Loving a Princess

8. I can get used to things not going my way.

As soon as I regained my composure, I immediately looked down.

What in the world was he doing here? I had never seen him here over the past two months that I've been staying at the hostel, and neither had I ever run into him anywhere else, Alhamdulillah. But why was he here now? Just the sight of him sent my heart racing!

When I lifted my head up, he was gone and I heaved a sigh of relief. I immediately rushed over to the girls' dormitory and headed over to my room.

"Assalamualaykum," Umniyah greeted as soon as I entered the room.

"Wa'alaykumsalaam," I replied, breathlessly, my heart still beating a mile per second, or so it felt.

"Why do you seem so flustered, Al? What's up?" Umniyah questioned, raising her eyebrows.

I went and dumped myself on my bed, facing her.

"You won't believe what happened, Umni!" I said.

"What?" She asked, curiously.

"I saw that guy. Over here!" I muttered.

She looked at me with wide eyes. "The one because of whom you decided not to go to GVU?" Umniyah asked.

I nodded. "Umni, what in the world was he doing here in the first place?"

Umniyah looked at me like I'd completely lost it. "Aliyah? The guy attends GVU! It should be no surprise for you that he stays in these halls of residence! All three unis here in the southeast area share these halls of residence!"

Oh, right! Of course! Silly me! I thought. But then...

"But how comes I've not seen him over these two months if he stays here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Umniyah looked at me with a smirk. "You have a crush on the guy," and she clearly saw that I was about to protest because she immediately continued, "and don't even bother trying to deny it! You wouldn't have let a guy interfere with your dreams if he hadn't gotten under your skin. You have a crush, Al! And you were so flustered when you stepped in here! What other explanation can you give me for that?"

I remained quiet. Umniyah went on, "As for your previous question, it's no big deal that you've not seen him here over the past two months. The girls' and boys' dorms are in separate blocks! Besides, you did see him today!"

"Yeah, okay! Whatever!" I grumbled, trying to get my mind off Farshad. The reality of the matter sank in. I did actually have a crush on Farshad! Unlike most girls, I didn't have a habit of denying things. I mean, what was the point of denying something when you had to come to terms with it eventually? Besides, if something was true, then one should just accept it instead of beating around the bush. Hence, I just came to terms with the reality, that I had, indeed, developed a crush on Farshad. Yes, maybe initially I wanted to protest, but that was only because I had never thought of it that way. But when Umniyah's words hit home, I didn't bother denying it.

"Ooh! Aliyah has a cru-ush!" Umniyah sang.

"Don't tease me!" I whined.

"You know Al, as long as you lower your gaze and control yourself, it's not really haraam to have a crush! Besides, in your case, imagine that for the sake of your religion, you have avoided this guy to all extents by not going to GVU, the uni of your dreams, and also, you totally lowered your gaze in front of him, and his face was imprinted on your mind from the first and only glance only so it's not really your fault at all here. As long as you continue to lower your gaze, your crush is not haraam!" Umniyah said.