The Eid ul-Fitr

5:The Drunkeness

Arya swore up and down she wouldn't drink today, but I know her better than that. When she says she won't drink, that usually means she's going to drink like there's no tomorrow. I was chilling at a table, finally comfortable, when Imran swaggered over and said, "Azaan, come on, let's drink."
"Nah, man. Not tonight," I replied without missing a beat.

I had a good reason for saying no. Arya was already getting ready to hit the bottle, and we've got this unspoken pact. When I drink, she doesn't, and when she drinks, I stay sober. It's like a system to make sure at least one of us keeps things in check, because when we both go wild... well, let's just say we don't stop until the night's a blur, and the only ones who can handle us are us. No one else even comes close.

"Why, bro? Let's have a few, nothing's gonna happen," Imran nudged, trying to be persuasive.
"Sorry, man, not tonight," I shut him down again.
"Fine, whatever," he said, finally giving up with a wave of his hand.

He knew better than to argue with me-I'm stubborn as hell when I want to be. The only one I let win an argument is Arya, and that's mostly because she hates losing. But if I actually tried? No one would stand a chance.

After the party kicked into high gear, I started looking for Arya. That girl is impossible to track once she's had a few. First off, I knew for sure she was drunk-there's no way she wasn't. Second, when she's hammered, she tends to wander off on her own, so I had to find her fast. Instead of aimlessly searching, I went straight to Tuba. "Where's Arya?" I asked.
"At the counter, taking shots," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Of course, she was. I found Arya at the bar, throwing back shots like they were water, with no signs of slowing down. I walked up to her, and she looked at me with those glassy, drunken eyes.

"Azaan! Bro, you're here! I missed you sooo much," she slurred, practically hugging me with her words.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Missed you too. Now let's go, bro, it's time to bounce," I said, trying to get her moving.

"Bounce? So early? I haven't even gotten started yet!" Arya pouted, putting on her best puppy-dog eyes.

Early? It was 2 a.m., and she's acting like the night just started.
"Bro, it's literally 2 in the morning. You've already had, like, 10 shots. Time to wrap it up," I said, trying to keep my patience.
"Noooo, I'm staying here till I drop dead!" she declared dramatically.

I sighed. This girl was going to be the death of me. Tomorrow, she's going to regret everything, and I swear I'm never letting her near alcohol again. She goes from 0 to chaos way too quickly.

I didn't bother arguing any further. Instead, I grabbed her by the arm and started guiding her out of the party. She's heavier than she looks, and it took all my effort to steer her to the exit. But that was just the beginning. I still had to get her to the car without her deciding to run off or cause more drama.

Just as we were making our way out, I heard someone call my name. The voice was familiar, almost too familiar. I turned around, and there he was-Emad.