Masqué Chapter 5

"Yalla Bibi, emshay." I tore my eyes away from Nawaf's, wrapping my fingers around Bibi's elbow to try to turn her around. Bibi was still staring, dumbfounded.

"Bibi." I repeated. She finally looked away from Nawaf and then back at me.

I gave Saif a slight nod, showing that I was about to walk off but Saif blocked my way by standing in front of me. He had a cocky grin on and his eyes were full of mischief.

Saif grabbed my iPhone from my hand, which took me off guard. His hands were too strong and fast, I couldn't stop him from grabbing it.

"H-hey." I tried to take back my iPhone but Saif was taller and bigger. He was doing something on my phone that I didn't understand, I had a protection security screen on (this is a sticker you add on your iPhone so the person next to you can't see what you're doing or texting on your phone, all they see is a blank black screen).

"Ne6ray." Saif held back a laugh, Bibi watched with wide eyes. I was growing impatient.

What the hell is he doing with my iPhone? People are staring..

Finally, after a whole minute, Saif handed me my iPhone back, turned around and walked back to his group of friends.

I was surprised. 

I looked down to my iPhone and found my Whatsapp app was open. It was scrolled down to the S letters on my contact list and Saif's name was on my Whatsapp list.

Da ding!

Saif Al-X: HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. :p

Well that was fast.

I stared at his message and then looked up, finding Saif's eyes on me and a grin taking most of the space of his face.

"Shsawa?!" Bibi tried to look at my iPhone.

"Wala shay." I bit the inside of my cheek, exiting Whatsapp and not replying to Saif's message.

Saif was still watching me, waiting for me to reply. All I did was give him my back and pull Bibi along with me as I walked to the opposite direction, towards another store that was both away from Nawaf and Saif.

I was too confused with everything, I couldn't take action yet. I needed to have a clear head.

"Amal, this would be so cute on you." Bibi grabbed a pair of bright fluorescent pair of PJ shorts with a matching shirt. I ended up in a girls PJ store, it was the only store I knew that Nawaf or Saif wouldn't drop dead in.

But I was wrong. Oh, so very wrong.

When I turned my head towards where the entrance was, I noticed that Saif was standing outside with one of his friends, looking clueless. He caught me looking and gave me a huge grin that said "Ah! I found you."

"Oh my god, he's following us." Bibi's mouth was hanging open when she noticed who I was staring at.

"Isn't that a bit rude for a cousin to do?" I bit my lip, it was a bad habit but I always bit something when I was either nervous or making up a lie.

I checked Whatsapp and I found a new message from Saif.

Saif Al-X: Y3ne playing hard to get:p?

Amal Al-X: What do you want;s?

Saif Al-X: A chance:p.

Amal Al-X: With what?:s

Saif Al-X: Entay yaya men Switzerland w tis2leeni hal su2al?

I remembered Saif's words on the first day I came back to Kuwait, he had assumed that I had "siwalif" just because I lived in a free country.

Amal Al-X: Sorry, not interested.

I was about to delete Saif and block his number but his next message caught my eye.

Saif Al-X: You'll get Nawaf jealous if you get with me.

"Amal, what's wrong?" Bibi tried to peak at my Whatsapp but failed.

"Nothing." I looked up and found Saif staring at me. He wasn't wearing a grin on his face anymore, he looked dead serious.

Amal Al-X: What would you get out of it?:s

Saif Al-X: See that girl with Nawaf?

Amal Al-X: Shfeeha?

Saif Al-X: Shes my ex:) plus I have a crush on you. :p

Amal Al-X: Sorry bas ma ra7 asaweeha;s etha tabe el bent 3yal say it to her, don't get me into it.

Saif Al-X: 6aaf, ma abeeha.. abeech entay bas et7been Nawaf, wayed embayin tara.

Amal Al-X: Ma a7eba.

My fingers were shaking as I typed those words, my teeth grinding up against my bottom lip against.

Saif Al-X: 3yal laish z3ltay lema shifteeh m3a Dalia?

Amal Al-X: Ma z3alt, I just didn't think he'd be that type of guy.

Saif Al-X: Amal, you're the worst liar ever, do you know that?

I ignored Saif's message and went to the underwear section, causing Saif's face to turn red. Saif decided to hurry off to his friends, leaving Bibi and I alone after we entered the 'ladies' section.

Success!

-

I came back to my Grandmother's house with throbbing feet. I used to transport to university or stores all by foot and I'd never get any foot pain. I wasn't used to the closed buildings and the crowded malls.

The housekeepers helped us with our plastic bags as we walked into the living room, totally worn out.

"Thanks." I gave one of the housekeepers a smile once she took the plastic bags off of my hands, letting me relax.

"Ahhh!" Bibi sat back onto the couch, tearing her heels off of her throbbing feet and laying down over a fluffy looking pillow. I did the same and sat onto the couch next to her.

"That was.." I couldn't find a word to describe our day.

"TIRING." Bibi laughed, continuing my sentence.

"Mind reader." I laughed along, my laugh nearly choked out of my throat once I heard another voice interrupt Bibi and I.

"Ohh hey girls." I heard Asmaa's voice, I turned my head around and found Asmaa wearing a short dress with someone who looked very familiar, her friend had a short dress on too and looked even shorter when she was closer.

It was the girl who I caught sitting with Nawaf in Avenues. It was Dalia.

Why did Kuwait have to be so freakin' small?

"Dalia, this is my long lost cousin Amal ely yet men Sweissra w et3rfeen Bibi." Asmaa pointed to each of us.

Bibi knew Dalia?

"Uhm, ma a3rfha 3adil." Bibi murmured, trying to cover up for earlier today. She looked a bit nervous, like she was just caught lying.

"Bonjour." Dalia purred, giving us a little wave. Her French sounded ridiculous, she pronounced it like "Bunjurrr". (It means good morning/ or it can be used when to say hi to someone who you're not close with, someone formal.)

"Salut, ca va?" I replied, letting the easy French roll off my tongue. (It means: Hi, how are you?) Dalia looked taken aback with my French words.

"Uhm, my tongue hurts when I speak too much French. But thank you for the compliment, I got my hair cut today." Dalia tried to say the words with confidence, totally misunderstanding what I just said.

"Your welcome." I laughed, Bibi laughed with me. Looks like Bibi understood what I asked.

Dalia made her way to the kitchen, grabbing Asmaa with her. I could have sworn that Dalia gave me a dirty look before walking away, I ignored it.

"That was priceless." Bibi snickered. "I never liked her, she's so stuck up."

I gave Bibi a glare, crossing my arms over my chest. My posture sent the message "You have some explaining to do."

"I didn't think you'd care Amoul, she's one of Asmaa's sl*tty friends." Bibi rolled her eyes. "Forgive me?"

"I can't stay mad at you." I gave her a dimpled smile. "Shrayich we get take out for dinner?"

"MAKI!" Bibi nearly yelled out, getting our her blackberry to dial their number before she could ask me if I even ate Japanese food. I laughed again.

"Okay, I'll go change into those bright shorts we bought together." I gave her a little wink.

The house seemed empty to me and since Asmaa had a friend over with a short dress on, that must have meant that non of the guy cousins or uncles were home.

I was clutching the plastic bag in my hand and my eyes averted away from my room as I was turning the knob of my bedroom door to the side, pushing it open.

Once I was in my room, I changed my clothes and wore the bright shorts with the matching cute shirt. I was guessing that Bibi was changing into her new PJs too, it felt like the old days again. Ghalia and I would have funny slumber parties over her apartment when there wasn't anyone home.

I combed back my curls, forcing them to become straighter before leaving my room. I was midway texting Ghalia on Whatsapp, telling her about my day, my eyes too busy staring into my iPhone screen.

I didn't notice Nawaf standing right in front of me. He startled me, giving me a mini heart attack. My face flushed, I was wearing something not respectable.

I did the first thing that I could think of.

"CLOSE YOUR EYES!" I stood on my tip toes because Nawaf was too tall, I put a hand over his eyes forcing him to close his eyes.

"Offh, shel salfa?!" Nawaf was caught off guard.

"Don't open your eyes." I commanded.

"Okay okay." Nawaf grinned, taking it as a game.

I was trying to back away, so I could open my bedroom door and find something else to wear but Nawaf wouldn't move with me.

"Nawaf, move to the front shway." I had to keep my hand over his eyes. I felt stupid for doing this, I bet he'd seen girls in bikinis. Still, I wouldn't have felt comfortable if he'd seen me in these too tight PJs.

Nawaf obeyed and took a step forward. He took a large step forward and I could feel his breath and his perfume. He smelled like a masculine perfume, was it Tommy Hilfiger? I couldn't get enough of the smell.

However, his breath made its way into my nostrils and I smelled the caffeine. It reminded me of Starbucks and Dalia, which made me feel angrier.

"Turn around with your eyes closed." My voice wasn't playful anymore.

"O-okay, uhm, why are we doing this?" Nawaf asked, laughing nervously. He kept his eyes closed and gave me his back. I was finally able to take my hand off of his eyes and use my hand to turn the knob of my bedroom door.

I felt Nawaf turn back around once I had my back to him.

"NAWAF, DON'T LOOK!" I yelled, running into my room once my bedroom door was open and closing the door in his face.

"Nice pjs." I heard him call out outside my room. He was laughing.

Uughhh. I grabbed my pillow and threw it up against my bedroom door, frustrated.

"Hey, I heard that." Nawaf called out.

He was still outside my room?

"Go away." I yelled out as I was trying to find a pair of long leggings that wasn't skin baring and a long sleeved shirt.

"Amal, shfeech?" Nawaf's voice wasn't playful anymore, his laughs dissolved. He sounded serious.

Ana shfeeni? ENTA shfeek? YOU ignored me all day and then you're out with that Dalia? And I thought you cared..

Those words were swimming around my head. I clenched my fingers into a fist, holding in my anger and frustrations.

"Wla shay." I called out, my tone was sweet and full of lies. I heard a little click behind me, I turned around and found Nawaf. He opened the door and he had his eyes closed.

"Amal?" Nawaf stretched out his arms, his finger ending up touching my bare arm. "Legeitich."

"Nawaf, what are you doing?!" I took a step away from him, I had my leggings on but I was still wearing the too tight shirt.

"I need to know if you're lying or not." Nawaf's eyes were still closed. "Are you naked?"

"What the hell, you pervert." I grabbed another pillow, throwing it at him. "Get out!"

"Does that mean that you're naked?" Nawaf smirked but I noticed his cheeks flush in embarrassment. He was probably regretting the action he took by walking into my bedroom without permission.

"No you dummy, I'm not naked. Ffh." I said out of frustration, trying not to smile at his idiocy. I grabbed a loose sweater, pulling it over my tight shirt.

"I hear noises. Did you get dressed?" Nawaf had his arms stretched out again, trying to look for me. "Amal, yalla 3ad weinich?"

"You're going to have to find me." I walked back to the corner of my room, away from Nawaf.

"I can smell you, y'know." Nawaf said as he took a few steps to where I was standing. I tried to take another step backwards but there was a wall behind me, blocking my way. I was trapped.

"I took a shower." I replied in a harsh tone.

"No not that." Nawaf laughed, his deep laugh making my room livelier. "You smell like bits of vanilla and flowers, your scent never changed. I remember you used to smell like chocolate chip ice cream and flowers."

Chocolate chip was my favourite ice cream. What is he saying?

I was too distracted with my thoughts to notice that Nawaf was inches away from me right now. His familiar perfume smell making its way back into my nose. Nawaf extended a hand, his finger ending up touching a strand of my caramel hair.

"Found you." Nawaf whispered. "Can I open my eyes now?"

I couldn't stare at his dark eyes, I couldn't. My anger would melt away, it had that big of an effect on me. I needed my anger, I needed a reason to keep my distance with him. Even though he might be the one who was holding all the answers to my endless questions.

Nawaf didn't wait for an answer, he opened his eyes and bore them into mine.

"I didn't say yes." I mumbled, my heart racing furiously inside my chest.

"You didn't have to." Nawaf replied, his eyes still staring into mine. He was too close. The atmosphere was too intense, even more intense than his dark smoldering eyes.

"Amal." I heard a familiar voice that wasn't Nawaf's. It broke the intense atmosphere, changing it to a fearful one.

Masqué Chapter 4

I felt groggy, my muscles were asleep and every part of my body felt numb.

"Omar, we weren't supposed to bring her back. We need to take her back to Switzerland, before she finds out.."

"How? We can't take her back now, they've seen her. They won't let us."

"What if she finds out?"

"We won't let her find out."

The following voices were faint, I recognized them as my parent's whispers. My eyes were open now, I was staring at their backs.

"Find out what?" I pushed the words out of my mouth before I could stop them. My voice startled my mother and she quickly turned around to look at me.

"Ha shnu 7bebty?" Her voice was shake-y.

"Find out what?" I repeated. I was in my bed at my Grandmother's house, I tried to sit up but that caused a sharp pain to flood back into my head.

"Baba g3day, la etgoumeen!" Dad hurried over to my side, forcing me to lay back down.

"Answer me." My eyes stared deep into my Dad's nervous ones.

"Ma gilna shay about you finding out about anything. Honey, you're tired, you need to rest." Mom recomposed her posture and looked perfectly confident of her words, it made me question if I really did hear their voices or not.

Was the conversation I heard just another memory or flashback like the one with the little boy? What was going on?

My parents both gave me a little smile before leaving the room, forcing the subject to end. They switched the lights off before they left, causing my eyes to feel heavy again.


I quickly grabbed the switch for the lamp next to me, switching a light on so I could stay awake.  My gut feeling told me that there was something going on. I pushed the heavy blanket off of me and tip toed to over where my bedroom door was.


I pressed my ear against the door and listened closely.


Nothing.


I pressed my hand against the door knob, feeling the cool metal against my fingers as I turned it, pulling the door open. I dipped my head through the gap and found no one walking down the hall.


I couldn't help but notice that there was faint music coming out of Nawaf's room.


Nawaf!

 The little boy.. could it be Nawaf? 

But I was never in Kuwait before, that image I got didn't look like Switzerland at all..

I needed answers.

Now.


I was dressed in shorts and a shirt, I grabbed a jacket draping it over me to cover up before I walked over to Nawaf's bedroom door. I pressed my ear against his door, listening closely.

I heard Good Charlotte's song "Counting the Days" in the background.

"Mm, good taste in music." I murmured to myself, my cheek up against Nawaf's bedroom door.

And then suddenly, the door opened. I nearly fell down to the ground but I held onto the wall which supported my weight.

I looked up and found Nawaf with a grin on his face.

He caught me.

"Amal, shitsaween?" Nawaf was trying to hold back a laugh.

"Uhm.. I was, uhm.." I looked around, trying to gesture to my room and then to his. As if that explained why I was eavesdropping.


"Aren't you supposed to be resting?" Nawaf lifted one of his eyebrows up, a piece of paper in his hand.



"Uhm, I-I.. couldn't, uhm, sleep." I bit down my bottom lip, my eyes not meeting his intense dark ones.


"Amal, when you bite your lip, it means you're lying." Nawaf stated, but a look of regret passed his face when his words slipped out of his mouth.



"Huh.. wait, how do you know that?" Now I was the suspicious one, my eyes were now on his hand, I could vaguely see what he was holding. It was a picture of the little boy I saw in my head but Nawaf's fingers were blocking the rest of the picture.



Nawaf caught me looking at his hand, he quickly covered the picture up with his fingers.


"It always works on girls." Nawaf said harshly. His words distracted me.

Did that mean he was a player now?


"Nawaf, stop lying." Suddenly, I had a gut feeling he was lying too. His eyes weren't meeting with mine anymore, they weren't as clear.


"W-what?" Nawaf looked taken aback, he looked back into my eyes.

I took this chance to dig my fingers into his so I can slip the picture out of his hands when he was distracted.


I grabbed the picture and gave him my back so he couldn't take the picture back. I opened my hand, unfolded the picture and nearly gasped.

There was a little boy with dark eyes in the picture, he was sticking out his tongue at the camera and the little girl wore a pink dress, she looked like a ballerina and she had the same dimple as mine.


It was me in the picture.

That could only prove one thing.

The little boy was Nawaf.



I felt Nawaf's arms wrap around me so his fingers could yank away the picture from my hands. I felt his warm chest against my back for a few seconds before he backed away.


"B-but, I was born in Switzerland." I turned around to look at Nawaf with a confused expression.

"You weren't born in Switzerland." Nawaf's eyes looked pained, his fingers wrapped tightly around the picture, as if he was protecting it.


"What do you mean I wasn't born there?!" I took a step away from him, fear taking over me.


"You had amnesia and then-" Nawaf's was about to explain but his eyes suddenly tore away from mine and were staring at something else behind me. I turned around and found that my mother was standing behind me, with an angry expression.

"Amal, shitsaween ga3da m3a Nawaf? Riday darich al7een." I've never heard my mother's voice so angry before. It terrified me, I obeyed and hurried back into my room, closing the door behind me.


I had my ear pressed up against my bedroom door, trying to listen to Mom and Nawaf's conversation. I only heard a few words.

"Stay away from Amal or else you're going to regret it." I heard my mother hiss, her voice terrifying. I heard her heels click clack against the ground, nearing closer and closer to my room. I quickly slipped into bed, switched off the lamp light next to my bed and acted asleep.

Mom entered my room, stared at me for a few long seconds before closing the door again. When I opened my eyes again in the dark, I noticed that my hands were shaking.

-


-Flashback-

"Amal, promise me we'll always be best friends." Nawaf's childish smile was in view. We were hiding in the closet together and we were playing hide and seek.  I could smell the odor from the shoes that were in the closet, I had my tiny fingers closing up my nose in order to block out the smell.

"I promise." My voice was nasal-y since I was holding my nose.

"Haha Amal, your voice." Nawaf giggled, I could barely see his face in the dark.

"Nawaf I can't see you properly in the dark." I pouted, I was afraid of the dark and too stubborn to admit it.


"Etkhafeen Amal?" Nawaf asked.


"La2 ana ma akhaf." I jutted out my bottom lip but the fear was exceeding. I felt Nawaf's little fingers wrap around my free hand, holding onto it.


"Amal, don't be scared. I'll kill the monsters if they try to hurt you." Nawaf gave me a wide grin, showing off his missing teeth.


"Legeitkom!" I heard a woman's voice, she pulled the door to the closet open.

Before I could find out who the woman was, I felt the harsh rays of the sun disturb my sleep. I was back in my room again, my body feeling worn out.


Was that a dream? Nawaf was with me.

 Were my parents lying about where I was born? Were they keeping me away from my family? 

What was going on and why would Nawaf say I had amnesia?  

And if I did have amnesia, why would my parents keep me away from my family so long?



Who was lying? And who was telling me the truth?


"Amal, yalla bini6la3." I heard a few knocks and Bibi's voice.


I forced my body out of bed and went into the shower. I needed a long relaxing hour just under the water. I didn't care if I made the Bibi late, I just needed the relief of forgetting about what happened yesterday for 60 minutes.

Once I was done, my skin was all wrinkled. It faded after 10 minutes as I began to pull on a pair of jeans and a tucked in button down shirt. I paired my outfit with a blazer, my Chanel bag and let my light wavy hair loose.

I pushed my Raybans over my hair, using it as a hair band as I was hurrying down to the living room.


"Asmaa, weinha Bibi?" I asked Asmaa once I found her sitting by the kitchen, next to the living room.


"Lal7een ma khale9at. Hey, shsaweitay ams? I didn't see you all day." Asmaa has a quizzical look.


"What do you mean?" I asked her, confused too.


"I asked your Dad where you were and he said you were out all night." Asmaa replied while she had a bagel in her hand.


So they didn't know I fainted yesterday night? 

 Makes sense on why Bibi would tell me to get ready to go out. 

But Nawaf knew, how did he know? 

Did he find me in the hall, on the ground?


And why would my Dad lie to Asmaa?


"Oh." I replied in an emotionless tone.


"Morning." I heard Nawaf's voice. I quickly turned around to look at Nawaf, he wouldn't look at me. He was wearing a blue A&F shirt that complimented his tanned skin and a pair of white shorts.



"Morning." Asmaa mumbled, with her bagel stuffed into her mouth.


Nawaf grabbed a bagel from Asmaa's plate and turned around to leave the house, his Wrangler car keys in his hand. I watched him leave, his eyes still not meeting mine.



What was that?

"Yalla, lets go to Avenues. It's not like 360, it has loads of shops." Bibi was finally in the kitchen now, standing next to me in her long flow-y one shoulder shirt and her denim skinny jeans.


"O-okay." I stuttered, my thoughts about Nawaf and my parents still whirring around in my head.


Asmaa was grounded (she can't go out or use her phone) because of the incident with the guys in 360, so Bibi and I left the house alone.

The car ride took about 15 minutes.


I was used to the small stores in Switzerland and the open malls, Avenues was closed and had AC blasting inside because of the hot climate. I stared at the long stretched out stores, trying to find the familiar ones I usually shopped at back at Switzerland.


"Amal, look." Bibi nudged my shoulder as we were walking past H&M. She gestured to the guy in the polo shirt behind me.


"What?" I asked, looking at the guy. The guy caught me looking, he gave me an easy smile but I ignored him and turned back around.



"Amal, it's Saif." Bibi's eyes were twinkling.



"What?" I turned around to look at the guy again. It was Saif.

Saif approached us, leaving his friends behind.


"Shitsawoun?" Saif's eyes were on me, his smile still intact. I pointed the plastic bags I was holding, as if it wasn't obvious enough.


"Ahaa, you girls and your shopping." Saif laughed. Bibi laughed awkwardly in response.


I felt a few eyes on us and I began to feel awkward too.



"Oooh, Nawaf ehny?" Saif's eyes traveled to the right.


Nawaf? 

I turned around to where Saif was looking. I found Nawaf sitting by Starbucks outside, he had two cool drinks in his hands and he was walking towards a table.


My eyes were on him, he looked like he was about to approach a table that a girl was sitting at.

My eyes nearly bulged out of it's sockets when I caught Nawaf sitting in a table where a petite girl with short black hair that framed her cheekbones was sitting at.


Nawaf gave the girl a wide smile, handing her one of his drinks.


Nawaf felt my stare once he was seated, he turned his head and his eyes locked with mine.


I saw shock behind his dark eyes.

Masqué Chapter 3

Do I have any silent readers? Comment! I absolutely love every feedback I get. <3 This took me a whole day, trying to think of what I should write. I have so many ideas but the problem is, I can't go into them right now. It's too early in the story. :( I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

@vieblogue.

-

"Asmaa!" Nawaf's voice echoed through the restaurant. Asmaa's head quickly turned to look at Nawaf and Saif, standing with angry expressions on. Nawaf looked back at me, his eyes still full of fury.


Asmaa quickly hurried over to us, leaving her friends behind.

"Yalla, bitrideen m3ay al7een." Nawaf kept his voice calm, he was trying to hold back his anger.

Asmaa kept her mouth shut and followed him out of the restaurant. Nawaf looked back at Bibi and I, signalling us to follow too.

Saif stayed with Nawaf's friends whilst Nawaf ushered us to his wrangler car. Asmaa climbed into the backseat with Bibi, too afraid to sit in the front. I was forced to sit next to Nawaf in the front of the car.

Nawaf didn't say a word, his silence was scarier than his yells. I kept glancing back at him as he drove, his eyes would meet mine for a few seconds before planting them back onto the road.

"El9ara7a I didn't expect this from you Amal." Nawaf's words felt like pins against my skin, especially after the long stretched out silence.

"Ana?" I replied, in a shocked tone.

"Maybe Saif was right." Nawaf muttered to himself. Was he going to regret defending me now?

"Amal ma sawet shay Nawaf!" Bibi spoke up for the first time in 15 minutes.

"3yal who's idea was it to meet up with those guys? Are you saying what I saw there wasn't true?" Nawaf replied angrily.

"Bibi and I were leaving the restaurant, we didn't even know about the guys." I nearly whispered, I was still shocked by Nawaf's words.

 For some reason, his words had hurt me the most. Why was he so fast into believing that I would be a part of this date? And why did I care so much about what he thought about me?

I heard Maroon 5's "Payphone" on the radio and I did the first thing I could think of, which was turn up the volume in order to end this horrid conversation.

I pressed my cheek up against the warm window, staring at the road outside, ignoring Nawaf's intense stare.

Once we arrived by the house, I noticed one tall figure waiting outside with his arms crossed over his chest. His posture screamed out "pissed off".

"Nawaf, allah yikhaleek la etgoul 7ag okhouy A7mad. I won't do it again, I promise!" Asmaa pleaded as she was trying to pull her cardigan over her skin baring outfit.

"Ma ra7 agoula." Nawaf's tone was emotionless, he parked in front of the house and unlocked the doors so we could get out of the wrangler.

"Asmaa, entay shsaweitay?!" I could see the tall figure now, he had a close resemblance to Asmaa and I guessed that the tall figure was A7mad, Asmaa's older brother.

"Ma saweit shay." Asmaa replied, her tone full of fear.

 Nawaf's expression looked shocked, Asmaa looked over to Nawaf, trying to ask "Did you tell him?" with her eyes. Nawaf shook his head for a "No".

"Asmaa ma sawet shay A7mad. What are you talking about?" Nawaf gave A7mad an easy smile, trying to cover up for Asmaa.

"Nawaf, la etchathib! Saif dag 3lay w galy kilashay. Yal 7m-ra ta3alay!" A7mad grabbed Asmaa's arm pulling her closer to him, his left hand extended ready to slap Asmaa.

Bibi was standing behind me, I could feel her shaking out of fear.

"La etmid eedik 3leha!" Nawaf barked angrily, he grabbed A7mad's extended hand and tore it away from Asmaa.

Asmaa shrieked, trying to free herself away from her brother's harsh grip.

"Nawaf, la titdakhal!" A7mad planted his hands over Nawaf's chest, pushing him off.

"Tir'9a et6ig ekhtik el 9gheera?!" Nawaf angrily yelled, grabbing A7mad's shirt by force.

"Ana ma 3ndi ekht etwa3d! Wein ga3deen e7na? W enta mnu 3shan etgouly shloun a3amil ekhty?!" A7mad clenched his fingers into a fist and extended his hand so he could punch Nawaf's jaw.

Nawaf ducked his head down and missed the punch, my heart beat was accelerating inside my chest.

Amal shfeech ga3da etkhizeen? Do something for God's sake.

"Bibi, dikhlay dakhil bsr3a w naday obouy." I turned around, blocking Bibi's view of the fight. Bibi listened and ran into the house. 

I tip toed up behind A7mad, he was still holding onto Asmaa's arm, not letting her go. I thought of the things I could do to distract him, there was only one thing that came into my mind. This was going to be stupid but it had to work.

I ran my fingers over A7mad's waist, tickling him. A7mad quickly let go of Asmaa's arm, trying to grab his stomach, stopping himself from laughing.

 7amdellah, he's ticklish!

I tickled his waist again until his face was turned away from Nawaf and Asmaa. This time, his angry eyes were staring into mine.

"Asmaa, run!" I hissed, Asmaa obeyed and followed Bibi into the house. Nawaf noticed how A7mad was distracted, he took his chance to grab A7mad's shirt from behind, his arm wrapping around A7mad's body to trap him in his place.

"Hey! Sh9ayer?!" I heard my Dad's deep voice yell out. I sighed in relief and my heart rate slowed down.

"Amal, t3awertay?" Dad hurried to my side.

"La2 bas Nawaf.." I noticed Nawaf's bloody bottom lip.

"La2 ma feene shay. A7mad, did you calm down?" Nawaf replied, his tone still emotionless. A7mad's chest was heaving.

"Eee khala9, let me go." A7mad tried to push Nawaf off of him.

"Goul walla ma ra7 etmid eedik 3la Asmaa." Nawaf replied harshly.

"Walla! Okay? WALLA! Now let me go." A7mad said in a disgusted tone.

Nawaf obeyed and released A7mad from his strong grip. A7mad stormed off to where his car was parked, probably wanting to leave before he could see his sister again and lose his cool.

"Sh9ayer?!" Dad repeated his question.

"Wla shay." Nawaf didn't look into my Dad's eyes, he walked back into the house leaving Dad and I alone. I didn't want to answer any of Dad's questions either so I followed Nawaf into the house.

I found Asmaa sitting on the couch, her eyes full of tears. Bibi had her arm around Asmaa, trying to calm her down.

I didn't blame Asmaa for her behavior, I was shocked myself. I had never seen such a thing before, how could a brother want to hit his own sister? Even if she did do something wrong?

"Asmaa, are you okay?" I walked over to Asmaa, looking at her.

"I'm s-sorry." Asmaa sobbed. "Walla, I'm so s-sorry."

"It's okay." I sighed. Khalti Zaina hurried over to where we were sitting, she must have heard Asmaa's sobs.

"Banat, shfeekom?" Khalti's eyes were full of worry. I let Bibi tell her mother the news, I needed to look for Nawaf.

I tried the kitchen, the other living room and the halls, but Nawaf was nowhere to be seen. I decided to try his room last but I was hoping I wouldn't find him there, I couldn't stand being alone with him in a room with his intense gaze.

I knocked over his bedroom door, waiting for an answer. I was about to turn around and leave once I didn't hear anything for the first 5 seconds but I froze once I heard him say "Come in".

I pushed the door open and was surprised to find that Nawaf's room was neat. It had dark furniture and the same beige walls as my room.

Nawaf had a tissue pressed up against his bloody lip and there was a glass full of ice next to him. He turned around on his bed to look at me.

"Oh." He said once he noticed that it was me that knocked on his door. I began to feel angry, what did he mean by 'Oh'?

"Ifffh, if you hate me THAT much then just say it." I couldn't hide my anger anymore, I forced the words out of me and turned around to leave his room.

"Amal, ni6ray!" I heard him call out. I didn't stop, I was in the hallways now and I heard footsteps behind me. A pair of soft fingers wrapped around my wrist, stopping me midway.

"Amal, just wait." I heard Nawaf's voice behind me. His fingers were still holding my wrist.

"Shnu?" I couldn't turn around and face him. I knew, I knew if I just got a look at his dark eyes I would forget his hurtful words.

"Amal, look at me." Nawaf's deep voice sounded kind. I wasn't used to hearing kindness behind his voice. I gave up and turned around to face him. Nawaf dropped his hand once I faced him, letting go of my wrist.

"I'm looking." I said, but my eyes were staring down at the ground.

"No you're not." Nawaf pressed a finger under my chin, tilting my face up so I was forced to look into his eyes. My heart skipped a beat.

"I'm sorry." Nawaf said, his eyes felt like razor blades slicing into my skin. I looked away quickly.

"It's o-okay." I shrugged.

"No, I'm sincerely sorry. I shouldn't have said that earlier, I was too quick on judging you. Can we start over?" Nawaf pleaded, his hand still pressing the tissue up against his bloody lip.

"We can start over." I sighed in defeat.

"Good." Nawaf said with a smile. I was surprised to see his smile, it brightened up his whole face, changing his bad boy image to a more friendly one.

"You should, uhm, get that looked at." I pointed to his bloody lip.

"Laish? Khayfa 3lay?" Nawaf teased.

"Laish akhaf 3leik?!" I was alarmed by his words.

"Amal ga3d atghashmar m3ach." Nawaf laughed, his laugh was a deep laugh that caused me to smile in return.

It felt like I heard that laugh before, he felt so familiar. He didn't feel like a stranger at all.

"My bad." I replied embarrassed.

"So, bitrou7een Kuwait University?" Nawaf asked as his fingers scratched the back of his neck. He seemed a bit shy.

Amal, stop imagining things. Nawaf, shy? Ha!

"Eee enshallah. Do you go there?" I replied politely.


"Eee, I'm taking Medicine. Are you taking anything related to singing?" He asked, his eyes hiding a secret message.

Singing? Why would he assume that?

"Um, no. I'm planning to take Law." I said, in a weird tone.

"Oh." Nawaf looked disappointed. "Yalla, uhm, I have to go."

"Okay.." Something was wrong, he wasn't the friendly Nawaf anymore. He was back to the emotionless Nawaf again. I watched him walk off back to his room, his head lowered.

His posture reminded me of something.

I suddenly got a flashback, just hints of an old memory.

-Years and years ago-

"No, stand up straight!" My little kiddy voice called out to a little boy. The little boy turned to look at me, his dark eyes full of mischief. The greens were all around us, surrounding us. The sky was as bright as it could be and I could hear the laughter of our siblings behind us.

"Laa Amal, mabe!" He had his head lowered down, his dark hair hiding his eyes.

"Ma y9eer, if you want to be a doctor you have to stand up right like a real man!" I argued, putting my hands on my hips.

"Fine but if you want to be a singer, you have to dance." His dark eyes were dancing, challenging me to dance in front of him.

I obeyed and turned around, letting my little dress move with me as I started to dance. I grabbed the little boy's hand and we danced together, jumping around on the ground and laughing together.

"Amal, yalla 7bebty ghada!" I heard a friendly voice call out.

"Okay mama digeega, bal3ab m3a.."

- Present day -

I was brought back to reality and I felt a sharp pain dig into my head. I rubbed my forehead with my finger tips.

What was that? Who was that little boy?

I stared back at Nawaf's closed door, images of me when I was a child running through my head.

Another sharp pain dug deep into my scalp, forcing me to stop thinking of the flashbacks. Before I could think any more of the little boy I saw in my head, I began to feel dizzy.

 I tried to hold onto the wall next to me but I was falling down. I was getting closer and closer to the ground, the images of the little boy racing around in my head, making me feel even dizzier.

"Amal! La trou7een, g3day l3bay m3ay!" I heard the faint voice of the little boy in my head before silence infected the insides of my ears.

And the next thing I saw, was pure black.

Masqué Chapter 2

Phew! I got some good feedback from the first chapter. I was so worried about it, I'm glad you guys liked it. :D

@vieblogue.

#STOPBASHAR #HAOULAMASSACRE #SYRIA

-

"Amal, this is uhm, my husband 3aziz." Khalti Zaina finally spoke, she gestured towards the tall man with tanned skin and dark yet friendly eyes. He gave me a wide smile, I returned the smile.

"W hatha wildy Turki w binti Bibi." Khalti pointed to two 16 year old teenagers with the same tan skin as their father and the same dark friendly eyes. They both looked like twins.

"Halla." Turki gave me a small smile, his blackberry in his hand.

"Hey." Bibi gave me a half smile, her hair dark hair up in a ponytail. 

"Hatha Khalich Bader w Khaltich Ghaneema." She pointed to two familiar looking siblings who had the milky skin my mother had with the same small eyes.

"Hi." I awkwardly said.

"W hatha wild Khaltich Ghaneema Nawaf. Nawaf tawa rad men London." Khalti Zaina gave the tall tanned guy in his A&F sweats a secret smile. That explained why I saw Nawaf in the airport before and the stare he gave me. Nawaf's eyes were intense, they kept staring into mine and I started to feel uncomfortable from his gaze. I looked away quickly.

"The rest of the family are asleep and uhm, your Grandfather passed away a few years ago." Khalti Zaina stated sadly.

"Uhm, allah yer7ama." I felt like my late Grandfather was a stranger to me, I didn't feel like I was apart of the family. My eyes were staring down at the marble ground, all of their eyes were on me and my parents were standing behind me, silent as a tree.

This was my Mother's side of the family, my Dad had always told me we weren't close to his side of the family and he didn't wish for me to meet them for some unknown reason.

"So, uhm, we should go now. We had a long flight." Mom held me by my wrist, guiding me away from the people's eyes.

"Ti9bu7oun 3la khair." My dad said, before following Mom and I out of the living room. I felt the people's eyes follow us and stare at our backs, I hurried and let Mom guide me through the long stretched halls.

Mom finally stopped me outside a room.

"Amal, hatha darich." Mom pointed to the wooden door. "We'll be in the room upstairs."

I watched my parents walk back to the stairway to go upstairs. Once they were gone, I twisted the knob of the door and pushed the door open. The room was nothing like my old room back in Switzerland. I was so used to simplicity and this room was the exact opposite.

Paintings covered the dark beige painted walls, there were mahogany furniture that complimented the beige and gold colours. It seemed as if the whole house was under those colours. I approached the large bed and found that my suitcases were already in the room.

I also wasn't used to having housekeepers or drivers.

I heard a few voices out of my room.

 Looks like the walls are thin too.

I couldn't help but hear two male voices.

"Shift'ha?" A male voice said.

"Eee." Another male voice replied.

"Shnu eee? Shift sh7ilouha? Akeed 3ndeha siwalif, she came from Switzerland."

"Hey, kalim 3adil." The deep voice was full of anger.

"Shd3wa Nawaf, ma et3arif el bent." The other male's voice remained playful.

"Wla enta et3arifha fa eskit a7sanlik Saif."

"Offh, had a39abik bas."

The voices drowned out as the figures walked further away from my room. I hurried over to my door, carefully opening the door so I could peak at the two figures. Was Nawaf being protective or plain stubborn?

I caught a glimpse of Nawaf's back and another tall guy's back. I was guessing the second guy was Saif. Was he another one of my cousins? It was as if Nawaf felt my eyes on his back because he quickly turned around and his intense eyes met mine.

I quickly shut the door as soon as he caught me staring at his back.

Great Amal, lazim etkhizeen el walad mara thanya? Now he must think you were staring at his butt, nice going.

Before I could embarrass myself any further, I decided to change into my leggings and tank top before I slid into the lush bed, letting sleep take over me.

-

The next morning, I felt a tiny hand poke at my back, trying to wake me up.

"Mmm?" I hugged the fluffy pillow against me, trying to get more comfortable. The mushy fingers kept poking at my back. I turned around to the other side and forced my eyes open.

I found big dark grey eyes staring right back into my charcoal ones. The source of those eyes was a 4 year old little boy with light skin and big soft looking cheeks.

"Oh, hi there." I smiled, the little boy was adorable.

"Ghada." He replied shyly before running out of the room. I pounced out of bed and made my way into the peach tiled bathroom, brushing my teeth and washing up. I grabbed another one of my cropped shirts and this time, it said "YOLO". This shirt had always annoyed Ghalia and I loved wearing it around her. I felt a pang at my chest, I miss Ghalia.

I slid on a pair of black and white high waist leggings and combed back my hair into a ponytail. I made sure my bed was made and cleaned up before I left my room. I had my face absorbed into my iPhone, trying to text Ghalia and I nearly collided with a tall figure while I was walking down the hallway.

"Hey, emshay 3adil gabel ma et6e7een." A deep voice startled me. I looked up to find the guy from yesterday, was his name Saif? He was in a pair of shorts and no shirt on. I tried to keep my eyes level with his, his shirtless firm chest was very distracting. He looked like he just woke up too.

"O-okay." I stuttered.

"I'm Saif. Entay Amal, mu 9a7?" Saif gave me an easy smile.

"Eee, uhm, you're my cousin?" I gave him a forced smile.

"Ooh, you have a dimple too. Um, yeah I mean yes, I'm your cousin, I'm Nawaf's brother. You met him yesterday, right?" Saif looked about 18 whereas Nawaf looked 19. I was guessing he was Nawaf's younger brother, they both had the same dark eyes but Nawaf had thicker eyelashes and a more masculine face than Saif's baby face.

"Eee." I replied awkwardly.

"Yalla ghada." Saif gave me a second smile before walking off, I decided to follow him since I was already lost in the house.

The long table held about 20 people. All of them were seated with a plate full of rice in front of them. There were dozens of faces that I didn't recognize and I felt out of place, in my casual clothes compared to their polished faces with luxurious clothes.

Every head turned around to stare at me once I was downstairs, standing by the table. My parents weren't seated, they were sitting by the couch with two other older people I didn't know.

"Amal, ta3alay g3day yemi." Gran gestured over to the empty seat next to her. I bit the inside of my cheek as I sat onto the chair. Nawaf was sitting right in front of me, his hair was neatly gelled back and he had a new Hackett shirt on.

"Nemtay 3adil?" Gran gave me a sweet smile, her hand patting against my cheek. Gran leaned in closer to plant a kiss against one of my cheeks, over my dimple. I blushed, I wasn't used to the warmness.

"Eee, 7amdellah. Thank you for having us and thank you for this, uhm, delicious meal." I stared at the plate in front of me that had warag 3inab, 3aish, la7am and a little salad plate. I was used to eating pasta or take away Chinese food, we'd never have these traditional Kuwaiti meals back in Switzerland.

"7bebty, we're your family. You don't need to be so polite." Khalti Zaina laughed, her smile causing others to laugh a long. I flushed in embarrassment. I caught Nawaf's mouth turning up a bit but once he caught me looking at his smile, he turned his expression back to serious Nawaf.

Weird.

I started to feel more comfortable as Gran made an effort to include me into the conversations. Khalti Zaina would always ask about Switzerland, letting me start a conversation myself. And then, soon enough, I didn't feel so tense anymore. The food tasted great and I was looking forward to meeting more of my family.

Each of the family had told me their names and how they were related to me but I easily forgot all of their names after a few minutes.

"Amal, ta3alay m3ana binrou7 360 mall." One of my cousins, her name was Asmaa, she was petite 20 year old with dark hair and full lips.

"M3a mnu?" I said, my eyes searching for someone I knew.

"M3a refejaty men KU (Kuwait University) w m3a Bibi." I sighed in relief once she said 'Bibi'. Bibi was younger than me but she seemed friendly and was one of the cousin's names that I didn't forget.

"Uhm, okay." I gave her a small smile. I hurried back to my room so I could change into my bleached blue jeans and a fringe white shirt. I added bronzer over my cheeks, matte lipstick, eyeliner with mascara and my Van Cleef jewellery. I left my hair up in a sleek ponytail and added more earrings to my ears and a Balenciaga bag over my arm.

My parents were nowhere to be seen and I was used to not asking for permission when going out, so I simply waited by the entrance of the house for Bibi and Asmaa.

Both the girls approached me, they both had dark rouge lipstick and cardigans over their what looked like was a dress. When we were in the Porsche Cayenne, Asmaa slipped off her cardigan and she was wearing a strapless tube top with a too tight skirt on. Bibi left her cardigan on and her dress reached down to her knees. I kept my mouth shut as I watched Asmaa add more red lipstick onto her already too red lips.

Asmaa's "friends" were two girls named Dina and Farah, wearing the same too tight clothes and too red covered lips. I suddenly became a bit conscious of what I was wearing. Was this mall like a club or something? Only Bibi looked respectable and so I scooted closer to her in the car.

"Uhm, Bibi.. is this mall, some place where you wear party clothes?" I was confused.

"La2!" Bibi laughed, taking her eyes off of her blackberry. "Bas Asmaa, Dina w Farah mwa3deen."

"Mwa3deen?!" My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"Wi9alnaa." Bibi practically pushed me out of the car before I could ask any more questions. The girls forced me to follow them towards a restaurant called B+F. It was a very dark restaurant inside and was a bit cozy. I noticed 5 guys were seated in a table in the corner and their eyes were on us. Asmaa gave one of the guys a little wave and walked towards them.

This was a date?!

I may have stayed in Switzerland for years but I knew what was wrong when I saw it. The girls followed Asmaa and sat next to the guys. Bibi stood standing right next to me, her hands shaking.

"Bibi, shfeech?" I noticed her shaky hands.

"Asmaa forced me to come." Bibi bit down on her bottom lip, she seemed to be afraid of the guys and the situation we were in.

"Hey, shitsawoun? Ta3alow!" Asmaa gestured towards Bibi and I, looking embarrassed of having cousins like us.

"Eee, entay ely labsa el abya'9. Ta3alay gi3day yami." One of the guys called out to me, he had a slight beard and looked like he was 24 years old.

We were attracting attention from other people in the restaurant, a lot of them were shooting dirty looks at us, especially at Asmaa and her friends, who were sitting very close to the other guys.

My gut feelings told me to leave and so, I listened to that gut feeling. I wrapped my fingers around Bibi's wrist and ushered her out of the restaurant. But before I could successfully leave the restaurant, I found Nawaf, Saif and a couple of other guys standing right in front of us, blocking our way. They looked like they were about to enter the dark lit restaurant themselves.

Nawaf and Saif quickly noticed Bibi and I.

"Bibi.. Amal.. shitsawoun ehni? Mu galetly Asmaa enkom bitrou7oun Avenues?" Saif said in a suspicious tone once he noticed Bibi and I's alarmed expressions. Did Asmaa lie to Saif too?

Nawaf's eyes were on mine for few long minutes before they traveled to the back, where he caught Asmaa sitting with the crowd of guys.

I could have sworn I saw fury in those dark eyes.

Masqué Chapter 1

Okay, so I decided to make ALL of my stories under the title "Masquerade" because all of my stories are under that theme. So "Masqué" means "masked" in French. I've put on a title so you guys can know which story is which, but all of the stories will be under the masked/mask/masquerade theme because my blog is under that title. xo

If it's confusing then DM me, @vieblogue (new username).

By the way, this story will be 100% fiction too. Hope you enjoy this new story, it took me more than a day to to write (I had writer's block *where I space out and can't think of something to write about* a lot). :D x

-

The air was crisp, the rustling of the trees surrounded me and I was under the bright blue sky. I was at peace, I took a large whiff of the fresh air, letting the relaxed emotions flood into me.

"Amal, come on, we're going to be late."  Ghalia tried to force me to walk faster. We were walking down the roads of Lausonne, Swizterland (it's close to Geneva).


"Hey, YOLO! (You Only Live Once)." I slowed down our tracks, taking in the beautiful view of the sky that I tended to ignore everyday when I walked to university.

"Besich this YOLO cr*p, ever since you created your twitter account you've been saying that." Ghalia rolled her eyes and walked slowly next to me, her mid-length skirt moving with the direction of the wind that slapped against us.

"It's cool. You're just jealous." I stuck out my tongue at her.

"I still can't believe that you're 18 years old, you act like a 5 year old." Ghalia laughed as we passed the stores.

"A cute one." I said with full confidence as I finger combed my caramel hair back, letting my curls blow out in the wind.

"Eee l2anich 6al3a 3lay of course."Ghalia gave me a wink.

"Of course." I winked back as we entered the gates of the university.

"Amal!" Fawaz called out once he noticed Ghalia and I approach the doors to the university. Fawaz was 180cm tall, had light skin, short hair and a friendly smile.

"Hey Fawaz." I gave him a polite smile before passing him, entering the university.

"Amal, hey." Ghalia poked her elbow into my sides.

"Aaa7! Shnu?" I turned to look at her once we reached outside of our class.

"Do you know how blind you are?" Ghalia said in an annoyed tone.

"I can see perfectly fine." I lamely replied.

"Yal ghabeya, Fawaz is obviously crushing on you." Ghalia rolled her bright eyes.

"Nooooo, he's like a brother." My mouth formed an 'o'.

"Tara he's cute." Ghalia gave me a little wink. I looked back to find Fawaz by his locker, talking to a French student called John. Fawaz caught me staring, he turned around to look me into my eyes and gave me another smile. I quickly turned away, my cheeks flushing.

"Shiftay?" Ghalia smirked, grabbing my arm and forcing me into class.

"Do you think he really likes me?" I hissed once we were seated in class. The professor was busy speaking about the importance of law.

"I've been watching him, every time he sees you, he has to come up and talk to you." Ghalia hissed back when the professor had his back to us.

"Yeah but.. it's all about the projects and school related things." I replied, pressing my hand against my cheek.

"So?" Ghalia wiggled her perfectly tweez-ed eyebrows. I bit my full bottom lip nervously.

Did Fawaz really like me? The only crush I had was on the little German boy in 5th grade, his name was Nick and he had the bluest eyes I'd ever seen.

I've lived in Switzerland for as long as I could remember. My mother had always told me that I was born here. I've never seen Kuwait, excluding the times I googl-ed Kuwait and looked at the rare pictures of it.

My iPhone vibrated against my desk, I peaked at the caller ID and read "Mom".

My forehead furrowed in confusion. My mom didn't usually call during my classes. I quickly grabbed my iPhone, answering the call.

"Aloo," I whispered into the phone.

"7bebty, abeech etrideen el bait al7een." Mom's voice sounded a bit nervous.

"I'm in class, fee shay?" I hissed, the professor glared at me, his mustache quivering over his upper lip.

"Bas riday el bait al7een." She repeated before hanging up on me.

"Wain ray7a?" Ghalia asked once she saw me gather up my books, putting them into a neat pile before slipping them into my bag.

"Madry, omy etgouly lazem arid al7een." I answered in a confused tone. I gave the professor an apologetic look before leaving the class.

I forced my navy tom covered feet to walk faster, I passed the familiar stores, the ever so green trees and this time, I ignored the blue sky over me. My mind was filled with questions. Was Dad alright? Was Mom okay? What was going on?

I finally reached the door to our grande apartment, I slipped my key into the door and it opened easily. I took the elevator and waited impatiently, my foot tapping against the elevator ground.

Finally, level 4. I nearly ran to our apartment door, my hands were shaking as I slid the apartment key into the lock, turning it and pushing the mahogany door open.

Our apartment had a wide living space, I was the only daughter and so, we didn't need much of the space. There were huge windows everywhere, letting the sun rays surround the insides of our white furnished apartment.

I found my Mom by the kitchen, her fingers dug deep into flour. Whenever my Mom was stressed or felt troubled, she'd bake. So whenever I found a pair of freshly baked chocolate cupcakes in the middle of the living room, I knew something was wrong.

"Yuma, shfeech?" I approached her, dumping my bag down to the floor.

"Halla 7bebty, la ma feeny shay. I have good news." Mom said whilst smiling, her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Eee?" I rested my fingers on top of the cool counter, trying to calm my nerves.

"We're going back to Kuwait." Mom said, her eyes focused on the flour in front of her.

"What?" My blood ran cold. What about university? My friends? My home?

"Shfeech? Kuwait's your home country, estansay." Mom's cheery tone was forced.

"Bas yuma, what about university? And my friends?" I ran my fingers through my long hair, my nerves exceeding.

"You can transfer to Kuwait University (KU) and study Law there. Don't you want to see your family in Kuwait?" Mom gave me a meek smile. I hadn't seen any of my other cousins, aunts or uncles. My only family had been Mom and Dad. And in a way, I didn't want that to change.

"I don't have a say in this, do I?" I clenched my hands into fists, trying to hold in my anger.

"Our flight's tomorrow at 5 am." Mom's eyes were turned away from mine, obviously giving my question a big fat "No". It felt like a slap to my face.

"Great." I sarcastically stated before I turned away to walk off to my room.

There was no point into returning to class now when I was supposed to leave Switzerland tomorrow. I squeezed my iPhone out of my pockets to Whatsapp Ghalia. Ghalia had been my best friend since we were kids, she was our Kuwaiti neighbor and we would always play together when we were younger. We both wanted to become lawyers one day and I guess my Dad had always expected me to be one.

Amal Al-X:
Ghalia, we're going back to Kuwait tomorrow.

Ghalia Al-X:
WHAT?!

Amal Al-X;
Exactly:/

Ghalia Al-X:
Meta?!?!

Amal Al-X:
Bacher at 5 am.. :/

Ghalia Al-X:
Fawaz is going to kill himself when he finds out.

Amal Al-X:
Looool, al7een shaku Fawaz;( you're not going to miss me too?

Ghalia Al-X:
Akeed I will, you dummy. Will you text me everyday?

Amal Al-X:
I will. :*

Ghalia Al-X:
Pinky promise?

Amal Al-X:
Pinky promise Ghalouya. <3

-

"7bebty, yalla goumay." I felt Dad's masculine fingers nudge my shoulder, breaking the peaceful nap I was having.

"Hmmm?" I groaned, trying to get comfortable on the airplane seat.

"AMAL YALLA GOUMAY!" I heard Mom's familiar yell. I quickly opened my eyes, forcing my sleepiness to be pushed away.

"G3dt g3dt!" I rubbed my eyes, knowing that Mom had probably embarrassed me in front of the other Kuwaitis. 

Today morning was hectic. I had packed all of my clothes in my suitcase last night and had finished packing at 2:30 am. I didn't get any sleep and I was looking forward to getting some sleep in the plane. I loved to sleep and so, having only gotten 6 hours of uncomfortable sleep in an airplane, was clearly not enough for me.

I looked out of the airplane window and nearly gasped.

This was my homeland. I stared off at the green looking trees, it wasn't Switzerland but I felt happy, which was weird. I still missed Ghalia, she would have made me laugh and kept me company in the airplane. All I had now were my parents.

"Yalla baba." Dad patted my shoulder, his face looking tired.

 I unbuckled my seat belt, grabbed a duffel bag out of my Mom's hands and followed them out of the plane. I was wearing a pair of cozy Free City sweatpants and a loose short sleeved "FOREVER YOUNG" cropped shirt. My long hair was up in a ponytail and all I wore was eyeliner with mascara.

The process of collecting our luggage was long and tiring. I kept my eyes fixated on a tall figure's back as I started to think about what Ghalia was doing right at this minute. It was now 12 am in Kuwait, the flight had taken hours to travel from Switzerland to Kuwait.

Mom had said we had a house back in Kuwait that I never heard of but we had to stay at my Grandmother's house for a few days till the house could be cleaned up. I suddenly started imagining the way my Grandmother looked like. Was she frail and old? Or was she young and modern like Ghalia's grandmother?

As I was imagining this, I didn't notice that my eyes were staring into a pair of dark brown ones. I forced myself back to reality and noticed that I was staring at a guy. He stared back at me, his eyes looked tired from his flight, he had tanned skin, broad shoulders, a strong nose and a black Ferrari cap over his dark hair. He stared back at me and for some reason, I couldn't take my eyes off of him.

He wore a v-neck white shirt with a pair of comfortable looking dark grey A&F sweat pants. I willed my eyes to look away, I wasn't used to guys that looked as handsome as he did. Fawaz was cute but he had the face of a brother, I couldn't see myself ever liking him.

I looked back at my parents. They both had milky skin while mine was tanned. I never did look like them, my eyes were charcoal and almond shaped whereas my mother had delicate small eyes with hazel eyes. I tried to distract myself of the tall figure who was still staring at me.

Amal, did you have to stare at him in the first place? Fffh.

My eyes were on the suitcases in front of me but I felt the tall guy walk over to where I was standing. I quickly took out my iPhone, trying to look busy. I felt his eyes travel over my hair and then down to my toms covered feet before he finally passed me, over to where the gate was.

Amal shfeech? Y3ne awal mara etshoufeen 9bay?

I pushed the little voice out of my head.

We finally got our luggage together and made our way outside the gate. There were people scattered everywhere, their eyes were on every person that left the gate. I noticed a few guys standing by the gate, their eyes on mine. I looked away, avoiding their awkward stares. I wasn't used to this more secluded atmosphere.

"Amal?" I heard a woman call out behind me as I was trying to move the suitcase in my hand, it wouldn't budge. I turned around to the source of the voice.

"Na3am?" I answered. I found a beautiful tanned woman, her wrinkles showing off the years she had lived and her almond eyes resembled mine. There was a similar looking person who looked around 42, she was standing right behind the older woman. She bore the same eyes, sharp nose and full lips as the older woman.

"Amal, hathee yaditich w hathee khaltich Zaina." Mom said. Dad was talking to an Indian man, giving him our luggage.

"Ahlain." I smiled politely at the familiar looking faces, I felt like I've seen them before.

"7mdellah 3la salama.. Tethkeerena Amal?" My grandmother's voice sounded sad.

"Yuma, Amal was born in Switzerland, shloun bit3arifkom?" Mom butted in before I could answer.

"Aah, eeh 9a7 bnayti." My grandmother gave me a smile, turning her face to hide the emotions that she was trying to hold in. My aunt didn't say a word, her eyes kept staring into mine. I felt like there was something behind this encounter. Non of them made a gesture to hug or greet each other in any other way, the atmosphere felt tense.

"We're so tired, I think we should go now." Mom grabbed my hand, pulling me away from Gran and Khalti Zaina. I silenced my thoughts and followed Mom who was following Dad.

"Yuma, 7aram, they came to see us. We need to stay with them. We can't be rude..." I turned to look around at Gran and Khalti, they looked like they were engrossed into a deep conversation.

"We're staying with them so you'll see them a lot for these few days." Mom said, forcing me to shut up.

Apparently, Gran and Khalti were in separate cars. I had my face stuck up against the window during the whole car ride, I wanted to catch a glance of every spot of Kuwait. The scenarios were different compared to Switzerland, it was like I was dropped into a whole new different world.

The Porsche Cayenne car was parked in front of a tall house that was painted in peach, the windows long and took most of the house. It was a beautiful sight, the garden had a little fountain in the middle and there were several cars parked out front.

"Wi9alna." Mom gave my hand a pat, indicating that I should get out of the car. I obeyed and stood outside the white painted entrance. I watched another car park up in front of the house, it was a Porsche Turbo and it held my Gran and Aunt inside.

Gran fit her keys into the door and pushed the door open, letting us into the enormous house. There were chandeliers hanging in the middle of the hall with a large stairway. The furniture were all shades of chocolate brown, dark beige and gold sequins. There were about 5 people sitting in the living room, their eyes quickly turned to us as we entered.

I noticed a dark blue suitcase that wasn't ours that was placed in the middle of the living room. And there was a familiar pair of dark eyes set on mine.

I couldn't believe that the owner of those eyes were the same eyes of the handsome airport guy I was accidentally staring into half an hour ago.

Chapter 50 *FINALE*

I'm actually sad that this story is going to end but it's at the perfect time to end and there are more stories to come. This will be by far, my most favourite story I've ever wrote since it was truly my first. I hope you enjoy this last chapter. )':

This is dedicated to the graduates of class of 2012, whether you graduated from university or high school, you still have a bright future ahead of you! I wish all of you the best, our future shining stars of Kuwait. :'D

BTW: I changed my username from _KuwaitBlog to vieblogue (life blog in French). x

My new story: http://v-ie.blogspot.com/2012/05/masque-chapter-1.html?showComment=1338126118551#c781011864656970081

-

I clutched tightly onto my graduation hat, my nerves on high alert. My graduation robe was covering my short chiffon dress that reached a bit over my knees. It hugged my body and felt smooth against my skin as I waited impatiently for my name to be called out. Lulu was sitting next to me, her hand tightly clasped in mine.

"Shoug Al-X." My name blared out of the speakers, the voice sending excited chills down my spine.

"Shoug, yalla, dourich!" Lulu's eyes were teary, her hands trying to push me off of my chair. I quickly placed my graduation hat back onto my mahogany curled and hair sprayed hair. I stood up quickly, hurrying to the front where there were respectable people, waiting for me to grab my university diploma.

My hands were shaking, I was trying my best not to trip over the carpet with my Louboutin heels.

"Mabrouk 7bebty." The woman, in her suit and polished heels whispered as she handed me my diploma.

"Allah yibarik feech, thank you." I uttered the words shyly as I had to give each of them a hand shake.

I turned around, to look for S3ood in the crowd, sitting with his robe on. I found him far off, sitting next to Rakan, he had a huge smile on his face as he stared back at me.

"Smile for the camera!" A photographer called out, his Nikon camera's flash blinding my perfectly winged eyes.

It's been exactly two years. I'm finally 20. That sounds weird to say, I can't believe it. I actually graduated. I couldn't believe it when I graduated from high school and now, I still can't believe that I graduated from university.

I'm not a girl anymore, I'm a woman now, with a future ahead of her. S3ood and I have been engaged for these two years, I can still remember every detail of his proposal on my 18th birthday. And till today, my eyes tear up as I remember the day and how the emotions of happiness had filled up my inner self.

My parents hadn't known about S3ood's and I's relationship. M7md had suspicions of it but he let it go once I reminded him of his and Shaikha's relationship before they ever got married. My parents had agreed to let me become engaged at 18 if S3ood would marry me at the age of 20, where I'd be more mature and capable of becoming a wife.

S3ood was able to speak to me on the phone that day on my birthday whenever my parents weren't around in order to keep our relationship a secret. That genius.

I couldn't argue with my parent's plan, it was too perfect. I was able to live my teenage years, knowing I would have a future with S3ood and that nothing was able to take it away from me.

"Shoug, yalla bser3a! Your wedding is in a few hours." Lulu waved her hands in front of my face, bringing me back to reality.

"What?" I was dazed.

"Shfeech neseitay, 3rsich b3ad chem sa3a! We can't stay for the graduation dinner, yalla." Lulu grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the enormous ballroom that was filled with chandeliers and newly university graduated students.

"CLASS OF 2012!" The crowd cheered, I took off my graduation hat, throwing it up to the air, watching it fly with the other people's graduation hats, before Lulu had forced me out of the ballroom.

Fajer, Hawra'a and Shaikha were waiting outside of the ballroom.

"My baby!" Shaikha called out, pulling me in for a rib cracking hug. "You graduated."

"And you're pregnant." I laughed, poking her belly that was 4 months along.

My family approached me from behind. M7md, Khalid, Mom, Dad, Lisa-Anne and Reem with her daughter Danya were standing behind me. Narjis was still in the USA and couldn't come to my graduation.

I took turns to hug each member of the family. Mom had tears in her eyes as she hugged me as tight as she could.

"Ekberet benty." Dad said in a proud voice, I pressed my lips onto the top of his forehead, kissing it softly.

"Bas ana lal7een bentik, your youngest." I looked up at him, trying not to tear up myself.

"HEY, I am your second mama, no forget that!" Lisa-Anne pouted, crossing her arms over her formal dress. I laughed, causing my tears to stream down my face, probably ruining my eyeliner.

"Waii, entow filim drama. El bent 3ndeha 3rs b3ad 3 sa3at, lazem etrou7!" M7md cut in, trying to push me off towards my friends. Reem's little daughter ran up to my legs, hugging them.

"7bebty Danya." I leaned down to hug Reem's daughter, my niece. Her light hair was curled, her almond eyes that she got from her mom looking up at me with innocence.

"Khalti, enti 3arousa?" Danya muttered, Reem watching her daughter and laughing.

"Eee khaltich 3arousa, yalla Danouya lazem etrou7 Khalti Shoug." Reem gently pulled Danya off of the ground, picking her up, careful not to damage her daughter's little velvet dress.

"Yalla yal 3rousa." Lulu grabbed me by my hand, ushering me towards the limo.

"Bye Khalti!" Danya called out, her voice bringing joy to my heart before I closed the limo door, shutting out the view of my beloved siblings.

Lulu, Fajer, Hawra'a and Shaikha were sitting next to me, their faces still fresh with excitement from the graduation ceremony.

"We're coming now, did you bring the dress?" Lulu was speaking into her blackberry while her gorgeous long curls were framing her angular face. Her tone was serious, she looked like a wedding planner.

"Shawaga's getting married." Fajer sing-songed.

"Shoug and S3ood sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g." Hawra'a began to sing, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"First comes love." Fajer continued and I dug my face into my hands, embarrassed.

"Second comes marriage, which is happening right now." Shaikha sang as she started to do a little dance.

"And then comes a baby in a baby carriage." Lulu continued after she ended her call.

"Et7asesouny we're in kinder garden again." I laughed, blushing.

"Aww, Shoug you're blushing!" The girls pointed out.

"Chub, okay?" I laughed harder. "Turn up the volume." I yelled out to the limo driver, letting the music drown out our voices.

-

"Shoug, suck in your stomach." Lulu called out behind me as she was trying to zip the dress. We were back in my room, there were hordes of dresses over my bed, messing up my room. The girls were crowding my room, doing their make up before we had to leave the house.

"Kela minich gilteely akhith a dress that's not my size." I sucked in my stomach which let Lulu zip up the smooth dress.

"Shfeech? Lazem takhtheen shay '9ayij, it's your wedding! I couldn't let you buy the other dress, it was hanging off of your body, it didn't show off any of your curves." Lulu rolled her eyes.

"S3ood's mom will see me and-" I stopped midway once I turned around to look at myself in the mirror.

That girl in the mirror didn't look anything like me. She had long caramel-like hair that was curled up into an up do, a few tendrils of hair were let down. Her hair framed her cheek bones, bringing more attention to her beautiful wide eyes that were surrounded with curled eyelashes. Her dress fit perfectly against her body, as if it was a glove.

The dress had sparkling beads added to the fabric so in the light, you could catch glimpses of sparkles. I turned around and nearly gasped, the girls watched me as I stared at my back, the dress was backless and had crystals on the corners, enhancing my tanned skin. My lips were plastered in a shade of pale lipstick since my eyes were covered with smoked dark eyeshadow, framing the shape of my eyes.

I felt beautiful.

(Shoug's dress + hair: http://www.google.com.kw/imgres?start=159&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1439&bih=650&tbm=isch&tbnid=pyJUakoJ7nhWOM:&imgrefurl=http://pinterest.com/karenbarry/wedding-dresses/&docid=WCbJ-UHwbjO_HM&imgurl=http://media-cache5.pinterest.com/upload/56506170294360760_oFGdJ1Tg_b.jpg&w=192&h=192&ei=iqi_T-W3HeOl0AXT9anMCg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=335&sig=111069961481065753768&page=6&tbnh=153&tbnw=153&ndsp=38&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:159,i:163&tx=83&ty=16 )

"Mashallah.." Fajer breathed.

Lisa-Anne ran into the room and joined the staring contest.

"Aww Shougi, you look soo cayoute!" Lisa-Anne rested a hand over her heart she stared at me. I gave her a small kiss over her cheek whilst I was smiling.

"Not done yet!" Lulu grabbed the diamond necklace my mom wore on her wedding day, wrapping it around my bare neck. Fajer added the diamond earrings to my ears whilst Hawra'a wrapped the diamond bracelet around my wrist.

"Okay, yalla yalla!" Lulu commanded. The girls each wore a a different multicolor dress that complimented their beautiful figures.

I followed Lulu and the girls out of the room, walked slowly downstairs as in not to ruin the dress and climbed back into the limo. Shaikha wouldn't stop staring at me in the car.

"Shaikha, shfeech etkhezeen? Did my hair get ruined?" I quickly reached for my hair, checking if anything was out of place.

"La2.." Shaikha's voice quivered, her bright eyes tearing up. The other girls were staring at me too, their eyes getting a bit teary.

"Ohoo! Al7een tabchoun?" My eyes were becoming teary too, I laughed at myself. The girls laughed too, their tears spilling over.

"Teghayertay Shoug." Shaikha spoke up as she dabbed her eyes, I did the same, careful to not ruin my make up.

"I hope that's a good thing." I giggled nervously.

"You're truly a woman now." Shaikha said, her smile widening.

-

The ballroom was filled with women. S3ood's mother was sitting in one of the tables in front of the seat I had to sit on. I was overwhelmed with the amount of eyes staring down at me and my dress, inspecting every little part of me. I greeted every person that came in, smiling and thanking them for the kind words. Even Basma, an old high school friend, was able to take a flight to Kuwait to be able to be present at my wedding.

 Reem was holding onto little Danya, I couldn't help but smile at Danya's adorable little peach dress.

I desperately missed S3ood, I had to wait till it was time for him to come and I was growing impatient.

"Mama, wein khalti?" Danya asked Reem, I could hear their conversation since they were sitting nearby.

"Kahya 7abeebty, shiftay el 3arousa? Hathee Khalti Shoug." Reem held onto Danya, bringing her up to me.

"La Mama, hathee cinderella." Danya looked confused, her eyes lighting up when she was placed onto my lap.

"Ana mu cinderella baby girl." I laughed, kissing Danya's soft cheeks.

"Khalti Shoug? Hathee entay?" Danya's grey eyes widened in shock as she heard the nickname I always tended to call her.

"Eee 7bebty, 3yal mnu?" I said. Reem laughed along as she watched us.

"Banat, lebsow e7jabkom!" I heard my mother yell out. The girls quickly covered up their over baring bodies, not showing a shed of skin.

My heart began to race. S3ood was about to enter.

Lulu hurried over to me, she had a 3abaya over her dress and a lipstick in her hand.

"Lifesaver." I breathed out in relief as Lulu applied more lipstick over my lips and perfecting my make up.

"Yalla, your husband's coming." Lulu winked at me before leaving my side. I nervously waited and watched the large doors in front of me being opened.

I could have sworn my heart skipped a beat once I saw S3ood. His face was cleanly shaven, his eyes sparkling and he was wearing a dishdasha, looking handsome. His muscular shoulders were clear and obvious, even under his clothes.

S3ood's eyes met mine and his smile widened. He mouthed "Wow" and didn't tear his eyes off of me. His father was right behind him, with Rakan, Saleh and his brother Wahab.

S3ood greeted everyone but he did it in a hurry, he nearly ran up to my side to sit right next to me. I had my eyes down on the ground, suddenly too shy to look at him. Before S3ood sat right next to me, he planted a kiss over my forehead, causing me to blush like hell.

"Shoug?" S3ood asked once he was seated right besides me, his thigh up against mine.

"Mmm?" I noticed more eyes were on us now, watching our every move. S3ood scooted closer to me so he could whisper into my ear.

"Do you know how beautiful you look right now? You're always beautiful but wow, just.. wow Shoug." S3ood's breathing became a bit heavier and I felt it up against my skin. My cheeks blushed in response.

"Thank you." I shyly said, turning around to finally meet his eyes. "You don't look too bad yourself."

"I look sexy, no?" S3ood teased, giving me a wink. I laughed and my nerves melted away. S3ood had an effect to make me feel comfortable, even in the most awkwardest and shyest situations.

"Yes, very sexy." I laughed again.

"I love you. I've loved you from the first day I saw you and I'll love you till my last breathing day. Only death can steal my love away." S3ood sneaked his fingers closer to mine, his fingers intertwined with mine. The gaps in between my fingers fit perfectly with his.

"And I'll love you today, tomorrow and till our days are over. I'll even love you better if we end up in heaven together." I wasn't shy anymore. It didn't feel like a hundred eyes were watching us, it felt like S3ood and I were the only two people in the whole entire room.

S3ood's eyes kept roaming around over my dress and skin, even when people were speaking to him, S3ood kept his eyes on me, never taking them off of me, even if it was for just a millisecond. I felt loved.

Our wedding cake was tall, it had two flavors, red velvet and vanilla. The cake had numerous red roses that surrounded the cake, giving it a taste of my favorite colour.  (the cake: http://www.cakecreationsbyamy.net/images/Wedding%20Red%20Roses.jpg)

S3ood had his hand over mine as we cut the cake with the large steel knife. While my eyes were on Lulu and Rakan being extra cozy to each other, S3ood grabbed a handful of cake and pressed it up against my right cheek.

"Aaah!" I was caught by surprise. The crowd laughed and I laughed a long.

"You little devil." I grabbed a bigger handful of cake, stuffing it up against his cheek when he was too busy laughing with the crowd.

"Heey!" S3ood called out, he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me up against him. S3ood leaned over, my face covering his as he pressed his lips against my cake covered cheek, eating some of the icing off of my cheek. I blushed beat red, I smacked his shoulder and he chuckled in response, enjoying how shy I was.

He didn't take his arm off of my waist, his arm felt warm against the cool material of my wedding dress and it made me feel safe.

"Shrayich ne6la3 al7een?" S3ood whispered into my ear.

"Didn't they say we'd leave in an hour?" I whispered back once the people were busy eating up their red velvet and vanilla cake.

"Rules were made to be broken galbi." S3ood had a devilish smile on his face. He grabbed my hand and pulled me along to the back of the ballroom. There was an exit door at the back and we took the door to leave.

I blew a kiss to the girls who caught us trying to escape, they laughed at us and Lulu gave me a wink from far as she was sitting close to Rakan, their hands clasped in each other's under the chairs.

"Wein benrou7?" I asked S3ood. We were supposed to travel to the Maldives tomorrow morning for the honeymoon.

"Bitshoufeen." S3ood had a cardigan in his hand, he wrapped it over my bare shoulders, his hands warming up my skin.

He guided me to a Ferrari Enzo yellow sports car. (car: http://automotiveengines1.com/ferrari-enzo-yellow-sport-car/ferrari_enzo_yellow_soprt_-car/)

I gasped once I noticed S3ood unlocking the car.

"S3ood, hathee sayartik?" My mouth was hanging open.

"Maybe." S3ood grinned, opening the passenger car for me. I climbed into the soft material of the car, letting S3ood close the door besides me.

S3ood hurried over to the driver's seat and started up the engine. The Ferrari made a rumbling sound that excited me.

I noticed the girls running out of the ballroom to watch S3ood and I. Lulu waved from far while Rakan was standing next to her. Shaikha and M7md were laughing at Hawra'a, who was being shy around her crush Ali. Fajer kept shouting "DEEROW BALKOM!"

S3ood pressed hard on the break before driving out of the parking space. We were on the road now,  S3ood was driving slow and I was growing impatient.

"S3ood, asra3!" I nagged.

"Asra3? Ma etkhafeen?" S3ood asked, his tone playful.

"Why would I be scared when I'm with you?" I looked at him, acting confident. S3ood pressed on the pedal, causing the car to go over the speed limit. The rush of adrenaline slithered into my veins, my heart felt like it was about to slide up my throat.

I ended up screaming as S3ood was speeding, I quickly shut my eyes, feeling the excitement and fear. I felt the car slow down and stop. The next thing I felt were a pair of lips over mine.

My cheeks reddened as I become shocked, S3ood's lips were pressed up against mine, the softness of them calming my nerves. I opened my eyes once I couldn't feel S3ood's lips anymore, I found that S3ood had parked near a tree and his face was inches away from mine.

"I was waiting too long for that." S3ood's breath tickled my lips.

"I was too." I whispered back shyly. S3ood pressed his lips back onto mine again, silencing me. I felt his smile against mine once more before he pulled away from my lips. The kiss was addictive, it felt too good.

"Ha 7ubi, asra3?" S3ood's cheeks were red too and I couldn't help but laugh as he started the car again.

"Asra3!" I clutched tightly onto his hand, squeezing his masculine fingers as he pressed down onto the pedal. S3ood gave me one last dimpled smile, his eyes full of love before he forced the car to go faster.

And then, the road swallowed us up, the bright car speeding towards our new future.


-

SUMMARY:


After a year, Shoug had opened her own art gallery. S3ood was working for his father's company and both of them had a little boy called Yousef. Rakan and Lulu had gotten engaged on Shoug's wedding night. Rakan and Lulu are now married. Shaikha had her baby with M7md, the little girl's name is Mais. Reem got pregnant again, she's expecting another baby girl. Fajer became a petrol engineer and had a crush on her fellow employee Bader. Khalid married his cousin Ghazal and has a son. Ali finally confessed to Hawra'a that he loved her and were planning to get engaged. Faisal was still in prison. No one heard about Nour and Jaber for years, they practically disappeared. Lisa-Anne is still living, she's in her 60's and still her wild self.

Chapter 49

Its been about 4 days since that incident back at Starbucks. I haven't seen Jaber or Nour in GUST for the last few days.

"Banat, shiftow Nour elyoum?" Hawra'a stuck her head out of her Algebra textbook and hissed towards Lulu, Fajer and I in class.

"La2, shiftow Jaber?" Fajer replied whilst her forehead furrowed in confusion, her hair up in a sleek ponytail.

"El'9aher the plan scared them off." Lulu wigged her arched eyebrows at us, her cat-like eyes full of excitement.

All of us ended up giggling, attracting attention from our fellow peers. The professor gave us a glare from far away once he heard our giggles and we abruptly stopped, silencing our devilish laughs.

Lulu passed me a note with her manicured hands, I pulled the note open and read the following words:

I HEARD NOUR WENT BACK TO LONDON AND JABER IS IN THE USA. :O

I feverishly wrote onto the lined paper replying to her and saying:

 Shdarach?!:O

She wrote just as fast and I read her words on the note:

Ya3goub told me ams when I asked about them. Ya3goub took Jaber to the airport w Jaber told Ya3goub about Nour going back to London 2 days ago. :O

I smiled at the note, feeling the rush of happiness flood into me as I found out that Nour and Jaber were finally out of my life. It only took Jaber to listen to the recorded voice note of our conversation back at Starbucks 4 days ago to frighten him. We didn't even have to verbally threaten him.

He had finally let go of my arm and S3ood had ushered me outside of Starbucks, leaving Jaber alone with his cold mocha latte that resembled his mood that day.

Class was finally over, we practically rushed out of the room and Lulu was about to collide with Rakan because of how fast we were walking.

"Offh." Lulu rubbed her forehead once it made contact with Rakan's muscled arm. Rakan smiled at Lulu, greeting her. However, Lulu didn't meet Rakan's eyes and hurried over to my side, ignoring Rakan altogether.

Rakan's eyes were full of emotions but one was truly obvious, he was hurt.

Out of nowhere, I remembered something strange. When Rakan was staring at me weeks ago, Lulu watched the whole thing. When Rakan brushed his cheek against mine, it was in front of Lulu's friends. He seemed to do everything flirtatious to me whenever Lulu was present.

And suddenly, I knew what was going on.

"Lulu, ni6ray." I let Hawra'a and Fajer walk away and held onto Lulu's arm.

"Rakan, ta3al." I was holding Lulu's arm, forcing her to follow me towards where Rakan was standing alone. Rakan looked up from his iPhone and was surprised to find me with Lulu, standing in front of him.

"Shoug, khala9." Lulu tried to escape but my grip on her arm was firm but gentle.

"You two, fix this fight now. You two like each other, don't you?" Lulu's cheeks blushed once she heard me bluntly tell Rakan about her feelings. Rakan suddenly turned shy.

"Um.." Rakan fidgeted, his hands dug deep into the pockets of his AE sweat pants. "I do."

"Shnuuuuu?" Lulu gaped at Rakan, her mouth hanging open in pure shock.

"I knew it." I smiled giddily to myself. I was this close to doing my little happy dance.

"Bas digeega, he likes you Shoug. It's so obvious that he does." Lulu's old feelings of being hurt had returned and was all over her face.

"I don't. Sorry Shoug, bas entay 7sbat ekhty." Rakan's eyes were solely on Lulu, watching her every movement, mesmerized by her. Rakan only noticed Lulu, she was the person who lit up the room for him, she was that sparkling diamond that attracted his attention.

"Ee adry Rakan." My smile widened. I can't believe it, why didn't I see this before? It was so obvious, just the way that he seemed to look at her. As if she was the only person in the room.

"Bas bas.. it doesn't make sense! You're ALWAYS trying to sit next to Shoug, you're ALWAYS staring at her, come on.." Lulu looked at me apologetically as in to say 'Sorry, but you know it's true'.

"I only did that so I could try to get you jealous." Rakan practically whispered, too shy of what he did.

"WHAT?" Lulu literally yelled.

"Haday 9outich." I nudged her arm and Lulu obeyed, there were students passing us, giving us awkward glances.

"What?" Lulu repeated in a much quieter and polite tone.

"Lulu, ana el ghabeya. Rakan only tried to flirt when you were present or when your friends were. He never tried to flirt when I was alone. He was trying to get you jealous." I explained.

"Bil'9ab6.. is it true that, you, uhm, like me back?" Rakan lowered his eyes down to the floor, his cheeks turning pink a little.

"Uhm.." Lulu tried to hide behind me, her cheeks obviously red.

"Waii entow, yalla 3ad. I have class in 2 minutes, can you hurry it up? You're worse than the Turkey series Lisa-Anne always watches." I rolled my eyes, trying to quicken the conversation.

"Eee, I like you too." Lulu shyly stated. Rakan's face lit up, his smile taking up most of his face.

"9ej?" Rakan's smile widened.

"Mmmm." Lulu nodded shyly, smiling back.

"Yalla, I'm going." I left and let them speak alone. They practically ignored my goodbye, as if I wasn't even there from the start. Even from far, I could see how happy Rakan and Lulu were.

"Shoug, shiftay el new transfer student?" Hawra'a stopped me in my track, her eyes lighting up.

"La2, mnu?" I asked, curious as I paused in the hallways.

"He's so cute, his name is Ali." Hawra'a was practically jumping up and down.

My blood ran cold. Ali? No, it can't be Ali Ali. The Ali I knew..

There are a lot of Alis in this country.

"He's S3ood's cousin." Hawra'a said dreamily.

No. No no no. Can it be that.. No Shoug, stop thinking so negatively.

"Where is he?" I kept looking around, expecting to find the Ali I knew from high school hidden somewhere. My negative thoughts got the best of me.

"Kahoo." Hawra'a whispered, gesturing the the table where S3ood and his friends always hung out at.

I took quick steps forward, trying to look for this Ali.

 My eyes roamed over the heads of Saleh, Ya3goub and S3ood. There was a tall muscled figure, next to S3ood, engaged in a conversation with him. He had his back to me and I couldn't see his face.

S3ood noticed me looking at his group of friends, he gave me a dimpled smile from far. The muscled figure turned to look at who S3ood was smiling to.

I sighed in relief as I noticed the muscled figure had a saksooka, tanned skin and didn't look anything like the Ali from high school.

"He's so cute." Hawra'a stared at Ali. Ali gave Hawra'a a special smile and if I wasn't holding onto Hawra'a arm, she would have probably fainted.

"Hawra'a, he's not Justin Bieber." I turned to look at her dreamy eyes.

"Exactly, he's even better." Hawra'a happily sighed.

I laughed at her behavior, there was too much love in the air.



-



"Shoug?" I was tucked under the covers of my bed, hugging my pillow and my blackberry was up against my ear.

"Mmm?" I whispered into my phone, trying to keep my voice quiet.

"Your 18th birthday is tomorrow." S3ood reminded me, I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Is it?" I teased.

"La etgouleenly neseitay youm meladich b3ad." S3ood chuckled. His laugh sent a shiver down my spine, I couldn't get enough of his deep voice that always made me feel safe and secure.

"La la ma neseit, idiot." I giggled.

"Tara ma y9eer chithe, lazem etdal3eeny shway." S3ood tried to act serious.

"Eee ga3da adal3ek, you're my idiot. Doesn't that count?" I bit my bottom lip.

"It does when it's coming from you beautiful." S3ood replied quietly.

I was suddenly speechless. I always couldn't find the right words to say because he had this effect over me. He could make me smile, make me shy, angry or even jealous in just a few seconds. It was hypnotizing.

"Shoug? Nimtay? It's only 11:58pm." S3ood chuckled as he noticed how quiet I've become. He could feel my shyness, even through the phone. I felt grateful that he didn't point it out bluntly.

"I'm nocturnal, shfeek? I don't sleep now, I sleep at 5 am. I'm a vampire." I tried to imitate an evil laugh. S3ood ended up laughing at my fail attempt.

"3yal ana Edward men Twilight?" S3ood couldn't stop laughing, he pushed his words out in between his adorable laughs.

"La la, enta a7la mena." I laughed along, pulling the covers over my head so my laughs were muffled. I couldn't risk my parents over hearing our silly conversation.

"Shoug, look at the time. Bsr3a!" S3ood suddenly sounded serious.

"Okay, digeega." I let go of my blackberry to look at the time. It was perfectly 12:00am.

 It was my birthday, I smiled to myself as I pressed the blackberry back up against my ear.

"Alllaaah, it's someone's birthday." I bit harder onto my bottom lip.

"And she's one gorgeous girl. Happy birthday galbe, I love you so much." S3ood's tone was full of love, I blushed.

"Thank you, I love you more." I shyly replied.

"Shoug, one more thing.." S3ood shyly stated.

"Yeah..?"

"I have a surprise for you." S3ood whispered sneakily.

"Surprise?" I pushed the covers off of me, sitting up straight.

"Get dressed and meet me downstairs in 10 minutes." He said before he hung up on me.

Downstairs?! 

What did he mean by that? 

I quickly grabbed my violet Juicy dress that was thrown over my chair, sliding it onto my body once I changed out of my top and PJ shorts. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to add more volume to my curls.

My blackberry was vibrating uncontrollably on my bed sheets, I quickly grabbed it and answered the call, knowing that it would be S3ood.

"Yalla weinich? Sa3a?" S3ood chuckled.

"What are you doing here?!" I asked, shocked.

"Not answering. Yalla bsr3a ta3alay ta7at." S3ood hung up on me AGAIN, without answering me or so much of a "bye".

I plastered on some lipstick over my nude lips, trying to freshen them up as I was hurrying down the stairs. I noticed that the living room downstairs was pitch black. I tried not to trip on the stairs. Non of the lights were open and I couldn't see a thing.

And in a few minutes, all of the lights in the living room were switched on. My eyes adjusted to what was in front of me.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHOUG!" The crowd of people cheered out. I noticed my parents were standing in front, S3ood was behind them with the girls, Fajer, Lulu, Hawra'a and Shaikha.

"Shoug! Shfeech emse6la?" Mom laughed, approaching me. There were dozens of balloons everywhere, confetti on the ground and everyone class were dressed up. I felt out of place in my casual Juicy dress and plain lipstick.

I tried to digest the whole thing. S3ood, standing with my parents? He was speaking to me in front of them? And when did they plan this party? All of these numerous questions were waving in and out of my head.

"Thank you." I forced the words out of my mouth, my body frigid and still in shock. The crowd laughed at my reply. Each person took turns to approach me, telling me 'happy birthday' or 'el 3umr kela 7abebty'.

My brothers were nowhere to be seen but my parents had both showered me with kisses before going to the older people to mingle.

"Ha, shrayech?" S3ood finally approached me once I was clear of the other people.

"This was all.. from you?" My mouth was hanging open.

"Partly, your friends helped out a lot too. There's more to the surprise ya 7lwa." S3ood gave me a dimpled smile.

"S3ood wait.. my parents.. they know about us?" My eyes were bulging out of their sockets.

S3ood gave me another dimpled smile, ignoring my question. He walked over to where my parents stood, leaving me standing with the girls.

"Shel salfa?" I tried to ask Lulu, Fajer, Shaikha or even Hawra'a. They didn't answer.

"Ni6ray shway, you're so impatient." Lulu laughed. I watched S3ood speak to my parents, his eyes shifting from theirs to mine every few minutes. S3ood finally left my parents and stood in the middle of the party decorated living room.

"YA JEMA3A." S3ood yelled to quiet down the crowd. "Fee 3rousa bel ghurfa."

The crowd all 'whoo-ed', turning around to find the girl. S3ood's eyes were staring into mine, never leaving mine as he slowly walked over to me in his Louis Vuittion shirt and dark jeans.

"So what do you say Shoug, et9ereen 3rousty?" S3ood whispered faintly, but his voice was heard.

Every person in the room turned to stare at us in pure shock. I looked over to my parents, they had a smile on their faces and didn't look like they were about to kill me or surprised by S3ood's sudden exclamation.

"How.. shloun.." I mumbled, too shy to say anything else as I felt numerous eyes on S3ood and I, watching everything.

"Shoug, will you marry me?" S3ood ignored my shocked words, his smile widening as he repeated the question.