College Event – Scene in the Hall and Outside
All the friends got ready and reached college. Everyone looked great in different colorful clothes.
Announcer: "First to come on stage are – Sadhya and Nisha!" Everyone claps. Sadhya and Nisha come on stage.Soft lighting, slow music, and their fantastic couple dance begins. Nisha's smile,Sadhya's perfect rhythm – both lost in each other. Friends cheer loudly from behind– "Sadhya!Nisha! Wow!" As the dance ends,there is a thunderous applause. Nisha bows shyly and Sadhya holds her hand,smiling. Anvesh:(Looking at his phone) "Oh man, getting a call from home… gotta step out for a bit." He quickly goes outside.
Now the announcer calls out – Announcer:"Now coming on stage are – Anvesh and Kavya!" Kavya looks around nervously. Anvesh is nowhere to be seen.Her phone is constantly busy. Kavya:(Worried) "Where did Anvesh go?" Ruhan:"Hey, it's time. Do one thing – Neerav will dance with you instead of Anvesh." Neerav:(Surprised) "What? Me? But… this is Anvesh's partner." Ruhan:"Bro, he's not here right now. People are waiting. Come on, don't leave the stage empty." Kavya:(In a faint voice) "Okay… Neerav, come." Neerav hesitates,but agrees when Kavya asks. Ruhan hands them masks.
Ruhan: "Wear these masks, no one will recognize you. Especially Neerav." Both wear masks and go on stage.
On Stage
The music starts. Kavya and Neerav dance in sync. Neerav's gaze doesn't leave Kavya. Kavya also,amidst the dance, unknowingly gets lost in his eyes. People shout from behind– "Kavya!Anvesh! Wow! What a dance!" Neerav lovingly lifts Kavya in his arms. Kavya keeps looking into his eyes. The moment seems to stand still. Then both come to their senses with the applause and voices. Neerav gently puts her down and both get off the stage. Meanwhile,Anvesh returns. Anvesh:(Surprised) "Hey, Kavya… your dance is over already?" Kavya:"Yes, but where did you go?" Ruhan:"Bro, you left at the main moment, our reputation would have been ruined. Good thing Neerav handled it."
Anvesh: (Looking at Neerav) "Got a call from home, so I went out. Anyway… Neerav, you did a good job."
Neerav: (Lowering his gaze) "Oh no, everyone insisted, so I had to do it."
Anvesh: (Laughing) "It's okay, when did I ever stop you?"
Kavya: (Laughing) "You two, the Laila-Majnu act has started again!" All friends burst out laughing.
Outside, near the water
Nivan goes outside to drink water. Suddenly,Atharv and his friends block his way.
Atharv: "Where are you going all alone? Take us with you too." His friends laugh.
Nivan: (Scared) "Atharv, let me go."
Atharv: "First tell me, how did you make me fall that day?"
Nivan: "I didn't make you fall… you're misunderstanding."
Atharv: (Angrily) "You talk too much?" He shoves Nivan,making him fall to the ground.
Nivan tries to run, but his friends catch him. Atharv starts throwing punches. Meanwhile,Ruhan also comes outside to drink water. He sees– Nivan is being beaten. Ruhan:(Shouting angrily) "Hey! Let him go!"
He runs over and kicks Atharv from behind. Atharv falls down. Atharv:"So you came too… I'll show you now!" A fight breaks out between the two. Suddenly,someone hits Ruhan on the head. Blood flows from Ruhan's head and he falls to the ground,unconscious. Nivan:(Screaming) "Ruhan!!" His eyes turn golden. He starts thrashing violently. All the friends panic. Nivan throws everyone aside without even touching them. He punches Atharv and smashes him against the wall. Atharv falls down unconscious. The other boys run away in fear. Nivan runs towards Ruhan. As soon as he touches him,he too falls to the ground, unconscious. The mysterious masked man standing far away is watching all this. A mysterious smile appears on his face. He mentally controls another boy and sends him to Neerav. Then he disappears into thin air.
That boy runs to the friends.
Boy: "Nivan and Ruhan are lying unconscious!"
Everyone panics and reaches there. They pick up Nivan and Ruhan and take them to a college room. Their wounds are bandaged. Ishika:(Crying) "Ruhan, what happened to you?"
Neerav: (Worried) "Bro, you're okay, right? And Nivan, you too?"
Anvesh: "Leave it, rest for now. You can tell us everything later."
Ruhan: "It's nothing… Atharv was bothering Nivan. I intervened, that's all."
Ishika: (Angrily) "You got into trouble again because of this Nivan! I was waiting for you here and you went off to save him. This happens every time. Why did he even come into our lives?"
Ruhan: (Loudly) "Shut up, Ishika! It's not his fault!"
Ishika: "You never see any fault in him. The fault is always mine!" She runs out of there,crying.
---
Kavya: "Sorry, guys… Ishika got scared, that's why she spoke like that."
Nivan: "It's okay, I can understand."
Sadhya: "But one thing is worth thinking about – Atharv was also unconscious. If you two didn't hit him, then who did?"
Ruhan and Nivan look at each other.
Nisha: "Yes… if you didn't do it, then who did?"
Anvesh: "Leave it, let it go. We don't need to think about that right now."
Neerav: "Yeah, we should just be happy that our friends are okay. Let's go to the hostel now."
Ruhan: "But… the dance?"
Neerav: "We got it canceled. Maybe that's why Ishika got even more upset."
Ruhan: "I'll calm her down."
Neerav: "Okay, bro. Let's go now, you two need to rest."
All the friends return together from college to the hostel.
---
When all the friends reached the hostel, Ruhan knocked on Ishika's door to calm her down... but there was no answer. The door creaked open slowly, revealing an empty room.
His eyes fell on a photograph on the table—the one from the college event, showing Kavya and Neerav dancing. But in the background, a man in a black mask was standing... his face looked eerily similar to Nivan's.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind him, "What are you looking at, Ruhan?"
He turned to see Nivan himself standing there,with a simple, innocent smile.
Ruhan glanced back at the photo in a panic... the masked man was now completely gone. As if he had never been there at all.
Was the photograph just a trick of Ruhan's mind, haunted by the day's events?
Or was some unseen force using Nivan's face to hide in plain sight?
And the most chilling question of all—what would Ruhan find in that photo when he looked at it again in the morning?