Kabir stared at Nisha who was standing in the line with a tray of sweets. 

It was their turn to enter with the Dalas now. He chuckled, crouching down as Adil pressed his finger on his forehead with some chandan. 
He got up and continued walking, hearing Atif and Ajay bicker behind him. 

Shams was sitting there, impatiently waiting for his bride. 

Adisha placed a flower on their Dalas. As soon as he stood beside Nisha, the floral scent of hers hit his nostrils. 
He smiled slightly, waiting for her to feed him a sweet. 
The thought of her feeding it to him made him contain a grin.

His gaze travelled her from head to toe.

Her hair was loosely tied halfway with flowers and left with curls at the ends. The sound of her bangles jingling as she picked up a small sweet with the toothpick and forwarded it to him increased his urge to shift closer. To her.
And he was assured it wasn't only her spontaneous and sparkly combination of the deep pear green tops and magenta sharara that aided it. 

It had to do something with the soft pink shade on her cheeks as she looked at him with her fluttering lashes.

"Hello?" She called, a frown coating her face. He cleared his throat, biting on the sweet and murmured a small thanks, walking ahead. But his head turned behind twice to get another glimpse of her. 
And it brought a smile to his face when he turned his head the second time because he found her looking in his direction already. She turned away, her face flustered. 

But something irked inside of him, constantly reminding him of a secret he wasn't sure of was the truth.

It was the fact that she sparkled, more than the fairy lights could ever do. 

Once they all set in, Kabir's eyes scanned the area searching for Nisha. He had a lot of work to do. 
After all, he was assigned the duties of serving the guests and hosting the ceremony along with Nisha. But his priorities were interrupted ever since he'd gotten the glimpse of her. 

He sighed, "What's wrong with me sometimes?" 
Seeing his parents call him from afar, he immediately rushed there, trying to avoid his strange desires that reflected out of nowhere.

"The bride is entering with the palanquin!" One of Shams's cousins shouted as everyone's attention diverted towards the entrance. 
Nisha watched Shams through the corner of her eyes, he almost stood up to see his bride. 

The palanquin entered, the men around it carrying it towards the stage. 
"Woohoo!" Nisha shouted as all the kids got up. The palanquin was kept down in front of the stage as Priti got down, her gorgeous yellow saree sparkling in the lights. 
"Woah, I'm going blind, she's so beautiful!" She spoke to herself, tilting her head in admiration but flinched hearing a voice, "Really... she's shining." 
"You?" She asked, eyeing the male figure beside her who grinned, "You seem unhappy to see me." 
"Oh, it's not that-" 
"Her pink dupatta goes well with the yellow saree." He spoke, diverting her attention to the bride. 
"Right... my choice, after all." Nisha smiled proudly. 

Priti got up on the stage and sat on the sofa next to Shams. 
"How are you today?" The voice again reached her ears. Her gaze shifted to the figure beside her, noticing the white kurta and coat. 
"Are all the guys matching outfits?" She asked. 
"Answer my question first, then I'll answer yours." He spoke, making her sigh. 

"I'm good today. Thanks for asking." Nisha forcefully replied, earning a soft sigh, "Ask me back?"
"Why should I? You should answer my question first, Kabir." 
"Yes, we are. And, it would help if you asked me so we can have a conversation. Sounds good, right?" He replied, his gaze returning to her repeatedly. 
"Are you bipolar?" Nisha asked with a furrow of her brows. 
"What makes you ask that?" 

"No... it's just that— you seem to change attitudes frequently." 
"You mean, this is the first time we're having a normal conversation. Well, not like we ever had the chance to communicate in peace in the hectic environment." 

He had a point. 

Nisha hummed, "Right. Well, all the times we've met were either strangely threatening or... hectic." 
He smiled slightly, looking around for a while. 
"Do you like fuchka?" His question made her ears perk up.

Fuchka.

Oh yes, she loved it. More than anything. 

"Don't tell me... there are—"
"Stalls for it? Of course. Even jilapi, coffee and bhapa pitha too." 
"Oh my god!" Nisha gasped, excitedly turning towards him. 
"I think every guest is busy. We don't need to supervise anything until the next thirty minutes. Let's go." He winked at her as she grinned, nodding. 

They both approached the stalls where they were serving fuchka. 
"They have pani puri too?" She asked as Kabir nodded, "Well... isn't fuchka and pani puri pretty much the same? I don't get why Shams asked to put both of them." 
"Come on. They're not the same!" Nisha objected, taking the small plate filled with 4 fuchkas. The shells filled with daal or lentils, mixed with potatoes and different spices and topped with the tamarind water made both of their mouths water.

"Let's share," Nisha suggested, forwarding her small plate. 
"I haven't had this for years... oh my god." Kabir spoke as she frowned, "What? Seriously?" 
"Of course... they don't have such luxuries in the States. The ones they have suck."
"I don't know if it's a win or a loss living abroad for so long." She spoke, putting the first shell in her mouth. Her eyes closed instantly and a satisfied smile adorned her face. 
She fisted her free hand as Kabir chuckled, plopping one into his mouth. 
They both looked at each other, sharing their love for fuchkas.

"This tastes so good." She spoke, taking another one.

And before any one of them knew, they had 4 plates already. 
"It's a pity one plate consists of 4 only." 
They saw a few more guests lining up near them for the fuchkas.
"Let's come back here later. I'll get you some jilapis. Come." 

They both got some jilapis and coffee. 
"Coffee tastes like ass after eating this sweet jilapi," Nisha spoke. 
"Wasn't that always a given, miss?" Kabir asked, arching his brows. 

She shrugged, looking around and spoke, "I think I'm about to get called by Maa. We're assigned to manage the ceremony and sitting in a corner, stuffing food." 
"Isn't that the best way to do things? Which guest needs supervision? They can feed themselves."
"Honestly." 

Nisha wondered why only she and Kabir were eating together. It didn't feel awkward, considering how friendly he acted. Come to think of it, they always had a strange dynamic since day one. 
One day enemies and friends the other.
"Well, Nisha—" Kabir was about to speak but got interrupted by his ringing phone. He frowned, checking the caller ID and said, "Atif?"

He picked it up and looked behind Nisha as she turned her head to see Atif, Ajay and Wahi staring at them with huge frowns. 
Beside them was Kabir's mother and...

"What's my mom doing there?" Nisha gasped, leaving the plates and coffee cup. They both got up, "I'm going to check up on the guests, see you!" 
She rushed away before Kabir could continue. He sighed, looking at the three idiots with a glare.

Within the next hour, they all got ready to perform after greeting all the guests and sending them to the food tables. 
"I'm so excited to dance." Adisha spoke as Adil nodded, "Same! I'll burn the stage!" 
"Okay, lady killer Romeo." Adil frowned at Adisha's sarcastic statement.

"Fix your panjabi first," Nisha said, eyeing her siblings. The first performance was by Soha. 

As soon as she got on the area beside the stage made especially for the performances, everyone watched from their seats. For convenience, there were 2 screens set up at the back of the venue. 

Soha danced to 'Radha' and everyone went crazy.
"Man, she's so good!" Nisha gasped, clapping loudly. She was about to go crazy at how awesome the girl danced. 
"I want to join her." Adil said as Nisha spoke, "No, you can't. She's so good, you're a lousy idiot." 
Adil frowned, "Kabir! She's bullying me." 
"How is that bullying?" She frowned, eyeing him. Adil walked up to Kabir who turned to Nisha, "Stop bullying kids for your entertainment. It's a crime." 
"You shut up." She rolled her eyes at him as he sighed, "Your sister harms my ego the most, kid." 

"I see that." Adil sighed, shaking his head.

Once Adil moved away, trying to chat with Soha who was busy ignoring him — for which Nisha couldn't blame the girl either—she looked at Kabir, "What were you about to say earlier before you got interrupted by the call?" 
Kabir looked at her, a little confused.
"I thought you wanted to ask something." She clarified, thinning her lips.
"Never mind, if not." 

She was about to move away but he stopped her, "Oh, yes. I... was going to wish you good luck for the performance. We have a few together." 
"Ah. Good luck in advance." Nisha smiled at him and he wondered if he'd ever encountered someone like that.

Did she care about his interrupted lines? Or was it counted as a formality?

He didn't know. No one had shown that type of gesture before.

Next up were the guys' gang and Shams being Shams, joined them. They all danced to strange songs and looked hilarious. 
Seeing some of their goofy moves, Nisha couldn't help but laugh loudly. 

And then taking out their sunglasses and making cool poses was her last straw. She almost died.

She saw the aunties nearby laughing. Some were even doubting Atif and Ajay. 
"I told them not to act gay... they'll be cancelled." She whispered to herself, slapping her forehead.

After a few more performances, her solo performance was here. She danced to Saami Saami alone after which the others joined, dancing to Beni Khuley-Muza, Shohag Chand, and Rongoboti. 

Then came Adil and Adisha with their perfect performance of Kala Chashma. Their back-to-back pose with black sunglasses, while all other cousins from every side joined them with glasses, was a dope moment. 

Finally, came Nisha's time again. She stood on the stage, starting her dance along with the music as Kabir took steps towards her. 

The lyrics started and her feet moved along, dragging her to every corner of the stage made for the dance. She felt her fingers swirl in the air, feeling the moment. 
Kabir opened his arms as soon as the male part started as she twirled towards him, stopping right in front. They both danced together, keeping a modest distance. 

The way the aunties were staring at them was enough of a reason for Nisha to exit the stage right now.

But she wasn't doing anything wrong. 

Seeing a girl and a guy together was enough for desi aunties to start a whole new city of rumours. 

Nisha pointed at Kabir, smiling softly. He delicately held her hands, spinning her around and trying to pull her close according to the choreography but she slipped away from his hands, leaving an empty sensation in the atmosphere. They synced their steps and the heat of Kabir's body radiated at Nisha's back.

Maybe it was due to the intricate steps of dancing or the fact his scent was engulfing her again and again, painfully fading away the next moment — that her heartbeats increased evitably.

She twirled once again, landing straight into his arms. She tried to keep her balance by herself but Kabir's firm hold on her made her relax. 
She mentally cursed herself trying to get up but failed.

His eyes stared straight into hers, the music fading in the background. 

He didn't smile or give her a mischievous look.

Right now, he was neither her friend nor her enemy.

He was the Kabir that came out in glimpses every time their eyes met. The one she felt exposed in front of. 
His eyes scanned her face, lusciously falling on her lips. Her breathing shortened at that gesture, making her chest heave up and down. 

His lips quivered and noticing that didn't help her further. Her hands which were softly wrapped around his shoulders for support tightened, her cheeks heating up.

The sound of loud clapping by the audience and Atif's shout, "Ay ay! Such awesome acting!" brought them back to reality. She got up, moving away from his grip as he stared at her, the intensity of his eyes remaining constant.
"I thought I was watching a romance movie!" Wahi commented. 

Nisha cleared her throat, gripping her arms and walked aside. 
The music started as Atif, Adil, Adisha, Ajay and Wahi entered the frame. Nisha noticed some other cousins joining.

The tune of 'Aankhein Khuli' started in the background while she was busy dwelling in her tangled thoughts. 

They all set their positions as Nisha shook herself out of her current delusion. The males started on their guitar-playing pose. 
As the music progressed, the females approached them and they were supposed to hold their hands and spin them around away from themselves. 

But during their turn, instead of pushing her away like everyone else did, Kabir pulled Nisha's hand closer, making her palms land on his chest. 
She gasped, her eyes widening at the sudden contact as his solid chest was right under her palms. Holy fuck.

What the heck was he doing?