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𝐋𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐚'𝐬 𝐏.𝐎.𝐕
F L A S H B A C K
"Yes yes Shifa I'll be there shortly and I'm so sorry that I am late. Please bear with me," I say while locking the main door of my house. "Yeah bye Love you," I reply and cut my best friend's call and jog to my car in my 2-inch heels, dressed for her birthday party. Please, God, help me reach her place in time with safety. I mutter a small prayer I do while leaving my home and start my car.
Just as I started the car, the engine made some weird noise adding more to my bad luck. Shit! I'll have to take a ride there.
I make a stop at the florist to collect the flower bouquet I ordered for Shifa. The cab driver being an idiot couldn't wait for two minutes till I came back with the flowers and so he asked me to pay for the ride and went away.
I gave the receipt to the florist, who went inside probably to bring the flowers. I had gotten her a perfume and watch from Dior along with a Prada purse as a gift.
Thanks to the idiotic driver, I was now holding the gifts all by myself while thinking about how was I going to manage everything all alone.
Soon the florist came with my flowers and I moved to the billing counter. I paid the bill and turned around only to bump into someone and the bouquet slipped from my hands, as I panicked that it might get damaged.
The guy I bumped into held it before it could fall. "Oh my God thank you so much for catching it! I bought it for my best friend and I was worried that it might get damaged. Thank you!" I said without thinking anything and then looked at the guy as he gave me the bouquet.
He looked no less than a model with his hair messy, sculpted jawline and his blue eyes boring into my somewhat green ones. "It's okay, I'm glad I could help you," he spoke in his deep voice which gave me shivers. He then forwarded his hand in front of me and said, "I'm Imran." I managed to shake his hands and say, "Myself Layla. And as much as I would like to talk to you, I've got to be somewhere right now. It's my best friend's birthday and I'm already late."
He looked at me with a frown and said, "You're gonna carry all this by yourself?" I shrugged and said, "Yeah, actually my car ditched me first and then the cab driver. But it's alright, I can manage. It's just a few minutes away, near the Old Paisley Road."
"Actually, I'm going that way so I can give you a lift." I hesitate, not knowing what to say. "I know that you're confused but don't worry, I don't bite. Lemme get this," he said and held the gift bags in his hand while gesturing for me to follow him. I nod and follow him to his car where he opens the front door for me to sit.
He gently closed the door after I sat inside, did a quick jog to the other side and placed the bags in the backseat. He then sat in the driving seat and looked at me, asking for the location. After I gave him the address to Shifa's place, he drove off while playing some music.
"Why'd you help me?" I ask with hesitation as looks at me and replies, "Well, I couldn't let a pretty lady stand there all by herself waiting for a cab. Plus I was going the same way so I thought why not." I smile at his words and feel my cheeks heating.
Come on Layla you hardly know him!
My inner voice shouted at me for blushing at the praise.
"So tell me about yourself, Layla," he says and I reply, "Well, I'm currently in school and I aim to become a doctor so that I can help people. My best friends are Shifa- whose party I am going to and Iqra." He nods and says, "Oh wow! Even I wish to become a doctor. Guess we have the same choices."
He speeds up and changes the gear when his hand accidentally brushes my thigh, passing shocks through my veins instead of blood. "I- I didn't mean to do that, sorry," he says and I nod saying it was okay.
We talked until we were in front of Shifa's house which now was looking like a banquet hall. Trust me when I say this, This girl loves overdressing and over-decorating.
"Thank you, Imran," I say as I look at him, only to see that he is already looking at me. "Uh- nah, it's alright. Let me help you," he said and I opened the door and got out, while he brought the gift bags to me. I held them in one hand after putting my phone safely inside my sling purse. "Are you sure you'll manage taking them inside on your own?" He asked as I nodded and replied, "Oh yeah, you've already helped me more than you could. I don't want to trouble you more."
He shrugged and said, "Uh Layla, you're looking pretty by the way." My cheeks blushed due to his compliment, as I smiled shyly and said, "Uhm, thank you." He smiled and I turned around to go.
Darn! I should've asked for his Instagram account!
Layla, you're so stupid. My inner self again scolded me, this time for a different reason.
I felt as if someone was standing behind me as the smell of a woody masculine cologne hit my nose. I turned around and saw Imran standing just inches away from me.
My breath hitched at the proximity we had between us. He looked at me and asked, "Uh Layla? Would you mind if I asked for your Instagram?" I felt butterflies in my stomach as he asked that and passed his phone to me. I entered my account name and smiled, while he ruffled his hair.
Oh my god help me!
I shyly walked away and turned back on hearing his car's engine revving. He smiled at me and I did the same.
I quickly entered the house, and only then did I realise that the entire house was vibrating from the loud music. How could I not hear it before? I thought to myself as someone tapped my shoulder. I turned and saw my best friend Iqra who stood in front of me looking as beautiful as always.
The crimson-coloured long dress fitted her body perfectly and she had paired it nicely with jewellery. The bold crimson lipstick and her now curled hair defined her facial features beautifully.
"Woah Layla, you're looking hot!" She says and kisses my cheek as I let out a small chuckle. "Did he say the same thing?" She asked as I looked at her in confusion. He? Who he?
"Ugh, God! The same guy with whom you came here! I saw you both talking."
"Oh him? Uhm, he was just a friend." I said casually to which she replied, "What friend? I know all of your friends Layla. It's me, Shifa, Zayn, Sarah, Amaan and all others, but him? Nah."
Ugh! How do I explain to her that I met him right now?
"I met him about 15 minutes ago," I say quietly, knowing that I was gonna be bombarded with questions by my best friend. "Wait what?" I nod and she says, "I wanna know everything about him, but later. Otherwise, Shifa is going to kill me along with you. Come lets go!"
She drags me through a crowd of people dancing and talking. The good thing is no one's drunk over here as we hate alcohol. And when I say we hate it, it means we can't even tolerate its smell. Plus we're prohibited from consuming alcohol, so it's good.
Iqra held the bouquet and I sighed in relief as my hands were paining by holding it for so long. I spotted Shifa talking with Zayn and Sarah near the kitchen table. "Shifaaaa!! Happy Birthdaayy!" I sing as she hugs me and I hug her back. "Here's your present!" I say and give her the flower bouquet first, followed by the perfume and the watch.
The look on her face was enough for me to know that she loved the gifts. "Omg, Lay you got me Prada and Dior! I've had them on my 'to-buy list' for so long!" She immediately wore the watch and sprayed the perfume all over her body.
Zayn and the rest just chuckled seeing her reaction as she thanked me again. "Shifa you look so pretty!" I exclaim as I notice her knee-length silver sparkly dress. It was beautifully designed with the embroidered net on the shoulder and the sleeves which reached just below her elbow.
Her hair was curled and she had a small crown placed on top of it. Her brown eyes were sparkling as the silver and black eyeshadow highlighted them.
The Prada purse went along her dress and made her outfit complete.
"I've got to say, Layla, you aren't looking less than anyone!"
I smiled at her compliment and took a look at myself.
(Layla's Outfit For The Day!)
I didn't feel like getting too much dressed up. I went easy on the outfit and put a little more effort into the makeup. I blended blue and black eyeshadow and added eyeliner on top of it. For the lips, I chose dark brown glossy lipstick and then highlighted my face.
Lastly, I added a thick layer of mascara on my lashes which completed my makeup.
I added some accessories like a layered necklace and a watch with some bracelets. I matched my dress with a baby blue purse and blue rhinestoned strappy heels. I loved my outfit and was happy that others too liked it.
"Oh hey, Layla! Amaan's looking for you." Arya, a classmate of mine said as she passed by. Before I could ask her anything else, she was dragged into the crowd by her friends. The music was changing from time to time and everyone seemed to enjoy the party.
Just as I spotted Amaan, who was talking to a few girls and guys, my phone buzzed and I saw the notification. It was a follow request from Imran. Oh My God he really did send me a request!
Before accepting his request and following him back, I checked his account as it was public. I wanted to know more about him. Well, one thing that I can say for sure is that he loves cars. "Layla!"
I turned around and saw Max walking towards me with a smile on his face. This isn't gonna end well. With both Max and Amaan coming in my direction, I wished that the ground would split and swallow me. I'd rather do that happily than see them fight or argue today as well.
"Hey Layla, I've been looking for you everywhere since I came here," Max said as he casually greeted me by fist-bumping. He knows that I don't appreciate hugs from everyone, especially guys. "Oh, I just came here, around 5-10 minutes ago," I said while playing with my fingers. That's something I do quite often when I'm nervous.
"Hey, Layla!" Amaan greeted and before I could respond, he side-hugged me as if I was okay with that. I saw the look on Max's face and he wasn't okay with it. He cleared his throat and we began conversing with each other, the three of us.
"Layla come here fast!" Zayn called out and I excused myself from the two boys.
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