normal like other's. 

"Namastey folks" came a voice I've been awaiting to hear. 

We turned our heads to see the gorgeous lady walk in like a seductress. 

Tempting me has been her favourite pass time besides teasing me.

"And the President of India is ?" boomed Ranveer's voice for the first time since I came here. He came closer to the little crowd and asked with a smug, his fiancee followed him closely behind with a pretty glow. He looked proper and normal while deepika donned a pastel sundress and had her hair down, flowing with cheer.

"Tiger Shroff!" she spoke with a silly grin. We laughed at her nominee. These memes were now truly outdated and very boring if I may add. I'd always get into a fight with Alia to quit joking on herself when in reality she was smarter than all of us put together. "And your the President of Switzerland" she winked his way to which he fell his head on deepika's shoulder. 

Such a clown, wonder how's she going to manage this wild animal. 

"Hain? Yeh kab huwa ?" asked a puzzled Ranbir. We smacked our head at his foolishness. "Abhi abhi he got elected. See, double celebrations" replied Karan sarcastically. "Oh my darling" ranveer went up to him and held bunny's face and said "I am the tourism ambassador of switzerland. They are hence kidding." Bunny made a Oh-I-Got-It face and we laughed at the poor guy. 

"Where's varun, fubu and all ?" I asked since they weren't anywhere. "Last time I remember Varun was asking for a towel" said Bunny with a confused face. "Badi ajeeb wish hai" chortled Adi. 

"Come, let's get in" welcomed the host with a spirited smile. We moved into his dining hall which also had a kitchen to it's corner. It was sophisticated and splendid. Alia had her hands wrapped over mine as we walked inside. My heart leaped at her move. "Now as we move inside, I don't want any lights-off drama" fake warned karan as he knew us so well. We chuckled at his demand. 

"Jab se tere naina mere naino se laage rey ...."

"Where on earth is this playing ?" asked Rannu with a hand rubbing his beard, a look he's growing for their next Padmaavat. "We are at Ranbir's place so obviously yaha baj raha hai, mister" punched deepika on his chest. He winced with mischief. "But I don't prefer this song at all. I like party players. Arjun I'm coming for you dammit!" complained bunny making his way farther into the room where his grand television stood. His house had an almost resemblance with ranveer's. But telling this to him would be a bad idea. 

"Jab se tere naina mere naino se laage rey "

"Aila! Towel Dance !" squealed Adi like a kid. Quite mature, mumbled Alia. There stood Varun, few feet away from us, with his back facing us, all dressed but posing with a flimsy white towel, ranbir's debut signature pose. 

He turned towards us like a star. 

"Tab se deewana huwa aah ha ,

Sab se begaana huwa aah ha,

Rab bhi deewaana laage rey .... "

His gestures were directed towards the new couple on block. 

And in a swift motion, he dropped his towel dramatically causing the women to fake gasp. 

We men shared a scowl. 

"Ho gaya tera natak ?" asked a grinning rannu. He is the real entertainer, sorry dhawan! "Ya" frowned VD like a kid. "Can we all just sit and relax ?" asked an eager to settle Adi. Bunny had arranged for a sit out gathering at his balcony for us. It was lush and green. Giving us a marvelous view of the urban life. 

"Let's cut the cake" shouted shraddha. "Oh wow! We have cake, baby" squealed Rannu with enthusiasm that it made us laugh. Shraddha distributed poppers to us one by one. "Parineeti ?" her voice had a curious taunt laced in it. That's when we noticed her amidst our crowd. 

Again ?

Who invited her this time ?

"I invited her. I thought we shouldn't keep her away from their celebration. She has all the right to attend" replied Fubu like her PA. We looked at him in disbelief and shrugged to end the matter. Now that she was there guest, we won't humiliate her anymore. Alia held my arm more tight. "Eyes on us" ordered deepika to ease the situation. We popped the confetti on them while they gleefully cut a piece from the adorable cake ranbir ordered. 

It was more of a wedding cake with a delightful fondant. Featuring a miniature wedded couple with the wife dragging her husband by his collar and a television screen flashing 'GAME OVER' , this was the quirkiest of all cakes. Boys had a hard time controlling their hoots and whistles. Ranveer did a fake cry and deepika punched his chest playfully. They truly looked perfect.

After they fed each other for an eternity with the staring game on fleek, rest of us got our hands on the cake. I gave a piece of mine to Alia and she smacked my face with hers. 

How gracious!

I smeared a bit of cream on her cheek and before she could swat me away, I kissed and sucked at the same spot, cleaning the mess along. Stepping back to check her reaction, I witnessed the most beautiful blush to spread across her cheek like a wild rose, blooming with vigor. 

Taking her cheerful mode as my green light, I tried attacking her neck this time but our story won't be this interesting if not for random people interrupting our divine moments such as this one. 

Count me lucky.

"I know the exact spots you were going to experiment. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil reference right ? I've watched that film not less than 50 times!" whistled Varun with a proud smirk of ruining our moment. "Really ?" asked Karan with a wide smile. "See, he can't imagine such a great compliment for our film. Itni bhi buri nahi thi" laughed bunny, patting karan's  shoulder. "It was honestly an endearing film" complimented Fubu, speaking after long. We passed him a smile. 

"Let's sit and talk, bhaiyyon!" screamed Ayan for our attention. We sat in a huge circle, with an almost bonfire atmosphere. Munching on the non veg snacks, we laughed and refreshed our memories under the blanket of a star lit peaceful night, occasionally giving us a lullaby with a swift breeze. The air filled with love and thick friendship.

[Alia's POV]

So much had happened in a week. My film got released, two of my favourite people on the block got engaged and now all of us are meeting for a celebration round two! 

Life was definitely going at a smooth pace.

Bunny's new place became an instant hit. I loved the decor done by gauri. I'll approach her next time, I guess. All of us coming together is nothing less than a festival! Noise, dance, music, laughter, drama, romance, dosti, it had all the vital ingredients to make one heck of a superhit commercial film. Some day, I hope that happens.

I was so engrossed in being happy with my favourite set of people surrounding, that I completely discarded the negative vibe generated by Parineeti. Arjun invited her out of their friendship. We aren't pleased much but hopefully she'll stay quiet for the night. 

Meanwhile my man is guffawing over a comment passed by Bunny and his gang. It isn't fair that I get to see him after so long and we are still not able to steal some private moment for us. My brain suddenly enlightened with an idea. I coughed to get his attention.

*cough*

I glanced at him to see his reaction but he sat next to me as if he hadn't heard a thing.  

*cough*  *cough*

Ranveer patted my back and had his eyes trained on something Adi was explaining animatedly to the gang. 

No reaction from malhotra, I frowned.

*cough*  *cough*  *cough*

Shraddha handed me a bottle of water while giggling at what Adi said. 

He had to be deaf. My poor fate! 

After my repeated failed attempts at catching my boyfriend's attention, I was on the verge of real cough. I thought of giving this a last try.

I coughed with all my might and suddenly it hit the right chord.

"Someone please rub her back" instructed Varun as if he was irked by me. I threw the bottle of water at him but he ducked at the right time and that flew across and hit poor bunny who had joined them after attending a call. 

Holy shit!

He winced at the pain and smacked varun's head. VD rubbed his dumb head with an adorable angry face. That's when our dear Sidharth decides to grace his attention towards me.

"Alia, are you okay ?" his voice hinted concern. I threw him a fake smile and said "Off course. Why wouldn't be I ? I'll just go and drink something from the kitchen" and I got up, leaving a confused sid behind. 

 ~ 5 minutes later ~

I expected His Highness to follow me but nah! No sign of him. 

Annoyed with how the day was ending, I thumped the kitchen slab hard causing my palm to go red with the sudden hit. I squirmed in pain. Damn you! 

Damn everyone !

My palm was suddenly pulled by a warm and gentle one. 

It was hurting a lot but I stood still and hushed my heart. 

"Look at me" came his melodious voice directing me to look at him. His voice was like a trap. A bait to coerce you. But it wasn't the dangerous type, more like a magic. 

I looked at him with a blank face to see his eyes swelling with love for me. 

I'm never gonna regret hurting myself if I get to see his love for me, everyday, in those pair of orbs I've come to admire the most. 

"Silly girl. You could have called me. What was the need for you do dramatize all of that ? See what it caused!" he fake scolded me with a pout I couldn't resist. I pulled his cheek and smiled at how annoyed he looked. "You my dear are both dumb and deaf. I tried a lot to grab your attention but nahi! Main toh nahi sunoonga. Poor vd, bunny and myself had to suffer for your carelessness" I presented my case with complete conviction and bitter honesty. 

He gave me an unbelievable look and continued to caress my hand with his giant one's. It wasn't doing much to heal the pain but it surely paved a way into my heart, stroking my soul. Closing my eyes, I sighed at how perfectly our hands fit within each other. Like a master, he snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. 

I could feel the smile radiating off him even with my eyes closed. He gently pressed a feather like kiss on both my eyes. I stroked his majestic shoulder to control my heightened desires. Damned heart was leaping like a frog within it's cage, wanting to be freed to get what it wants. 

He moved on to kiss at the tip of my nose. He was being so benevolent with me. But I can't recall a time when he wasn't like this. He had a way with my heart strings. 

We stood in the the same position, embracing each other for a while. 

"You better behave inside my house. Get a room lovebirds!" screamed bunny pathetically to get us back. We shared a secret laugh and leisurely went back with a brighter smile. 

All of them smiled back at us except Fubu who looked pissed about something and Pari who had her usual scowling emotion. We ignored the duo and sat back at our seats.

"Did quitting ever crossed your mind ?" voiced Abhi after being almost silent for the entire night. His eyes bored Sid with a hint of fear and a hesitant spark crossing his face. Understanding dawned on me. Suddenly all eyes were on Sid. A pregnant silence hovered over us. I expected someone to crack a lame joke or better, rannu to act clueless on the topic just raised.

But, alas.

Not everyone among us were on a dream run.

Sid had a bunch of flops which certainly didn't determined his career ahead nor his hard work and passion. But failure no matter how essential it is for a person to leap, is a bitch. It hurts so much and I can say this even if I haven't yet tasted it's bitter touch. I interlaced my hand with his to pass him all the strength needed to embrace this question. I saw him take a deep sigh.

"It wasn't easy for me. I had expected roses to shower upon me when I took the flight to Mumbai, the city of dreams. It was a bit of struggle at first but then gradually I made a mark for myself in modelling. I was grooming to try my hand with movies and thus I got a job as an assistant director for Dharma Production's on their project 'My Name Is Khan. " He casted a glance at varun as they became friends at the same set, working together as AD's. 

"I had the best experience of my life. I learnt a lot from everyone. It helped me in knowing the technicalities of a shoot and the hectic life it provided. But I still wanted to pursue acting as a career. Even within my family, I didn't have any one person to reach and talk about my chaotic mind since I don't come from a cinematic background. Karan deciding to cast me along with Varun and Alia, changed my life forever. I still don't know what you saw in me, ya. But I'm grateful for this oppurtunity. To be able to live such a life and to stand on my own feet. To make a name for my family, is my biggest goal." 

We urged him to continue. Karan had glossy eyes and I mirrored the same. 

"Failures came like an army of arrows and it did hurt. But I won't let them determine my career, my future. If working in this industry is in my fate, I'd do it with all my heart. Nothing can beat me down. I'm not depressed but glad that life has given me more options to prove myself and emerge out from this phase." He was utter honest and so positive. Inspiration to the core. Rest of us carried huge respect for Sidharth and his will power, after his revelation. 

"Your so strong Sid. It takes a huge deal to make it in this business and look at your optimism. Your so powerful in way more than you could ever think. Keep sailing, buddy" encouraged Deepika with a sincere smile. Sid responded back with a beam of his own. "Baby, your the best! No one can beat you, not even life! I'm so so proud of you honey. I feel priviledged, giving my heart to you! Best is yet to come jaan" I stroked our tangled palms and spoke looking straight at his eyes, welling up with so many emotions. 

"Kahan se chale the, kahan ko hai jaana !" sang rannu in his ever so agonizing voice. We composed ourselves and giggled at the 'Awkward-Moment-Breaker' of our group. "If I'm not wrong, we were here to celebrate mine and deepu's engagement and not to get sappy and tragic like our Indian soaps. I am starving people! Serve me something dear host" drama king was on the right track. We suddenly remembered about the yummy food we had in for tonight. 

Adi was the first to get up along with ranveer who dragged an almost grumbling ayan with himself towards the food stall at the farthest corner of the balcony. The rest of them too dispersed to freshen up and serve something for themselves leaving sid and myself. "Sidharth, I ordered your special mutton biriyani. Come and see for yourself" called bunny from the stall. I nodded at him to go and have a check. 

The sky was almost cloudless with twinkling stars, scattered across. Wind cruised around almost like teasing us. I could hear their noises behind me, someone laughing loud on a joke, another complaining about their next day schedule and yet another bursting balloons like a two year old. The air smelled of delicious biriyani, butter chicken, kebabs and a lot more items to satisfy your heart and stomach. 

I had my eyes closed and hence got startled at a hand barely brushing my arm. I jolted from my thoughts to find no one. 

Strange

Turning back to the sky I was staring before, I felt weird. 

WAIT

My head snapped to my right to identify him.

Arjun kneeling on the floor, gazing at me longingly with an expression on his face I don't want to believe. 

NOTE : Let the games, begin  *smirks evil*

In this book,  I've made shaandar to be a hit, making her having no flop so far till BKD. With Sid, he had Ittefaq and Gentleman released before BKD but both turned to be failures. Just note these points and probably don't pressurize your brain for the logic behind. 

Drama has begun, my fraandssss xD 

Many things might not make sense to you but know that I have imagined it to be this way for our book. Have an open mind and heart while moving ahead with the final few chapters of this book. I'm trying to complete this book by this year, hoping really hard as I believe later on I won't be able to concentrate on anything else. My life is a hanging mess rn and I don't know what to do after my bachelors so yeah, that's there. 

We have 10 more chapters to go if I'm correct. Don't fret I'll give y'all the ending that we deserve. That our #Sidlia deserve. Just stay through this journey and let others know about this too. Please don't walk away and forget this book just because I take time to upload chapters. Know that I'm constantly dreaming to make this more and more special for y'all. 

Only Insta accounts I'm active currently are : My personal account & my Ranlia fc (ranbiraliafc) So if anyone wants to contact me for anything, leave a message there or PM me here. 

Big love to my fans who stood with me this far,

Jemi :)