On 28th April 2020, two days before Rohit's birthday, both the MI and RCB teams were staying at the same hotel for their match on the 30th.

Nita Ambani had invited the seniors of both teams to a very high profile party, and so in the evening, there they were.

Rohit was looking all around for Virat the moment he reached, and was rewarded for his efforts with the unpleasant sight of Virat and ABD laughing together.

Virat looked up and saw Rohit's sour expression and said in a friendly tone, "Hi, Rohit!"

"Hi," said Rohit ungraciously.

Virat grinned cheekily at his tone, indirectly letting Rohit know that he had nothing to be jealous of, but Rohit still didn't like how Virat didn't leave ABD and go off with him.

As the evening progressed, Rohit got more and more annoyed--none among Hardik, Jassi or Yuzi were there, being juniors, and Pollard couldn't take Virat's place when Virat was in the same room--and look at him!

Rohit was being extremely unfair and he must've known it, too, because ABD knew no one from the crowd, and Virat couldn't very well just leave him alone.

An India-SA series was coming, and at dinner, ABD said, "Remember what a tough fight you guys gave us in 2018?"

"Of course we did," retorted Virat. "We're the number 1 side!"

"But we just surrendered last year," said ABD ruefully.

"That's what you'll do this time, too," assured Virat.

"No, we'll get you this time."

Virat was about to say something, and Rohit said, scowling, "We? Sorry, but didn't you retire already?"

"Rohit!" said Virat, shocked.

Everything around looked shocked too, and Rohit felt compelled to say, "Sorry," especially because Virat was glaring at him.

Virat turned to ABD, who looked like he didn't know what had happened, and started to talk to him normally, and Rohit stood up after a minute and left, muttering a hasty goodbye.

The people who didn't know Rohit personally were staring after him in awe, no doubt wondering that the real Rohit Sharma was this sort of a jerk?--and Virat felt quite furious with his best friend.

He seriously needed to be taught a lesson, and suddenly Virat's eyes lit up.

He knew the perfect way.

______________

As soon as he returned from the party, Virat hunted down Hardik and Yuzi, because he was sure those two would help him, and they did.

In an hour their plan had been nicely laid out.

The next day, at around 6:30 in the evening, Hardik sneaked into Jassi's room.

An unsuspecting Jassi was sleeping peacefully, and Hardik nicked his phone and tiptoed out, closing and locking the door from outside.

Keeping Jassi out of the way was essential to their prank.

Then Hardik went and settled himself in Rohit's room, something he often did, and started some random conversation with him.

Right on time, Yuzi arrived, whining, "I feel like talking to my own countrymen, Rohit bhaiya! Tired of these foreigners!"

"What happened to Virat?" asked Rohit, unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice, because they hadn't spoken at all today--it was his birthday eve and Virat still wouldn't speak to him because he had spoken slightly rudely to ABD!

Ok, maybe not slightly. Very rudely...but still!

"Virat bhaiya has gone out with a friend of his. Marriott, I think," said Yuzi.

"Good," said Rohit sarcastically.

So Yuzi settled down on Rohit's other side, and the two of them were listening to Hardik's extraordinary stories about how he had impressed Natasha's parents, and Rohit's phone rang.

It was Jaddu, and without wasting words, he asked anxiously, "Virat's there with you in the hotel, right?"

"No...why?" asked Rohit, confused.

"Damn it, Ro, couldn't you keep him there?" cried Jaddu with a few of his favourite swear words.

Jaddu's desperate tone was scaring Rohit, and he asked urgently, "What happened, Jaddu?"

"Remember that terrorist group had issued a warning to Virat...?"

Rohit's heart stopped beating.

"News is coming that they have attacked a few places in north Mumbai... Marriott and Taj..."

"Yuzi," choked Rohit. "Where did you say Virat has gone?"

"JW Marriott--why?"

"Jaddu," whispered Rohit. "Yuzi's saying Virat went to Marriott."

Jaddu seemed to be stunned into silence.

"Don't worry, Jad," Rohit heard himself day mechanically. "I'll see if I can do anything."

He put down the phone and stood up, saying, "I'm going to Marriott."

This wasn't part of the plan.

"No, Rohit bhaiya, it's not safe!" said Yuzi.

"You're worried about my safety?" cried Rohit, looking wild. "The list had Virat's name in it--and we let him go out alone..." Rohit was muttering as he dashed down the stairs.

Yuzi and Hardik followed him, because Rohit looked so terrified that they had realised that the prank hadn't been such a good idea after all.

"We'll go with you," said Hardik as Rohit reached the door.

"Absolutely not!" cried Rohit, straightaway worried about the kids' safety. "Stay here, both of you, and don't tell Jassi, I don't want him scared."

Rohit vanished out of sight.

Hardik turned to Yuzi and said, "We weren't planning on telling Jassi, were we?"

"No," said Yuzi. "If we tell him it's a prank, he'll run to Rohit bhaiya. If we don't tell him it's a prank, he'll be terrified and--"

"If either of you scare Jassi, you'll not like the consequences," said Hardik in Virat's authoritative voice. "Why is everyone worried about Jassi?" he complained.

"I'm worried about Rohit bhaiya now," said Yuzi. "He was supposed to sit here in suspense and then check the news. He wasn't supposed to run out to Marriott in this state!"

And even Hardik felt bad about the prank.

"Well, he'll see everything is calm and come back soon, so let's wait," sighed Hardik.

____________

Right from the day the group had released a warning list with Virat's name on it, Rohit had carried an unconscious fear inside him, and maybe that was why he hadn't bothered to check the news or even considered that it might be a prank.

There was only one conscious thought inside him as he was speeding to Marriott in the metro--let me have Virat back safe and I'll do anything.

When he finally reached Marriott, there was no sign of any attack, and his heartbeat slowed down a little.

He called Yuzi and asked, "D'you think there's a chance the news might be fake?"

"Yes, there's every chance," said Yuzi, glad to hear Rohit bhaiya sounding less wild than he had an hour back.

"Ok--I'll still bring Vi back with me, though. Bye," said Rohit, and he marched into Marriott.

Few minutes later, though, he was beginning to have another panic attack, because Virat hadn't checked into Marriott at all--and what if everything has happened at the Taj or elsewhere?

"He did not go to the Taj," asserted Yuzi when Rohit called him again.

"Then where is he?" shouted Rohit, scaring two kids who came cycling by.

"Come back to the hotel, Ro," said Hardik. "Virat must be returning."

"I can't."

Rohit spent the next few hours going to every spot of Mumbai he could think of where Virat might be, beyond terror now.

Yuzi and Hardik sat at the hotel, feeling exceedingly guilty by now. Virat had said he'd come back in half an hour.

Rohit came back before Virat, defeated and miserable.

Yuzi couldn't bear to see Rohit bhaiya like that, so he couldn't help saying, "He's coming back, it was a hoax, Rohit bhaiya."

Rohit looked like he didn't believe Yuzi as he sat down on the steps leading to the reception door.

He couldn't stop that awful panic inside him--not till Virat was actually here.

Yuzi and Hardik silently sat down on either sides of him as Rohit stayed with his forehead resting on his knees.

After a few minutes, his trance was broken by an extremely familiar and extremely welcome voice saying, "You actually went rushing to Marriott and Taj because of some story Jaddu fed you?" Virat clearly hadn't grasped at all what Rohit had been going through.

Rohit stood up so fast that he almost overbalanced.

Virat was standing in front of him, grinning cheekily. Rohit was about to throw his arms around him when he realised what Virat had said.

"You mean--you planned all this?" he asked blankly.

"You're getting dumber day by day, Ro," said Virat, and that was when he noticed how white Rohit's face had gone and how he was blinking furiously, clearly holding back tears.

And he realised that they had gone too far.

"Oh God, I can't believe--" choked Rohit, and he hugged Virat fiercely for a moment and then turned and fled into the hotel, but not before Virat saw his face crumpling like he was about to cry.

Yuzi and Hardik stared after him in consternation.

"Unlock Jassi," said Virat. "I have to go to Rohit."

_____________

Virat went to Rohit's room and saw him hunched on the bed with his back turned towards the door, crying in a way Virat didn't think he had ever heard him cry, and the guilt started killing him.

"Rohit," he tried contritely, going up to him and touching his shoulder. "I didn't want to make you cry, Ro..."

"I don't try to understand what you do or do not want, Virat, because you're impossible to figure out," said Rohit.

Virat drew back his hand, bracing for the shouting to begin--and he'd listen to it all in silence, because he deserved it. He did.

Rohit looked up at Virat standing quietly and said jerkily, "Come here."

Virat went nearer and Rohit crushed Virat to him with every bit of strength he had. Virat held him back, trying to comfort his shaking and sobbing best friend.

"I'm sorry--" began Virat, but Rohit didn't seem to hear, he was in such an awful state.

"Few hours ago, all I wanted was to hold you like this...just once more..." whispered Rohit, half speaking to himself, his voice unsteady, but Virat understood what he said anyway, and he felt his own throat closing up.

"I shouldn't have done this, Ro. I know I shouldn't have... it's just that I didn't think," said Virat.

"Do you ever think?" demanded Rohit scathingly.

"I do, sometimes...and it was just a prank--" said Virat lamely.

"It seems like a prank to you, Vi? It was your...life..." And Rohit couldn't continue.

Virat couldn't either.

They sat there together in silence, Rohit grasping Virat's arm (because he couldn't bear to let Virat go for a moment now) for an indefinite period of time till Rohit's teammates burst into the room with the cakes and candles.

It was already midnight.

As Hardik and Jassi threw himself on Rohit, amidst the chorus of Happy birthday's, Virat jumped up, crying, "Oh no, I forgot to--wait a sec, Ro."

Virat dashed out and after 30 seconds, dashed in lugging a huge suitcase.

"You're gifting me a suitcase?" asked Rohit with a perfectly straight face.

"It's not just a suitcase. See, it has different flaps for your phone, laptop charger, iPad, wallet...and it'll not close till you have filled each of them..." explained Virat animatedly.

Rohit listened to Virat contentedly--after the terror of the evening, even hearing Virat's voice felt like a luxury.

"...so you'll not be able to forget things even if you want to," said Virat. "Isn't it a great gift? Isn't it?"

"God, Vi, yes," said Rohit, just to shut him up.

Rohit's eyes glazed over for just a moment as Virat hugged him and pulled him to the centre for cutting the cake, over excited as usual, and he knew, in spite of all of Virat's insane ideas and tactlessness--or maybe because of them--he loved Virat to the end of the world and always would.

"Because that's what you did with family when you'd been worried about them, you grabbed them and held on to them and told them how much they'd pissed you off, and it was okay, because no matter how angry you got, they still belonged to you"-- Cassendra Clare, City of Glass