Yaaseen

You're going to a wedding today, right? All set?

Yaaseen looked down at his phone, cocking his head at her curiosity. He had been speaking to this mystery girl for over a week and it had simply escaped his mind that he still did not know her name. Over the course of their very, very long conversation, it just seemed natural to talk to her and he liked having something to look forward to when he took his phone out of his pocket.

Yup. And all set? I guess. It's not like I have that much to do.

So what are you wearing?

Lol you're heluva orig ne?

What can I do? I just like knowing these things.

A shirt and a pair of jeans.

Details Yaaseen

... A white shirt and dark jeans?

Lol you're hopeless.

Sorry, guess I wasn't paying much attention to the name of my designer when I bought the shirt.

What's your cousin's name?

Talha.

And who's he marrying?

Some girl named Yusairah.

Oh. Nice. Have fun

Thanks. Will do

He pocketed his phone, blasting his hooter once more as he waited for Neelofah to put on her face.

God damned make-up...

Yumna

Her legs bounced against the soft carpet of her bedroom as she waited for her mother to walk in. Once the twins started school, their mother found a little more time to talk to her and had made it a ritual to pop into her room for a chat almost every night. But she loved it and hated it in equal measures- loved it because she missed her Mum and hated it because she always felt ashamed knowing she was keeping such a large chunk of her life a secret from her. It riled her to know that while her mother was talking to her, she'd be remembering what had happened between her and Muneer that afternoon or remembering a certain way he touched her or eyed her phone as she thought about his text waiting for her.

She always prayed her mother never stumbled upon those texts. They had become far too comfortable with each other to worry about censoring their words anymore and when he was in the mood, he'd have her hot in mere seconds and she'd be willing putty in his hands... if only he bothered to take advantage. 

She ran her fingers through her hair, pulling on the strands near her temple as she heard her mother's footsteps thudding up the stairs. Her breath felt laboured and her heart was beating almost ten times faster than normal. She had to tell her.

She had to.

It was too big a secret for her to keep it in any longer and now that Muneer stopped talking to her...

He was angry with her. He wanted her to keep the baby but it wasn't his choice. He wouldn't have to live with the consequences. He wouldn't have to live with the stares and the talks and the comments. As much as her family liked to believe that they were open minded- this was too much, even for them. 

She'd be the family pariah. Not him.

She'd have to live with it. She'd have to go through the changes, she'd have to deal with the cramping in her legs and the running stomach and the nausea all day long.

Not him.

She was going through it and he couldn't expect her to keep going simply to please his whims and fancies. 

No...

It was her choice, not his. She was the mother- not him.

She looked down at her fingers tapping a thousand beats per minute against her thigh, feeling cramps in her stomach at what was to come.

She had to do it.

She just had to.

"Yumna, you okay? You looked off supper time, hey." Her mother walked into the room, looking worriedly down at her daughter.

"Uhm..." she looked down at her toes peeking out from beneath the hem of her jeans, watching her toenails as they wiggled about. "I need to tell you something."

"What?" Zubaydah asked, perching on the edge of the bed beside Yumna.

"I'm..."

Just say it.

"I'm..."

Say it!

"I'm..."

Dammit, Yumna! Just say the words.

"I'm pregnant."

And all she heard was the crash of skin against bones as her cheek snapped to the side, reddening in pain from the force of her mother's slap...

Layla

It was a lazy day for them.

 She lived for the days when he was home for the entire day. They were rare and far between but it only made it better when it happened.

Thank God she wasn't on her period this time!

The last time he had been home for the entire day, she had been on the second day of her period and had pretty much knocked herself out on Stilpain. She woke up to a glass of water on her pedestal and a Panado on a saucer- he was thoroughly convinced that Stilpain was going to give her ulcers and that Panado was the cure to everything...

She was a damned horse.

She needed more than a Panado.

But she gulped it down anyway...

The things she did for him.

She woke up to the feeling of his back against her chest, warm and solid as if he were her very own hot water bottle. He slept like the dead after Fajr and it usually took more than just a little coaxing to get him to wake up.

 More than a lot of coaxing actually.

But she knew his secrets and she knew the one thing that turned his knees into jelly and his...

She grinned at her own dirty mind before she stretched over him, blowing gently into his ear. She never got the science of it but if there was one thing she knew...

That was his weakness.

She smiled as she felt him shiver beneath her, knowing full well what it would lead to.

She squeaked as he turned around, trapping her body beneath his and before she had the chance to greet him, his mouth had settled upon hers, stealing the words from her mind and turning them into utter mush as they came out as nothing but garbled moans at the things he did to her.

God, she loved their lazy days...

Raees

He felt stifled in his suit jacket.

It irritated him but as far as he was concerned, he didn't spend 10 grand on a suit only to have it be chucked in the back of his closet. Every damned wedding had him wearing that suit and no one had been the wiser. It was a standard black- he only needed to change the colour of his shirt and it was something brand new. He walked into the foyer of the massive hall, internally rolling his eyes at just how well Yusairah's family seemed to suit his cousin. If he knew his Aunty, the Walima the next day would be twice as bloody grand and four times the size of what he saw before him at that moment...

Neelofah and Yaaseen had already walked ahead of him, unable to wait for him to finish his conversation with Muhammad.

He shook his head of his thoughts- he wanted to simply forget the fact that his father had been fighting to take his medication again. They had had the shittiest argument before he stepped out of the house. He wished he could take back what was said but his father needed to hear it. He needed to know that he wasn't just living for himself and though Raees may have taken over a large chunk of the financial burden, his father was still his father. He still needed him. He had barely realised that his steps had begun to still as his thoughts raced through his mind but he simply couldn't go into that hall.

He couldn't laugh with his cousins knowing the shit he would be walking back into when he got home.

He looked up, screwing his eyes at the girl before him, bordering the doorway of the hall, peeking shyly in. Her light peach dress complimented her figure and he found himself willing her to turn around just so he could catch a glimpse of this comical creature before him.

She looked into the hall once more, going as far as to hold onto the wall to peer inside, ducking back out before she was noticed. He found his lips tilting upwards at the huge, red velvet flowers dotted along the right half of her dress as well as her pretty toes that had peeked through the strap of her matching heels.

But she was something cute- whoever she was...

He walked towards her, simply waiting for her to just turn around but as the gap between them shortened, he realised he'd have to simply do all the work himself. "Sorry?"

She turned around quickly, horrified to have been caught before her eyes widened as she looked at him.

He looked curiously down at her, sure that he had seen her somewhere before yet for the life of him, he simply could not remember. She looked familiar... she looked like someone he knew but simply could not-

Yusuf!

"Afrah?"

"Hi." She smiled, ignoring the flames that presently engulfed not just her cheeks but her entire body as well.

"Are you okay? Do you need help?"

"Uhm..." she shifted nervously, her gaze flitting to the left and right of him before she looked behind her, her gaze moving from side to side, "I was just looking for someone."

"Is Yusuf here too?" he asked, watching amusedly as she turned back to the hall once more.

"No," she looked back at him, "Just me. Yusairah's my friend but... well I don't actually know anyone else and I don't know where to sit."

"Oh..." he scanned her appearance subtly, noting just how tall she really was... or it could have simply been the heels, "You could sit with my cousins if you wanted to?"

"Actually," she turned around once more, her eyes lighting up as soon as her gaze settled upon someone, "I-" she turned back around, "I just saw one of my other friends. Thanks though."

"Sure."

"Bye." She grinned one last time before she turned and marched away, tottering on her rather ridiculous heels.

Something cute...

Yaaseen

"What?" Mikaeel's voice rang throughout their table as his eyes sought someone on the opposite end of the table. "No, Ilhaam. Get your own fucking jacket. I'm not getting shit for you."

Yaaseen scanned the crowd, looking aimlessly at the décor surrounding them before his phone vibrated loudly on the table before him.

"I don't give a shit if Imaad is on your lap. Pick him up and go."

You look good in that shirt.

What

The

Fuck

Are you here?

He scanned the crowd once more, this time with actual purpose as if he'd be able to make out this mystery girl amongst a crowd of almost a thousand.

Yeah.

Stand up, then. Let's see.

Lol no. I think it's a little more fun this way.

Seriously? I'm just curious is all.

Hmm maybe when we've spoken for a while longer.

"Fine, I'll get your shit for you, stop whining." Mikaeel's chair scraped back against the tiled floor, shaking his head as he walked away from them, muttering obscenities that would make even Yaaseen's ears burn.

Why? Are you shy?

Maybe

There's nothing to be shy about, you know.

I know but... I can't help it.

Can you at least tell me what colour dress you're wearing?

Uhm it's a different colour. If I told you, you'd definitely find me.

"Hey boys," Yaaseen's Uncle Yahya grabbed onto the back of his chair as he stood behind him. "Have you seen Mikaeel?"

"Yeah he-"

"He's with Hoori Uncle Yahya." Their cousin Imraan grinned smugly, knowing full well that his revenge would be so fucking sweet.

"Hoori?" Uncle Yahya looked down at him dubiously. "Mikaeel, right?"

"Yeah look..." Imraan gestured to a table on the far right of the hall, positively glowing when Mikaael was indeed standing next to his wife. "He hasn't come back since supper started."

Yaaseen struggled hard to keep his laughter at bay, eyeing the way their cousin could be seen glowering down at the table of ladies before him.

"Who would have thought..." Uncle Yahya said, almost to himself before he walked off again.

"Mika's going to fucking moer you, son." Raees clapped Imraan on the back, laughing at what would turn out to be their family's longest standing joke.

"He shouldn't have ratted me out." Imraan shrugged, still smarting over the fact that Mikaeel had blurted out to them all that he was a spooner.

"You're a fucking spooner, guy. Admit it." Yaaseen looked at him, still feeling thoroughly put out at the idea of his cousin wrapping his arms around him in the middle of the night.

"Ai, jurre. You guys are starting again, ne."

Yaaseen simply looked down at his food, popping a nut from his salad into his mouth.

You look kinda nice when you laugh like that

He looked back up, trying to find her one last time...

But by the time he looked up, her phone had already been tossed into her bag as she laughed at some ridiculous joke... her tinkling laugh catching the attention of those around her- and without her realising it- the attention of Yaaseen as well.

Only he wouldn't know it was her at all.