when 77 met 32 [ishman ff] [shubish]

2023

Aditi's POV:

I liked Ishan; I did. As good as Ishan is though, sometimes I couldn't help but feel neglected. It wasn't like he never got time for me; he always did, but I still felt like something was amiss, something not quite in its place yet. I couldn't understand what it was until I started to notice.

I did like to joke a lot about how Ishan was closer to Shubman and about how he would always prioritize Shubman over me, but it wasn't just a joke. It was all true. Although they were closer to each other as they were best friends, something still felt wrong. Ishan being close to Shubman shouldn't make me insecure, should it? or was I overthinking again?

Definitely not right? It was all in the open. Had I been blind all this time? Shubman likes Ishan. I just know he does. His eyes were too easy to read. How I had not realized it yet was still a mystery to me. And to ishan, shubman wasn't just any other friend either.

Ishan could be hella blind and stupid sometimes. But I wasn't blind. I could clearly see it. He never ignored Shubman's calls. No matter where he was or with whom he was. There were times that I called him but he wouldn't pick up; later, when he called back, the reason would be something between the lines of, 'I was with Shubman' or 'we were playing games' and so on. But no matter what we were doing, Ishan would always pick up his calls during our meetings.

I have been noticing it for quite some time now. Ishan didn't necessarily like Shubman per se, but he didn't like me romantically either, which I was sure of. He might think that he likes me, but his actions speaks otherwise. I, just to be sure, wanted to observe more.

The next time we met was at my friend's pool party. Ishan was invited too. We were having fun, and everything was going smoothly until Ishan came to me worried. "Have you seen my necklace?" He looked so worried that it took me some time before understanding the question. "the pearl one?" "Yes, have you?" "I mean, I did see it in your neck, but apart from that, I haven't really. Why? lost it?" I asked, searching his eyes.

He looked too panicked for it to just be a necklace. I started to search for it with him. It was evening, and almost everyone left the venue. We were still here though, searching for Ishan's pearl necklace. "Let's go, Ishan; it's too late; I'll get you one just like that. Come on." I was tired out of my wits, and I had to go to sleep now. The place would close soon, but there was no site of Ishan's necklace.

"No. You can go if you want to. I won't until I get it back." Okay, there got to be something too important about that necklace because Ishan never reacted like that when he lost something; hell, even people around him would be more worried than he was. Then why now? "Something special about it?" I asked him, expecting an answer.

"It has real pearls." He answered. "I'll get you one with real pearls come on." "It was a gift, Aditi. I can't go out of here without it." Ishan snapped. A gift? I didn't feel like asking it, but I still did. "A gift from?" "Shubman." That was such an unexpected answer, wasn't it? Why would I even ask that question? Like, who else would make Ishan panic like that?

I left from there and stormed to my car. This was too much. But it was a gift, wasn't it? Of course, it had to be special; why would I even act like that? Poor Ishan. I thought as I sat inside my car. We rode here in my car today. And just as I closed the door, I saw it. Down there, near the brakes of the car, was a pearl necklace. Laying there in solace. Its owner going mad out there.

That was the first time I felt something breaking in my heart. I mean, I was mad at myself for that because, of course, he was anxious about it. It was a gift from his best friend after all. But was that the only reason he was anxious?

The next time I felt like that was when the dates of my fashion show and Shubman's brand collaboration collided. When I told Ishan I had gotten my designs selected for a show, he was so happy for me. He said that he would come there to support me. I mean, he always did. Ishan was the most supportive person that I knew.