Where It All Began

"YES!" I shouted as I slammed down a +4 card as we played UNO. The look on Ismael's face was golden as he drew 12 cards in total.

"What an actual beast." Mihirmah murmured after I changed the color to green, fully aware she had not a single green.

"I can't say no to that." I laughed and then got shot a glare from Yusuf.

"No self-shaming" He pointed out blankly and put down his red 5.

"C'mon, that's not fun. Why didn't you keep it green?" I whined, drawing four cards until I could put down a red card.

"Because you suck, and I can do whatever I want." Yusuf smirked evilly.

"So much for shaming."

"Self shaming."

"I can't put into words how much I hate you." I stated, ignoring Yusuf's eye roll.

"I can. Especially after what you did last week. I still can't believe you sent me to Caroline Fisher's house, I was so embarrassed." He shot me a filthy glare as the table erupted into laughs.

It was common knowledge that Yusuf Ali had the hugest crush on Caroline Fisher. Even though he wouldn't admit it, or act upon it as it was indeed haram, it was evident in the change of his demeanor whenever the witch was around.

"Embarrassed, you enjoyed it. I can't believe you blocked me. Fool." I spat out as Safaa, who had been quiet up until then voiced out her concerns.

"Yusuf..." She drawled worriedly.

"Yes, Saf, I know, don't worry about it." He shrugged it off. I stilled. This wasn't just some serious manner. But I knew better than to mix with it.

"Ok, I'm going to the library to study for the english quiz, I'll see you guys tomorrow." I left our lunch table, my mind swirling with a million thoughts and questions, my heart swelling with an uncertainty of how to address them.

///

I poured some sugar into my tea and took a seat at the kitchen island, resuming my report on "The Odyssey" in silence and contemplation.

What the heck was I going to wear for Daneen's engagement? My mom had been nagging me about ordering my clothes off of some Pakistani boutique but I had been putting it off. I had reached the deadline though, of both my report and the minimum shipping time and if I didn't order soon, I'd have nothing to wear.

Finishing up the report, I pulled out my laptop and googled the boutique my mom had recommended, finally landing on an olive green gharara and continuing to checkout. Relieved that I had gotten the last bit of the errands completed, I decided to annoy Daneen herself, who didn't deal with any of it and sent me packing.

It's ok. At least I tried.

Upset I wasn't able to annoy my sister, I decided to text Yusuf instead. I sent him some chicken pun, and I was met with something strange for the  first time in my life.

Leave me alone, I'm busy.

I was shocked to say the least, but I brushed it off thinking, hey maybe he really was busy or something.

Typing back a quiet OK, I decided to get ahead on my math instead of bothering other people.

///

The next day I met up with Yusuf in front of locker to show him my outfit for Daneen's engagement.

"Hey bud, look at this. I spontaneously ordered this last night, but I kind of don't regret it." I went to show him my phone only to realize his eyes were elsewhere. Following his train of sight, only led me one place.

Caroline.

My face hardened. Although, it was only for a millisecond, I could swear that they had been looking at each other. It wasn't a big deal, I reminded myself. But I just didn't want Yusuf to get sucked into the same whole plenty of guys before him had fell into.

Caroline Fisher was notorious in our school for dating guys, convincing them that it was all about them, and dumping them days later.

How could I let my best friend get himself into this sort of mess?

"Yusuf. What are you doing?" I hissed, grabbing his arm and tugging him into a more secluded hallway.

"Ow, let go of me." He glared as he ripped his arm away from my grasp.

"Ever since I gave you the wrong address, you've been acting super shady, and I don't like it a single bit. Especially since most of your shadiness involves that witch, Caroline." I said in exasperation.

"Stop being so judgemental, you don't even know her." He tried to push past me, but I grabbed his shoulder.

"Are you trying to say that you do?" I asked timidly.

"I'm not trying to say anything." And with that he was gone, leaving me to bask in the worry that I might be losing my closest friend to a black hole from which people rarely escaped.

///

"Tell them I was the warmest place you knew, and you turned me cold"- Unknown