REMINDER: Please pray whatever salaah you have to pray before reading this chapter! :D Also it's late but EID MUBARAK! I hope you all had an amazing day that day!

Chapter 14: Interest 

"Oi, you delinquent, stop eating my cake," I said, slapping Nura's hand away. She looked at me hurt, but eventually grabbed my cake and swallowed it whole. We were sitting at a cafe that was a part of the University food court. Nura was a middle school 'friend' (well, that's what she called herself anyway) that made my life miserable every day. If I would have to classify her into a group, I would say she was a bully. A vicious one that haunted me every day. Maybe I am the way I am when it comes to school because she always ate my brain. Maybe she's the reason why I'm not normal. While I Nura was ranting about how she was always hungry and broke, I saw Harun appear from behind a nearby crowd. He didn't look my way, so he probably didn't notice me.

"Hey!" She snapped her finger and I turned to her startled. She looked at me carefully, "Why do you keep staring at that guy?" She asked. I stared at her surprised.

"What... guy?" I asked her slowly. Her face twisted and she looked at me with disgust.

"Wait, are you actually interested in guys?" She asked. It only dawned upon me at this moment that Nura had always extremely disliked guys. She had four brothers, so it was pretty clear why. I sighed and looked down.

"Well, I am interested in one guy," I said.

"But I thought you were on my side." She said sadly. I smirked.

"Well, it might surprise you but it's not like I hate men. I just never cared about stuff like that before." She gave me a nod, and shrugged.

"Well, it is surprising." She admitted. "So," She said, grinning, "Whose the guy?" She asked. I cleared my throat. I wasn't going to tell her I was married. If she doesn't know right now, then she can go on not knowing about it forever. Besides, I hate talking about marriage, when I don't even see my husband as a husband.

"I don't really know him." I said. Well, I wasn't technically lying. There was still a lot I didn't know about him.

"Then in what way are you interested in him?" She asked, confused. "Romantically?" She asked. I coughed and cleared my throat. Well, this is getting awkward. I laughed a little, before replying with a straight face.

"No, not romantically." I replied.

"I like observing people, that's all." I said. She gave me a doubtful look, and proceeded to drink the coffee she was holding all this while. She looked over at Harun who was now sitting outside the cafe and reading over a textbook.

"So you're interested in scary people, huh?" She asked, suddenly changing her tone. She was speaking more quietly.

"Well, he is indeed scary." I replied. "But he's not harmful." I said.

"And?" She asked, "How are you going to prove that?" She paused halfway and shook her head, then stared straight at me, "Listen, maybe you should stop trying to explore, and stay low. That type of man isn't good news." She said. I looked at her surprised. She was now staring at me with concern. As she sighed, she leaned in closer, and whispered, "Listen. I went to the same high school as him. He's not someone you should even watch. One look and you're as good as dead."

When I was on my way home that day, I found Harun on the same bus. The bus wasn't exactly empty, but the seat next to him was, and as I sat next to him, I sighed.

"How bored were you that you had to follow me around at University?" I asked. He froze and turned to me. His brown eyes dimmed, and he looked down, as if he wasn't sure how to react.

"You found out?" He asked.

"Hmm, I did," I said, in a low voice. "Are you not good at lying?" I asked.

"Why are you asking that?" He asked.

"You could have denied it, y'know?" I said.

"I could have..." He said as if contemplating it. Living with him for the last two months made this very clear - the fact that he wasn't a very good liar. Or maybe he was just extremely honest. At least his reactions were. "But I lie too, you know." He said as if trying to prove he was capable of doing something that others could do. Speaking of which... shouldn't he try hiding the fact that he lies from his wife?

"If you lie, how am I supposed to trust you? Do you want to destroy our marriage before it even starts?" I asked, crossing my arms. His eyes widened, and he turned to me, looking me straight in the eyes.

"I don't lie!" He said in a panicked and regretful tone. Was it that he was innocent? Naive? Well, whatever it was, Harun felt more like a child to me each passing day. I bit my lip, trying to not smile.

"Which is it?" I asked, finally giving in and laughing.

Harun

Raaida was someone I had a hard time understanding. Her actions were unpredictable, and her answers were beginning to shock me. Maybe it was because I wasn't used to her, or maybe I would never be capable of understanding her.

When she laughed, I couldn't understand what was so funny.

"Hey," She said, after laughing for a while, "What were you like in high school?" She asked. Although her face looked relaxed, and there was no sign of fear on her face, I knew she wasn't asking just because she was curious.

"High school?" I asked. How am I supposed to tell her about something I didn't ever want to bring up. "I wasn't any different from how I am now..." I said, slowly. Except back then, I had people approaching me left and right. Now - I do not. "Why are you asking?" I asked her. She shook her head and turned away.

"No reason." She said as she decided not to question me any further.