Friends, Sisters, Weirdos: S1-Falling In Love With Reyaansh Singhania - Page 35

Originally posted by: Pearl_TR

Okay i tried my best

Originally posted by: PMsfromLazyGirl

You got most of it right! 👏

Originally posted by: Pearl_TR

Great!

I read it again and did a small change in the comment

Frustrated Saara part😳

"How did I get here?"

🤔It's Taani, I guess.

...

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

"How should I know?! I was drunk remember."

"Yeah, well so was I!"

Saara n Karan😊

...

"Do remember anything that happened last night?"

"Um, no not really. You?"

"Nope."

"Okay."

Kriya n Rey☺️

...

"Ugh, my head hurts! Everything hurts."

Taani😕

...

"Hey Superbitch! Thought I'd give some helpful tips for the future. Tip #1, always check the punch bowl before guests arrive, especially when Vicky and Nilesh are involved. Tip #2, always make sure you know what you're drinking. Tip #3, if you ever get drunk again, whether it's on purpose or by accident, I swear to god I'm going to lock you up in your room, and I won't let you out until I know you're asleep. Tip #4, best way to get over a hangover is to re-hydrate. Water, fruits... All good things to cure that killer hangover you probably have. See you in a couple days, Superbitch!"

Shivam to Sharon, for sure😆

...

"Isn't it your first day at work?"

"Oh shit!"

As u said,"Shekhawat sisters"😆

...

"They're monsters! Monsters I tell you, monsters!

Nisha or Taani or Sharon or Idk😆

...

"Hey!"

"Hi!"

"Are you waiting for someone?"

"Yeah, my date."

"Your date?"

🤔Is it Swayum n Vrushika someway

...

"Hey, don't do that yourself. That guy was a total jerk."

"Thanks."

"Come on, let me take you out on a real date."

"A real date? Why do I feel like I should be scared?"

"Because you should."

Swayum n Sharon😆

...

"You kissed my brother?!"

"Technically, he kissed me."

Nisha to Kriya😊

Originally posted by: KriYaansh-ArSha

Nice promo.😃
But I'm very confused. Still kuch to guess kar sakti hoon😊

"How did I get here?"

🤔It's Taani, I guess.

Yup!

...

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

"How should I know?! I was drunk remember."

"Yeah, well so was I!"

Saara n Karan😊

Correct!

...

"Do remember anything that happened last night?"

"Um, no not really. You?"

"Nope."

"Okay."

Kriya n Rey☺️

Of course!

...

"Ugh, my head hurts! Everything hurts."

Taani😕

Maybe...

...

"Hey Superbitch! Thought I'd give some helpful tips for the future. Tip #1, always check the punch bowl before guests arrive, especially when Vicky and Nilesh are involved. Tip #2, always make sure you know what you're drinking. Tip #3, if you ever get drunk again, whether it's on purpose or by accident, I swear to god I'm going to lock you up in your room, and I won't let you out until I know you're asleep. Tip #4, best way to get over a hangover is to re-hydrate. Water, fruits... All good things to cure that killer hangover you probably have. See you in a couple days, Superbitch!"

Shivam to Sharon, for sure😆

Yes, you go girl!

...

"Isn't it your first day at work?"

"Oh shit!"

As u said,"Shekhawat sisters"😆

You are on a roll right now!

...

"They're monsters! Monsters I tell you, monsters!

Nisha or Taani or Sharon or Idk😆

This one's hard because so many people can probably say this line.

...

"Hey!"

"Hi!"

"Are you waiting for someone?"

"Yeah, my date."

"Your date?"

🤔Is it Swayum n Vrushika someway

Hm...

...

"Hey, don't do that yourself. That guy was a total jerk."

"Thanks."

"Come on, let me take you out on a real date."

"A real date? Why do I feel like I should be scared?"

"Because you should."

Swayum n Sharon😆

Um, maybe...

...

"You kissed my brother?!"

"Technically, he kissed me."

Nisha to Kriya😊

Nisha said one of these lines, but someone ELSE said the other line.

Originally posted by: White_Flower

Originally posted by: KriYaansh-ArSha

Nisha said one of these lines, but someone ELSE said the other line.
okayyy😕...now I need the update...that only can clear my confusion😆
update soon whenever u get time😊

Originally posted by: ff_fan

Nice Promo 😊

Quick Note: Sorry for being SO late! I've actually been super busy, not to mention lazy. My body is just giving up on me right now. I don't have the energy or the willpower to do anything. And guys, it took me a full week to do this thing, but it is worth it. This thing is like twenty-two pages, I'm not kidding. It's the longest thing I've ever written in my entire life. Somebody give me a cookie!

Kriya-Taani

Vrushika

Nisha

Taani-Nisha-Vrushika-Kriya-Saara

Hangover

When Aarav opens his eyes the next morning, he's almost shocked to see where he is. And then he remembers the events of last night.

Drunk Taani?

Check!

Saving drunk Taani, and then bringing her home?

Check!

Trying to get her to sleep?

Check!

Spilling his guts to drunk Taani, and then falling asleep beside her?

Check!

Aarav sits up on the bed, and looks at Taani. The sight of her brings a smile to his face. But the smile soon disappears when he realizes how weird it feels to stare at his best-friend while she's asleep. "Great, I'm turning into Edward Cullen."

Suddenly, he feels an arm around his waist. He looks over to Taani, and sees that she has turned to face him. He slowly removes her arm from around his waist, realizing that she might wake up soon, and gets up. He opens up the window to her room and climbs down.

Meanwhile, Taani slowly wakes up due to the headache that just wouldn't let her sleep. She gets up, and looks around. "How did I get here?"

...

Reyaansh Singhania never thought that he'd wake up with his head leaning against a tree trunk. Nor did he ever think that Kriya Ghai's head would be resting on his chest.

Where are the flying pigs?

He gently nudges the sleeping girl awake and Kriya, being a light sleeper, immediately awakens. She sits up and rubs her eyes. When she sees Rey, she lets out a little yelp. "Not so loud Baatcutter," groans Rey, his head pounding.

"Sorry," Kriya says meekly, and if Rey's head didn't hurt so much, he definitely would've taken a picture of the not-so Junior Rani Lakshmi Bai who only comes out once in a blue moon. "How did we even get here?"

"I don't know. Do you remember anything that happened last night?"

As if on cue, Kriya remembers what happened. Her throwing tree branches at Rey... Her falling on top of Rey... her kissing Rey... but before she could stop herself, Kriya blurts out "No!" Rey looks a little taken aback by the sudden hostility in her voice. Kriya quickly corrects herself by saying, "Um, no not really. You?"

Suddenly, Rey gets flashes of last night. Yelling at Kriya... talking to Kriya... kissing Kriya... but since Kriya clearly doesn't remember any of that happening, Rey decides to lie. "Nope."

"Okay."

After a moment of awkward silence, Kriya clears her throat and decides to speak up. "I think I remember something. I think I threw a tree branch at you."

"No, you threw multiple tree branches at me! Seriously, you were like freaking Zeus with his thunderbolts!"

Kriya giggles. "Actually, I think they're lightning bolts."

Rey shrugs. "Same thing."

Kriya chuckles. "Not really."

"Are you seriously going to compare the similarities and differences between thunderbolts and lightning bolts with me? Especially while our brain cells are literally going 'pop'?" asks Rey, raising an eyebrow. Kriya blushes, and punches him on the shoulder. "Ouch."

"Damn you Reyaansh Singhania," Kriya mutters when she starts blushing again. She then gets up, and holds her hand out for Rey. Rey takes it, and gets up.

"So, I guess I'll see you on Monday," says Kriya, before she starts to walk away.

Rey grabs her wrist and asks, "Do you seriously think that I'm going to let you walk home alone from here? I'm coming with you."

"You don't have to do that," Kriya begins to protest, but Rey shuts her up.

"I want to do that." He starts to walk ahead, but seeing that Kriya was still standing in her original spot, he asks, "You coming?"

Kriya breaks out of her trance. "Yeah. Who else is going to make sure that you don't get lost Singhania?" Rey lightly shoves her, and she shoves him back.

Sharon's POV

Nilesh Kotian and Vickramjeet Kalsi are going to die today. They will die a very painful death. I will bury them in a coal mine. I will scatter their ashes over the Bermuda Triangle. Right after my head stops hurting like a bitch.

I get out of bed like a zombie, and walk over to my desk to get my phone. That's when I notice a note. I pick it up, and begin to read it.

"Hey Superbitch!" So it's a note from Shivam... I shake my head, and continue reading. "Thought I'd give some helpful tips for the future." I snort. Shivam Dutta giving me helpful tips? Especially after what I did to him? No. Freaking. Way.

"Tip #1, always check the punch bowl before guests arrive, especially when Vicky and Nilesh are involved."

No shit Sherlock.

"Tip #2, always make sure you know what you're drinking."

Thanks dad.

"Tip #3, if you ever get drunk again, whether it's on purpose or by accident, I swear to god I'm going to lock you up in your room, and I won't let you out until I know you're asleep."

How very harsh and un-Shivam like... wonder what I did...

"Tip #4, best way to get over a hangover is to re-hydrate. Water, fruits... All good things to cure that killer hangover you probably have."

There's the helpful tip!

"See you in a couple days, Superbitch!"

No thank you Shirritating!

I fold the note, and walk over to my closet. I take out an old box, and open it up. It's my memory box. A box filled with memories of the pathetic little weakling that I used to be. I put the note inside the box, and then put the box away.

I walk out of my room, and over to Saara's.

...

Taani walks towards the dining table where her aunt is currently sitting, drinking her coffee and reading a newspaper. She wants to comment on how un-Smriti-like her aunt is being, but can't find the willpower to.

"Good morning Taanu!"

"Sh, not so loud!" hisses Taani, gripping her head as she sits down. "Ugh, my head hurts!" She slams her face down on the table. "Everything hurts." Although that last sentence was inaudible, Smriti understood what her niece was saying.

She gets up, goes into the kitchen, and places a glass of lemon water in front of her. Taani brings her head up at the sound, and sees her aunt gesturing for her drink the lemon water. She drinks the lemon water and then smiles at her aunt. "Thank you."

"No problem bacha," Smriti says affectionately, ruffling Taani's hair a little. Taani giggles, but then bites her lower lip she realizes something.

"Maasi I'm so sorry -"

"Relax Taanu, it happens. Besides, Aarav explained that the drinks were spiked." Taani breathes a sigh of relief, and then furrows her eyebrows in confusion.

"Wait, when was Aarav here?"

"He was the one who brought you home last night. And last I checked, he was sleeping right next to you."

"He used the window," mutters Taani.

"What?"

"Nothing," Taani says quickly. "I just realized that I have a bunch of stuff to do right now so I'm just going to..." Taani doesn't even finish her sentence. She awkwardly trails off, and heads to her room.

Kriya's POV

"Well, this is me," I say awkwardly, as we stop in front of my house.

"Right," says Rey, shoving his hands into his pockets.

We stand together in silence for a moment, until I say, "So, I'm just going to go."

"Yeah, you do that." Universeji, could we be any more awkward?

I walk over to the door, and am about to ring the doorbell, when Rey says, "You do realize that you're wearing my jacket, right?" I turn around to face Rey, and then look at my arms. Sure enough, I'm wearing Rey's blue leather jacket. How have I not noticed it up until now?

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask him, a little embarrassed.

Rey shrugs. "I wanted see how long it would take you to figure it out for yourself."

"You're crazy," I say, as I start to take the jacket off.

"I prefer spontaneous. Oh, and keep the jacket."

"What?"

"Keep the jacket. It looks nice on you."

"Thanks," I say, tugging the jacket so it hugs tighter around my body. It feels surprisingly comfortable.

Rey smiles, not smirks I note, and says, "See you around Baatcutter." I watch him as he goes, and realize that he called me Baatcutter at least five times today, and I did nothing to stop him.

I shake my head, and turn around to ring the doorbell.

Time to face Rani Lakshimibai herself - aka, my mother.

...

Saara squints as the sun hit her face. She tries to turn around, but couldn't. Why? Because of the protective arm around her waist. Saara's eyes immediately widen in panic, and she sits up. She turns her head, and breathes a sigh of relief when she sees that it's only Karan. She then pushes the sleeping boy off of her bed with all her might.

Karan falls off the bed with a thud. He immediately awakens, and gets up. "That hurt!"

"I don't care! What the hell are you doing here?!"

Karan jumps on the bed, and sits next to Saara. "How should I know?! I was drunk, remember?"

"Yeah, well so was I!" Saara shoves him off the bed again.

"Stop doing that," groans Karan, unable to find the energy to get up again.

"Well then stop being an ass," hisses Saara, getting off the bed, and sitting next to him on the floor. "And what exactly happened last night?"

"Seriously?" asks Karan, raising an eyebrow. "We woke up in bed together, naked, and last night, we were drunk out of our minds. What do you think happened?"

Saara's face heats up. "Mean!"

"Stupid!"

Saara grabs him by the shoulders, and pins him to the floor. "Did you just call me stupid?!"

"Are stupid and deaf?"

She smacks his bare chest and shouts, "Take that back!"

"Make me," he challenges. Saara then does the unthinkable.

She kisses her ex-boyfriend.

Karan's too shocked to do anything but kiss her back. Saara slowly moves her hands from his chest to his neck, and then up to his hair. She helps him sit up, and then pulls away from the kiss. They breathe heavily, not looking away from each other's eyes.

"You cheated," whispers Karan, smiling. Saara smacks his chest again, but not as aggressively.

But a knock on the door brings them back to reality. Their heads immediately snap towards the door.

"Saara, are you in there?" they hear Sharon ask.

"Shit!" Saara and Karan mutter simultaneously, their eyes widening. They get up, and begin to panic.

"Uh, yeah. Just give me a minute di!" shouts Saara, as Karan quickly puts his clothes back on. He then grabs his shoes, and is about to go out the window... but not before he walks back over to Saara and kisses her again.

"Saara!" they hear Sharon yell, and then they pull away from each other. Since Saara's room is on the first floor, she has thing with rooms on top floors, Karan easily jumps out the window and runs. Saara gets under her covers and says, "Come in di!"

Sharon comes into the room and cheerfully exclaims, "Good morning! Have you seen Vrushika anywhere?"

"No, not since last night. But I think that I saw her leave the party."

"Okay, thanks. Come down for breakfast in a bit."

"Sure di."

Sharon closes the door behind her, and as soon as she's gone, Saara breathes a sigh of relief. She then asks herself, "What just happened?"

...

"You look happy," Nisha remarks, looking up from her book, only to find her brother practically skipping into the house, whistling and smiling.

"What?" says a very confused Rey, who was clearly in his own world.

Nisha shakes her head. "So, where have you been?"

"Oh, you know, around."

Nisha rolls her eyes. "Around where?"

"Oh you know... around."

"You're a terrible liar."

"Well you're not exactly easy to lie to!"

"I'm sorry, how are you the older sibling?"

"I was born first?" says Rey, making his statement sound like a question.

"You did not just make that sound like a question," groans Nisha.

"Okay, ignoring you. Where's Aashi?"

"Probably still with Bharat. They left the party early."

"She was with Bharat ALL NIGHT?! And she's still not back yet?!"

"Please don't go into protective brother mode," says Nisha, cringing. "Besides, Aashi di is a big girl, and she'd probably kick your ass for trying to play protective big brother."

"You're really annoying, you know that right?"

"Yes, but you love me anyway," says Nisha, a syrupy smile on her face.

"I tolerate you." Nisha frowns, and throws one of the pillows from the couch at him. "You make it really hard," says Rey, not fazed by the pillow hitting him on the shoulder. Nisha throws another pillow, and this time it hits his face.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm not going to be home tonight," Nisha informs him.

"Why?"

"Because it's sleepover night at Taani and Kriya's place. I'm talking food and a Disney movie marathon!"

"Did you just say Taani and Kriya's place?" asks Rey, strangely intrigued by this news.

"Yeah, why?" Nisha asks mischievously, noticing how he said Kriya's name.

"Oh, no reason. It's just that Swayam and I are supposed to hang out tonight. Maybe I'll give you a ride."

"Okay, one, that is a reason. And two, you were going to have to give me a ride anyway."

"You're a brat," says Rey, heading up to his room.

"Love you too!"

Kriya's POV

"Where the hell have you been?" my mom demands, right after she opens the door.

I awkwardly step into the house and say, "I woke up leaning against a tree."

Not a total lie.

"Well, go drink that lemon water I left for you on the table, and then go change out of those clothes. And where did you get that jacket?"

"It was a... present."

Again, not a total lie.

"From who?"

"From... Nisha!"

Rey's her cousin, so technically, I'm not lying... right?

I drink the water, and go into my room, only to find Taani lying on her bed.

"Taanu?" I ask, sitting down.

"Yeah?" she says softly. I can tell that she's been crying. She's been doing a lot of that lately. And I know that she hates herself for it.

I turn her so she's lying down on her back, and see that her eyes are red. "What happened?"

She sits up. "Aarav happened."

I frown. "What did he do?" I really wanted to ask, "How should I kill him, and where should he be buried?" but I decided that a simple, "What did he do?" would suffice. For now.

"Nothing, I'm just making a big deal out of absolutely nothing."

"Taani," I say, in my 'tell me the truth before I have to get it out of you' voice.

Taani sighs. "He brought me home last night, and he stayed with me, but the minute he realized that I was going to wake up soon, he decided to go out the freaking window."

I am so writing 'Here lies Aarav Saxena: the worst jerk of a best-friend you'll ever meet' on his headstone.

"Taani, look at me. You need to stop doing this to yourself. Aarav is your best-friend and you miss him, I know that. But when was the last you did something for yourself? When was the last time you wrote a song? Or even just sang for the fun of it?" Taani stays silent. "You need to start living your life again. Don't let it stop just because of Aarav!"

Taani closes her eyes, and then opens them up once again. "You're right. I do need to start living my life again. But I don't know when exactly that's going to be." Taani gets off of her bed, and walks over to her closet. I decide to leave it at that. Taani's as stubborn as a mule, and trying to convince her about something is like trying to get me to put on makeup. You'll fail, and you'll end up with at least a scratch on your body.

Just then, I realize something. "Isn't it your first day at work?"

"Oh shit!" yells Taani, suddenly more awake. She grabs some clothes from her closet and starts changing. As Taani's putting her shirt on, she asks, "Speaking of work, what happened with the animal shelter?"

"Oh, they're not really hiring right now. But I did put up a website for anyone needing a pet sitter/dog walker."

"Nice!" exclaims Taani, struggling to put on her shoes.

Just then, my phone beeps. "Speaking of my website, I just got a job. Some old lady has like three dogs or something."

"When do you need to be there?" asks Taani, trying to find something to on her makeup table. Probably for her red eyes.

"Uh, in twenty minutes actually. Shit, I have to get ready!"

I begin to look through my side of the closet, and then turn around and ask Taani, "What do I wear to take three dogs for a walk?" Taani walks over beside me, and pulls out some clothes. Old clothes, I notice.

"Don't forget to wear sneakers!" she reminds me, heading out as I get ready.

Narrator's POV

As Taani opens the door to go outside, she sees Swayam standing in front of her.

"Hi! Did you just get home?"

"Yeah."

Taani raises an eyebrow. "Were you drunk?"

"Nope," says Swayam, stepping inside the house.

"Is there a reason that you were out all night?" asks Taani, closing the door behind her, and folding her arms across her chest.

Swayam sighs as he turns back around to face his annoying little sister. "I was with a friend."

"Did you tell your mom that you weren't going to be coming home?"

"Not really."

"Well, I'm going to work right now, but I'm not sure if I should go buy a dress for your funeral, or pick out your casket."

"Very funny."

"A funeral is no laughing matter. Now, would you like your casket to be a shiny black, or a rich burgundy?"

Swayam stares at his sister for a moment. "Burgundy. Black is too... I don't know... overused?"

"Gotcha! Now if this funeral is going to be outdoors, I can't wear my heels..."

"Don't you have to get to work?"

"Oh yeah, I'm getting late," says Taani, looking at her phone. "But just to be clear, I'm wearing a red dress at your funeral."

"Get out!"

"Have fun in the afterlife!" Taani exclaims as she opens the door. "Oh, and I am so getting your room."

And with that, she's gone, leaving Swayam to be in peace. Swayam breathes a sigh of relief, but then cringes as soon as he hears his mother yell, "SWAYAM. SHEKHAWAT!"

There goes his peace...

...

When Vrushika walks into her house, the first thing that she hears is, "VRUSHIKA RAI PRAKASH I SWEAR TO GOD I AM GOING TO LOCK YOU UP IN A TOWER!!!"

There's the crazy, pissed off Siren that we all know and love.

Vrushika tries to tip toe upstairs, but Sharon catches her. "STOP RIGHT THERE YOUNG LADY!" Vrushika freezes on the spot, and turns around to give her cousin her biggest smile. Sharon sends her death glare, causing Vrushika to lower her head.

Sharon walks up to her younger cousin and demands, "Where have you been?!"

"I was with a friend."

"All night?!"

"Shouldn't you be happy that I'm being social and making friends?" Sharon sends her another death glare. "I'll take that as a no."

Sharon sighs. "At least tell me where you were."

"Um, we kind of went everywhere."

"Okay... who were you with?"

"A friend, di."

Sharon closes her eyes, and then opens them back up. "As long as you didn't break the law, I guess you're off the hook. But don't forget about that date you have today."

"Ugh, don't remind me!" groans Vrushika, as she walks towards Saara's room.

"A friend huh?" asks Saara, raising an eyebrow as Vrushika enters her room. "Would this friend's name by any chance be... oh, I don't know... Swayam Shekhawat?"

"Actually, yes. But at least my friend wasn't the one climbing out of my bedroom window half-naked and running for the hills."

Saara cringes. "Crap, you saw that?"

"Yeah. You want to tell me what's going on?"

"No, not really." says Saara. Vrushika gives a her a look, and Saara caves in. "Okay, let's just say that I was emotionally vulnerable, so against my better judgment, I got super drunk even though I kind of had a feeling that Nilesh and Vicky would spike the punch."

"Really? You're blaming it on the alcohol?"

"Yup! Now, let's find you a dress to wear for your date."

"A what now?" says Vrushika, widening her eyes as Saara begins to throw dresses out of her closet.

Kriya's POV

I ring the doorbell of the creepy house.

Yes, I am ringing the doorbell of a creepy house willingly.

"Yes?" asks the old lady who opens the door.

"Hi! I'm Kriya, the dog walker."

"Oh yes! I'm Laila, by the way. And if it makes you feel more comfortable, you can call me Laila Aunty. Now come on in."

I walk into the house, and three dogs tackle me. "Uh, Laila Aunty? "A little help please."

Laila Aunty whistles, and the dogs immediately get off of me and sit down.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. You have got to teach me how to do that."

Laila Aunty chuckles. "It's easy. And sorry about my babies, they just get super excited when they see people. I deal with this pretty much every time I walk in through the door."

I laugh. "Sounds fun!"

"That's debatable. Now let me introduce to the dogs."

Laila picks up the smallest dog. "This, is Barbie. She's the only girl out of this bunch, and the boys are super protective of her. If anything happens to her, you answer to them. And trust me, I won't be able to help you." Then she gestures to the two bigger dogs. "This is Frodo. He's a little on the spoiled side, and this is Troy. I swear, he was probably the Alpha of a wolf pack in his past life. But trust me, he's very lovable. Now, Frodo is probably going to be very lazy, but please make sure he's walking for at least twenty minutes. And Barbie is probably going to try and climb onto Frodo or Troy, but do not under any circumstances, let her do that. Or else you're going to need the Jaws of Life to separate her from them."

I nod my head. "Okay. What about Troy?"

"Oh, Troy's a good boy, you shouldn't have any problems with him."

"Alright then," I say, grabbing the dogs' leashes, "I'll see you in a bit."

"Bye!" Laila Aunty calls out as I leave with the dogs.

Taani's POV

"Please don't let these kids be spoiled brats, please don't let these kids be spoiled brats!" I plead to my Krishnaji as I ring the doorbell.

A lady opens the door and asks, "Can I help you?"

"Hi!" I say, trying to seem cheerful and not like a psychopath. "I'm Taani, the baby-sitter?"

"Right! Please, come in." Okay, she seems nice, I tell myself as I enter the mansion.

"I'm Ragini Vedant," says the lady, holding out her hand.

I shake it. "I'm Taani... wait, I already told you that." Genius Taani, genius!

Luckily, Mrs. Vedant chuckles. "Well, it's very nice to meet you. Let me show you around the house." Did she just call this place a house?

"Okay, so this is the living room. Kitchen's over there. We have about four bathrooms all over the house. The rooms are upstairs. Lucky for you, the kids have their names glued to the doors of their rooms. They're all very into arts and crafts."

"Oh, cute."

"Yeah, they're adorable. Um, let's see what else?"

"The kids."

"Right! Well, there's three of them. Rimjhim's the oldest, she's thirteen. Then you have Adi, he's ten. And Ruhi is the youngest. She's six years old."

"Okay, um, is there anything else I should know?" Wow, I sound so professional...

"None of them are taking any medications, and Adi's not really allergic to anything, but Ruhi's allergic to peanuts, and Rimjhim will break out into hives if given strawberries, or if she gets stung by a bee. Also, Rimjhim's very difficult when it comes to homework, so you have to be very persuasive with he. But if all else fails, try to tempt her with chocolate. And if she says she doesn't have homework, don't believe her. I know for a fact that she has homework to do."

"Okay, that sounds great! And if there's an emergency and I can't reach you or your husband..."

"Try Laila Aunty, the old lady from across the street. She's very nice, and the kids love her."

"Alright! I'll take it from here. Have fun with whatever you're going to be doing."

"Thank you," says Mrs. Vedant.

She then yells, "Honey, the baby-sitter's here! Can you bring the kids down?"

Wow, now that is the kind of woman I admire. Friendly, classy, but also demanding when the situation calls for it.

A man comes down with his three kids. "I'm here. I'm Neil Vedant, by the way."

"Taani," I say, introducing myself.

"Okay, I guess it's time for us to go then." Ragini then turns to her kids. "Now you guys be nice to your baby-sitter, okay?"

"Of course mom," says the tallest girl, who I'm assuming is Rimjhim, hugging her mom. "Bye!"

"Bye kids!" Mr. Vedant calls out, as he and his wife head out.

I close the door, and then turn to the kids. They look innocent enough. This should be a fun night...

...

"Swayam, here's table nine's order," says Amar, one of Swayam's closest friends and coworkers at Jai's Cafe.

"Thanks man," says Swayam, taking the order and then taking it to table nine.

"Here you go," Swayam says to the couple at table 9. "Enjoy!"

Swayam walks back to where Amar is, only to find him looking at a table near the counter. "What are you looking at?"

Amar turns to Swayam, and then points to the table. "That girl has been here for an hour, and she hasn't ordered anything."

"How have I not noticed her yet?"

"Because you've been running all round this cafe like all day."

"Right." Swayam then makes his way over to said table. "Can I get you any -" he begins to say, but instead widens his eyes in shock.

"Vrushika?"

"You serve Vrushikas here?" Vrushika says teasingly.

"Shut up. And hey!"

"What?" Swayam gives her a look, and she exclaims, "Oh, hi!"

"You're such a doofus," says Swayam sitting down.

Vrushika raises an eyebrow. "Are you always this nice to your customers?"

"Nah, you're just special."

"Well I'm flattered." The two look at each other and burst out laughing.

"So, I've heard that you've been here for like an hour. Are you waiting for someone?"

"Yeah, my date."

"Your date?" asks Swayam, looking a little shocked.

"Yeah, why do you look so shocked?" asks Vrushika, folding her arms across her chest.

"Because I'm pretty sure you're not here by choice."

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner! What gave it away? My pessimistic, antisocial attitude?"

"The fact that you're wearing a dress."

"Ah!"

"So, did your date stand you up or something?"

"No," Vrushika quips, glaring at him, "I just got the timing messed up. But he'll be here in a while."

"So, why aren't you ordering your food and stuffing your face before he comes?"

"Because then I'd be full by the time he gets here, and it would be awkward to just sit there and watch him eat."

"Can't you argue with that logic."

"I'd love to see you try."

"So, enlighten me. How exactly did you get yourself in this situation?"

"Well you see, my mother is extremely worried about the fact that I don't like to be around people, and setting me up on blind dates is her way of trying to get me to socialize."

"And you go along with this because..."

"I get a free meal because the guy usually pays, this date helped me get out of party cleanup duty," says Vrushika, counting off the reasons on her fingers, "and... it makes my mom happy."

"Aw, that's sweet."

"I try."

"I highly doubt that."

"Shut up and get back to work."

"Wait, I never told you I work here."

"Dude, you're wearing the uniform and you have a name tag."

"Riiight..."

"Real smooth Swayam," Amar calls out from behind the counter. "You guys are really entertaining by the way."

"Shut up Amar!" yells Swayam.

"Right, like Swayam just said, my name is Amar," Amar says to Vrushika.

"I'm Vrushika."

"Well Vrushika, you're right. Swayam does need to get back to work." He turns to face Swayam. "Get your ass over here Shekhawat."

"Bossy," grumbles Swayam, getting up. "See you later."

"Bye."

As Swayam grabs a towel and starts wiping the counter, Amar asks, "Is that guy her date?" Swayam looks up, and sees a guy approaching Vrushika.

"Probably... wait -"

"I was eavesdropping, remember?"

"Right."

"By the way, Vrushika sure has good taste in men."

"What?"

"I mean, come on, the guy's good looking. You don't have to be into guys to see that."

"You're a weirdo, and I don't see anything special about this guy."

Amar raises an eyebrow at his friend, amused. "Jealous?"

"Shut up."

"Yeah, you're jealous."

"And you're an idiot."

"Jealous," Amar sings. Swayam slaps him upside the head.

"I'm going to go take their order."

As Swayam walks off, Amar says to himself "This should be interesting... where the hell is the popcorn?"

Kriya's POV

"Troy's a good boy," I mutter, walking around the park, "you shouldn't have any problems with him." Bullshit! That little brat wouldn't hold still, and now he's gone.

"I'm going to kill your big brother when I find him," I tell Barbie. Barbie barks, and I'm assuming she means 'Do it and I'll bite you bitch.'

Yes, I'm talking to a dog.

Yes, I speak dog.

Help me Universeji!

After a few minutes of damaging my voice yelling for the dog, I sit down on the bench and groan. "Ugh, this is hopeless!" I stare at Frodo, and ask, "Do you know where that idiot might be?" Frodo growls at me, and I'm assuming that he means 'Did you just call him an idiot?'

Someone hit me on the head, please!

Suddenly, Barbie and Frodo start barking at something. I turn to where they're barking, and see a dog who looks exactly Troy... wait... holy shit, it is Troy! I run up to where Troy is, with the other two dogs of course. I'm not an idiot.

"Oh my god, Troy!" I scream, hugging the stupid dog. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"You have a dog?" I hear a familiar masculine ask me. I look up, only to find a very sweaty Reyaansh Singhania looking down at me.

"Hi!" I say, getting up.

"It must be a pain to take care of so many dogs."

"Oh, they're not mine. I'm just the dog walker."

"Still a pain."

"Sh... don't let them hear you," I tease before asking him, "So, do you come here often?"

"Every morning. I like jogging."

"God I miss my morning jogs! I never get the chance anymore."

"Trust me, I know the feeling. Nowadays, this is the only time I'm free to jog."

"I blame the fact that I have to use the Jaws of Life to separate bhai and Taani from their beds."

"Trust me, I know what you mean. Nisha and Aashi are awful!"

"Ooo, you tried to get Nisha to wake up and you're still breathing?"

"Just barely." We laugh out loud, and that's when we notice how close our faces are.

How did that happen? I look down, and see the dogs running around us, their leashes wrapping us up like a present.

So that's how. Those dogs...

"Well this is awkward," remarks Rey, offering me a smile. I laugh nervously, as I try to figure out how to fix this.

Then I remember.

I whistle, and all three dogs sit down. "Untangle us!" I command, and they run around the other way. "Thank you," I say, once Rey and I are at least three inches apart.

"Did you just..." Rey begins to ask.

"Yup. Now, I have to get these little monsters back to their owner."

"I'll see you later then." As I'm about to walk away, Rey call out to me, "Hey Baatcutter!"

I turn back around. "What?"

"Nisha's having lunch with her dad today."

"No!"

"Yeah," he says, turning around and jogging away. I guess I know what we're going to be doing tonight...

Nisha's POV

I hate this. I hate eating at fancy restaurants, I hate eating with my step-monster and her cretin of a child, and I hate the fact that my dad always finds a way to either question every single little thing I do, or just completely ignore me.

"You going to be okay?" Aashi di asks me.

"I'll be fine. But you'll bail me out if I go to jail for murder today, right?"

Aashi di chuckles. "Of course. But please don't kill anyone. Your mom would kill me if I let you become a convict."

"I'll kill them with kindness. It's a new strategy. Perfectly legal."

"You go girl! Bye!"

"Bye di!" I call out after her as she drives away.

I walk to the entrance and say to the guy at the desk, "Singhania?"

"Right this way," he says. He leads me to my dad's table.

"Thank you," I say to the guy as he leaves. I sit down at the table. "Guess I'm not the only one who's late. Where's Disha?" Yup! My step-sister's name is Disha, because it rhymes with Nisha. Why? You don't want to know.

"Disha's just running a bit late," explains Kavya, the step-monster.

"I see you got rid of that pink hair you had," my father remarks. "Good."

"No, the color just faded away. But thank you for reminding me to reschedule my hair appointment!" My father glares at me, and Kavya smirks.

"That's really bad for your hair you know," she says.

"Well, beauty is pain," I say, smiling at her. She glares at me.

We sit together silence for a minute. Then Kavya asks, "Have you gotten shorter?"

"What, no!" I say, giving her a strange look. "I'm just not wearing heels. You know, considering the fact that my dad threw a fit the last time I wore them."

"You looked like a s**t," says my dad. Now do you see where I get my attitude from?

"Dad, I was wearing a floor-length gown with a longass train, and long sleeves that weren't sheer or lace. Not to mention, there was a high-neck that freaking choked me to death."

"Don't swear, it's f**king rude," growls my father, gritting his teeth together.

"Uh, you literally just swore. Like twice."

While our back and forth is going on, Kavya just sits there, sipping her wine and enjoying the show. Seriously, who has wine for lunch?

"Are we interrupting something?" I hear a the sweetest most angelic, gag-worthy voice ask from behind me. I turn around to see Maleficent herself in the flesh. And who do I see with her?

Arjun. Freaking. Rai Prakash.

I am going to dance on his grave after I kill him. And bury him in Disha's backyard of course.

I turn back to my father and hiss, while gritting my teeth, "I thought that this was a family lunch. You specifically told me so."

"Well, I just assumed that you wouldn't listen to me," says my dad, not a hint of guilt in his voice. My own father has no faith in me... that is just... sad!

I smile at him, and then turn back to the witch and the traitor. "Well, then I guess that I don't have to feel guilty about inviting a friend of my own. He should be here right about..." I glance at the entrance and see just the person I'm looking for, "now," I finish.

He walks towards us and says, "Hi! Sorry I'm late."

"Oh, no worries Aarav. Disha and Arjun just got here as well."

"Thanks for making me look good guys," he says, winking at them before sitting down.

"Do you guys plan on eating your lunch while standing up? Sit down!" Disha and Arjun look at each other nervously, before sitting down. This just got good...

...

Vrushika Rai Prakash has never been on a worse date in her life. This boy is the most narcissistic, ego-maniac she has ever met! And she's met, and dated plenty. All this guy talks about is himself, but Vrushika being Vrushika just can't bring herself to say anything to hurt his feelings.

"So there was this stain on my shirt once," Roy, her date begins to say, but Vrushika doesn't let him continue. She's been listening to this crap for an hour, give the girl a break!

"Um, Roy, would you like to order dessert?"

"I would love to order dessert."

As if on cue, Swayam, who had been listening in on their conversation, approaches the table. "Can I get you anything else?" he asks them. Maybe some duct tape so you can shut this idiot up? he silently adds in his mind. From the minute Swayam got their first order, he knew that this guy was going to be an obnoxious piece of boring. He wanted to take him by the collar, and throw him out of the cafe. But then again, maybe Vrushika likes obnoxious pieces of boring...

"I'll have the cheesecake. It sounds light."

"Okay," says Swayam, turning towards Vrushika, "and you?"

"I'll have the chocolate cake with the double layer of fudge."

"Are you sure?" asks Roy. "All that chocolate?" Swayam grips the pencil and notepad in his hand, and closes his eyes, trying to calm down.

He opens his eyes when he hears Vrushika say, "Yes, Roy, all that chocolate." Swayam does everything in his willpower not to scream 'You go girl!' at Vrushika.

Instead he smiles and says, "Alright then, I'll be right back."

When he walks back to the counter, Amar says, "Wipe that smile off your face, you look like a psychopath."

"You know what, I'm finally in a good mood, and I'm not going to let you ruin that for me."

"I heard what she said to him too. I literally wanted to scream 'You go girl!' at her."

"Same! See, this is why we're friends."

"I know. Now get your girl her cake."

"She's not my girl!" Swayam calls out to Amar, before entering the kitchen.

When Swayam comes out of the kitchen with the cakes, he walks over to Roy and Vrushika, and sets the cakes on the table. "Enjoy!"

"Thanks Swayam," says Vrushika, smiling at him.

"Wait, you know him?"

"Well, yeah, he's my friend. Plus he's wearing a name-tag."

"Who bothers looking at name-tags?"

"I bother looking at name-tags!"

"Whoa, chill babe."

"Sorry," mutters Vrushika, taking her fork and eating her cake.

Swayam awkwardly walks back to the counter, where Amar says, "Bruh, she's on her last nerve."

"I know. Think she'll have an outburst?"

"Trust me, that guy, is going to get his ass handed to him by her."

"I'll take your word for it."

Meanwhile, Roy continues to drone about himself, as Vrushika tries to pretend that the cake she's stabbing with her fork is not Roy's eyeball. Once she finishes her cake, Vrushika says, "You know what? I really have to get going."

"I'll drop you off."

"That's sweet, but I'll be fine," says Vrushika, a little surprised that he actually offered.

"Alright then. Cheque please!"

Swayam walks over to them, and hands Roy the bill. Roy gets out his wallet, but his phone falls in the process. Vrushika picks it up, and is about to hand it back to him, when she sees a text.

"So are we still on for tonight? At the Plaza Hotel?" she reads out loud. "From Zara." Vrushika looks up at Roy, crossing her arms over her chest. "You were going to go on a date with someone else right after our date?"

"Well, I'm a guy, and I need to keep my options open," Roy stutters.

Vrushika gives him the most sarcastic of smiles as she continues to look at all his other text from tonight, proceeding to throw Roy's phone at his face once she's done.

"You are the most narcissistic ego-maniac I have ever met, and trust me, I have met and dated plenty. But guess what, babe? You are by far one of the worst. All I've done tonight is patiently listen to you go on and on about yourself, while I couldn't even get a word in! Any normal girl would've stabbed you in the eye with her fork and left you to pay for all the food. You are lucky that I am not any normal girl. Do you have any idea how many times I wanted to stab you in the eye with my fork? Well, neither do I because I lost count after twenty-six. And after all of this, you have the nerve to go out with not just one girl the same day you go out with me, but multiple girls! And on top of that, you complain about me to your friends and your mommy?

Get over yourself. Not every girl on this planet is dying to go out with you, and I definitely fall into that category of girls. Heck, I only came here for the sake of mother's happiness, and the promise of a free meal. If it wasn't for that, this date would've ended even before it began. I feel sorry for every single girl that has to go out with jerks like you. They don't deserve your crappy attitude, and you certainly don't deserve them in all their tolerant glory."

Vrushika turns around, and is about to walk away, when Roy grabs her by the wrist. "Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like this?"

Vrushika punches Roy in the face with her free hand, and growls, "Go. Rot. In. Hell." She walks away, but then decides to turn back around to say, "I'm Vrushika freaking Rai Prakash, and you better not forget that."

Nisha's POV

Aarav Saxena is literally the best-friend anyone can ever ask for. I mean, who else would be your lunch date just so you can piss off your family? Aarav Saxena, that's who. Although, if I knew that Disha would be bringing Arjun with her, I would've invited Manik instead.

Oh well.

"Would you like to order?" the waiter asks us.

"I'll have the Cashew Nut Salad," says Disha.

"Make that two," says Kavya. Ugh, they're such health nuts.

"I'll have the Tom Yam Goong," says my dad.

"I'll have the Khao pad," says Arjun. Boring!

"I'll have the pad thai," says Aarav. Now there's someone who likes to experiment!

"Alright then," I say, "I guess I'll have Kai Pad Med Mamuang Himmapan."

I should really pat myself on the back for being able to pronounce that.

"I'll be back with your order soon," says the waiter.

Once the waiter's gone, my dad asks me, "Do you even know what Kai Pad Med Mamuang Himmapan is?"

"It's basically just chicken with cashew nut."

"If you wanted cashew nut, then you could've just ordered the cashew nut salad like your mom and sister."

"One, step-mom. Two, step-sister. And three, do you really expect me to survive on just a cashew nut salad? I need actual food to function. You know, like meat?"

My dad sighs, and turns away from me. "So, Aarav, how are you?" he asks. Funny how the first thing my dad did when he was me was make snide remarks about my hair.

"I'm good uncle," says Aarav, "how are things with you?" I smile at him, grateful for keeping my dad occupied. My dad's always treated Aarav like his own son, and Aarav actually doesn't hate my dad like I do. Well, not as much any way.

Meanwhile, Disha and her mother are in a deep conversation. But Disha's holding onto Arjun's hand for dear life, while sending me her 'I am so much better than you' looks. Does she think that her holding Arjun's hand will me make jealous and mad? God, she's an even bigger idiot than I thought.

I pull out my phone, and text Arjun.

"Why the hell are you here?!" Arjun looks at the text and raises an eyebrow. I glare at him, and he chuckles.

Ass.

I hear my phone beep and look at his text.

"Because I knew that it would piss you off. Especially since I'm here with Disha."

"Go to hell." I text him back.

"Ooo, someone's jealous..." he texts back.

"I am NOT jealous!" I immediately text back.

"Admit it. Seeing me with another girl, especially a girl that you despise, pisses you off. It makes you all hot and bothered and jealous." He texts me, sending along multiple winky faces. My face heats up, causing Arjun to smirk.

I furiously text back. "I repeat: Go. To. Hell!"

I also add all the angry emoticons I could find.

"That was weak." He texts back. I turn off my phone, and slip it inside my bag, giving Arjun a fake smile. Lucky for me, our food comes. I dig in, and we all eat in silence.

...

When Swayam goes outside, he sees Vrushika sitting on a bench, crying.

"Hey," he says softly, sitting down beside her. Vrushika wipes her tears away and tries to smile.

"Hi," she whispers to him.

"Don't do that to yourself."

"What?"

"Cry. That guy was a total jerk."

Vrushika smiles, a real smile. "Thanks."

They sit in silence for a minute, and then Swayam gets up. "Come on, let me take you out on a real date."

Vrushika raises an eyebrow. "A real date? Why do I feel like I should be scared?"

"Because you should," says Amar, walking up to them. Swayam punches him on the shoulder and turns back to Vrushika.

"You trust me?" he asks her, holding out his hand.

"If I must," she says dramatically, taking his hand and getting up.

As they walk away, Amar says to himself, "If those two don't get together, then I will lose all faith in humanity."

Nisha's POV

By the time dessert rolled around, I had had enough.

"I'm going to get going," I say, trying not to show any emotion. "I have somewhere to be."

"I'll drop you," says Aarav, sending me a worried glance.

I send a grateful smile his way. "Thanks. I'm just going to go to the bathroom first."

I have had enough. One can only take so much of her father berating her, and her step-family rubbing it in her face.

Walking into the bathroom, I splash my face with some water so it doesn't look like I've been crying. I take a deep breath and get ready to make my way outside, when the door opens.

And whose resting bitch face do I see when that happens? Why Disha's of course!

Kill me now.

"What do you want?"

"Aw, is the little baby sad that her daddy doesn't love her as much as he loves someone that's not even his own flesh and blood?" says Disha, giving me a fake sympathetic look.

Bitch.

"I can't deal with you right now."

I try to move past her, but Disha grabs me by the elbow and pulls me right back. "Too bad, so sad. You listen to me right here, right now. Stop trying so hard to get your dad's attention by being the rebellious little bitch, the problem child. It'll never work, not with your dad, and certainly not with Arjun."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You like Arjun, a lot. And just like everything else in your life, I'm going to take him away."

"Okay, one," I free my elbow from her death grip, "don't try to be Regina George, because she was a vindictive bitch, and you're just a whiny little brat, there's a huge difference. Two, I don't give a shit about my dad. Three, Arjun and I aren't even friends, so I don't care what you do with him. And four, wake the hell up! We're adults now, so start acting like one." With that, I walk out of the bathroom, and out of the restaurant. I don't even bother saying good-bye.

Once outside, I see Aarav leaning against his car. He opens the door for me, and I get in. Once he's inside as well, he asks me, "You want to talk about it?"

I want to protest, but with Aarav, I just can't. It all just starts pouring out of me like a landslide. "All I've ever wanted is one day where my dad actually made an effort to actually be genuinely nice to me. Is that so much to ask for? A daughter who wants her father's kindness? And Disha! What the hell is her problem? Why does she always act like I ruined her life? All she does is bitch at me, and honestly... I am so sick and tired of it."

"Look Nish, you tried with them. You tried with your dad, and Kavya Aunty, and Disha. It didn't work, so just stop putting yourself through this."

"I can't!" I shout, tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. "You know why? Because I'm stupid and I have hope. I have hope that one of these days they'll just magically decide to be happy with me. Why do you think I keep going out to lunch, and dinner, and parties?"

Aarav stays silent, and lets me continue my sobfest. Then, he envelops me in a hug. "It's going to be okay," he whispers into my ear. I hug him even tighter, and he adds, "If it makes you feel any better, I might've spilled something totally gross on Kavya Aunty." I burst out laughing, and break out of the hug.

"You're amazing, you know that?"

"I try." With that, he starts driving.

...

"Okay, do you think that we have everything set up?" asks Saara, walking around Kriya's living room.

"We've had to change a few things because of Nisha's crappy dad and step-family, but I think that we're good," says Kriya.

"Okay, so let's review. Movies?"

"I took out all the ones with amazing dads so Nisha doesn't feel bad."

"So we're left with?"

"Big Hero 6, Inside Out, Freaky Friday, Princess Diaries 1 and 2."

"All to help her laugh. And some of these movies have Lindsay Lohan and Anne Hathaway, so... bonus!"

"Then we have Brave."

"Because the mom in there is freaking amazing."

"And Cinderella."

"Evil step-mother and step-sisters, good choice."

"And finally, Mean Girls and Letters to Juliet."

"Letters to Juliet has Amanda Seyfried, and Mean Girls has both Amanda Seyfried and Lindsay Lohan in it."

"We are good!" remarks Kriya, giving Saara a hi-5.

"We're freaking geniuses," says Saara, nodding in agreement. "Now, popcorn?"

"Extra buttery," says Kriya, popping one in her mouth.

"Chips?"

Kriya holds up a green bag. "Lays Sour Cream and Onion."

"Alright, dessert?"

"This fancy chocolate chip cookie-toffee thing," says Kriya, tapping on a glass container.

"Okay, hopefully, that will taste like heaven. Um, pizza?"

"Spinach and mushroom, already in the oven."

"Thin crust?" asks Saara, as if that's the most important question ever.

"What else?"

"Great! Um, what are we missing... right, other activities?"

"Taani has nail polish, I found an old box of costumes and stuff and between the two of us, we have a killer party playlist," says Kriya, ticking each item off with her fingers. "Oh, and we have spin-the-bottle truth or dare."

"Perfect! And then finally..."

"Pillow fight!" both girls scream together, and then collapse on the floor, backs against the couch, laughing. Once they stop laughing, Saara asks, "Is Nisha really ever going to be okay?"

"I don't know."

"Is Taani?" Kriya had filled her friend in on what happened this morning.

"I don't think so. What about you?"

"I don't what to think anymore."

"Ugh, this is depressing," says Kriya, causing both girls to start giggling again.

Saara then turns her face towards Kriya's. "Dance party?"

Kriya turns her face towards Saara's and smiles. "Dance party."

...

"Okay, what are we doing?" Vrushika asks Swayam.

"We are going to drink the best tea in Mumbai," replies Swayam, as they reach the tea stall.

Vrushika raises an eyebrow. "Really?"

Swayam pays for two cups of tea, and hands one to Vrushika. "Really."

Vrushika takes a sip of the scorching hot tea, and lets out a satisfied sigh. "Mmm... I needed that."

"I know. Now tell me, where did all of that anger come from? You're not exactly the most aggressive person."

"I guess I just snapped. I was so done with Roy and his utter bullshit!"

"Well, good for you. And that was a good punch you threw at him."

Vrushika bursts out laughing. "Thanks!"

"Thank you for doing this," she adds a beat later. "If it wasn't for you, I'd still be crying on that bench feeling sorry for myself."

"Glad I could help. Now, time to take you to our next destination." Swayam grabs her by the hand, and leads her to their next destination.

Once they reach a bhel puri stall, Swayam says, "I really hope that you like bhel puri."

Vrushika's eyes light up immediately when she hears the magic words, 'bhel puri' uttered from Swayam's mouth. "I love bhel puri!"

"Good," says Swayam, grabbing a plate from the vendor, "because there's nothing like some bhel puri to go with some amazing tea."

"You said it!" Vrushika happily begins to wolf down her favorite snack. "Yum, this is so good!"

"Yeah, your face really likes it."

"I'm a messy eater," Vrushika somehow manages to get through with a mouth full of bhel puri.

Swayam chuckles. "I can see that."

Vrushika then proceeds to wipe the messy goodness off of her face. "You still have a little something over there," Swayam tells her. She struggles to find the spot that Swayam's talking about, causing Swayam to sigh. He brings his thumb over to the corner of her mouth, and wipes it off.

"Thanks," Vrushika says softly, trying not to pay any attention to his lingering thumb.

"No problem," mutters Swayam, hastily removing his thumb from the corner of Vrushika's mouth. "Now for out final destination..." Swayam grabs Vrushika's hand once more, except this time, he runs.

"Slow down!" whines Vrushika.

"You're so lazy."

"It's one of my many skills and talents. Now where the hell are we?"

"Look around you."

"What? All I see are trees and grass. It's actually kind of nice. A little too much green, but nice."

"Look up."

Vrushika looks up, and then asks, "Is that a tree house?"

"Yup!" Swayam exclaims, as he starts to climb up. "You coming?"

"I think I have to," moans Vrushika, following his lead.

Once they're in the tree house, Vrushika asks, "Is this yours?"

"Yeah, me and my sisters built it ourselves a while ago. But I think that they completely forgot about it."

"Lucky you. You get all the peace and quiet."

"Yeah, it's great for when I just want to be alone."

"You have a lot of stuff here too."

"Yeah, it's a lot of junk I've collected over the years. And lucky for me, this place is completely hidden."

"You know what's another amazing spot to just be alone?"

"What?"

"St. Louis's terrace. It's just so..."

"Peaceful?"

"Exactly! Kind of like this place."

They sit together in an oddly comfortable silence, until Vrushika says, "Thank you for showing me this."

"I thought it was about I showed someone this place."

"Wait, am I the first person you've brought up here?"

"Yeah, but don't tell my sisters. It's kind of supposed to be just for the three of us."

"It'll be our little secret," Vrushika assures him, causing Swayam to smile.

Just then, Vrushika's phone beeps. It's a text from Sharon.

"Where are you?! I'm worried."

"Shit," mutters Vrushika, as she calls Sharon. It goes straight to voicemail. "Hello, di? Di, I'm so sorry! The date ended on a sour note and I kind of wanted to be alone. I'm so sorry for making you worry. I'm going to be home to pick up some stuff, and then I'm going to head straight over to the sleepover, which I'm assuming Saara told you about. Love you, bye!"

"Sharon?"

"Yes, I left a message for your Laila," Vrushika says teasingly.

"Shut up."

Vrushika chuckles. "Come on, let's go. If I don't get home soon, your Laila's going to end up in jail for murder, and you'll never even get to go on your first date."

Taani's POV

Worst. Night. EVER! As I walk towards my house, covered in paint, pasta sauce and chocolate, with stickers on my face, I vow to get my revenge on the little brats.

I ring the doorbell, and di opens the door.

"Princess, what the hell happened to you?" she demands once she takes in my attire.

"They're monsters!" I scream, as I enter the house. "Monsters I tell you, monsters!"

"Honey, how about you calm down and take a shower?" suggests Saara, while stuffing popcorn in her mouth.

"Yeah, then you can rant about the little monsters all you want," Nisha assures me.

"Okay," I mutter, walking to my room.

Narrator's POV

"Hey guys," says Vrushika as she and Swayam come in, "where's Taani?"

"She's taking a shower," says Saara, just as Nisha says, "She's trying to calm down the crazy."

"Okay..."

"Oh, by the way bhai, Rey's already here," Kriya informs her brother. "He's in your room."

"Thanks chutki," says Swayam, using his sister's childhood nickname, running away before she could throw something at him.

Once he's out of earshot, Kriya snaps her head in Vrushika's direction. "Why were you with my brother?"

"We just happened to run into each other."

"She was out with him all last night," Saara says teasingly, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Vrushika glares at her cousin, squeezing in between Kriya and Nisha. "So, what movie are we watching?" she asks, reaching for the popcorn.

"Well, we finished Cinderella, so now we're watching Brave," Nisha tells her.

"Sounds fun."

The girls are halfway through Brave, when Taani comes into the living room. "Hey guys."

"You okay sweetie?" Saara asks her as she sits down in between her and Kriya.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You want to rant?" suggests Kriya.

"Hell yeah I want to rant! Those little monsters poured paint on me, got their lasagna to explode on me, smeared chocolate on me, and covered me with cat stickers. I hate cats! Especially in sticker form. Oh... but they are going down! They thought that they could scare me away? Hell. No. I will go back there, and they will be taught a lesson! Multiple lessons."

"Okay, calm down crazypants," says Nisha, slightly afraid of her friend, handing her a slice of pizza. Taani takes a deep breath, and eats the pizza. They all watch the movie in silence.

A couple hours later, Nisha groans, "I'm tired of watching movies. Anyone else?"

"I agree," says Kriya, getting up.

"Yeah, my butt fell asleep," says Taani, also getting up. The other three girls get up as well, with everyone having to practically drag Saara off the couch.

"We finished all the food, what now?" complains Saara, obviously because her stomach could probably fit another bag of chips, a pizza and a chocolate bar.

"Not the dessert!" declares Kriya, holding the glass container in her hands.

"Okay, so we can take this to our room and save it for later," suggests Taani. "Come on guys."

As soon as the girls enter the room, they all collapse on Kriya's bed. "So, what should we do?" asks Vrushika.

Kriya and Saara look at each other, and exclaim in unison, "Dance party!"

"What?" mumbles Taani, looking extremely tired.

Kriya and Saara bring out a box, which causes Taani to ask, "Is that our box of old costumes?"

"Yup!" says Kriya, tossing a crown at her cousin.

"You want us dance around wearing that stuff?" asks Nisha.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Saara assures them, wrapping a sparkly scarf around Nisha's neck.

Vrushika quietly tries to make a run for it, but Taani and Nisha grab her before she can.

"Oh no you don't!" hisses Taani.

"Yeah, if we have to go through this craziness, then you have to go through this craziness," Nisha oh so kindly informs her.

"You guys suck." Saara hands her cousin a pair of heels, causing her to look at her as if she had grown another head. "I'm sorry, I can't even walk in these shoes of death, and you're asking me dance in them?"

"Suck it up sweetie," says Saara, as she hands Kriya a pair of sunglasses identical to hers. Saara turns on the music, a Taylor Swift song coming on.

"Taylor Swift?" drawls Nisha. "Really?"

"Oh please, you love Taylor Swift," says Kriya, getting into the beat. Saara joins her, as Taani starts singing along to the song.

"Traitor!" Vrushika and Nisha hiss at her, but get dragged into the dance as well.

...

Swayam and Rey were just chilling in his room, when they hear eardrum-shattering noise coming from most likely Taani and Kriya's room.

"Where's that music coming from?" demands Rey, checking to see if his ears were still working.

"Probably my sisters' room," Swayam says casually, used to this by now. "Want to go check it out?"

"Yeah!"

As they reach the other room, they slightly open the door, and find the girls dancing and looking ridiculous. "What the hell?" says Rey.

"This is what happens during sleepovers?"

"Apparently."

"What the hell bhai?!" the two boys hear Taani yell. They stop their conversation, only to find that the girls had stopped dancing.

"Don't stop on our account," Rey teases.

"You guys are such creeps!" yells Nisha, throwing a pillow at Rey.

"Ugh, get out!" groans Saara.

"Uh, I'm sorry, but I'm the one who actually lives here," Swayam points out.

"Yeah, well this is our room," says Kriya.

"It's two against one, and we're voting you off the island," says Taani.

"Get out," repeats Saara.

"And way to kill the mood!" complains Nisha.

Swayam and Rey just shrug, and walk away. They'll never understand girls...

After they leave, the girls all get in a circle. Kriya brings out a bottle, and asks, "Spin the bottle truth or dare anyone?"

"Uh, yeah!" exclaims Vrushika, taking the bottle from her. "Who's first?"

"You, because you already have the bottle in your hand," says Nisha.

"Alright then." Vrushika spins the bottle. The bottle spins around, finally stopping at... Nisha! "Okay Nish, truth or dare?"

"Um, truth."

"Nisha 'the daredevil' Sen picked truth?" Saara says dramatically, raising an eyebrow as she continues to paint her nails.

"Shut up. Vrush, continue."

"Hm, let's see... let's go something easy. First kiss?"

Nisha cringes and sighs. "Okay, so, this might come as a shock to you guys, but my first kiss was... Arjun."

The other girls all stare at her. Taani, Kriya and Vrushika share similar 'Well it's about time!' looks. Saara on the other hand, widens her eyes in shock and demands "You kissed my brother?!"

"Technically, he kissed me."

"Saara, shut up," Vrushika tells her cousin. "Nisha, please continue and give us details."

"Well, it was the night of the fresher's party. He showed up at my place all angry, and then I got angry, and then he kissed me!"

"Wait, so you didn't have your first kiss until recently?" asks Kriya.

"Yup! I know, shocking."

"Kind of," says Taani.

"Well, moving on, it's my turn." Nisha spins the bottle, and it lands on Saara. "Truth or dare Jwalu?"

"Dare."

"Okay, I dare you to..." Nisha's eyes land on a black permanent marker, "take this marker and draw on Swayam and bhai's faces. Then I want you to take pictures."

"Done!"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" asks Taani. "Go!"

"She never said when. I'm just going to wait until they fall asleep."

"Then you're going to have to stay up for a looong time."

"Whatever." Saara spins the boetle. It lands on Vrushika.

"Dare."

"Okay, I dare you to help me with my dare."

"I hate you, and now I'm going to bed." Vrushika gets up, with Taani following her lead.

"Me too."

"I'm going to sleep as well," says Nisha, as she and Kriya head over to Kriya's bed.

"Ugh, you guys are boring!" complains Saara. The other four throw their pillows at her. "Hey!" Saara flops down on the double mattress in between Taani and Kriya's beds, dozing off as soon as her bed hit the pillow.

...

"Midnight snack?" Nisha asks Kriya, who is currently looking through her fridge for food.

Kriya jumps up at the sound of Nisha's voice and hisses, "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry. What are you eating?"

"Chocolate. And there are probably some crackers and marshmallows in the cupboards."

"Cold s'mores?"

"God, yes!" exclaims Kriya, as Nisha chuckles, getting out the crackers and marshmallows. Kriya moans in delight. Taking a bite of the cold s'more felt like biting into heaven. "Yum... this is so good!"

"You said it!"

Wiping her mouth, Kriya asks "How was lunch with your dad?"

Nisha's entire demeanor changes after that question. "Same as always. Guess who Disha's date was?"

"Who?"

"Arjun." Even saying his name put a bad taste in Nisha's mouth.

"He didn't. Seriously, now I have two asses to kick."

"He only did it to piss me off, it's not that big of a deal. And what do you mean two asses to kick?"

"Well, there's Arjun, and then there's Aarav."

"Aarav? What did he do?"

"He was here with Taani all night, and the minute she's about to wake up, he runs like The Flash."

"He went out the window, didn't he?"

"Yup!"

"Huh, he never mentioned anything today."

"Today?"

"He was my lunch date. I knew that Disha would bring a date, so I brought too. As a back-up. But if I'd known that she'd bring Arjun, then I would've asked Manik to come."

"Manik? As in Arjun's half-brother who he hates with a burning passion?"

"Yup! He's one of my best-friends. This one time -"

Kriya cuts Nisha off by saying, "Wait, you're changing the topic."

"I'm going to do these dishes," Nisha says quickly, taking the plates and putting them in the sink.

Kriya walks up beside her, and gently asks, "Are you okay? Because literally the only time you ever do dishes is when you're upset and you son't want to talk."

"I'm fine," Nisha assures her, rinsing off the plates. "So, when are you planning on telling everyone else about your kiss with bhai?"

"Wait, you know about that?!"

"Me and Arjun saw it. So, what was it like?"

"It was... not the first kiss I expected."

"What do you mean?"

"I know it may not seem like it because I don't really make a big deal about these things, but I wanted my first kiss to be kind of special. Not all magical and fairy-tale like, but not while I'm drunk either."

"I get i. Every girl wants her first... basically everything to be special."

"Exactly! And what's worse is that Rey doesn't even remember it, and I can't bring myself to tell him about because I already lied to him about it."

"Look, I know my brother. Just talk to him." Nisha walks back to Taani and Kriya's room, leaving Kriya to think about what Nisha said.

Little did she know, a certain Reyaansh Singhania had just heard everything that the two girls had said. "You lied to me?" he asks.

Kriya turns, and sees that Rey is now right in front of her. She cringes, and asks, "How much of that did you hear?"

"Pretty much all of it."

"I'm sorry, it kind of just slipped out, and then I couldn't take it back because you said that you didn't remember, and it would be super awkward -" Kriya doesn't get to finish her blubbering because Rey had just put his lips on hers.

Kriya was taken aback by the kiss, but slowly melts into it. Her hands reach for Rey's face, and Rey's hands find her waist. They slowly break out of the kiss when they run out breath.

"Sometimes, you just have to try for a second time if something doesn't work out as well the first time around," Rey whispers softly, his breath fanning her face. He turns around to walk away, but stops and turns around after a few steps. "If it makes you feel any better, I lied too."

Kriya stands there, dumbfounded as she watches him walks back to her brother's room. She breaks out of her thoughts, and then heads for her room. Maybe a good night's sleep will help her understand what the hell is going on around here.

Originally posted by: KriYaansh-ArSha

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