Friendship

Prince turned nineteen at home.

Semester breaks had sent everyone away, but at exactly midnight, his phone rang.

“PRINCEEE!” Khushi’s voice exploded through the call, loud, excited, impossible to ignore. “Happy birthday!”

He sat up instantly. “You remembered?”

“Obviously,” she laughed. “Nineteen is a big deal.”

Prince smiled at the ceiling. Khushi—one of the most beautiful girls in their batch—calling him first. Since first year, he had admired her, imagined her beside him, wanted her to be his girlfriend, yet never crossed the line. She felt like someone you were lucky just to be noticed by.

“You’ll give a party when college reopens,” she added casually. “Don’t even argue.”

He laughed. “Deal. You’ll come?”

“Of course. I’ll bring my friends.”

Prince didn’t hear the ease in her voice. Didn’t know she wished every boy who admired her, accepted their attention, their generosity, their money—because it always came to her.

He only knew he felt chosen.

Mansi didn’t wish him at midnight.

She didn’t know it was his birthday.

Second year. Third semester. College resumed, and the class group flooded with messages.

Happy Birthday Prince!

Treat pending!

Party when?

Mansi paused, then quietly opened a private chat.

Mansi: Happy birthday. Hope this year is good to you.

She kept the phone aside and returned to her books. No noise. No drama. No expectations.

Prince read her message twice.

The party happened two days later.

Prince never invited Mansi personally.

She came only because she was Khushi’s friend.

Mansi was heading toward the library when Khushi appeared, already dressed, already glowing.

“You’re coming to Prince’s party,” Khushi said, gripping her arm.

“I didn’t really plan—”

“Stop planning,” Khushi interrupted. “Come.”

The café was loud, crowded, alive. Music thumped. Prince’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Khushi.

“There you are,” he said, stepping closer. “I was waiting.”

Khushi smirked. “Birthday boy looks desperate.”

“Only for you,” Prince replied, smiling. “You look… unreal.”

She laughed, pleased. “Then order drinks. Real ones.”

As the night went on, Khushi drank freely—too freely. Her laughter grew louder, her movements careless. She leaned into Prince, teased him, whispered things that made him blush.

“Relax,” she said when he hesitated. “It’s your birthday. Spend.”

Meanwhile, her attention shifted.

Dushyant had arrived—confident, well-dressed, laughing easily. Khushi’s eyes followed him.

She slid beside him, lowering her voice. “You look bored.”

Dushyant smiled. “Not anymore.”

She leaned closer, fingers brushing his arm. “You know, places like this get noisy. Maybe we should… go somewhere quieter.”

Dushyant raised an eyebrow. “You mean a room?”

Khushi smiled, satisfied. “If you can arrange one.”

But then she noticed it.

Hardika.

Standing across the room. Taller. Sharper. Effortlessly stunning.

And Dushyant’s eyes drifted.

Just once.

But it was enough.

Khushi’s smile cracked.

“So,” she snapped, pulling back, “you’re like every other guy.”

Dushyant frowned. “What?”

“Don’t pretend,” she said sharply. “Go look at her. You clearly want to.”

Hardika laughed at something Prince said nearby, completely unaware.

Khushi downed her drink angrily, spilling some on the table. She argued with the waiter, laughed too loudly, knocked over a chair.

“Khushi, stop,” Prince said softly. “You’re creating a scene.”

She scoffed. “Since when do you care?”

Mansi stepped in quietly, helping clean the mess, apologizing to the staff, holding Khushi’s bag as she stumbled.

Prince watched Mansi then—silent, composed, steady amid chaos.

“You’re different,” he said suddenly.

Mansi looked up. “Different?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “You don’t pretend.”

She smiled faintly. “Someone has to be real.”

Their eyes met briefly.

Then Khushi laughed loudly again, pulling Prince back into the noise.

Mansi didn’t fall in love that night.

But something shifted.

And something else—fragile, unnoticed—began to break.

Friendship, after all, is where the most dangerous stories begin.

If you want, next chapters can cover:

Prince slowly noticing Mansi

Khushi’s manipulation getting darker

Mansi’s inner thoughts (first-person)

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