Did You Know Me? (Shubman Gill x Ishan Kishan)

Courage

This time Ishan could not have failed to hear him, because Shreyas, who also had his headphones on and usually had the volume turned right up, and was sitting four seats away, heard.

"What?" Shreyas motioned at Shubman.

Shubman shook his head, very conscious of how everyone around was looking at the pair of them.

"Ish, you know you can't ignore me forever, right? Just hear me out once....or damn it, look at me once." 

Ishan balled his fists. And did not look up.

"If you won't listen the normal way...." Shubman yanked at his headphones.

Ishan flinched back at the touch, like he had been burnt. Like he was physically hurt.

Suddenly Shubman felt like he had been burnt, too.

No, that would have been easier.

Being burnt would have been easier than seeing Ishan flinching away from him like his touch was poison.

Shubman fled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was no change in Ishan's stance over the whole ceremony in Delhi.

In spite of their teams' continuous efforts to get their minds off it, Ishan lurked in the corner of the hall with his headphones still on and Shubman paced back and forth, desperately trying to think of a solution to this disaster. He kept looking at Ishan, hoping just that his friend would look back at him once, but he did not.

I have to persist, he said to himself. If I keep pestering him, he's bound to open his mouth, even if to shout.

And again, he found himself desperately short of courage. The thought of Ishan giving him the cold shoulder again kept him back every time he started to walk in his direction.

He would take two steps. Stop. Come back again.

Two steps again. Stop. Back again.

Three steps. Good progress. Another. No. Go back. Go back.

"You're acting like a maniac," said Hardik.

"Thank you for your opinion!" said Shubman acidly.

Hardik raised his hands and backed off.

Two steps. Three. Four. Five...

"Hey Shubman!"

Startled, Shubman turned. It was Sara, smiling at him.

"How are you? Papa didn't allow to go into the party yesterday, so I never got the chance to say congratulations."

"What? Oh...for the....the World Cup, yeah...."

Sara's smile faded slightly.

"You don't look okay," she said. "Do you, um, want to talk?"

"No, it's all right," said Shubman. "Talking isn't going to help anything."

"Shit, did something happen?"

Shubman's eyes found Ishan again. "I'll-I'll see you later, Sara."

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps....

This time, he was finally standing in front of Ishan. 

To his surprise, Ishan removed the headphones. Shubman preferred to focus on that and ignore the hostile look in  Ishan's eyes.

"What happened to you now, blowing Sara off?" said Ishan bitterly. "Realized we're not all use and throw commodities in Shubman-and-Sara world, have you?"

"Ishan," pleaded Shubman. "I'm sorry, I've been trying to tell you since morning, I'm so, so sorry...."

"Too late," said Ishan. "Sorry isn't going to change anything."

"Well, it has to! Tell me what I can do to-"

"Undo it? Make us forget it? You know, I don't quite think that's possible."

"Don't be stupid," said Shubman impatiently. "We can't-"

"I hate you so much, Shubman," said Ishan in a strange voice, like he was realizing it himself. "I hate you so much it's like....like I've never hated anyone half of this in my life."

Shubman's head hurt.

"You don't hate me," he said. "You can't possibly hate me."

"Didn't you hate Sara for like two years even when she just turned you down nicely?"

The analogy made Shubman feel the colour leaving his face.

"That's different," he protested. "You and I are best friends, we're a lot closer than she and I ever could've been."

Ishan stuffed the headphones in his ears again and walked away.