The Date

★Asif's POV★

The loud ringing of my alarm was the first thing I heard that morning. My eyes fluttered open slowly, trying to adjust to the daylight creeping through the windows. For a moment, I was confused. Why the hell did I set my alarm so early on a Saturday?

Then it hit me.

Today is the day.

I sat up in bed. My heart thudded against my chest. The thought of hanging out—no, going on a date—with Ayesha was both exciting and nerve-wracking.

Dragging myself out of bed, I stumbled into the washroom and splashed my face with cold water. It helped me wake up… but didn't do much to calm the butterflies in my stomach. After brushing and taking a quick shower, I wrapped myself in a towel and headed toward the kitchen.

To my surprise, my dad was already up, sipping tea at the table while flipping through the newspaper. He looked up and raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised to see me awake.

"Is anything wrong? You don't usually wake up this early on weekends," he asked.

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "Uh… not really. I'm just… going to hang out with some friends today."

It wasn't a lie. Just… not the full truth.

Dad gave me a warm smile. "That's great! About time you enjoy your weekends like normal kids. I'll whip something up for breakfast, you get dressed."

He stood up before I could protest. There was a strange sense of pride in his tone. I just nodded and headed back to my room.

Standing in front of the mirror, I stared at my reflection. It was go time.

I wore a simple white t-shirt and clean blue jeans. Over it, I layered a denim button-up jacket that Sajim recommended—it was kind of oversized, kind of cool. After a bit of hesitation, I laced up my new white-and-red sneakers.

I wasn't exactly fashion-forward, but this was the best I could manage.

"Not bad," I mumbled, smoothing down my hair. Then again, I looked at my face. Still average. Still me. But somehow today, I felt a little more confident. Maybe it was the occasion. Maybe it was the fact I actually got a girl to agree to go out with me.

Back in the kitchen, my dad served breakfast—a homemade sandwich with a poached egg on the side. I didn't expect this, honestly.

"Wow, thanks," I muttered, sitting down.

"You look good today, Asif. Hope your friends appreciate the effort," he said with a grin, sipping his tea.

I nearly choked.

"Y-yeah. Friends. Right."

After scarfing down the breakfast and thanking my dad again, I grabbed my phone, wallet, and the little breath mint I stuffed in my pocket and left the house. The streets were already buzzing with life, but my mind was somewhere else entirely.

I reached the train station by 9:20 AM.

Too early.

Way too early.

I looked around—there were a few commuters, some shopkeepers opening up, but definitely no sight of silver-haired angel. Feeling awkward just standing at the gate like some lost kid, I walked to a small tea stall nearby and ordered a cup of black tea.

The warm liquid didn't help my nerves.

Tick tock… 9:45… 9:53… 9:59…

And then—she appeared.

As if the sky cracked open and light descended.

Ayesha.

She wore a soft beige dress with a floral print that danced slightly with the breeze. Her signature silver-dyed hair was tied in a loose braid over one shoulder, and there was a subtle pink tint on her cheeks. My breath caught in my throat.

Is she even real?

She waved at me with a bright smile as soon as she spotted me. I felt my legs freeze, but somehow managed to walk toward her.

"Sorry, Asif! I'm late."

Late? It was exactly 10:00 AM.

I shook my head, forcing a nervous smile.

"No, no. I just came early… like way early."

She giggled softly. I was dead. That laugh was too cute.

"Well, I'm glad you waited."

I nodded like a robot. My brain had already fried.

We started the day with the movie, just like we planned. The theater wasn't too crowded since it was a morning show. We watched a romantic comedy—Ayesha's pick.

Not going to lie, I barely followed the first fifteen minutes. I was too aware of her sitting beside me. Too aware of the faint smell of her perfume. Too aware of how her fingers played with the hem of her dress when she laughed softly at the jokes.

But then, I started to loosen up. We whispered short comments during the movie, giggled at the same scenes, and at one point, our hands brushed when we both reached for popcorn.

I thought I was gonna faint.

She didn't pull away. Just smiled.

After the movie, we headed to a nearby rooftop café Sajim suggested. It was simple, but cozy.

Ayesha ordered pasta, and I went for chicken fried rice because, well… I wanted to play it safe.

We talked more during lunch—not only about the movie, but also about school, teachers, favorite songs, weird classmates , and somehow ended up laughing until our stomachs hurt.

There was a point I accidentally spilled some water while refilling her glass. My hands were shaking too much.

She just smiled and said,

"At least you didn't spill the whole bottle."

I wanted to sink through the floor.

But she was cool about it. Too cool. Like she wasn't even trying.

After lunch, we walked around the nearby market. She wanted to check out some earrings from a street stall. I mostly just followed her around, trying not to look like a bodyguard.

"What do you think? Too shiny?"

she asked, holding up a pair of dangling silver hoops.

I blinked.

"Uh… n-no. Looks good."

She smiled.

"Good enough for a second date?"

I almost dropped my soul.

"Y-yeah…" I stammered. "Definitely."

She laughed and put them back.

"Just teasing."

Was she though?

Well, I didn't want to ignore her interests, so I asked the shopkeeper to pack them up. Obviously, I paid for that.

She was surprised as I hand over the packet to her.

" Thanks for the gift." She giggled.

I nervously looked away.

The day passed faster than I thought. Too fast.

As we returned to the station area, a black car pulled up in front of us. Ayesha's ride.

"Thank you, Asif. Today was really fun."

I scratched the back of my head, trying to form a sentence.

"I-I wish we could hang out more..."

I said it before I could stop myself.

Ayesha blinked, then smiled, her cheeks tinting pink.

"Well… I don't mind." she replied softly.

Before I could even react, her driver stepped out to open the backseat door. She turned around again.

"See you soon?"

I nodded furiously.

She gave a small wave from the car window as it pulled away.

And just like that, she was gone.

I stood there, my feet glued to the ground, my heart still thumping hard.

That… was a date.

That happened.

As I slowly walked back home, I didn't even care how goofy my smile looked.

For once, life didn't feel so grey anymore.