rematch | ishman

CH: 15

Shubman woke up to find Ishan curled up against his chest. He cautiously shifted away a bit, worried that his racing heart might wake Ishan from his sleep.

Unfortunately, he also noticed Mayank looming over him, glaring intently. Shubman almost shrieked.

“How did you get in?!” he shouted in a hushed voice.

“You think it’s my first time getting locked out of my own room?” Mayank retorted, rolling his eyes.

“Then why didn't you come last night?” Shubman asked, slowly getting out of bed, causing Ishan to stir in his sleep a little. He mentally cooed at the sight of Ishan wrapping his hands around the pillow habitually.

Darned pillow, getting to cuddle his best friend for three years. Tch.

“Thought I should give your other best friend some company,” Mayank snorted. Was it purely for self-interest reasons? Yes. Did anyone need to know about it? No.

"Crap," Shubman muttered, realizing he might have ditched the boy last night. His face lit up with a mischievous grin as he asked, “Is he still sleeping?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Abhi, I’m coming, baby!” Shubman sang dramatically before dashing out of the room, armed with the perfect idea to wake him up.

Mayank shrugged it off, then turned to a sleeping Ishan. The boy jolted awake when Mayank almost kicked him out of the bed.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Ishan demanded, his eyes darting around nervously, as if scouring for any signs of a potential raid.

Mayank only smirked. “Race you to the mess,” he declared before taking off.

“Wait, what?” It took Ishan a moment to reboot his brain for the day before he exclaimed, “You fucker–!”

After freshening up and throwing on a shirt (did he sleep shirtless?), Ishan stomped down the hallway with an annoyed glare before he bumped into Aditi, who could easily be mistaken for an angel this early in the morning.

"Aren't you supposed to have today off?" Ishan asked, a smile quickly spreading across his lips.

Aditi was about to mention that she had some work with Rohit, but then she paused, her dimples popping off cheekily. “That's exactly why I’m here. Let’s go.”

Ishan rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Um, where to?”

“On a date.”

Ishan blinked, feeling a blush slowly creeping into his cheeks. “N-now? Just like that?”

“You got any problem?” Aditi asked, crossing her arms.

Ishan glanced down at himself, mentally cringing at his outfit. He sighed and smiled up at her. “No, ma’am.”

“Where’s Ishu baby?” Hardik asked, munching on a carrot.

“Not a baby anymore, Harry,” Rishabh said with a snicker. “He’s on a date.”

Surya whistled. “Finally.”

Shubman frowned, looking up from his plate. “What do you mean finally?”

"You see, Ishan has had this not-so-subtle crush on Aditi for almost a year now," Rishabh explained. "But he is a total wuss, so I guess she stepped up the game herself.”

"Oh." Shubman wasn't sure how to feel about his best friend not sharing his love life with him. To be fair, they hadn't been on talking terms for three years, but Ishan could have mentioned it when they started talking again a few weeks back!