When We Met

Main tumhara hua

Hopping onto the dance floor, Maahi handed a shot of tequila, which Miraya took hesitantly. Maahi gave her a look, "Don't give me that look. I'm getting married. We've to celebrate.", saying that she gulped down the entire shot and asked Miraya to do the same.

The girls formed a group as they started dancing to the tunes of the band, singing along with them, shouting their hearts out. Ruhaan had crept to the bar, as he saw Miraya dance with her girls. She was different when she was around them and she was different when she's around him. With them, she's the careful and responsible one, but with him she was relaxed and carefree. He liked that he had seen a side of her that was different from what the world saw.

Arjun approached him, as he sipped his drink and asked, "What are you staring at? Oops, sorry, Who are you looking at?"

"You too?" Ruhaan turned to face him. "Koi to chord do mujhe" and burst out laughing at his own helplessness.

Ruhaan murmured, "Isn't she gorgeous?" without taking his eyes off of her. Arjun gave a nod, saying, "Yes, she is nice. But I still don't understand why you choose her after turning down so many girls' advances?"

With a hint of caution, Ruhaan turned to face him and asked, "What do you mean by 'chose her'?"

"Why she? Why be tied down with someone like her when there are so many attractive girls in the world? If there were a room full of the most attractive women, would you still choose her?", Arjun asked, gesturing to her figure.

Ruhaan felt blood shoot into his eyes at hearing him say those things. His hands were so firmly gripping the glass that it almost broke. With great effort to suppress his rage and irritation, he murmured, "She's the most beautiful girl there is. She will be the most gorgeous woman in the room full of women. She is not in competition with anyone in the whole world. I find her to be the embodiment of grace and beauty. Who are you to make comments about her physique? I promise, agar tu dost nahi hota na, to abhi seedha nahi khada hota." (if you weren't my friend, you wouldn't be standing straight.)

Arjun just backed up and apologised, "I'm sorry, man!" He detected the wrath in Ruhaan's voice, which was a very rare incident. "It wasn't my intention. All I wanted to do was talk to you. Please relax. I won't say anything."

"It's not about keeping quiet. It's important to speak correctly. It's not your place to objectify her in this way. This is definitely not what I expected from you." Ruhaan stomped his glass on the counter and left the bar, adding, "Just don't talk to me for a while." Siya stood there, hearing everything from across the bar, her only emotion was admiration for Ruhaan for standing up for her sister's dignity in front of his closest friend.

As he was making his way towards the dance floor, someone grabbed his hand and pulled him to the corner.

He recognized Miraya when the light finally fell on her face, and she was giggling uncontrollably. He could tell she was intoxicated, he said quietly, "Miraya, are you okay?"

"ME?" she said, her cheeks reddened, laughter bursting from her lips. "I'm fantastic!"

"Indeed, I see that." With amusement, he inquired, "Exactly how many drinks did you have?"

She waved him over and gestured for him to come closer to her. He approached her cautiously, but she pulled him closer by his collar, "I only had two or three drinks. Would you say I'm drunk?"

"Well, yes! You're drunk," he replied, a faint smile dancing over his lips.

"I'm not intoxicated. Simply said, I'm super happy. My sister's getting married. I'm on top of the world."

"Of course!" he said, crossing his arms and biting his lip to contain his laughter. "It's not you who is drunk. But here's a thought: how about we grab a bite to eat?"