We think, it is difficult to wear
a mask, hide our own self.   But
it is more difficult to strip off a
mask and look    at our   own
Destroyed Self.

//Night//

** Dawn **

Sitting in front of the mirror after wearing my dress, I am thinking how to style my hair. It is 2:37 pm. Rain is shouting from the bathroom that I need to be fast or else we'll be late. But I am nervous as hell. I don't know why I am behaving like this. But, I am. Not that I don't know how to do makeup or style my hair. But today, everything is getting upside down. Once I am thinking of doing dark makeup and at the very next moment I am thinking of doing light makeup. Confused, I start doing my hair. I have finished doing my favourite hairstyle, a fishtail braid. It's not bad, and I am looking good too but God knows why, I undone it and now, I'm sitting with a messed up hair.

Frustrated, I hang down my head covering the face with my sweaty palms. The clock strikes 3:00 pm and at the same time Rain comes out from the bathroom. I look up and see a beautiful Rain wearing a light pink coloured sleeveless dress. The dress is simple which ends a little above her knees hugging her waist perfectly. She comes towards me bursting, "What the hell! You're not ready yet. What were you doing?" She put her hands on her hips and lash out at me.

"I'm confused." I look at Rain making puppy dog eyes and pouting my lower lip out.

Rain gives a questioning look as she asks, "What are you confused of? It's not that you're getting ready for your wedding neither you're doing makeup for the first time."

"Yeah... I don't know Rain. Nothing seems good." I look back at the mirror only to see a nervousness in my eyes.

"Okay." She taps her index finger on the left side of her temple two times and leans against the white-coloured dressing table.

"Now I get it. You're confused and nervous thinking how Shade will react seeing you."

I shoot a glance at Rain frowning and stands up from the chair. I turn around saying, "No! I'm not."

I slump on the bed dangling my legs in the air keeping the hands beside. As I nibble the flower printed on my pink coloured bed-sheet with my designed nails, Rain comes towards me. She looks at me frowning, "Really?"

"Yes. Really." I pull up my legs and sit folding them as my eyes meet with Rain's mischievous look. I glare at her and she smiles back. "Okay. If that makes you feel better."

Turning around she says, "Now stop being grumpy and let me do my makeup. Then I'll do yours. Till then you decide." She sits in front of the mirror with many accessories, leaving me more confused and nervous than before.

☆☆☆

It is already 4:15 pm, and I am getting worked up and more nervous. Rain is still doing her hair and putting on her accessories. From the last one hour I am just thinking, thinking and thinking but can't find any answer.

"Finished!" Jumping up from the chair Rain turns around. She is looking drop dead gorgeous and the way she has accessorized the dress is amazing. Her dark smoky eyes with nude lips and the pink blush is making her face more beautiful. She has pulled up her auburn hair into a ponytail showing off her black drop ear cuffs dangling from one ear. The snowflake choker and a simple black ring in her index finger is adding a different look to the baby pink dress. She takes out the new shoes that she has bought today and after wearing those lace ankle length heels, she is looking like a diva.

I raise an eyebrow with an amused smile as I get off the bed. Holding her shoulders lightly, I smile at her and say, "Not bad. Melvin is going to love it." Hearing Melvin's name, her cheeks turn pink making the blush darker.

Retracting herself from her flustered state, Rain makes me sit on the chair in front of the mirror. "Okay. Enough of gossiping. Now let me decorate you."

"Decorate? Seriously?" I look at her in the mirror. She rolls her eyes uttering, "Yeah, whatever. Now close your eyes and let me do my magic."

"Okay." I close my eyes having full faith on my best friend.

☆☆☆

It's approximately 1 hour or might be even more and Rain is still doing her magic. Sitting and shutting the eyes for such a long time, I start feeling a little sleepy and suddenly I yawn.

"Stop yawning, sleeping beauty. Just 15 mins. more." She is applying something on my cheeks, most probably blush.

"15 minutes? God! I'll fall asleep within these 15 mins. I'm sure."

"Stop blabbering, will you?" She stops for a moment and again starts applying the blush on my other cheek.

"Finally. Woah! You're my masterpiece." As soon as I hear this, I open my eyes. At first I thought a stranger is sitting in front of me. Few seconds later, I realize that the stranger is none other than me.

"You're a magician darling." Saying this, I jump up from the chair and give Rain a side hug. I go for a kiss on her cheek but she shrieks back saying, "Eww! Save these kisses for Shade."

I stick out my tongue as I pull away from her. I unlock my phone and see a missed video call from mom. It was 2 minutes back, so I call her back.

"Hey mom. Look at me." I keep the phone on the table leaning it against a stack of books so she can have a good look. I twirl around to show my dress.

"You're looking so gorgeous baby. And I'm sure, that make up of yours is Rain's work. She has magic in her hands."

"Hi, Nancy! How're we looking?" Rain comes giving me a side hug and then twirls to show her dress.

"Aww... you both are looking like two gorgeous ladies." Mom gives two flying kisses to us when suddenly her name echoes through the phone's speaker. The voice is of a man and I feel like I have heard that voice before, but can't remember where and whose. Mom turns her head back looking away and answers someone, "Coming... one sec."

"Bye lovelies. I need to go now. My boss is calling me. Have fun, enjoy and be safe." She again gives a flying kiss to us and cuts the call.

While cutting the call the phone screen displays that it is 5:16.

"Shit. We'll be late Rain. Come, let's go." I slap her hand lightly as I walk towards the door.

"Are you planning to go without shoes?" Hearing it, I look down to meet a pair of naked feet. I turn around and see Rain holding a pair of black cross strap high heels. She puts it on the floor and gestures me to wear them.

"Where did you find this? I bought it last year but I can't remember where I kept it." I took one heel and wears it.

"The big friendly giant popped in my dream last night and gifted this for you. Now quickly wear these. I'm going downstairs. They are already here." She walks out of the room as I continue putting my heels.

"What do you mean by 'they are already here'? Who're here?" I ask Rain while I run after her switching off my room's light.

As I reach downstairs, I see Rain typing a message to someone, "You'll see. Open the door." She shoves me towards the door. She is not looking at me and acting weird. Sceptical of whom she has invited, I open the door and thud!

As soon as I open door, I fall down on my back, taking someone. I can feel a hard toned back, pressed against my front. But the guy is quick enough to turn himself around and my eyes meet with a pair of blue electrifying eyes.

Shade is lying on top of me with his hands gripping my arms tightly. His messy hair gets more messed up and is now falling on his forehead covering one of his black eyebrows. Few strands are hovering over my eyes. As our lips get brushed with each other, a knot forms in my core. His pale cold skin is like an ice on my heated one. I have a sudden urge of kissing him but I can't as the trance gets broken hearing Rain's squealing as she pulls away from Melvin happily.

Shade gets up and standing beside me as he gives a hand. But I shove the hand and stand up. While standing up, I see Shade slowly pulling back his hand and shoving both of his hands inside the pocket of his soft peach coloured trouser, whose ends are folded, just above his ankles. He is wearing an ocean blue suit whose only one button is closed, and the other one, open. A white and blue stripped shirt is peeping beneath the suit and end of the sleeves of the shirt is tugging out on his wrists. But like a mismatch, he is wearing a brown leather belt and brown converse, but it's this mismatch that is making him look more hot and sexy. I gulp down a dry nervousness and my hands are trembling.

Melvin is standing beside him wearing a dark grey tee with a black-coloured suit which has no buttons. He has paired them with a blue denim jeans and white shoes. He is gaping at Rain with open mouth and wide eyes.

Turning my gaze away, unknowingly I look into Shade's eyes and they are looking straight into mine. In his eyes, there is a tint of disappointment and sadness. What is he sad about? I think for once, but next moment my mind rages with anger and I blast out, "What the fuck are they doing here?"

☆☆☆

** Shade **

I am leaning against the door of Dawn's house as I and Melvin are waiting for them for the past 20 to 25 minutes. Melvin is sending Rain messages but no reply. Maybe, the phone is silent.

"Girls! They'll never change. How can they take so much time to get ready?" Melvin rolls his eyes as he again types. At that moment, the door opens, and I fall upon a soft pillow on my back. I am having a hunch that I know upon whom I'm lying. I quickly turn and my eyes meet with a pair of emerald green eyes. The lashes are fluttering as few of my hair strands fell over them.

Her beautiful rose gold smoky eyeshadow and rosy lips with peach-coloured blush are giving a different look to her innocent face. Just like a rose. My lips get brushed with her and I can feel a sweet smell coming from her making me crazy. I can feel that the sudden closeness has heated her up as she keeps on shuddering under my cold touch. This thought makes me happy that I can make her feel like this.

Standing up, I give her my hand for help, but she shoves the hand away. It should have make me happy that she doesn't need me. But I am not. As I pull away my hand shoving them in my pockets, a sadness engulfs me. I keep on looking at her when suddenly our eyes lock, and I see a sense of guilt in her eyes. But instantly it gets clouded, and she shouts.

And now, standing in front of me is an angry Dawn who is lashing her anger on Rain like electric wires with hands on her hips. I know it was a bad idea, specially my arrival here, has irritated her. Her anger is making her look more hot with the off shoulder little black dress. The dress is softly hugging her curves. Her exposed collarbones are forcing me to lose my control. The hem of her dress is above her knees showing a little of her slender thighs. Combining all these with the black cross strap heels, she is looking more arresting.

Her straight brown blonde hair is open and covering her back. The champagne drop earrings, the black choker attached with a golden necklace which has a pearl placed in the middle of her collarbones and the golden bracelet with a single pearl, are making her look like a queen, Queen of my Heart.

"Okay fine. Let's go." I zone out of the spell as Dawn gives me an angry look. She is ready to go with us. Rain really has her ways. We all walk out of the house and go for the car while Dawn locks the door. Before coming here, Melvin has told me that he'll be sitting in the back with Rain, thus leaving Dawn to sit with me in the front. We are waiting for Dawn while I continuously tap on the steering wheel out of nervousness. As predicted, she comes and glares at all of us.

"Come on... Dawny... please... for me..." Rain's voice is dripping with sweetness and I am sure, she has made puppy dog eyes to convince her. Dawn opens the door of my deep sea metallic blue BMW and slouches in the front seat slamming the door glancing at me with irritated eyes. I really need to talk with her. Noting it in my mind, I quickly drive into a night which will change everything, for all of us.

☆☆☆

Hello friends!!! This is it. The tenth chapter. Gosh!! I can't believe I've already written ten chapters. I hope you liked this chapter too. Thanks a lot for all the reads, votes and comments and also for the advises.

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Thanks a lot for reading it. I'll be updating again within two or three days, I hope so, as I'm judging few awards so, it might get late but I'll update for sure.
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