HEAVEN- [ Shubman Gill X Sara Tendulkar]

The Fellow Angel

If  he thought  being  in State U19 team was competitive,  India A, team for U19 world cup was a different  ball game altogether.

There were two teams- India A and India B, there was constant pressure upon those in team A to prove themselves  for staying  in that team. Every player in India B was looking  for just one chance to be in India A.

Among this cut throat competition and constant demand to prove themselves, he had found a new friend, Ishan. Abhishek was one always one of the popular guys. It was not that he had forgotten about Shubman completely,  but he choose to spend more time with the popular guys, who shared his interest in Booze and Women. Being in India A, had made them quite popular. They had to attend  social events, where plenty on girls would throw themselves at them. Shubman had learned already that a pretty face meant nothing  without  a good heart, and preferred to remain aloof most of the time.

Shubman  was being his awkward self, silently  observing  the other members in the dinning hall interacting  with each other, When this small guy out of nowhere comes and bombards him with questions, asking  about his district  team, family,  home town. Shubman's  responses were clipped initially  as he learned the hard way, how rare trust was.

However, gradually  as the days progressed he realised Ishan was a good guy  inside out. Their friendship progressed fast and soon Shubman found himself  sharing  a room with Ishan. He was staying  in Ishan's room throughout  the day, so they had decided  that it would  be better if he shifted there permanently.

After that they never looked back. They had found  their shared love for video games, and often found themselves partnering up for a Call of Duty game, hurling curses against the opponents, strategizing on how to win, who was to fire and who had to save the flag, needless to say their partnership  was lethal both on and off field.

He had told Sara about Ishan on the very first day, those two met. Sara was glad that shubman  was fitting in just fine and had even made a new friend.  With jealousy, back bitting,  intense competition,  she had a fair idea how difficult  it was to make friends.

Practice  was hard, there was intense competition,  but shubman found himself  happier these days, with Sara and Ishan by his side, supporting him throughout.

The only thing bothering was finding a balance between spending time with Sara and Ishan. Ishan was a early to bed kind of guy, this made it easier for him to call Sara, after Ishan had fallen asleep.

This had been the routine for the past two months, however, as the team had bonded among themselves,  there were frequent game Nights, where Ishan being  a social butterfly,  was obviously  invited, so was Shubman. Ishan stayed past midnight, while shubman pretended that he was sleepy, and escaped to their shared room to call Sara, who who'd  be eagerly  waiting  for his call.

It was only night, when he was feeling  sick, he had choosen to cover himself  with the blanket, while he laid in bed talking to Sara.

"Haan yrr, tabiyat thik ho jayegi, ye bearish me bhi khel rhe the isliye ho gya, tum fikr mat Karo, so jao aram se, it's midnight." Shubman said in a slurred voice, a result of the cough syrup he had taken.

"You downplay your injuries everytime, of course I'm worried" Sara replied promptly.

"Tum ye choro, Alina ka kya hua, tum bta rhi thi na uski setting ho gyi" Shubman diverted the conversation.

"Haan Haan,  wo to bolna bhul gyi, setting  nhi yrr, friends with benefits bolte h usko" Sara corrected him.

"Wo ladke ko pasand karti thi na, phir ye friends kyu bni, relationship me ana chahiye tha na" Shubman asked inquisitively.