"What are you guys doing here?"

The said people gulped down and stared at each other in guilt, having been caught snooping around. The last people on Earth Rohit and Virat would have wanted to be caught by were those two.

"Guys!!" Kul exclaimed in sheer relief, guess someone was not repellent to the idea?

"How come you two are here?" Harry tried to accuse the perpetrators.

Rahul raised a brow at the audacity while Jass fired back, "It's a free country and we are free beings capable of wandering wherever we please."

Harry looked at the two for a minute and then said, "So this was your important task? Roaming around with eachother!"

The tone almost accusing the other two of a heinous crime, as if the two were cheating on him with eachother.

Jass and Rahul rolled their eyes at the other's hysterics.

"What were you all doing here though?" Rahul asked patiently.

The dreaded question was asked! The guys threw random words in an effort to explain their situation, resulting in a mixture of various...

"We were just..."

"He was..."

"Cats can fly..."

"The dogs can...."

"We were just admiring the exquisite design of these advertising boards!" Jaddu declared with a straight face, pointing at the boards as if they were pieces of art.

Everyone paused to stare at the fine specimen called 'Ravindra Jadeja' after his impromptu explanation.

"Yes, we thought they deserved appreciation for their unnoticed creativity." Yuzi added quickly, regaining his senses after the initial shock.

The rest of the team exchanged bewildered glances, trying to process the bizarre responses.

Shreyash, feeling the need to contribute, blurted out, "We were looking for a lost cricket ball!"

Jass decided to humour them, "In the realm of advertising boards? Very strategic!" 

If looks were to go by, the two looked anything but convinced by their responses.

Yuzi, always ready with a quick response, said, "We were practicing our spy moves. You know, just in case we need them during a match."

The excuses became more absurd, turning into a cacophony of nonsense as each team member tried to outdo the others with creative explanations.

Rohit and Virat, feeling slightly embarrassed, decided to join the madness.
"We were actually here on a philanthropic mission," Rohit declared, trying to maintain a serious tone.

"A philanthropic mission?" Jass raised an eyebrow.

Virat nodded, pointing dramatically at a well-dressed man passing by, "You see, we noticed this poor restaurant owner struggling with his life, and being the generous souls we are, we decided to offer our assistance."

Rahul squinted at the "poor restaurant owner," who, in reality, looked like a wealthy CEO from a 5-star establishment.

"He might not look it, but appearances can be deceiving," Rohit continued, "He's been hit hard by an emotional downturn. His wife is demanding a divorce from him, poor soul."

As if catching Rahul's drift, Rohit changed the course of the story, from poor struggling man to the poor struggling husband.

Virat added with a solemn nod, "We were considering talking to the wife, you know. Who knows? We might be able to save someone's relationship."

Silence surrounded the atmosphere, wind blew past them as the group of 12 stood there in sheer disbelief at the absurdity of the explanations. The pause was broken by Rishabh, who burst into laughter, unable to contain himself.

Rohit and Virat, satisfied with their cover story, exchanged triumphant glances, thinking they had successfully blended their imaginative tales into the chaotic mix.

Jass and Rahul, still shaking their heads, couldn't help but appreciate the effort put into the wild excuses. "Well, you guys win the creativity award for today." Rahul appreciated, amusement evident in his voice.

"Philanthropy, cricket ball hunting..."

"and relationship counseling – quite the versatile team we have." Jass finished the other's sentence, still laughing at the random story they had cooked in the given time.

---

A few days after their little 'date', Shubman found himself in the familiar haven of denial. 
He went about his routine, the cricket field providing an escape to his conflicting emotions.

He tried not to focus on those images of a blushing Ishan from that night creeping into his thoughts, pushing those distracting flashes in the back of his mind.

Focus!

Was he really blushing back then?

Could it mean...

"Shubi! Duck!" He was a bit too late, reacting to the voice and was met face first with the ground when a ball came straight at him.

Thank goodness he was wearing a helmet.

"Are you alright, Shub?" Came a deep voice, Shubman stared at the beautiful face, quietly whispering, "Angel"

Was in heaven? He asked himself, when he found Ishan staring at him with a worried look on his face as the latter sat there, placing Shubman's head in his lap.

The ball had come rather quickly for him to react.

When did spin balling get this fast though?

"You Idiot! Out of the field now. Get your mind back to the game and come to practice only after that." The captain in Rohit wanted to lecture the guy a bit more, but the elder brother in him was worried enough to send Shubman out of the practice session.

---

Shubman, dusting off the grass from his clothes, couldn't shake off the face of his best friend out of his head.

A nagging feeling that perhaps the universe was conspiring to distract him crept into his heart.

"Why can't they see they love..."

"Love.."

See, Love...

The words rang inside his head as he replayed the scenes from that night on a loop. Each glance, every stolen smile, etched in his memory like an inerasable mark.

The words echoing his internal conflict. Love, a simple word yet carrying the weight of a universe of emotions.

The realisation came in a bit later, lingering like a soft melody.

The weight of this truth rested on his shoulders, and for the first time, Shubman didn't feel the need to escape. He was no longer running away from the emotion, rather embracing it and the complexities that came with it.

Shubman Gill, the cricket prodigy, the prince, stood on the threshold of an emotion he never anticipated. He had fallen for his best friend.

Irrevocably, head over heels for a 5 feet 6 inch guy. Brown eyes that lit up the whole room when they sparkled. A smile so disarming, a laughter that was nothing short of a melody to his ears.

Shubman did what any person would do after realising their feelings. He fished out his phone from his pocket and opened the browser.

After contemplating for a bit, he wrote.

"How to confess to your bestfriend that you love him?"

Guess some people never learn...do they?