Nupur was in 4th grade when she transferred from Goa to Delhi. She was devastated to leave her precious beach and friends and the sea with all her sea friends but no amount of pleading would make her parents leave her in Goa.

"It'll be fun!" Her mother said, pushing Nishant to go forward.

Nishant was her older brother. Older, better, wiser - he used to say to her all the time. He's the one who got a full ride to Oxford University, making his parents proud.

Even though Nishant was older to her by 7 years, it didn't mean that they didn't have a bond. Nupur couldn't count the number of instances where they both had gotten into trouble, causing mischief.

But Nishant had left.

Nupur trudged heavily into school the next day, face downcast. She hadn't made the effort to make friends, knowing that Nishant would be ready to entertain her at home. She thought that she'd never need friends but two years into her new school, she hadn't made a single friend.

God, she was a loner.

At lunch, she took her tiffin box and resigned herself to eat in class. Usually she had run to her brother's class, eating with him instead but now, she was truly alone.

"Nupur, what are you doing in class? Aren't you going to go visit your brother?" A voice was suddenly heard, making her turn around.

Gia Mathur was a social butterfly. She could make friends anywhere and anyhow and made effort to keep that friendship as well. Nupur thought that was rather taxing.

"He graduated." Nupur said, slumping down. "He's in Oxford now."

"Oh wow, that's a big deal." She came to her table, her tiffin in her hands. "Hey if you want, you can come chill with me and my friends - we have Virat, Rohit, Anushka and me, of course." She giggled, Nupur perking up.

"Are you sure? They won't mind?"

"No, of course not! If they do, I'll beat them up."

That's how Nupur became a part of the infamous family. They were misfits but they all had the same problem - family pressure.

That just made Nupur love them even more.

Hell would freeze over before Nupur allowed anyone to harm her little family.

-

"Gia, I want to talk to you." Virat muttered, running his hand through the back of his head. He couldn't wait any longer - he had to clear out the air and ask Gia out.

He had tried to live without her but it seemed impossible. She was truly, one of a kind. He would be stupid if he didn't try.

He was scared of the aftermath.

"Hmm, tell me." Gia asked him, stopping at the door to her house, turning around to see him. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Can I come in?" He shyly asked, Gia laughing in response.

"Oh my gosh, where was this humility when you literaly bossed my gardener around for the ladder to climb up to my window." Gia snickered. "This is your house too, you don't need to ask me for my permission."

They both went to her room while she went into the closet and he sat on the bed, loosening his tie. This was more nerve wracking than he'd expected, he couldn't understand where to keep his hands and his fingers were in knots with each other.

"Vee, want some food?" She asked, coming out of the closet in her pajamas. "I'm not very hungry but if you are, I can ask the cook to make something."

"No, thanks." He muttered. "I'm not very hungry as well."

Just nervous.

Focus, Virat. You can't fuck this up - no way in hell.

"What happened, Vee?" She asked, sitting next to him and taking one of his palm onto her lap, caressing it. "Usually by now you would've made yourself so comfortable in my bed I'd have no place to sleep."

"Gia, I keep thinking about your confession." Virat muttered, looking at her - watching her face show all the emotions that went through her at the topic. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before chuckling nervously.

"Uh, what about it?" She whispered, having no voice left in her mouth. "You know, you don't have to think too much about it."

"Why not?" He asked, shifting back and looking at her.

"It was a stupid crush, Vee." She got up and walked a little away from the bed and then turned around. "I needed to say it aloud for me to move on."

"And, have you moved on?" Virat stood up as well, moving closer to her still body.

"I'm trying, Virat. It's not easy." She mumbled. "But it's okay. Pretty soon I'm gonna get through this so you can continue with Meera and Anushka and whatever it is you've got going on." She sarcastically laughed. "Although I don't think Anushka's going to reciprocate this time."

"I love you." Virat mumbled, lifting her head with his hand. "I have always loved you ever since you invited me to play with you in kindergarten. I've loved you when we'd make up those atrocious stories about our classmates in 4th and 5th grade, I have loved you since you'd plead with your parents to take me with you to every family vacation as I'd be too lonely without you."

"You were right, Gia. I'd definitely be too lonely without you. It holds true in the past, present and will continue to hold true in the future as well. You're it for me, my love."

"What?" Gia asked, stunned. She couldn't believe it, her feelings were being reciprocated. She pinched herself lightly, to make her sure that this was real and not a dream. She's loved this man since she was 15 and after years of pining over him, torturing herself by seeing him with other girlfriends, she'd finally got him.

It was truly a dream come true.

"It's because I love you, I want to improve myself. I don't want my trauma to affect you in any way. I want to improve myself because you don't deserve the past Virat. I didn't say anything these past few weeks because I was scared, petrified even."

"I wanted to make you proud of me, in every way."

"Oh Vee." She closed her eyes and stood on her toes to reach his forehead and place a kiss there. "You're enough for me. You don't have to improve yourself because I fell in love with the past Virat. He was brash and hot headed, I agree." She laughed, looking at his face.

"But he is caring and loving towards the people he calls his own." She continued, holding his cheeks.

By now, both Virat and Gia had started crying - tears of love, joy and relief pouring from their eyes. They couldn't believe how far they'd come together. They were happy and they would've stayed in their own bubble for the rest of the day, if Virat's phone hadn't rung.

"Hey, Rohit. What's up?" Virat asked, putting the phone on speaker

"Look at the fucking television. My life is fucking ruined, man."

As Gia quickly turned on the television, only one breaking news was continuously on repeat.

"Rohit Sharma, heir of the Sharma real estate empire was apparently involved in a hit and run case two years ago? Find out more about the details."

-

Meera called up someone as she was in the market, looking at the news channels reporting the news about Rohit again and again. She felt a deep sense of satisfaction once she saw Rohit's parents coming in front of the media and refuting everything but the damage had been done.

The group was cracking, one by one.

"My gosh, it gained so much traction." She immediately spoke as the call went through, picked up by the other person.

"I told you." The voice answered back on the other side. "This would be so good."

"Thanks bro." Meera said. "I couldn't have done this without you."

"Anytime." The voice chuckled. "By the way, who are these guys?"

"Nothing for you to worry about." She smiled. "You do your work and I'll do mine"

"Okay but Meera, I'm worried about you." The voice asked. "Have you really thought about what you're doing?"

"Of course."

Virat-Gia sails!