Amidst The Wedding Chaos

Two

"AMMI!" I yelled out across the house, past caring that there were at least fifteen other people in the house, too.

"Cheekh kyun rahi ho?" Aayan's irritating and irritated voice came from somewhere and I rolled my eyes before walking past. He didn't deserve the time of my day.

*"Why are you screaming?"

I finally found my mother in the kitchen— it was so obvious that I beat myself up for not checking here first. "What is it?"

"Where's Baba? Or Noman Bhai?" Noman Bhai was my cousin, three years older than me, and had come to stay here with my khala for the wedding too. "I need to pick Kanwal up before the dholki in the evening."

The house was already glowing with fairy lights all around, like I'd practically begged Baba to not be so kanjoos for Maimoona Appi's wedding.

Kanwal was my best friend who I'd known since forever. We'd met in nursery and stuck together ever since. She was practically family and my parents had made her their third daughter, just like her parents had done to me.

"Your Baba's busy. Give him a break." She glared at me as she kneaded the dough. Okayyy. "And Noman went with your father to help him with all the other arrangements."

I let out a whine. "Yaar, Ammi, what am I supposed to do now? I have to pick her up, then we have to get ready too. There isn't any time!"

"What you should do is stop bothering me and find a solution. Jao yahan se." She waved me away and I was certain she would've kicked me out of her kitchen if her hands weren't covered with dough.

I ran smack dab into the wall.

Wait. Not a wall, because there couldn't be a wall in the center of the hallway. I slowly dragged my eyes from the grey 'wall' and looked up to find Aayan's hard eyes starting blankly at me. I instantly shuffled away, half in embarrassment and half in disgust at contact with him, and crossed my arms over my chest when he continued to stare at me like I'd stolen his first born or something.

"Dekh ke nahi chal sakti?" He rolled the words out, the beginnings of a smirk starting to form on his face again. He had gotten a chance to bother me and he was going to take it, because, obviously, he couldn't be a gentleman and let me be.

*"Can't you watch where you're going?"

"Tumhe dekh ke chalna chahiye. Mein kitchen se aarahi thi—"

*"You should watch where you're going. I was coming from the kitchen—"

I held up his hand and walked past me. "Acha, bas. Bak bak band karo apni." I blinked at him, because that was freaking rude, and stomped back inside the kitchen after him.

*"Okay, enough. Stop blabbering."

"I hate you so much, you ullu ke—"

"Oh, Aliya, why don't you ask Aayan to take you?" My mother cut me off, looking at Aayan like he was an angel with wings and a ring of halo over his head and she was mesmerized. My nose scrunched at her words.

I would rather die than take his help, ever.

"What?" Aayan asked after he set down his now empty glass of water.