Sangeeth(a musical event) was after mogrib.
And since it was not islamically appropriate, the elders refused to be a part of it.
It was only for the sake of the children's happiness, they let them have it their way (half-heartedly) otherwise they did not exactly approve of it.
It was an-only-girls event and the arrangements were made on the upper portion of the Haveli.
By evening, all the girls had shed off the dried up henna off their hands and now were fixing up their hair and make up for the sangeet ceremony.
On the other hand, boys were getting ready for Rehaan's bachelors party.
Aariz, Zeeshan, Burhaan, Shah, some of their second cousins and friends from college and school changed into some cascual clothes and left for the party around 9.
Upstairs, the girls had taken off their dupattas and hijabs and were dancing to the Bollywood songs blasting from the speakers.
With no desi aunties to gawk or judge, they all were feeling pretty comfortable and relaxed.
Moreover, Areesha returned to them in a better mood which automatically put Habeeba, Maha and Urooba in a good mood as well.
They forgot about all the drama happening in the family and decided to enjoy the moment.
Everybody was on the dance floor and none of them were shying away.
Habeeba with her friends, Maha with her circle, Meher and Veronica, Urooba and with her group of girls, even Sarah and Laiba, who had never really danced in public, were seen doing a couple dance together.
Laughing at themselves.
The day might not had started off great for the Othmans but it was turning out to be fun.
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Rehaan's bachelor's party was happening inside a VIP party hall at one of the hotels owned by the Othmans.
Unlike his birthday party(which was just between his close friends), a lot of guys had been invited for this one.
Although, the place was large enough to accommodate a crowd as huge as that but it was still too many people for Aariz's liking.
It was not like he had not partied with so many of them before, he had been to some raves in the past as well and had been a part of bigger crowds but he was at a point in his life where all those things did not excite him anymore.
He basically, had partied so much, that he eventually had grown out of it.
On the contrary, Zeeshan and Burhaan were more than willing to mingle with the guys.
Those two were actually socialising and making friends.
Playing games, singing karaoke and dancing with them.
Whereas he lay on his back on a couch, playing games on his cellphone.
Notifications kept popping up on the screen and he kept ignoring them, too involved in the game to care about it.
Later, when he won the match and the game was over, he exited the gaming app and opened to his WhatsApp, only to find a couple of images waiting for him in the chat box.
The sender was none other than, Veronica.
And when he saw the pictures she sent him, he was a little bewildered.
He slowly sat up on the couch, crossed his legs, held the device in between his hands and just stared at the picture on the screen.
It was of Laiba.
But he couldn't recognise her at all.
She looked somehow different.
Maybe it was the make up. He thought.
Or because she was hijab-less.
Or perhaps, it was the smile.
Or that shine in her eyes.
Or the glow on her cheeks.
Or maybe it was the lightings.
Or filter.
Or maybe she was photogenic or something.
He just...couldn't tell what exactly was different about her in those pictures.
V: Are you speechless or something?
Veroinca's message appeared on the screen, snapping him out of the trance.
He blinked and looked away from his phone, as if Laiba was actually standing in front of him.
The phone vibrated in his hands.
Veronica. He shut his eyes and opened them before sighing and looking back at his cellphone.
V: I understand, you didn't get to have any action lately but come on, get a hold on yourself, mannn😝😜😜
On reading the text, Aariz's face flushed up for all the wrong reasons.
Last time he checked, he wasn't a prude but the fact that the comment was directed towards Laiba, was what made him feel awkward.
"FUCK YOU!" He shouted at the screen loud enough to draw attention of the people around him.
Some of them looked at him strangely while he typed all the curse word he could think of and hit send.
V: I wish I could see your face right now😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Came her reply.
A: Fuck offfff
V: I'm loving this😂😂😂😂😂
A: *$#%
V: Brb. Have to click some pictures😉
V: Until then...let your imagination go wild😉😉😉😉
That's it!
He blocked her right away and stuffed his cellphone in his jeans pocket.
Stupid, Veronica. He cussed, face palming himself to hide his face from the world.
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"That was fun!" Sarah said when they reached the rooftop of the Haveli.
"Yeahh...it was." Laiba smiled, unlatching the latch and pushing the gate open.
Strong wind assaulted their bodies as they stepped out in open, sending their hair every which direction.
Laiba collected her hair and left it on one side of her shoulder. Sarah pulled hers in a bun.
They both took a seat on a bench. Their hands propped behind them and their legs dangling as they threw their heads back and watched the stars
Th moisture in the air felt nice against their skin and the sky above them was as wonderful as ever.
"Laiba?" Sarah called out to her in a low voice.
"Yeah?" She said without looking at her.
"Are you happy here?" She asked.
She glanced at her, "What do you think?"
"I can't really tell. I mean they are all good with you. That's apparent but I don't know if Aariz..." She trailed, not knowing how to complete the sentence.
Laiba gave her a light smile, "What about him?"
"I'm sorry but I can't seem to hold back anymore."
"You don't have to."
"I don't wanna overstep in your life."
"Sarah!" She placed her hand on hers, "There is no boundary to overstep."
"Alright! What's Meher doing here?" She shot the question that had been bothering her the most.
Laiba saw that coming.
She took a deep breathe and looked away.
"We are trying to figure that out ourselves." She said.
Sarah nodded her head, "Is she causing you any trouble?" There was concern laced in her voice.
"Nope. I don't think she has even noticed me." Or that was what she had thought until Aariz had told her otherwise but she better not concern Sarah with all that.
"Hmm..." She bobbed her head, "And Aariz? What does he have to say about her?"
Laiba shrugged, "He said he will deal with her when the time is right."
Sarah visibly relaxed, "Did he really say that?"
"Yeah."
Sarah wanted to asked about their relationship but she wasn't sure.
But then again, she had to know if Laiba was happy or not.
She had to know if he was good with her or not.
Sarah had never been subtle about something she wanted to know.
She had always been blunt.
That was how she was.
Straightforward.
"How's things with him?" She fired.
"It's fine." It sounded like a rehearsed answer.
"Tell me about him."
Laiba faced her, "What do you wanna know know?" She raised a brow.
"Everything." She was excited.
"Alright!" She glanced back at the stars, "Aariz..." She tasted his name in her tongue as she took a moment to think of a way to describe him to her friend.
Meanwhile at the party, Aariz had decided to join the crowd because sitting alone, all by himself didn't feel like a good idea to him anymore.
Honestly, in the beginning, I thought Aariz was a total jerk.
He was rude.
He was arrogant.
He was cold hearted.
That was my first impression of him.
But as days passed...I noticed, despite of him being a jerk, everyone loved and respected him.
They let him make the calls. They let him be the boss. They literally let him have control over everything.
No matter how bitter or rude he chose to be with them, they would just laugh it away.
It was strange. I couldn't understand why they were giving him so much power over them. Why they were letting him do or say anything that comes to his mind. Why they were spoiling him by giving him all the attention and the control to dominate them.
And then, I saw it.
I saw the person he was when he wasn't rude or arrogant.
I saw his other side.
The charming side.
"Heyyy, man!"
"Wassup, bruh?
"Hi!"
"Booooyahh!'
They greeted him with high fives, fist bumps, shoulder bumps and pats on his back as he brushed past them all with a fake smile on his face.
When Aariz isn't a jerk, he is cool.
When he isn't arrogant, he is considerate.
When he isn't rude, he is fun.
When he isn't cold, he is caring and protective and and and...I don't know, okay? I can't explain it but there's something about him...something that drags people towards him...he's attractive...not just his looks but also his personality.
When you are around him, you want to be his friend.
You want to be on his side.
You want to walk beside him, or behind him or below him, it doesn't matter as long as you are with him.
Here, Aariz was in mid of an arm wrestling match with Rehaan, the crowd cheering for them.
Rehaan was having a hard time keeping his ground against Aariz whereas he was sitting there unbothered.
He was waiting for Rehaan to let his guard down and when he did, he took advantage of that one single second of his weakness and slammed his hand to the table.
The crowd jumped and roared while he sat there flashing a grin at Rehaan who was hitting his head on the table at his lost.
The guy is popular.
Not just with ladies but also with guys.
He has a reputation.
And he loves to be on the top.
He's smart and intelligent.
He's competitive and likes to win.
Haha...he lost to me one time, though.
Now he was with the guys playing Fifa on PlayStation.
He was aggressively punching the buttons on the joystick, sitting on the edge of the couch, his body leaned forward and his eyes focused on the player on the video game.
He's good at everything he does.
And it's honestly, infuriating.
The way he is...
He won the match, threw the joystick on the table and moved to the sheesha booth.
He smoked with the boys for a while there and then, lay down sprawled on the couch, drumming his fingers on his chest as he listened to the music.
And the funny thing is...he's completely opposite to what I prayed for in a guy.
I alway imagined myself getting to married to a pious man.
I always prayed that I get someone who's proper in his Salah.
Someone who abides by the sunnah of our beloved prophet Muhammed(peace be upon him)
Someone who matches my haram-halal ratio.
Someone who would help my strengthen my imaan.
Someone I could pray with.
Someone I could have conversations about Allah with.
And I was confident I would get a spouse just like I want.
But...he's not...I mean...he's just lost I guess.
I don't know...it's sad...everyone in the house is somewhat religious but he...and the elders don't even force him like they do it with the other kids. He prays whenever he wants and just skips whenever he doesn't feel like it...he's moody and I know that but someday...if Allah wills... I would love to talk to him about it, you know. I want to know what exactly his thoughts are regarding our religion. I want to know what's holding him back. But then again, it's not my place. Allah guides whomever he wills. I can't judge him. His level of imaan might be higher than me for all I know. I'm no one to question. The least I could do is pray for him.
No one's perfect.
Not even Aariz.
He's got flaws...
Some...I absolutely can't stand.
Mabel's 'Don't Call Me Up' was blasting from the speakers.
You want me more now I let go
Na, na, na, na
I'm over you and I don't need your lies no more
Aariz was on the dance floor, his eyes shut, his head thrown back and his body swaying to the rhythm.
And I know, you said that I changed with my cold heart
But it was your game that left scars
Ooh, I'm over you
Don't call me up
I'm going out tonight
Feeling good that you're outta my life
Don't want talk about us
Gotta leave it behind
One drink and you're out of my mind
Na, na, take it up
Baby, I'm on a high
And you're alone, going out of your mind
But I'm here in the club
And I don't wanna talk
So don't call me up.
It breaks my heart.
He breaks my heart.
Most of the time, I'm nervous and can't even utter a word to him. Sometimes, he says or does things that triggers a rebellious side of me that I never knew exited inside of me in first place.
I try to hate him
I want to hate him.
But then again, I can't.
When he comes in front of me, I forget everything.
One second we are fighting and then next second we are back to normal.
We start up things and we just let it slide.
We end our conversation even before it begins.
So many words left, unspoken.
So many feelings, unshared.
Something is holding us back.
Something is keeping us apart.
And I can't seem to figure out if it's for the best or the worse.
All that was what she wanted to tell Sarah but all she could say in the end was,
"He's fine...I guess."
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