"I'm hungry."

Faith's words caused Anya to look at her exasperatedly. "For the millionth time, just go get yourself something from the kitchen."

Faith shook her head vigourously. "There's no way I'm going out there. All your relatives look at me like I'm some random stranger who wandered into the house from the street."

"Technically, you are," Anya pointed out with a grin. "Well, you are to them."

Faith let out a frustrated sigh. "I feel like a criminal everytime I go out there. The way they stare at me... it's like I'm something they scraped off the bottom of their shoes."

Anya chuckled. "Don't mind them. They just find it strange that a bunch of Americans are attending our little close-knit family's Indian wedding."

"It still feels weird," Faith replied. "Remind me why we didn't eat those doughnuts in the car again?"

"Because it was hot and stuffy and you were pretty sure that you were going to die," Anya said with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh, right," Faith nodded, looking disappointed. "Is it too late-"

"An?"

The two girls looked up to see Nikki standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Nikki," Anya greeted cheerfully. "This is Faith."

Nikki's gaze darted nervously between them. "Hi, Faith. I've heard a lot about you."

"Good things, I hope?" Faith laughed.

The other girl swallowed and nodded. "Listen, An- am I interrupting? I can come back later."

"It's fine," Anya replied, and patted the bed beside her. "Come on, sit down."

Nikki shuffled closer and perched at the edge of the bed, as if she was ready to take off any second.

Anya frowned at this. Nikki was usually such a vivacious girl, but now she was almost behaving like someone had died, with her eyes downcast and her face full of agitation.

"I like what you've done to your hair," Faith offered her a smile, gently catching a few of the pink locks between her fingers.

Nikki seemed to brighten. "Thanks," she grinned, and all of a sudden the real Nikki was back. Anya let out a sigh of relief.

They kept at the conversation for a few minutes, laughing and swapping stories.

"So did you build up the courage to ask Ethan out once I left New York?" Anya finally asked Faith.

"No," Faith admitted, shaking her head morosely. "I almost did, but then I didn't."

Nikki's eyebrows shot up. "Who's Ethan?"

"Faith's soon-to-be boyfriend," Anya sang, her lips twitching into a smile.

"Don't listen to her," Faith rolled her eyes. "She's just trying to drag me into the whole 'guy drama' deal because she has a lot going on. I mean, stringing two guys along? What-"

She broke off quickly when she saw Anya silently shaking her head behind Nikki with a desperate urgency.

"Two guys?" Nikki frowned.

"Oh, um... I was j-just kidding," Faith said, laughing nervously. "It's just one guy."

"Really?" Nikki looked sceptical.

"Uh huh."

"Okay. So who is it?"

"What?"

"Who's the guy?"

"Oh. Well, it's Aiden," Faith said, shooting a sideways glance at her friend, who's mouth had settled into a tight line.

"Aiden?" Nikki asked surprisingly sourly. "That's the guy you told me about, right, An?"

"What? Oh, yeah, that's him," Anya replied absently, her eyes trained on the hem of her tee shirt, which she was uncomfortably twisting and fiddling with.

"You said he's not your boyfriend, though?" Nikki pressed.

"He's not?" Faith quirked an eyebrow. "Well, this is news to me."

"Look, guys," Anya said, impatience creeping into her voice. "Just because we went out on a few dates doesn't mean we're official."

Faith looked at her disbelievingly while Nikki, for some reason, glared at the floor, conveniently avoiding Anya's gaze.

"What I do know," she continued, "is that even though we aren't even close to being together, we're pretty great friends."

"Whatever," Nikki mumbled, and sprung to her feet. "I've got to go. See you later."

After the door had swung shut behind her and her footsteps had faded away, Faith looked at Anya. "Is it just me, or is she really pretty ticked?"

"It's not you," Anya sighed. "She's such a great person. I don't know why she turns into such a grouch everytime I mention you or Aiden."

"Maybe she's jealous," Faith suggested.

Anya shook her head. "No, that's not it either. She's just not that kind of girl."

"Then I'm stumped," Faith shrugged. She let herself fall backwards onto the bed to lie down. She looked at Anya. "You know I'd love to be friends, right? Whatever her problem with me is, it's not mutual."

Anya nodded and let out another heavy sigh. "I know."

******

"Anya, we need to leave this house in the next five minutes!"

"I'm coming, mum!"

Hurriedly throwing on a cardigan over her tank top, Anya rushed downstairs where her mother and aunt were waiting.

"Kaira's gone to meet the caterer already, so all we have to do is pick out a good outfit for you and your mum," Aunt Priya informed her as they briskly walked out the front door.

"So we're not going to the Mehras' house?" Anya asked, feeling slightly disappointed. "I was hoping to meet Nikki." And Zayan, she silently added.

"Sorry, dear," her aunt replied, tossing her a sympathetic smile. "Maybe some other time."

Anya shrugged. "I guess that's alright."

They headed towards the car that was parked a few feet away, and as they slid in she heard a familiar voice.

"Good afternoon," Mr. Gupta said cheerfully. God, this guy was a complete optimist. She wished she could be like him.

"We're going to the market," her aunt instructed.

"The dress shop you always visit?"

Aunt Priya nodded a confirmation, and they were off. The ride was surprisingly silent, Mr. Gupta remaining uncharacteristically quiet as he refrained from keeping up his usual chatter. After a while, her mum looked up. "We should be there soon, right?"

"Yes, we're just a few minutes away," Aunt Priya replied. "Anya, your mum tells me you're an amazing artist."

"I try to be," Anya smiled.

"Always the modest one," her aunt patted her cheek affectionately. "Well, in that case you're going to love this place. It really... sparks your imagination."

The car slowed to a stop in front of a little shop and they got out. After giving Mr. Gupta a couple of instructions, Aunt Priya led them in.

As the door shut behind her, Anya looked up, her mouth dropping open. The place may have looked tiny from the outside, but it was anything but that. They had entered a large room with wooden shelves that lined the walls around them, stocked with clothes of every colour imaginable and folded into neat piles. Soft pastels, bold red, blue and orange hues, pale golds and silvers, bright greens and yellows, pretty magentas and purples, faded coppers- Aunt Priya had been right. She absolutely loved it.

Her artist's eye picked out the intricate patterns on the silks and cottons, the beautiful embroidery and sequins, and her mind conjured up the most wonderful things to draw and paint. If a heaven for creative minds existed, this was it.

A tall, thin and bespectacled man with his greasy black hair parted in the middle appeared behind the counter from a smaller room to the side. He folded his hands into a namaste and grinned. "Welcome, welcome!"

Anya continued to gaze at her surroundings in total awe as Aunt Priya chatted with the man. It seemed as though they knew each other quite well, which wasn't really surprising. According to her mother, Aunt Priya was a regular customer here.

"What do we have here?" The man suddenly asked, inspecting Anya. "Are you here to get the young lady something?"

"Oh, yes," her aunt interjected. "For her mum as well. It's for my daughter's wedding."

"Congratulations!" The man said, his eyebrows shooting up and threatening to disappear into his hairline. "Perhaps a sari dress?"

"No, no," her aunt said hastily. "Something a little modern for Anya. Nina, would you like to wear a sari?"

"Of course," her mother smiled. "You already know I'm slightly obsessed with them."

Aunt Priya chuckled and nodded in reply. "What about you, Anya?"

She shrugged. "I don't really know."

"Let me show you some new designs," the man jumped in excitedly. He brought down a few of the piles of cloth and flicked each one open with a dramatic flourish before laying it down on the counter.

"This one is really popular," he was describing them now. "And this one is really pretty- perfect for weddings!"

He held out each piece for her to inspect, but she politely rejected each one. They were all either too bedazzled, too heavy or too bold- none of which suited her simple taste.

"How about a gown?" Her mother suggested. "You've always liked those, haven't you?"

"We're supposed to be buying something traditional, mum," Anya said drily.

"Well, we can get an Indian gown, silly!" Aunt Priya exclaimed. "They're all the rage now."

The shopkeeper was nodding enthusiastically. "I can show you some."

Before Anya could protest, he had brought down a couple of carboard boxes, presumably containing the gowns. He opened them up, and a particular one caught her eye.

She hesitantly lifted the fabric out of its box and ran her fingers over the light gold work on the hem. It was simple, but nice all the same. "How about this one?"

"It looks pretty," her mother smiled encouragingly, pushing her towards the changing room. "Go try it on."

The cloth rustled in her hand as she carried it in and locked the door behind her. Once she had slipped it on, she turned to look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes widened. It was completely breathtaking.

She opened the door and padded out. The others turned at the sound of the door being unlocked, and Aunt Priya gasped. "Oh, Anya, you look lovely!"

"You should get it," her mother added, her lips stretching into a smile.

The shopkeeper clapped his hands together in excitement. "Yes! It's perfect."

Anya lowered her lashes bashfully. "You really think I should buy it?"

"Absolutely," her mother gushed with a warm smile. "You look beautiful."

She laughed. "You're my mother. Of course you're going to say that. All mothers tell their daughters that they look beautiful."

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Aiden," her mother teased, raising her eyebrows.

"Mom," she said, mortified. "Don't. That's just embarrassing."

"Exactly," her mother replied with a wicked smile.

Anya shook her head in amusement. Her mother's tendency to act younger than her age was both a boon and a curse. It helped because it made her more open-minded, but when she embarrassed Anya like that it made her wish she had a more normal mother- more sane, less crazy.

******

The car halted in front of the gate and Anya clambered out, completely exhausted. After she had decided to go with the gown, they had spent a long time choosing something for her mother to wear. Mrs. Brooks, of course, had taken all the time in the world, scrutinizing every garment shown to her until she inevitably found something wrong with it.

She had finally settled on a delicate pale blue sari, with a beautiful and intricate gold border.

Carefully picking up the bag that contained her dress, she slowly began to make her way to the house. Several minutes passed before she realized that her mother and aunt were not behind her.

She frowned and rolled her eyes. She was quite sure that they had stopped to gossip with the rest of the ladies living in the building, who religiously came downstairs for their evening walk in and around the apartment complex.

As she neared the door, she faintly heard the sound of people shouting on the other side- and it didn't sound like a friendly debate. A lump of dread settled in her stomach.

She crept closer, and now she could hear snatches of the argument. The voices were also female, and definitely familiar.

"-no right to choose for her!"

"Choose for her?! I'm not making the decision; she is! Why can't you just let her decide instead of butting in?"

"Listen to yourself! It's so obvious you're making all the decisions for her, and manipulating her into thinking that she has a real choice!"

"That's enough. If you say one more word, so help me, I will punch you-"

Anya hastily shoved the key in, twisted it and pushed the door open. She didn't want things to turn violent.

The sight that she was met with made her stop in her tracks; fright, shock and worry engulfed her.

In front of her were Nikki and Faith standing far apart, and they looked ready to kill each other.

What did you think of the chapter? And the cliffhanger? 😁

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What do you love to do? Is it painting, like Anya? Is it singing? Dancing? Magic tricks? It can be anything at all! Do you love to show them off to the world, or do you prefer to keep them to yourself?

Much love, C&C xx