Nicholas nodded.

"Well-"

"Humaid!" yelled a deep voice, barging into the room unexpectedly. He stopped and narrowed his eyes at his twin. "Can you stop boasting about your trophies?"

"I wasn't, you twit."

Haroon crossed his arms over his chest. "You're a horrible host."

Humaid tilted his head. "Why are you still wearing a beanie? The heat is on."

"My head feels cold."

Nicholas and Humaid exchanged glances at each other before erupting into laughter. Humaid clutched his stomach, his laugh echoing off the thin walls of the bedroom. A light pink tinted Haroon's cheeks as he scoffed.

"You should be like Voldemort and split your soul into horcruxes," mumbled Haroon under his breath.

The laughter ceased. The two men stared deep into the other's soul. Humaid smirked, watching Haroon push his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the surface glistening in light. Nicholas gulped, hearing the cracking of knuckles. He forgot how serious these guys went with their playful banters.

"Uh oh," squeaked Nicholas, slowly backing away from the two.

"So that's the game you want to play? Well that's a game you're going to get," said Humaid in a low voice.

Haroon smiled mischievously. "Bring it on, little bro."

Humaid's muscles tensed. Nicholas closed his eyes, not ready to see blood on the clean carpets of the house. He really didn't want the brothers to fight, and internally the panic began to settle deep in his stomach, twisting and churning. He had to stop them.

Then, the brothers did the unexpected, so odd that Nicholas had to blink, once, twice, three times to remind himself that it was the same jock and nerd that befriended him.

"If Voldemort were still around, I'd tell him that you were the Chosen One," said Humaid with a smug expression.

Haroon dramatically gasped. "You're as smart as Dudley is skinny," he countered.

I'm so confused.

"You keep talking, all I hear is moaning Myrtle."

"You're the reason why Mandrakes cry," retorted Haroon.

Humaid put a hand to his heart, feigning hurt. "Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all do!"

"No fair, you quoted the book," glared Haroon.

"There were no rules."

"They were unspoken!"

The Younes twins continued to argue while Nicholas whipped his head from speaker to speaker, brother to brother, foe to foe, trying to keep up with their list of Harry Potter insults. His brain crumpled into a bin of confusion. All this time, Nicholas genuinely believed that they would punch each other, but he was so wrong.

Dina and an elderly man popped into the bedroom. Dina's red scarf was tightly pinned against her head. Her dark almond-shaped eyes were lined with black, eyelashes fuller than normal. Her tinted red lips were pushing Nicholas closer to the edge and he quickly averted his gaze, sensing her father's eyes on him.

Shit!

"Are they arguing again?" questioned Dina, looking up at her father curiously.

Their father sighed. "I'm too old for this."

Dina stifled her laughter.

"Boys!" he yelled, grabbing their attention. "What did I say about book insults, especially in front of guests? Look at the poor boy! You're going to corrupt him," he scolded.

"No, it's okay, sir. They're just messing around," Nicholas smiled.

"Look how polite he is," commented their father before giving his sons a scolding look. "You all should take notes. Now come, we must pray Maghrib (sunset prayer). Haroon, you lead today."

Haroon mockingly saluted. "Sir, yes, sir!"

"I feel bad for Nick. You're going to destroy his innocent mind," said Dina, offering Nicholas a smile when her father wasn't looking.

He felt his heart flutter, a feeling he was starting to crave. Little did she know that his mind was no longer as pure as hers. He was slowly burning from his desire for the one girl he could never have.

Yet.

----

Mr. Zemel is killing me with these essay readings. I just wanted to sleep, man.

How great are the Younes twins? Excuse the cringe.

Also, I got character aesthetics that you all can save and post on social medias to help me promote the book (or make it your screensaver like me depending on obsession level).

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