•SHUBMAN GILL•

We reached the venue, and it's been decided that all four of them will go inside first, and I'll make my entry at the correct moment, stealing the spotlight. Inside, nerves are getting to me, basically andar se fatti padi hain but I'll act brave

I receive Ishan's message commanding me to make my entry.

With a determined stride, I push open the huge gates that are already ajar, announcing my arrival to the room.

"Stop!" I exclaim, my voice cutting through the crowd, drawing all eyes to me.

Let the drama begin.

I walk with an even pace, the crowd giving me way, everyone looks quite shocked because I am wearing the groom's attire. With each step, my heart pounds in my chest. It feels like the first time you go on stage in front of a big crowd to give your speech.

With all eyes on me, I make a beeline for the altar.

As I make my way forward, out of the corner of my eye, I spot them standing off to the side. Three of them wear expressions of pure delight, while Ishan's expression is more stoic.

As I approach the ceremony zone, my gaze falls on Ellisa. She is in her wedding gown, and opposite to her stands the groom, who is wearing similar attire to mine.

In the background, I can hear the murmur of shocked people. I give a glance towards someone whom I assume is Ellisa's father, and trust me, if I had seen him before, I would not have agreed to any of this because it looks like if he is going to punch me, then I am not going to wake up for 2 days. He looks intimidating, a bit too much.

I stand in front of Ellisa, and I see relief wash over her face. "Ellisa," I say with a fake hurt expression, "what are you doing?"

I can sense the stares of puzzled people behind me.

"Didn't... didn't you promise to marry me?" Ellisa tries to look bewildered, but all I can see is relief on her face.

The groom takes a step towards me and says, "Who are you?" I kid you not, he is literally getting offended in lowercase.

By the way he is behaving, it seems like either he knows about this or he doesn't really care. Because if someone showed up at my wedding in a freaking groom attire, I would be really mad. But he seems quite chill.

With confidence, I reply, "I am someone whom she promised to marry. Now, tell me, who are you?" Smooth, right? Wrong. It's very lame, but no worries because whatever he says next is equally lame.

"I am someone whom she is going to marry," his response is as if reading from the script of clichés.

I come a bit closer to Ellisa, gently holding her hand, and with mock hurt, I exclaim, "What is happening, Ellisa? Are you cheating on me?"

"Uh, I... um," she stammers, trying to form a coherent sentence, but before she can say anything, her father advances towards me,  Please, sir, don't punch me.

Giving me a once-over look, he then turns to his daughter and inquires, "Ellisa, is this your boyfriend? I thought you just made up stuff to avoid marriage and your boyfriend is non existent" Despite his intimidating demeanor, there is a hint of gentleness in his voice.

"I assure you, sir, I am very much real," I declare, straightening my bow tie in a feeble attempt to appear more composed. The murmurs in the background grow louder, and when I glance back, I catch sight of Surya Bhai giving me a thumbs-up.

"Dad, I've been trying to tell you, but you never believed me. Now, I've made up my mind. I'm marrying him," Ellisa says, gesturing towards the groom.

"You can't do this to me, Ellisa. Were all those promises you made to me fake?" I mutter, my voice filled with mock hurt.

Now, what is wild to me is that the groom isn't doing or saying anything. So I am just assuming that he knows everything.

Ellisa keeps stealing glances toward the main gate, clearly waiting for her boyfriend to arrive. And me? Well, I am waiting too, wondering how this bizarre drama will unfold.

"You don't have to do this, Ellisa," a bridesmaid speaks, coming towards Ellisa. "If you love him," she gestures towards me, "then you should marry him."

Ellisa's mother also chimes in, "We never want to pressure you, dear. If you've got someone you love, and most importantly, who loves you back, well, we don't have any problem marrying you off to them."

I don't think Ellisa even listens to half of the things they say because her entire focus is towards the entrance.

Finally, the groom speaks, surprising me with his unexpected words. "Well, if Ellisa loves you, who am I to stand in her way?" He gestures for me to take his place.

"You come here with the intention of marrying our daughter, then let's do it!" he exclaims with enthusiasm in his voice. "And look at you, already dressed to impress in that groom's suit! Everything's perfect!"

Perfect? Nothing is perfect sir, but before I can muster any sentence, he affectionately pats my shoulder. The weight of his hand feels heavy.

But wait a damn minute, why are they all so quick to agree to this bizarre turn of events? And why, oh why, did we think it was a brilliant idea to make my grand entrance in a groom's tuxedo?

Reality hits me hard: they actually want me to marry her. Panic sets in faster than a bullet train, and I desperately scan the room for any sign of Ellisa's boyfriend. But, there is no sign of him.

As I stare into her eyes, I see a mix of confusion and anxiety mirroring my own. The situation is as awkward as it gets. I mean, what do you do when you find yourself in the middle of a wedding ceremony you never signed up for? Should I scream "prank!" and hope for the best?

Before I can come up with a new plan, her father ushers me to stand in front of Ellisa. I look toward my people for some kind of help. I see Sreyas, Siraj, and Surya Bhai saying something to Ishan. I couldn't make out their expressions, but I can only hope that  they are concocting an escape plan and not discussing what they are having for dinner, because sometimes the collective braincell count of the gang can go to literally one.

Ellisa and I both look at each other with helpless ness in our eyes. One of the bridesmaids gives the ring to her, and as soon as she takes the ring, a voice comes from somewhere: "You can't do this to me--"

And everyone's attention shifts toward the source of the voice.

It's Ishan. He emerges from the sea of guests, and I sigh. Seeing him coming to my rescue makes me feel relieved a bit.

"You are marrying someone else when we are in a relationship from past one year," he says fiercely. The deal was to delay the whole thing. Ishan's entry into the drama makes it even better. And I know for a fact that it's their (Siraj, Surya, and Shreya) idea. Sometimes they can be of real help.

Gasps echo through the crowd, mouths hanging open in disbelief. They think the drama has reached its climax, but little do they know.

"You can't just ditch me" his voice slices through the air as he stands a mere inches from me.

As I glance around at the shocked faces in the crowd, it is clear they are more stunned than confused this time.

I glance over at Ellisa's father, and for some reason, he appears as if he is moments away from having a panic attack or perhaps moments away from causing one (to me).

Ellisa turns fully towards Ishan and says, "Stop talking nonsense; he's my boyfriend."

Ishan points at himself, wide-eyed, and scoffs. "I'm the one talking nonsense? Seriously, you're the one trying to steal my boyfriend!"

Both are at eye level and looking dead into each other's eyes. itna bhi character me nhi jana tha ab.

Honestly, I'm at a loss for words right now because whatever is happening is completely off-script, and I'm not good at improvising.

"What on earth is happening here?" her father blurts out, extremely perplexed by the situation.

Suddenly, a loud thud echoes through the room, and all eyes dart in its direction. Someone has fainted, and that someone is the marriage officiant.

Blud is too faint-hearted for all of this. The bride's unexpected boyfriend showed up, and just when they thought things couldn't get any crazier, the boyfriend's boyfriend showed up. God knows what will happen when the real boyfriend will show up.

I glance quickly toward the gate again, but there's no sign of anyone there.

Ishan holds my hand and while staring into my soul asks, "Tell them, tell them that I am your boyfriend."

"No.......Yes," Ishan's grip tightens around my wrist, and he whispers near my ear, "deny it."

"I mean, I'm not your boyfriend, and yes, I am Ellisa's," I say, obeying Ishan.

Someone comes and stands behind Ishan; it is Shreyas. "Why are you lying, Shub? Why are you deceiving the poor girl? We all know," he gestures towards Miyan and Surya Bhai, "that you are dating Ishan."

Miyan and Surya Bhai also make their way towards us and stand a little behind Ishan. "You were a loving and loyal boyfriend to him. Now what happened, Shubman?" Surya Bhai exclaims, his expression portrays utter disbelief.

Miyaan also chimes in,
"You can't do this to Ishan. He loves you so much, he will d--" Ishan shoots him a look that basically says : aab jyada ho raha hain "I mean, Ishan won't be able to love anyone like he does to you," Siraj Bhai says, correcting his speech.

"Wait a minute, who are you guys?" a bridesmaid questions the trio, her voice tinged with suspicion. "We don't know you, do we?" she directs her query at Shreyas, siraj and Surya bhai.

Surya Bhai sighs and speaks, "Who we are is not important. What's important is that a person who is already in a relationship is going to marry someone else. How unjust." one can hear the pity in his voice quite clearly.

Another bridesmaid, unable to contain her skepticism, retorts, "Why does this all feel like a staged drama?" She is visibly annoyed.

"It's not a drama," Ishan interjects, his eyes flashing with intensity. "It's very much serious. My life is turning upside down, and you're calling it a drama?" He says with a mock hurt expression.

If I weren't a part of this, I would have believed him for sure. I've said this previously and I'm saying it again: he would have made a great actor.

"Oh really? Then prove it," she demands. "Prove that he is your boyfriend." The bridesmaid challenges Ishan.

"How?"

"I don't know, do something... kiss him."

Ishan's demeanor momentarily breaks at her words, but he conceals it quickly.

I have to intervene now. I try to say something, "Listen --" but before I can say anything further, I hear the swift footsteps of Ishan approaching me.

Before I can make sense of anything, with a bold gesture, he seizes the lapel of my tuxedo, pulling me towards him. And then, he presses his lips to mine.

In this moment, something ignites within me, and the world around me fades away.

~~~

Did they just kissed?