Memory Lane (into the wild night) | ishman |

Stressed Out !

"Wait, wait, wait, explain this to me again?" Cookie shouts, almost spitting out her glass of white wine. They'd let Ishan recover from his hangover at the spa, but immediately dragged him to lunch on the terrace, which was on the Casino's dollar, and for the last few minutes listened to Ishan fight through his explanation of why exactly he's still married and penniless. "So, why don't you have the money?"

He rolls his eyes with a loud groan. "Apparently, great news for the gays, but our marriages are so legit everywhere that us divorcing would cause such legal logistic bullshit, that we may not get that money for like a year!"

"That's insane," Sara huffs.

"Yeah! That's what I'm saying," Ishan says indignantly, throwing his hands up.

"So, what? You're just gonna stay married to him?" Hardik asks.

"I don't know! I mean, I don't want to be married, I can't be married, especially not to some stranger!"

"What's so bad about it?" Mayank asks. "You stay married, you split the money."

"And divorce in a few months?" Sara asks.

Mayank purses his lips and nods, "Sure."

"This is so ridiculous, I don't even know him, how do I know I can trust that he will even split the money properly? What if staying married longer causes more problems in the long run?"

The group goes back and forth a few times about some sort of game plan, the merits and downfalls of staying married versus divorcing, or even trying to figure out if Ishan is the one who played and therefore should get all the money in the first place. Everyone participates, everyone talks over each other, except for Hardik, who sits at the end of the table, arms crossed and frowning, until finally—

He slams his hands down on the table, "Can I say something?!"

All voices silent and all eyes turn to him, Ishan's especially.

(other scene)

"Dude, you are so not divorcing this guy," Abhishek says with an amused smile, tossing a wad of paper in the air. He sits at his desk, while Shubman lays flat on the sofa off to the side, arms covering his face as he does his best not to scream. "You fucking like him."

"I don't fucking know him," Shubman groans. His hands leave his face, and he stares at the ring on his left. "I know I need that money though."

"Yeah you need the money, and you need mystery boy to be your trophy wife," Abhishek snickers. It's not often he gets to be the put together one out of the friendship, so seeing Shubman lose his mind and go on a bender and end up married with a pile of money waiting to be collected, is some of the most fun he's had in a while.

"Ugh," Shubman grunts, sitting up. "You know, it was kind of funny this morning. I was laughing at what I did. You'd be so proud, mom would be so proud. I thought, hey, if I'm married to a pretty boy with a great ass for a day, then that's a fun story and cool adventure. But then all this fucking money shit comes into the picture and now I feel...I don't know how I feel."

Abhishek's face softens. "I get that, I really do. I know you need the money, I know what it would do for your dad, but I also know that you are already feeling something for this guy. Am I right?"

Shubman's mouth turns into a thin line, his jaw flexes. "Maybe."

"Yeah, course I am."

(back to other scene)

"I think, and I feel you all can agree, that Ishan is being a stubborn idiot, and he should just stay married to the guy, because he clearly likes him. For real." Sara says pointedly.

Ishan's jaw drops, but everyone else remains silent. He sputters a few times, looking at Sara with wide eyes, then glancing back at the rest of his friends, all of whom refuse to make eye contact. "I do not! I don't know a damn thing about him, how can I like him?!"

"Well, I mean, you did marry him," Hardik points out.

Ishan feels like he's stepped into some kind of weird dimension, and like his head might just explode. "I was drunk? Black-out drunk? I wasn't trying to marry him?"

"Mmmm, I don't know," Cookie says skeptically. "Everyone knows that drunk people have no filter, everyone is way more honest when inebriated.

"Mhm, that's what I'm saying," Sara nods, pointing at Cookie.

"More honest?" Ishan asks frustratedly. "Drunk people with no inhibitions do stupid stuff. Marrying him was stupid."

"OR, and hear me out," Sara continues. "Drunk people lose all filters and all ability to control themselves. Your emotions come pouring out and you follow your heart more accurately. Some people's hearts want them to do stupid things, like streak naked through the streets. Other, bad people, say or do horrible things, that normally their self-control doesn't let them reveal to the world. Like when a guy is drunk and tells you how he really feels about your body or your mother or your friends—"

"And some people find a hot guy who they feel a deep, spiritual connection to, and their hearts lead them right down the aisle, while the alcohol prevents them from second guessing it!" Cookie finishes with a bright, mischievous smile.

"You're all crazy," Ishan says, shaking his head.

"We just want you to be happy, and honestly, this guy could do that. We've barely spoken to him and we can already tell he treats you better than Anshumat," Mayank says.

Ishan's jaw tightens. "I'm getting so tired of him being brought up. This weekend was supposed to be getting me out of the slump."

"And it did!" Cookie says excitedly. "You got out of the slump, into the bed of a hot guy you married, and now you've just won a lot of money together. And I bet you didn't think of Anshumat once during a single round of the marathon of sex you two had."

"Cookie, shut up!" Ishan hisses, looking around to make sure nobody else is listening to their conversation. It's bad enough all the workers in the Casino probably know he's a walking Las Vegas stereotype. "I don't care what any of you think! I cannot just stay married to a strange man, no matter how hot or nice you think he is. I just need a way to get this money, and move on without him."