Foolish Games.. (20)

Alright, as I mentioned on my other blog, I'm going through a slightly wai3 time right now? I'm saving up all the adjectives for the story so "wai3" will have to suffice for now *rolls eyes* anyway yeah, I'm not really up to writing Ghala&3azeez's story right now.. unless you guys don't mind me killing off all the male characters ;p so I'm leaving you all with one final long post for now. I admit it's not my best work so if a lot of you guys don't like it, let me know and I'll rewrite perhaps? I love you guys, I'll be back soonish inshalla :*

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I sat on 3azeez's bed shivering, covered up in his sister's oversized bathrobe. I silently envied the beautiful giant for her looks and physique as I waited for my clothes to dry. To my consternation, I kept seeing Noor's laughing face and 3azeez's shocked one and blushed in mortification all over again. I was relieved for the option of hiding up in here away from everyone. My relief proved to be short-lived a few moments later when I heard a light tapping on the door.

"Ghalooy.. are you decent?" 3azeez's voice called out.

"No." I snapped as I hid my face in his pillow. I wasn't quite ready to face him yet.

He ignored me and came striding into the room, smiling as he nodded at my attire.

"3azeez! What the hell?!" I exclaimed, outraged. "What if I was naked ya3ni?? Ha?"

He raised his eyebrows and lifter a corner of his mouth in a crooked smile. "Then I'd be considered one lucky bastard." he replied with a wink.

I grabbed my bag and threw the contents at him individually as he laughed. I finally hurled my bag at him and hid under the covers and repositioned my face into the pillow. I couldn't help but catch a whiff of his lingering scent on it and breathed it in.

"Aw, come on baby, 3adi!! We've all been pushed by 3baid in the pool at one point or another!" He said as he attempted to lift the covers.

I tightened my grip around the corners of it but my attempts were unnecessary and ineffective, given the inevitable outcome. He threw away the covers and hugged me tightly. I hid my face in his chest the instant he let go.

I felt his chuckle vibrate through his chest as he attempted to push me away. "Wareeni wayhich!" He demanded.

"Mabi!" I mumbled, my response was muffled by his clothes.

"7abeebti we both know you're no match for me, I'm about three times your size! I will resort to tickling if I have to." He threatened.

I immediately lifted my head and looked at him. He burst out laughing again and I attempted to hide my face in my hands. He intertwined his fingers in between mine, taking away that option.

"Uff! Kil hatha mista7ya?" he asked teasingly. "I haven't seen that shade of red anywhere outside the tomato family!"

"Fashlaaaaaa!!" I whined, "Broo7'ha your sister seems to hate me and now this!"

He looked caught of guard as he replied sheepishly, "Oh, you noticed."

I looked at him disbelievingly, "Seriously? I would've had to be blind NOT to notice. You know what, 3abdulla probably noticed and pushed me purposely into the pool to amuse her!" I concluded.

"Yeah! I totally witnessed them communicating that by blinking!" He played along.

The door opened and I immediately jumped off his lap and landed awkwardly on the floor. I got up quick and sat down on the bed away from him as he shook his head and chuckled quietly. Noor came in closely followed by an apologetic looking 3abdulla.

She put down my clothes on the bed and nudged 3abdulla forward. He stared at his hands as he came up to me and shyly whispered an apology.

I smiled at him and bent down to his level, "I'll forgive you if you give me a kiss!" I offered and he readily accepted, giving me a big sloppy kiss on my cheek. He immediately giggled and ran away the second he was done, leaving me alone with 3azeez and his sister. We sat in awkward silence for a few moments before Noor cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Um.. Ghala, I wanted to apologize for my rude behavior earlier. I was quick to judge you based on what I've heard from other people.." She admitted, ashamed. I instinctively knew she was talking about S3oud's brother, he never liked me and had no problems making his feelings clear every chance he got. "I'm extremely protective of my baby brother but I can see that you have genuine feelings for him and if you don't mind, I'd love a chance to get to know you when you come back."

I had a feeling 3azeez had something to do with his sister's change in attitude but I didn't question his part in all of it. I smiled at her and replied, "I would love that too."

She beamed back at me and 3azeez, "I was hoping you would! Alright then, I'll leave you two alone now.. behave." She added as she gave 3azeez a warning look and she left.

I grabbed my clothes and ran to his bathroom to change as soon as she left. "Finally!" I exclaimed as soon as I came out, "Allaaah, my clothes are so warm and toasty!" I said as I hugged myself.

"Umm.. Would you like me to leave so you can feel yourself up in private? Or do you mind if I sat and watched?" he asked teasingly.

I laughed and smacked him playfully. "Ghala, you're really starting to worry me. Hair pulling, choking, pathetic attempts at beating me up.. are you into S&M?" He asked in mock seriousness.

I burst out laughing and fell back on the bed. I tried to contain it but failed miserably time and again. It wasn't that funny, but the expression on his face was hilarious. I finally managed to pull myself together and stared at the ceiling, smiling,

3azeez broke the silence, "I love the way you laugh." He said

I hooked one of my fingers between his buttons and pulled him down on top of me, "I love the way you make me laugh." I whispered back.

"I love the way you blush."

"I love the way you smell."

"I love how your voice drops a few decibels when we're all alone."

"I love how you always manage to notice the little things."

"I love all the little things there are for me to notice."

"I love you."

My eyes widened the minute the words left my mouth. I seemed even more shocked than he was by the words I had spoken, which was saying something considering the disbelieving look etched on his face. I immediately got up and pushed him away.

"What?"

"What?" I replied stupidly.

"Shgiltay?" He asked again.

"I said, "what"!"

He rolled his eyes, "Before that!!"

"Something about you noticing the little things?"

He glared at me impatiently, "After that?"

I gave up. He obviously wasn't going to budge no matter how dumb I played, I opened my mouth to utter the three words I never thought I'd be able to say back to him, "I love you."

I saw his face stretching into a huge smile and he leaned in closer to kiss me. I pushed his face away from me and got up.

"No! Wai3, stop smiling!! You better not have changed your mind and you better still feel the same way, you can't take it back! Also, don't think this changes anything or expect me to suddenly turn into the perfect girlfriend or anything or that you can control me in any way or dictate anything, 'cause I won't let you, inzain?" I said as I glared at him.

"You done yet?" he asked with a bored expression on his face. "I love you, too."

"Yeah well.. good." I finished lamely.

He laughed and pulled me into his arms, "Inzain, laish m3a9ba?" he asked, amused.

"Madri!" I replied honestly, "I never have appropriate reactions!"

"Really? You don't say?" he said sarcastically, "Is it alright if I kissed you now?"

"I love how you ask even though you're going to end up doing whatever you want anyway, you know, this is really starting to-"

He clamped my lips together and I tried to mumble protests. "Baby, sweetie, honey.. chub."

He leaned in closer and covered my lips with his. Every kiss with 3azeez was a new experience, the only similarity was the result of having me breathless and weak in the knees during its aftermath. This kiss was slow and sensual, he wordlessly conveyed to me the depth of his feelings and I savored every sensation as I responded and allowed his mouth to wreak havoc in every fiber of my being.

We eventually came up for air and he rested his forehead against mine as he tried to catch his breath, "How gay is it of me to be having the urge to beg you not to go?"

"Just about as gay as it is for me to actually be considering not going to stay with you." I answered. "I'm really going to miss you."

He sighed deeply, "Two weeks."

"Two weeks.." I echoed as he pulled me in for another kiss.

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"Are you sure I can't tempt you to come spend your last night with me?" He asked as he pulled up to my house.

"Honey, you can tempt me to do A LOT more than that, which is precisely why I should spend the night in my own home, as far away from you as possible." I replied.

"Really?" He asked intrigued, "I'll be sure to remember that when you come back." He teased. I shot him a look and he threw his hands up in the air, "Kidding, kidding!! Do you need a ride to the airport tomorrow?"

"No, Juju's spending the night and she's dropping me off tomorrow before she goes home.. besides, I'm meeting Khalood's mother and brother 6alal there so it'd be best if I didn't show up with you, don't you think?" I asked.

"Definitely, I wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong idea of you.. So, I guess this is goodbye?"

I cringed at the finality that word represented, "Not goodbye.. just see you later! Don't scare me!" I exclaimed.

He laughed and kissed my forehead, "See you later, tro7een witrideen bilsalama 7abeebti."

I couldn't help myself, I threw my arms around him and gave him a final hug, "Allah isalmik." I promised to call him before I got on the plane and I made my way to the front door. He refused to leave til he saw me go inside, I unlocked the door and looked back to find him still waiting. I walked backwards into the house so I can memorize his face one more time before he left. He waved to me and I blew him a kiss.

"THERE YOU ARE!" Ritaj screamed as she slammed the door shut after me and leaned against it. "I've been waiting since forever!!"

"Juju, 3azeez is outside, wakhrayyy!" I said as I tried to move her.

"Mako! You're obviously not going to close the door 'til he drives off and he won't drive off 'til you close the door, so I took matters into my own hands. Now march before me young lady, up you go!" She said, pointing at the stairs.

I pouted and sulked all the way upstairs, I kept trying to go back to the door and Ritaj would stop me and threaten to decapitate me if I disobeyed her again. I sighed resignedly and walked into my room.

"Hach, this is my list." She announced.

"List? List of what?" I asked as I looked down at the piece of paper she handed me.

"The list of things I want you to bring back from England, duh!" She answered.

I quickly scanned the contents and looked back at her, "Juju, I can't bring you back Orlando Bloom." I said as I rolled my eyes.

"Why the hell not!" She screeched.

"Ouch, Juju, volume control! Lana awalan, wai3. Thaniyan, Haifa already asked and I said no!" I replied.

"Hffft, fine! You never do anything I ask you to!" She whined.

"Yes, I'm the worst friend ever." I added.

"Woy, no 7abeebti laaa2! You're the bestest best friend ever! I'm going to miss you wayid!!" She said as she pulled me in for a hug.

"I'm going to throw up hugs walla, I've been squeezed way too much these two days!" I said as I hugged her back.

"Oooo.." She said as she wiggled her eyebrows, "Do share!"

I laughed and filled her in on the details of the day, she inserted appropriately timed "aww"s and gasps and made threats when needed.

"Bitch. I don't care if she apologized, I still don't like her!" She announced when I was done.

"Well lucky for her, you don't have to! She's 3azooz's favorite sibling, I'm going to have to try to find away to get along with her and I could use your help, so be nice!"

She sighed theatrically, "Fiiiine! Let's go make brownies and eat them with cookie dough ice cream!" she suggested enthusiastically.

"You're trying to make me throw up bilplane, aren't you?" I asked suspiciously.

"Nooo, you're going to sleep bilplane which is specifically why I'm going to keep you up all night. We're eating that cuz I won't get another chance to pig out 'til you come back, so come on!"

She ended up sleeping half an hour after we baked the brownies but I took her advice anyway and stayed up all night. I took a nap at one point and she woke me up by throwing a water bottle at me.

"Goomay! It's 9, I can't believe you let me fall asleep! I only have two hours left with you!" She yelled.

"Juju, I'm going for two weeks and coming back, it's not like I'm going to drop off the face of the earth, enough with the drama!" I replied crankily.

She pouted, "Whatever, if I was 3azeez you'd probably be all "awww babyy, la tiz3al, ta3al let me flash you!" bas ana I get told I'm being dramatic!" She said huffily.

I laughed and threw a pillow at her, "First of all, ew? Second of all, 3azeez doesn't throw cold objects at me while I'm sleeping!"

"Fine, go take a shower, I'll get breakfast started and we can watch Finding Nemo, I already sent your driver to the airport with your bags so you don't have to worry about that, yalla bsir3a we're running out of time!"

I didn't dare disobey her. When Juju had a plan, she meant business. I ran to the bathroom and took a quick shower, I went back down 20 minutes later in a pair of jeans, a red hoodie and my kelly green converses. I saw Juju's face light up when she saw me.

"You wore them! You finally wore them! Aww you look like christmas, I LOVE YOU! Look at all the colors!!"

I rolled my eyes, poured some coffee and sat down to watch the movie. She french braided my hair while we watched because she insisted a bun would be too much of a hassle during the flight and before we knew it, the two hours were up and she drove me to the airport. Khaled's mother and older brother, 6alal, got there earlier than we expected so I didn't get a chance to call 3azeez.

"Deeraw baalkum 3alaiha!" Ritaj unnecessary asked them before she left.

"Shda3wa Ritaj, she's family, mala da3i twa9eenna 3alaiha!" 6alal replied defensively. 6alal was convinced we were lesbians and Juju's overprotective act wasn't helping him in forgetting that theory.

"I knoww but she's my baby! Akhaf 3alaiha!" She replied. "Call me as soon as you land, take care of yourself and if you come back with an accent, so help me god, I WILL murder you!" She hugged me one final time and left before she unleashed the waterworks.

I texted 3azeez explaining why I didn't call but he didn't reply, I guess he was still asleep. We boarded the plane and surely enough I was asleep minutes after takeoff. The events of the flight were a blur to me, I distinctly remember being woken up a couple of times by the flight attendants. And I remember being force-fed a stale croissant by khalti Sara at one point, but that was pretty much it.

I stumbled out of Heathrow Airport half an hour later to find Khaled leaning against a car, smoking a cigarette. I couldn't believe he was standing there in front of me, even as I saw his mother and brother greeting him and getting into the car, a part of me still thought there was a possibility I was dreaming all this up. He came up to me and snapped his fingers in front of my face.

"Ghalooy?" he asked. I took his hand and pinched it as hard as I could using my nails.

He yelped and snatched it away, "What the hell, Ghala! Laish??" he asked, surprised by my action.

"I was just checking if this was just a dream!" I defended.

"You pinch YOURSELF to check that, not other people!" he shot back.

"Oops?" I offered.

He shook his head and pulled me into his arms and twirled me around. Just like he always did. I squealed and demanded he put me down. Just like I always did. We pulled back and stared at each other and laughed for no apparent reason. I smiled at the familiarity of the picture we painted and snuggled back into his arms. He apparently had other ideas. He carried me like a football under his arm and walked towards the car.

"Mi'lady, your carriage awaits!" He announced.

"Yes, cuz nothing screams royalty like being manhandled at the airport." I retorted.

"Well Ghalooy, you know me, I always go the extra mile!" he said and threw me into the back seat of the car and grinned. "7emdellah 3ala ilsalama!"

Foolish Games.. (19)

Khalas. I'm dropping out of jam3a. Kil youm? Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Hfft. Wija3. I don't care that it's awal youm of the fucking week, I'M DROPPING OUT, who's with me? Anyone? No? Okay :(

Inzain, I need to say a few things before ilstory, mu lazim you read bas yeah, here goes :

1. Stitch/Lost- I love you wayid and I've been where you are right now and it majorly sucks, hang in there *hugs*

2. Jam3iiya(L)- are you still alive? I miss you like... wayid :( Do you hate my story now? Is that it? *sobs hysterically* I love you *sniff*

3. Gutter Flower- I miss you wayid :( Please come back to us? *holds up razor to wrist* please?

4. SlouchyPants- LOL kaifi, I just wanted to mention you again ;p I love that girl -.-

5. My friend just started blogging ilyouuum.. she's telling "her story" fa if you're interested.. http://bsquared44.blogspot.com/ commentaw!

W ba3ad? I want to mention wayid things but I have to write now or I'm going to forget my ideas and leave you postless! Oh you guys, I'm loving all the stories walla, you guys have no idea how much, but right now.. let's all stand up w give a round of applause to Cupid;*! w 3ashat cupiiid, 3ashat cupiiid *giggles* so talented mashalla and incredibly sweeet! love youu :* bas khalas, time for the post!

A7ibkum! Thank you for all your comments walla, couldn't kamil if it weren't for you peopless :*


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"You have 2 hours, keep your eyes on your papers, good luck." The professor announced and sat behind his desk.

He signaled for his watchdog, the TA, to go make her rounds around the room to ensure nobody was cheating. Yeah right, like that was going to help. If there's one thing most college students learn how to perfect before their time is up, it's cheating. Everyone excluding the small majority of people like me who can help others expertly, but are too chicken to as much as glimpse at somebody else's paper. Can you say pathetic?

For 30 minutes, I sat down quietly taking in the atmosphere of the silent room. I saw students attempting to copy off each other's papers and shifting their eyes guiltily. I saw others staring at their papers with horrified expressions plastered on their faces and I saw Joori, seated two chairs down from me shooting me worried looks. I tried smiling reassuringly at her but it did nothing to lessen her uneasiness. I decided to put her out of her misery and opened the question booklet.


Half an hour later


Ah, the joys of being prepared. And by prepared, I mean tutored relentlessly by a sadistic but hot boyfriend. I smiled at the thought of him and took out my phone to text him. Naturally, fate had another plan in store for me, my lack of attention brought me face to face with yet another embarrassing encounter; I ended up walking right into a pole. I felt a pair of hands holding me up, I wobbled a little on my feet as I regained my balance.

"Are you okay? A frantic voice asked. I looked up to find Yousef's bewildered face staring back at mine. I couldn't resist the urge to laugh at his concern.

I met Yousef during the first month at university in our TA's office. We had been given assignments straight away by our math teacher and being oblivious to this, he had rewarded himself with an extra week of vacation before starting classes. He had missed the homework and asked me if I could give him mine as the professor had ran out of copies. To his misfortune, I had forgotten to bring mine that day. He asked me if I could possibly e-mail it to him. I immediately sympathized with him and agreed, us newbies had to stick together after all. He e-mailed me back a thank you and struck up a random conversation, eventually he added me on his buddly list and we became fast friends. He was now one of the very few people in university I felt like I could trust and felt comfortable around.

"Yasoof! I've known you for almost two years now, how can you still manage to be surprised every time something like this happens?!" I asked, amused.

"Shasawee ba3ad, allah hidach, you should be surrounded by orange cones at all times, you're a disaster waiting to happen!" He exclaimed

I pouted exaggeratedly. "Shda3wa! I have my guardian angels, they're just taking a break most of the time!"

He flashed his winning smile at me, "Hey! I'm done with finals, how about I volunteer my services as one?" He asked. "Free of charge ba3ad and I'm willing to work into the wee hours of the morning if needed!" He concluded his statement with a wink.

I laughed at his attempt, "I won't be needing them anymore thank you very much, but good try!" I replied encouragingly, "Keep working on it, you just might fool some poor girl into accepting your advances 3ala youm." I teased.

"Afa! Are you trying to tell me that you're off the market?" He asked, surprised. "Laa shino hatha? 7a6amty amaaly!"

I loved his dramatic streak and found myself laughing at his theatrics, "We both know that's not the case Ywaisef, it's always about the chase ma3ak a9lan!"

"You know me too well Ghalooy." He replied as he chuckled, "So tell me, mino sa3eed il7ath?" He asked as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

My face broke into a huge grin. "3azeeeeeeeeeez!" I exclaimed. Just saying his name made me happy, I resisted the urge to throw up at my sudden mushiness.

He laughed at my excitement and waited expectantly for the rest of the details, "Aaand..?"

I blushed and looked down at my feet as I answered, "And he is heart! Walla Yousef he's so sweet and caring and tall and umm.. right there." I concluded in surprise as I looked up to find 3azeez walking through the gates.

"Huh?" Yousef asked with confusion written all over his face.

"He's right there!" I repeated excitedly as I walked over to him.

"You don't have "final-face"!" He announced.

I burst out laughing, "I told you, I never do!" I said with a smile.

The night before during our conversation, I told him the best part of exams is finishing early and seeing people's faces when they leave the exam rooms. Most of them manage to acquire "final-face", which is very similar to the face one would have after being anally raped. Then there's the few who can't manage to have an appropriate reaction, namely me, who leave the exam room smiling and cheerful, regardless of how they did.

"I can't believe you're here! Stalking? Really? Is that what we've come to?" I teased.

"You really do think the world of yourself, don't you?" He asked sardonically, "I'm here to pick up my cousin Joori? Skinny? Pouty? Lots of eyelashes?"

My face burned up at my misplaced presumptuousness.

"Ya chathab! You just texted me asking if Ghala khali9at imti7anha!" Joori came out of nowhere and announced. I laughed and raised my eyebrows inquisitively and opened my mouth to blurt out "I told you so!"

Joori interrupted my victory dance in its tracks, "Wintay 3ala6ool t9adgeen?? Are you forgetting that I picked you up this morning?" she asked incredulously.

"Ooops?" I offered lamely. She rolled her eyes and asked how the exam was.

"Piece of cake!"I replied as I shot 3azeez a grateful smile and motioned for Yousef to come over.

I made the hasty introductions, they exchanged pleasantries and Yousef excused himself to go to a family gathering.

"Tro7een witrideen bilsalama, stay out of trouble!" He called out as he walked away.

"Allah isalmik, I always do!" I replied defensively.

He rolled his eyes disbelievingly at me and made his way to his car.

"So what really brings you here?" I asked 3azeez as we all walked to the parking lot.

"I wanted to spend time with my girlfriend before she travelled, mamnoo3?" He asked.

I smiled widely, "What did you have in mind?"

3azeez rudely stared at Joori and motioned for her to leave. Joori remained oblivious and stood there waiting for him to answer. He cleared his throat. She pretended not to notice. He looked at his watch, she informed him that it was 12.35.

Finally after 5 minutes of 3azeez dropping hints that Joori purposely pretended not to understand, he gave up. "Shrayich t'thlfeen baitkum?" He asked in a polite tone.

"Was that so hard? All you had to do was ask!" She replied teasingly as she got into her car and drove away.

"Do you wanna go back to my place? My sister took 3abood and his cousins out for the day so it should be empty, we can watch a movie or something?" He suggested.

"Yeah.. or something sounds great." I replied as I winked at him.

"Don't start." He warned.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I replied innocently and pretended to adjust my invisible halo.

He shook his head and laughed at me, 10 minutes later we arrived at the house. To our utter dismay, his sister's car was parked out front. We went inside to find her lounging on one of the chairs and the children playing in the pool with their little floaties.

I hesistated a little at the door, 3azooz reached out to hold my hand and reassured me I had nothing to worry about. I instinctively trusted him and followed him inside. "Insalim w ni6la3 bas." he whispered.

"Isn't that a bit rude?" I asked worriedly.

"It's my last day with you and I'm not in the sharing mood." He clipped.

I smiled, strangely satasfied with his sudden possessiveness. I gave his hand a quick squeeze and I let go to straighten out the creases in my top and make sure there wasn't any dirt or dust on my jeans.

"Nooro? I thought you were going to be out all day ma3a your sister in law w 3abood?" He asked.

She turned around and eyed me curiously while she answered, "That was the original plan.. but Hind got called in for a meeting and I volunteered to bring the kids back here instead, the weather's warm enough for swimming today."

I was taken aback by how gorgeous his sister was. I expected her to be, but nothing could've possibly prepared me for this. I took in her neatly swept up hair, her sharp features, her perfectly applied makeup and manicured nails and felt incredibly frumpy. I could've been wearing rags for the level of self-consciousness I was suddenly in. Out of nervousness, I started biting my nails. There was something in the calculating look in her eyes that made me feel like she thought I wasn't good enough for him. Where's my fairy godmother when I need her? 3azeez smiled at me and motioned for me to come forward.

"Come closer, I won't bite.. Ghala, is it?" She called out nonchalantly.

I nodded and laughed nervously, "I didn't think you would. I'm just not sure what the appropriate way of saying hello is under the circumstances.." I said with a smile.

She smiled coldly, "Well, you can't go wrong with a handshake."

"I guess not." I replied as I stuck out my hand. She shook my hands and I quickly let go.

"KIDS! ta3alaw, there's someone I want you to meet." 3azooz called out.

They immediately made their way out of the pool with the help of their nannies and came running over.

"3abdulla, Nadia.. this is my friend Ghala." He said and pushed them forward.

Nadia leaned up on her toes to try and kiss me, I bent down to pick her up and bring her closer to me.

She leaned in closer to me and cupped her hands around my ears, "You're pretty." She whispered.

"Awww! You're prettier, you have very nice eyes." I whispered back and she blushed and hid her face in my chest. I laughed, hugged her and put her down.

3abdulla stared fixatedly at my hand the entire time. He pointed at them and I understood later that he was pointing at my red nail polish.

"FIRE!" He screamed and pushed me in the pool.