"Unsettling Omens
&
A fateful outing"

Rohit couldn't shake the eerie feeling that had taken a hold of him after watching the news.

The building! It was the same building as his dream. The scene, the words, everything aligned so perfectly with that vision for it to be a mere coincidence.

His skull throbbed with all those blurry visions and thoughts he had been experiencing lately. It was as if he could somehow see the future, as if his subconscious was trying to tell him something with all those flashes.

"You'd get white hairs with all the worrying you've been doing lately"

It was Virat who had noticed Rohit quietly slipping out of their shared room and being the bestest friend he is, he decided to follow Rohit just to make sure the latter was alright.

"Thanks for the concern, appreciate it." Rohit placed a hand at his heart for the dramatic effect.

Virat rolled his eyes playfully at Rohit and then turned a bit serious, "No, but seriously though. What is up with you lately. You have sighed for hundreds of times today"
651 times to be precise, not that Virat had been counting.

Rohit chuckled at Virat's observation, though the concern in his friend's eyes was not lost on him.

"I don't know Vi," Rohit said, "I have this weird feeling that something bad's gonna happen. And the worst part is that I can't shake the feeling off"

Virat's expression grew more serious as he listened to Rohit's words "You've had this feeling for a while now?"

"It's not like that. I just..."

"Guys, come have dinner. Everyone is waiting for you two at the table." Jaddu's voice came from the door, interrupting whatever Rohit was about to say to Virat

"Give us a few minutes here Jaddu," Virat said wanting to know what was bothering his bestfriend.

"There's no need for a few minutes Jaddu, we're coming right away." Rohit decided not to share his concerns with Virat right then, not wanting to worry him over something as silly as a nightmare. Instead, he smiled reassuringly at Virat, and Virat, while noticing the hidden worry in the former's eyes, thought of letting it slide for the moment.

'I'll corner him later' Virat thought to himself.

(⁠｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡⁠)⁠➜

Rohit sat at the dinner table, idly stirring his rajma chawal as the others chatted around him. Virat noticing his dazed look nudged him in the side to snap him back to the present. Rohit blinked and looked at Virat, his friend's concerned expression bringing him out of his reverie.

"You okay there?"

Rohit managed a weak smile and replied, "Yeah, just lost in my thoughts, I guess."

Virat frowned not liking the secretiveness of his friend, he clearly had something bothering him but just wouldn't say it. Just as Virat turned to look at the other to accuse him of keeping secrets from him, Shreyash's voice interrupted their silent tension.

"Guys, I've got some news," Shreyash began, a hint of excitement in his tone. "I'm meeting my friend tonight. We're going to the café that we spotted during the outing a few days back."

Everyone hooted at the term 'friend' and started teasing Shreyash about his little date with a special someone.

"I'm gonna rent a car for the night" Shreyash answered to Harry's "Jayega kaise? Cycle pe"

Virat grinned at the bickering and turned to look at Rohit only to notice the grimace at the latter's face.

'tonight'

'café'

'car'

Rohit felt a sudden chill crawl down his spine. In an instant, it was as if his world had plunged into darkness, and the room faded away. He saw it vividly, the flashing lights, the screeching tires, the shattered glass. It was a car accident, and Shreyash was in the middle of it, his face etched with fear.

Before he could grasp what was happening, Rohit snapped back to reality, back to the dinner table where his friends continued their cheerful conversations. His heart raced, and he struggled to find his voice.

"Bhaiya are you alright?" Jass's concerned voice pulled Rohit back to the present, but his heart continued to race, and he couldn't shake off the vivid images from his mind.

"Here, have some water bhaiya." Jass helped Rohit pour some water into a glass and made his drink a bit.

Rohit took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. "Yeah, Jass, I'm fine. Just zoned out for a moment."

Virat, who had been watching Rohit closely, wasn't convinced. He leaned closer to Rohit and whispered, "Are you sure you're okay? You don't look fine."

Rohit hesitated, not knowing how to explain what he had just experienced without sounding completely irrational. Instead, he offered a half-hearted smile and replied, "It's nothing, Vi. Just a little headache, that's all."

Virat frowned at that, he has been getting a lot of headaches lately.

"Maybe we all should go out too? Let's explore the city while we are here." Jinks piped in catching Virat's eyes and nodding at him in assurance.

There was something off with Rohit, Jinks had noticed it too. Virat seemed to get the idea thanked Jinks with eyes and looked at Rohit as if pondering something.

Jinks's suggestion of exploring the city piqued the interest of the group including Rohit,

"I wanna eat ice cream" Kul said excitedly to which Ishan and Jassi nodded in agreement. Yuzi, Shubh and Rah decided to join in too.

"Or! Let's go and have something spicy" Jaddu said countering the other's statement.

"Spicy sounds good, how about spring rolls." Harry offered in favour of having something oily for once. Virat glared at Harry at the mention of fast food but found himself in a dilemma when all the kids started throwing puppy eyes at him, excluding Harry and Jaddu's weird ones. Virat felt a chill run down his spine at the stares he was getting from the two.

"Can you think about anything else but food. We just had our dinner guys!" Bhuvi the ever so sensible said trying to help Virat out of his misery.

"Food is life! How could you say that!"

"Shut up Hardik Pandya!" Bhuvi said in a no nonsense tone

"Meanie, all of you are" Harry said accusingly to Bhuvi and the others.

^⁠_⁠_⁠_⁠_⁠_⁠_⁠_⁠_⁠_⁠^

"Can we tag along Shrey? We've a place to be and it's right in the direction you're going"

They had to go where now? Virat looked at Rohit in confusion as he was dragged along by his shirt to where Shreyash was standing with his just rented car.

"Oh! Yeah sure bhaiya. I can drop you two"

"Thanks Shreyaa, we really need to be there" Virat not knowing where they were going or why they were going, played along deciding to give his bestie a benefit of doubt.

Rohit smiled at the younger and sat in the driver's side motioning Virat to sit in the passenger's side, while Shreyash looked at the two quizically.

"I'll drive to the café. Our spot is close to it" Rohit answered to Shreyash's confusion. Too excited for his little date and the fact that he was getting his share of Rohirat time, Shreyash got in the backseat without any further questions.

Some people are not gonna be happy about their bhaiyas tagging along with him, Shreyash grinned at the thought of 6 jealous kids.

(⁠☞ﾟ⁠ヮﾟ⁠)⁠☞

"You were supposed to take the right turn bhaiya."

"I know a shortcut Shrey, we'll be there soon."

They would have reached sooner had they taken the route Shreyash was suggesting but the youngest of them decided not to disturb the others.

(⁠☞ﾟ⁠ヮﾟ⁠)⁠☞

"Thank God you are safe Shrey!!" Was the first thing his friend Anya had said jumping to hug the other in relief.

"Kyu kya hua?" Shreyash asked her in confusion.

"There was an accident two blocks away from here"

Shreyash froze at the information. He would have been there had Rohit not insisted on driving here through a different route.

ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

Thanks for reading❤️💙