"look, i don't care what you do when you're off the clock but skipping practice the next morning is not done haan, shubi," virat chides.
ishan's eyes meet with rohit's, who is standing at the back by the weights. the latter waves in a manner of saying, "don't look at me, i can't help."
"ishan also," virat adds. "try to be more responsible, you two, okay?"
shubman and ishan nod like puppies with their ears down. it's a good thing virat is not mad at them.
"now go and do push-ups until i finish my work out."
shubman pouts. "but you work out for too long."
"rohit, will you look at this young blood? where's all that testosterone going, gill?"
that shuts shubman up. ishan snickers.
"ishan, you come here with me," rohit says. ishan scurries off to him.
"this is not fair! shouldn't we both be punished?" shubman complains.
"i'm not calling him to gossip, shubman," rohit says. "he'll work out with me."
"virat bhai, work out with me too!"
"no, i prefer to work out alone," virat says, putting in his airpods.
shubman pouts again. "i'll get lonely."
rohit gives him a bored look. "you can stay alive without ishan for an hour or two, alright, shubi?"
ishan shoots a thumbs up in shubman's direction.
"he looks too happy to leave, tch," shubman thinks in pettiness.
ishan turns to look at shubman staring at him with quite an adorable frown.
ishan blows him a kiss, followed by a wink and a cheeky grin.
shubman gets flustered and walks off to the side quickly. ishan acts cute sometimes.
shubman finds himself taking glances at ishan during his workout. his muscles seem more defined. and he looks so focused when he's stretching. a concentrated ishan sure could make a girl not take her eyes off him. shubman can't too.
err...yeah. he's just observing.
shubman's head clears up slowly as he sweats it out. unfortunately, that means he's regaining a few hazy memories of last night.
now that he thinks, it was so impulsive of him to just sleep with a random woman like that. he's not proud of his actions but what's done is done.
shubman wonders why he had the urge to go to such an extent anyway. yes, something's been bothering him lately but it's not like having sex solved it. in fact, shubman doesn't even really care about last night. it momentarily took his mind off from something and gave him a short lasting bliss but that's it really.
he had more fun with ishan after returning to their room to be honest.
wait, what?
no, he didn't get to meet ishan last night. the guy was out partying.
but he's missing out something. shubman is pretty sure he was not alone in the room last night. well, that is creepy.
they're both let off after two hours at the gym.
"earned yourselves a lunch, good job, boys," virat had said with a chuckle.
ishan and shubman pumped their fists in the air. they hugged each other in celebration, being dramatic.
now they don't feel the guilt of skipping practice.
"wanna head for some coffee?" shubman asks.
"will have to pass, sorry man. i got to meet her."
"oh, aditi?"
ishan nods. "she needs some company for shopping, she says."
shubman chuckles. "isn't that what couples do?"
ishan waves him off. "move it, gill."
"alright, alright. bye," he gives ishan a side hug as they part ways.
rohit and virat have a meeting with the board so everyone has their afternoon off, and shubman is bored out of his mind. he has already been to half the team's rooms to find someone as unoccupied as him.
good thing surya exists.
"i can't believe you're married when you spend all your time cooped up in your room," shubman says as he enters.
"hello to you too mr. can't be in a relationship because he's obsessed with ishan," surya says without looking up from his phone.
shubman groans as he plops down next to surya. "im not obsessed with him. he left me to go shopping!"
"you just denied and proved my words in the same line, bravo."
shubman tugs at surya's sleeves. "hey, let's hang out."
"we are hanging out right now."
"well, this 'hang out' feels very one-sided to me since you're just scrolling instagram. you're not even listening to me, are you?"
"hmm."
"oi!" shubman bumps surya's elbow to get his attention.
surya sighs and puts down his phone.
"i'll keep my room locked from now on."
"bhai, let's go to the mall."
"mall? who even goes to mall anymore?"
"people, surya bhai, people."
"like a normal mall? no way, we're gonna get mobbed and the paparazzi will be there in no time."
well, that's true.
"nothing could go wrong with a hoodie, cap, shades and a mask," shubman says.
"nah, the mask will make it more suspicious. this is not tokyo or seoul."
shubman gets up to grab his clothes. "alright then. let's get ready. i'll be back in five, c'mon, be quick!"
surya sighs to himself. "he's such a kid."
"hey, i think that girl has been staring at us for too long now. stop smiling, your dimples give it away!"
surya and shubman walk off in another direction to avoid...keen observers.
"why are we even here?"
"let's watch a movie," shubman suggests.
"eh. alright, i'll go get tickets. you go and get food."
surya shouldn't have trusted the guy because when he's back, shubman is nowhere to be seen.
it's totally a coincidence that ishan decided to go to the same mall. it's not like shubman knew about it.
he's about to go say hi but hesitates once he sees aditi next to him, their arms interlinked. maybe he shouldn't interrupt their private time.
ishan doesn't really talk a lot about aditi. he just says that they're getting to know each other, whatever that means. hasn't it been a few years already, though?
so shubman decides to observe them. observe, mind you, not follow.
so here he is now, inside the hall, sitting two rows behind them. dammit, he totally forgot about surya. he takes out his phone to text the man who'll probably never hang out with him again.
surya: dude where are you
surya: wtf
surya: i look like a total loser with two tickets and no friends
shubman: SO SORRY OMG
shubman: susu karne gya tha
surya: jhuth mat boliyo beta
surya: did you get mobbed???
shubman: no no im watching the movie rn
surya: wtf
shubman: just come up here already
shubman has to turn on his flashlight to signal surya, who eventually finds him.
"no one has ever ghosted me like that, you little shit-" surya begins to say once he's seated.
"ssh! ishan is sitting right there, he'll recognize your voice."
a confused surya looks at where he's pointing. then he smacks shubman.
"so this is why you disappeared. wait, did you plan this?"
shubman shakes his head. "coincidence."
surya scoffs. "can i just leave now then, since your boyfriend is here."
shubman points at ishan's direction again. "look, he's not alone."
"oh. looks like your boyfriend is out with his girlfriend, buddy."
"she's not his girlfriend," shubman says, a little too quickly.
surya can't believe this guy, he's so dumb. "yeah, alright, situationship or whatever the fuck. back in my days, we just called it a relationship."
shubman can't really focus on the movie, it's not all that interesting anyway. most of the hall is empty, which is good for them though. twenty minutes in and surya had already put on his airpods and started doom scrolling again.
shubman looks at ishan, who seems to be laughing at something aditi said. because they aren't paying attention to the movie either. shubman knows this because he's sneaked one too many glances at them until now.
aditi's hand reaches out to ruffle ishan's hair.
shubman knows ishan's hair is really soft. he's letting his wavy strands grow out a little, he looks good with it.
aditi rests her head on his shoulder. shubman wants to see ishan's reaction. the guy is probably blushing. now that he thinks, he hasn't really seen ishan blush. he barely gets flustered by anything.
surya looks at shubman. "one'd think people pay for movies to watch them. yet, here i am babysitting you while you watch ishan like a creepy stalker."
"hey, im not stalking him!" he defends himself. "im just trying to know about what's going on in his love life since he won't tell me."
surya shakes his head and returns to his phone. shubman turns his gaze back to the pair.
it all happens too quick. he sees ishan leaning towards aditi for what obviously looks like a kiss. something churns in shubman's stomach. he feels a strange sense of anxiety. he doesn't want to see what happens next. he doesn't want to see ishan and aditi kiss right in front of him.
or maybe. just maybe.
he doesn't want ishan and aditi to kiss at all.
"wait!" shubman yells out before his mind can register.
ishan and aditi break apart because of the sudden loud interruption.
surya looks at shubman with a resigned look. shubman fumbles with his words for a few seconds, but ishan and aditi have turned to look at him now.
"uhhh...hi ishan!" he says, like an idiot.
"is that- shubi, is that you?!" ishan pulls out his flashlight to take a proper look.
"and surya bhai? why are you two dressed like that?"
surya shrugs. "ask your best friend, ishan. it was his plan."
shubman smiles sheepishly. "i, uhm, yeah, i wanted to watch a movie. good to see you here, bro! and uh, your...companion."
aditi sends a polite nod in his way. ishan is all too confused with the sudden situation but he doesn't think too much about it.
"let's go back together after this," ishan says before turning back. him and aditi don't have any physical contact for the remaining of the movie.
surya slings an arm around shubman. "he's going to end up alone because of you."
shubman is so done with himself. he wants to disappear into the air.
-x-
author's word:
jealousy era officially starts with this chp my friends.
writing scenes with surya in them is so fun lmao. also, this chp was a wee bit longer than usual (almost 1700 words! normally, it's around 1200)
i'll need some time for the next chapter because things will pace up a lil there.
btw, i just realized that there are over 2k views on this story!!! that's a pleasant surprise tbh im only writing for fun. i don't even have a plan for the plot lol. nonetheless, thanks for reading! byeee ✧