I Come Apart 2

"Ahlain Khalti," I kissed Aunt Nadia's cheek.

"Ya hala ib Noura," she smiled. I could see fine lines on her eyes. She has aged but she will remain beautiful. "Ela entay eshyaybich London?"

"I study here in London! But I'm going home right now because I have a winter break," I said.

"Ohh I totally forgot that you were Hamad's age" She smiled and looked at him.

I looked at the figure standing next to her. Hamad, her son, looked even better than he did before. His shoulders were more broad than they were in High School. His hair was even longer. His teeth were perfectly aligned and his dimple on his right cheek was showing.

"Shlounich Noura?" He asked formally. The way he says my name sends shivers across my body. He does not want to talk to me and I can feel it.

"il7imdilla b5air, winta shlounik?" I asked. I started to get uncomfortable. I don't like it when I feel that I'm not wanted.

"Il7imdilla," he said. 

We said our goodbyes and parted ways. I kept looking at him. He hasn't changed a bit but he didn't seem happy when he saw me. Could he still be mad at me?

Hamad and I were best friends in High School. We were inseparable and our parents tried to separate us into two completely different classes but they couldn't. It wasn't until after our Junior year that Hamad decided to confess his love to me. I, being a stubborn girl, told him that I couldn't do it. I couldn't be his girlfriend. What'd people think about me? I have never had a boyfriend and Hamad was the only friend I had that was a boy. I did have a crush on him at that time but I never thought that he'd pick me. I was literally a tomboy. I never thought that he'd even like me. I always thought that he felt sorry for me because of all of the bullying I got for being a tomboy.

All the girls in our school had a crush on him. He was like eye candy to them. They'd never really want to be in a relationship with him because he told the whole school that he had eyes on one girl only, who apparently turned out to be me.

I've lost my best friend and my secret crush that day. All of our friends sensed that we were no longer talking to each other and all kinds of rumours were spread all around the school. Here we are, three and a half years later, still not talking to each other. Should I apologise to him? Should I try to fix things so we could be friends just like before? I'd do anything just to have our silly conversations back.

The odd man who was with the girl I saw earlier today came through the lounge's doors. He had a hood on this time which made him look like he's up to no good. He made his way through the couches and coffee tables and sat next to Hamad's mother.

I realised that this man was indeed, Nasser. Nasser is Hamad's twin brother. I never really knew him because he went to a different school. Hamad told me that his twin had a mental problem and the school we went to refused to enrol him because they were scared that he'd hurt the other students. He told me he'd get violent sometimes and he wouldn't be able to think anything through.

The flight is in about an hour and I had a lot of time on my hands. I flipped through the magazines that were placed right in front of me and sipped on the orange juice that the kind man served me. A couple of minutes later, Aunt Nadia called me and told me to sit with her and her sons.

"Noura this is Alia, the boys' cousin," Aunt Nadia said. I smiled at Alia and greeted her with a warm hug.

"So Noura, what do you study here in London?" She sipped on her tea.

"I'm studying Psychology," I smiled.

"Oh, that's a very interesting thing to study!" She said, looking at Nasser. I can feel him tense up a bit, maybe because he was mentally unstable?

"I once took Nasser to a psychologist, he attacked each and every one of them," she said.

"MOM," he said. The vein in his head popped and his hands were clenched. I remembered in class my professor said that if a patient of ours gets frustrated, I should try to calm them down by letting them remember any good memories.

"So tell me Nasser, what's your favourite restaurant here in London?" I asked.

Nasser was taken aback and I could see a confused look on Hamad's face. Alia was just sitting there with her mobile and Aunt Nadia was watching us carefully. 

"Uhmm, I really like the Pizzeria in H-H-Harrods," he stumbled over some words, but that was a normal thing to do since I was a stranger to him.

"What do you like most about the Pizzeria?" I smiled. It was also very important for a Psychiatrist to act friendly and calm in front of their patients. It would make them feel more comfortable and it would make them open up more.

"Personally, I really like their garlic bread and I actually hate their Pizza," he chuckled.

"So you only go there for the garlic bread?" I chuckled too.

"Yeah, I think so," he smiled and took the hoodie off of his head.

He had a large scar on his left eyebrow. He also had a stubble and his hair was short and clean. His teeth were straight and his nose was slightly crooked, in a good way.

Aunt Nadia gasped in a low tone and I was the only one to witness her amazement. I really didn't know why she was so shocked, but I really hope that it was a good reason.

For the next forty five minutes, I kept laughing with Nasser and he had this thing in his eyes. It was really hard to explain what it is but I know for sure, that he was happy.

They called us for our flight and we went to the airplane. I was a couple of rows in front of the twins and Aunt Nadia and Alia were seated in First Class. The rest of us were in Business.

The man seated next to me was awful. He kept asking for my name but I kept ignoring him. I literally didn't turn my face when he talked to me. I was getting agitated because of his inappropriate behaviour. He was the same man who tried to hit on me back at the VAT's.

"Lw sama7t, mumken enbadel amaken?" Nasser asked the man. The man surprisingly agreed and they both switched places.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" I smiled.

"Oh it's not for your pleasure, it's for mine," he winked.

I blushed and we started a long conversation that lasted for four hours. I told Nasser that I wanted to sleep for the rest of the flight because I was a little bit tired. He didn't seem to mind since he slept the minute we ended our conversation. Poor thing, he must've been tired too.

I laid down and covered myself with a blanket. Nasser seems like such a gentleman. I wonder why everybody thinks otherwise.

-

Hamad got up from his seat and went to see Nasser and Noura. He was a little bit jealous because they seem to get a long with each other. He shook his head and went to take a stroll around the plane. He passed by Alia's seat hoping he could have a small chat with her but she was too busy watching a movie. He went to his mother who was reading Quran. She put down the Quran and took off her reading glasses.

"Is there something bothering you honey?" She asked Hamad and put her hand on the side of his cheeks.

"Nour-" He said but he didn't continue his sentence.

"Hamad, listen to me. I know you still have feelings for her. I know you loved her way back but she's a grown woman now. If you tried to confess your feelings to her but she rejected it before, what makes you think that she's going approve of it now?" She said.

"I know Mom, but seeing her after all these years, makes me want to forget what was between us and start all over again. I am willing to forgive her for what she has done because I remember how there was no one in our school whose friendship was as stronger as ours," he said.

"She is a very intelligent young girl," Nadia said. "Have you seen the way Nasser reacted when she talked to him? It was like magic!"

"Yes, I've seen the way he looks at her too," he said.

"Hamad! Don't say that! This is the first time I've seen Nasser so relaxed. Do you think that the presence of Noura had an affect on him?" she said.

"Of course it did!" he said.

"Let's tell her to spend every afternoon of her break with Nasser, maybe his personality's going to change," Nadia said.

"6ab3an la2," Hamad gritted his teeth. He surely didn't like the idea that Nasser would spend his afternoons with Noura. It wasn't a bright thing to do.

"Hamad, I am your mother and you should obey every decision I think of," Nadia raised her voice a bit.

"Enshalla yuma, I'll talk to her tomorrow," he said and went back to his seat.