(HUGE CREDITS TO MY BESTIE WHO LITERALLY DREAMT ABOUT THIS IDEA)

Friday.

The air crackled with a familiar excitement as you and Kaveh prepared to join the rest of your friends at Alhaitham's house for a much-anticipated pool party. You'd been a tight-knit group since that fateful group project months ago, the camaraderie forged in late-night study sessions and shared laughter.

As you walked towards Alhaitham's house, a strange sense of anticipation, bordering on unease, settled over you. Alhaitham, usually so meticulous and in control, seemed strangely… distracted. He fumbled with the directions, leading you both down a series of increasingly unfamiliar streets.

The awkward silence that followed was punctuated only by the rhythmic thud of your footsteps. And then, you felt it – his fingers intertwining with yours. Your heart leaped into your throat. He, however, remained eerily calm, his gaze fixed on the distance, as if the casual act of holding your hand was the most natural thing in the world.

You arrived at his house, the rest of the group already there, their laughter a stark contrast to the lingering intensity between you and him. As you joined the party, the memory of his hand in yours, warm and surprisingly firm, continued to haunt you. Had he gotten you lost on purpose? Was this a deliberate move, a silent declaration of something more than friendship? The question hung heavy in the air, a baffling mystery that only deepened the simmering tension between you.