THEM 'Ishman'

Whipped for his man

Saturday night had arrived, bringing with it a spontaneous plan for a movie marathon in Ishan and Shubman's apartment. 

The friends—Mayank, Tilak, Hardik, Rahul, and Abhishek—piled into the living room, armed with blankets, an excessive amount of popcorn, and a mismatched collection of drinks and snacks.

Shubman was in high spirits, especially knowing that he'd get to spend a whole evening with Ishan, surrounded by their friends, with no responsibilities but to enjoy the night. 

Ishan was already sprawled out on the couch, clutching a pillow as he argued with Mayank over which movie to start with.

"Come on, action movies are a must for a marathon!" Mayank insisted, holding up an old, action-packed thriller.

"Nah, horror all the way!" Tilak argued, waving a collection of terrifying titles.

Shubman, ever the peacemaker (especially when Ishan, his favorite person was involved), smoothly intervened.

 "How about we let Ishan pick the first one? He always has the best taste." His gaze softened as he looked at Ishan, earning a chorus of "oooh" from the rest of the group.

"Yupp, let Ishan pick." Tilak said with sarcasm.

"Oh, here we go again!" Rahul teased, laughing. 

"Shubman can't go five minutes without praising his precious Ishan." Mayank said laughing.

"As if you're any different with your latest crush!" Shubman shot back, but his grin never faded as he watched Ishan scroll through movie options.

Ishan, after much deliberation, chose a feel-good comedy that had everyone excited. 

Shubman subtly shifted closer to Ishan on the couch, casually placing a bowl of popcorn between them as if it were an excuse to be near him.

 Every now and then, he'd sneak glances at Ishan, catching the way his laughter lit up the room, and how he tried to hide his smile by stuffing more popcorn and coke into his mouth.

About twenty minutes into the movie, Tilak leaned over and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, "Hey, Shubman, do you want to stop staring at Ishan for a second and actually watch the movie?"

"What are you saying Tilak, talk about things which are possible." Viratt said and smirked.

"Are we guys accepting some miracle from god?" Rohit said while laughing.

The group erupted into laughter, and Shubman just rolled his eyes, trying to play it cool. 

"I am just appreciating the cinematic experience." he replied smoothly, though his ears turned pink.

"Right, and by 'cinematic experience,' you mean Ishan's face?" Hardik chimed in, nudging him.

 "Dude, you're whipped." Everyone except Ishan said to Shubman in unison and laughed.

Ishan raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Yeah, Shubman, enjoy the movie instead of being all touchy with me." But his faint smile gave away that he didn't mind one bit.

"Only if you promise not to steal all the popcorn." Shubman retorted, grinning as he gently nudged Ishan's shoulder.

As the night went on, everyone settled deeper into the couch, half-watching the movies and half-focused on each other's antics. 

Somewhere between the second and third movie, Ishan ended up leaning slightly against Shubman, who was more than willing to give him space and let his arm settle on the back of the couch, a little closer to Ishan than necessary.