Playing the Game: A Devdutt Padikkal Fanfiction

Chapter 1 - Flights and Hidden Feelings

Ayden's POV

As I stand in line at the airport, excitement starts to creep in. I'm visiting India with Alec, my best friend. We met during our first week at university and got off to a rocky start - owing to my reaction to his slightly full of himself attitude and a lack of geographical awareness, but our mutual love for cricket and chemistry made sure we became best friends. That and the fact that over the first term, he worked on improving his attitude toward learning new things and was a tad bit less vain.

'What's going on today; this line is endless,' Alec comments.

'They might be short-staffed, I want to say I remember reading that somewhere,' I inform.

'Ah that's annoying, we are going to get late for the game!'

'Why are you acting as if we go straight from the airport to the stadium?' I ask, to which I only receive a grin and shove in response.

The reason for the trip to India in the midst of our Spring Term? We secured tickets to an IPL game, where our favourite teams were going up against each other. This would be the first time either of us attended an IPL game live and we were ecstatic, to say the very least.

Slowly but surely, we moved through security and arrived at our gate. I take out my phone to let my mum know that I will be boarding the flight in about 30 minutes when Alec nudges me and shows me the IPL points table on his phone. Currently, both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals were neck and neck, with the latter pulling ahead just slightly on run rate.

'The game is set to be a good one by the looks of this table, no?' I say.

'Yep, I'm pumped!' Alec exclaims and goes back to looking at his phone.

We are called to board not long after and make our way toward the flight. Once we settled our seats, I dozed off thinking about how in 2 days I'd be cheering at the Chinnasawamy in red and gold.

Alexander's POV

The moment we settle down into our seats, Ayden loops her arm around mine and leans on my shoulder. She is terrified of flying and does her absolute best to fall asleep the instant she gets on a plane. I know this not because she's ever mentioned it but because every time we get on a flight, this is the thing she focuses all her energy on.

I've gathered these little pieces of information without even realising; she's had my complete attention since we were first assigned to the same lab group. I think back to the time we both ended up in the student union, during an England v Sri Lanka game, where she was supporting Sri Lanka and I England. Every so often, I'd look over at her; the look of excitement on her face whenever Sri Lanka pulled ahead of the game was so incredible, I found myself quietly rooting for them too.

A smile grows on my face as I think back to the day. On the walk back to our halls was when I found out she is proudly Sri Lankan, uses the word shape to say okay and to ask if I'm okay and her front tooth is slightly crooked but is only visible when she laughs.

That laugh is my favourite thing now, along with her hair that she struggles to contain, her humour that is only slightly dark and her intelligence. At some point between that walk home and today, I fell in love with Ayden but her whole world revolves around guys with long dark eyelashes and crooked smiles.

With my dirty blond hair and blue eyes, I don't hold a torch to the Zayn Maliks and the Devdutt Padikkals she finds oh so attractive and hopes to one day marry. In Aydy's story, I will always be the best friend and I have made my peace with that.

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Hi guys! This is my first attempt at writing a story and I really hope you enjoy it. If you know any cricket fans, or anyone that enjoys a good love triangle, send them this way!

I will update this story as often as possible.

Cheers x