Tied to you

chapter 1: damn him!

year 2019 (three years after the prologue)

jannat's pov

"assalamualaikum baba, i'll meet you later since i'm running late for college" i said kissing my father's head. he is my everything since i was six. my mother left us and this earth due to cancer and that undoubtedly had left him broken but he still stayed strong for us.

"how many times have i told you to wake up early? you wouldn't have been rushing if you woke up at seven and not twenty minutes before your first class. you don't even have your breakfast properly" he said giving me a disappointing look. i hate to see him disappointed in me.

"i'm sorry baba, from next time i'll make sure to wake up at seven, its just that i had dozed off while reading the quran after fajr" i say and open the door only to be hit by cold harsh december wind. i like winters but only the snowy part of it, not when your teeth chatter and your skin becomes dry and itchy.

"you should have worn a warmer jacket" my dad says from behind me, i hug him tightly and smile at him.

"see there this hug will keep me warm for the next 24 hours" 

"exaggeration runs in your blood" he rolled his eyes and patted my head.

"i guess" i shout as i skid down the railing, i like doing things differently, and besides the steps are yet to be raked as snow might make me slip. five minutes left for my first class and i start walking brusquely. the college was just near my house but snow and cold made it harder for me. i finally reach after what feels like eternity. the bell rings suddenly as i release a breath, but then i start running to my first class, i skid stop before the door to miss linda's class. 

" four-oh you reached before i could finish till five, record breaking jan" miss linda rolls her eyes as rest of the class laughs. i cover my head with the hoodie over my hijab as i walk to the first bench to sit next to my all time buddy meera. my face was pink with embarrassment by now.

"woke up twenty minutes before?" she asks holding her laugh.

"shut up" i growl, she laughs suddenly as miss linda raises her eyebrow at her and she shuts up at once.

"so the students who are in fourth year of automobile engineering will be attending a lecture given by a an ex student of this university and now he is the CEO of a very famous company, you might know him." miss linda says and this immediately catches the attention of the group of brunettes seated at the back bench who mostly don't pay attention to what miss linda usually says. everyone knows this ex-student, and especially the girls, i know him just too well because

1)he is the son of my father's best friend

2)we had attended the same kindergarten, elementary and high school.

3)he was just a senior by two years and we had to team up for quite a lot of projects as he was majoring in the same field as me, automobile engineering.

fourth and most important, because we hated each other from the moon and back. till today i'm still unaware of the reason of our hate but somehow we do. like right now i'm hating him because he has to give a lecture and i'm not in the mood to hear his voice early in the morning. unfortunately i am an automobile fourth year student. i sigh and slump back in my seat.

"see you later jan" meera says waving at me and getting up.

"damn you for being in civil" i say grouchily.

"aww i'm sure mr. hazel eyes will be a good entertainment, see all the girls are so hyped up, even angeline and her group." she says chuckling as i look around and true to her words, all the girls are excited more than ever. angeline doesn't like any sort of lectures, some she even fails at but i guess in this guy's case, even the most dumbest student will pay attention to whatever he has to say, even if its boring. all the students who aren't pursuing automobile course exit the classroom and whispers of relative excitement go around the class. suddenly heavy footsteps echo in the quiet hall outside. miss linda gets up from her seat and goes up to the door. a six foot five inches figure enters the class and everyone sit up straight. the figure clad in a handsome black suit nears the stage and in a short while is speaking on the micro phone. i am not even interested to look at his face. i just sloppily grab a pen and my notebook and pretend to take notes.

"good morning, so most of you might be knowing me, since i was a student of this university just a year ago, for those who don't let me introduce myself, i am aabid hamadi" and everyone clap. they are clapping as if he is receiving some oscar. i roll my eyes as i don't bother to waste my energy and clap like a monkey. i see miss linda glaring at me as she gestures for me to listen and look up. she shakes her head as she knows our year long enmity, till this day, she asks me the reason, and i don't know. great right?

"so i'll try to not make this a lecture but instead a fun interaction between me and you, what do you say?" everyone shout a yes and murmurs of excitement go around. i stop doodling and drop the pen, frustrated i lay my head on the table. just to pretend i'm listening i keep my head covered with the hoodie but keep it up, so no one notices me sleeping. well i actually wasn't sleeping. he continues saying somethings for another half an hour.

"so any last questions?" finally thank allah, i look up to be only awe struck. he has changed so much, no more the shaggy beard or the messy hair, no more button down shirts and glasses. no more the thin, stick like frame. he was handsome and popular before but now it seems to have increased hundred times. he was a completely transformed man. clean trimmed short beard, sharp jawline, his muscles were visible through the well fitted suit, sharp piercing hazel orbs and his hair was combed neatly. he seemed to have grown a bit tan from his usual pale skin. how can someone transform so much over a year. we used to visit them a lot when when his family was alive, now only dad meets him, the only family member i got to meet was little ilham when she lived with jihan, my sister, but since he graduated i couldn't as ilham stayed with him now. hope she is doing well. he answered smartly as i watched him in a daze and then as if the haraam alarm button started ringing in me, i lowered my gaze. astaghfirullah, to me he still looks like a chipmunk.

"so that is all, if i get the time and opportunity, we would surely meet again" i wish you never get the time and opportunity to do so. he walked off smartly and did a slight bow in front of miss linda. she smiled and nodded her head. she knew that he doesn't shake hands with a non mehram, and this was something i appreciated him for. we get so lost in today's world that sometimes we forget the rules we should follow. like wearing the hijab, covering up modestly, lowering your gazing, following the halal stuff and the no touching non mehram thing. i so thankful for i'm a muslimah. i gather my things and walk out after everyone, the girl's rushed after him immediately, maybe to get a glimpse of him. how shameless. i walk lazily looking at the ground and bam i hit someone's back and before i could fall, someone grabs my wrist. 

"you should-" i look up as the person who was speaking stops midway and looks at me, piercing hazel eyes bore into me as i look at him wide eyed. he sighs and shakes head.

"sorry should have known, its the clumsy jannat, no one can do that other than you." he clicks his tongue and turns around and walks off. i look at his retreating back as anger bubbles up in me. screw that guy, damn him. his physical appearance might have changed, but his personality and attitude are the same.