Canvas of Love

Is he for real?

Ishan groaned softly as he threw himself onto his bed, sinking into its embrace with a weary sigh.

The day had drained him, from intense practice to the lingering tension with Shubman to the dull ache in his hand from a minor injury he'd tried to hide all day.

He burrowed his face into his pillow, letting out a muffled groan, his lips forming a tiny pout.

With the day's exhaustion pressing down on him, he barely noticed his own childish expressions-closed eyes, a furrowed brow, and an endearing, frustrated pout.

He was deep in thought when a knock sounded at the door. "Come in" he mumbled, barely lifting his head.

Too tired to look up, he assumed it was Abhishek or Mayank, his closest friends who always checked in on him after a tough day.

Hearing the door open, Ishan continued muttering, venting the day's frustrations with his face still buried in his pillow.

"You know" he started, his voice low and sleepy, "Shubman just...ugh, he's so moody! He thinks he's too cool for all of us." His tone was a mixture of annoyance and amusement as if he found his own complaints just a little bit funny.

"One minute, he's all serious and acting like he doesn't care, and the next, he's... just staring, like, what's his deal? Do he have any phobia, Ishanophobia...."

No response followed. Ishan, half-asleep, didn't register the silence and continued his rambling.

"It's not like I care, okay? I don't need him to smile at me or whatever. But maybe just be... a little normal? Like everyone else? Or, I don't know, just talk sometimes. Imagine Shubman smiling-ha, that'd be the day." He let out a small laugh, shaking his head against the pillow, entertained by his own sleepy thoughts.

The silence remained, but he continued on, unfazed.

"I don't even know what his problem is! All I wanted was to get through the day without his staring and judging and..." He muttered, his voice softening, he shifted to one side, facing the visitor beside his bed with his eyes still closed.

"He's probably, like, allergic to friendliness or maybe to my cuteness... or even my hotness," Ishan said, laughing a little to himself at the thought.

Finally opening his eyes with a lazy blink, expecting Abhishek's amused smile or Mayank's sympathetic nod, Ishan froze.

Standing by his bed, expression unreadable and arms crossed, was........

......

.......

..........

............

...............

Shubman himself.

A surge of embarrassment washed over Ishan as his face turned crimson, his heart hammering as the full impact of his situation hit him.
Shubman had heard everything.

"Oh...uh..." Ishan's voice faltered, struggling to form words.

He awkwardly sat up, trying to brush off the embarrassment with a shaky smile.

"Uh, hey... Shubman. How are you ic-- cool man? I--I----I..... Okay, I di-dn't... I me..mean mmm, I didn't know yo-you were..." His hand flew to his hair, nervously ruffling it as he trailed off.

"I...I was just... um... saying ran...dom things, yeah, random things. Talking in my sleep, you know?" He forced a laugh, which sounded more like a nervous squeak.

"I wasn't... uh... talking about you. Just-just sleep-talking! I tend to do that sometimes. Funny right?" He flashed a weak, overly bright smile as if that would somehow make his explanation more convincing.