Bonus

ALL RANAWAT KIDS AT THE AGE OF 18

"Pahel" Maitri's voice boomed through the palace. Pahel walked down wearing an oversized t-shirt and ripped black jeans paired with white sneakers. She jumped down the stairs and looked at Maitri questioningly.

"Again" Maitri looked at Pahel angrily as Pahel looked around to figure out why her mother was angry.

"Yes, we will be there" Aryaman said on the call and looked at Pahel with anger.

"What happened?" She asked hiding behind Rishav who stood in front of her as a shield.

"Your principal called" Maitri said placing her hands on her waist.

"But I haven't done anything this time" Pahel said looking at Maitri with a pout.

"Oh really, when is it that you haven't done anything?" Maitri asked angrily.

"I swear I've not done anything this week" Pahel looked at Rishav for help.

"Ridham... He must have done something" Nidhi said coming to rescue Pahel.

"Ridz... Kutte ne mere bina kaand kiya." Pahel looked at Ridham who was sitting on the sofa shocked how fast his mother dropped all blame on him. Pahel moved from behind Rishav to Ridham.

"What happened to our bro-code? You freaking do a kaand and don't involve me?" Pahel started hitting him with the pillows laying by.

"I didn't do anything" Ridham held Pahel's hands and stopped her.

"I knew it you'd stab me in the back, betrayer" Pahel hissed at him while he made faces at her shocked that he was being blamed without him doing anything.

"Its not for them, the principal called for Antra and Vidhan" Aryaman said still in trance.

"WHAT!!!" Everyone in the room looked at each other shocked.

"We need to go to the school" Aryaman said and immediately ran to the car to go to the school. Rishav and Kaira sat in the car followed by the other 2 couples who were worried except Pahel and Ridham.

"What are you staring at Lunatic, we are going too" Ridham said pulling her with him as he sat on his bike followed by Pahel.

AT SCHOOL

The whole Ranawat clan entered the room to see Antra and Vidhan standing in corner with their heads ducked as another few boys stood on the other side glaring at them. Their parents looked at Ranawat family in shock.

"Only one of you could have come" The principal said shocked.

"Its the first time it is their complaint so we were curious" Aviraj said looking at the kids feeling bad for Antra and Vidhan.

"Yo wassup loser and gang" Pahel entered the room with authorativeness as she waved hi to the gang of boys glaring at her siblings.

"Oh hi princy" She smiled widely at the principal and nodded her head at her and walked to Antra and Vidhan with a proud look. Ridham followed the same pattern as Pahel and almost got hit by Nidhi.

"Wassup twinies" Ridham placed his hand on Antra's shoulder and looked at the two staring at the ground embarrassed.

"What happened?" Rishav asked itching to go hug Antra and Vidhan.

"Vidhan punched the boys here and Antra was the witness." The principal said looking at the two Ranawats who genuinely looked apologetic about their behavior.

"VIDHANNN" Ridham and Pahel looked at Vidhan laughing and made him look at them.

"You did? Hayee why did we have not go school today? I want to see how you punched them. You seriously punched them?" Ridham said pulling Vidhan in a bro hug shocked that their brother could be violent which was completely contradicting to his nature.

"I am so proud of you" Pahel removed her wallet from her jeans pocket and removed a Rs. 100 note and circled it around his head proud of him.

"Why did you do it?" Nidhi asked ignoring the two mentally challenged Ranawats.

"He was bad mouthing about Antra." Vidhan explained how Antra proposed the captain and he made fun of her. Ridham and Pahel looked at them and then at the boys and walked over to them.

"What conclusion have we come to before also? If you have a problem, you come at us, don't drag our siblings into it. The only ones allowed to say anything to Antra is us and you boy, made a grave mistake" Ridham held Harsh the guy Antra was crushing on by his collars and glared at him. The men had to pull him down and away from him.

Pahel cracked her knuckles and looked at Harsh who's attitude didn't drop even slightest. She stepped hard on his foot, making him bend when she kicked him in the face and pulled his hand behind his back and pushed him to the wall, holding him in place by holding his head to the wall.

"Apologize to her" Pahel whispered in his ear. When Harsh tried to fight she held him tightly until he broke.

"Apologize to her right now and thank her for liking you bastard" She left him and waited for him to apologize to her. The Ranawat clan along with the principal looked at her shocked. Harsh apologized to Antra and left the room along with his gang.

"Sweetheart, chill, crushes come and go in life. Everyone makes a foul choice in life once, this was yours" Pahel put on a smile and hugged Antra and Vidhan.

"Done?" Ridham asked the principal with a smile.

"I could have handled it my way" The principal looked at Pahel angrily.

"I've tried your method earlier with him ma'am. It clearly didn't work so I tried my way" Pahel replied.

"There's a difference in the way I would have talked and the way you did" Principal stood up to her.

"I talked to him politely, explained to him the way you all love it. I asked him to go easy on Antra but what did he do, humiliate my sister. No one in the fucking world has the audacity to say anything to my siblings or I'll rip them apart bare handed"

"Not everything requires violence" The principal said banging her hands on the table.

"Unless its the last resort. What would you have said that would have changed Harsh's ideology? Ma'am he is my classmate, I am more aware of his behavior than you" Pahel didn't back off until Maitri pulled her behind and slapped her in front of everyone.

"Apologize right now" Maitri shouted on Pahel who looked at the ground with anger.

"Sorry" She looked up at the principal and apologized and walked away from the room and went and stood beside the bike. Soon the rest of the family came.

"You need to tone down that attitude girl" Maitri said angrily to Pahel who nodded her head and looked away. Ridham came and hugged Pahel sideways trying to cheer her mood but she didn't cheer up.

"Chachi all of us are going out for a coffee, just us 4" Vidhan said not liking his twin's sad face and said to Nidhi indirectly telling Maitri about it.

"Chal chipak piche" Ridham sat on the bike and asked Pahel to sit. Without saying anything she sat behind him. Rishav and Kaira dropped Vidhan and Antra at the coffee shop and the 4 siblings went inside and ordered.

"Why are your knuckles red?" Pahel asked looking at Antra's knuckles.

"I might have punched like a few guys" Antra replied softly.

"You punched?" Ridham and Pahel looked at her with a smile. Antra nodded her head shyly.

"We need to celebrate this properly. Its not everyday my sweet and calm siblings go around punching people" Pahel said with a wide smile forgetting about the slap. The 4 spent their day eating and drinking things from restaurants and stalls.

AT HOME

"She's getting out of our hands day by day, why don't you say something to her?" Maitri looked at Aryaman.

"Mayu you know how she is. She..." Aryaman tried to explain to her.

"She what Maan? Today she's back answering the principal, she opted for violence on that guy in front of everyone without fear, you think this are good signs?" Maitri asked him.

"She'll calm down with age, she's only 18. She hasn't seen the real pressure" Rishav tried calm down Maitri.

"That's the problem papa. She's not seen the real pressure in the world. What if she can't handle it and does something like this? It is easy to get on to the wrong track then to remain on the right one" Maitri said worriedly.

"You need to let her make mistakes Maitri" Kaira said understanding Maitri's concerns.

"I know but am worried that she'll make mistakes that none of us will be able to rectify. I don't want her to live in any sort of guilt and the way she's going, I know she is going to end up making mistakes that she will regret her whole life. I told you guys let him handle her in my way but no that time all of you thought I was being over. Kabhi kabhi methi pak dena zaroori hota hai but nai tab aap sab ko uspe pyaar jo aaraha tha. I was the only one wrong now see this" Maitri sat down on the sofa huffing.

"Mayuu darling, she's our Pahel. At least trust her upbringing. Even you know it that no matter how bossy she is but she'll never hurt anyone willingly if they don't deserve it. She talks to spiders and cockroaches yaar as if they are her friends, you think she'll hurt anyone who's innocent? We know she opts to violence faster than anyone but she's also the mother hen of the small tukdi of siblings and friends they are. She knows her limits, don't strain her so much and trust her. Yes, what she did today was out of the line, and you can punish her but its not that serious. Till date whatever complaints have come are just no hers, even Ridham was involved in it and they just being mischievous, they aren't harming anyone" Nidhi sat down beside Maitri and explained her. Maitri nodded her head unsurely and let the matter slid.

On the other hand, Pahel-Vidhan and Antra- Ridham sat under the star filled night in a restaurant, waiting for the dinner they ordered to come silently.

"Pihu" Antra held Pahel's hand and made Pahel look at her diverting her attention from the stars.

"You are okay?" Pahel asked concerned as Antra's eyes had a different type of sadness in them.

"Actually yeah. I... Initially when Harsh said things it did hurt me but then I remembered Mum and dad, loving someone doesn't equate to respecting them and if Harsh couldn't respect my feelings then he was A-grade Asshole" Antra said smiling and Pahel held her  hand tightly and smiled widely.

"When your Mr. Right comes na I'll make sure that you actually talk to him and then we can have just the perfect love story I can tell your kids" Pahel said with a twinkle in her eye that made Antra shy.

"There's going to be no more boys lunatic" Ridham hit Pahel's head and looked at Antra with a glare who returned it with same favour.

"There'll be, many boys. What will you do?" Antra asked teasingly.

"You want a pile of dead people in your room?" Vidhan replied before Ridham could.

"Hey, you need to let the girls enjoy their lives. You can't keep them locked in the palace for forever" Pahel argued with the boys.

"Wait...wait wait. Girls! You mean in plural girls. All I see here is Antra who is a girl" Vidhan said teasing Pahel who threw tissue ball on him.

"I am a girl too" Pahel said with a pout looking at Antra for help.

"Oh really? I need to check your birth certificate to confirm it because we see 3 guys and 1 girl sitting on the table right now" Ridham teased her which earned him a slap on his back.

"Stop teasing my cousin" Antra said with a scowl trying to scare the guys who rolled their eyes away from her.

"Who'll even love her?" Ridham and Vidhan cracked a joke and hi-fied each other.

"One boy who'll love me the way I am. He, who will understand that I don't need to he helped but just supported through my decisions. He, who is going to roam the streets of Paris with me, holding my hand in his warm hand. He, who'll laugh at my stupid jokes. He, who'll lay beside me and watch this star-filled night with me" Pahel stood up and opened her arms and looked into the sky while saying it with a big smile and lot of hope in her eyes.

"Who is teaching you this cringe, sappy stuff lunatic?" Vidhan asked shocked at Pahel's words.

"God is going to make you cross your paths with such a man who'll tick all the boxes in your checklist." Antra stood up and hugged Pahel and both of them laughed.

"What about you? How does your Mr. Perfect look like?" Pahel asked curiously.

"My Mr. Perfect would be just the way the men in my novels are, sweet, understanding, caring and most importantly loyal. He would not promise me the moon and stars but instead promise me the small happiness that would put a smile on my face. He would treat me with respect and if need be he would hide me behind him, protecting me from the world. He wouldn't tell me that he chose in thousands but prove to me why he chose me in thousands" Antra said dreamily looking at the glowing city below her.

"I hate it when these 2 talk such nonsense" Ridham said rolling his eyes and doing the gagging reflex looking at the girls. Vidhan agreed to him and shivered in disgust hearing both the girls talk about their non-existent love.

"If these shit show continues, I'd be forced to burn down those damn books these two read" Vidham complained looking at how Pahel and Antra were so lost in their talks that they forgot about their brothers.

"I swear" Ridham agreed and soon the waiter came with their dinner. They pulled the girls down and changed the topic of discussion.

"Don't feel bad about mum's slap" Vidhan pulled Pahel on side and murmured in her ear.

"Hmm" Pahel looked at him with sad eyes and nodded her head.

"She didn't mean anything bad, she's just so MOM!" Vidhan explained to her.

"She always sees the bad in me first yaar. Today Princy called and she looked at me accusingly then she slapped me in Princy's office. The slap...okay fine I know I was a little over but she never understands me" Pahel looked at him and ranted.

"Trust me Pihu she does see the good in you first and also understands you better than you understand yourself. She's mum so she thinks that she has to over react at things that are concerned to us. And and if you feel that she doesn't understnad you then tell her on her face that you don't like it when she does that" Vidhan pulled her closer to him by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I am poor at communication if you forgot" She glared at him.

"Then improve those skills so we can understand you better and you can help us understand better" Vidhan looked at her warmly as they crossed the street.

"Its not easy as you make it look. Its just that... I don't know how I should express what I feel" She said looking at him knowing that he always had answers to her problems.

"Pihu... you just give us a hint and we will catch on it. Don't exert yourself into expressing yourself, let it be a natural process" Vidhan said making her stand in front of him.

"You'll catch it na?" She held his and tightly.

"You know I've always caught it so what makes you think I won't in future" He pulled her close and hugged her tightly showing that he had always got her back.

"I know the reason behind your Goon behaviour Pihu. It wasn't your burden to carry sissy" He whispered in her ear and she went stiff.

"She did it because she was weak and couldn't fight the world but you can, not with your violence but with your strong mind" He kissed her forehead and smiled. Pahel clutched his t-shirt in her fist and hugged him tightly staying silent.

On the contrary, Antra held Ridham's hand as they crossed the street.

"Am not a child that you need to hold my hand when we cross" Ridham said smiling. Antra rolled her eyes and remained silent.

"How bad does it hurt?" Ridham asked in a low tone and felt her grip on his hand tighten.

"No lies with me Ani" He said making her look at him.

"It hurts a lot. If he didn't like me then he should have said no and left me but why did he have to mock my feelings?" She looked up at him with teary gaze.

"Ohh my twinnie" Ridham pulled her in a hug as she balanced her tears when she felt the comfort of his warmth.

"Do you want me to teach him a lesson?" He asked softly knowing that his twin was the most sensitive one amongst them. She refused and kept hugging him.

"You don't need a man to love you Ani, you are capable of loving yourself enough. Do you know why we love someone?" He asked her making her look at him curiously.

"We don't love someone because we need them to make us feel loved, we love them because we see the companion in them who is going to stick by us through all the thick and thins and that is exactly what your heroes in the books do. They support each other when they need it the most. We love someone so we can hold their hand and roam through the huge world knowing that if you ever get lost on the road, atleast you have them" Ridham explained to her in the words she understood better.

"Scumbags like Harsh will come and go because like it is shown in your favourite movie Jab we met, you need to go through Anshuman phase to meet your Aditya" He smiled at her and pulled her cheeks which made her laugh. Both of them hugged each other smiling knowing that if one fell the other would catch them.