Chapter 13

I'm SOOOOO sorry for taking a long while to posting this chapter bs I've had so many things and work to do :( hope you guys enjoy the drama in this chapter, and this one exactly relates back to my entire blog title. "Never mix friendship with love." Enjoy :* x

Okay, so I've been back in Kuwait for over 3 days now and in those 3 days, I have gotten to catch up with all the school work I've missed with Maha's help of course… Things were way better now with my dad since all of a sudden he stopped being so busy w 9ar 3nda less business trips w more time to spend with me where we always have lunch together now, al7amdillah! As for Reem & Lulu, things were going okay I guess y3ny me and Reem were back to normal friends we always were but things with Lulu have just been weird lately. To be honest, I was avoiding her y3ny she'd ask me to go over to her house and I'd use an excuse that it’s a week day and I can't even though I can go out whenever I want to, I know 7arakati 7adha mub 3adla bs I was trying to avoid her because she didn't even tell me about her & S3oud till now! Ffhhh. As for 3aziz (my best friend), I saw him yesterday when he came to take Reem from school and he hasn't changed one bit, we're meant to hang out this weekend since he wants me to tell him all about g6r. And if you're all wondering about my beloved boyfriend 7amood, I still didn't see him layn el7yn t5ylo L I miss him so much bs we're meeting up this weekend inshallah, can't wait! Other than that, everything has been going back to normal, I have to admit, life without Mama did really change and I miss her so much it kills me, oh and one more thing, my cousins back in g6r after the day I left none of them talked or even tried contacting me wla 7ta Fahad bs all I care about is Mama back there, 6z fe ay 7ad thany.  

9aba7 youm el5amis 

I woke up and 3ala6ol packed my things 7ag today since we were going shalaih ana w elbnat, we needed to catch up and I know I needed to fix things with Lulu, I'm being such a hypocrite y3ny ana bnfsy I didn't tell her about M7mad till after a while and she accepted it w el7yn I'm acting like this? She'll tell me when she wants to, period.

I ran downstairs in my uniform w messy bun and found baba sitting there waiting at the table.

"9ba7 al5air fe bnayti el7lwa"

"9ba7 elnour babaa!"

And I kissed his forehead, I can't believe he waited for me to have breakfast together!

"Shnu elyoum na6rni 3shan nakil wiyah ba3a'9?"

"Ee glt ntryag ma3 ba3a9' since we didn't do that since forever."

"Baba last time we had breakfast together was over 5 years ago.  :)

"Oh.. x_x" mskeen glab wayha a7mar :(

We ate and had awkward chats for the rest of the morning then I excused myself so that I don't be late to school and I told baba that I won't be coming home this weekend since I'm spending it at the shalaih.

"Ee bs deray balich baba, w take Mary m3ach kl mkan trou7en!"

"Ee ee lat5af."

I kind of liked the feeling of someone being overprotective over you, specially when its someone you KNOW that they want whats for your best, just like baba. I'm not really used to anyone fl bait wondering where I go and looking over me x_x <3

-

The rest of the school day 5ila9 really fast since we finish early today 'half day' so more time to catch the shalaih gabl ma elshams goes down! Me, Maha & Reem were going together in one car since Lulu said she had to go home grab some things and then she'll come m3a her own driver, I didn't even bother arguing with her about that.

On the way to shalaih

Reem: "Bnat 5a6ry I tan I'm feeling so white!!"
Maha: "Yalaa we'll tan when we reach there? It would be 1 by then w elshams btkoun perfect! Ha shglty Nooro?"

"Ee okay ely yry7kom 7abaybi"

To be honest, all I could think about is Lulu, S3oud.

S3oud, Lulu.

Lulu, S3OUD.

Ya rby shfeeny?!

After a long car ride, we finally arrived to my shalaih and just as Mary has finished bringing everything down, I remembered ena I needed to get some redbull and snacks for the girls, the house barely even had any food and drinks other than water -.- So I told Reem & Maha to wait back at the shalaih while I went with Raju to the dikan.

As we were passing by a certain car parked on the side of a street that was a tinted black gxr bs you could see shway from the front glass, it caught my attention and the car seemed really familiar… We got closer by the seconds to the car and I could see I think two heads bs mu wayid wa9'i7 who it was and after a few more seconds…

OH MY GOD.

NO.

THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!

IT WAS S3OUD AND LULU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I told raju to park behind their car because I couldn't help but find out what they were doing together. I saw S3oud sitting in the drivers seat and Lulu in the passenger one, their heads were moving indicating talking, talking and more talking then mra wa7da, I saw Lulu open her door wanting to get out of the car and S3oud held her back in pulled her in for a hug then she rushed out crying, and that's when I stepped in and got out of my car.

"OMG LULU ARE YOU OKAY?"

"Noor?:/" Both Lulu AND S3oud said that as he was stepping out of his car -.-

"Noor what are you doing here? Enty ga3da tla7geeny?!"

S3oud asked furiously

"LA 6AB3AN. Well I was going this way w shft syara w I thought it looked familiar fa wgaft cause I wanted to see who it was wla 6la3 ento elthnain, WHATS GOING ON?"

I pretended jdam Lulu ena i didn't know anything about her and S3oud and she told me that she's been seeing him since I left to Qatar..

"Lulu why didn't you just tell me?! and why are you crying?:/"

"Noor, don't even try to act innocent right now, I KNOW that you know S3oud and i know how he feels towards you, bs ana mu m9dga ena lch 3ayn y3ny kam wlad tabeen fe 7ayatich?"

I was really confused so I pulled Lulu to a side a few steps away from S3oud and whispered

"Lulu what are you talking about? Ee i know S3oud and that's because..."

she interrupted me and said

"Ee that's because he helped you and Reem back then lma your rhino stopped and that's fine, w b3dayn he helped you guys with your jet ski and you guys DM each other w phone call b3d AREN'T I RIGHT?"

"Ee that's true, bs just as friends... Don't yell its not like I'm the one who's been dating him and not telling my best friend about him."

"Ee mthl ma gltly 3an M7mad from the same day 9a7? :)"

"Okay bs I eventually told you, 5la9 you're right I'm being so judgemental right now.. Enzayn I still don't understand why you're crying :/"

"We broke up, well he broke up with me.."

"WTH? LAYSH?:/"

Okay 9j ena I was always pissed off w 7ala bs that doesn't mean I wished for them to break up! She's my best friend w I just don't know what's happening right now..

"Wanna know why we broke up? Well, its starts with YOU & ends with YOU."

"What?:/"

"Yeah, well guess what? S3oud was only using me as an excuse to get over his little crush on you and he just broke it to me that he can't get over you w he wants MY help to get you to fall in love with him too. :)"

"WTF? Omg Lulu I am so sorry wallah, guys are like that they're always going to be guys:("

I felt SO bad omg, I came to pull her in for a hug bs she pushed me away..

"Noor, just stop it STOP PLEASE! LEAVE ME ALONE."

"Lulu you can't really be mad at me right now ana shd5lny?"

"Shd5lich really? Doesn't this remind you of everything that happened back in elementry school, when both me and you had that little crush on Hamad Al-flany?"

"Yeah w b3dayn he told you that he has a GF already, besides we were kids Lulu mu mn 9jich right now."

"La the truth was that he never had a GF but he asked me to set you up with him, you see Noor its always YOU, you're the one thats always going to be the one with a fit body, longer hair, shinier eyes, longer legs, better everything, you're like ms perfect to the guys, and for some reason it always turns out to be the guys I WANT. And you know what's funny is that you actually have a boyfriend that you love so much right now called M7mad, yeah remember him? W just like you love M7mad, I was also foolishly in love with S3oud, and YOU took that away from me, allah ysam7ich."

"Lulu it's not like I forced him to fall in love with me!"

"Yeah well but you didn't even try stopping him, bil3aks you grabbed his attention even more w m36ita wayh w riding their jet boat and midnight phone calls even though by that time you knew he was with me, so don't just blame him and remember that next time you try talking to me."

I was speechless and I broke into tears, Lulu turned her back to me and started walking away but I grabbed her arm and tried apologizing but she turned around and added some more hurtful words,

"Noor, ana e3tabartich k2nich e5t le, w I've never thought of trying to hurt you in any way but I know you, and I can see the way you look at S3oud so don't try denying it bs please I need a break from everything, everyone and specially YOU to think about things, you really did show me who are true and who are just as fake as everyone else these days, w you know you can't deny the way you feel towards S3oud."

I stood there and just stared at her without saying any other word which made her pull her arm away and walk far away from me, I can't believe what I just did... I turned around and found S3oud standing behind me and he pulled me in for a hug because of how much tears were spilling down my face. 9j ena he was the last person I should be hugging back right now but there wasn't anyone else around and I really needed one..

"Noor?"

"Hmm?"

He wiped the tears sliding down my face and pushed my chin up making my eyes meet his gorgeous ones..

"Ana asif"

It then hit me that he was the main reason of me and Lulu's fight right now so I pulled away from him

"S3oud ent elsbab me and my best friend just fought, y3ny why would you use her like that? 3shan t8hrni 3shan shnu fahimni ent shtabee!?"

"I want you.."

I didn't say another word and as I was about to walk away to go back to my car, he grabbed my arm and pulled me back in a way that hurt my hand shway.

I then got a flashback of abdulra7man back in g6r and the time he pulled me like that and tried to kiss me so I started yelling and S3oud immedietly let go of my arm.

"Noor noor I'm sorry! ASIF 3AWARTICH?"

But I just kept on even crying more and more, not because my arm hurt me or anything, but because to where I've gotten, I always hated people ely chee and I started realizing what a guy magnet I've became and suprisingly I hated the feeling.

"Noor wallah ana asif ma kan g9dee I hurt you" he looked down at my wrist which was a bit red and his face 9ar kl alalwan mra wa7da.

"Its fine, it doesn't hurt me, its just that I remembered shay b hal 7araka."

"Its the guy back from g6r 97?"

Yes, i did tell him everything in details back then..

"Ee."

"Noor walla asif don't ever think I'm like him okay?"

I smiled at him with the ":)" hay el smile ely everyone hates and got up.

"Does that mean ana w enty okay?"

"S3oud I need time to think, I can't just get over everything that happened in these 30 minutes just like that. Y3ny she's my best friend w I'm not letting a guy get between us. I have to go bye"

I got in the car and told Raju to go back to the shalaih, I was so angry w upset to even think about anything..

I then felt my phone vibrate, the red annoying light was flashing,

"M7mad Al-Flany: Waynich? :)."
"Reem Al-flany: YALLA lal7een fl dikan? rij3ay we wanna tan."

I didn't open any of the chats and checked the recent updates.

"Lulwa Al-Flany- 5 updates in the last 20 minutes!"

Olaa :/

"Now I know who my TRUE friends are :)" 1 min ago

"67ty mn 3ainy." 5 mins ago

Changed display picture" 5 mins ago

"Ever heard of chicks before d*cks?" 10 mins ago

":)." 20 mins ago

? :)

Chapter 12

I know I promised to post this chapter yesterday and I didn't so I'm SO sorry but here's the chapter you guys have been waiting for, enjoy <3 !

Me: "At least asrig 7abay-IB mu alif w adour 3la banat w shabab, and i'm straight el7mdila!"
Juju: "Eklay 5arach! Yal! .."
And just before she could even continue, the room's door pushed open and I turned around to find Fahad standing there with his face SO red mbayn 3alaih ena m3a9ib, he heard everything...

-

I’ve never seen someone’s face turn kl hal alwan in my life before, its like the happy positive Fahad I had known for a week now has just switched to a total different person. He looked up to face us 3 and I didn’t dare look back at him so I looked at the ground and Juju broke off the silence…

“Fa-fahad I can explain…”

“Ana mu m9adig ely sm3tah, wallah 67to mn 3ainy ALL THREE OF YOU!” and he turned around to walk out of the room.

“FAHAD! WAIT ARJOUK!” Juju almost screamed on the top of her lungs with tears spilling down her face… 9j ena I hated her bs I felt so bad, I knew how it is to disappoint someone you care about so much and he was the closest thing she had as a family. I then tried calming her down as Sara broke into tears with her, great…

“Juju? Sara?”

They both looked at me b-na6’rat e7ti8ar with tears filling their eyes,

Sara: “SHTABEEN? HAVEN’T YOU CAUSED ENOUGH? ERTA7TAY?”

“BS SARA! How could I have known he’s behind the door, I…”

And before I could even finish off my sentence, Juju spoke,

“Ma kamalty esbou3! ESBOU3 BS YA NOOR BNT FLANY! W YOU CAUSED THIS MUCH PROBLEMS? MABEECH, ENTAY MUB MY COUSIN AND YOU DON’T BELONG HERE, I NEVER WANNA SEE YOU AGAIN LEAVE ME THE F*CK ALONE!”

Then Sara topped it off with more harsh words but in a much calmer tone causing my head and heart to ache a bit more,

“I think this isn’t your place anymore, and if I were you w knt m7tara bayn elkuwait w g6r, choose Kuwait, rj3y to your father w to your friends l2na trust me if you stay here, you WILL be lonely w you won’t be able to live with us, ely baina el7yn has officially been ruined forever, pack your things w tell your mum you’re okay with going back to g6r tomorrow.”

I didn’t know what to say, I knew that I was in the end going to end up choosing Kuwait over here but the way she broke it out to me made me realize that the day really is tomorrow, and I REALLY don’t belong here… Oh my god, I ruined everything… Shloun bbayn wajhy to these people ever again? I left the room quietly and silently w headed downstairs, and since it was around 1:30, I knew the parents wouldn’t be back for half an hour, great.

I ran outside and went to sit on the swingy chair then pulled my knees up and stuck my face on them and started crying, and crying like there was no tomorrow… I couldn’t help it, I really felt like crap for ruining any chance I had with my family, including Fahad! :’(

I checked my phone and found that I had no BBMS just another DM from abdulrahman

“Noor, rdy 3alay, can I see you tomorrow?”

I ignored him, kilish mb wagta and he’s partly the main reason of this entire problem, I then tweeted “Whoever said you can ALWAYS rely on your family, 6l3 3’l6an, bad BAD day” :’)

That then even caused me to receive 2 newer DMs from abdulrahman and S3oud this time! I didn’t even want to open them and I threw my phone at the very end of the chair and kept on crying again, boys were the main problems in my life right now, last thing I need is to talk to any of them. I wanted to just hit my phone on the nearest wall!

“Noor…?”

I heard my name and turned around to find Fahad! His cheeks were red and he looked like he was either crying or fighting, I couldn’t tell… I looked up at him with my teary eyes and then down at his hand that was bleeding…

“OMG FAHAD WHAT HAPPENED?”

I quickly wiped off my tears trying to act strong and focus on Fahad right now.

“Wla shay, ksrt el glass in my room mirror.”

“ARE YOU CRAZY? LET ME LOOK AT IT.”

I quickly grabbed his hand and took of the shaal I had wrapped around me when I came to sit outside since it was a bit cold and started cleaning his hand causing my entire white shaal to turn bloody red. There were some glass pieces by his fingers so I tried taking them out but he wouldn’t let me.

“Mabeech tt3wareen Noor.”

So then I tried taking them out with the scarf therefore they wouldn’t really come into my skin and it worked, he then grabbed my hand with his other perfectly not injured hand and started playing with my fingers… :/

“Noor, ana asif about the things I said earlier in the room… I really am, ma kan 89dy I hurt you I was just mad w I don’t think you actually did anything.”

“Its fine, focus on your hand el7yn, don’t worry about me.”

“La Noor ana 3’l6t fe 7agich, sam7eeny bs its just that I judged you without even hearing your side…”

So, therefore I told him the ENTIRE story from A-Z, I know that’s a bit crazy bs I tried focusing on me more, I didn’t dare bring up anything about Juju & her lesbian gf or her ex ‘M7mad’, I don’t want to even go that way and I didn’t tell him that abdulrahman wanted to meet up with me either. 

“Mu m9adig ely ga3id asmi3a, awlan mu mtrby hal wlad w mabeech tgrbeen 9ouba, bs abeech t3rfeen eny I knew about him and Sara the very first month they dated 7ta ena he used to be a really close friend to me w 6l3 he just uses me so that he can see Sara more often IN OUR OWN HOUSE. I got into a physical fight m3ah because I had feelings for her, bs eventually I stopped getting into their business l2nha 7yat’ha after all w she told me they plan to get married one day… Bs el7yn after what he did to you, I need to teach him a lesson.”

I was so happy for some reason that he trusted me enough to tell me all of this, bs he had feelings for SARA?! Wai3 :/

“LA Fahad, promise me you won’t do anything? Brou7hm Sara and Juju NEVER want to talk to me again w they’re so pissed off, bs skr 3an elsalfa w please don’t let what happened get between you and Juju, you’re the only family she has left…”

“Ee 97, about Juju? What did you mean when you said enha tdour 3la bnat w shabab?”

“Nothing Fahad, I’m in no position af6’7 elbnt, please lats2lny.”

“Noor please tklmay, she’s like my sister w bs abee ma9la7at’ha.”

“Uhh…”

“Is she seeing someone Noor? Say the truth.”

“I can’t lie to you so yes.. Bs magdr I say who.”

“MIN IBN ELKALB!?”

“Mb ibn…”

“Shnu? Mafhmt. What are you saying?”

“I think its better if you speak to Juju, Fahad I’ve never seen someone that upset before and once you find out the entire truth FROM HER, you’ll help her fix herself bs I’m in no position to judge wallah, I’ve said too much.”

“5la9 change the subject Noor.” 

I knew that he understood exactly what I meant after he said that, he knew what his almost-sistery cousin was really like. 

“Fahad promise me you won’t mention this conversation to her? I want her to admit everything to you w mabeeha tz3l 3lay akthar.”

“I promise.”

He then pulled me in for an awkward hug which I had no idea why bs I hugged him back then he warned me 3n abdulrahman w told me that he has already cancelled Sara & Abdulrahman out of his life a long time ago and he remembered why he did after tonight and what he meant to say is that if I were to have anything to do with abdulrahman, he’ll cancel me out too… L9ara7a, Fahad was such a fair an an amazing cousin, y3ny he understands elwa7id w 7ada 6ayib (just don’t get on his bad side) and he’s so reasonable y3ny 99% of the time, the things he says are true! That was a wrap for the day…

Next day

I woke up and started packing my things, it was the final day, the day I had extremely been waiting and not waiting for. I started it off by calling 7mood, I feel like we didn’t talk for ages and he was so happy and excited that I was coming back, I really did miss him. :’)

I then replied to S3oud’s DM when he was asking what was wrong with me and I told him I’d explain everything when I was back in Kuwait, he wished me a safe flight and told me eny ‘bnawir elkuwait’.

I then had to reply to my last unread message, Abdulrahmans. I opened it to find 5 new different DMS from him, this boy doesn’t give up?

“Noor, rdyy 3alay!”

“Haa shglty 7ag tomorrow?”

“Yal 7lwa shfeech matrideen? Wallah I miss that face of yours”

“I’m so excited to see you! 7ta lw 30 minutes, they’d make my entire life.”

“I hope you know shkthr 3’alatich 3ndy, and you’re probably asleep by now, hope I pop up in your dreams O:)” :) !

This was kind of hard to do, bs I had a boyfriend and 9j ena I found him cute but I also had a cousin whom I would like to keep after loosing the 2 other closest people I had in Doha… I simply replied:

“Hey abdulrahman, I’m sorry if I’m replying late bs please do not DM me after this message because I am going to be travelling today and no we won’t meet up, I know everything you did to Fahad a year ago, allah ysam7ik 3la f3ltik hay bs what really shocked me is how you played Sara, my own cousin, so what makes me different to treat than her? You’re just a lost boy trying to have fun in life bs you’ve really messed with the wrong family, ana el7yn bsafr, it wasn’t such a good ride meeting you but I’ll still be the good one and tell you to take care of yourself.”

That felt great removing kl hal thgl 3an glby after it showed the tick ena the message has been sent and a couple minutes after that he replied a long message explaining how “I’m different than the other girls” and how “he saw a future for us” and how “it was love at first sight”, guys really could be a pain sometimes. I ignored and decided to focus on my very last hour here with my ‘family’.

As I was heading downstairs, I heard some weeps coming from a bedroom that had half its door opened. At first, I thought it was Sara or Juju but as I got closer to the door, I noticed it was more of an older woman’s voice. I pushed the door open and it was mama.

“MAMA?! Shfeech are you okay? 3sa ma shar!!!!”

“ana *sniffs* b5air.”

“Mama what’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to get you all into a depression mood but ma agdr at5yal my life without my daughter, BNTY ELWA7EEDA btrou7 w btseebny? Aaa5 ya galby!” And she broke into a river of tears; I’ve never NEVER seen her like that before… So I started crying too and we were both after a couple of minutes drowned with tears, I had never felt this kind of a heartache that hurts THIS badly before. :’(

I hugged Mama and cried on her shoulder, I then heard someone do somewhat of a cough by the door, it was Fahad.

“Adry this isn’t the time at all bs we should start heading to the airport in a couple of minutes.”

I checked the time and it was 2 pm! My flight flies at 3! We quickly rushed into the car and by we I meant, me, mama, Fahad, elsayig and 3amity Reem. I didn’t even get the chance to say bye to Sara & Juju but I sent them my goodbyes with Fahad.

We arrived to the airport and it was a bit crowded since it was a Saturday, I heard them call my flight (I had to get on the plane immediately) so I said bye to Mama who broke into tears all over again along with me crying too w 3amity Reem but I promised I’d be coming back in no time which made them both smile a bit, I love my mum but this was the right decision to make:(. Fahad then wa9alny layn da5il leaving my auntie and mama on their own w he helped me with the luggage. I had some privacy with Fahad and before I could get in 3nd the gate place, he pulled me in for a long LONG hug and told me he’d miss me so badly, awwww! I then whispered to him before releasing from the hug “You’re the closest thing I’ve ever gotten to a family and a best friend here, please don’t loose contact with me and promise you’d still like me 3la kthr ma you do now?” To be honest I was just scared Juju or Sara would turn him against me by the time period I was gone for. I then let go and walked towards the gate and Fahad became further and further as I got closer to the ticket man, he then spoke with his lips from far out “I promise, I’ll never forget you, can’t wait till the next time you come back.” He then pulled out his hands from the pockets in his thob and did somewhat of a heart towards me, awwww he looked so good in thob or actually even better when he was being cute to me.

I smiled back and got in the gate and waved a small wave at him, I’m really going to miss him x_x

I then tweeted “Kuwait, here I come <3”

I took a last look from the plane’s window as we were ready to fly up and away, a tear shed down my face and I then pulled the window’s shield thing down. :’)

Chapter 11

Less than a minute later, I got a reply
“I’m calling you now, answer.”

" Incoming call: +965.... "

-

I looked at the number and thoughts came running through my head, I'm going to admit, I did at one point have feelings for S3oud but they have slowly with time washed away when I got with M7mad, besides it was just a crush and nothing like me & M7mad now. S3oud was a great guy too w he understood me but M7mad was different, we were meant to be… I picked up the phone with a nervous tone of voice and spoke;

"Aloo"
"Aloo! Noor! Are you okay? 9outich!?"
"I'm fine."
"From reading a lot of quotes w tweets mn bnat, I know that when a girl says she's fine, she's actually not. Wanna tell me sh9ar m3a your cousin w 7beebha?"
And so like an idiot, I got carried away and told him the entire story…
"ARE YOU SERIOUS? Hay shfee? 9ij mayst7ee.. Mskeena is your cousin okay?"
"Well, she's not that fine bs she also doesn't want to talk to me."
"Bs it's not your fault, lash y3ni? :/"
"Mdry, I don't blame her y3ny if I was in the same place, I'd get mad at myself too."
We got carried away with the time and kept talking all night till the sun even came out! S3oud updated me with his life and what really shocked me is when I asked him about his love life, y3ny if he's in love now aw shay, I knew he used to have feelings for me and I wanted to know if he still does…
"Mm okay bagoulich shay Noor bs you can't tell anyone lna the girl doesn't want anyone to know about it!"
"Mn the girl? Huh? Tell me.."
I felt my heartbeats go faster and faster why was this happening? Was I worried that someone else was in his life now?
"Okay, so there's this girl, we've met recently w t5yly I met her near the same place I first met you.. 7adha 6yba and mm we're sort of together now!"
He said those words almost on the top of his lungs, mbayin how happy he sounded and I just stayed quiet for a couple of seconds not knowing what to reply, wth are you doing Noor? Say something!
"Noor…?"
"Yea halla sorry fkrt someone came in the room, anyways mabrook! Menn el lucky girl?"
"You promise not to mention it to a soul?"
"Ee akeed, yalaa tell me!"
"Okay her name is Lulwa Al-Flany!"
I felt my heart fall to the ground, I felt like someone had just punched me in the face, I even felt worse than what I felt when Sara had gave me that look when she saw me and Abdulrahman with her eyes full of tears, worse than when I found out about baba and mama splitting up. It was like a slap on the face. Its not like me and S3oud had history or anything, and I can't possibly blame Lulu or S3oud because she doesn't know about me ever knowing S3oud, y3ny I've brought him up but never have I mentioned his name and he probably doesn't know I'm friends with her.. But I don't know what these mixed emotions were...

"Noor? Shfeech you're not answering?!"
"Mm, mafeeny.."
"Ee t3aly, I think you know the girl don't you?"
Wait, how did he know.. ?
"Umm, ee how do you know that?"
"Mdry bs I've seen her once dp you and her and I've seen you guys follow each other on twitter."
Okay, he was certainly lying now because Lulu didn't dp anything with us lately… But I decided to let it go, maybe my head was a bit too mixed up right now to think about anything. Stop worrying Noor! You've got M7mad, why would it matter who S3oud is with? Ffhh.
"Okay ana banam S3oud, yala GN."
"Okay yal 7lwa, goodnight, it was good talking to you. Take care <3"
"You too, bye"
I hung up and found several BBMS from M7mad pinging and talking to me but they just arrived to me since I was on the phone all night!

PING!!!
PING!!!
PING!!!
NOOOOOOR!
PING!!!
PING!!!
WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING?
PING!!!
Uf! Mb ga3d yw9lich!
Reply 7yatei! :(

I decided that I'd reply to him once I woke back up and not open the chat, I was too tired to think of an excuse, I didn't want him to know I was on the phone with S3oud. Not because its something wrong bs he warned me not to talk to his friends but that was back then! Plus, he was only trying to help me out…
 
The next morning

I woke up to Sara & Juju's giggles and laughs, so I'm guessing she's feeling better now? I changed into leggings and a plain white top and walked downstairs to find them sitting there having breakfast.
"Goodmorning" I spoke nervously but only Juju replied back with the worst attitude "goodmorning :)" and Sara pretended I didn't even exist. We chilled shway back at the apartment and by WE, it actually meant Sara & Juju and me with my blackberry all on my own but the good side to it is that I could talk to M7mad 3la ra7ty.

Later on the day, we packed our things and called Ali so we could go back to the house and I plugged my Ipod on ignoring all the talking Sara & Juju were having about pointless things, seriously mu wgt'hm, I've got my own problems to worry about.

Lw youm a7ad, fe w7dtk nada 3alaik,
thuma iltifat w-shft ma 7oulak a7ad,
hatha ana! Mn kthr ma fakart feek,
Nadait lk wl kl mna fe balad,
yakfi ela hna w magdar,
awlah 3alaik akthar, 
ela hna w magdar,
awlah 3alaik akthar,
mn elwlah kny 6fl nsa ykbr,
y7bk eb e7sas ykfy 8loob elnas…

I don't usually listen to these kind of songs that are slow w played on 3ooud and stuff bs I felt like it, I honestly think abdulmajeed's lyrics relate to everyone w he's simply amazing, listening to his songs surely turn my mood around, y3ny every time I'm feeling bummed out about something, I immediately listen to his music w a7is ena I'm not alone.

I spent the rest of the day at home alone since all my aunties and uncles including mama were invited to a wedding and Sara w Juju took that chance to go out without inviting me of course now that I'm not included in their 'shila' anymore. I sat there, wandered around the house a couple of times and was completely bored, I had NOTHING to do and no one to talk to right now. It was 8 pm on a Friday night and I'm spending it home, how fun. A couple minutes later, Fahad walked in in his thob and 3'tra, he looked pretty handsome himself. He came and joined me by sitting next to me and asking why I wasn't out with the girls, I couldn't of course tell him the real story so I just used the excuse that I didn't feel like going to a mall or a crowded place at all.
Fahad: "Are you bored y3ny?"
"SO BORED!"
"Shrayich I help you get out of this boredom and depression misery of yours? Wanna go out?"
"Wayn? :D"
"Just get dressed, I promise its not a mall w we don't even need to go down, plus we've got the house all for ourselves till 2 am and i don't think you want to spend it here alone do you?"
"La please la! Bs are you sure you don't have plans w 6l3a with your friends? Y3ny its Friday night…"
"La I do bs I'll cancel it's fine."
"Are you sure? La 7ram e6la3 wyahm if you want to, I don't mind wallah.."
"La shd3wa, why would I ditch my amazing cousin ely she's traveling in a couple of days 3shan my friend ely dayman with me? Yala get dressed w ana babadil to something comfier."
I did as he told me too, I actually liked Fahad he was amazing and he's been so nice to me ever since I got here and he wasn't the strict type of cousin ely kl shay 3aib w mamnou3 3nda, he was chill. Even though bainy w baina 2 years, he understood me w 3gla nafsy!
I changed into my high waist black jeans from Topshop and wore this with it with a black tank top under it which didn't really show a lot, it was a bit too cut but Fahad said we were staying in the car so it didn't really matter and the weather was a bit too warm here.

As for Fahad, he wore a polo top with these pair of jeans he had, he looked good though!

We got in the car and he showed me around Qatar and the mn68a where we were at, we went to this place called Katara to get 'karak' from this place there known to have amazing karak which was chai w 7aleeb btw! You didn't really have to go down like Fahad said to lna the guy comes w takes your order, it was so crowded w so many cars were there! We decided to park our car and go down w sit to have our tea 3la ra7atna, it wasn't that crowded 3nd the place you actually sit at but it was just the parking lot that was. Fahad excused himself to go to the bathroom which was a bit far from where we were sitting so I decided to stick my face to my phone since I have to admit, I was a bit scared because many guys were gathering up and starting to sit on the seats close by and I looked like a lost puppy in the middle of nowhere.
"Noor?"
I heard someone call my name and it wasn't Fahad.. I looked up and to my surprise, it was Abdulrahman,
"Hala abdulrahman."
"Shg3da tsween hnee brou7ich hal 7aza? Are you here with Sara wla shnu?"
"Mm la i'm here with fahad Sara's cousin, i don't know if you've met him before."
"Fahad ma 3'aira? Oh."
"Oh you know him? Ee fahad bs ra7 el7amam, he should be back in no time."
"M3nata I'll excuse myself before he comes, we've had a bad history together w mabeeh yshoufny akalmich bs be careful Noor kla shabab hnee, I'll keep an eye from distance."
"Thank you mag9art wallah."
And he walked away then i caught a glimpse of Fahad heading towards me, we sat down and drank our chai and i noticed Abdulrahman kept staring at me the entire time, I didn't want Fahad to get the wrong idea so i didn't dare stare back once again but sadly Fahad noticed Abdulrahman from far and went up to have a 'talk' with him.

Between Fahad & Abdulrahman
"Chna ga3id et6ali3 bnt 5alty ely m3ay? Mb kafy 5arabt Sara, jay 3la hay b3d?"
"Shd5al Fahad, ma3rfha a9ln hay ely m3ak.."
"Ee okay bs if i see you coming near here or t6ali3ha, babi6 3younik FAHIM?!"
"Okay.."
 
Back to noors point of view
Fahad came back towards me with an angry stare on his face and I saw abdulrahman get in his car and leave with dignity.
"Fahad sh9ar?"
"La wla shay, yala lets leave?"
"Okay!"

We kept on cruising around then Fahad said he needed to pass by a friends house to get something 3l saree3 who lived in a place called westbay which was like a compound bs with beach houses and people usually go there on weekends, reminded me a lot of Kuwait.
We entered the gates with several securities who asked us to who's house we were going to "Nasser al-flany, street 19"
We got in and the street wasn't that far away from the gate and between each street there was a huge park that had swings and chairs and a huge tennis court in the middle so in the entire compound ymkin over 30 parks chee w it seemed like a great place to meet up with your friends, y3ny seemed really private. Fahad parked the car jidam a huge house that was lit up in a pretty way w told me to wait here as he went down 3l sree3 so I did as I was told. I then got a DM from someone, I opened it and it was "Abdulrahman Al-flany", I've accepted his following request earlier today thought it would be harmless but his DM creeped me out
"Noor, turn around."

I turned around and was so shocked to find his black half tinted land cruiser couple of inches away from Fahad's lexus on this empty long street, what was he thinking?!

"Get down shway I want to talk to you."
I replied: "Abdulrahman I can't, if Fahad sees you he'll kill you! Madry laysh or how you two know each other but he will,"
"I don't care, okay then I'm coming."
I read those last words then saw him get out of his car so i immediately secured the car door locks making sure it was locked and he came over near my window and knocked on the glass signaling me to open it. I slid the window half way down and looked him straight in the eye confused of what exactly he wanted.
"Halla bl 7lw, la wallah? 7sasteeni baklich y3ny, put the window down!-_-"
I slid it down all the way which caused him to lean towards my window with his head half inside the car.
"Abdulrahman shtabee?! Fahad's going to freak out if he sees you like this!"
"I don't know."
"Y3ny is there something you want to talk about wla shnu? Why did you follow us all the way till here?"
"Ya5i ma3arf, Noor I feel like I have to be close to you and around you, w a9ln I don't usually follow girls around bs ma3rf! Sa7arteni! Mt2kda enich mb sa7ra? :|"
I turned my face towards the other side trying to hide my red cheeks, why were my cheeks getting hot?!
"Fdait ely yst7oun bs."
I turned back around to look at him and realized him smiling making his dimple on his left side pop out! OMG MY WEAKNESS! HERE WE GO AGAIN.
"You have a gorgeous smile."
I said those words out loud thinking I've only said it in my head but I was a bit too loud.
"Ana ga3d a7lam or did you just really say that?"
"Bil3'l6."
"La la you meant it :$"
Before i could say anything else, I saw the front gate of Fahad's friends house press open causing a noise to pop out and so Abdulrahman ran towards his car but he wasn't fast enough, Fahad saw him and he was furious! He ran towards Abdulrahmans car and pulled open his door pulling Abdulrahman out by his shirt!
"ENT MAYNOON? T3ANID FEENY? SHFEEK MATSTI7Y LA7IGNA LAYN HNE? MU KAFY SHSWAIT WYAH SARA W EL7YN JAY TDOUR 3LA W7DA MAT3RFHA?"
"Fa-fahad, mu chee wallah fahim 3'ala6! Ana bs l7gtkom l2na you forgot your wallet back at the table 3nd karak w chapati!"
Fahad slowly let go of Abdulrahman's shirt and looked at his wallet that was in Abdulrahman's other hand extending it out to give it to Fahad in fear. Fahad sincerely apologized to 7man and mskeen, he felt bad.
"Asif wallah Abdulrahman, maknt adree, ma3rf shfeeny x_x"
"79al 5air, 3ady 3ady, yala ana ba7arik tamr b shay thany yal theeb?"
"La wallah ta3abnak ma3ay! Wallah asif again x_x"
And just like that Abdulrahman drove off, I can't believe how smooth this guy is, ma3rf how he over plans everything ahead of time. I then got another DM from him later on that night saying
"Since you're leaving a day after tomorrow, meet me in westbay park 20 tomorrow? Please lazm I see you one last time before you leave bs this time without having to sneak around and worry."
I didn't reply and decided to enjoy the moment with Fahad, we rented a movie on our way back home and spent the night watching "The Grudge". Believe it or not, i've never watched this movie! I hated horror movies and every time the lady with the long hair popped up, I'd cover my eyes with the blanket and Fahad would laugh at me. We spent the rest of the night just laughing and screaming peacefully until…

Sara & Juju decided to come home from 'their party' at around 12ish
Fahad: "Ee laysh wayid jayeen early? Shraykom tnamoun bara ba3d?"
Juju: "Shfeek y3ny we didn't take long, its only 12:30! And its a party chill"
Sara: "Besides, you seem to be enjoying your time" and she gave me that look ":)"
They both ran up to their rooms after giving me the WORST na6'ra on earth and as the movie finished, I said my goodnights to Fahad then headed to my room and my room was somewhat connected to Juju's and Sara's. Y3ny we had our own part of the house it was like a huge door and you enter fee living room then 3 rooms around it, mine, Juju's & Sara's and to my luck, Sara & Juju were both sitting waiting there when I came in the huge golden doors almost as if they were waiting for my arrival.
Sara: "We need to talk."
"Okay, come to my room and we'll talk brou7na."
Sara: "No babe whatever I say or you do, Juju stays here, besides there's nothing i need to hide from my jwaij."
"Umm okay.."
I took a seat on the couch facing Sara and Juju.
Juju: "Listen Noor, adry this won't be easy to hear but this is what we've came down too. First of all, stop sucking up to Fahad lna you don't have anyone now after what happened w that's all you to blame, w if you even think of trying to ruin my relationship m3 Fahad ana bajeech layn kuwait w awareech fahma? A9ln I've never liked you bs t7mltich 3shan Sara."
Wtf?
Me: Awalan Juju, whatever you THINK I'm trying to do and 3la goultich trying to ruin between you and fahad, I'm not so layrou7 tafkeerich. Oh and its a mutual feeling Juju, at one point i actually did think you could be handled bs 6l3t 3'ala6.
Sara: "AND my turn now, 97 ena you're my cousin and everything bs I am still hurt and shocked from what happened with Abdulrahman, and although I'm already over that a** hole, I still can't face the fact that my own family would think of doing such a thing for me, and I know that he's the one that likes you w hit on you not you did bs I think it would be for the best if we kept our friendship formal y3ny hi bye w bs, we don't need to be anything else more than that. Anyways, you can have him now lw tabeena, I'm way beyond that loser."
And before I could even reply, the other one spoke,
Juju: "Ee 97 3la goultich Saroo, after lma e7na n5ali9 mnhom elzbala ya5thoonhum ;)."

Me: "T7che 3adil! Maku zbala 3'airich."
I'm never rude to people but she crossed her line.
Juju: "Wee 6l3lich lsan? Agool ya saragit el7bayib yala min hnee."
Me: "At least asrig 7abay-IB mu alif w adour 3la banat w shabab, and i'm straight el7mdila!"
Juju: "Eklay 5arach! Yal! .."
And just before she could even continue, the room's door pushed open and I turned around to find Fahad standing there with his face SO red mbayn 3alaih ena m3a9ib, he heard everything...

Chapter 10

I could hear some of what they were saying because it was sort of loud whispering and I was known for my amazing sense of hearing. I saw Juju show Sara a conversation on her phone between her & someone and I couldn’t help my shock while hearing her say “Omg, ma9adig you guys are together el7yn? Mabrook Juju wallah zayn, she seems cute w 5osh bint if she stole your heart LOL bs et2kdi M7mad la y3rf 3nkom.”

5osh bint? What did she mean? Laykoun… :/

-

I’m going to skip forward a bit so here’s a brief summary of things;

So it’s been a couple of days for me now in Qatar and after that Landmark day a lot happened, I now know almost everything about my family here. The day Sara was on the phone with Abdulrahman when we were in the car, he was asking her about me so she’s been avoiding bringing my name up to him after that l2nha ‘t3’ar 3aleeh’ and they had somewhat of a cute relationship so allah y5alehom lab3a9’. As for Juju, she was bi and is now with this girl called Maryam and her ex is a guy called M7mad whom she broke up with by making up an excuse so that’s that. Her mum has also passed away a couple years back which I recently found out about, 9ij tifashalt lma I found out, y3ny I didn’t know about my own uncle’s wifes death… And regarding her body, she has this really skinny modelish body now because she also used to be REALLY fat ib m3na el kalima, she used to weight over a 100 kg so she did a 3amaleya and kept a diet going and ended up with this body, so she’s really over protective and cautious on what she eats and drinks, she barely eats any sugar and junk food is her worst enemy. As for Fahad (my cousin) ely kan wyah elkids the first day I came to the house and came down and gave Juju a kiss on her cheek, he was almost like a brother to Juju. She has been living with them since she’s the only child and her father was always busy with work so Fahad had always taken care of her and he’s like a brother to her. Me & Fahad have also gotten closer in the past few days, to be honest I kinda liked elwa9'i3 here. And one more last thing, believe it or not, I started wearing a 3abaya every time I go out to malls and public/crowded places, just without the shaila but I actually looked good in it and mama loved this whole new 3abaya-ized me. I found it pretty cute since I could just wear my leggings and tank top under it and not have to worry about outfits. So up till that point, my life in Qatar has been going great until one day...

Back to reality

I woke up and went down to have breakfast with the entire family; it was kind of our routine. The girls & I were going to this place called The Pearl today then spending the night at my auntie’s apartment there alone with just the 5adama! Reminded me of old shalaih days:(. From what I’ve heard from Sara & Juju, it seems like a great place and is really different than other places here in Doha and it wasn’t too far from the house! We got ready and I wore the kind of 3abaya that came with a belt around your waist and it had this kind of design on its shoulders, 7ada cute:

I applied some bronzer & blusher with simple eyeliner and light pink lipstick then we were set to go, I didn’t like wearing a lot of make up, y5rb elface x_x

We got there in our black tinted Cadillac and went down 3nd the door by Hermes. The place was an outdoor walking area with the view of a ba7ar full of yachts and some people jet ski-ing! It had stores and cafes outside & was a lot like Switzerland. I absolutely loved it; the weather was not too hot either! There was slow music playing in the background fitting the jaw and 9ij eny 7sait 7aly in Europe not g6r. We then decided to go eat at the Chocolate Bar, which I’ve heard had the best Red Velvets in Qatar.

As soon as we were seated, we all sunk into our phones totally ignoring each others’ existence and I updated my status since my BBM was working now to “@Chocolate Bar *QA*” then got a BBM from M7mad who has been talking to me everyday since I got here.

M7mad Al-flany/#Shalaih 2*5: Bil3afya 7yatei ;*

Noor Al-flany/ In *QA*: Allah y3afeek <3

M7mad Al-flany/#Shalaih 2*5: I miss you Noor, yala rj3ey! :(

Noor Al-flany/ In *QA*: I miss you more wallah! Yala klha 3 more days w I’ll be back <3 !

M7mad Al-flany/#Shalaih 2*5: Can’t wait! Btw rab3ich hnee m3 Maha e5ty, I just saw them mn b3eed, I wish it was you I was staring at right now :'(

Noor Al-flany/ In *QA*: Awwww! 7baybi I miss them wayid </3 don’t let them have too much fun bdoony!

To be honest, I was a bit mad at most of my friends back in Kuwait except Maha, maga9irat y3ny she talks to me almost everyday w called a couple of times as I’ve been here, Lulu w Reem talk every now and then, Reem 3adi y3ny she’s always like that bs usually when I travel, Lulu and I dayman on the phone or skype updating each other with everything! Mdri what I did bs I feel so drifted away from my best friend </3

Later on at the apartment

“Guys lets play truth or dare” said Sara in excitement

I wasn’t too excited myself since I didn’t like this game ever since a long time ago, its pointless and you never really know if a person is answering the truth or not bs the dares were pretty fun.

We spun the bottle w jaat 3lay ana w Juju, Juju asks me.

“Have you ever dated or fell in love before?”

I thought about my answer before opening my mouth, I didn’t really trust people that easily so maku da3i they know about M7mad so I simply answered

“Yes I’ve fell in love.”

The next turn was that Sara asks Juju,

“How far have you and Maryam gotten to? Wink wink”

Juju: “1^st base” (for you who don’t know what the 3 bases are, search it.)

Sara: LOL you go girl bs wa3.”

Juju: Chub.

Okay, that’s a bit disturbing bs after everything that’s happened in her life, y3ny losing your mom isn’t that easy and most people turn lesbian or gay due to family problems or parents’ death so I’m in no position to judge her.

After a while of playing this endless game, I heard someone knock at the front door so I decided to escape from having to answer anymore questions by excusing myself to get the door, and since Sara and Juju were playing on the second floor, I took my time to get there since they won’t even realize how long I’ve been gone with their amazing questions game. I unlocked the front door which led to some empty hallway then to an elevator at the end of the hallway to the left and anyways everyone was probably asleep by this time, who could it be?

As soon as I unlocked the door, a familiar face popped up in white shorts and a blue top, it was the guy back from Pinkberry, Abdulrahman Sara’s boyfriend to be more specific, tbh he did look hot. I was in shorts above my knees by a little and an oversized shirt with my hair in a messy bun so my face turned red and I tried covering myself by hiding half my body behind the door as he waited outside the door. 

“Salam 3alaikom, Noor 9a7?”

“Ee, 3alaikom elsalam…”

“Umm..”

“Why are you here at this time?”

“I needed to talk to Sara asap..”

“Y3ny she knows your coming?”

“Laa bs…”

I interrupted him and answered 

“I’ll go get here now, wait here.” And threw a fake smile towards him, and as I was turning around to walk away, I felt a tight grip hold my wrist making me stop from moving, I turned around and he pushed himself to enter the apartment still not letting go of my wrist… 

"Wait Noor!"

“Shtabee? 7mdilah wl shkr don’t touch me” I said at the top of my lungs in a loud noise but not loud enough for the girls to hear me, I hope.

He let go of my wrist, then said

“Asif wallah bs umm..”

“Omg talk, shfeek!?”

“Noor, you’re really pretty mashallah”

“Thank you bs you have a girlfriend on the floor on top of us so mafy amal.”

“Y3ny etha imagine I wasn’t with Sara, would I have a chance with you?”

“MY COUSIN IS YOUR GIRFLRIEND, E7TRIM NAFSIK SHWAY.”

This time, I turned around with all anger in me going to call Sara 3shan hal wlad, 9ij he doesn’t deserve her. This time he grabbed me from my waist and turned me around so that I could face him, I tried pushing him away and he just kept pushing his face closer to me and I heard footsteps running down from the stairs, “Yal habla what’s taking you too long? 7AMAN?”

I turned to my right and found Sara standing there in shock staring at how wrong me and Abdulrahman looked… I felt my face fall to the floor from the shame bs hw ely 3’al6an mu ana. Abdulrahman quickly let me go and backed off.

“ENTO SHGA3DEEN TSAWOOUN? ABDULRAHMAN? WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING HERE?!”

7aman: “Knt jay abee akalmich Sara, wallah latfhmeen elsalfa 3’ala6.”

Me: “Sara, listen to the story gabl ma you judge, wallah this isn’t my fault, you know I’d never even think of doing something like this to my own cousin.”

Sara: “I can’t believe this, what kind of explanation does this need? HA?”

Before I could even speak, Abdulrahman interrupted and told her everything and how I was saying ena she’s my cousin and that I’d never do such a thing to her, wow I had a feeling he was gonna lie, wallah 6la3 mu kathab after all bs ely swa mu 97 at all.

Sara: “So why did you do all this? Were you trying to make me jealous or get my attention wla shnu? Mafhmt sh89dik eb hal 7araka -.-“

Abdulrahman: “Uhh Sara, I don’t think you understood my point, I find Noor your cousin an amazing woman w mashallah jameela and things haven’t been really good with us lately, I know a year isn’t a short time bs what I’m trying to say is that I think its time to end what’s between us Sara…”

I felt my jaw could drop to the floor from how wide my lips were opened apart, kan shkly like this: “:O” bs times 20! Ma9adig he just broke off a 1 year relationship with my cousin over just seeing me twice… :/

Tears gathered up in Sara’s eyes but she tried hiding them by answering back in a strong voice holding her tears from slipping out... “Bil6gag ely y6gik ent wyaha, 5ayn w kathab.” And she ran upstairs leaving both of stranded there in the empty room alone; I quickly spoke what was on my heart…

“Abdulrahman, laysh swait what you just did? Maynoon?! Ma 9arlik more than 4 days you’ve heard of my existence w 7baitny? She’s my cousin w I won’t accept what you did to her at all!”

“Noor, adry ena its almost impossible to fall in love this fast bs I think they call it love at first sight, I didn’t believe in it at first bs now I do, shsawy bs! Ana a9ln I can’t believe I just broke up with Sara for a girl I never even talked too x_x please give me a chance”

“I think you should leave Abdulrahman, I’m sorry, bye.”

His face glab to “:|” mra wa7da, he felt rejected, bs she’s my cousin and I would NEVER betray my family or friends over boys. He came closer to me and game me a kiss on my cheek, apologized for tonight and told me "bra7tich." then left.

Later on that night

After a long night of tears and yelling between me and Sara, and Juju trying to fix things, we came down to a summary. Sara didn’t want to talk to me or see my face for now, even though I didn’t do anything, she was still pretty mad about her boyfriend choosing me over her and I decided to let it go, she’ll eventually let it go y3ny I'd also be extremely mad if someone did hal 7raka with my 7amood. We all went to bed, with Sara and Juju in one room and me in my own all alone between 4 walls. I tweeted and updated my BBM status to “What a night :s”

2 minutes later

I got 3 BBMS from M7mad, Maha & Reem asking what happened and I told them I’d explain later and they fell for it and shushed up for the entire night. 5 minutes later, 1 DM from…

S3oud.

“Noor, are you okay? Sh9ar? Answer w please don’t ignore.”

I decided to reply, if he cared enough to ask then I should at least reply,

“Hala S3oud, I’m fine dw, long story, a lot of drama with my cousin and her boyfriend and me having to be put in the middle.”

I felt like there wasn’t any reason why I should’ve just sent him that but I felt like saying it to someone.

Less than a minute later, I got a reply

“I’m calling you now, answer.”

" Incoming call: +965.... "

Chapter 9

Hi there lovely readers, I just wanted to thank you all for your great support wallah if it wasn't for you, I don't know who I'd be writing for. This chapter is going to be held in Qatar and so will my next few be to, enjoy x

“Please fasten your seatbelts as we are about to land in Doha’s international airport.”

After an extremely short plane ride we’ve finally reached our destination, I was scared and excited at the same time. I’m the type that loves meeting new people and going to a new place but I don’t know how my family back here are like, I just hope they’re fun Inshallah... I laid back there and watched the plane fly down and since it was dark, all I could see were flashing lights and a path. I thought of what my friends would be doing back in Kuwait right now, and M7mad of course… It wasn’t that easy saying bye to them, adri ena its just a short while bs we’re the type of friends y3ni we always get so gloomed up lma one of us travels aw shay… 

“7amdillah 3al salamah 7abibty, yalaah get up” I heard mama's whisper from the seat next to me since I was too sr7ana with the view from the window.

Here we go…

We grabbed our bags and headed towards the luggage to get our stuff and mama had lots of bags since she wasn’t coming back, ugh, I can’t believe how she’s holding up with this, y3ny 9ij ena her and baba have drifted away these days bs they’ve always loved each other, I always saw it in their eyes! Now, all I see is sadness and tears in her eyes which she tries hiding away all the time… The huge doors slid open and we were in some sort of path exiting where all the people waiting for their arrivals could see us, a worker helped us push our bags and I saw a shila of ladies coming towards us all in 3abayas… One was in n8ab and had an old voice, I was guessing she’s my grandma? “Salam 3alaikom 7abibty Noor, kbarty mashallah!” I heard her say in a tone that kept cracking and it just sounded like an old lady would sound.

“Mama hay your grandma, salmy 3alaiha”. I did as Mama ordered and I kissed the old woman’s forehead then got greeted with so many other ladies who seemed really nice. I did feel a bit out of place with my skinny jeans and A&F shirt; let’s just hope the rest of the house is a bit more like me.

Minutes passed as we were on our way to my grandmas, I kept staring outside the window reading signs and looking at restaurants and people in their cars, I almost looked like a lost kid being abandoned in the middle of New York City, but what really caught my attention is how almost everyone was in thobe and 3abayas like from what I could see, I mean I’ve heard that that’s what most people wear here bs is it everyone? You see, I’ve NEVER worn a 3abaya before except for this one time when I was going to a party and 3aziz was dropping me and since my dress was too short w 9'ayig, I had to cover up, other than that I never did, I find us way too young for that… Don't get me wrong, its part of our tradition w kl shay bs y3ny I don't want to ever have to be forced to wear shaila or 3abaya unless I'm absolutely convinced with it lna I know many people who take it as a joke and just cover up sometimes and other times la, y3ny thats not how religion is meant to be, I don't miss any of my prayers and I really don't like people discussing these kind of things with me. After all, mu kl kash5a mu mtrbya w mu kl mtstra btrou7 eljana :). 

The driver claimed that we have finally arrived and came down to open the doors for us, I looked around for a blue sign so I could know where we were, “Al Dafna” well, and I guess that was the name of the man6i8a? Seemed pretty nice. I grabbed my bag and headed inside, fingers crossed.

The first thing that caught my attention was a girl sitting on a side on her blackberry just texting away not even noticing we have entered the house, she seemed to be in her 160’s of height y3ni not too tall or short, she was not so tanned w had a really skinny body, y3ni mbayin ena she’s one of those wanna-be Victoria’s secret models who starves herself.

“7abibty Juju, e7na w9lna” said one of my aunts with a cheerful tone, was she Juju’s mum? She did look a bit like her. Juju quietly looked up to us with her shiny brown eyes that suddenly reminded me of M7mad’s and gave me an almost half smile then zoned back into her blackberry, wee shfeeha hay?

I then heard footsteps running down on the stairs, they were a bunch of kids yjee about over 6 of them w mashallah each one was cuter than the other 7abaybi! They ran in and gave me a hug and I was even called “5alty Noor” by most of them, then came down a tall, huge figure (not fat, just huge) running down with them too trying to catch his breathe, he ran up to Juju and gave her a kiss on her cheek then came towards us w salam. I introduced myself to him and turns out he’s my cousin! Wld i5t umy and while Juju was bnt 5aly A7med. She seemed to be lost in her own world, did she dislike me wla shnu? As all these thoughts were going through my head, some short, tiny but gorgeous legs popped up from behind me “Noor! T’thkrainy?” was a high-pitched voice in my ear. I honestly had no idea who she was, she was really short y3ny around 158 cm mthl Kim Kardashian’s height, wai3, and she had really light brown hair ely shway almost blonde and she was dressed in a tight tube skirt up till her knees with a flowy top tucked in, she had an amazing body tbh mashallah, perfect curves. “Mmm” my face turned red of embarrassment because I totally had no idea who it was. “Omg yal 5abla nseiteni?” Ana Sara Al-flany bnt 5altich Moza!”. The name sounded really familiar bs elface maysa3id. “Akeed you didn’t recognize me cause of the way I look now, I mean 10 years ago I was disgusting and chubby and ugly, of course you won’t remember me.” She then pulled out a picture of us as kids and oh my god, it all came back to me! It was Sara, sara ma3’eirha!

She used to come visit us in Kuwait all the time when we were kids and we used to be really close 7ta I thought she was the only cousin I had from my mom’s side at one point, mashallah she changed SOOOO much! She used to be chubby and ugly to be honest, knha oompa loompa, el7yn 9arat malikat jamal, I’m sure all the guy mayteen 3alaiha in this country, Kim Kardashian g6r.

Later on that day

“Bnaat, I’m craving pinkberry! Let’s go?”

She asked me and this other Juju chick that nodded her head as if she didn’t even care and I didn’t mind so I agreed. They all went to get dressed and it seemed to take over an hour now, mu k2na we’re just going to get pinkberry? I told my mum we we’re going out to grab ice cream and she said yes of course, she wasn’t the bossy and commanding type of mum, I had my total freedom and I liked that. Since we were going just to grab pinkberry, I wore a light pink 3la peach kind of blazer with a tank top under it and my printed skinny jeans and tied my hair in a messy bun with my Melissa flats that matched my outfit perfectly, something like this:

After almost an hour of waiting, I heard heels clicking against the stairs causing the sound to echo through the house, so I got up and saw Juju & Sara in 3abayas with extreme designs all over their shoulders and loubi heels and Berkin bags with full make up on, and when I say full, I actually mean A LOT, its the amount of make up I'd wear to a wedding. They both looked at me from up till down trying to hold in their comments and thoughts but of course, Juju went like “Umm, Noor? Mabtlbseen 3abaytich?”

“La, I don’t usually wear one back in Kuwait so no reason I should back here”

“Bra7tich, bs tra most classy people min 3wa2il wear 3abayas here so if you don’t, they’re probably going to think you’re not even g6rya.”

“Yeah, cause I’m not… Kuwaitiya w afti5ir.” Ugh, talk about shayfa rou7ha.

“Ee okay, elmhim yallah, emshaw ana bnady Ali yjee ysh3’l elsyara.”

After Juju was gone, I gave Sara a look and she comforted me by telling me Juju is over exaggerating and that I looked great, 9ij 3ndha mashakil hay Jawaher.

We arrived to a parking of some mall named Landmark and omg the parking was so za7ma! Shnu hay? It’s like the cars just stop and don’t move at all and the cars were all to be honest, gorgeous. El G55’a w el alwaan w el Ferraris, shnu hay? 7sait eni dasha car show mb parking x_x ! We got down at the door with a huge Carrefour sign next to it and found a huge line waiting by the tiny Pinkberry on the side next to a huge pharmacy and a coffee shop. We waited in line and I took a mango and chocolate swirl, my favorite! Mshaina around shway and they showed me the mall, I understood what Jawaher meant by 3abayas are the kash5a here, I didn't feel odd or anything bs ena y3ny I felt eyes gazing at me from each side, bs knt m7tshma, its not like I was walking around in a mini skirt aw shay ? :/ 

 

I noticed from far a tall somewhat tanned in a white ‘thob’ and mbayn 3aleh shway m39’il from under the thob. He wouldn’t stop staring our way and to be more specific, he wouldn’t stop staring at Sara and I noticed Juju and her whispering things and looking back at him w eldala3 nizal 3ala Sara. I asked what was going on, laykoun t3arfa?

Juju quickly replied not giving Sara a chance to even explain herself, “He’s Sara’s cousin, layrou7 tafkeerich”

I gave Sara a suspicious look, I knew her entire family y3ny and I don't recall one of her cousins this good looking?

Sara finally broke the awkward silence and admitted everything,

“He’s not really my cousin, esma Abdulrahman al-flany w we’ve been together for a year now.”

“Oh…”

“Bs I go with the idea that he’s my cousin 3shan la 7ad yfkr 3’ala6.”

“Y3ny and people believe?”

“Ee I refer to any guy I talk to as my second cousin or ena my mum knows his 3shan elnas may6l3oun klam 3any, y3ny eldoha 93’eera… Afterall, klna related somehow.”

I didn't understand the way this girl thinks bs I stayed quiet and we headed out to the car.

Sara’s phone rang and she quickly picked up in excitement. I couldn’t really hear the other person but you could tell it was a guy by the way Sara acted. I’m guessing it was the guy back from Landmark?

 “Aloo”

“Ee shftak 7yati, shftny? Hehe :$”

“Umm shnu?”

“Laysh ts2al?”

“La bnt 5altay, jat mn elkuwait…”

“Mhm, ee 3alay bs?”

“A7sn yallah bye."

W chan Sara's face yglb mn ":D" chee to ":|" then she looked up to me and 3a6atny hal smile ely on BBM that everyone hates ":)" 

She looked annoyed, and I didn’t dare ask her what was wrong bs I knew that it had something to do with me since she mentioned “bnt 5alty jay mn elKuwait” whatever. It was really za7ma and what seemed to be a 5 minute place far away from our grannies’ house became a half an hour of awkward silence car ride, no silence just an awkward conversation not including me between Juju & Sara, great.

I could hear some of what they were saying because it was sort of loud whispering and I was known for my amazing sense of hearing. I saw Juju show Sara a conversation on her phone between her & someone and I couldn’t help my shock while hearing her say “Omg, ma9adig you guys are together el7yn? Mabrook Juju wallah zayn, she seems cute w 5osh bint if she stole your heart LOL bs et2kdi M7mad la y3rf 3nkom.”

5osh bint? What did she mean? Laykoun… :/

Chapter 8

  

So, today was a Thursday. Me and the girls were all going to my shalaih since it was my last day in Kuwait and I was travelling to Doha with mama tomorrow. If you guys are wondering if I told any of the girls about the real reason on why I’m travelling, well, I didn’t. I said I was just going to visit some relatives for a couple of days and they fell for it, shocking how with just a few smiles people believe you’re okay. Things with M7mad have been going great since the day he proposed his love to me and we’ve now been dating for 3 days, I couldn’t be any happier with him. As for S3oud, I’ve been ignoring him w mu ma36ita wayh at all, I know that’s a bit harsh bs madri, I was happy with M7mad, I don’t want to ruin that.

On the way to the shalaih (Reem & Noor)

“Noor I have something to tell you”

Every time I hear that sentence, from anyone, 7ta lw my baby cousins, I immediately freak out, madri bs I feel like I did something wrong to the person.

“Shfeech Reem? Is everything okay?”

“La don’t worry, its not something bad! Well, I don’t think it is.. umm”

“TALK!”

“Remember those two guys ely the helped us lma the rhino got stuck? Rashed & S3oud I think kan esma?”

“Ee what about them?”

I got nervous a little bit l2ana no one knew I used to talk to S3oud except for Maha, I still didn’t tell Reem or Lulwa about M7mad bs I was planning to today.

“Well, he sort of started sending me DMs for the past week w b3dayn we added each other on BBM, and now he told me he loves me and I told him I had feelings for him too, adri adri 7araka ‘3abeya w ana mu chee 6ab3i bs I don’t know why I did this Noor wallah! Ma3rf shloun to explain the feeling, its like my mind was telling me la ya Reem don’t do this, if 3aziz finds out he’ll kill you bs my heart…”

Before she could even continue I interrupted her and stopped her.

“Reem, calm down, you didn’t do anything wrong shfeech! You fell in love and I’m soooooo happy for you wallah! Shkla 5osh 9bay.”

“Min 9jich Noor? I expected you to be the last person on earth to approve of this”

“Well, speaking of that, mm there’s something I need to confess too…”

“What is it?”

“You know M7mad? U5o Maha? Yeah well me and him are sort of umm…”

And I told her the story from A till Z. I have to admit, she was shocked l2ana as I’ve mentioned before, I’m the type of person who makes fun of stupid people who date and believe in teenage love w el7yn I’m doing the worst mistake I could possibly do? But what can I say, it’s a bittersweet kind of love. 

Later on that day at the Shalaih

So, Luluu has already arrived here but Maha was still on the way and M7mad was dropping her off which meant more time to spend with 7amoodii <3 !

I knew Lulu is my best friend and she should be the first person I actually told about this entire M7mad thing, but I just didn’t find the perfect time too so I decided to break the bomb before M7mad and Maha got here.

“Mmm Lwail?”

“Shtabeen?”

See, when me and lulu talk in a rude way to each other, its not a way of giving attitude or nfsya or anything, that’s just the way we talk to each other and we’re never serious about it, it’s a sister thing.

“I have to tell you something bs PLEASE PLEASE don’t kill me”

“Shnu? Enty 7amil? Cause if you are, you better keep the promise you made me”

I giggled out loud; I can’t believe she still remembers that! Back when we we’re younger; we made a promise to each other that our first daughter would be named after each other’s. #AyamEl6foola

“HAHAHA LAA!”

“Shnu then?”

“Mm, remember M7mad? You’ve seen him once? U5o Maha?”

“Ee, ee el7lw what about him?”

“Min 9ijich?”

“Entay habla? Agool kamly, shabee fee. What about him?”

“Well…” And I told her the entire story, not leaving any bits out.

Her face turned blank, I could tell from her expressions that she didn’t like what she was hearing or perhaps she was just shocked? Y3ny 7ta ana I never expected this from myself.

“Lulu please say something, are you mad at me for not telling you? Wallah I know I should’ve bs there was never a perfect timing and I wanted to do it face to face! :(”

“Maynoona enty? Why would I be mad about that?! What I’m really mad about is how could you be such an idiot, I thought we were going to commit to the no dating rule remember?”

“Well things change and that was ages ago, w ana I fell for him el7yn, real badly Lulu, you gotta admit that surprise he threw me mu shway.”

“Tabeen el9ij? Ee that was sooo cute ya 7mara I’m happy for you!!! Bs no more secrets fahma?”

I gave her a huge hug then Reem also dropped the bomb that she was dating Rashed now, I could tell from Lulu’s expressions that she wasn’t really liking eljaw and what she was hearing but she added a fake smile on to make the audience believe.

Ding-dong

IT WAS M7MAADD! & Maha!

I ran to the door, and greeted them and invited him in for a while. I then excused myself from the girls because M7mad and I wanted to go walk shway by the ba7ar, I saw Lulu giving us a look by the end of her eyes, and it wasn’t a good look.

Between me and M7mad

“Chna your friend ga3da ta36een na6’rat?”

“La shd5al, she’s just shocked…”

“Anyways, I’ve missed you Noor, laish btrou7een w bt5leeni for an entire week?”

He said those words with a sigh then grabbed my hand and started playing with my fingers as we walked by the beach,

“I’ll phone call you everyday and I’ll have BBM don’t worry, a9ln I’ll only be half an hour distance away from you 7amoodii”

“Adri, bs be careful there! Ffhh wallah lw byadi kan I came with you bs wayn I leave Maha brou7ha?”

“La 7amood its only a week and I’m going to visit family, a9ln I don’t know anyone there not even my cousins so lat5af”

“Okay bs you’ll talk to me everyday okay? Promise?”

“I promise wallah wallah, a9ln shloun akamil youmy mn doun ma akalim a7la 7amood bl 3alam?”

“Laish enty kam 7amood t3rfeen? Hmm. La la, at3’shmr, I love you Noorty <3”

“I love you too :$”

He came in to hug me and he kept his hug for a bit longer, I love those kind of hugs, ely they make you feel like you’re safe and cuddled. I’m really going to miss him in this one-week time period ffhhh :(

Later on the day

Me, Maha & Reem hung out most of the time while Lulu just stuck to her phone on a side alone all day, I decided to go and talk to her… 

Between Noor & Lulu

“Lulu? Enty z3lana 3alay?”

“La I’m not”

“Mu mn 9ijich y3ny I’m travelling tomorrow! Mu m38ool you stay mad at me till the time I travel, y3ny there’s a chance I might not even come back and you’re being THIS cold?!”

Lulu stood up with a shock almost like she had seen a ghost in front of her face,

“Shnuu? 3eedy ely glty Noor..?”

“Nothing nevermind”

“Noor! You promised no more secrets, please tell me I heard wrong”

“No Lulu, you didn’t. My parents are getting a divorce! Happy 5la9? You heard the words?!”

A tear fell down my cheek then followed by another and another and soon became almost like its raining Noor tears after Lulu pulled me in for a hug, I guess I’ve been avoiding telling my friends about this because I didn’t want them to see me weak, I’m known to be the positive and funny person who’s always in a good mood and who advices people not gets advices from people and cries like a baby.

“Noor, asfa wallah! W enty ya 7mara y3ny tell me! Kl hal sneen friendship 3al fa9’y? Ffhhh habla!”

“I’m sorry :( I love you Lulu”

“I love you too”

The rest of the night was spent of me and Lulu catching up together, damn I’ve missed her. She kept lecturing me about how I should make the right decision of who I wanted to live with, I know that she wouldn’t want me moving away to Qatar and leaving her like that but it seemed like she was pushing me into staying with my mum, for my own best I guess?

As we we’re all almost asleep, where Maha & Reem have already passed out and fe sabi3 nouma, me and Lulwa were midway through passing out wla mra wa7da I heard the front door open a floor under us. I tried not freaking out, sh*t did we forget to lock it? I grabbed the first thing I could see which was my candy spray which from experience back then causes a person to stop seeing for a couple of seconds, I know not such a smart weapon but better than with nothing.

Lulu waited at the top of the stairs with a pair of heels ready to throw them on whoever it was if they tried attacking, and I went down and since it was dark I couldn’t see anything. I used my phone’s light to look for the light switches but someone grabbed me and put their hand around my lips just before I could scream.

“SSHHHHHHH”

Wait, that voice sounded familiar… I turned around, OMG IT WAS M7MAD.

“M7MAD? ARE YOU CRAZY? WTH WAS THAT ABOUT AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE 2 AM?!”

“Noor! Calm down, I wanted to call you before coming in bs I found the door unlocked so I used it to my advantage to come in and then I was going to sit there and wait for you to come down, you weren’t suppose to think I’m a murderer! Wait, knty btdaf3een 3an nafsich using a candy spray? Mashallah" 

"Chub hehe :$" 

I yelled on top of my lungs, and don’t worry about Maha and Reem, lw fee earthquake they won’t wake up.

“Omg hahahaha, Lulu 6l3 M7mad, 5ala9 go to bed I’ll meet you in a few.”

Then I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, it was Lulu, she just came and stood there with us… Mu k2na I told her to go to bed w 5la9? Laish razat wayha?

Bs 7mdillah M7mad broke the tension and asked if he could talk to me in private, so Lulu got the message the second time and run up to the room.

“Anyways 7amoodi shfeek jay 2 am? You still didn’t tell me?”

He pulled a cute teddy bear that had a huge heart sign on its chest, and he told me to check inside the zipper for the teddy what was there. I opened it and found a mini note “Teddy bear’s are cute to cuddle with just like you, keep this with you as you go to Qatar and hug it everytime you miss me :$” awwww! I know it was a bit cocky and tiny and to some people may seem worthless and just another teddy bear, but to me, it was one of the cutest gifts I’ve ever gotten. I pulled 7amood in for a hug and he whispered in my ear “Tw9leen bil salamah, btnawir g6r, sorry I forgot to tell you that earlier on in the day."

“Awwww! M7mad you came all the way here 3shan you tell me tw9leen bl salamah w t36eeni hl dabdoob?”

“Laish ma3jbich x_x adri its simple bs y3ny I found it cute at the moment I got it and everything w…”

I stopped him and gave him a kiss on his cheeks, “I love it, and I love you”

He kissed my forehead,

If I were ever to consider staying with Mama in Qatar, he would be the only reason I wouldn't do it and I'd come back no matter what, a piece of me is with him now and it wasn't just any piece, it was a weird thing I like to call my heart.

<3