Bookworms | ✔

sixteen

"Excuse me?" asked a deep voice.

Nicholas looked up from his writing, his blue eyes meeting with dark ones that seemed oddly familiar. In front of him stood a man of his early twenties. His eyes were gentle as he smiled at Nicholas. His black hair was tousled to one side, giving him the bed look. Something about him seemed familiar, but Nicholas couldn't tell why. 

"Yes?"

"Would you have happened to see a Muslim girl about this tall?" he gestured with his hands a height that matched Dina's perfectly. "She's really talkative and will probably make your ears bleed."

The man had hair that seemed almost black, his hair wavy, falling over his forehead at times. The dark hair contrasted with his golden complexion. Nicholas's eyes drifted to the other man behind him, who was swiping down his phone, his light brown eyes eagerly absorbing the contents. Small hairs grazed the sides of their well defined jaws. It was then that Nicholas realized these men were twins.

Although the men looked similar in terms of facial expressions, they had different tastes in style. The first man, who asked Nicholas the question, wore a hoodie and sweatpants, while the other, who was still reading on his phone, wore a plaid button-up with his nerdy glasses. The beanie on his head made him look even more hipster.

A hand waved in front of him. "You okay, sport?" the same twin from before questioned. 

"Sorry," mumbled Nicholas as he cleared his throat. "I don't think a girl with that description came by today," he said in a firm, clear voice. 

The man turned to his brother, shrugging. "Told you she disappeared, Haroon."

Haroon? Are these guys Muslims?

"Shut up, Humaid," scowled the light-eyed one, Haroon as he pocketed his phone. "It's not my fault we keep losing our sister."

"What do we tell Baba?"

"We pretend that he never asked," whispered Haroon. 

Nicholas decided to jump into the conversation, fascinated by the two men. "Do you guys attend this university? I haven't seen you two around campus," he commented, casually.

The men turned to him, suddenly aware of Nicholas's quiet presence. For a moment, they examined him, carefully reading the passive expression on his face. Nicholas felt nervous by their intense gaze, pretending to busy himself with his paper. He swallowed a lump in his throat, wiping his palm against his sweats. Their eyes narrowed at him.

The room felt suffocating from their harsh gazes. It was almost like they were suspicious of him. Nicholas didn't like the feeling, wishing they'd stop staring at him and would go away. He regretted opening his mouth to speak with them. 

Then, he heard the two boys begin to laugh, which made Nicholas even more anxious. He absentmindedly moved his leg up and down in an attempt to distract himself from his anxiety.

"Haroon, I think we're scaring the poor guy," chuckled Humaid.

"I must say I think our presence is intimidating," smirked Haroon, a twinkle of amusement was present in his light brown eyes. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Maybe we should introduce ourselves."

"I don't know, bro. Scaring people is my favorite pastime," grinned Humaid. 

His brother scoffed, crossing his arms over his plaid-covered chest. "Like you even have a pastime. You do nothing."

"You're one to talk. If I remember correctly, you and Dina fangirled over Percy Jackson the other day," said Humaid with a smug smile. He had the cocky grin that Nicholas was used to seeing on the jocks and football players around campus.