Growing with you

ChApTeR eLeVeN

Unsure of whether to approach him or not, Laila fidgeted with her bag strap. Only she knew of her feeling; he had no idea she was feeling this way, so she had nothing to fear. But she feared herself; she feared the blush creeping on her cheeks; she feared the stammer in her lips; and she feared she would get lost in his eyes.

His eyes met her's. Her whole world stopped. Everyone seemed to walk in slow motion and everything started to spin. He walked towards her with a smile on his lips. Butterflies erupted inside her. She felt as if she was floating in a cloud of marshmallows. A whole new world engulfed her, showing her a life right in front of her eyes.

She was in love.

The past two days had been a confusion for her once again. She was uncertain of the feeling but she had a determination as well to sort it out. She knew she had to clear her mind and try to figure out what she truly felt and put a name to the unknown feeling; but Laila had no idea she would know as soon as she saw him.

She knew she was in love. Or was it just a crush? Was Laila that naive to mistake a crush for love? Whatever it was, she knew she liked him enough to see him as an attraction.

The snap of fingers before her eyes brought her back to reality. She blinked a few times before she realised that she was lost in her thought.

"Day dreaming already?" he asked her while smiling.

At a loss for words, Laila simply shifted her gaze to the ground.

"Going to class right?" Laila nodded. "Is it okay if I walk with you? I'm headed there as well."

If it had been another day, Laila would've easily refused but today, she didn't want to. She yearned for his presence. She yearned for his attention and regardless of the sound of a door knocking inside her reminding her of Allah and shaitaan, she walked by his side.

She was afraid of Allah, not shaitaan. She believed in Allah and know that she will stay within her limits.

"You're awfully silent today. If it had been another day, you wouldn't stop talking," he said interrupting her thoughts.

Laila smiled, though it was more of a blush. They entered the class and as he was about to sit next to her, her shoulders became rigid and her guard came on. He immediately noticed her discomfort.

"Sorry," he said, and sat in the seat behind her.

She smiled once again, falling in love with the respect he has grown for her. She needn't say a word, but he simply understood.

They waited and waited, but the class didn't start. The lecturer was absent today. Laila dreaded this because she wanted a distraction away from him and Business Management was the only thing that could keep her occupied but slowly and steadily, her mind started thinking of him again.

"Do you wanna..." He stopped and stirred. His words didn't come out. They didn't need to. Laila already started to gather her bag.

"Hot chocolate sounds good." She stood up and met his eyes and he stared back at her. He didn't need to complete his sentence. She knew what he was about to say. Maybe... Maybe it was that moment that he too was falling in love with her.

She walked in front of him, as he followed her. They entered a small café, right outside of the campus area. Placing their orders, Laila silently said a prayer to protect herself from Shaitaan and thanked Allah that the café was crowded.

"So... What's new?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

"Nothing much really... What about-" Laila phone rang. "Excuse me," she said as she picked up her phone.

She saw the name on her phone and her heart stopped. She got goosebumps in her skin. She started feeling nervous, like she was doing something wrong and that she had to lie about it.

Answering the call, she said, "Hey. What's up?"

"Where are you?" he immediately asked.

"Ummm. Why?" She started to move around in her seat. What was bothering her more was the fact that she was uncomfortable speaking to someone else in his presence.

"Can we meet up?"

"I can't," she immediately spoke, "I'm studying for an exam.... At the library. It's really important."

"Yeah... I can see how important it is, especially when you have to lie to me about it."

Laila immediately looked up and standing a few metres away from her, he stood there.  He ended the call and kept his phone, shaking his head. Why did Laila lie to him? She could've just said the truth. She could've told him that she was having a drink with Hameed. Why did she lie to Qadir?

Her heart hurt. She felt scared and was on the verge of tears. Excusing herself once again, she ran after Qadir, who was already outside the café.

"Qadir! Qadir, stop! I didn't mean to lie," she said breathlessly as she caught up to him.

Qadir stopped walking but the fire inside him was evident. "I though we were at least friends-"

"We are," Laila said.

"That's why you lied to me?" he asked.

"I'm sorry."

"Listen. You don't have to apologise. You can spend time with Hameed as much as you want. Why would I care? This is your life and you can choose to spend it anyway you want. You don't have to give me an explanation." With that being said, Qadir walked away. Laila couldn't stop him and she didn't want to either. She had no strength to stop him. What he had said hurt her more than words should've.

A tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality. She turned around and saw Hameed.

"Everything okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, yeah," she said trying to convince herself.

"Okay. I got to get to my next class. I'll see you around," he said as he started walking in the opposite direction where Qadir left.

Laila stood still as they both left, feeling for the first time unsure which side her heart wants to go to.

PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT
Hey my lovelies. Another update. Wohooooo.

Completely unedited. Let me know if you spot any errors that makes you wanna pull my eyes out ;)

So it's been revealed. It's Hameed that Laila has a crush on.

All of you guessed that it would be Qadir, but initially I wanted it to be Hameed. Hameed is a great guy too. I never revealed villain so we still don't know who that it. It may be Hameed, it may be Qadir or it may be someone else. You'll have to keep on reading to find that out.

So in this chapter, Laila is confused of her feelings. We know in Islam that crossing the boundaries is not allowed. What do you think? Is Laila crossing the boundaries?

No one can control their heart's emotion, but Laila is confused on what she wants... Or in this case, who she wants. Who do you think Laila is truly in love with? Comment below.

Attached pic is all my chocolates my husband bought for me. If you're confused on who to marry, marry the one who buys you chocolates. 😂 Anyone jealous? *I don't share chocolates btw* don't hate me 😘

Until next time, stay safe.
Allah bless all ❤️