Chapter - 3 The Flicker Between Us

The sky had turned navy blue. Fairy lights strung across the field were just beginning to glow, and the bass from the main stage sent soft vibrations through the grass. The fest had transformed into something magical — louder, brighter, wilder. “Okay, okay, you go take a break,” Naina said, panting as she passed Sanshita a cold drink. “I’ve been running around like a donkey and I’m about to pass out.”

Sanshita took the cup, grateful. Her arms were sore from hauling props, her kurti had a paint stain on it now, and she’d mentally rehearsed Bhavik’s voice saying “Moon Girl” at least ten times.

She sat near the edge of the auditorium building, away from the crowd, sipping slowly, breathing it all in.

Then, the lights went out.

Like — everything. Gone.

The music, the mics, the stalls. Just darkness and a collective gasp.

For a few seconds, the crowd didn’t know whether to panic or cheer.

Then someone started clapping, laughing, shouting “It’s a vibe!”

But backstage, it was different. The teams were scrambling to reset things. The generator hadn’t kicked in. Someone tripped. Props were falling.

And someone yelled, “WHERE’S THE SPOTLIGHT BOX?!”

Naina ran off to help, and Sanshita instinctively grabbed the fallen mic stand and followed. She ducked into the back hallway of the stage — quiet and shadowy now — and that’s when she heard it.

A voice.

Low. Tired. Almost… angry?

“No, I said I’ll call you later, okay? Just stop.”

She turned the corner slowly.

Bhavik Joshi stood there, alone in the corner of the corridor, phone in hand, jaw clenched.

He looked… different.

No smirk. No swagger. Just — someone trying really hard to hold it together.

“Because I said I’m busy right now, that’s why!” he snapped, then paused, pressing two fingers to his temple. “Ma, I’m not— I’m not yelling. I just—”

He stopped mid-sentence.

His eyes met hers.

And for the first time since she met him, he didn’t smile.

He looked caught.

She froze. “Sorry- I wasn’t- I didn’t mean to listen.”

He said nothing for a second. Just slowly hung up the call and exhaled, hand still on the side of his head.

“No one’s supposed to be back here,” he muttered.

“I was just-” she held up the mic stand awkwardly.

They stared at each other for a beat. The lights outside flickered once, twice — still dead.

Then Bhavik ran a hand through his hair and leaned back against the wall.

“You ever feel like it’s just… too loud?” he asked quietly.

She didn’t answer right away.

But she knew exactly what he meant.

“Yeah,” she said. “All the time.”

He looked at her then. Really looked.

“Everyone thinks I love it. The noise. The attention. But sometimes I just want to disappear.”

There it was.

Not a full breakdown. Not a sob story. But a flicker of the truth.

The part of him no one else saw.

Sanshita stepped forward, holding out the mic stand. “This fell.”

He took it, fingers brushing hers for a second.

The generator kicked in. Lights buzzed back to life. Music returned with a thud.

And just like that, he was back to Bhavik Joshi again.

He gave her a half-smile. “Thanks, Moon Girl.”

But as he walked away, she didn’t feel like he was being flirty.

She felt like he was hiding.

And for the first time, she didn’t want to run from that.

She wanted to understand it.

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