"You're so popular, Asmaa."

Hilarious—Asmaa almost laughs, because less than a year ago "popular" is absolutely not a word that would be used to describe her.

"I don't think I'm popular," she replies.

The group chat was...it was just lit right now.

It was Friday, and in preparation for the next event, Phoenix was closed for the weekend—which meant the girls didn't have to work tonight.

The club was unveiling their new event calendar, which meant nearly every week, there would be a promotion; a party, for the club. Next Thursday began the main event, kicking off the club's new party scene with a tribute to the Spice Girls and 90's bubblegum pop. All week, the girls had been asked to stay extra late at the club in order for Justin to take pictures. He brought in a full photographer to create a sexy 'Spice Girls' shoot, using Desi, Suzy, Minnie, Rory, and Asmaa, who was extra surprised that she'd been asked.

"You're one of the most popular babes," Justin had explained, to which she couldn't hide her shock.

"Me?"

"Yes, you," he had laughed. "You're hot as fuck, Asmaa. Men love you."

And she could tell by the number of private dances she'd had in the past few weeks. It was amazing, really, how her popularity was growing. Each night, she checked the page's Instagram and each night, she was blown by the frequency in which she showed up in the pictures.

"What do you mean you're 'not popular?'" Minuyara exclaims, laughing as she pushes up her glasses. "You barely have time for study sessions, you're so busy with your friends. That," she grins, lifting her pointer finger, "is a sign of popularity."

"That," replies Asmaa, "is a sign that I need to get my priorities straight."

She sets her phone down on the table.

"And right now, I need to focus on this."

"Okay, yeah," Minuyara laughs, lips pursed, "True—"

"But," Asmaa grins, "I did apply to Google."

"What!?" Yara claps her hands together, eyes growing wide with excitement behind her thick frames. "Yes! Finally! I'm so glad!"

Asmaa nods. "My friend Rory applied too," she nods. "And she's a real-life techie, so she's the real shoe-in."

"Sounds like my friend," she snorts fondly. "He's super smart, loves math. He works with me, so you get to meet him! I swear he's a real—"

"Husband?" Asmaa teases. "Because it sounds like you like him, Yara."

"We're just friends," Yara grins, although Asmaa remains visibly unconvinced. "Co-workers. Really, barely friends. Anyway," she clears her throat, "we really should get started."

Her phone's blowing up, though.

Kez: which one of y'all bitches is coming to dinner with me after class tonight???

Desi: me

Rory: uh you know you don't have to ask me twice

Kez: what aboutchu as?

Sorry sorry sorry guys I can't tonight
don't hate me :,(

Kez: WHAT

Desi: ¿QUE?

Rory: a bitch gets her box ate and now she can't make time for her girls smfh

And despite herself, Asmaa throws her head backward and laughs aloud.

"See?" Minuyara looks up from her laptop. "Popularity."

Of course the day after Asmaa's experiment with oral sex, she ran to tell her best friends, and since then they loved to slip it into their conversation whenever they could.

Honestly, they were just super excited for her, but still.

And Asmaa almost didn't care that she was being teased. In fact, she almost welcomed it, because Zayn knew exactly what the fuck he was doing and she was really really really thinking about making it official.

She wanted him to be her first.

He was so gentle with her--and gentle meaning like, he took his time. He made sure she was comfortable with everything before he did it. He didn't push the pace or rush things beyond how far she was willing to go.

Straight up husband material.

Which leads Asmaa to believe that she'll marry this man, so Allah shouldn't be upset if she has sex with the man she'll live out the rest of her life with, right?

Her phone continues to buzz in her hand.

Desi: JAJAJAJJAAJAJAJAJJAJAJAJA RORRYYYYY

Kez: I'M DONE

Kez: YO I'M INLAB

Kez: FUCKIN CRYINNNN

FUCK YOU GUYS

Rory: LMAOOOO

Rory: love you baby

Kez: where are you going tonight

Desi: yeah since it's not with us

In truth, Asmaa has a project.

Actually, it was a few projects.

Just like Minuyara was clowning her for being too popular to study, well, now it was time for her to be too busy to hang with her friends.

It was reading period, and outside of the homework Asmaa had due for the culmination of her first term, she also had a dissertation that needed to be complete by the second week of December. It was the first week already, and not only was Asmaa just beginning her paper, but Phoenix was about to start their events and she was not going to be able to take off.

She really needed to make some headway now.

She had a dissertation plus a few other assignments assigned in the modules, or classes, she was taking. And with her specialization in International Law, she had a lot of research to do.

Luckily, so did Yara.

Asmaa flips over her phone.

Her girls would have to wait.

__

"I'm excited as hell," Rory muses as the girls cluster in the doorway of a local pub. "Now, I get to tell you if I like your man."

"I do need the feedback," Kezie laughs.

And Rory smirks, folding her arms, "Sex that good, huh?"

"Girl," Kezie clicks her teeth, "when he pushes my legs back and hits it missionary style..."

"Ooh," Rory nods approvingly. "All guts."

"Right? Like, in that position guys, I dare you not to catch feelings. I dare you."

"Or cowgirl?" Rory nods, "Because when he can reach around and grab the booty..." She sighs. "Fuck, I'm so horny."

"Yeah, uh...how's that going, Ror?"

"Uh, you mean my sex life?"

Desirée and Chikezie both nod.

"Uh, you mean my non-existent sex life?"

Desi nods, "Same."

"Des," Rory rolls her eyes with Kezie, hard, "BYE."

"What? I'm not getting any either?"

"Your choice," Rory points to her. "This is all your choice."

"Yeah, uh..." Rory snaps her fingers. "What's your man's name? Shit...The one about to show up at Blaire's wedding...?"

"Aww," Kezie grins, "you mean my baby, L—"

"I hate to interrupt this but," Desirée shakes her head. "Kez?"

"Yeah, fam?"

"It's the four of us then? Like, you, me, Ror, Calum?"

"Uh..." Kezie nods, "I'm pretty sure, yeah," she shrugs, "He didn't tell me he was inviting anyone else."

"Girl," Rory continues, "Anyway, I'm horny as shit without a Zayn or a Calum and I need somebody to feel on this pussy," she rolls her eyes now, "and y'all got men."

And Kezie lights up at once, "What if I set you up?"

"Um," Rory almost laughs, "with who? Tati? Suzy? Maria--?"

"None of our girls, bitch," Kezie replies. "I mean, unless you just completely switched teams on me."

"Okay, okay," Rory replies, flipping Desi off as she laughs, "I'm looking for the dick, girl," she laughs, "I am. Promise."

"I'm talking about one of Calum's friends, Ror. He's got plenty. You're a baddie," she grins, "Fuck one. You're welcome."

"I am..." Rory nods, "considering it."

"And what better time to do it than with all the single groomsmen at a wedding?"

"I am..." Rory is grinning, "really considering it."

"Kezie."

And Kezie hums, "Yes, love?" She asks, turning to face Desirée, now.

"You," Desi speaks now through clenched teeth, "you didn't tell me Calum had a plus one."

Chikezie frowns. "A plus one?"

"More like a fucking plus two," she grits, taking her shoulders and spinning her towards the door. "Look."

And the girls turn to see a tall man with almond-shaped eyes and side-swept dark hair enter the pub. He's laughing, talking to the two blondes at his sides.

Desi unmistakably recognizes one as Luke.

Her Luke.

Son of a fucking bi— "Des?"

Rory's voice snaps her from her trance.

"You good?"

"Um..."

Yes, she'd like to say, but it would come out as more of a yes? since she's been thoroughly shaken to her core—even more so now that Calum has made eye contact with Kezie and is leading his friends their way.

Kill her now.

Like, seriously.

She'd like to run out of there; to find an excuse, any excuse, to get her far far away from this pub. Hell, she'd help Asmaa with her law school homework and Desi didn't know shit about the law. But at this moment, these three tall men are walking their way, and shit—Luke's looked from Calum to her.

They make eye contact.

The grin he'd been sporting when he walked in has fallen.

She gulps.

¡Maldicion!

"Hey, guys," Kezie grins, greeting the boys with hugs. "Luke, Ashton," she laughs excitedly, "I didn't know you two were coming."

"I dragged them out," says Calum, "since apparently, you value their friendship some."

Kezie laughs, "Some?"

"Less than mine, of course," he grins. And he throws open his arms for her.

Kezie and Desirée exchange glances. If tonight was going to be a night of watching Kez flirt with her man, normally you could count Desi out...except tonight, it might be nice to have a distraction.

"Well, guys," Kezie tells the boys, "these are two of my besties. That's Rory and that's Desirée, and some of y'all already know each other," she looks between her and Luke. "Don't you."

Luke is staring so hard at Desirée that she's feeling uncomfortable--she's feeling like she does when she has to step onstage and strip at Phoenix.

He shrugs, "Less than I thought, actually."

The group falls silent, and Desi can feel everyone's eyes on her as they decipher Luke's words.

Way to put their fucking business out there, Luke.

"Well," Calum claps his hands together, turning everyone's attention away from the two. "You guys' hungry? 'Cause I'm so fuckin' hungry."

"Oh my god," Kezie nods, "starving."

"Let's eat!" Ashton claps his hands, too. "Holy shit, let's eat."

"I'll meet you at the table," Desirée says softly. "I need the toilet."

Kezie and Rory both frown.

"You good?"

"Want me to come?"

"Nah," she shakes her head. She needed some alone time to plan out her escape. "I'm just going to the toilet."

"Okay..." Kezie replies, and Desi plasters on a smile to keep both of her girls from following her.

"Be right back," she lies, because she couldn't promise that she'd be back. She couldn't actually promise that she wasn't about to leave.

She finds the toilet—it's a single. Perfect. There would be no distraction to keep her from deciding what she should do next.

Because she was serious about ignoring Luke. This man wanted things she wasn't mentally prepared for, and if she had to run from him forever then so help her...

She would.

And just as Desirée opens the door, she's barely stepped a foot inside when there's a heavy hand.

"What the—"

Someone's pushing on the door behind her, and they're forcing themselves into the bathroom...with her.

"What the fuck?" And she stumbles backward, a furious scowl on her face as she looks up into a familiar face and snarls. "What's your problem, Luke?"

"Mine?" He matches her steely gaze with his own, slamming the door behind them.

And locking it.

"Yeah, yours," she snaps. "What the fuck was that shit back there? All of a sudden you don't know me?" She seethes, "And did you really just lock us in here?"

"Have you really been dodging me?"

"I haven't--"

"The fuck is this, Des? Huh?" He lifts a finger, "We get into one fight and you completely ignore me?"

"I wasn't--"

"Save the bullshit," hisses Luke, and Desirée had literally seen nothing upset this man before, so his anger was shocking and also kind of a turn-on.

Desi didn't like men who were pushovers.

But, then there was Luke.

And she was avoiding Luke.

"Save the fucking shit," he continues, "You know exactly the fuck what you were doing."

"Luke," she exclaims, "you're missing the point of a one-night-stand."

"You keep saying that like casual hook-ups are just things you do all the fucking time."

Desirée folds her arms tightly against her chest. "I didn't say they weren't."

Luke sucks on his teeth and rolls his eyes. "You're so fucking stubborn."

"Or I'm just honest."

"If you were honest, we wouldn't be in this situation, Desirée. I wouldn't have locked us in a fucking women's bathroom for fuck's sake."

He had her there, but Desirée truly was feeling stubborn. She really couldn't let this go. She couldn't just--

"Admit you have feelings for me."

"What?" She sputters.

"You heard me. You like me...what's wrong with saying it."

"Please," she scoffs, "Save that shit for some dumb sappy bitch."

"Okay, seriously? Seriously, Des? What is it, then?"

"What do you mean, 'what is it,' Luke?"

"S'my age? It's 'cause I'm younger."

"I didn't say that..."

"But, that's it, isn't it? That's why you won't give me a shot."

"Jesus, Luke!" She could scream. "Why are you so stuck on this?"

"Because I'm trying to figure out what's wrong! I, unlike you, would rather talk this out. I'm trying to find a way to make both of us happy."

"You're not my boyfriend."

"Way to keep fucking hanging that over my fucking head."

"It's the truth! And the sooner you admit it, the--"

"What, Des? Huh? You really want me to leave you alone that bad? Do you really want me to give up on this?"

"We aren't together. There's nothing to give up on."

"And you know why, Des? Hmm? You know why we aren't?"

"Because we're just having casual sex? There's a thought."

"Because you're too afraid to admit your feelings for me!"

She snorts, "What feelings?"

And he narrows his eyes. "The ones you caught and don't want to admit to."

Luke was killing her. This was the very last conversation she wanted to have and this was why. It was because Luke was so fucking persistent and he just wouldn't leave her the fuck alone.

"I'm not like every other guy and you know it," he shakes his head, "and you're scared that you actually like me."

"You're--"

"Right," he replies. "Aren't I?"

"Luke!" She laughs, although she'd really really like to scream, "This isn't a fucking fairy tale! Just because you walk into a strip club doesn't mean you're going to come out happily ever after with a stripper!"

"You don't know that Des," he pulls his hair. "And I'm here trying to be with you and you're too busy--"

"Busy, what?" She grits. "What? Thinking that you're not like the other guys I've been with? Huh? Like, you're not like all the other guys who want to fuck and show off the stripper they've got on their arm until it gets to be too much? Because one day you'll look up and realize that I'm not just getting naked for you? That's it, right? I'm too busy thinking that you'll fuck around and not want me anymore because my job isn't a real job, right? Because I'm just a stripper; I just work at Phoenix, right?"

Luke blinks, and the sight of his wide-eyed stare is kind of making Desirée's chest hurt.

She shakes her head, biting hard on her bottom lip, "Look, Luke--"

"No," he shakes his head, "you look," and he takes a step towards her, "I told you in the beginning that I didn't care what you did because I like you," he reaches for her hand before thinking twice, shoving them back into his pockets. "I like you," he repeats. "And I want to be with you because I like you. Why do you think I'm here, Des?" He asks. "Seriously, if I didn't care about you why the fuck would I be here?"

She snorts, "Because we just so happen to keep running into each other," she peers up at him, "that's why."

He laughs, "You really think I just so happened to show up?" He cocks his head sideways, "Like, we just so happened to end up in the same bars?"

"Are you...?" Her brows pinch, "You knew I'd be here tonight?"

"And O'Nell's," he nods proudly, "that first night we got drunk."

"How did you...?" And the answer comes to her at once. Her fists clench, "Kezie."

"S'why she's my mate," Luke sings, and he must be feeling bold, because his hands leave his pockets and he pulls Desirée into him.

"Luke..." She whines, although her hands wrap around his waist.

And Desirée really hates how much she's missed this feeling, and how much she kind of missed arguing with him, and how much she kind of missed his voice.

Fuck feelings.

Fuck Luke Hemmings.

Seriously.

"Yeah?" And she feels his lips on the top of her head--fuck caught feelings. "Your hair smells good."

"Stop complimenting me."

"Only if you say something nice about me, then."

"Never."

"Knew it," he chuckles, shaking against her. "So you still get compliments."

"Luke."

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

"Oh my god, stop."

"Anything you say, Des." His lips are on the top of her head again, "I fucking swear I'd do anything you say."

___

"I'm too young to be this stressed."

"Tell me about it," yawns Minuyara, maybe an hour and a half into their study session. "I'm also too young to get such little sleep."

And Asmaa laughs as she watches her friend fold her arms beside her computer, laying her head in them. "Break time?"

Yara nods, closing her eyes. "Break time."

In true break fashion, Asmaa reaches for her phone. She's got three missed texts from Rory, which she reads immediately.

Rory: giiiiiirl you're missing MAJOR TEA

Rory: **dj khaled voice MAJOR TEA ALERT

Rory: WE GOTTA TALK WHEN YOU GET IN

Asmaa is staring excitedly and nervously at these messages.

RORY WHY AM I NERVOUS

She recieves a text back almost immediately.

Rory: DON'T BE THIS IS GOOD STUFF RIGHTCHEA OKURRR

And Asmaa laughs softly, careful not to wake Yara.

Naps were crucial during reading periods, especially with the number of assignments that were due.

Asmaa texts Rory back a, Can't wait to hear before opening her favorite, most-time consuming pastime, Instagram.

She'd been seriously obsessed ever since she started working at Phoenix, mostly because she had become some eager to see when Justin and/or the social media crew posted pics of her on the page.

At the top of her feed tonight isn't Phoenix. Actually, it's Lira.

Technically, the picture has been posted by Ayat, but it's of Lira.

She's cute or whatever, reads the caption. And Asmaa likes it, double-tapping on the picture.

Asmaa scrolls a bit farther, and grins; the girls must be gassing each other tonight, becuase she finds Lira's posted a picture of Ayat, too.

Lira's captioned it with, So caught up in this girl...Shawty got me hooked right now ☺️, and Asmaa double taps, commenting with three emoji hearts because no Lira did not quote one of her favorite Nicki Minaj songs. No, she did not pull out lyrics from 'Sex in the Lounge.'

Asmaa stares at Lira's picture of her sister and wonders what in the world her mom would say if she could see her daughters now.

Rory was right. She did need Ayat. Especially if she too was out in Paris dating—they could swap experiences about boys, and hopefully, Aat would give her some much-needed advice. And, Rory was right about another thing, too. Her mother would definitely be much less disappointed with Ayat for choosing not to wear her hijab than she would be to know that not only was Asmaa a stripper, but she was out here about to fuck Zayn Malik.

Asmaa really needed her sister so she could get these thoughts about sex off her chest. Maybe her sister was going through exactly the same things, too?

They were so close; always had been...until now.

But, would Ayat support her at Phoenix? Would she support her with Zayn? All these thoughts swirl around her mind. Before Phoenix, all Asmaa had to worry about was making enough pounds to pay her rent. Now, it seemed as though life was moving too fast for her to even keep up.

Asmaa wonders when her big sister is going to "pop in," because not only was her life getting busy but she also really needed to see Ayat.

She had to tell her sister about Zayn.

And that's when she gets a text.

Zayn <3: look what I did to my hair babe

And then comes the picture.

Yeah.

So.

Yeah.

Asmaa's staring at this picture like this man isn't her boyfriend—like this man was someone else's—like she was lusting after someone else's boyfriend.

Asmaa was dangerously close to losing her virginity, and she wanted to have this conversation with her sister face-to-face before the deed was done.

Because.

Yeah.

She was down to fuck.

Like.

Yeah.

Like.

Now.

__

aww lukeee is so precious

y'all know I had to name this chapter after 5sos' new album because it's 🔥

translation station: ¡Maldicion! - "Fuck!"

also lira played by lira galore and ayat is halima aden. I'll update the cast list with picsss.