𝓡𝓮𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓵𝓮𝓭

Sleepover

Brooke's P.O.V

I snuggled in closer to the source of warmth and felt something firm and solid beneath my head and arms. Did I fall asleep on the floor? Confused, I opened one eye and was greeted by Ryan's sleeping form. Crap! My head was on his chest, and my arm was slung around his waist. I had basically used the poor guy as a pillow. Slowly, I started shifting away when I felt his arm gripping my waist tighten. He pulled me closer and buried his face in my hair. Seeing no way out of this without waking him up, I let it be and twisted my face upwards, admiring his features. He still had that small scar above his right eyebrow from when he fell from the tree house. His eyebrows were scrunched up in an adorable manner, the way they always did when he was concentrating on something. Truth be told, I had missed his friendship a lot. Sure, we talked on text and kept each other updated, but the distance and time difference made it harder, and things often went unsaid.
His eyelids fluttered open, and his gaze landed on me.
"Done ogling me?" He said with a slight smirk. Smacking his chest, I pushed myself up and glared at him.
"I wouldn't have ogled had you let me shift away!"
"Oh, so you were ogling me! I was just joking, but I guess this is fine, too."
"You-"
"Brooke, are you up?", My dad called out, knocking on my door.
"Yes dad!"
"Great. Can you wake up Ryan as well and come downstairs. Breakfast is ready."
"Okay"

After freshening up, we both made our way to the dining table where my dad had laid three plates of scrambled eggs and toast.
We took our seats and began eating. My dad asked us questions about school, which we answered between mouthfuls of food.
Once done, we went back upstairs, Ryan raving about my dad's cooking skills.
Our phones pinged simultaneously, exchanging a look, and we glanced at the screen.

Raha: Guys!! Sleepover at our place tonight?!?! Mom and Dad are going out for the weekend....
Rhea:Yup!! Let's do it before assignments and homework start piling up!
Jake: I'm in

Looking up, I raised an eyebrow at Ryan.
"Why not?"
Shrugging, I typed in.
Brooke: Let's do it!!
Tyler: Heck, yeah.

I smiled. Although everyone else had just met Tyler, they had all welcomed him with open arms and had become fast friends.
I excitedly informed my dad about tonight's plans. His warm smile told me that he was more than okay with it.
When was the last time I had enjoyed spending time with friends? I thought as I went upstairs. Probably during my childhood... when I lived here and my mom wasn't this famous.... life was good and simple back then.

That evening, we met the twins's grandmother who immediately took a liking to us, chuckling at our jokes and enjoying our company. She made us promise we would attend her birthday party next week and we assured her we would. With that, she went to sleep in her room. She was such a lovely lady, dressed in a Saree, an Indian traditional attire.
Soon after, we were seated on the twins's couch with everyone else as we debated on which game to play. Finally, settling on Hide and Seek (what? Don't judge! We were feeling nostalgic!), Raha went away to count to a hundred.
We all sprinted in different directions, eager to find a good hiding spot.
I came across a cupboard, which was mostly empty, save for a few coats hanging there. I contemplated getting in when Ryan and Tyler materialized beside me. Ryan's eyes glittered with mischief as he took in the cupboard. "Thanks, Brooke!", with that they both shoved me aside and squeezed into the cupboard.
"Hey man! Stop sticking to me. Shift a little. "
"Dude, you have some great abs"
"Stop touching my abs!"
Rolling my eyes at their bickering, I jogged upstairs and entered the bathroom. Noting that the tub was dry, I laid in it and drew the curtain around.
"READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!" Raha screamed.
After a few minutes, I heard Jake groaning and whining about how it wasn't fair. I held my breath when I heard the bathroom door open. I could hear footsteps nearing me, Raha drew back the curtains and smiled down at me triumphantly . Flashing her an innocent smile, I raised my hands.
"Fine, fine, you've caught me."
With a smirk, she went out of the bathroom. I decided on tagging along with her to see whether she would be able to find the others as quickly. We entered the walk-in closet attached to her parents' bedroom. She made a show of searching everywhere and then finally went over to the rack of dresses and separated them from the middle. There stood Rhea, her back to the wall and her hands covering her face. She groaned , "Oh, come on! How do you always know?"
"That, my dear sister, is because I know you." With a flip of her hair, she walked out.
Raha then proceeded to search everywhere but the cupboard, while I mentally beat the boys in my head for stealing such a good spot.
Finally, she paused in front of it and pressed her ear to the doors of the cupboard, as if the whispers weren't loud enough.
"Dude, you've got beautiful eyes, y'know."
Definitely Tyler's voice.
"Thanks, man. Can you shut up, though? I swear I heard footsteps a minute ago."
Raha banged the doors open and burst into laughter.
"Gotcha!"
Tyler had his arms around Ryan's neck while Ryan had his arms encircling Tyler's waist. They looked snug as heck.
"Don't judge! It was a tight fit."
At this, we all laughed at their state.

After having Jake do his turn twice (poor guy could not find Raha at all), we settled on the couch in a fit of laughter as Jake continued whining about how it was unfair that we ended the game just when he managed to find Raha.
"Do you guys want to watch a bollywood film? We'll turn on the subtitles so you'll understand everything.Trust me, you'll have a lot of fun!"
We all agreed. Raha and Rhea debated on which film to put on. Finally they asked us our opinion.
"Do you guys want to watch a movie about 3 guys who take an adventurous trip/bachelor party and face their fears or about a guy who has become estranged from his family because he chose to marry a girl his parents did not approve of?"
The second one definitely sounded more dramatic, so of course, we settled on the second one.
It was called Kabhi khushi kabhi gham.
Also known as K3G and Ohmygod! I fell in love with the younger brother of the main lead. He was such a heartrob, with the songs and reuniting his family. I loved each and every song, and I swear Ryan even wiped away a few tears towards the ending. All of us had been transported to their world, what with the amazing chemistry between the leads and the great jokes and storyline. Except for a few old minded ideas they had shown in the movie, I loved everything!
We all gobbled up the popcorn and did not even get up for seconds, lost in the movie and which direction it would progress in.

"Should we go to the new ice cream parlor? I've been wanting to check it out." Rhea said after we all gathered ourselves from the Rollercoaster of emotions we had felt.
Cleaning up the space we had occupied, we piled out. Raha and I decided on riding her Vespa while the others came by car.
My hair blew in all directions as we sped down the road. Feeling freer than I had in a long time. I let out a loud laugh, enjoying the cool breeze. Too soon, the ride was over.
" I am so glad you're back, Brooke! I've really missed you, and texting was definitely not enough!"
She engulfed me in a hug and i returned it with equal warmth, touched by her genuine words.
The rest of them came quickly, Rhea standing up through the open sunroof with a huge smile on her face while Jake held her legs inside the car, ensuring she wouldn't fall.

We settled in a cozy booth. The whole place had a pastel theme, giving it a bright and lively look. After receiving our respective ice cream, we ate and discussed the field trip that would be coming up soon. Raha and Rhea officially invited us to their grandmother's birthday party and made us promise that we would come.
That night, we all fell asleep in a jumble of arms and legs in the living room, having truly exhausted ourselves from the night's activities.