CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
point of view | yasmine alaoui
...
we had been here talking and laughing for about an hour. the lights to the gym were purple and dark giving the entire room a nice vibe. the deep bass of non explicit rap music pumped through my ears. i held onto zaynes hand tightly as he trailed behind me; the two of us were moving through a crowd of jumping students religiously singing to jucie wrld. zayne pulled his hand away and before i could turn around they were placed on my waist causing my face to heat up. he walked us over to the side and i looked over my shoulder to see him looking ahead.
"YASMINE!" valeria exclaimed, "oh my God! you look so good- oh my God- hi, zayne!"
he moved his hands slowly up my back before draping one of them over my shoulder.
"hi, valeria." he responded.
i finally tore my gaze from the side of zaynes face and met valerias eyes that were glowing with delight.
"you look so pretty!" she said clapping her hands together.
i admired her beauty as well, "look at you!"
she threw her arms around me and hugged me. i hugged her back and my gaze fell onto her boyfriend. i hadnt seen him a few months. he dyed his hair black and the bags under his eyes showed me that the loss of his brother still caused him restless nights. its terrifying that, that is the same man who stole vals heart. she loves him with every inch of her soul, but it must be hard for her to see him change to drastically. it was weird. i only knew this version of him, depressed. to think a version of him being bubbly and making everyone laugh existed.
"hey," i said waving at him as i pulled away from val, "how have you been?"
he cringed his shoulders and i internally smacked myself.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK, YASMINE? " i yelled.
he shrugged and valeria looked over her shoulder at him.
"im fine." he mumbled.
i gave him and injured expression.
"im zayne." zayne introduced himself.
he looked up from the floor and met zaynes eyes. they shared a silent discussion with their stares and i felt IMMENSELY left out.
"mmm," he hummed and held out his hand.
zayne stepped forward and dapped him up. they shared another glance before they both turned away; zayne looking at me while he looked at valeria.
"have fun!" val said as zayne took my hand.
i smiled at her and zayne and i walked away from them towards the snack bar.
"you know him?" i asked.
"yeah," he answered, "i knew him before his brother passed away."
"he changed yeah?" i asked.
he blinked several times and nodded, "he was one of the few people i tolerated that went here. and seeing him change- it was weird. i admired him as a person and he lost himself. it was like when his brother died he died too."
i grabbed a tiny plastic cup filled with coke and chugged it. zayne followed my actions.
"tell me about your life before i met you," i urged him as we headed to where more people were dancing, "i wanna know."
"nothing special," he mumbled.
i read his lips and giggled stepping closer to him and placing my hands around his shoulders. his eyes widened at our now close proximity. i admired how slow and careful he placed his hands on my hips. now that he was purposely doing it, it had an effect him. our eyes met and for the briefest of moments everyone around us disappeared. the music slowed to a calming silence and all i could focus on were his eyes. i never got the chance to admire his eyes like this before. being so close to him i could really see each color; they were the hue of spring green, dark, light, and soft all at once. there were flecks of brown, the kind of brown that complimented him alluringly. they were beautiful. his lashes fluttered once he blinked. long black lines that gave his eyes an almost feminine look. his hands slipped across the curve of my stomach to my back pulling me closer to him. our faces inched closer. my breath caught in my throat.
"i used to live in new jersey," he told me, "we moved here when i was going to middle school. i was a new kid but so was everyone else. it wasnt as bad. i had an excuse to have no friends. i craved for ... someone. a person."
"your person?" i asked him snapping out of the trance he held me under.
a smile tugged on his lips that sat perfectly on under nose, "yes," he answered me.
"new jersey, huh?" i questioned.
his smiled strengthened, "mmhm."
"so you're a jersey boy?" i added.
he laughed and smiled, his pearly whites flashed, "whats up with you? what up with jersey?"
"nothing," i laughed entranced by his lips for several moments, "did you ever find your person?"
"i- i did." he admitted.
my eyes flickered up to meet his and the feeling of us being completely alone returned. the music ceased. i was conscious of every movement he was making. the way his chest moved up and down slowly due to his breathing. the way his fingers pressed gently against my back, and how he leveled his arms low so it wasnt an awkward hold around me. how often his tongue brushed his lips. the soft green eyes of his disappearing due to his fluttering lashes; blinking.
"what does that mean to you?" i asked him carefully, "finding your person."
"it means i can be happy," he said slowly, "that i wont be alone because i have them and they have me."
i laughed at the cute response, "what do they look like?"
his eye brow twitched for a moment, "they have curly hair ... they're about mmm i dont know ... 5'5 ... eyes the perfect shade of brown. lashes so long you'd they're fake."
"do they now?" i questioned smiling, "mmm. pretty."
"she is beautiful," he confirmed, "she has perfect music taste. shes moroccan too. the closest thing anyone could come to perfect."
my heart beat paused before picking back up, "the closest?"
he smiled; his smile fully met his eyes, "the closest." he confirmed.
"the way you describe her makes her sound lovely." i stated and smiled widely.
"shes more than lovely," he answered and we shared a smile, "and she's you."
...
authors note: God. this is so cute wtf.
