"Once again, where is this place?" Pranali asked fumbling with the edge of her dupatta.

"It belongs to a friend, he is out now but he will be home soon." Abhi said while opening the lock.

"Won't he mind?" Pranali asked once they were inside taking in the full view of the room. It was a small but cozy flat with two bedrooms and a balcony; the walls were painted a light shade of green with combinations of royal-blue and aqua; a few portraits hung from the right wall but there were a few boxes lying around waiting to be unpacked.

"Nah, he's cool with us using his flat for gatherings. He's like the cool big brother to all of us. I was actually going for the café but after last evening I think somewhere else might be a better idea." Abhishek replied sheepishly, "By the way, why are you dressed like that?"

"Huh?" Pranali stared blankly at him.

"I mean you look amazing and all, no offence. I was just curious about the whole Indian look." Abhi said indicating her light pink salwar which faded into white from her knees with intricate laces at where the dress met the carpet.

"Oh, you said they were important so I..." Pranali looked down at her dress as if reassessing her choice.

Abhishek gave an amused laugh, "Well, they are my friends. You are dressed as if you are going to meet my parents, which for the matter of fact you have already done."

"I don't know.... I guess, it's because I don't have a huge amount of friends myself. I mean, Sid was like my only friend back in London and when I came here I became friends with his friends." Pranali replied thoughtfully.

"Don't worry, I have a huge number of friends. And from now on, my friends are your friends too."

"But what if they don't like me?"

"They were the ones overexcited to meet you and I am more than a 100% sure that they will love you." Abhi assured looking straight into her eyes. Their tiny eye lock was broken by Abhi's phone ringing.

"Ma's calling" Abhi said looking at the phone, "You make yourself at home, my friends will be here in a minute. There's no signal here. I'll just be in the balcony." Saying that Abhi disappeared behind the curtains leading to the balcony.

Not a few moments after Abhi left to take the call Pranali heard the lock open again, accompanied by a series of different voices. As Pranali turned around to face the door she was greeted with one familiar face and five others.

"Pri?" Mika stared wide eyed at the girl in front of her as her friends exchanged confused looks.

"What are you doing here?" Pranali and Mallika asked simultaneously, their eyes wide in surprise. When suddenly the horrific thought struck Pranali that Mallika might be friends with Abhi, after all both of them are actors.

"Did he tell you about this place?" Mallika asked before Pranali could confirm anything.

"Uhhh... I guess."

"But he told me he was going to surprise you." Mika frowned.

"Surprise? What are you talking about?" Pranali asked confused.

"Wait, wait, wait, what's going on?" Sumedh interrupted.

"Yeah, someone at least explain something to us." Jannat said, her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, we're confused." Basant nodded his head in agreement.

"Oh right," Mallika said as if just realizing that her friends were there with her too, "She's Pranali. Pranali's my..."

"Cousins, kind of." Pranali said completing Mallika's sentence.

"How can someone be kind of cousins?" Vaish asked looking between the two.

"It's complicated." Pranali and Mallika replied together.

"You know, you two act more like twins instead of 'kind of cousins'." Sumedh remarked as the others nodded their head.

"Alright eyeryone..." Basant said not wanting to press the matter further. "So, are you here to meet Adi Bhai?"

"Yeah, I mean I can't believe that he told you after telling me to keep silent." Mallika huffed crossing her hands over her chest.

"Oh, so this is the infamous Jaan." Sumedh said realization washing over his features as Mika nodded her head in agreement.

"Wait, Jaan? Bhai? What are you....? Is bhai back in town?" Pranali asked, her eyes widening like saucers.

"Yeah, didn't you...? Shit, I ruined the surprise." Mallika sweared realizing her mistake, while the others just laughed at her pouting face.

"Tsk, tsk Mika, you should have been more careful." Jannat said shoulder bumping her.

"Well technically it was Basant who said it to her." Mika pointed out.

"That's a point." Vaish and Tunisha nodded.

"Wait, how's this my fault? How was I supposed to know?" Basant fake glared making the others laugh while Mallika just watched.

"Wait so, if you're not here to meet Adi bhai then what are you doing here?" Vaish asked once everyone had stopped laughing.

"Yeah, how did you know about this place?" Mallika asked questioningly but her questions didn't need to be answered as the balcony curtains were pushed open.

"Pranali I..." Abhi stopped in his tracks without finishing his sentence as he took in the scene in front of him. Tunisha gasped as all the pieces fell in place making everyone turn towards her.

"You're with Abhi?" Tunisha asked looking between an openmouthed Abhi and a too shocked Pranali.

"And not just as in you're HERE with Abhi, but you're WITH Abhi..." Mallika asked wide eyed.

"Uhh..." Pranali turned to Abhi with pleading eyes asking for help but Abhi himself stood confused as to what happened in the four minutes he was gone.

"So you ARE with Abhi." Mallika exclaimed, "But why didn't you tell me?"

"One second, how do you two know each other?" Abhi asked, finally getting back his words.

"They are cousins." Jannat explained.

"Kind of." Sumedh supplied.

"It's complicated." Basant said waving off Abhi's questioning stare.

"So you two...?" Abhi asked pointing between Mika and Pranali.

"Well, she's actually Adi Bhai's sister, cousin to be precise." Vaishnavi elaborated.

"What about my sister?"

Everyone in the room turned to see Adi walking in with the car keys in his one hand and a gym bag on his other shoulder. He too stopped in his track as the full blow of what was happening in the room seemed to hit him and the gym bag slipped off his shoulder and hit the ground with a loud thud.

"Holy shit..." Sumedh exclaimed taking in the full view.

"Yeah... tell me about it." Pranali murmured.

~~~~~

Guys, I know this chapter is small but I really hope it was fun :)

Comment down how you liked it...