"Love is the only plane that has no parachute. Once you fall ... you fall hard".
Anonymous .
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Nawal's eyes flicker with some unknown emotion as she listen to Asad speak before he fell unconscious.
'He is just speaking nonsense because he is intoxicated'... a voice inside Nawal's head spoke.
She used all the strength she had in her to pick up Asad and place him back on the chair.
When she was done , she picked a book and sat opposite him. She had to keep herself busy in order not to think about what he said.
'He doesn't mean it , he is just intoxicated that's why he is saying all this'.. she told herself.
Other than that , she didn't want to get attached to anyone be it guy or girl, she can't stay here for long even if she wanted to.
Besides she had her own life to handle and a man would be the least of her problems now.
Especially a man who is lost and hasn't found himself yet.
Her breathing became uneven as she thought of how her life was.
Her tears did not hesitate to stream down and began to stain the book she was reading.
'Will things ever get easier for me?' ... she thought
***
Asad regained consciousness but felt like he was dreaming.
His eyes darted with confusion as he stared around.
'How did I get here?' ... he thought as he looked forward and instantly became shocked.
"Nawal?"... he became confused again.
"How did I get here?"... he asked her and she simply shrugged in response.
He tried to remember what happened before he passed out but his head gave him nothing.
The only thing he remembered was him searching for money and heading to the liquor store.
He heaved a sigh as he placed his hand on his forehead and he observed how mild his headache was.
He then noticed his wounds have been treated but how?
He stared at how they were neatly covered with bandages , he then stared at Nawal.
"You did this?"... he asked and she nodded in response.
"Thank you"... he said as he felt this warmth in his heart.
"I hope I didn't say anything while I was intoxicated"... He asked.
"Well... nothing too serious" ... Nawal shrug.
"Oh we-.." Asad was cut off by Anas who rushed in.
"Asad, there you are"... he was wet from the rain.
"I have been looking for you"... Anas lied. He knew Asad was here the whole time. He watched Nawal tend Asad's wounds and listened to Asad voice out what's in his heart to Nawal.
He was just waiting for Asad to regain consciousness so that he will ruin things for them.
Asad recognize the guy.
It was the guy who had no respect for women.
"I did as you said. I gather a lot of information about her"... Anas pointed at Nawal and narrowed his eyes.
Nawal looked at Anas then Asad and stared back at Anas again, waiting to hear what he is going to say.
"What are you talking about?"... Asad was not in the mood for Anas' games.
"She is a gold digger and likes to get into big men's pants"... Anas spoke making Nawal angry.
"What?"... Nawal stated as she stares at Asad.
She walked up to Asad "Stay away from me"... she stated as she walked out of the library.
"What have I done to deserve this"... Asad slightly raised his voice as he walked towards Anas.
"I just feel like strangling you till you die"... Asad thought of how it will look if he actually does.
"Stay away from me , if you have any love for yourself" ... Asad warned as he walked to his hostel and retreated for the night.
The next morning, Asad woke up and found Anas watching him like a hawk.
"Are you insane or what?"... Asad jerked him and pushed him far away from him.
"Ouch"... Anas hit his bum when he landed.
"What's your problem?" ... Asad asked as he stood up from the bed and headed towards Anas.
"I told you already, I want to be your friend"... Anas stood up and that's when he noticed Asad was taller than him and bigger than him to.
"Friend my foot, get out of my room before I take you out myself"... Asad order but Anas did the opposite instead.
He sat on Kamal's bed and made himself comfortable.
That act alone made Asad become very angry.
How can someone be this stubborn and annoying.
"If you are wondering how I got in, Kamal let me in. I told him we were paired up for a project which will really boost both our grades and he let me in"... Anas smiled.
"Good , now get out!"... Asad yelled.
"You want us to fail?"... Anas dramatically gasp.
"I wasn't lying about the project, I got us paired up yesterday when you did not attend your classes".... Anas grinned.
"God!".... Asad ran his fingers through his hair.
Clearly frustrated.
"Yeah I know , I am amazing right"... Anas fanned himself and fluttered his eyes like a teenage girl in love.
"What am I going to do now"... Asad heaved a sigh.
"I don't know for you. Maybe take a shower or act normal for once."... Anas replied.
" I wasn't asking for your opinion"... Asad snapped and decided to leave the room.
If he stayed here, this guy will drive him crazy.
He took some clothes and headed towards the bathing suite. He hung his things at top edge of the door and quickly took his bath.
When he was done taking his bath , he couldn't find where he kept his towel or clothes .
"How great"... Asad cursed out loud.
"Are you looking for these"... Anas voice caught Asad's attention.
"What the f*** , are you following me?"... Asad wanted to scream.
"Is this how tiny your waist is"... Anas ignored Asad's question and was checking out his undergarment instead.
"Give me that".... Asad snatched his clothes out of Anas hands.
He rapped his towel around his body and went straight too his hostel.
Anas followed him but as usual he could not catch up to Asad's pace.
As soon as Asad entered his room, he waited for Anas to come a little bit closer then he banged the door on Anas face.
"Possessed Idiot".... Asad cursed as he wore on his cloths.
"Asad why did you bang the door on me".... Anas banged on the door.
"Quit following me , are you gay?".... Asad asked but got no response .
He needed to go and apologize to Nawal for this Idiot's lies.
'The way she looked at him with an angry face made her cute though '... he thought.
He heaved a sigh and began to dress.
When he was done, he took his notepad and opened the door only to find Anas well dressed and waiting for him.
"Were you going through labor or something, I went to my own hostel and dressed and even came back and waited for you"... Anas stated.
Asad simply pushed Anas asideand walk pass him.
He decided he will just ignore him till he leaves.
"Hey , wait for me"... Anas jogged to catch up to Asad.
Soon the duo made it to class. Well , Asad entered first and Anas entered after a few seconds .
Asad saw a free seat opposite Noor and sat besides her , not wanting to sit with Anas.
Noor features were calm as he stared at her.
Unlike Nawal... Noor was a full Nigerian.
Anas took a seat behind them and began to bug both of them.
"Do you know that Asad told me he loves you".... Anas whispers to Noor.
"What?"... she looks at Asad.
Asad simply hiss in response as Anas continues to feed Noor with his lies.
After classes were over. Asad went to the cafeteria and headed straight to Kamal's table.
"Why did you let this PSYCHO into my room".... Asad laid emphasis on 'psycho' . He was already pissed off and irritated by Anas' actions .
Kamal shrug as he munched on his fries "He said you guys have a project or something like that"
Asad remained speechless.
"Sit and eat something instead of complaining about spilled milk"... Kamal ordered and Asad simply obeyed.
Kamal ordered for Asad food and Asad began to munch on it.
He didn't realize he was hungry till now.
Shortly afterwards, Anas spotted Asad in the cafeteria and joined him.
"There you are"... Anas smiled, just to annoy Asad and it was working.
"So guys..." ...Anas stirred up a conversation in which Kamal and his other friends joined.
Except for Asad, as usual .
His mind wondered off to someone else.
Nawal.
'Is she still angry with me?'... he thought.
'Will she believe this mad man's words?'... his thoughts started going far while that's not till Kamal spoke.
"Asad".... Kamal's voice brought Asad back to reality.
"Let's go"... he gestured Asad to stand up and that's when Asad noticed that the group of friends had all left.
Asad stood up and followed Kamal.
They stopped in front of a car.
Asad gave Kamal a questioning look.
"Drifting buddy"... Kamal wiggled his eye brows as he got in.
Asad heaved a sigh before getting in.
"Can you drive?"... Kamal asked.
"No"... Asad replied.
"Then you have been missing out on life"... Kamal turned on the ignition and roared the life out of the car then zoomed out of campus.
"Whose car is this anyways?"... Asad asked.
"Anas stole it for us"... Kamal chuckled.
"What! Anas stole it??"... Asad eyes widened.
"Chillax, there is a first time for everything couz and besides Anas is a cool guy. I don't know why you don't like him".... Kamal stepped on his accelerator and drove faster.
Soon they arrived at the venue and met the twins and his two other friends along with Anas in other cars.
Kamal rolled down his window and faced Anas by his left with his two other friends and the twins by his right.
"Ready?"... Anas asked as he warmed up the car.
"Set"... Kabir , one of the twin asks.
"Go"... Kamal hit the accelerator and they started their race through the city of Lagos.
Asad who was by the side was take aback by the sudden speed of the car , he felt like he was going to throw up.
Kamal was taking the lead in the race, he went through one sharp bent and hit the break then quickly stepped on the accelerator and immediately turned the staring wheel making the car do a 360 degrees.
"You want to kill us?" Asad's breath became uneven.
"We haven't started anything yet"... Kamal was driving on full speed on the empty road.
Anas tried catching up to his speed but Kamal couldn't be caught up to.
Once they were done with a lap , they all stopped in front of a big restaurant.
The group of friends dine and chatted as the night went by.
Asad also enjoyed the night, not because of the people there but because of the meal.
He let his guard down and drank till his vision got blurry and that's how the night went by for all of them....
"Asad"... he heard a faint voice.
"Asad wake up , we are going to be late for class"...the voice became more clear.
It was Anas.
"What do you want for crying out loud"... Asad spoke , he wasn't ready to get out of bed.
Wait... how did he get back?
He instantly sat up and looked around, he was indeed in his hostel.
He checked Kamal's bed and met him comfortably sleeping like school was over.
Asad stretched his limbs as he gets out of bed. He does his morning routine and heads to class , Anas trailing behind.
Classes went in a blur with a few lectures and tests here and there and they were done.
Asad had no strength to fight Anas so he let Anas lead the way to the cafe , where they did their project.
"Where do you get all this money from?"... out of curiosity, Asad asked as he saw Anas counting bundles of money.
"Well, from my dad. I like to call him big boss"... Anas grin at the thought of big boss being his dad.
'It would be so weird'... Anas thought.
Asad remained silent as Anas continue to make some researches.
They used a long time to compile and gather facts but when they were done, they shared the project into two.
Thunder strikes outside causing the duo looks up. It than began to rain heavily.
Nothing calms Asad down more than the rain does.
"I am going to take my leave now... alone"... Asad stated to Anas. Emphasizing on the 'alone'.
He loved spending time alone in the rain and didn't want Anas to come with him .
"You can't go out in this rain, you will fall sick"... Anas stated.
"Who cares"... Asad shrugged as he headed towards the door.
"Take one of the umbrellas , I will pay"... Anas points at the bunch of umbrellas that was close to the door.
"Okay"... was all Asad stated . He picks up one and heads out.
He walks through the campus, enjoying the rain under the umbrella.
He just wants to throw away the umbrella and allow the rain soak his clothes in which he will but not now .
He walks a little bit longer and spots Nawal close to the library staring at the rain.
She places her hand into the rain but was quick to remove it . She then cleans her hand and starts shivering in the process.
Asad gently walks towards her and stares at her.
He could never get enough of her unearthly beauty yet he caught a quick glimpse and look away.
Nawal frowns and tears her gaze away from him as well.
"I am sorry".... He says but she ignores him.
"I mean it Nawal. Anas spoke nonsense that day. He was just trying to make me angry"... Asad explained in which she still ignored.
He didn't know why he was explaining himself to her, it's unlike him yet here he was, standing under the rain, silently pleading with her to look at him.
"Please look at me Nawal"... it came out as a plea.
'Why am I so desperate?' ... Asad thought.
"Look , I didn't mean whatever I said that day . I was intoxicated and Anas didn't mean it either. Please believe me"... he said under his umbrella.
He knew he must have said something to her but he couldn't remember what it was.
***
Nawal looked at Asad as he spoke. She felt a bang in her chest due to his statement.
'He didn't mean a single word he uttered ?'... she became disappointed but why?
She wasn't sure.
"Here..." he handed her his umbrella and let the rain wet him. She stared at him with wide eyes due to his offer.
'Does he want to fall sick or something?'... she thought inwardly.
"Don't worry about me, I like getting wet in the rain"... Asad shrugged as he waited for her to carry the umbrella from him.
She didn't look convinced yet she still held the umbrella. Unknowingly in the same place where he held and felt the fire from his touch burn through her pale white skin.
She stared into his cloudy gray eyes as he releases the umbrella for her to get into , in which she did then smiled in the process.
She suddenly felt shy and stared away.
Where did all her anger go to?
Asad walked closer to her and gave her a timid smile revealing his deep dimples.
She also walked closer and place the umbrella under them.
It was then she realized that she was so tiny under his gaze.
He took the umbrella from her and held it up for the two of them when he noticed her struggle.
She felt like his gaze was piercing into her soul and reading her every thought.
She wanted to hold her gaze and keep on looking at those innocent cloudy eyes but her shyness took over and she looked away.
Meanwhile, Anas stood by the corner with Big Boss watching Asad and Nawal display their childish love.
"The young guy is falling "... Anas stated.
"I want her out of his life for good"... Big boss said.
"Why?"... Anas couldn't understand big boss at times
"He has already started changing. He is smiling and being happy and I don't want that".. Big boss stated with a gruff voice.
Anas just remained silent, not knowing what to say.
"I want him to be like me".. Big boss voice was low.
'You mean a psychopath or an obsessed freak?'.... Anas wanted to say but bit his lips to prevent him from saying it.
He couldn't help but pity Asad.
As long as big boss is alive, he won't let Asad live a normal life. He wonder how Asad's life is going to be when he grows older than this.
He wasn't a fan of all this but who was he to talk. All he could do was take orders from big boss and obey if not he will get killed.
He was just a puppet to big boss and he had no right to judge.
"I need him confused, I need him angered, envious, I need you to make his life miserable. He has to pay for his father's sins".. Big boss clenched his fists by the side as he angrily looks at Asad.
Asad was a male version of Aneesa.
He looked nothing like Suhail.
'Aneesa , you chose Suhail over me. I promise to make your son's life a living hell'... Big boss swore to himself.
"And... get rid of that girl"... Big boss ordered before getting into his car and driving away.
"You won't want to be her when you find out the truth about her Asad"... Anas sadly stated to himself as he watch the duo under the rain playing Cupid.