'This was not supposed to happen!' Shubman thought to himself as he found himself face to face with a confused Ishan, demanding what was wrong with him.

What really was wrong with him again?

Other than finding his best-friend adorable than he normally would, he looked even cuter with a confused frown etched onto his face.

Shubman paused.

There he goes again. Whatever was happening with him was getting out of hands now. He needed to get his act together as soon as possible.

"You gonna let me in or what?" Came Ishan's voice pulling him out of his reverie.

Without answering Shubman stepped back a bit, and Ishan made his way into the room and sat down on the couch as he stared at the other expectantly.

He tried to smile at his friend to reassure him but failed miserably to do so. He felt like he was in the hotseat, as if the host had asked him the 7 crore question and he had no lifeline whatsoever.

Soon Ishan's questioning gaze turned into a concerned one, making  Shubman become aware of the sweat dripping down his face, soaking into his shirt, making him look like a lost puppy.

"What's going on with you Shub?" Ishan voiced out his concern, "You seem lost lately..." Desperation was evident in his voice as he proceeded to ask, "Am I not trustworthy enough, Shubi?"

Shubman panicked at his words, "It's...it's not like that Ish!. I swear, I just...have been under the weather, that's all"

"That's why I was telling you not to have icecream in the mid-freaking-December!" 

Shubman was lying, but Ishan, too concerned about his friend's wellbeing, decided to leave his suspicions unattended, atleast for now.

Besides, he did feel a bit warmer than normal, Ishan observed when he touched the other's head. Flushed cheeks, a red nose, and warm ears were indicators of his discomfort.

"Do you have a fever?" He asked, touching his forehead and neck once again to confirm his diagnosis, while Shubman sighed in relief, having avoided a potentially awkward as hell convo with his friend.

Shubman smiled a bit at Ishan's mumbling to himself as he covered the former with a blanket and went to get something for his supposed fever.

---

'That was a close call', Shubman thought, relieved that Ishan hadn't probed further.

As Ishan returned with a thermometer and some medicine, Shubman couldn't help but notice how caring his friend was. He felt a mixture of gratitude and guilt for not being entirely honest.

"Ish, you really don't have to do all this. I'll be fine with some rest," Shubman said, attempting to downplay the situation.

Ishan, however, insisted on taking care of him, making Shubman feel both comforted and uneasy. The concern in Ishan's eyes seemed to intensify, adding another layer to the complexity of Shubman's emotions.

This was not right!

He was lying to Ishan, his best friend, out of all the people. Shubman felt extremely dismantled with all the thoughts of betraying his friend. He needed to stop his brain from playing tricks with him, so he could go back to being his normal self. The cheery, bright self, minus the lying part.

---

Night came rather slowly that day as Shubman laid awake on his bed, sleep miles away from him.

Shifting to the other side, he sighed at the emptiness of the bed. With all the thoughts he had been having lately, it was best that he avoided any interaction with a certain someone.

Ishan had slammed the door rather loudly when he had told the other to sleep in with someone else for the night, "You are not even that ill! Let me sleep here!"

"Prevention is better than cure, Ishu! Please sleep in Surya or Siraj Bhai's room today."

Ishan had left the room after scoffing at the other and not forgetting to throw the dirty finger in his face before leaving.

----

Guilt didn't let him sleep a wink that night; there was something else that nagged the back of his mind, something he chose to ignore, a lingering thought he'd rather not entertain.

Something he would rather not even think of. He didn't need another monologue right then.

Rest, was what he needed to stop that over-analysis. He had watched way too many of those cheesy movies with Ishan! That's all.

The room felt quieter as Shubman attempted to push away the unsettling thoughts.

----

"You look dead." Was the first thing he was greeted with in the morning, by Rishabh as he sat down to have his breakfast.

"Couldn't sleep." The eye-bags, serving as a testament to his statement.

How could he sleep though? Not with the usual warmth that used to embrace him was not there, ignoring the fact that he was the one who kicked the comfort out of his room...

The 'comfort' sitting just a seat away from him, engaged in a conversation with Siraj Bhai and Shreyash.

----

Something needs to be done! Shubman thought to himself as he caught himself staring a bit too long than necessary at Ishan's face, his food long forgotten.

Ishan looked like he had a nice sleep.

His face glowing as usual, eyes shining like the goddamned stars. He was glued with Siraj bhai as they doubled over in laughter over something the latter had shown on his phone.

His laugh, his oh so melodious laugh...it was music to his ears.

He continued to observe him, the way his eyes glistened with tears from laughter, his nose scrunched up adorably.

Then there were his lips, Shubman froze again, 'What the f*ck was he going at?'

'That's your friend, you idiot!' Shubman scolded himself.

Before he could go more into his now frequent 'inner thoughts', Ishan called for him.

"Shubi! Look what Siraj Bhai is showing us."

Those freaking eyes!

"Look at this video!" Ishan exclaimed.

How could he focus on the phone when Ishan was in front of him?

That's it! He was down bad man!

He could feel his heartbeat go crazy at the realisation he had come to. No scolding was enough to stop himself from those wistful glances he had been throwing at his oblivious friend.

But, maybe they were not that sneaky after all. He turned his head to find, Rishabh giving him a knowing grin, "You need to do something about the honey dripping off your eyes..."

Flushed a deep shade of red, Shubman contemplated a quick escape from the embarrassment, but a hand on his arm stopped him in his tracks.

"Are you alright Shub?" Ishan asked, concern furrowing his brows. "Why are your cheeks red? You still got a fever?" He moved his other hand to Shubman's forehead.

HANDS SO SOFT!

Shubman stammered, "No, no fever. Just feeling a bit warm."

As Ishan continued to check his temperature, Shubman's internal monologue seemed to get louder.

*Thump* *Thump*

He might as well just pass out kudos to his heart acting batshit crazy.

Ishan squeezed Shubman's hand, tapped his cheeks and gave him a smile in reassurance.

'Never knew a smile could light up someone's whole world!'

'Shut up Shubman Gill! You a**hole!' He scolded himself.

'He is your best friend. This can't keep happening.'