Beauty and the Bodyguard

Chapter 22: Laughing Stock

Ishan knew that he was totally, irrevocably, and utterly fucked the moment Shubman landed in his arms. For a split second, Ishan bent backward, trying to find his footing with a 6 foot drunk giant jumping on him, and in the next moment, he found himself listening to Shubi's rabbiting heartbeat as he was yanked closer to the said giant. His hands automatically wound around Shubman in a lazy circle, but it was nothing compared to the right grip Shubman had on Ishan's neck. Just as Ishan was about to wring out of Shubman's grasp, a strange sensation from above stopped his feet in their place.

He felt a nose ticking his hair, then his ears, slowly making its way down to his neck. As if in a trance, he stretched his neck backward to allow the said nose to continue its ministrations, and Ishan could only close his eyes and let out a shudder as Shubman continued....smelling him?

Ishan could feel the thunder of his heart, could hear the thud-thud of it vibrating in his ear, and Shubman, so close, oh so close, continued trapping Ishan in the cage of his arms, unwilling to put even a breath of space between them. Ishan feared he might die due to lack of oxygen, and just when he thought of luscious lips on his neck, a voice interrupted his haze.

"God, I missed this smell. I feel like I can breathe again. Mmmm....Ishu, Tom Ford, yea? I spend hours huffing it like an idiot, it just calms me down you know, and...."

Ishan yanked himself out of Shubi's arms, and put a hand over his mouth, lest he embarrass himself more.

Shubi knew his perfume? He bought it and inhaled it just because it reminds him of Ishan?

Ishan wanted to break down there and then, he really did, he wanted to beat his chest and cry hoarse, he wanted to ask the universe why it was so cruel, making him fall in love with someone so beautiful, so ethereal, but so out of his reach....

Ishan did none of those things.

Instead, he wiped his tears, and faced a drunk Shubman.

"Shubman, get a grip! How did you manage to get separated from the group? Didn't you think anyone would be worried?"

Shubman's eyes wandered to his quickly, the haze from the alcohol slowly giving way to a desperation that seemed to quickly becoming a part of Shubman himself.

"Were you?"

Irritated, Ishan asked, "Was I what?"

"Were you worried?"

Ishan knew what Shubman was asking, but he refused to rise to the bait.

"EVERYONE was worried, Shubman. What if you got lost or hurt, huh?"

But was Shubman in a mood to be scolded?

No.

Shubman wanted to simply roam around and run around like a headless chicken, security be damned.

So while Ishan was scolding him, Shubman simply tuned him out, and turned his attention to where he had last left Prof. McGonagall.

Only to find she had vanished.

Shubman cried out.

"Oh no, Professor! Where'd you go? Who will take me to Hogwarts now? Professor? Professor?"

Ishan was instantly on guard on hearing Shubman cry out, but after hearing him, he ran over to Shubman quickly, mostly to get him to shut up because he was starting to attract a crowd, and Ishan could do without a headline next day that read:

Foreign lunatics cause havoc over Hogwarts

He caught Shubman by the arm, and kept him in place.