Bittersweet 55

NOORA:

Well that was an interesting trip.
I'm just glad to be home from such a chaotic trip. 6ab3an, this is the last time 79a would wan't to come with us to Ras El 5aima, and i dont blame her. The girl caught on fire for crying out loud. But i gotta admit, it was pretty funny... Sorry 79a

As for the whole Rashid situation, 79a and Amoon got pretty bored about it, and stopped bringing it up. That hasn't stopped me from thinking about him. He's been on my mind every single minute of every single day, but i was to chicken to bring him up. So like a sad little child, i waited all day for some one to bring him up. Unfortunately, no one did. The closest i ever heard of Rashid was when Man9oor announced that him and his friends will be flying back to California. He says they'll be staying there until the end of the semester, so I won't see my brother for about 5 months straight. But i knew deep, waaaay deep down that it wasn't my brother that i was worried about not seeing. *sigh* 5 months seems like a lifetime


RASHID:

I've made up my mind. I'm flying back to California, and staying there. Not only for the rest of the semester, but at least until i finish my bachelors degree. I knew i couldn't go back. I knew i wont be able to control myself. It's going to be the hardest thing ever to be in the same city as her, and have to stay as far away from her as possible. I knew i wouldn't be able to do it. I don't want to cause any more trouble for her than i already have. I'll let the girl live her life without having to deal with me and my issues. 5ala9, I'm going to step out of her life. It's for the best, for both of us.

NOORA:

Who knew senior year would be this hard? So many standardized tests to take, so many meetings, applications and trips to schedule. There are so many things to take care of, and exams are right around the corner. Allah y3een.

It's been halfway through a month since Ras El 5aima. It's been ... strange. I'm getting mixed signals from Rashid. It's like, he was trying so hard to get my attention in Ras El 5aima, and now since we've been back, i haven't heard a single word from him. It's like, he disappeared from the face of the universe. Since I've known Rashid, i knew he was the type of guy who goes after what he wants, regardless of the boundaries. And once he wants something, he'll do the impossible to have it. Why has he stopped chasing? Why hasn't he tried to get a hold of me? Has he suddenly lost interest? Has he grown tired of me?

Or maybe it wasn't any of that! Maybe it was Man9oor! Maybe he knows something!

Did he notice anything? Were we that obvious? Man9oor isn't an idoit! Akeed he noticed something. Maybe he SAW something, and we just don't know it. Maybe he SAW us at some point, and asked Rashid to leave me alone. Maybe something serious happened! Maybe Man9oor and Rashid stopped being friends because of something he SAW!

Or maybe I'm just jumping into conclusions. Yeah i'm probably just overreacting. It's time for them to return to their studies. They are studying to get their bachelors after all. Yes, they have to start working for their future and i should just move on. When the time comes, then we'll see where we're at. He'll come back, I know he will. He didn't work so hard all this time for nothing. He's just going back to finish his bachelors. Yes, he'll be back during semester break. And i'll most definitely see him. And it'll be just like old times. Where we both felt something there, and went after it. I enjoyed the feeling and really didn't want to lose it. I can't wait till he's back, and the whole chase starts over again. Lets just wait for this semester to be over, then the real action can start... Again.

Bittersweet 54

After thinking long and hard about what to do, we decided to sit bara3, light a fire, and watch a movie on the projector. Aham shay ena none of us know how to make a fire so glna bntfalsaf shwaya lain ma we get it right.

"I think we need wood." 79a el genius pointed out.
"Laaaaaa t9adgeen?" Amoon commented sarcastically.
"3ndna klshay fl storage room ely bara3. I'll go grab everything, you guys set up the projector." I said.

It took a while, but we managed to set up everything just in time the sun started to go down. But making the fire wasn't the hard part, but when we all fought about which movie to watch. Ana ow Amoon were in the mood for  a comedy, but 79a m9rrrrra Romance. So 3gb ma 79a sawatlna mna7a ow aflam hindeya, we decided to go her way 3shan ma tyls tit7ar6am 3laina lain bacher ow n7na mb nag9een. Awana 3ad sawaina jaw romancy che sitting by the fire, watching the movie that played across the back wall of the house during el m'3arb.

79a was so touched by the movie, she had to go get up and grab a box of tissues, while Amoon and I were waiting for the movie to be over.

"So beautiful..." 79a muttered to herself as she got up to get herself a box of tissues. As she walked towards the house, her maxi dress caught a flame from the fire! El mshkla none of us noticed until we heard 79a's loud high pitched scream from inside the house.

Her scream startled us ow seeda gmna to see what was wrong.

"SHU FEECH?!" Amoon yelled.
"BALACH?!" I screamed.

79a didn't stop screaming but we could see why. She was pretty much ON FIRE! Her dress was covered in flames up her entire side. Amoon and I didn't waste any time running around the kitchen trying to do something. I was about to run and grab a bottle of water but Amoon decided to be creative and grabbed a Fire Extinguisher to put out the fire. 79a didn't make it easy for us though. She would stop jumping up and down and screaming.

"STOP MOVING!" Amoon yelled.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHGUJHDFUIGHUI!" 79a continued to scream.
"NAWARI!" Amoon called. "GRAB HER! MSKEEHA LAT5ALEEEEEEENHA TIT7ARAK!"

I quickly did as my cousin asked and grabbed 79a by her arms to keep her from wiggling around. I'm pretty sure that Amoon doesn't know how to use a fire extinguisher by the way she attempted to put 79a's dress out. 5aysat el dnya before finally putting the fire out.

When I finally let go of 79a she burst into tears.

"I WANNA GO HOME!" She exclaimed.
"Okok 5alaaa9 79a chill." I tried to calm her down.
"MABA MABA!" Tamat t3and. "TAKE ME BACK TO DUBAI NOW!"
"79aa 5ala9-" Amoon tried to calm to calm her down but she cut her off.
"I SAID TAKE ME BACK!!" She exclaimed.

Amoon and I just looked at each other before finally deciding to call Mama and tell her we're coming home. I also made another phone call to Man9oor.

"Alo Man9oor."
"Ha Nawari."
"Agoolk n7na bnrd Dbai." I informed him.
"Btrdoon Dbai? .. Laish?"
"79a caught on fire ow 7tshrat tba trd."
"Awna?! Is she okay?" He asked, concerned.
"Yeah yeah she's fine. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."
"TONIGHT." 79a yelled in the background.
"La 79a manroom nseer a7eena its dark ow eldarb 6weel. El9b7 a7san." I said.

79a rolled her eyes and headed upstairs to change out of her burnt dress.

"5ala9 enzain Man9oor bs knt bgoolk." I said, "Yallah bye."
"Okay bye, t7amlow 3la 3markm."


RASHID'S POINT OF VIEW

The fishing trip was a BLAST. I can't wait lain bacher yom we're going to barbecue them for lunch. We were just sitting in the 6arad not moving, enjoying the ocean during the evening and sipping cups of tea.

Until Man9oor's phone rang and he got up to answer. I hate to eavesdrop, but when he said "Ha Nawari" I just had to listen.

"Btrdoon Dbai? Laish?" I head him say.

They're going back? She's going back? LAA2! LAISH!
Could it be because of me? Did I something wrong? Maybe I made her feel uncomfortable. Shit I feel so guilty Lazm alzm 7doodi wyaha. Mhma ykoon hay e5t rbee3ty and I was stepping over boundaries. I felt like I was being to pushy with her. She's not like other girls. I decided to back out of her life until we're both ready. I'll go back to California, and I promised myself to never get in her way again until she graduates at least. 7aram, I don't want to interfere in her life any more than I already have. She's still young after all.

"Ok bye, t7amlow 3la 3markm." And he hung up.

Bittersweet 53

RASHID'S PONT OF VIEW:

Even though I'm smiling like an idiot, inside I'm like: SHIT SHIT SHIT!

Ana wallah '3abi! You don’t just say these things to random girls, cuz what do girls do best? TALK!

Ow I'm 100% sure that 79a is not only going to tell Noora how I feel, but she's going to tbaaaaaal'3!

Adreebha hay hb hayna!

"Enta aaih!" 7amdan's irritating voice interrupted my thoughts. "Quit daydreaming ow help me carry

this cooler to the 6arad!"

Shalait 3mri min mkaani ow went over to my sad excuse of a best friend to carry the cooler.

"Sooooo." 7amdan winked from across the cooler as I carried one side and he carried the other.

Honestly, I wasn’t in the mood for his stupidness, bs shu asawi, I never am. So might as well go with it…

"So what?" I replied.

"Whats new?"

"With what?"

"You knooooow." He teased.

"7amdan, seriously!"

"Laa laa .. YOU seriously!"

"What are you trying to say yal '3abi!"

"As2aaalk! What new!" He repeated

"Yal THOR agoolk with what!"

"The girl!!!" He finally blurted.

"What girl?" Awani ma3rf shu elsalfa.

"Okay now you're the one that’s acting stupid! Mb ana!"

"7amdan!"

"Rashood!"

"Nothing..Nothing's new okay?! Do you know how hard it is to stay away from her?" I blurted out.

7amdan stared at me blankly.

"Wl5aiba." He said.

"5aiba t5aybk yal 7mar!" I replied.

"Enzain laish awank you’re trying to stay away from her?" 7amdan said, ignoring the fact that I just

insulted him.

"Tstahbal wla tstahbal? Nsait enha e5t Man9oor?" I answered his stupid question.

"Enzain he doesn't have to know." He winked devilishly.

"Bdaina 3al sh6ana ha?" I smirked.

"Dude I'm just trying to help!"

"You're not helping."

"Okay why not?!"

"You really want to know why?" I put the cooler down, "Because she's not just any girl! She's bint

nass ow 3agla ow 7lwa ow sha59eyat'ha tjanin ow klshay. I respect her too much to do anything with

her."

7amdan I think yata 9admat 7ayata…cuz he stayed quiet for a couple of minutes.

"For the first time in my life I'm going to be serious with you." He said… bsmlaah..

"Yeah?"

"Rashood, sma3ni 3adel. Don’t let go of this girl." He said, not blinking, not even once.

He was so serious, he scared me! 7AMDAN! Out of all people… is being serious. Bss you know

what. 9a7 kalama. I won't. I'll never let go of her. I can't wait till the day where I can say she's mine.

"SHABAB!" Man9oor called from the distance.

7amdan and I snapped out of our film hindi and turned our heads.

"Ha kla ow ba3adkm ma 76aito el cooler fil 6arad?!" Man9oor 7tshar.

"Ya5i wallah thjeel!" 7amdan complained.

"Yal far5 goom goom! Ana bashla!" Man9oor grabbed the cooler. "Ma mnkm fayda!"

MEANWHILE :

Noora's Point Of View:

"Agoolkm ana malait." Amoon said, popping skittles into her mouth.

"Min shu." 79a replied, putting the skittles that Amoon dropped in rainbow order.

"From this! Let's have a party!" Amoon suggested.

"Tstahblain?" I laughed

"Seriously! Man we can't do anything with the guys right next door!"

"They're not home today. They went fishing ow I think byrdoon late." 79a mentioned.

"Winty shdarach?" Amoon eyed 79a.

"Umm…Man9oor called Nawari ow told her ya3ni." She smiled.

"Chathaba." Amoon sat up straight. "Spill!"

Mashallah 3laiha!

"Bsmlaah! Shu feech Amoon?" I sat next to her on the sofa.

"Latlfoon witdooroon! Get to the point into el hntain!" She said.

79a and I looked at each other before telling her what she missed that morning.

"Oh my Gosh and I missed it?!" Amoon said, after we explained.

"Ely ygool we know what he said!" I said, eyeing 79a who still wouldn’t tell me what Rashid said.

"Obviously he told her how he felt! I mean look at 79a! Shway ow bt6eer min el far7a!" Amoon said,

pointing at 79a who was smiling so wide, her face was about to crack.

"Go for it Nawari! Let him sweep you of your feet!" 79o batted her eyelashes and sighed.

"Hablaa." Amoon muttered.

"Tstahblain?!" I exclaimed.

"I'm serious! Let him carry you into the moonlight!" She continued.

"79oo trach wayed t7lmeen." Amoon raised an eyebrow at her.

"Nsaity ena rbee3 Man9oor?" I pointed out.

"Enzain he doesn't have to know." 79a winked devilishly.

"La wallah! Tbainy amoot wla amoot?" I said.

"At least you'll die for love." She continued to flutter her eyelashes. F5a6ry a9fa3ha kaf y9a797ha

shwaya.

"Enzain 9dg!" 79o continued. "It's obvious that both of u guys are head over heels for each other!"

"9dg?" I blushed.

"DUUH! He even said so himself and I quote *I'm crazy about her*." 79a blurted.

"HAAAA???" Amoon and I suddenly sad up straight and widened our eyes till we looked like owls.

"Hehe. Oops." 79a blushed.

"He said THAT?" Amoon said. "About HER?!" She pointed at me.

"Aaaaih enty shu 89dch?" I nudged her.

"Sktii enty!" Amoon shushed me. "A7eena hathak el MZYOON min 9dga y7b Nawari??"

"MAAAYT feeeha agoolch!" 79a continued.

"Hahaha 6a shaklha!" Amoon looked at me and laughed.  "She's blushing! Shway ow bt6eer min el

far7a!"

"Shut up you guys!" I yelled! Sa5eefat!

Bittersweet 52

"Noorooh!" 79a said between bites of her Coco Pops. "He's HOT!"

We were sitting in the downstairs living room enjoying breakfast facing the large glass window that

gave us a great view of the beach. Amoon was asleep so 79a and I decided to enjoy breakfast alone.

"I know!" I said, chewing on my own Coco pops trying not to blush.

"Nooro a7s he REALLY likes you."

"You think?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Wallah! You make a cute couple." 79a giggled.

"Laaaaaaa." Awani atdala3.

"Chub! Ya5i 3tarfay ench mayta feeh! I see your face when he's around. Nawari you're so obvious."

She giggled.

"79o shut up!"

"Seery zgii a9lan enty you like it yom 7ad che eygoolch!" She winked devilishly.

God she knows me well!

3ad ana stanast ya3ni! 9adagt 3mri shway! Enzain 5alooni! Wallah awal mra I experience this!

"OMG!" 79a suddenly lit up. "El 6ayeb 3nd thkra!"

I turned around to see what 79a was looking at out the window, and there was Rashid, walking along

the beach. He was in a plain white T-shirt, black shorts and sunglasses.

"Let's go say hi!" 79a said casually. Testahbal hay?

"Yeah, and then we can go party on the beach and drink until we pass out." I said sarcastically.

"Whatever Nawari! 3adi shu feeha ya3ni?" She said, right before she opened the door and walked out

to the beach.

Hay shu nawya tsawii! I swear I'm going to kill her! I refused to go outside. Maynoona ana? Ow my

brother is in the next house ba3ad! Tet7ara 3mrha fi film hindi. I ra8b-ed them from the big glass

window. 79a skipped like an idiot all the way to Rashid who was standing on the shore. He smiled

and took off his sunglasses and hung them on the collar of his shirt. She smiled back at him. Soon,

they started talking and giggling! SHU HAY?! Tseer ow tet'3azal feeh right after she demands that I

like him! I'm going to seriously kill her!

--BETWEEN RASHID AND 79A—

"Heeyy!" 79a said chana el3eed.

"Oh hi 79a!" Rashid greeted her. "What are you doing out here."

"I just came to say hi, sho 7aram asalm?"

"La la 3adi." Rashid chuckled. "So sh7alkm?"

"Wallah klshay tamam, wnta? How are you?"

"Great, we're supposed to go fishing today so Man9oor and 7amdan went to go get fishing gear from

the sheesha ow byrdoon." He explained.

"Allaah fishing!" 79a beamed.

"So wain the rest?" Rashid asked.

"Ay rest? Oh you mean Amoon ow Nawari? Amoon ragda, ow Nawari and I are just having breakfast."

79a explained, pointing at the window.

"You're spying on me?" He smirked.

"Laaa2! Wallah we were just having breakfast! But I'm not going to lie, we were talking about you."

79a winked.

"9DG?!" His face suddenly lit up.

"Yup!"

"Shoo tgooloon??" He demanded.

"Well I wasn’t doing most of the talking. That would be Nawari." 79a el 7mara said.

"Wallah?" He was smiling so wide that the corners of his mouth reached his ears.

"Yeah man!" 79a kept going. "She's going to kill me for this but believe me she likes you. Like, a LOT."

Rashid said nothing, but smiled like an idiot.

"Awww Rashid are you blushing???" 79a teased.

"La sho el rayal doesn't blush!" y3aanid.

"Chathab! You're as red as a tomato! Tra eybayn through the window you know?" 79a laughed.
"SHIT!" He turned his face towards the ocean so it wouldn’t show that he's blushing.

"Hahaha oh my Gosh you guys are so cute!" 79a kept laughing.

"Shut up 79o!" He chuckled.

"Fine but it's your turn to talk now!"

Rashid's eyes widened.

"Yallah," She began. "What are your intentions towards my best friend ha?"

"5aaaiba!" Rashid said. "Ta78ee8!"

"Shut up and start talking!" 79a demanded.

"I do not feel comfortable discussing this with you." Rashid said.

"Comfortable or uncomfortable, che wla che, you're going to talk!" She insisted.

"Wow, dfsha." He teased.

"Lat'3ayer el salfa, I'll get back to you on that dfsha comment but for now you're going to tell me how

do you feel about Nawari!"

"Obviously you're not going to quit, so I'm just going to tell you that …. I'm crazy about her." He said

so fast that 79a barely heard it.

"I knew it!" 79a gasped, trying hard not to scream of joy.

"Wallah! From the moment I laid eyes on her that day at Chilies I knew she was different." He kept

gazing at the ocean, ystarj3 el moment.

"OMG." 79a squeaked quietly trying to keep her emotions from bursting.

"Sure I've known a lot of girls in my life, but that was my past, and I've never felt about any girl the way

I feel about Noora. Not even close." He kept pouring his feelings out.

79a sighed.

"Am I boring you?" Rashid suddenly snapped out of it to see 79a staring directly at him with tears in

her eyes. Maynoona wallah.

"No." 79a shrieked.

"Don't you have a certain best friend waiting for you inside?" He reminded her.

"OH RIGHT! Forgot about that." She realized. "Good talk. See you soon. Oh and have fun fishing."

She said, as she walked back towards the house.

"What was that all about!" I said with my hands on my hips as soon as 79a walked through the door.

"Ha? What?" 79a said stupidly.

"Don’t act stupid 79o now tell me! What happened?" I demanded.

"Nothing!" 79a insisted.

"La wallah? Then what's with all the giggling and stuff?"

"HAHA laa laa Nawari it's not like that!" 79a laughed.

"3yal?"

"You'll thank me someday, oh and by the way, that guy of yours, hold on to him, because not in a

million years you're going to find someone as perfect as him." 79a said so seriously, it scared me.

I just stared at her. What could he have said to her? I wanted to know so badly! Did he tell her how he

felt? What did he say?! I wanted to know! But I know one thing, and that is that I'm really falling for this

guy.

Bittersweet 51

He stood so close, I was afraid he could hear my heart beating. It was beating so fast, so loud,

that it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest any second. I kept my eyes towards the floor.

I was too embarrassed, and too scared to look up at him. I was scared to see what was behind

that gorgeous face of his. Part of me wanted to know so badly, but another part of my just couldn’t.

"6al3eny." He said so softly, almost a whisper.

I was frozen in my seat. He knows I'm scared. He knows I couldn’t look at him. I slowly shifted

my eyes from the floor, to his face that was only inches away looking down at me. I looked up

into his eyes. Honey colored. I slowly let out long breaths. I was getting dizzy….

He suddenly let out a chuckle,

flashing his set of pearly whites. That same smile that my heart couldn’t bear for me to look at.

He lifted up a finger, and placed it on my cheek. A second later, he picked it up. On it, was a tiny

hair. An eyelash. My eyelash.

"Make a wish." He smiled, holding my eyelash in front of me.

I looked at him questionably. Was that it? My eyelash had fallen onto my cheek?

"Yallah." He grinned. "Make a wish."

I smiled back. How could I not? Dama wayed barid. I couldn’t resist. I closed my eyes and

thought really hard. I thought I'd make this one count. I twitched my eyebrows before I finally

came to a decision.

"It's just a wish, Noora." He let out a manly laugh. 7aywan! Laish y'67ak 3aleya?

"5ala9 maba!" I looked away. Awani atdala3 xD

"5ala9 ana asif." He smiled with sympathy.

He held up the eyelash again for me to wish on it. I smiled at him, and closed my eyes. Just as

I was about to open my mouth to blow, I was startled when I heard:

"Sma3t shay ynksr!" 79a's high pitched voice suddenly broke the silent tension. "Awaih!" she

gasped.

My blood froze, and Rashid took a few steps back because he was standing too close, and kept

his eyes towards the floor.

"Wanagoool! Ma estwa 3a9eer hatha!" She said with a slight giggle in her voice and her hands on her

hips. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or get pissed at 79a!

"Hey Rashid." She said, opening the fridge to grab a few juice boxes.

"Uhh.. hey." Rashid said, confused.

"Yallah Nawari, Amoon tetrayana foog." She said, winking devilishly at me. 7mara 79oo!

Once she left, I slapped my forehead in embarrassment and burst out laughing.

"Hay wallah nkta." Rashid chuckled.

"Adreebha!" I giggled.

"HAHA!" We heard a high pitched echo from up the stairs. 7aywana tsma3na ba3ad!

"I guess I better go." I managed to say between giggles.

"Hhh 5ala9 enzain, have fun." He said, lifting me off the barstool with his thick muscular arms

around my waist and placing my bare feet on the cold marble floor.

"See you soon." He said, before he walked out.

"See you." I replied.

I walked aimlessly up the stairs, almost out of breath. When I reached the roof, I sat back down

on my spot as if nothing happened. 79a and Amoon however each gave me weird looks.

"Shoo?!" I finally spoke, but they didn’t answer. They just kept staring.

"WHAT?!" I yelled.

"7mara! Mb hayna!" Amoon replied.

"Shu sawaaait!" I whined.

"Shut up! Mb bess enty 3ndch hot guy n7na ba3ad nba!" 79a giggled.

I blushed.

"7aywana she blushes ba3ad!" Amoon commented. "Aiiih, bgoolch shay."

"What?" I turned towards her.

"I already did it, enzain!" She raised her eyebrows, wath8a with herself.

79a and I fell over laughing till we couldn’t breathe. Habla Amoon!

"Kids." Amoon sighed.