------------------------------------------------------ The Beginning Before the Beginning
The sound of Ada's phone ringing pierced through the silence of her room like a slap to a dream. She groaned from beneath the covers and blindly swatted around until her fingers found the phone.
Her voice, when it finally emerged, was the perfect blend of sleepy and annoyed - the kind that still somehow sounded adorable.
"Whoever you are, I'm planning your murder in my dreams. Speak wisely."
A squeal came from the other end so loud she had to pull the phone away.
"ADA! WAKE UP! Tae. IS. PERFORMING. TONIGHT.
Ada blinked. "I'm hanging up in three seconds. Two... one-"
"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT-listen to me!
"ADA! You're awake! Good. Listen-I can't breathe. I can't think. I CAN'T function. Tae is performing tonight and you're coming with me. End of discussion."
Ada turned to the other side of the bed, face buried into the pillow.
"Hariiii... I'm allergic to people. Especially thousands of them breathing the same air. No, thank you."
"You don't like ketchup either but I've seen you eat it when fries demand it."
"Point?"
"Tonight demands it."
Ada blinked. Once. Twice.
Then dropped back into her pillow.
"Okay. I'll say this once." She held up three fingers in the air as if Hari could see her.
"I don't like Tae."
"I don't like crowds."
"And I do not like music."
There was a pause.
Then Hari burst into laughter. "That's cute. You thinking you have a say in this."
Ada sat up slowly, a scowl forming. "I'm not joking. I'd sleep at home than go to a place with flashing lights and people screaming over a guy who doesn't button his shirts properly."
She didn't even open her eyes-just groaned, rolled over, and pulled the blanket further over her head like a shield from reality.
"Please," she mumbled, voice sleepy. "Let me sleep in peace. For the sake of all things sacred."
But the voice on the other end of the call was anything but peaceful.
"Ada. ADA! Wake up.
And you're coming. I don't care if I have to drag you out wrapped in your quilt-you are coming."
Ada groaned louder. "Hari... you're not getting tickets. I know your dad. He might buy you new shoes, but permission for a concert? Never."
"Excuse me? I swear I have tickets. I swear on Tae's jawline, his dark eyes, and that honey-like voice of his-I got them!"
Ada pushed the blanket off and sat up with a straight face. "I don't trust people who swear by jawlines sharper than my kitchen knife."
Hari snorted. "Okay, rude. But also valid. Still-this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"And this nap is once-in-a-lifetime too," Ada muttered, pulling her pillow over her head again.
Hari didn't back down. "Listen to me. His voice, Ada. His voice is therapy. Free therapy.
Ada sighed. "Why do I feel like I was born just to suffer your fangirl phases?"
"Because you were. Allah sent you to this world with one mission-to stop me from doing stupid things... or to at least record them."
Ada smiled in spite of herself. "I still don't like concerts."
There was a beat of silence.
"And yet, somehow you like me. So miracles do happen," Hari chirped.
Ada groaned. "You're insane."
"Insanely in love with the idea of you standing beside me when Tae looks into the crowd and accidentally falls in love with me."
Ada dropped her head into her hands and muttered like a woman wronged by fate itself.
"Ya Rabb... why? Why me? Out of the entire population on this cursed Earth... why am I the chosen one?"
Hari beamed. "Yes, you. You and only you.
"You will come with me, so when I faint from the sheer beauty of his voice or the injustice of his cheekbones, you'll catch me. Gracefully. Like a loyal best friend. So I don't collapse in front of five hundred people and go viral for all the wrong reasons."
Ada stared. "That's your plan?"
"Oh, and it gets better," Hari added, eyes wide with excitement. "You're not even a fan. Which is perfect. Your focus will be entirely on me-not him. You won't be distracted by his jawline or his voice that sounds like heartbreak wrapped in velvet."
She placed a hand over her heart. "You'll be my emotional support human."
You can wear your noise-canceling headphones and pretend you're in a library. Just stand next to me, That's all I ask."
Ada blinked. "That is the most unhinged logic I've ever heard."
Hari shrugged. "Thank you."
Ada sat back, sighing. "Even if I agree, you think getting permission from Moma is going to be that easy?"
Hari rolled her eyes like a seasoned drama queen. "Piece of cake. Leave that to me...
Aunt Yasmeen loves me. I'll say salam, blink twice, and she'll hand you over."
Ada sighed, defeated.
"Fine. But if he takes his shirt off mid-performance, I'm leaving."
Hari whispered reverently, "And that's when I'll stay."
Ada covered her face again.
"Ya Allah... how did I end up with this woman as my best friend?"
Hari scoffed. "Please...You just get ready. Put on something that says 'I'm not impressed but I might be emotionally ruined later.'"
Ada raised a brow. "What does that even look like?"
Hari grinned. "Exactly how you always dress. Dramatic elegance with a side of denial."
Ada blinked at her screen, still half-asleep, still blanket-wrapped like a sleepy burrito.
"Concert?" she repeated slowly, voice full of betrayal. "Hari? Really? Astaghfirullah!!"
Hari didn't even pause. "I know, I know-just this once. You can whisper a hundred Astaghfirullahs later... and maybe a few Subhanallahs while we're there. It's better than people saying Innalillahi when you vanish from my life for being a boring grandma."
Ada shot up like she'd been electrocuted. "Shuttttt Up. Hari!"
Hari gasped, delighted. "Oh? Energy? Are you waking up? Is this what it feels like to be yelled at by my soulmate?"
Ada groaned and jabbed the red call button. Hard.
Click.
Peace returned to her room. For exactly three seconds.
Then her phone buzzed with a message from Hari:
"You can run. But you can't run."
Ada threw her blanket over her head.
"Ya Allah... give me strength.
how do I unfriend her? Is there a du'a for that?
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Eternal vows|
Fanfiction" I can't even bear a speck of dust on you.." " I'm the one covering you in it..How can I do that.." "He's the poet of passion, She's the Novel of unspoken feelings." My work is protected and any translations and copying without permission is strict...
