Chapter twenty-seven: Lehenga

Sara unlocked the door to her house and stepped inside, a wave of calm washing over her after a long, exhausting day. Her day had begun before dawn, arriving on set by five in the morning, and after the shoot wrapped up, she'd made a stop at Abhishek Sharma's sister's store to pick out a Diwali outfit.

Motivated by hunger, she had already started working in the kitchen after changing into comfortable clothes. She opened her phone after setting the pressure cooker on the gas. Her Instagram had tons of notifications, the recent ones putting a soft smile on her face.

@samairaaaas55 started to follow you.

Sara followed back Samaira's account, which mainly consisted of her customers wearing dresses designed by her. Sara had hesitated to stop by at Samaira's boutique earlier as Shubman couldn't tag along since he was called to the BCCI office. But, to her pleasant surprise, Samaira Sharma was one of the sweetest people she had met. She had been warm and welcoming, excited to meet Shubman bhaiyya's friend. Sara saw that Samaira was online, texting her a quick 'hi' before posting the picture they took together on her story. Sara smiled, reposting it.

The pressure cooker whistled and Sara kept her phone away, starting her playlist. Sara was listening to music while cooking when the doorbell. An instant smile spread on her face as she realised who it was. There he was, standing on the other side of the door, a travel bag in his right hand.

"Hey," she beamed at him as he entered. Shubman faintly smiled at her, dropping his bag on the floor as she made her way to the kitchen. But, he suddenly held her hand, pulling her in a hug. Sara was slightly confused, but wrapped her arms around him, making sure her oily palms didn't touch his clothes.

"Hey babe," he gently said, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. His hold on her was tight, not wanting to let go of her. Sara pulled away slightly, his arms still wrapped around her as she looked up at him. Something about him was off...she could feel it. Something about his smile, the way he held onto her, his voice, it was different. Sara opened her mouth to say something but closed it, not wanting to make him more uncomfortable. She broke the hug, standing in her tiptoes, pecking his lips. He smiled at her gesture.

"What's for dinner?" He asked, trying not to speak about the thoughts which plagued his mind.

"Aamti-bhat, " (Rice and dal) she answered and he instantly frowned.

"Kya yaar Sara, kuch acha bana deti na," (You could've made something nice) he whined like a child and Sara rolled her eyes, walking back to the kitchen.

"Captain of Gujarat Titans, by the way," she said and he shook his head.

"That's not even related,"

"It is, you're acting like a child, when you're not one. You're going to have a lot of unhealthy food during Diwali, so eat something light and healthy tonight," she said and he just nodded, knowing he couldn't win an argument with her.

"Go and freshen up, I'll serve the food till then,"

"Alright," he softly sighed, picking up the bag he dropped on the floor and walking in.

🦚

Shubman plopped the last dish in the dishwasher and made his way to the living room, curling up on the sofa, right next to Sara. Sara immediately smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her as she continued scrolling on her Instagram.

"Oh, your friend followed me!" She said and Shubman raised his brow, peeking in the phone.

"Abhay? Hm, " Shubman mumbled and Sara nodded, as she followed him back.

"Would you like to meet everyone?" he asked and Sara looked up at him, nodding.

"Of course, are you planning something for Diwali?" she asked.

"Well, not me- but Virat bhaiyya. He's arranging a Diwali party, here in Mumbai before we all leave for Australia and everything. Would you like to come along as my plus one?" he gently asked and saw her eyes glimmer with excitement.

"That was so unnecessarily formal, but I would love to!" she giggled, kissing his cheek and he just smiled.

"Oh, by the way- you went to Samaira's shop right?" he asked and she nodded as she rested her back on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I bought a lehenga from there and I also found this pretty saree in another shop, and I bought that too, " she hastily said, not wanting to bore him with the details.

"Sounds nice, show what you bought, " Shubman said as he remembered what Ishan had told him. "Girls like it when you show genuine interest in your shopping"

Sara's eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at him.

"You...wanna see?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Hundred per cent. Oh, put it on and show me, " he added and she looked at him, confused.

"Are you for real?"

"You are so sceptical, Sara!" he said and she simply nodded before smiling brightly at him. "Wait here, I'll be back!"

Sara got up, going to her room. As she pulled the lehenga out of her bag, her eyes remained on the wall in front of her. She had zoned out, thinking about Shubman's behaviour since he'd come home.

No, he it wasn't different because he was showing a genuine interest in her. That would be absurd because Shubman had always been an attentive listener. Okay, he hadn't ever shown an interest in her retail therapy, but the nature of their relationship had also evolved since then.

No, Sara felt a growing concern because of his body language. He smiled uneasily, his eyes lacking their signature sparkle. He talked in an uncharacteristically low voice.

What is going on? He clearly doesn't want to talk about this or he would have already spilled the beans! How do I get him to talk?

Absentmindedly, Sara slipped on the lehenga and wore the blouse, hastily putting on the hooks. She looked in the mirror, softly frowning.

Shubman, who was in the living room was scrolling on his phone, simply distracted. His thumb unconsciously scrolled away, his eyes on the screen, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. His phone rung loudly, snapping him out of his thoughts. It was an unknown caller and he simply ignored it.

"Arey, why isn't Sara here yet?" He murmured to himself.

"SARA? Lehenge sil rahi ho kya?" (Sara? Are you stitching the lehenga?) he said, walking towards her room, his attention still in his phone. The door off the room was open, and he slightly raised his eyes to see Sara staring at herself in the mirror.

Sara felt slightly insecure, looking at herself in the mirror. The lights in the store were definitely more flattering. She felt...not pretty. Her reflection in the mirror seemed too flawed for Sara. She felt her frown deepen as she looked at the mirror.

"Sara, mein aise hi bahar baitha hu aur tu aise aayne mein khudko taad rahi hai," (Sara, I was waiting for you outside, and you're staring at yourself here) he said as he sent a reply to Ishaan's message. He finally looked up at her, and was awestruck.

"Wow, Sara...you look gorgeous," he softly said. Sara, listening to his words, turned around, the frown on her face still there. Shubman could t believe his eyes. Even with a messy updo of her hair, an exhausted smile after a long day, how could someone still look beautiful, he wondered. He walked to her, pulling her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You're so beautiful," he mumbled, pressing feathery kisses along her jawline. Sara pouted, pulling away.

"Kya kuch bhi, jhooth mat bolo," (What are you saying, liar) she whined. "I look so weird in this," she groaned.

Shubman looked at her, eyes wide in shock.

"Weird? Kuch bhi," he pulled her closer again, drawing abstract doodles on her bare waist, pecking her lips. "You're gorgeous, baby. This colour looks so good on you,"

"Really?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Of course, soniye. You're the prettiest girl I have ever seen," he said, his tone reassuring, as he noticed how insecure she seemed.

"Come on, I don't even get one smile?" He said, pouting his lips and she shook her head.

"Dekho," she said, smiling widely. "Khush?" she asked.

"How would I not be?" He asked. "I'm the happiest around you, sweetheart," he said.

"I'm the happiest around you too," she said, placing her palm on his heart, and interlacing the fingers of her other hand with his. "And I want you to know that I'm here, all the time. I'm here even when you just want to sit and stare at a goddamn wall for hours. I'm here when you want to forget everything and just let loose. I'm here when you're overwhelmed by the adulting and need someone to rely on. And I'm here when you just want to talk and complain about this bad, bad world," Sara concluded, lovingly looking into his eyes.

Shubman stayed silent for a moment, and then smiled softly as he cupped her cheeks, bending to kiss her. Sara smiled in the kiss as he gently opened the banana clip in her hair, letting her hair flow. In that moment, it was just them, and nothing else mattered. Nothing else.

A/N: The best part about friends to lovers dynamics are one moment they're talking about 'chakli' and the next moment they're making out😭
Also, im out but I promised to update, so I'm posting this- lemme know if there are typos and grammatical mistakes because I haven't checked them!