7 days

DAY SIX ( Part Two)

POV: Shubman Gill

Shubman doesn't remember much of how he got home. All he remembers was listening to Ishaan's heartbeat as he rested against his chest.  He remembers being carried into the room by Ishaan, he remembers how Ishaan whispered sweet nothings in his ear as he laid him down in bed, and that was it.

Shubman stirred in his sleep and woke up uneasily. There was a piercing pain in his hand. He looked properly and realized that there was a cannula, the doctor must have started fluids. He let out a groan and tried to sit up.

‘ babe, don't get up!’ Ishaan quickly came towards him.

Shubman pouted.

‘ I know you don't like needles, it will be over in a few minutes’ Ishaan whispered and ran his fingers through Shubman's hair.

‘ It hurts’ he sniffled.

‘ I'm sorry baby. You will feel better once it's done’ Ishaan said adjusting the blanket.

Shubman hesitantly nodded and closed his eyes. He fell asleep again and woke up in the evening, to the sound of rain.

Shubman was out cold for hours. He felt fuzzy. He looked at his hands to see a little bandage on it, they must have removed the cannula.

‘ Ishu?’ he called out.

Ishaan poked his head out of the bathroom.

‘ two minutes, love’

‘ Simran Di is coming with dinner,’ Ishaan said as he came out.

Shubman nodded and continued to watch Ishaan as he walked around the room shirtless, the towel wrapped around his waist. His heart skipped a beat.

‘ Ishu?’

Ishaan turned around and saw Shubman opening his arms towards him. Ishaan smiled and got into bed and hugged him.

‘ I'm sorry’ Shubman whispered against his neck.

‘ it's okay.’

Shubman melted into Ishaan's arm.

‘ why are you so kind to me’

‘ because I like you’

‘ Why do you like me?’

‘ Just…I just like you '’ Ishaan laughed.

“Kyun tu acha lagta hai waqt mila to sochen ge,
Tujh me kya kya dekha hai waqt mila to sochen ge”

‘ Why do I like you? I will think of a reason when I get the time.
‘ What did I see in you? I will think of it, when I get the time’

Ishaan lifted Shubman's chin up and pressed his forehead against his. Shubman ran his fingers up Ishaan's chest and grabbed his neck, pulling him into a kiss. He felt a raw hunger. He kissed Ishaan violently till they were both out of breath.

‘ Babe… we can't…you need to, you need to rest’ Ishaan said breathlessly.

Shubman shook his head and pulled him into a kiss again. A messy kiss, till Ishaan was moaning into his mouth. Shubman felt greedy, he didn't want Ishaan to be away from him even for a second anymore. He didn't want anyone else's shadow to fall on Ishaan. Ishaan was his, all his.

‘ babe… hold..’ Ishaan said, pulling away to pick up his ringing phone.

‘ Wait, are you serious?’
‘ Yeah, I cannot wait. …Tonight???’
‘ definitely. I can't say no to this’
‘ Who else? Oh…alright’
‘ see you soon’

Shubman watched in confusion as Ishaan excitedly talked on the phone.

‘ Are you going somewhere?’ he hesitantly asked.

‘ I got a chance to work with Abhinav Mishra! It's an on location photoshoot in Delhi’ Ishaan looked thrilled.

Shubman frowned. Why is he leaving him, when he's sick.

‘ Are they paying a lot?’

‘ I don't know babe, anyways it's not about the money, it's about the work, the exposure’ Ishaan said as he got off the bed.

‘ What work? You just have to pose…anyone can do it’ Shubman mumbled in anger.

Ishaan stopped in his tracks for a second, but didn't say anything. Shubman saw his shoulder stiffen in anger and instantly regretted it. Shubman opened his mouth to apologize, but the words refused to leave his tongue, he just watched Ishaan go to the walk-in closet.

Shubman chewed on his bottom lip as he wondered what to do, but the sound of Ishaan's phone getting multiple texts distracted him. Annoyed, he took the phone and looked at it. Both of them knew each other's passwords, but they never had anything to hide from one another. Shubman opened the texts and immediately felt a surge of anger from what he saw.

Texts from Shreyas:

‘ heard the news? Abhinav Mishra bro!’

‘ by the way, will your psycho boyfriend let you go with us?’

‘PS. Still angry at what you did’

Shubman saw red. He hated every fiber of Shreyas being. His existence was nonsense to Shubman. He gripped the bedsheet furiously and looked at the other texts.

Texts from Aditi.

‘ ISHAAN, I AM COMING TO DELHI TOOOO’

‘ I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT I GOT INCLUDED IN THE TEAM AS WELL.’

‘ Honestly it's all because of you. You talked to the team about giving me a chance, and now here we are!’

‘ As a thank you gift, I will buy you ice cream at India gate’

‘ Just like old times’

‘ She's just trying to claw her way back into Ishaan's life huh. I bet that loser Shreyas is going to help her too,’ Shubman thought to himself.

‘Is this really about the photoshoot, or is this something else?’ Shubman asked, walking into the closet.

Ishaan stopped packing and looked at him, confused.

‘ what?’

‘ Shreyas is going too, so is Aditi?’

‘how do you know that?’ Ishaan questioned walking towards him.

‘Must be nice being able to recreate moments with your old “ friend” for “old times sake” ’ Shubman said sarcastically.

Ishaan's eyes widened as he realized how Shubman knew.

‘ YOU WENT THROUGH MY PHONE?’ Ishaan shouted at him.

‘ You are going off with that characterless Shreyas and that Aditi, while I'm sick, and you have a problem with me reading your texts?’ he shouted back.

Ishaan let out a groan and covered his face.

‘ Shubman, both of them and I, we work for the same company. We are going to get together on the same projects’ he tried to explain.

‘ I don't know anything about that, I don't want you to go. Whatever they are paying you for that trip. I will pay double,’ Shubman stubbornly said.

Ishaan stared at him in shock.

‘ you cannot be fucking serious’ Ishaan muttered in disbelief.

Ishaan stared at Shubman standing in the doorway, with his arms folded across his chest. With a deep breath, he took his packed bags and tried to walk out.

‘ ISHAAN!’ Shubman tried to hold his hands.

‘ Don't!’ Ishaan said, turning around, his finger pointed at Shubman.

Shubman blinked rapidly trying to hide his anger, the sadness, the desperation, the jealousy he felt.

‘ Don't make me regret my choice’ Ishaan said and walked out of the room leaving Shubman to fight back his tears.