Friends, Sisters, Weirdos: S1-Falling In Love With Reyaansh Singhania - Page 48

...

"Okay, what are we doing just sitting in my jeep?" Arjun asks Nisha as she shuts her door.

"Well, we seem to have some of our best conversations in here -"

"Don't forget the library!"

"Never!" Nisha says playfully, a teasing smile adorning her face as she winks at him. "I just wanted a place for us to talk."

"Okay, talk."

The smile disappears from Nisha's face almost as quickly as it had appeared. "No one's asked you how you feel about this situation, about your sister being public enemy number one," she mumbles, feeling slightly awkward and nervous because this is literally the first time she's asked Arjun how he felt about anything.

Arjun unconsciously grabs ahold of Nisha's fidgeting hands as he begins to speak, "Part of me feels guilty about our revenge songs. I mean, she's my sister, my big sister. I love her and I care about her. The last thing that I'd ever want to do is hurt her. But Kriya's my friend, and my sister hurt my friend. So the 'friend' part of me feels proud of what I did."

Arjun shuts his eyes, groaning in frustration. "God! If I'm being a good friend, then I'm being a bad brother. And if I'm being a good brother, then I'm being a bad friend. So what the hell am I supposed to do?"

Having Arjun Rai Prakash look into your eyes is like having him bore into your soul. Seeing his eyes searching for an answer within your own feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, and there is no way in hell that you'll be able to carry it. But despite that, Nisha Sen - yes, Nisha Sen of all people - decided to take a leap of faith and carry that weight, to let those eyes bore deep into her soul. Nisha placed her free hand on top of his, and took a deep breath before assuring, "You're supposed to do what you always do; whatever you think is right. You know why? Because I have only ever seen you do the right thing, and that's what I admire most about you. Always have, always will."

It was then, in that moment, that Arjun realized he had reached out for Nisha's hand first. For the first time in what feels like forever, Arjun Rai Prakash was at a loss for words.

"Wow," is the only word to come out of his mouth.

"Wow..." Nisha trails off, scrunching her eyebrows together, confused and unsure as to what Arjun could possibly mean, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Wow as in we're actually getting along. I mean, if I didn't know any better, I'd say we were friends."

"Necessary acquaintances at best," Nisha is quick to say, but rather than being upset, Arjun merely chuckles. Nisha and Arjun... who would've thought?

Rai Prakash House

Vrushika's POV (for the first time ever?)

I finally understand why my sister can't stand Shivam Dutta in all his pretentious, know-it-all glory. What he said while we were dancing had me pacing around my room, mumbling incoherent words like a crazy person, trying to make sense of what could possibly cause Shivam to draw a conclusion that I, Vrushika Rai Prakash, am in love with Swayam Shekhawat. I mean, I can't possibly be in love with Swayam. We're not even close to the best-friend mark yet. He's just a friend.

A friend who I'm comfortable enough to open up to.

To open up about the thing I can't talk to anyone else about.

Have I told him the whole truth? Hell no! But he sure as hell knows a lot more than anyone else in my life does.

And besides, Swayam has been in love with Sharon di for over four years. He's only known me for a little over a month. There is no way that I'm in love with him, despite what Shivam 'know-it-all' Dutta says. And even if I am, there's no way he'd ever love me back. Me with my wrinkly old pink t-shirt and grey sweatpants which I've been wearing for four days now. Me with my cute but impractical - very unlike me - polar bear slippers which are so fuzzy and comfortable, but my feet are always naturally warm, and I'm a messy eater so you would think that I know by now that anything white or remotely pastel-like is not a good shade for me.

Now where was I... oh yes! Swayam Shekhawat would never, ever, in a million years, love me back. If the jerks I've dated or fallen for in the past can't manage to love me back, then a guy like Swayam, an actual, genuine, decent human being, would never fall for me. I guess no guy can ever love me back...

*Flashback*

Today was the day. Today was the day that sixteen year-old Vrushika Rai Prakash was going to confess her feelings to Harshad Saxena, the guy she'd had a crush since she first started going to this school two years ago. This was her last chance. Harshad was a year older, so he would be graduating this year. After that, he's gone, and Vrushika would've missed her chance to tell him how she really felt... and there was no way in hell that she was going to let that happen.

So there she was; hair she'd spent hours curling, makeup on her face that she'd spent hours making sure looked like she wasn't even wearing makeup to begin with, and a school uniform she'd tried to make as unique as possible with her accessories. She'd even worn the highest possible heels she could, without breaking dress code. This was a well-thought-out, weeks and weeks of planning sort of situation which may or may not have caused Vrushika to be either nervous, jittery, jumpy or all of the above. This was important. It may seem crazy and weird and like a complete waste of time, but it wasn't to Vrushika. She had spent two and a half years crushing on Harshad Saxena, and she wasn't going to let him slip right through her fingers without knowing what could've been.

This was the plan: she'd meet him behind the school at around 1:45PM, when they both had a free period before their last class. No one ever went to that spot behind the school, and that's why Harshad was always there, strumming on his guitar, humming tunes... it was a beautiful process which Vrushika appreciated that Harshad let her be a part of.

She fixed her hair and took a deep breath before walking over to him, the click clack of her heels upon the gravel pavement gaining Harshad's attention, causing him to look up and smile at the sight of her.

"Hey Vrushi!" he exclaims excitedly, setting his guitar aside, making space for her to sit beside him on the bench. Vrushika's face lights up at his gesture! It wasn't anything new, it just made this whole ordeal less nerve wrecking for her.

"Hi!" she says, the smile not leaving her face. So far so good, she thinks.

Until there is radio silence. Vrushika starts fidgeting with her hands, her mind a complete blank, all her planning going down the drain in an instant.

Then Harshad, sweet, amazing Harshad asks, "Okay, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing!" Vrushika is quick to say defensively, her voice going up an octave or two.

"Yeah, I think I know you well enough by now to know when you're lying," Harshad informs the deer-caught-in-headlights version of Vrushika sadly. "Also, you're a terrible liar."

Vrushika sighs. "Alright, fine!" she huffs. "This may or may not come as a shock to you, and I don't exactly know how you're going to feel about this and I might just be making the biggest mistake of my life and I am so sorry -"

"Vrushika!" Harshad shouts, placing his hands on her shoulders to get to calm down. "You're rambling."

"Right, sorry," she says, cringing. "This is definitely not going as planned, but here goes nothing! I guess there's really no better way to say this..." Harshad looked at her expectantly, prompting her to blurt out, "I like you! I really, really like you, and I have for a long time. I might even go as far as saying that I love you."

Harshad's bright eyes darkened at her words, but Vrushika paid no attention to that. Instead, she simply continued, "Ever since that first day when we met, my first day here, I've always been drawn to you. I was lost, and no one bothered to stop and help me. And then you came along like you always do; like a knight in shining armor, always ready and willing to help. You spent your entire day helping me find my way and right then and there, I knew that there was something really special about you.

Every time I was in trouble, all I'd have to do is look over my shoulder, and I'd find you standing right there, coming to my rescue. You have the biggest heart out of anyone that I have ever met! Everywhere you go, it's like you're constantly making someone's day, someone's life better. You are sweet and helpful and caring but what I like - no, what I love most about you is the fact that you always help the helpless. You don't let bullies get away with being bullies, you don't let teachers be unjust towards students and you always stand up for others. I admire you, Harshad, and I love you."

Vrushika breathes out a sigh of relief, feeling good about the fact that she had been able to get that off her chest. She looked at Harshad expectantly, her eyes filled with hope and the most nervous of smiles plastered on her face.

And that's when it all went downhill.

Harshad laughed, he laughed loud and proud and in her face. Vrushika's smile faltered.

"What's so funny" she asked, squinting her eyes in confusion.

Harshad finally managed to stop laughing, looking Vrushika straight in the eye. "You love me?" he said.

"That's what that big whole confession was about, yeah," Vrushika said nervously, suddenly thinking that this was a terrible idea.

"That's cute," Harshad said, smirking, using a tone that Vrushika had never heard him use before.

"Cute? I just poured my heart out to you, and you think that it was cute?"

"Duh!"

"Well then I'd love to know what you think was so cute about it!" Vrushika didn't want to get angry, she had no right to, but she was.

"What's cute is that you think that I, Harshad Saxena, could actually be in love with you. What's so special about you, huh? You're average looking at best."

Vrushika unconsciously tugs at her hair.

"You have these long, gawky, awkward legs."

Vrushika closes her legs together, tugging down at her skirt, cursing herself for even wearing heels in the first place, as if that would magically cause her legs to shrink, to become shorter and therefore stable.

"No guy wants a girl that tall unless she's worth it. You're not worth it."

That did it. It was like a switch went off in her brain. Her eyes became hollow, her body became numb. Tears wanted to spill but they couldn't. She was lifeless, simply sitting there as the guy she was hopelessly in love with, a guy she actually considered as one of her closest friends, kept going off at her.

"No one likes you. You know why? Because you try too hard. You think that people actually like you? You, with all your smiles and waves, and your incessant need to say hello to every single person that you pass by in halls? You're sickeningly sweet. That's right, you make me sick. You make us all sick. The only thing that you have going for you is the fact that you're a Rai Prakash. The littlest Rai Prakash. The baby of the bunch. Everyone prefers your siblings over you, probably even your own parents. You're nothing without them. No one likes Vrushika the person. They all want Vrushika the Rai Praksh. Poor little Vrushika. Always the last one chosen, always forgotten. That's all you'll ever be."

Harshad grabbed his guitar and got up to leave. Vrushika made no attempt to stop him and he made no attempt to look back at her. She kept waiting for him to come back and shout "April Fool's!" at her but he never did. The bell ringing, indicating that her free period was over, was what had finally caused Vrushika to come back to her senses.

She couldn't go back to class, not after this. She couldn't sit through forty minutes of being surrounded by her friends and peers who would most certainly be chatting idly as the teacher attempted to teach the fundamentals of whatever the school board wanted them to learn but they would never use again after this one class.

She took off her heels and ran as fast she could, the hot pavement burning her feet and the rocks digging into her skin were like the gazelle to her desperate need to get home's lion. Nothing else mattered. Not school, not the people that were staring at her on the road, and then later on when she was on the bus, and not even her baffled servants as she sped towards her room, locking the door behind her, refusing to come out. She just sat there, hugging her legs tight. Her forehead had practically become one with her knees at that point, but she didn't care.

She let out the loudest, ugliest cries imaginable, not caring about the makeup running down her face. She should be quiet and clean herself up, but she didn't. Because she didn't care, in fact, she didn't give a crap. Let her hair be in tangles from her pulling at it! Let her face look like a Crayola box containing only black crayons just threw up on her! Let her feet be covered with blisters, burning hot and hurting like hell! Vrushika Rai Prakash was done caring. She done giving a crap.

*End of Flashback*

Two years. It's been two years since my life turned upside down because of Harshad, yet I still remember exactly what he said to me, word for word. I can't get it out of my head; it just keeps playing on a loop, repeating itself, mocking me!

Harshad's words made me go insane. It was as if the game Twenty Questions had decided to be an overachiever and then make my mind its own personal playing field.

Why would Harshad say that to me?

How could he be so cruel?

Does everyone else feel that way too?

Do people secretly hate me for being me, but don't say anything because I'm a Rai Prakash?

Am I not as good as my cousins?

Will I ever be as good as my cousins?

Is Harshad right about everything?

And that was just the tip of the iceberg. I shut everyone out after that, nothing made sense to me anymore. The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that Harshad had graduated, he was gone. He'd never know how big of an impact his words had on my life, and I'm more than happy for it to stay that way. I don't need him knowing that his words actually had an effect on me, that they still affect me.

I walk over to my vanity table, which was in the top right corner of my room, right beside my window. I look into the simple, yet very fragile and expensive - thanks mom -circular mirror, my attention focused on my face and hair. Well this brings back memories. At least I'm not wearing ridiculous amounts of makeup this time around.

I run my fingers through my long, straight hair. My hair is naturally straight, and I'd spent years trying to make it as long as it is now. My big sister Anya had curly hair, perfect in every way possible. All three of my cousins - Sharon di, Saara and Naina - have curly hair too. It's a Rai Prakash family trait... for the women at least.

"Well apparently it skipped a generation," I grumble bitterly. I used to curl it to make it look nice like my sister and my cousins' hair always did and not all stringy like mine. Perfection is key; that's what my motto was. Not anymore. After that fateful day with Harshad, I just let my hair do whatever. Other than washing or brushing it, the latter of which I sometimes didn't even bother to do, I did absolutely nothing to my hair. My hair was still a little curly since I'd curled it so much, but that wasn't a big deal. Until a few months later, right when school started back up.

I decided that I didn't want to be like my cousins, I wanted to be me. I wanted to be Vrushika, not a Rai Prakash. So I tried my best to get rid of all the curls that remained in my hair and choose to start wearing the regulation sweat pants instead of the skirt I'd been wearing for three years. I wanted to blend in, to fade into the background and become invisible. I resigned as head girl, quit every single club that I was a part of, and believe me there were a lot! I stopped talking to my friends, always asked to work alone for school projects. 'Isolation is key' was my new motto that year. After all, isolation is the new perfection.

I was doing just fine until tonight! I should've never danced with Shivam in the first place! I should've just walked away awkwardly the minute I was in his arms. Would I have felt like a total jerk? Yes. But would I be in this situation right now, taking a walk down memory lane and watching everything I've worked so hard to build crumble right before my eyes? No!

I let out a deep sigh, tired of doing this same song and dance over and over with myself. Pushing my thoughts away didn't work. Changing my personality didn't work. So what now?

I open the drawer to my vanity table, with every intention of occupying myself with organizing the items within.

Dear lord, I've become Sharon di.

I was actually starting calm down a little until... until the shining blades of a pair of scissors catches my eye. I pick them up, staring at them as if I've just discovered the Holy Grail. I hold out a strand of my hair, ready to work my magic, ready to start over... again.

Just as I'm about to begin snipping away, I stop myself. I shouldn't be doing this. Isn't cutting your hair while you're emotionally overwhelmed a bad thing? Like that super over the top crap that you see on TV, which eventually leads to a depression and then later on suicide track? Nooo, nope, uh uh, no way, no can do, ain't gonna' happen. I am better than that. I'm not going to be one of those girls I've seen cut their hair off in a fit of rage. That never ends well.

Instead, I walk out of my room, scissors in hand, and see my di walk in through the main entrance.

"Di!" I call out to her from upstairs.

"Hey Vrushi," she says, her voice sounding small and tired.

"Can you do me a huge favor?" I ask her.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you want," my sister is quick to say, taking off her heels and walking upstairs towards. "But can you tell me where Saara is first?"

"She's in her room binging on food."

"Okay, that's a relief! So what do you need?"

I hold out my scissors towards her and ask, "Can you cut my hair?"

This is better. This is healthier. This will ensure that I don't hurt myself and my life doesn't tumble further into the deepest pits of hell... right?

...

Saara's POV

I walk into my room, trying to stomp around like an obnoxious toddler... except I'm wearing comfy unicorn slippers which obviously make no sound, and my room is carpeted so there goes that plan!

I dump all the food in my hands on my bed, half expecting Sharon di's 'spidey senses' to start tingling and come tell me to clean up this mess before she sends pictures to my mom. She'd come equipped with one of those mini vacuum cleaners and everything! But given the circumstances, that doesn't seem likely.

I quickly throw my hair into a messy ponytail, kicking my slippers off my feet and bouncing onto my bed. Thank god I put on my fuzzy socks! Otherwise, my feet would've frozen off by now. Unlike my cousin Vrushika, my feet are always cold, so I need a carpeted room, comfy slippers, fuzzy socks, and the thickest blanket known to man, woman and animal. So what exactly possessed me to put my bed right next to the window? Eh, whatever. I'm too lazy to figure how my brain works.

"Let's see... salty pretzels, extra buttery popcorn, ginormous soft-baked chocolate chip cookies and an entire apple pie," I list off all the snack items that I had just thrown on my bed. "Now what am I forgetting? Oh right, peanut butter!" I lean down and find a half-eaten jar of peanut butter beside my bed.

Yes, I keep peanut butter beside my bed. Judge away, I have no shame!

"I keep thinking that I'm forgetting something else," I mutter to myself. Just then, my twin brother Arjun opens the door to my room - because heaven forbid that he actually knocks for once - and says "Your order's here."

That's right! I can't believe I almost forgot about that.

"Is everything there?" I ask, because this is an extremely crucial, monumental moment in my life.

"Um, there's regular pizza, bubble pizza, hot buffalo wings and cheesy garlic bread," says Arjun.

"Bring it in!" I exclaim excitedly.

Yes, pizza counts as part of an extremely crucial, monumental moment in one's life. Get with the program people!

"No fries?"

"Nah, I'm cutting down on the carbs." Arjun gives me the strangest look, as if I'd magically turned into a stable, grown young woman. Only in our parents' dreams...

"Okay, so are you going to get up and pay the nice dude who has been patiently waiting for you to pay up any day now?"

"Don't sass me!" I snap, my mouth full of popcorn. "Also, can you please pay the delivery guy because I'm really comfy here and I don't want to move and I love you? And no, you can't just get the money from my wallet because I don't trust you, and hey! Did I mention I love you to Pluto and back?"

"Pluto's not a planet anymore," he deadpans at me.

"It's still out there in space!" I protest.

Arjun groans but gives in saying, "You owe me."

"I'll pay you back," I assure him.

"No, you owe me!"

"You're not getting any of this food."

"It's a lot for just one person -"

"It's my food!"

Arjun throws his arms up in the air in frustration, slamming the door behind him as he leaves. God, he is such a drama queen! He's probably ranting about me to that poor delivery boy. Hey Bhagwan, please protect that poor boy's innocent soul from my crazy twin... otherwise he'll be too scared to make deliveries here anymore.

I shake my head as I get out my box set of six Tinkerbell movie DVDs - yes I still watch Tinkerbell, and I am proud mis amigos!

And then last but not least, I take out Sharon di's most prized bottle of vodka, which I had stolen from her and stashed under my bed.

Yes, I have vodka stashed under my bed.

Yes, I am going to drink alcohol while marathoning a series of kids' movies.

Yes, I'm a freak, and I'm not afraid to let my freak flag fly!

I begin to dip pretzels and cookies into the jar of peanut butter as I waited for the first movie to start. It was going great. I wasn't thinking about anything that was going on in my life. It was just me, food, alcohol and Tinkerbell. The dream team.

Until my idiot best-friend decided to barge in through my window - seriously, why do the men in my life literally have like no manners? That one doesn't knock, this one comes in through my window... he who shall not be named - aka, Karan - jumps out my window as per his convenience. He'll sit on my bed, since it's right beside the window, when he wants to leave and keeps saying "uh huh" after every single word being uttered from my mouth, and then he'll jump (fall) out the window and run (crawbble - a combination of 'crawl' and 'hobble') for the hills.

Men.

"Ugh, seriously Rey?! Now is not a good time!" I shout. He simply ignores me, taking in my attire and the state of my bed.

"Sorry, am I interrupting your time with the dream team?" asks Rey, his sarcasm causing me to throw my favorite pillow - bless its soul - at his face.

"I deserved that" Rey admits unwillingly, letting the pillow fall to the floor. He walks around from the foot of my bed to the side of it, intending to sit down.

"There is literally like no space for you to sit," I tell him, gesturing to the food spread out all over my bed... and then the gigantic empty space which was large enough for him to comfortably lie down in.

"That can be fixed," Rey says, grinning as he reaches for a slice of pizza. I smack his hand away, warning him, "Keep your grubby paws off my precious food."

"You have two different types of pizzas here!" Rey points out, as if that's actually supposed to mean something.

"And it's all mine!" I exclaim, getting right in his face.

Rey narrows his eyes at me and asks, "Are you drunk?"

I pause for a good minute or so before saying, "Little bit, yeah," and moving my head away from his face.

"Well that sucks because we really need to talk."

"I don't want to talk to you right now," I say incredulously, throwing my blanket off my feet as I get up, walking away from Rey, intending to find some way to ignore him. "I'm surprised I haven't knocked you out cold yet."

"Saara -"

"No!" I yell, cutting him off and then snapping my head in his direction. "I have had enough of this stupid night, and this stupid day, and this entire stupid one month college experience! I'm done. I can't take it anymore, not tonight. So just leave, okay?"

"I'm not leaving until we talk Saara," says Rey, his voice booming an octave higher. He wants a screaming match? Oh, I'll give him a screaming match!

I take a few steps towards him, my hands balling into fists. "I said leave, Rey," I say, my voice quivering with rage.

"I just want to talk -"

"What is there to talk about, huh?!" I demand. "No, tell me, just what is there to talk about? You hurt my best-friend, plain and simple, that is all there is to it."

I reach out for Rey's wrist, roughly grabbing it, causing him to wince in pain.

"Oh, did that hurt?" I ask sweetly. "Because that is exactly what you did to Kriya! How does it feel Rey? Not so nice, right?"

"Saara -"

"I'm not through with you!" I growl, tightening my grip on his wrist. I push Rey away from me, and then pull him back in.

"Now Rey, tell me, did that not feel as if I was about to tear your arm off?!" I demand. "Did you, or did you not lose all feeling in your arm? Because I know Kriya definitely did."

I let go of Rey's wrist, watching as he begins to massage it the minute that I had let go.

"Now imagine how you'd feel if someone just left you stranded in the middle of the dance floor, to go dance with someone else," I say, walking circles around Rey. "If they basically just spat in your face by telling you, in front of dozens of people, that they'd rather dance with someone, anyone, else. Would that, or would that not break your heart just the slightest?"

"I think that you're -"

"That I'm what? That I'm blowing things way out of proportion, that I'm making things seem a lot more dramatic than they really are? What Rey, what am I doing?"

"I think that you need to calm down -"

"Do not tell me to calm down!" I had stopped walking circles around Rey, my face dangerously close to his, "I am perfectly calm for a person who is beyond pissed off at someone for hurting her best-friend."

"Oh, so I'm just someone now?" shouts Rey. "Glad to know where I stand in your life."

My eyes widen as I warn, "No, don't you dare turn the tables on me Singhania -"

"Why? Why shouldn't I?" Now apparently it was Rey turn to get in my face. "Because apparently, my best-friend only considers me as someone. So what, you're just going to throw our entire friendship away because of that girl?"

"That girl is my best-friend!" I practically shriek. "Her name is Kriya, and you hurt her, and you need to understand that. Do not try to guilt me over to your side, I'm with Kriya all the way, one hundred percent!"

"So basically you're choosing her over me?"

"I am not choosing her over you, Rey!" I run my finger through my hair in frustration, tugging at them as if I were ready to yank them out.

"Really? Because that's exactly what this feels like."

"Okay, now who's blowing things out of proportion?"

"Um, still you!"

"Really?! Oh this just rich!" I am appalled by Rey's behavior right now, and judging from the look on his face, it shows. "I try to get you to see that you were behaving like a complete Neanderthal tonight, that what you did was so wrong on so many levels, and you try to make it all about you!"

"I'm not trying to make it all about me -" Rey begins to protest, but I cut him off, beginning to mimic him.

"Oh Saara, how dare you choose your best-friend that I hurt over me?"

"Saara, stop it!" He yells, but I ignore him.

"It's all about me! I'm the wounded bird here, Kriya's the bad guy. Boo hoo hoo, I'm so emotionally tortured. How could you betray me, my best-friend -"

And that's when it happened. The minute I felt Rey's warm - that's an understatement, they were like burning hot lava - hands on my face, I stopped talking, heck I think I may have stopped breathing. Our faces were close, way too close, much closer than either of us wanted them to be. His hot breath was fanning my face, the scent of the sour cream and onion chips he had probably stolen from Nisha invading my nose. Our lips almost brushed, and Rey, the instigator of this awkward action which may or may not ruin our friendship, seemed more nervous and confused than I was.

Oh shit.

...

Sharon Rai Prakash was no fool. She knew there was something wrong with her baby cousin the minute she'd asked her for a favor.

Vrushika Rai Prakash does not do favors.

As Sharon sits in her room, squeezing the life out of her favorite pink pillow, - because it helps her think - she wonders what could possibly be wrong with Vrushika. She was doing fine a couple days ago, even just tonight at the party. She seemed so happy with Swayam... and then she danced with Shivam. But what could Shivam have possibly said to rattle her younger cousin?

Multiple scenarios flash through her head as to what could have changed her cousin's demeanor within the span of one night, but all the shouting coming Saara's room broke her concentration.

"Is that Rey's voice I hear?" she wonders out loud, putting her pillow down as she gets off her ginormous queen bed.

She's about to walk outside, when she hears a phone ring. 'Fight Song' by Rachel Platten started to play, causing Sharon to furrow her eyebrows. That wasn't her ringtone. She picks up the phone which lay in the corner of her desk, and notices a raccoon case. That wasn't her case either!

"Did Vrushi forget her phone here?" Sharon wonders out loud. She shakes the thought away and looks down at the caller ID.

It was Swayam.

Should she answer Swayam's call, maybe ask if he knows what's wrong with Vrushika? Or should she go make sure Rey and Saara don't destroy the house? It was times like these where Sharon hated being the oldest one present! She liked making decisions, but at the same time, she despised it. It was too much responsibility, she often felt like a mom... she doesn't want to feel like a mom.

"Okay Sharon, your inner turmoil can wait," she tells herself. Rey and Saara can work out their own problems, she thinks, Vrushika's more important right now.

She clicks 'answer,' putting the phone against her ear.

"Vrushika?" she hears Swayam say.

"No, it's me, Sharon," says Sharon. "Vrushika forgot her phone in my room."

"Oh," says Swayam, disappointment evident in his voice. "I guess I'll call back later then."

"Wait!" Sharon shouts, stopping Swayam from hanging up. "Did you - I mean, do you - is there a problem... of some sort... that you're having?"

Wow, way to not make things awkward Sharon! Sharon mentally scolds herself, smacking herself lightly on the side of her head.

"I actually just had a fight with Aashi," says Swayam, in a tone that Sharon had come to recognize as his 'tortured artist cum drama queen zyada' voice. "I just thought that maybe at least hearing Vrushika's voice would make me feel better."

Sharon raises an eyebrow. Swayam is craving the sound of Vrushika's voice? she thinks, I think I smell a love story brewing!

As if Swayam had heard Sharon's inner thoughts, he quickly demands, "Did I just say that out loud?"

"Were you not supposed to say that out loud?" Sharon says teasingly, taking a seat on the chair in front of her desk.

"It wasn't really part of the plan," Swayam admits.

Sharon chuckles. "So what was your fight about?" she asks him.

"It was one that left me questioning my life's choices."

"Hm, fights with Aashi do tend to end that way," muses Sharon.

"She should come with a warning," grumbles Swayam. "Beware! Must not anger! Will leave you a confused mess!"

Sharon bursts out laughing. This felt like the old days, like the old Sharon. Happy, carefree and never seen without a smile.

Once Sharon calms down a little, she asks, "So what is it that Aashi's mad at you for?"

Swayam was stumped. He didn't know how to honestly answer this question without telling Sharon that he was in love with her.

"So you see," he begins, pretty much flying blind here, "I'm in love with this girl," Sharon's ears perk up at that phrase as she starts grinning from ear to ear - she knew he was in love with Vrushika, "but Aashi thinks that I'm not in love with her, that I'm just in love with the idea of her. She thinks that I just want someone to fix, and not someone to love."

Sharon frowns. Aashi may be slightly correct. Swayam has been trying to get Vrushika to open up to him, so in a way, he is trying to fix her. But that doesn't necessarily mean that he can't be in love with her. Vrushika is sweet and down-to-earth and super chill - exactly the type of girl Sharon has always thought that Swayam needs, that he'd end up with. Plus, she's seen the way he looks at her; you only look at someone like that if you are truly, madly, deeply in love with them.

Sharon shares her thoughts with Swayam, "Why can't it be both? I mean, you can try to 'fix' her, as Aashi oh so gently put it, while being in love with her. You help the people you love, right?"

"Yeah, you're right! Thanks Sharon!" exclaims Swayam, causing Sharon to smile and giddily say, "Happy to help!"

"But um, I actually need your help with something," says Sharon, her tone of voice doing a complete 180 degree turn.

"Whatever you want," says Swayam.

"It's about Vrushika -"

"What about Vrushika?" Swayam cuts in, his voice sharp, his tone worried.

"Well, when I got home, she asked me to cut her hair," explains Sharon. "I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but there was this look in her eyes, like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. I tried asking her about it, but she remained silent. I couldn't get a peep out of her. She just left after I cut her hair, and she hasn't come out of her room since. I wanted to give her some space, but I don't want her doing anything rash so I check in on her every couple minutes, knocking on her door, and she'll kind of just grunt at me, but at least I know she's physically alright. I'm really worried Swayam."

"Do you think that something happened at the Rose Day party?" he asks. "Because she was fine when we were dancing together the first time around."

"What do you mean the first time?" Sharon asks, scrunching her eyebrows together in confusion.

"Well, the second time she seemed a little more distant to me, like her mind was somewhere else entirely," explains Swayam.

"She danced with Shivam, maybe he said something to set her off?" Sharon suggests.

"What could Shivam have possibly said to get to her? They don't even know each other that well," Swayam points out.

"But he's Shivam, and he has that annoying thing that he does where he literally tells people how they're feeling."

"He's usually right," Swayam reminds her.

"Doesn't matter!" Sharon protests. "It always ends up causing problems for others."

"Maybe it's not even Shivam. Maybe it's me."

"What are you talking about?" Sharon was really lost now.

"I've been trying to get Vrushika to open up to me about her stage fright, and I think that maybe I pushed a little too far. She told me about how something happened and she had a lot of things on her mind, so she completely froze up during a major performance."

"She told how she got her stage fright?!" exclaims Sharon, quite possibly shattering Swayam's already sensitive, due to living with three women who loved screaming as loudly as humanly possible, hearing.

"Yeah..." He trails off, not sure what Sharon was getting at.

"She hasn't spoken to anyone about that, Swayam! Don't you get it? You can't possibly be the reason she's upset!" Sharon informs him. "She feels comfortable around you, comfortable enough to open up to you about something she hasn't talked to anyone else about. That's a big deal!"

"So you think that whatever I'm doing is a good thing?" asks Swayam.

"Yes, absolutely!" Sharon assures him. "You are not the root cause of all her problems, this - this is something else."

"Yeah, but what?"

"That's what we need to find out."

Kriya's POV

"The skate park? Seriously?" I ask Karan, expecting clowns to pop out of nowhere, coming out juggling dolphins... which obviously didn't happen, hence the death glares I'm sending Karan's way.

"You made me walk two kilometers in these ridiculous high heels, which I don't even know why I chose to wear, just so you could bring me to the skate park?"

"That's right," Karan practically sings at me. Sings! Goddammit, why does he have to have the voice of an angel? Curse his angelic voice!

"What am I even supposed to be doing here?" I demand. "Watching you do tricks without your trusty skateboard?"

"No, you're supposed to talk to me."

"Okay one, why did you need to bring me to a skate park just to talk to me? And two, I have nothing to say."

"Okay one," says Karan, mimicking my voice and doing a terrible impression of me (it's actually spot on, but he doesn't need to know that), earning him a smack on the arm.

"Oof!" Karan grunts, massaging his arm as he rolls his shoulder up and down.

"Now as I was saying," he continues, "I brought you here because in case you forgot, we made a pact here a few years back -"

"Not this again!"

"- to always say the truth and say nothing but the truth -"

"This is torture!"

"- and to also do everything the other person says, no matter how ridiculous the demand might be."

"Who's idea was this stupid pact?"

"Yours."

"Do you have a time machine? Because I need to go back and smack my younger self across the face."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to stop her - or, you - from making the pact in the first place?"

"Yes it would," I say when I understand Karan's logic. "What do you want?"

"I want you to talk to me."

"Like I said, I have nothing to say."

"Yes you do!" he yells. "What is going on in your head right now? Because you are not acting like yourself. I know I've said this before, but I'm gonna' say it again. The Kriya Shekhawat that I know, would've smacked the shit out of Rey for manhandling her like that, in public no less!"

He's right. He's always right. If I had to pick anyone who knows me better than Saara or my sister, I would hands down, always pick Karan Modi. He's the one who always gets me to open up, to talk about my feelings. There was no point in lying to Karan. I mean, it's Karan! Sweet, broke my best-friend's heart, but still sweet Karan. I never hid anything from him before, so why start now?

I take a deep breath and begin my spiel, "I know that under normal circumstances I would've slapped him, bitched at him, and kicked him where it hurts the most... but this is different. Rey has every right to be furious with me right now. He trusted me to trust him... and I didn't. I thought that he broke my trust, that he lied to me, that he played me! But in reality, Rey was doing exactly what I was. Trusting his mortal frenemy with his biggest secret, something he doesn't like to talk about, not even with his closest friends. We were on the verge of becoming friends and I ruined that by jumping to conclusions. I ruined that by slapping him, something he didn't deserve. It was my fault. He had every right to be angry at me."

Karan doesn't say anything. He simply takes my hand, and walks us over to bench, sitting down. He places his hands on my shoulders, looks me in the eye and says, "Do not, under any circumstances, blame yourself for this. This is not your fault, and yes, I was listening to everything you said and I assure every syllable has been imprinted into my brain.

You were going to apologize to Rey, but he didn't want to listen, so that's on him. And while he had every right to be angry with you, he had absolutely no right to humiliate you and to treat you the way that he did. That wasn't right, you hear me? He chose to not listen to you when you tried to apologize, he made a choice, a bad choice, and that was his fault. It's not your fault that he made a stupid choice; it's his. So stop blaming yourself. This problem is a two-way street and you need to realize that it was Rey's fault too. You're not always at fault, Kriya. Sometimes other people are at fault too. Remember that."

Stupid Karan. Always making me emotional and have the Nile river pour out of my eyes. Who does he think he is? A walking, talking Disney movie?

I bury my head in his shirt, his arms wrapping around me, holding me tight. "You're lucky I don't wear makeup," I mumble, causing him to chuckle. He just continues to stroke my hair, patiently waiting for me to let all this crying business out of my system. He may be a walking, talking Disney movie, but he's my walking, talking Disney movie.

...

Shekhawat House

Taani's POV

Reyaansh Singhania is the biggest jerk I've ever met and I cannot believe for the life of me that just two days ago, I was singing his praises. Lies, all lies! God, what he did tonight... I may be done with Sharon but him, oh him I'm not done with, not just yet.

I march into the house, taking my high heels off. "Maasi, I'm home!" I call out.

"Don't yell, I'm just getting to the good part!" Maasi exclaims from her spot on the couch. I shake my head as I walk over to her, sitting down beside her.

"What are you watch - OH MY GOD, IS THAT KAHAANI 2?!" I demand, glaring at my aunt. "I thought you promised that you'd actually watch it with me this time around, unlike what you did with the first Kahaani."

"Promises are made to be broken," Maasi says with a simple shrug of her shoulders.

"It's 'rules are made to be broken,' Maasi," I inform her of the famous saying.

"Excuse me? No rules will be broken under my watch!" Maasi warns.

I groan, heading towards my room. I need sleep after the crazy day that I've had. And maybe my best-friend who's an idiot and refuses to be in my presence. I turn on the lights, only to find the one person I never expected to see again, sitting in my bay window - a window with a built-in mini-bed attached to it.

Aarav.

He gets up as soon as he sees me, this strange expression on his face, one that I'd seen him give me on multiple occasions.

I shake my head, trying to come out of my own thoughts, and manage to ask, "What are you doing here?"

Before Aarav could say anything, Maasi calls out to me, "Oh yeah, Aarav's in your room!"

"Thanks Maasi!" I shout back at her, without an ounce of sincerity, appreciation or gratitude in my tone of voice.

I close the bedroom door, giving Aarav my full attention. I wait for him to speak, but instead I find him continuing to stare at me. My cheeks turn bright pink as I demand, a little more harshly than I probably should've, "Why're you looking at me like that?"

Aarav looks like a startled kid who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I - you -" he stammers.

"Something other than pronouns, please," I say, my eyes suddenly very interested in my bare, nail-art done by Nisha Sen herself, feet.

"Okay, it's been a while since I've seen you -"

"And whose fault is that?!" I snap, cutting him off immediately.

"I deserve that -"

"That and a whole lot more."

"Can you let me finish, please?" he demands, frustrated at this point. I can tell because he's doing that thing he does with his hands where they turn into claws, and it is just the most adorable - focus Taani!

"Continue," I grumble.

"Thank you," says Aarav, with a satisfied, at peace grin on his face. "As I was saying, it's been a while since I've seen you, and here you are in a really nice dress - a Rinni Shah original because what else - which makes you look even more beautiful than usual because I have seen you look like a raccoon who just got mauled by badger, and I was still in awe."

Damn it, now I was in awe. Focus Taani!

"And I repeat," I say, wanting to change the topic, "what are you doing here."

"Karan filled me in on the latest," he explains, looking at me with those sad puppy eyes of his. "I had a feeling that you might need a friend."

"No, I don't need a friend," I inform him, watching as he looks down at the ground dejectedly, "I need a best-friend," he looks up and finds me standing right next to him, with a scowl on my face, "You think you can be there for me for one night without disappearing, Houdini?"

"I can try," he says meekly, causing my face to soften. I proceed to sit down, prompting Aarav to do the same. The first thing that he lays his eyes on is my hand.

"What happened to your hand?" he demands, taking it in his own. "Did Rey... did he hurt you? Because if he did, I'll kill him. I'm not kidding, I'll do it."

"Relax," I say soothingly, 93% sure that Aarav is actually serious. "I got this from punching the wall in. Karan took care of me."

"Wow, he did a great job with the bandaging, this looks so professional!" remarks Aarav.

"Right?! I don't know whether to be impressed or concerned."

"Probably a little bit of both," Aarav suggests. "Now, do you want to tell me why you punched a wall in?"

"Rey's a jerk," I grumble.

"Taani, I grew up with him, and the guy both you and Karan were describing to me is not Reyaansh Singhania," Aarav persists.

"Well, I thought that he was a decent guy... up until tonight when I found out that he's actually an asshole. He seemed so... perfect at first, and then it's like a switch went off and as if on cue, the curtains go up and everyone sees the ugly truth."

"Hm... sounds like a certain Miss Perfect that I know," Aarav chimes in.

"You know I hate it when you call me that," I tell him, my resting bitch face coming out to play for the first time in years.

"You call me bonehead," Aarav points out.

"That's because you are a bonehead," I inform him, unable to understand his logic.

Aarav, choosing to ignore my comment, says, "All I'm saying is, you're not exactly Sally Sunshine."

"Hey Krishnaji, enough with the nicknames!" I groan.

"Listen to me!" yells Aarav, grabbing ahold of my hands before my fists started flying, like they always do. "You may have been everyone's best-friend at school with your 'look at me, I'm Taani the sweet, innocent head girl' act, but I know what happened behind the scenes, I know everything that you tried so hard to hide."

"Why are you bringing this up?" I demand. My regrettable past was the last thing that I wanted to talk about right now.

"I'm just saying that it's a little hypocritical for you to be attacking Rey about being two-faced when you practically invented the term."

I begin to open my mouth to protest, but as always, Aarav 'I know what you're going to say before you even say it' Saxena cut me off, "I'm not saying that you can't be pissed at him for whatever he's done to Kriya, punch in all the walls you want. All I'm saying is that it wouldn't be right to accuse him of deception when that's the perfect word to sum your entire existence from ages ten to now."

I stop and think for a minute. Did I want to be an immature brat and say Aarav was completely wrong and deny everything because I don't like he who shall be from now on referred to as Voldemort because he is evil? Or did I want to be Miss Perfect and see the logic of the situation? Well, I definitely want to be immature because Voldemort sucks, but I need to be Miss Perfect... although... I mean, it's only Aarav here so I can be as immature as I want to be!

"Whatever, you don't know anything. You're probably just sleep-deprived," I say, causing Aarav to roll his eyes.

"Were you doing that thing where you contemplate being an immature brat and Miss Perfect?" he asks, raising an eyebrow, already knowing the answer to his question.

"I hate you."

"Nah, you're totally in love with me."

"I'm in love with you?!" I practically shriek at the top of my lungs.

"See, you said it yourself."

"No, no no, NO! If anything, you're in love with me," I point out.

"Bullshit!"

"It was in your note," I inform him.

"There was nothing in that stupid note about me being in love with you!" he protests.

"Ha!" I exclaim in his face. "So you admit that the note is stupid."

"No, I'm saying that you're stupid."

"Oh, yeah, real mature!"

"You call me bonehead, and you refuse to listen to reason, yet I'm the immature one?!" he demands.

"That's about it, yeah."

"Well you're - you're -" Aarav stammers, unable to fire back, causing me to smirk... which lasts a solid two seconds before he fires back, "you're a terrible kisser!"

My eyes widen, my jaw dropping to the floor as the most offended gasp known to man, woman and animal comes out of my mouth.

"Well... then why'd you kiss me in the first place?" I demand.

"Why'd you kiss back?" he retorts.

"Because it felt great okay!" I blurt out accidentally, my hand immediately covering up my brainless mouth - great, why couldn't it have done that earlier? - as my cheeks go bright red. I watch as Aarav's classic Cheshire Cat grin decides to make an appearance.

"I didn't mean to say that, it was totally spur of the moment and I -" I don't even get to finish my sentence due to Aarav's lips closing in on mine.

God, when I said it felt great, I wasn't kidding. It wasn't great - it was incredible, phenomenal, extraordinary and as cheesy as it sounds, magical. You would think his lips would be rough, but dear lord, they felt like liquid - a very, very hot liquid that I could literally melt into.

One of his large hands was cupping my face, while the other had made its way down my arm, and all the way towards my bandaged hand. He gets up, pulling me up along with him, and just as he does I wish he hadn't. His one hand that had now gone from my hand over to my waist, was the only thing that was keeping me from losing my balance. I tugged at his hair harder, causing him to groan, tightening his grip on my waist. My free hand made its way over to his cheek, lightly drawing circles with my index finger. He shivers, his other hand having gone from my own cheek to the other side of my waist, pulling me in closer. I smile into the kiss, resulting in Aarav's own smile widening as well.

I've managed to maneuver us away from the bay window, the back of Aarav's knees hitting the side of my bed. Before anything else could happen, I hear the bedroom door open, causing both me and Aarav to come back to our senses. We pull away from each other as fast as we can, making our way back to the bay window before anyone comes in.

And as our luck would have it, it was my sister and our good friend Karan.

I'm ready to commit homicide.

Aarav's ready to help.

Karan, ever so perceptive, is the first one to notice the murderous looks that have appeared on mine and Aarav's faces. "Are we interrupting something?" he asks, raising an eyebrow, slightly amused.

"No!" both Aarav and I say at once, alarmed.

I'm killing him first.

"We were just talking..." I begin to say.

"About everything that went on tonight," Aarav finishes for me.

"Right," says Karan, as if to say, 'I totally believe you macaroons.' I roll my eyes, turning my attention towards my sister. Her eyes were slightly tinted red, as if she'd been crying. I don't point it out, knowing that she'd hate for me to bring it up in front of Aarav and Karan, make a mental note to ask her about it later.

Instead, I ask her, "Did you he get to you with that skate park nonsense again?" Di nods at me sadly, miming shooting herself at the side of her head.

"To be fair, she came up with the skate park nonsense," Aarav points out, quick to come in his friend's defense.

"Shut it Houdini," di snaps at Aarav.

"I really wish that you guys would stop calling me that," groans Aarav.

"Blame Nisha," I tell him. Before Aarav could respond, the door opens, revealing my brother Swayam on the other side.

"Mom's calling everyone for dinner, and by everyone, yes, I mean everyone," he informs us. "This includes you two freeloaders as well."

"You'd think he was talking about you guys, but he's not," di informs Karan and Aarav.

"Oh yeah, I totally mean Taani and Kriya, you guys are cool," bhai says casually, walking away.

"You heard the man," I say, "dinner has been served!"

This night just got a whole lot more interesting...

Rai Prakash House

Saara's Room

"What was that?" demands Saara, her voice shaking. Rey had let go of her face a good ten minutes ago, and ever since then, the two had been sitting in Saara's room, on opposite ends. Never mind talking, they were barely able to look each other in the eye!

"I don't know," says Rey, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Well... I um - I think that you should leave," Saara struggles to find her words, picking at the threads coming out of her sheets.

Rey clears his throat and says, "Yeah, you're probably right." Rey tries to get off Saara's fuzzy beanbag chair, which was all the way across from her bed, right beside her door, but keeps slipping and sliding due to the material and texture of the chair. Normally, Saara would find this hilarious, but right now, she was too freaked out to even crack a smile.

Rey finally manages to get off the chair, and opens the door to leave, but immediately stops himself. He can't leave without telling Saara what Taani had said to him.

"I can't do this," he says, turning around.

"Can't do what?" asks Saara, furrowing her eyebrows, causing her eyes to squint.

"I can't leave without telling you something that Taani said to me," he explains, taking a few steps towards her bed.

Saara gets up immediately, her defensive friend mechanism going off the rails. "So Kriya wasn't enough, now you have to go after Taani as well?" she demands.

"It's not like that -"

"Then what's it like? Rey, you've already treated one of my best-friends like crap, must you go after all of them now?"

"Saara -"

"So what? Do you have some sort of list going on? Are you crossing off names as we go? Who's next on your list, Karan? Or will just decide to surprise me because -"

"Did you know that Taani told me that she'd pick Kriya over you?" Rey blurts out, stopping Saara mid-sentence.

It takes Saara a few moments to process what Rey had just said to her before she firmly states, "You're lying."

"I'm not lying," Rey assures her. "You'd know if I were lying to you."

"See, that's just the thing Rey," Saara fires back, "after tonight, I don't really think that I know you at all."

Rey's expression softens, his hurt tone of voice practically breaking Saara's heart to pieces as he helplessly says, "Of course you know me, Saara. I'm your best-friend, always have been, always will be," his voice begins to rise, "You call me Egghead and I call you Tiny Toes and we pretend to be pissed off except we secretly like the stupid nicknames," his loud booming voice becomes soft, cracking as tears threaten to break through, "You kick my ass at both video games and basketball, and although I always say that I let you win, we both know that's not true.

You're that little weirdo who'd always draw on my face with glitter glue. Glitter glue! I've made copies of all your paintings and I have watched every single stupid video you've ever made, and I know that I complain like a little five year-old, but that's only because I don't want to admit how immensely talented you are. You got me to try nachos, and you made me play laser tag and - and - you're my best-friend... and I love you."

Saara doesn't have a clue as to how she should respond to that. She blinks back the tears that are starting to form, her mind telling her not to be vulnerable right now, not to cry. She swallows the bile starting to form at the back of her throat, and manages to choke out the four magic words, "You need to leave."

Rey stands still for a moment, whether he was confused or shocked was hard to tell. But he was hurt. He was hurt that his best-friend had chosen two strangers over him. He was her best-friend, he'd been there since the beginning, not them! He wanted to scream and shout, but instead he chose the hard way to out.

He chose to leave. Rey glances back at Saara one last time, before walking out the door and closing it behind him. Saara stares at it blankly before dropping down on her bed and letting all the tears that she had suppressed break free. It was then and there, that she knew that she had just lost her best-friend.

made me miss my set of weirdos!!!!😆

love the personalities n how rivalry n frndshp n family are being handled by the 3Js...

do continue soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my favorite character is definitely Taani... she is fierce and a total badass!!!!!! love her bitchness!!!!😉

i love the back-n-forth of Arjun-Nisha and the enigma around Sharon & Shivam... your story makes me want to ship them... 😉

Favorite scene is the sleepover!!!!!!!!!! bought back sooo many memories... BTW made me plan a slumber party for the weekend...

Till now I totally love LOVE ur story... I just wish for Taani-aarav scenes...

Update soonnn...

Actually my sister pointed out that when I go into my bitch mode, its pretty similar to Taani's. Saara is the exact replica of my lil' sis.

One of the major reasons I want to see sharon- shivam together is that i just love the easy going relationship btwn swayam& Vrushika. It's honest, relaxed and real. Also I feel in the show, shivam's character didn't pan out well. Your story gives more shades to his personality, like his is conversations with Taani & others.