Destined hearts (Ishan x Shubman)

5.

It was supposed to be a warm afternoon but somehow the sky was filled with dark clouds, rumbling quietly once in a while. The cold breeze was blowing in a gentle rhythm, ruffling the tree leaves in the college campus along with Ishan's hair that were tied in a messy man bun as he stared at the big clouds with a small smile.

He quietly hummed along to the song playing in his earpods, feeling an odd sense of calmness washing over him as he traced the patterns of the clouds with his eyes. The garden is his most favourite place in the whole campus, he loves sitting here in breaks.

"Hey,"

Ishan looked at Shubman, who approached him with a wide smile causing him to smile widely as well.

"Sorry, I'm late," Shubman muttered, sitting beside him on the bench as Ishan took out his earpods.

"What are you listening to?" Shubman asked.

Ishan smiled, disconnecting his airpods with the phone and "Tera mujhse" by Kishore Kumar started playing.

"Ah, I love this song," Shubman smiled, "I thought you would be listening to another one of your loud and obnoxious Bhojpuri songs."

Ishan rolled his eyes, "First of all, my Bhojpuri songs are not obnoxious, they're a vibe."

"And, second they're not the only thing I listen to, my music taste is very wide," He added.

Shubman chuckled, "Okay, got it, boss."

Ishan lowered the volume of the song, placing it on the bench, the gentle and low humming of the song created an illusion of it being played in a distance but still feeling very close at the same time.

"I got you the book," Shubman mumbled, rummaging through his bag to take out a book and handing it to Ishan.

Ishan flipped through the pages of the old book, smiling softly when his eyes located a dry rose between the pages. It was a book he really wanted to read for a long time but couldn't find it anywhere. Fortunately Shubman had the book in his collection and he told Ishan he could have it.

Closing the book, Ishan looked at Shubman with a smile, "Thank you, I'll return it as soon as I'm finished reading."

"Take your time," Shubman muttered, already looking at him.

Ishan chuckled, softly turning Shubman's face away with his hand when the latter kept staring. Following the past two weeks since Shubman came to the college, they have been spending a lot of time together, regularly going to the library after classes and sometimes going to grab coffee afterwards. In their time together, they often found themselves gazing at one another, like captivated by the mere presence of the other one, without even their knowledge, that's why even though it was still a little strange, the staring didn't feel awkward anymore.

"Are you all packed for the trip?" Shubman asked.

"Pretty much."

"Wait, what about Mishti though?"

"My brother lives here as well, I'll leave her to his care."

"Hmm, great," Shubman smiled, leaning back on the bench. A small silence engulfed them as they admired the serenity around them.

Ishan looked up at the sky as he felt a raindrop falling on his face.

"It's gonna rain," He mumbled, a smile appearing on his face. He loved rain. So much.

"Let's go inside then," Shubman suggested.

"No, I'm done with my classes for the day. I'll just go home," Ishan said, placing his phone and the book inside his bag and zipping it.