rematch | ishman

CH: 26

"What do you want?"

“You look like shit,” Mayank said, barging into the room. He shoved the sandwiches into Abhishek’s hands, his eyes scanning the messy room. "You haven't slept, have you?”

Abhishek ran a hand through his unruly hair before taking a swig of his Redbull. “The last time I slept, I had to leave Meridian,” he said with a snort.

Mayank wrinkled his nose, snatching the Red Bull from him. "Eat something," he gestured towards the sandwiches.

“I don't remember asking you to run errands for me,” Abhishek muttered, unwrapping one for himself.

“I don't have a paper tomorrow,” Mayank said with a shrug. “And I care about you.”

Abhishek paused mid-chew, staring at Mayank. “Don’t make me lose my appetite,” he groaned.

Mayank chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, goodnight," he muttered after a minute of awkwardly standing there.

“Where are you going?”

“To my room…?”

"You can stay," Abhishek huffed, catching Mayank off guard. Noticing, Abhishek quickly added, "Because I don't want to fall asleep, or I’d really fail this time.”

"Okay," Mayank mumbled, suppressing a smile. "I'll watch over you.”

Abhishek returned to highlighting his notes, giving Mayank a nod and motioning towards the half-eaten sandwich with his pen.

“What?” Mayank asked.

"My hands are busy," Abhishek replied, as if it were obvious.

Mayank bit the inside of his cheek, reminding himself to not laugh. He reached out and took the sandwich, gently feeding it to Abhishek, who glanced up at him, his expression shifting between annoyance and bashfulness.

They sat in comfortable silence for the next hour or two with Mayank scrolling through his phone and occasionally sneaking photos of Abhishek frowning adorably at his books.

“So,” Abhishek spoke first. “About what happened between us…”

“What happened between us?” Mayank asked, raising an amused brow.

Abhishek shot him a glare before clearing his throat. “You know, you told me that…”

“I like you,” Mayank completed. “What about it?”

Abhishek's cheeks flushed crimson. “So, are you going to do something about it or not?” he asked, his tone a mix of irritation and anticipation.

Mayank cautiously moved closer to Abhishek, testing the waters. “You nearly broke your arm last time, Abhi. Do you think you can handle it if I actually do something?”

To subside the sudden nervousness he felt, Abhishek flicked Mayank's forehead, causing the other to let out a small whine.

“See, this is exactly why I can't do anything,” Mayank said with a pout.

“That’s–!” Abhishek cursed as he flopped back onto his pillow. “That’s just how I am, I don't know what I want. Actually, you know what? You're wasting your time, Mayank.”

Mayank sighed and slowly lay down beside him. “What do you think I want?” he asked, causing Abhishek to turn and look at him.

“I don't know,” the other mumbled. “A relationship?”

“And you're scared of getting into one?”

“I’m not... scared,” Abhishek grunted. “Look, we’re not like Ishan and Shubman. We’re not the main characters in some love story where the universe is conspiring to bring them together. We’ll fade into an ordinary epilogue, and we’ll have to choose between living an ordinary life– with or without each other. There's no magic waiting for us.”