The Storm We Started

14| Azam's Mughlai charm

The evening was peaceful as light orange and pink hue was spread across the sky. With drizzling cooling the ground and hazy chilled air flowing through the city.

Gulnaz was lost in her thoughts. For last four days shoaib and her had been talking for hours at night. They talked about anything that came into their mind. Poetry, movies, places, animals, everything. In the last four days, gulnaz had warmed up more to shoaib and had been more comfortable with him.
She had opened up more about her passion.

Their friendship sparked something in gulnaz. She had been delighted when talking to him but moody when in presence of others.

She snapped out of her thoughts when her friends voices started registering to her mind.
The four sat under the shed on the roof of Karan's house. All of them had a cup of tea in their hands, enjoying the weather and the evening.

"When end sems results will be out?" Taufeeq asked, sipping on his tea.

Karan replied, "Probably at the end of June."

"They're giving us too late this time." Gulnaz said as she realized their results were late for this semester

"Do you think they'll pass us this semester?" Taufeeq asked again, getting anxious about his result.

"They've passed us every semester. Of course they'll do it now too." Karan replied, finishing his tea.

"But this time the questions were really tough." Taufeeq said as he stresses.

"Shut up toffee. Stop stressing me out." Maleeha exclaimed as she glared at taufeeq.

Taufeeq too glared at her, "you stop calling me toffee first."

"No I won't." She retorted

"That's. Not. My. Name." He annoying gritted. He always hated that nickname so much. Though gulnaz and Karan also used to call him that but taufeeq was brutal. And somehow it never fazed maleeha ever. She was unbothered and called him whatever she wanted.

"It is!"

"You witch!" Taufeeq exclaimed

To which maleeha retorted, "you cow, you dog, you sorry excuse of a human being!"

Taufeeq lightly hit her thigh which made Maleeha hit his arm. Soon they were fighting as if they are the champions of UFC itself.

Gulnaz and Karan looked at each other with a knowing boredom look. It was always like this with them. Maleeha and taufeeq always had been bantering since kids. They only had been friends when they joined for college, before that they were pure arch nemesis.

Gulnaz rolled her eyes and stood up to sit beside karan.

"I'm hungry." She confessed.

Now that gulnaz mentioned it, karan realized he was also hungry as he didn't eat anything since morning. Checking his phone he asked, "Want to order or go out?"

Gulnaz looked at taufeeq and maleeha fighting with each other and then at the weather as she decided, "let's go out."

Karan also looked at the weather as he speculated, "I think it's gonna rain soon."

The sky was grey and cloudy. The drizzling had stopped but the thunder and lightning gave away the doubts.

Pursing her lips, gulnaz said, "We'll just quickly eat and come back."

"Plus I need a cigarette." Gulnaz added to which Karan nodded in agreement but then realized she have a cold.

"Naz you shouldn't. You have cold." He concerned