Choosing The Right Path

39) 🐙Girl, say what now?🐙

👯 A A M I R A H 👯

It was like a frat party without the beer pong, sweaty bodies, people throwing up all over the show and pot being smoked in your backyard. In thr end, it was pretty epic, even if I did say so, myself.

It was organised by Rubina.

The lights were amazing and there was a DJ. My cousin argued that you couldn't dance without music. The theme was Arabian Nights. We came up with that one together. Aunt Husna helped with the food and drinks so everything was halal and smoking was thankfully, prohibited.

Our friends were limited to the living room and we warned them beforehand that public displays of affection were not allowed. We invited a few people that we knew. I didn't know a lot of people but before dinner was served, we played an ice-breaker.

I met Timothy Ranger from Rubina's maths class, Simone Kennedy who took art class with Raeesa and a few of Hamid's friends who claimed that I was the female version of my brother. Cringe.

The evening was a great success. House parties didn't have to get out of hand to be fun, there was no need for illegal substances and adult supervision made us all feel safe. Aunt Husna and Uncle Ismail hung around in the kitchen, sorting out the food and snacks for most of the evening. Rubina and I were planning to buy them thank you gifts but we needed to save our money first.

Later in that evening, I sat on the porch to have some alone time. I wasn't alone for too long, though.

"Hey, Aamirah."

"Hi Azlan. Did you enjoy the party?"

"Yeah, what about you?"

"Yup."

"Why are you alone out here? Is everything alright?"

I nodded.

"Alright then," Alzan got up to leave.

"Wait!"

He raised an eyebrow and sat down slowly.

"Azlan. We haven't really gotten to talk and I'm sorry for not being able to visit you. It's just that I don't want your parents to think anything of us being friends. Do you understand?"

✴ A Z L A N ✴

"No I don't," I teased her.

Aamirah sighed and adjusted her hijab before clasping her hands in her lap. She was adorable when she was frustrated. Like an angry kitten.

"You look like an angry kitten."

I must have horrified her because she turned to face me and swatted my arm. This was my chance.

"Ouch! Ugh... Seriously? This is still healing, you know!" I hissed.

"What?" She squeaked. "Oh my... I'm so sorry Azlan. Really, I didn't mean to-"

I burst out laughing. Silly me.

Aamirah's lips were set in a thin line and I knew I was in for it.

"I'll get you back for that someday, you imbecile," She whispered.

I let out a hearty laugh. It was good to be back in the game; healthy and with Aamirah by my side, even if it was just for a short while.

"Azlan?"

"Hmm?"

"I wasn't finished. May I continue?"

I rolled my eyes. Sometimes, Aamirah could be too polite. No, make that all the time.

"Yes, do go on."

Honestly, I was curious to hear what she wanted to say and I was also scared at the same time. My heart pounded in my chest and I just could not for the life of me, understand why.

"As I was saying, I'm sorry for not visiting you when you lived with your parents. I didn't want to stress them out and make them think that you're a bad boy with a million girlfriends. And I know that you're not like that, don't get my wrong. It's just that your mother didn't really like me and I didn't want to complicate things between you and your parents when you just made up. Not to mention, I didn't want to stress you out with unecessary politics. Please forgive me?"

"Aamirah... Are you out of your mind? Stop blaming yourself for all the crap in my life. You know, you're actually the one that reunited me with my parents. They should be grateful to you that their son still wants them to be a part of his life."

"Don't say that..." Aamirah muttered.

"It's the mere truth! I understand why you didn't want to visit me, I really do. Video-calling was just fine with me. If anything, I was glad that you didn't really see me in my pathetic-patient-state."

Aamirah chuckled, "I saw enough to know that you were strong enough to get through the pain and difficulty. Honestly, I'm just glad that you're ok. I didn't want to lose another person that I love."

Girl, say what now?

The End.