"Hey, Aman, how are you?" Bhuvi asked, shaking his hand as he arrived there to meet Virat.
They all knew Aman. He was Virat's friend— one year younger, but Virat always considered him a friend first and then a manager. Although they were the same age, Aman would always call him "sir."
"All good, sir. Can I take Virat Sir for a moment? It's important," Aman asked.
"All yours, Aman," Jaddu teased, knowing how much Aman was always in the know about Virat.
Aman and Virat moved to a quiet corner, out of sight of the others. Aman immediately noticed Virat's demeanor— he looked exhausted.
"Virat sir?" Aman called, but Virat seemed too lost in his thoughts to hear him.
"Virat?" Aman called again, placing a hand on his shoulder.
In response, Virat suddenly hugged him. He needed someone to hold him, someone who wasn't connected to the situation with Rohit.
Among the team, everyone was tied to Rohit, and he couldn't make them choose between them.
But with Aman, it was different. Aman was his friend first. Everyone knew him through Virat, including Rohit. If Virat and Rohit had shoots together, Aman managed those. For everything else, Rohit had his own manager.
Aman rubbed his back, offering silent comfort, unaware of the reasons behind Virat's distress. "It's okay, Virat," he repeated softly.
Virat finally pulled away from the hug, his voice shaky. "I'm sorry, I just..."
"It's okay, Virat. I'm here, always. Consider me your listener, just like we've always been for each other. Don't worry so much," Aman said, holding his hand.
Virat nodded in response.
"Rohit, is Virat okay?" Bhuvi asked as he saw Virat silently following Aman. He also felt something was wrong, as Virat wasn't excited for the tour. He's always the most hyperactive one when it's a new tour.
"He sounded okay, maybe just tired from the traveling. You know how he gets, traveling makes him exhausted," Rohit said, trying to reason.
"No, Rohit, we don't know. You know him better than us," Bhuvi replied, as he wasn't aware that traveling made Virat tired.
"I'm still wondering where they both went," Jaddu said, not seeing them anywhere.
"Why? Are you jealous?" Ash teased him.
Jaddu rolled his eyes. "Anyone would be. Have you seen both of them? Aman practically knows everything about Virat. Maybe even more than you do, Rohit. I've seen it back when we were playing U-19 too; it's weird."
"No one knows Virat more than me," Rohit snapped, unable to help himself, and left from there.
"Something's weird, isn't it?" Bhuvi asked.
"Weird as in?" Ash asked, not understanding what he meant.
"I don't know... something's off between Virat and Rohit. Or maybe I'm just overthinking," Bhuvi said.
"You're just worried about Virat," Jaddu said.
Rohit didn't know why he did it, but he noticed Aman and Virat in a corner. Aman was holding Virat's hand, and Virat had his head resting on Aman's shoulder.
"I'm coming with you to England," Aman said, to which Virat lifted his head and asked, "Really?"
"Ah, finally a smile on your face!" Aman said, seeing a tiny smile appear on Virat's face.
