One Shots #VariaSquad

Certifiably Insane (About You)

Alia P.O.V. 

I glared out at the idiot stood bare chested in the snow, posing for a picture to post on his Instagram. Negative 3 degrees and he gets it into his head that it would be a good idea to show off, put himself at risk of hypothermia, all for the sake of one bloody click. One bloody click that turned into ten because he'd asked Kunal to take it and Kunal really had no idea how to correctly capture the glory that is Varun Dhawan's Greek-God-like body on camera. 

The longer they stood there, the more frustrated I got with them both, wondering how long it could possibly take them to just click a simple photo. It had already been five minutes since Abhi had called cut, two of which we'd spent huddled in blankets, peering over shoulders as the team watched the take on the monitors before Varun decided he didn't want to watch the take and thought it would be fun to show off his bare body for the whole world to see - which would be completely standard for him except for the fact that he wasn't in a gym or his own house or on an enclosed set where the temperature is regulated. No, we were in Kashmir, in the middle of an open space which made the bite of the chill wind that much worse, and did I mention it was negative three degrees? 

Standing exposed in temperatures like that could likely kill a man pretty fast but, as always, Varun had no regard for his own wellbeing. 

I probably should cut him a little slack. I mean, I've known the guy for almost eight years now, I'm familiar enough with him to know that he finds it extremely hard to sit still between takes, always finding new ways to expend his energy, but at that moment, I was too busy being mad at him and his blatant disregard for how stupid stunts could effect his health. He genuinely seems to think himself invincible at times and it frustrates me to no end because, time and again, he's been proved wrong and one of these days, it may well end up getting him into some serious shit. 

More than frustrated, I was worried. His acting-fuelled adrenaline rush would only last so long before he'd begin to feel the cold and, as soon as he did, he'd probably pass out. Which would delay our shoot by at least a day and potentially set everything else off schedule. It's not like I was worried about him for any reason other than professional interest in his wellbeing, no way. 

It was only professional courtesy for me to get up from my sheltered, warm seat and cross to the spot where Varun and Kunal were stood, both of them looking at the picture displayed on the screen of the phone in Kunal's hand, discussing what was wrong with it, and tell him to hand it over and let me take the picture. After all, it was in the best interest of everyone present to prevent Varun from passing out, especially me - because I had better things to do than wait around for a day or two for him to recover of course. 

Or at least that's what I told myself as I took the phone from Kunal and instructed my four-time co-star to pose, positioning him to get the best light easily before hitting the capture button on his phone and handing it back to him without a word. I didn't wait to see if he approved of it or not before I made my way back to the shielded area of set behind the cameras, aware that he almost always found the pictures I took of him post-worthy. 

It didn't surprise me in the slightest that he caught up to me before I'd made it halfway there, jogging both to catch up to me and to keep some warmth in his body. A mostly comparable silence followed us to our seats, neither of us saying anything even when we were seated. 

The cold had finally started to settle in for him, shivers running through his body as he pulled on a shirt and jacket, not stopping even then. Rolling my eyes, I chucked him one of the spare blankets piled on the chair next to mine, acknowledging his nod of thanks with another eye roll and a small smile that escaped without my permission. He took that to mean I wasn't too angry with him and attempted a smile back, the effect ruined by his clattering teeth. 'A-alu, I'm c-c-cold,' he stuttered after a moment, receiving his third consecutive eye roll from me in response.