through thick and thin

Chapter 3

Aarav's pov :-

*Sunday morning*

I woke up to find myself in Bhaiya's room, lying on the floor. I looked around, disoriented, and spotted a game board next to me. Aaira was fast asleep opposite me. That's when I got a flashback of yesterday night.

Yesterday night was hell. First, there was the investigation for Mr. Patel's case, which I was handling. After coming home, one look at Aaira told me she was probably up after a nightmare. There's no way she'd be awake this late unless it was due to a nightmare or work.

I quickly moved downstairs. Bhaiya was in the kitchen, lost in cooking breakfast. I stepped outside and sat on the couch, trying to piece together the case I had on my hands.

We have a Dreamweaver meeting today, probably our first in a month. Now that everyone's busy with their lives, we hardly meet, though we initially agreed to meet once a week. As time passed, our meetings became monthly reunions, but our friendship remains unchanged.

Bhaiya told me about Aaira's nightmare yesterday. Then I informed him about another incident. after Twinny came downstairs, We had breakfast, and Bhaiya left for his photography trip. Aaira went to freshen up before we left for the Dreamweaver meeting.

We entered the small, cozy cafe where we've been meeting since we were allowed to. Aangi, Rehan, and Prithvi were already there.

"Hello, guys!" Aaira screamed, a stark contrast to her usual icy demeanor in conference rooms.

We took our seats, and Ruhani burst into the cafe, running late as usual

"Sorry, guys, something came up," she apologized.

"Of course, something always comes up when you're late," Prithvi retorted, chuckling.

"At this point, we're habitual to it," Rehan teased.

"Okay, yaar, now stop," both girls said in unison.

Ruhani dramatically flung herself into the group. "Finally, somebody understands me!"

Aaira smiled and pulled out a chair for Ruhani. "Welcome to the party, latecomer."

Ruhani grinned, taking her seat. "Hey, someone's got to make an entrance."

The group shared a hearty laugh, and their meeting officially began.

"Guys, I have an announcement to make," Ruhani said.

But before she could continue, Rehan started to speak, "What... sorry guys, I'm late."

However, he was abruptly cut off by an unexpected voice.

We turned around to see who had interrupted our meeting, and our eyes widened in surprise. It was Prakhar, the seventh member of our group, who had seemingly vanished into thin air.

Two years older than us, Prakhar was the one who had named our Dreamweaver group. After completing his schooling, he had disappeared without a word, leaving us wondering if he ever truly existed.

His sudden reappearance stirred mixed emotions. While we were happy to see him, his unexplained disappearance had left a lingering resentment.

Prakhar's presence filled us with a mix of emotions - shock, curiosity, and anger. We had so many unanswered questions.

"Well looks like the announcement decided to present itself" Ruhani taunted her eyes fixed on prakhar

"Who are you?" Prithvi asked, anger etching his face.