Dawud.

Chapter 24: Boys

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

I stepped off the bus and marched into the building that held my locker. I was only meters away from it when I bumped into Warsan and Muna. They were surrounding it with moist eyes. I wriggled past them and gasped...

Jannah's P.O.V

I blinked a few times, registering the image into my mind. Taped onto my locker were a pink note and several balloons. I carefully pulled the note and read it to myself. The heat radiating from Warsan and Muna's excited breaths washed over me as they read it over my shoulders.

___

Allah, Glorious and Exalted be He, has given Jannah many names..

It's called Jannah; which means the garden that is hidden from the eyes.
DaruSalam; the place of peace and happiness.
DarulKhuld; the home of all of eternity.
Jannatul Ma'wah; the place where we will eventually end up.
Jannatu'Adanin; the gardens of eternity.
Jannatu'Naeem; gardens full of limitless blessings.
Al Maqamul Ameen; the place where good people belong.
Maq'Adi Sidiqin; the place of truth

Jannah, Insha'Allah, by the end reading week, we'll be married. That's not too far away but until then, I want you to know that I'm fighting. I am. (Also, your Dad helped me write this so don't worry about getting into trouble)

___

I laughed and cried. I shook my head and smiled. I was a mess of emotions and I couldn't help it. Dawud was.. Subhan'Allah, he was a gift. He was a gift and I loved him.

"Oh my goodness." I blurted.

Warsan and Muna sighed as well. The wedding was coming up and we were ecstatic. Alhamdulillah, it was a relief to know that Dawud wasn't over me. "Look!" Muna squealed. I followed her eyes to the other side of the hallway.

Dawud leaned against a locker with a small smile on his face. His hair was parted down the middle and it curled and twisted down to his shoulders. He wore a white, loose, long-sleeved shirt that ended at his knees and paired it with beige sweatpants and gray Nike shoes. He looked so handsome. I watched him silently. All the things I wanted to say were kept in a little box that I'd open when we were married, insha'Allah. He stood up straight and walked around the corner. "So dreamy." I admired.

I turned around and pulled a pin out of my hijab. One by one, I popped the balloons. "What are you doing?" Warsan asked in disbelief. I put the limp balloon skins in my locker and looked around guardedly.

"Parihan," I stated, "is out to get me and I'm not willing to add fuel to the fire." Warsan opened her mouth to protest but decided against it. Parihan was dangerous. She was heartbroken and livid. I grabbed a few highlighters from my locker and shoved them in my sweater pocket. "Let's go to the lounge. We don't have class till twelve."

We made our way to the fifth floor. The lounge doors were wide open, welcoming us. We strolled in and jumped on the red leather couches. The walls were painted gray and the floor was made of a simple white tile. We had the room all to ourselves.

"Jannah, I was just about to ask you if you wanted to go bowling with the two of us but you're married so I guess that's not for you." Muna teased me.

I laughed. "Get married to Akhlaaq and we can go on double dates!" I encouraged her. Muna really liked him. She didn't talk about him often but each time his name was mentioned in our conversations, she'd blush. If they are meant to be, may Allah make it so. Ameen ya Rabbul Alameen .

"I," Muna struggled to speak as her cheeks grew red, "I don't like him." She lied.

"Don't lie, Muna." I scolded her.

Warsan pulled a textbook from her bag and placed it on her lap. She opened the book from the back, skimming through the glossary. She found the word she was looking for and clicked her tongue. "Attraction is the pleasure or liking for someone or something. In this case, it's someone. And I'm saying this to the two of you."

Muna clapped her hands with a satisfied grin plastered across her face. "See! I don't love him. I'm just attracted to him. It's not serious."

I frowned. "Does this mean that I don't love Dawud?" Warsan and Muna shared a peculiar glance. "I hate it when you two do that! Just tell me if I'm wrong." I whined.

Muna spoke. "Well, you know Dawud but you don't really know Dawud. You can say you like him and that you're attracted to him but in all honesty, you'll only be able to love him when you've seen his bad side too."

Warsan nodded in agreement. "You're getting married soon, insha'Allah, but don't let your mind be clouded with rainbows and sunshine. You have to be responsible and mature about this."

I thought for a moment. When I understood what they meant, I started to panic. The only way I'd be able to see his bad side is if we lived together. The question slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. "What is it like, living with a guy?"

Warsan and Muna grimaced. They both had male siblings, older and younger, and complained about them almost every day. Maybe I shouldn't have asked them...

"Terrible!" Warsan shouted. "They smell bad and they don't know how to pick up after themselves!"

Muna pitched in, sliding to the edge of the couch excitedly. "They don't do their laundry and they leave the toilet seat up!"

Warsan and I froze. "They don't pee sitting down?" I asked, bewildered.

Muna looked at us awkwardly.

There was a silence.

"Obviously not." Muna said.

"But it's Sunnah.." I told her.

The silence was broken by Warsan's laughter. "Tell your brothers to sit when they pee." She suggested.

Muna's eyes widened with surprise. "That's a conversation I am never having with my brothers. I'll ask my mom to tell them."

I smiled but I was breaking down on the inside. I was scared to live with a guy. I now knew how Mariam felt.

Chapter Twenty-Five ->