Good Kid-Bad Kid[COMPLETED]

Chapter 27 (Laila)

Note: unedited please bear with the spelling/grammar mistakes. Also I haven't looked for a decent chapter pic yet!

Niha and I spent ages dressing each other up in the untouched dresses in my wardrobe. Before New Forest I would never have thought to find myself spin anything of the sort with Latifa, because I'd never owned a dress before.
Niha picked out a pale pink for me.
"How about this?" She asked, holding it up. I eyed it critically.
It was floor length and mostly chiffon, with white pearly beads around the neckline and sleeves. It was one of those elegant formal dresses I'd never had cause to wear, but was now wishing I did.
"Looks great" I replied grinning, "can I choose one for you?"
For some reason a strong wave of dizziness hit me, searing hot pain erupted in my head as though some one had jabbed a white hot poker into it. I almost screamed but then suddenly it was gone, as quickly as it had come.
"For me? Why?" She giggled but I was already running through them, hiding my troubled expression while also wondering what would look nice on my friend.
Anything really to be honest I thought. Niha was super pretty, and she could probably pull off anything. I picked out a deep blue dress finally and held it up. It was also floor length and had long flowing sleeves with silvery white embroidery of ferns and crimson flowers. It bunched up at the waist and then flowed down prettily, and it would look amazing on Niha's tall frame.
"Oh my god Laila, that looks amazing"
"You can have it- I'll probably never wear it" I added threateningly when she opened her mouth to protest. I felt nice inside. I'd never have enough to be able to give my friends decent gifts, but finally I could!

We both changed and then Niha set to work with the makeup which was mostly foreign to me. She seemed to know exactly what to do with the foundation and concealer and all that, and in the next twenty minutes she transformed my terrible appearance to something beautiful with large doe like eyes and full lips. I then insisted she apply it on her too so that I could watch and learn, but really I wanted to make sure both of us looked awesome. Maybe we could take nice photos or we could go to the park or something-
But then Niha's phone rang.
"Assalamualaikum Abu" she said, putting on the finishing touches on her eyes. Her face fell, "what? Why? Abu please you all go I want to stay here a little longer!"
Her Abu wasn't having much of that by the sounds of it.
"Fine. No, Laila will drop me"
I sighed in relief.
"What happened?" I asked once she cut the phone.
"My aunt's family are in town. All of us are going out to some fancy restaurant with them for dinner"
"Oh that perfect then!" I exclaimed trying really hard not to be disappointed, "you can stay wearing this and all- you're practically ready!"
"I'm really sorry Laila" Niha said sadly, clearly looking through my false bubbliness.
I shook my head with a smile, "hey, it's okay. We can do this next weekend or something. Shall we get going? I'll ask Yassin to drop us"
"Why not Badr?" She blurted.
"He's busy- he's leaving for Arizona tomorrow"

Yassin and Badr were talking in hushed voices at the foot of the stairs and I groaned inwardly. It was almost like a substitute for a prom night scene- girls descending from the stair case, boys not lowering their gaze...
I inhaled and Niha and I quickly made our way down although we didn't get to avoid sight of my "cousins". Badr whistled and I shot him a glare that was so sharp it was a wonder it didn't pierce him. He grinned and held up his hands in surrender, backing into the kitchen and disappearing from sight. Yassin on the other hand was gazing at Niha, his expression giving away nothing and everything at the same time. I smiled inwardly. She got you I thought.
"Yassin, could you drop us back to Niha's?" I asked, gathering my skirts so I wouldn't fall.
"Sure" he shrugged, pulling out his keys, "I have a few errands to run anyway"
"JazakAllah khair" said Niha quietly, in her sweet voice. He gave her a brief look of confusion and then headed out the door, but I knew why he hadn't replied- he didn't know how.

The ride back was uneventful. Yassin wasn't his usual mild self, and I'd counted on him to make conversation. Still, when Niha left the car he did smile at her and say "Assalamualikum". I jumped out and took the front seat.
"What errands?" I asked as he backed out the car.
"I have to get this USB stick to a client on our way back"
"How do they know you're not a cop in disguise?" I asked curiously, "like, it would be easy for you to turn the guy in right?"
Yassin laughed, "we have our ways"
"Like? Come on Yassin who am I going to tell?!"
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes, as though trying to detect a lie, and I stared back in earnest.
"Like this"
He rolled up his left sleeve and turned his hand so his wrist was facing me. There, an eloquent symbol of a crescent dagger with a dragon head hilt.
"And as for me personally-" he showed his other wrist.
"Sabr?" I read the Arabic word, "why?"
He shook his head, "it's personal. Badr has freedom, Bilal has pride"
I swallowed. How badly I wanted to tell him tattoos were haram!
"Wow" I said instead, "it looks...nice"
He raised an eyebrow.
"It does!"
And it was true. It looked quiet striking, jet black and radiating power. Something about the crescent dagger made me shudder inwardly. That sign was probably a nightmare for people.

Yassin's errand turned out to take place near school in a bar called Fankour.
"Welcome to Cedochi central" Yassin muttered, unclamping his seatbelt. Astaghfurillah
"Wait here-don't move and don't make eye contact with anyone. Pretend you have no idea where you are"
"Yes boss" I replied, rolling my eyes even though my knees were shaking. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and exited the car.
I watched him disappear into the bar, get swallowed in those neon lights which brightened as the sun went down. To be honest with you, Fankour bar looked exactly as I'd expected a Cedochi hangout to look like. Lots of guys were milling around on their motorbikes outside, all of them looking the part. There was that thing though, about Cedochi kids, which made them look more then the usual thug. They looked smart, calculating. This was no ordinary group- it only took in the very best.
I wondered what the different groups could be. I tried separating them into two categories "Yassin" and "Badr" - the ones who had a desk job of sort and the ones who worked in field. I was so busy doing this that I didn't notice a pair of eyes watching me from the shadows until they were reflected in the rear view mirror, piercing green and the scariest thing I've ever seen.
They belonged to a guy with a marred face, probably from some accident, who was clad from head to foot in dark shades.
And he was staring straight at me.
There was no mistaking it. Although he was at a distance there wasn't anyone else he was staring at.
I decided to stay put- Yassin knew best about this place and he'd told me to stay. A terrible thought crossed my mind- what if I'd made eye contact for too long? Maybe that's what happened around here- people got suspicious. I looked around mildly, trying to pretend as though I didn't care that some creep was staring at me in a very disturbing manner. Checked my phone, rolled my eyes in boredome, touched up my make up, sneaked a glance back...
He was gone!
I sagged in relief. Thank god. Alhamdulillah.

Bang!

I whipped my head up. Shouts filled the air and suddenly the crowd outside the bar had their guns pulled out and firing was taking place even as I watched with horror.

And this car was right in the middle of it.

A loud bang sounded close by and then a second. I screamed as the glass of the back screen shattered and flung myself out of the car, running for dear life. I pushed through the crowd, not caring that each person could have shot me. Perhaps the shock of seeing a hijabi clad in pink did the trick, especially when I kicked off my heels.
I slid into a narrow column between the bar and the brick building next to it, squeezing through the opening and sprinting across the dark, damp floor. I could hear the pounding of a pair feet behind me as the noise from Fankour died away. Without turning around I could sense the green-eyed man, and I ran even faster, my feet skimming over the concrete, sincerely praying there was no glass.
I was almost at the other opening when it happened again.
The dizziness hit me in full force and I halted, as though slammed to a stop. Oh Allah the pain... I clutched my head and rubbed my temples. Everything was in threes, swimming this way and that. The pain erupted behind my eyes, the same searing-hot pain.
I fell to my knees.
Six pair of rough black shoes circled around me.
"Jackpot" someone said and I almost screamed at them to shut up. Sound was beginning to hurt my head even more and I couldn't bear that, "I didn't even have to knock you out"
The voice was low, sinister, calculating. It belonged to someone who knew exactly what to do and when they had the upper hand.
"Yassin" I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut, "Yassin"
"I'll help you out a little"
And with that something crashed on my forehead and the world went black.