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M A R I N A

She pushed through the crowd of students to reach her class on time. Her wrist came in her line of sight and her watch indicated she was five minutes late already.

Marina finally reached the hall and passed the threshold, her eyebrows raising due to the fact her professor - the most punctual man she'd ever met - still hadn't arrived.

She scanned the seats for an empty one until her eyes landed on Shahroz who was shyly waving at her to come sit next to him.

She made her way to the empty seat and sat down. She turned to look up at him to greet him but he was already staring at her. She suddenly felt self-conscious.

"Why are you looking at me like that?", her eyes turned into slits, "Is there something on my face?" She brought her fingers to her right cheek.

He tilted his head slightly to the right, giving her a boyish grin before shaking his head.

"Nope. There's nothing." His gaze didn't waver and his eyes sparkled.

"O-okay.. " She brought her supplies out. She could still feel his eyes on her.

"May I ask what your problem is?" She crossed her arms and looked up at him, her gaze challenging.

He looked like he got caught off-guard.

"I-I was just staring at the bird outside the window.." He scratched the back of his neck.

She turned around and huffed.

"There's no fucking bird outside any fucking window." He could sense by her tone that he was getting on her last nerve.

But he's Shahroz.

He'd still do it.

The professor still hadn't arrived and she sighed, her elbow placed on the table and her hand cradling her face. The class was filled with noise pollution by the rest of the students so nobody heard them. She noticed in her peripheral vision that he was still staring at her.

"What the fucking fuck is wrong with you?!" She grabbed his collar and came face-to-face with him, his pupils dilating by a notch.

He looked down at her hands holding his collar, before looking up at her and smirking.

"Kinky." He winked and a pink colour appeared on both of her cheeks before she pushed him away.

"You're unbelievable." She crossed her arms and looked away. He could tell she was fuming with anger now.

"Hey", he voiced and she turned around, his serious tone capturing her, "there's actually an eyelash on your face."

She huffed, "Why didn't you tell me that before?" She asked rhetorically as she brought her fingers to the region he pointed on her cheek in an attempt to remove it.

He shook his head, "It's still there." She moved her fingers further and he shook his head again.

"Here", he came closer, "I'll help you." He whispered to her due to the close proximity.

She nodded reluctantly. She wanted to get this over with.

He brought his face down to her level and tilted his head slightly, his eyes zooming straight to the region on her right cheek.

He brought his hand near her face and cradled the left side, his hold gentle. His thumb brushed her soft skin in the most feather-like of touches.

She looked down, her long eyelashes which were supposed to touch her cheek touched his thumb instead and she looked up immediately, their eyes meeting.

It was hazel against green.

Broken against healing.

Hard against soft.

Their little moment was interrupted by the sound of a loud bang and the bench slightly vibrating, indicating someone else also took a seat nearby.

Marina pulled away and fixed her hijab. She grabbed her pen and got ready for the class.

Little did she know there wasn't any actual eyelash on her face.

Shahroz awkwardly ran a hand through his hair. He felt disappointed with himself.

How could he touch her like that?

He bit his bottom lip and prepared his notes. He realised it was getting harder for him to control himself when she's around.

His heart suddenly felt uneasy. What if he loses control and hurts her one day?

He turned to his left discreetly and glanced at her for a brief second. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he would rather kill himself than want to hurt her.

He knew that if they weren't interrupted, he wouldn't have wasted a second in kissing her and showing her what he felt for her.

'But that's haram.' A voice in his head said and he sighed.

He knew he couldn't just go around and touch her with these intentions. He respected her too much to do anything like that.

He decided he wouldn't touch her again like that.

Even if he loses control.

He would use the last ounce of his willpower to not do something that would lead him and her to anything haram.

The sound of a very familiar voice broke him out of his reverie. Both of them turned around to the source of the voice.

Shaheer.

He was sitting next to Marina and she looked slightly uncomfortable and scooted closer to Shahroz.

'Oh God, why?' He thought as she came closer to him. He closed his eyes tightly, thinking that might prevent him from hyperventilating.

A sudden thought hit Shahroz and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Shaheer?" his brother hummed in response, "You didn't take the Endocrinology course. What are you doing here?" He asked and his brother gave him a sly grin.

"How can I miss a good opportunity to be with both of you at the same time?" He said in his usual sinister tone and Marina sighed tiredly.

The professor had arrived and all students were quiet and ready to start the class, the noise dying down.

Marina zoned out in the middle of the class, her eyes set on the smart board as she thought of one thing.

'When will I meet my future husband?'

Her family had been worried for a while now. Her brother's engagement is soon and she still hadn't found a man.

She zoned back in when she felt someone tapping her shoulder and knew who he was.

"What?!" She turned around and sent Shaheer a death glare. He shrugged and she turned back around.

He had been bugging her throughout the class and she looked helpless. Shahroz noticed that and decided to text her, making sure Shaheer didn't notice that he's talking to her.

hey do u wanna switch seats?

She felt her phone vibrate and unlocked it, her face breaking out into a smile despite the situation.

But then he'll bother you..

She looked up at him once she sent the text, him giving her a sad smile to which she did the same.

It's fine. I can deal with him. I don't want him to hurt you again.

She looked up and nodded. It's better to switch now than let a fight happen between both brothers mid-class.

They made sure the professor turned around and swapped seats. She gave him a soft smile and mouthed 'thank you' to which he gave her a playful wink in return.

He would never let anyone hurt his Maria.

Ever.

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