A/N: Thank you so much, readers! Living the dream had crossed 2.5k reads. That means a lot to me❤️

|AUTHOR|

Veer lunged at Mihir with a deathly growl. "God damn it! Is he out of his mind!!?" Kabir screeched into the earpiece. Meera snarled cursing under her breath. Veer started punching the vile man. Mihir Desai didn't even seem phased.

His face was bleeding but the triumph smile on his face stayed intact. "Boys!" He hollered when Veer stopped punching him for a second. Meera and Kabir ran into the warehouse. Tanya cried and tackled Meera hugging her tightly.

"I'm so glad you are here!" She sobbed against Meera's chest. Meera sighed, caressing the girl's back. "Tanny! Get away from here! We're going to take care of this and meet you as soon as possible okay?"

"But Di! I have taken self-defense classes! I can help you!" Meera and Kabir cursed under their breaths when eight hunky, horrible but strong-looking men entered from their hiding spots.

Veer growled in frustration and pulled Mihir into a standing position. "You bastard! I'm going to kill you today, with my bare hands!!" Meera muttered, "Oh Fuck!" She held Tanya by her shoulders. "Tanya go! This is not the time! Just go out and lock yourself in the car. Don't worry the windows are tainted!"

She handed her the keys and also an extra Bluetooth. "Here! Take this! Stay connected with us! Call for us if anything happens!" Tanya wanted to protest but she decided to follow Meera's instructions.

Kabir on the other hand had finally managed to pull Veer away from Mihir. Tanya ran out of the warehouse towards the car before anyone could notice her. Meera ran towards Veer and glared at him. She shoved his chest.

"Are you fucking insane?" Veer scoffed pushing her away. "Shut up! I'm going to kill him!" He was about to lunge at Mihir who was now surrounded by his goons, Meera hissed restraining him from doing something stupid. Mihir rolled his eyes and spat the blood out of his mouth and smirked at the trio that was arguing in front of him.

He clapped his hands to catch their attention. "Woah! This is classic! You not breaking my rules, why am I not surprised?! Boys get the girl!" Veer smirked at him when one of them grimaced informing him that she ran away. Veer was right all along, his supposed father was not at all smart.

"Idiots!!! That's okay! Boys!" He clapped his hands once again and two blurry men came forward from behind the trio. They restrained Meera and Kabir. Before Veer could process what was happening the men who had captured Meera and Kabir held a knife against their throat.

Mihir let out a sinister laugh as Veer growled at him. Meera and Kabir were trying to jerk away but the knife dug more into their respective throats. "Ha! You thought I was dumb! Tell your friends to stop moving else their throats will be slit! This is a nice deal instead of one I get to kill two people who are close to you! I'll like this better."

Veer was about to lunge but Mihir held his palm gesturing him to stop. "It's a simple task Veer. Just hand over the bag and I'll forgive you for hitting me. If you do it without any hassle I'll spare you and your friends." Veer closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He turned to see Meera who was struggling against the huge man.

The urge to kill his birth father intensified by the minute but he needed to do this properly. He remembered what Meera had told him. He was better than his bastard father. His parents were Viraj and Naina, not this asshole.

Veer reminded himself and gave him a curt nod. "Good! Now get the bag and we can be done with this." Veer walked back to where Tanya had been held captive. The bag was right next to the chair she was tied to.

As he passed Meera and Kabir he gave them a discreet nod. They had their guns tucked at the back of their jeans. Meera and Kabir acknowledged his nod subtly. They knew what he meant. Meera stomped the man's foot who held her captive and butted her head against his face. The man groaned letting Meera go. He held his hands against his bleeding nose.

Kabir did the same thing. The men who had held them captive screamed in pain. All three of them removed their guns and pointed them at the bunch of goons who were flanking their boss Mihir. "What made you think I'll give you the money and follow your stupid rules? I'm not a stupid teenager any more daddy dearest!"

Mihir gaped at the trio who had their guns pointed at them. "Guys fire!" Veer shouted. Before Mirhir could get over the shock and command his men. Meera, Veer, and Kabir had shot all his men on their legs. They fell one after the other like dominoes.

Veer smirked at the shocked expression on Mirhir's face. He sprinted towards Mirhir and pointed his gun at him. "Did you forget something? We're part of this country's defenses! It takes a mere second to turn the tables. I don't know how the fuck you got out of jail but from now on I'll make sure you will be locked up there forever! Until your last breath!"  He gritted out each word.

Veer punched his face before he could make a snarky comment. Meera had already called the police. They were already here and throwing all the goons into the huge bus. Veer dragged the unconscious body of Mirhir and threw him into the bus.

Meera sighed sitting on the nearest rock that was next to the bus. The police had raided the warehouse and had found a bounty amount of drugs. These guys were apparently drug smugglers. They had all been on their hit list for a long time now.

"Thank you for your service Captian Veer Gupta! I really appreciate it!" The head inspector saluted and Veer nodded. He reciprocated the action proudly. They discussed how a strong case will be built against him and his men. The inspector assured him that they'll be no way Mihir Desai can come out. He'll be locked up forever.

Tanya sighed and plopped on the ground next to Meera. She leaned her head against her shoulder. "Are you okay Tanny?" Tanya sighed and nodded her head. "I'm fine Di! But, damn I have never seen Bhai so angry before! Like never. He always has this signature scowl on his face but this was like the next level. I thought fire will start coming from his ears!"

Meera laughed at her remark but chose not to comment because she had previously witnessed his temper. In fact, she had been at the receiving end. "Yeah, that's how it's appeared huh! Let's go come on!" Meera nudged Tanya who whined like a little girl.

Meera stood on her feet and pulled Tanya up. Much to her surprise, she found Kabir and Veer addressing the inspector together. She muttered incoherently under her breath while walking towards them.

The inspector thanked her as well. After their statements were taken and everything was sorted. The police van filled with goons drove away, the four of them let out a tired sigh. They weren't physically tired it was just emotionally tiring especially for Veer.

Veer hugged his sister. "Are you okay?" Tanya nodded and buried her face in her older brother's chest. "Thank you, Bhai!" Veer clicked his tongue shaking his head in a disapproving manner. "Tanny, I love you, my baby sister!" Did he hurt you?"

Veer pulled away from her and held her shoulders scrutinizing her face to look for any injuries. "My head hurts a bit and I feel a little dizzy! Other than that I'm fine!" Veer clenched his jaw but controlled his anger. "Fine! Not to worry we'll get you checked in a hospital on the way!"

Meera and Kabir witnessed the scene with a small smile on their faces. Veer turned to face them. He scratched the nape of his neck while Meera gave him an amused look. Veer Gupta after a certain age never thanked anyone. Even if he did it was super rare. He was one hell of a teenager. A rebellious one.

Meera folded her arms across her chest and cleared her throat. Veer groaned and shook his head. "What's going on?" Kabir whispered the question so only Meera could hear. Meera chuckled, "You'll see! Just wait and watch!"

Tanya giggled as well. "Fine jeez! Stop laughing. Ugh thank you Meera and um thanks, Kabir!" He gritted out like he was swallowing acid. Kabir didn't understand but after a few seconds he quickly caught on. He chuckled and nodded his head.

"I'm sorry what did you say? I couldn't hear you!" Meera asked him with a sweet smile. Veer glared at her but he didn't want to make a scene. "Goddamit! I said thank you! Now can we go! I'm sure everyone's wondering where we are!"

Meera smirked at him and nodded her head. "Sure let's go! Kabir do you want to come or go home? I'm sure Mom and Dad would love to see you!" Veer glared at the other man and gave him a challenging look when Meera didn't notice.

Kabir was a bit intimidated by Veer's stare. He looked at him and shook his head. "Uhh, it's okay Meera! We can catch up some other time! There's still a couple of months right?" Meera once again insisted but Kabir politely declined it.

Tanya hugged and thanked Kabir for saving her life. Kabir smiled and ruffled her hair. Veer gave him a curt nod and he was off to his house. Tanya sat in the front seat while Meera sat behind. She fished her phone and unlocked it only to find a million texts and calls from Andy.

Surprisingly none of their parents had called them. Veer drove towards the nearest hospital. They waited outside as one of the nurses tended to her wounds.

Meera sighed and dialed Andy's number who answered the call immediately. "Di! Is she okay? Did you save her? Please tell me you did? Are any of you hurt? Tell me!?!?" Meera let out a huge sigh and sat on the chair.

"I will if you stop screaming for a second!" She hissed into the phone. "Ohh right sorry!" Andy murmured. "Everything is fine! Don't worry, we saved her. We'll be there in a few more minutes! Did anyone notice our absence?"

"What a dumb question Di?! Of course, they did! But, worry not because I came up with an amazing excuse. Ohh, don't forget to bring lunch. Mom's mad because you didn't give her the chance to cook, but other than that everything is under control."

Meera sighed in relief. It's better this way. The elders had enough on their plate as it is. "Ohh thank God! We'll be there in a few. Don't worry! I'll make sure Tanya calls you after a while. Bye, Andy!" Andy sighed in relief after cutting the call with one last bye.

She didn't exactly tell him that there were currently in the hospital. Meera noticed Veer was seated opposite her. He was staring at her intently. He turned his head away when Meera noticed his intense stare.

Veer cleared his throat. "Um, I think you should also go get yourself checked out. Your um neck is bleeding!" Meera blinked her eyes for a few seconds and placed her hand on her neck. She hissed when it stung, she noticed that her hands were now covered with crimson color.

That asshole had pressed the knife hard enough to leave a wound that was bleeding. "Right, then you should also get yourself checked since your knuckles are definitely crying for some attention and care," Meera muttered walking away to the room where Tanya was being treated.

Veer sighed staring at his knuckles which had dried blood on them. They stung when he clenched his fists. Once everyone got their wounds treated they left the hospital. "I think we should go get a change of clothes. We don't exactly look presentable." Tanya muttered.

Veer silently nodded driving towards a mall. Everyone bought a full-hand T-shirt. Meera even bought a jacket to cover up the bandage that was on her neck. They bought some food after which they drove straight to Sister Brenda's house.

The three of them together entered the house only to sense the impending tension. Meera and Veer noticed the glum look on their parent's faces. "Hello people! What's wrong?" Annie shook her head and took the bag containing food from all three of them.

Viraj frowned at the trio. He knew something was wrong but decided to confront his son about this a little later. "Kids where were you? Tanya! Where is your phone? I've been trying to call you for the past few hours. Do you have any idea how crazy I have been going?"

Naina shouted at her daughter and son pulling them both in for a hug. "I'm sorry I kind of lost my phone and my way. Not to worry Bhai and Meera Di found me." Andy sighed in relief and waited eagerly for his turn to greet Meera.

Arjun much like Viraj knew that something else was going on. He narrowed his eyes at them but decided to let it go for now. "Okay stop interrogating them. Three of you come and have lunch. We'll tell you what's been going on!" Annie ordered and the three of them nodded their heads scrambling towards the dining table.

Once they finished eating their parents filled them in about what's been happening. "So here's the thing, Sister Brenda slipped into a coma. We don't know when she'll wake up or if she'll ever wake up. I'm sorry guys. There's nothing the doctor can do." Viraj let out a shaky breath.

Meera and Veer were the ones that had the most painful expressions on their faces. "Seriously, is there nothing you can do? Absolutely nothing??!" Meera shouted while Veer closed his eyes tightly and clenched his bandaged fists.

"I'm sorry! Like I said there's nothing we can do." Viraj once again repeated. Meera sobbed into her palm. Annie rushed towards her daughter and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry Meera! Her time is over. She was a remarkable woman. Who changed so many lives. But, we really can't do anything!"

"So, what exactly are we doing here?" Veer gritted out. Viraj sighed and looked at his wife who gave him an assuring smile. "She had very little time so we're all going to be here."

Veer laughed bitterly glaring at everyone."You mean to stay here until she dies. You are not even going to try  to save her!" Veer stood up, pushing the chair away while shouting at his father.

"Veer! Don't shout!" Naina warned him. Meera sighed and knew right away that he was going to storm out of here. "Veer I did everything I could! There's nothing more you or I can do. I'm sorry it has to end this way."

Veer scoffed and sprinted out of the house. He needed some time to cool down and think rationally. Naina was about to follow her son but Viraj stopped her.

"Let him be Naina. He'll be back soon. Don't worry about it." Naina gulped and nodded her head slowly. Meera let out a tired sigh and sat next to her father on the couch. None of them uttered a single word. They were all grieving in their own way.

|5 days later|

These five days had been the hardest for everyone. Sameer along with Isha and their son arrived a day after they had come. The last ones to arrive were Shail and Neena along with their son. Neel and his family had arrived on the same day as they had come.

Veer stopped talking to everyone. He would only be present here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Meera didn't know what to do. She tried to generate a conversation with Veer but as usual, he gave her the cold shoulder. In one instance he even shouted at her.

None of their parents asked them about what exactly had happened the other day when they had gone searching for Tanya. Which was a huge relief for them.

What concerned everyone the most was Sister Brenda's condition. It was a hard thing to accept but she wasn't getting any better. No one wanted to say this loudly but it was almost like they were waiting for her to pass away.

Meera ran around the park as she recalled what had been going on for the past few days. She ran for a few more minutes until she felt a familiar burn in her muscles. After a few more minutes she sighed sitting on the bench.

Meera and her family have been staying in the house which belonged to her grandmother. Lucky for her Veer wasn't in the same lane. Veer and his family were staying in his grandparent's house.

She hadn't really seen him or even gotten a glimpse of him in the past couple of days. She felt like he was purposely ignoring her. She tried not to let that hurt her but it didn't sting a lot. What made her even madder was the fact that she had helped him rescue his sister just a few days back, yet he was being such an asshole.

She hadn't expected that he would talk to her but what she had expected was a little more cordial behavior. It was like one step forward and three steps backward. To preserve her sanity, she had finally decided to let it go at least for now.

It was a Saturday so the park was more crowded than usual. What caught Meera's attention was that the kids in the park were exchanging bands and wishing each other Happy Friendships day. She sighed sadly and groaned when images started flashing in her mind.

She felt the familiar swirl where she knew she was going to live a long-lost memory. She sighed as she recalled her first friendship day.

|Flashback|

Meera and Veer were five years old. Today was something called friendship day. They didn't understand what it was. They were seated next to each other and stared at the teacher curiously.

She was their favorite teacher Miss Tina. She never scolded them nor did she ever force them to do anything against their will. She would always teach in a manner that included games, coloring, pictures, and lots of fun reading.

Miss Tina stood at the front of the class and clapped her hands together. She had a huge grin on her face. "So children! Can any of you tell me what is so special about today?"

Many of them raised their tiny hands in the air. "Yes, Ram tell me? What is it today?" Ram one of their classmate answered her question. "Ma'am! Today is friendships day! We tie band to friwends!"

Miss Tina chuckled at his cute pronunciation as she nodded her head. "Yes, that is correct! But, there is more to it than just tying bands. A true friend is someone who will always be there for you. No matter what the situation is. Never break promises that you make children. That's a very bad and rude thing to do. Always stay by your friend and support them."

All the kids together chided a loud "Yes ma'am!" She gave them a warm smile. Unlike the other teachers, she thought them how to make a band. Once Veer and Meera finished making it they tied it to each other.

"Happy friendship day Vee!" Meera squealed and hugged her best friend. "Happy friendship day Meewa! You my best friend!" Meera giggled and said he was her best friend as well.

"Vee promise we stay together forever?" She held out her pinkie finger eagerly waiting for Veer's reply. Veer smiled at Meera nodding his head enthusiastically. "Yesh! Of course!" He joined his pinkie with hers promising that they would be best friends forever.

|Flashback Ends|

A tear trickled down her eyes as she recalled the promise. Sighing she wiped her face and shook her head trying to wipe away the images. Only if the promise were true, only if they were still friends.

"Not today Meera! Not today!" She reminded herself and tried to keep her emotions under control. She wiped her face and let out a huge sigh. A little girl who seemed to be about four years old tapped her thigh trying to catch her attention.

Meera smiled at the girl. "Hi!" The girl exclaimed, Meera chuckled and replied with a hi. The girl had big beautiful hazel eyes, two tiny plates adorned her face, he cheeks were chubby and she had cute little lips.

The little girl removed a band from her and passed it to Meera. "Happy friwendship dway!" Meera chuckled taking the band from her tiny fingers. "Thank you, sweet girl! What's your name?"

"My name Ruhi!" Someone called for Ruhi, Meera thought it must be her mother. Ruhi quickly asked Meera to duck her head which she did gladly. The small girl placed a kiss on her cheek and sprinted away to her mother.

Meera smiled and waved her hands once she reached her mother who gave Meera a warm smile. Meera sighed, she traced the pattern of the band. She frowned when it looked familiar but brushed it off thinking it was just a weird coincidence.

Unknown to her Veer smiled at the entire scene. It was he who had asked the little girl to give the band to Meera. He had been a bad friend all these years and today stung the most out of all the days that they had celebrated together. He missed his best friend. But, as usual, he pushed himself away from her. He knew it was best for both him and Meera if they weren't together.

He glanced at Meera one more time and tried to shake away all those feelings. "I'm only doing this to cheer her up! Nothing else! This doesn't mean anything!" He repeated this to himself numerous times while jogging away to his house.

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A/N: Presenting chapter 9! Friends are really precious. If you find true friends hold them tightly and never let them go!

Although Veer did the mistake of letting Meera go I hope he rectifies his mistake soon.

Hope you liked this chapter! If you did please do vote and comment! I would love to know what you guys think!

P.S. I might be sounding a bit pushy but please do vote. It would mean the world to me. Also, there might be some errors please ignore them!