Beyond The Boundary (Shubman Gill x Ishan Kishan)

4; down the memory lane

Having left the lavish event behind, Ishan and Shubman found themselves at a familiar park, a place that held the memories of their earlier stages of friendship.

Seated on two swings, they gazed up at the night sky, engaging in casual chatter about cricket, upcoming matches, and other mundane topics.

Suddenly, Shubman steered the conversation back to the earlier cryptic remark Ishan had made. "By the way, what did you mean earlier when you told me not to look at you with those eyes?"

Ishan attempted to brush off the question with a casual, "It was nothing. Why are you still hung up on that?"

Shubman, not one to let things slide, whined, "Oh come on, I know it wasn't 'nothing'."

Trying to dismiss the topic, Ishan retorted, "It isn't anything of interest."

Shubman, ever persistent, retorted, "But everything you say is interesting."

Unable to contain a smile, Ishan looked down. The way he wished he could shut Shubman up (in a much different way) from saying such things that played with his heart.

He heard the clinking of the chains from the swing beside him, signaling Shubman's movement. As Ishan looked up, he found Shubman standing before him, halting his own swing by gripping its chains.

Hovering over Ishan, still holding the chains to keep the swing from swaying, Shubman adopted a low, seductive tone, "You're hiding something, aren't you?"

Ishan was indeed concealing a trove of emotions, more than Shubman could fathom, behind his nonchalant demeanor.

Feeling a sudden intensity, gulped hard and decided to play along. Licking his lips, he responded in a teasing voice, "What if I am?"

Their eyes locked in an intense exchange, the tension building until they both burst into laughter.

It was a familiar silliness, something they used to do in order to break the other's character.

Giving up on the topic, Shubman returned to his swing, trying to come up with a plausible explanation for this rapid heartbeat after that intense exchange with Ishan.

As he swayed back and forth, a question bubbled up in his mind, and he couldn't resist asking, "Do you remember the first time we met?"

Ishan chuckled as some of his cherished memories resurfaced, "How could I ever forget that?"

"You were the best thing that happened to me that year." Shubman paused and added a sneaky little, "Apart from the fact that we won the 2018 Under 19 World Cup, ofcourse."

࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪

It was the Under 19 World Cup series in 2018, precisely on the 29th of January, a day before India's semi-final clash against Pakistan scheduled for the 30th of January.

The squad had received news that some players from the previous Under 19 teams would be visiting to watch the semi-finals, with the possibility of staying for the finals if the team qualified.

Excitement and anxiety coexisted among the players, knowing they would be performing in front of their seniors.

Shubman, the vice-captain of the Under 19 team, felt a level of nervousness that surpassed even his peers.

Despite being one of the most, if not the most, introverted player in the team, he had mastered the art of appearing calm and collected.

He believed he could mask his nervousness and appear confident in front of their visiting seniors. Oh how wrong he was about that.