AASHIQ: A Lustful Demon✔️

Chapter Eight

     I had waited in the garden for about an hour before Preeta's call came in. She was in a class at the time I called so she couldn't answer. I told her to meet me at my faculty's garden then we could have lunch at a random cafeteria before heading back to the hostel.

     Thirty minutes after, we were laughing over plates of rice and this local Egyptian sauce. It was made from flour and spices. It wasn't bad at all. It almost tasted like the traditional Indian curry, or Murgh kari like Preeta called it.

     "So, something strange happened today." I said, then took a sip of my water.

     "Really? Tell me." She sat up straighter and looked at me with her mouth filled with rice. I spooned some rice into my mouth and swallowed it before answering her.

     "While I was in class, this strange creature with no eyes, nose or hands stood by the door grinning at me. As if that wasn't creepy enough, it walked towards me and opened it's mouth to bite me." I paused and massaged my temple. "Luckily, my professor snapped me out of it."

     "Wow! That was..." Preeta shook her head, not knowing what to say.

     "I know right! By the way, you said your brother studies here." I said.

     "Yeah. He should be getting out of class soon." she answered me. I'd have loved to meet her brother but I didn't know if she'd be cool with it. As if reading my mind, she added, "Will you like to meet him?"

     I smiled widely and nodded my head. "Sure."
We finished up our meals and walked out of my faculty to Preeta's faculty. The design of the faculty was weird. The building was old with several odd paintings on the walls. People scurried about with black books in their hands and were dressed in all black clothes.

     "Preeta!" A voice called from behind us. We turned around to where the voice was calling from. In the distance stood a really handsome guy dressed in black pants and a sort of cloak. The hoodie of his cloak was dropped back to rest on his neck.

     "That's my brother, Aashiq." My lips were stretched into a smile as he approached us.

     "Hey!" he said to Preeta, then looked at me. His gaze lingered on me and I felt my cheeks heat up.

     "Hi." I said in a small voice. He raised a brow with his eyes glinting in amusement.

     "Hi...?" he trailed off. I smiled awkwardly and told him my name.

     "Aisha." He tested my name on his tongue and smiled. "I like it. I'm Aashiq. Aashiq and Aisha, Aisha and Aashiq." he joked. I laughed at his lame attempt of making a joke.

     "Where are you going from here?" Preeta asked her brother.

     "My room." Preeta nodded, then grabbed my hand.

     "We'll leave now. See you some other time." He flashed us a smile and walked off, quickly disappearing into the distance.

     "Your brother is-" I cut myself off. I wanted to tell her how I thought her brother was handsome. Unlike Preeta, he had beautiful blue eyes. His nose was beautifully sculpted and his lips... masha Allah. His lips were pink and small. They had me thinking things I shouldn't be thinking. Don't get me started about his height. All I knew was that if I hugged him, my head would lay perfectly on his chest. His cologne! Subhanallah! He smelled so nice I wanted to hug him and sniff him forever.

     "I know he's hot." Preeta laughed. I agreed with her.

     When we got to our hostel, it was almost four in the evening. Even though we already ate, Preeta suggested we went to the cafeteria for some food. It was a wonder she was so slim. If I as much as eat more than thrice in a day, I'd blow up like Pennywise's balloon. Speaking of Pennywise, it was halloween in four days and the Faculty of Witchcraft and Shamanism promised to blow our minds. I had never been to a halloween party because we didn't really do that in my hometown. I knew about those parties from social media.

After ordering two plates of fries and crispy wings, we sat down by the window. The cafeteria was noisy with girls chatting about boys. Our school was pretty strict. Boys weren't allowed into the girls' hostel but we could go into theirs.

"So, have you thought about what you're going to the party as?" Preeta asked me. I popped a fry in my mouth and shook my head.

"Probably maleficent or Sarah Bellows from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark." I laughed.

"You'd be sexy as maleficent sis. Sarah Bellows? No. She was fat and ugly." Preeta said. I agreed with her. If I went as maleficent, I'd catch Aashiq's attention.

"What are you going as?" I asked her. She thought for a while then her eyes lit up.

"I'm going as an ifrit." I looked at her in confusion. Wasn't an ifrit a kind of jinn?

"What? Ifrits are cool. They have wings and I'll look beautiful in wings." She shrugged. I nodded and finished the last of my fries. When we got up to leave the cafeteria, Preeta walked to the counter and came back with a carton of orange juice. I shook my head at her. She ate way too much for a lady.

"I'm so excited for halloween." she said as we entered the elevator.

"I can't wait."