You're Drunk

The night sky hung over them with a sense of glee, stars hidden by the pollution smoke, moon visible and glinting over their heads. 

Students were scattered here and there, chatting and laughing, cladded in colourful costumes depicting glamorous fictional characters. A huge stage was set in the middle of the lawn, spot lights sparkling, creating halos on the dark grass. Pole lights further provided the luminosity needed to illuminate the night. 

Hadi and his friends made their way to the stage to partake in the preparations of the catwalk, which until a few minutes ago they had no idea would be taking place. 

Usually Leila and Sasha were the ones who kept track of everything that happened in the college, and any point worth mentioning they would relay to the boys, though Ma'az sometimes happened to know a few things, having heard from here and there. 

Rafay and Hadi stayed disinterested in such matters, considering them too trivial to pay any heed. If it was up to them, they wouldn't even bother to take part in functions and parties held in their college. But you don't always get to do things your way.

"Do I have my Dexter?" Sasha whined, shifting her weight to the other foot, her toes hurting from the pencil heels she wore. Dyed yellow hair split up into two ponytails, a pink miniskirt, knee length white striped, pink socks, Sasha looked extremely pretty, much of what she already was. 

A chest long white beard, hiding the face of the person sporting it, though giving him the look of Dumbledore, with his signature half moon spectacles, and long robes, the boy regarded Sasha with an intense look and said, faking a deep voice. "Patience, darling. All good things come to those who wait."

Leila placed a hand on her hip and gave a sly smile. "Already got your guy, have you?" She was the Mcdonalds clown, looking adorable in her red wig, and round, sparkling, scarlet nose.

"Oh Grindelwald, darling?" The guy said, faking his voice again. "Oh yes. I've waited too long." He added with a wink. "After this we're having a steaaaamy night."

Sasha snorted. "Well good luck to you with that."

"If you guys are done, let us know already if we've got our partners or not." Ma'az interjected, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Didn't you guys have a discussion before wearing these things?" The guy frowned, his beard tilting to a side on his face.

"No. Have a problem with that?" countered Sasha raising her eyebrows. "Now tell me already, does Didi happen to have her Dexter among these people or not?"

"Nope. But we have a Jasmine for Aladdin," he gave a pointed look at Hadi, who had been quiet throughout, listening to the others with patience, not really interested himself, and then the guy skirted his eyes over Rafay, "and . . . a Hermione for Ron here."

Hadi's eyebrows arched up, only slightly.

"Seriously though, you guys didn't discuss with the others what you wanted to be so that you'd all have your respective partners?" 

Leila shrugged. "We didn't know we were supposed to do a catwalk, okay?"

"Oh really, I don't buy that Leila."

"Then don't." Leila rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Shut up, Leila." Sasha said, already getting irritated with the whole situation, and turned to the guy. "So nobody is Dexter?"

"No."

"Who's Jasmine?" Bilal interjected, curious and then hastily added. "And Hermione of course?"

"Rohina Jawwad as Jasmine, and Shanza Fakhir as Hermione. There you go." The guy said, throwing his arms in the air.

Bilal's frowned and averted his gaze.

"Ooh." Sasha commented. 

Leila turned to glance at Bilal but instead her eyes met with Rafay's who had been staring at her. When he didn't look away, Leila shifted slightly and looked away.

Not uneasy himself becuase he didn't really care about the stupid catwalk that didn't even mean anything, Hadi glanced at Bilal, knowing he wouldn't very pleased at the Rohina-Jasmine situation. 

It had been two months since the two had split up and Bilal seemed like he wasn't over it yet. He avoided Rohina like the plague, tensed up whenever someone mentioned her, hissed and snapped when asked how they split up, and got especially weird when Hadi and Rohina were mentioned together. 

Hadi was really getting tired of that part. He might sometime need to sit Bilal down and explain to him that he wasn't interested in going after Rohina and that Bilal was welcome to pine after her for as long as he wanted.

We get it Bilal, it's weird for your best friend to like your ex but since that's not true you can loosen up a little. Hadi gazed at Bilal pointedly, trying to convey his thoughts with just that look, then rolled his eyes when Bilal looked confused.

"It's just a stupid catwalk, you idiot. Relax. I promise I will not pull Princess Jasmine onto a magic carpet ride and definitely will not do all sorts of nasty things to her in the privacy of the clouds," Hadi put his arm around Bilal and winked coyly at him, as if that was exactly what he was going to do.

Bilal scowled and pushed Hadi away, "Fuck off, you bastard."

Hadi simply smirked in reply.

"Come on, all of you find your respective partners, we have to start in half an hour." A senior year student from the Liberal Core department was ushering his batchmates toward the stage, yelling and giving orders for the final preparations.

**~**

Rohina didn't create much of a scene. Just groaned in annoyance and walked with Hadi to get to the stage. 

Bilal had sauntered off somewhere and Hadi didn't see him until they were finished with the catwalk and the play some Liberal Core students were supposed to perform, and now everyone was busy shooting pictures, DSLRs and mobile phones clicking and flashing in the already bright night. Some others were stuffing their empty stomachs with the various assortments of appetizers offered. 

The event was almost coming to an end and the three of them were sitting by the fountain, tall glasses in their hands filled with secretly smuggled in vodka. 

"Where's Sasha?" Leila giggled and immediately put her fingers over her lips, as if surprised she had made that sound. "I can't believe she's missing this."

Hadi licked his lips and tsked, raising his glass up in the air, "I bet she's doing the same right now, but with other people." 

"You guys should stop, I think. You don't want to have too much, do you?" Ma'az's eyes flicked between the two, noticeably anxious, about getting caught or about the drinking itself? Neither of them could really tell. Probably both.

"Ughh, shut up," Leila pouted, "live a little, would you Ma'az. Here have some." She picked up a bottle from beside her and offered it to Ma'az, who was perched down on the floor in front of the two.

"No thank you, I don't drink," Ma'az glared, "and you shouldn't either. Seriously you guys, you're starting to forget already, quit it. Or you'll be completely rat-arsed by the end of the night."

Blowing raspberries at him, Leila jumped down from the edge of the fountain and sat down beside him. "Please, just one sip."

Horrified, Ma'az looked up at Hadi for help and saw that he was staring at something behind his back. He turned around but there was nothing so interesting, just the trees rustling in the wind, faint sounds of excited voices coming from a distance where others were still in the garden, enjoying in their own way. 

Ma'az turned back and almost jumped, Leila had moved closer and was goggling at him, eyes wide and pleading, mouth split up in a toothy grin. Rolling his eyes, he averted his gaze to Hadi. 

"Lost buddy?" 

Upon not getting a response, he raised his voice a notch, "Hadi?"

"Yeah?" Hadi focused his eyes on his friend, feeling a little disoriented. 

"Lost?" Ma'az smirked, "Had too much, did you?"

"No." He shook his head and got up. "Just bored. And yeah, I think I've had enough." 

"Good boy." Ma'az drawled, playfully flicking Hadi's knee.

"I'm going to the lounge, call me when you guys are heading home." Rubbing his eyes with his fingers, Hadi looked down at Ma'az. "Drop me, would you. I don't feel like driving."

"Sure." Ma'az quipped, pushing Leila and her hand away from his face.

Taking the Aladdin cap off his head, Hadi strode away from his friends and made his way round the fountain garden, towards the department building, when he collided into someone just outside the front corridor pillar.

"Shit." He pulled away and saw to his surprise that it was Rohina, dressed in a sea-green Jasmine dress, short hair sticking out from the braid. 

"Oh, it's you." She sniffed haughtily, putting a hand on her hip. "I was just debating to come over myself." Her voice was a little slurry and her eyes seemed distant.

Hadi scowled, "You're drunk."

"I'm not!" Rohina scoffed, "Okay, maybe a little. A little bit tipsy. Anyway, it doesn't matter."

"And what do you want from me?" Putting the cap back on his head, he shoved his hands into his trousers pockets.

"I can't find Bilal," she muttered, her eyebrows furrowing together, "and you too are joined at the hip usually, so I figured you'd know."

"Why were you looking for him?" Hadi narrowed his eyes.

"That's none of your business," Rohina scowled in reply.

"Well, since I'm joined at his hip, I think that makes it my business."

"No, it doesn't. You don't even know why we broke up."

Hadi's jaw clenched and his hands curled into fists as a low wave of anger swept through the fog of alcohol. "Nobody knows that. And anyway, he doesn't want anything to do with you," he snapped.

"Leave that to him, would you." Rohina sneered and sidestepped Hadi. Or tried to.

He quickly slid in front of her again, blocking her way. Rohina's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared as she looked up at him. "What? You infuriating price of shit, what?"

"You can't –" Hadi was cut off as Rohina suddenly stepped closer, grabbed at his shirt and tugged. He was about to protest but then she stood up on her tiptoes and aggressively pressed her lips against his.

Hadi's eyes flew wide open in indignation and he brought up his hands to her waist to push her away but Rohina burrowed closer and tilted her head to deepen the kiss.

An already alcohol addled brain was flushed with sudden pleasure and Hadi unexpectedly tightened his fingers on Rohina's waist. 

Rohina was all insistence and hunger and a sharp taste of vodka as her hands crawled up to his neck and hair and Hadi finally gave in to the pleasure fully, sliding his hands up Rohina's back and pulling her closer yet.

So deeply were they indulged in each other, the two of them didn't notice the flash that sparked in the night, highlighting the mistletoe that hung over their heads, identifying the place as one so popularly recognized as the kissing spot among the students. It wasn't a coincidence, Hadi would know later to his extreme annoyance.

---

Hadi had seen the picture shared with the entire batch of 021 on Facebook. To say he was angry would be an understatement. He was extremely enraged, highly irked, vexed to the extent that he thought that the person behind it, if came in front of him, would definitely be wasted. Not that he was violent, the situation just forced the worst out of him and for a moment while he stared shocked at the picture, he felt his body give a slight tremble honed with rage, and his ears turned hot.

He switched off his phone then, once it started ringing with incoming calls from his friends. Bilal, of course the most persistent of all. Not in the mood to gush explanations for something he hadn't really intended to do and was most probably staged, and knowing that he would have to inevitably face everyone on Monday from where there was no running away, Hadi thought it better to let himself relax while he could. He stayed at the factory for the entire day, aware that if he went home there was Sasha to deal with, and then Bilal might come barging in to demand answers. His growing headache was making him seriously dread the bickering he had coming. 

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