It was Sunday and Danish still hadn't replied to my messages. 

I huffed and tossed my phone on bed after seeing my unread texts and went back to watching 'Peaky Blinders'. I watched Tommy Shelby, taking a drag and walking on the streets of Birmingham in all his glory. But in my mind, it was Danish with his messy hair, tattooed neck and black hoodie. I always wanted to ask him what his tattoo meant.

I paused the series as it was playing for no one and closed the laptop. I laid on my bed and stared at the grey ceiling. 

What happened to him? Why hasn't he replied to my messages? Or even take a look at it? Is he in some trouble?

'Beep'

A notification on my phone pulled me back from my daze. I rolled over to take my phone. Seeing the person from whom I got the text, my face instantly lit up with happiness that I sat straight right away.

Danish : Hey shorty. Sry. I was busy and didn't take my phone all these days. Sorrryyy🥺🥺

I chuckled at the last two emojis. He was cute.

Me : it's ok. I was worried sick. Are you alrght? Wat happnd?

Danish : 😱 Elka forgave me😱 was worried for me 😱aaaaaaaa.... and yes I'm fine😇

Me : stop being dramatic doofus😑😑 and who forgave you? well....not so quick. Make it upto me. I was jumpy for nthng. 

Danish : hang out. Today. Just u and me. You pick the place. 

Me : ok. Sounds cool. 👍👍👍

Danish : pick u up at 5? 

Me : 👍👍

Danish : ok shorty. Be ready. Daddy's gonna come and get u 😜

Me : wtf?????? 😳😳

Danish : sry. I meant Danish. Fuck auto correct. 

Me : yah, that emoji says it all🖕

Danish : 🤣🤣 bye. See ya at 5. 

Me : byeeee

Danish : ♥️

My lips stretched from ear to ear as a goofy grin spread across my face. My cheeks blushed seeing the red heart. I looked at the time on my phone and saw it was already 4:19. 

"Fuck! I didn't even look at the time and just said yes to him."

I sprang out of my bed and went towards the bathroom to freshen up. I usually didn't wear makeup so I got enough time to go downstairs and tell Lily and Zinnia about going out. I mustered up the courage to face them as I could imagine how much they were going to tease me by saying his name. I should probably get used to it from now on. Once again I checked myself in the mirror before putting on my sneakers and climbed downstairs.

Zinnia and Lily were in the living room snacking and watching a movie.

"Where you going?" Zinnia asked upon seeing me all dressed up. 

"I'm gonna hang out with Danish," I said, trying to sound all cool. 

"Date?" Zinnia asked, smirking. 

"Nah, just a hang out. He's gonna make it upto me for not replying to my text all these days. He will be here at 5."

"Did he say what happened?" Lily asked.

"No, I asked him but I think he didn't see that. I don't know. Didn't Andrew tell you anything?"

"No. I asked him and he said it was nothing that we should be worried about. That's all."

"If so, then ok."

"Why don't you wear something nice, Elka?" Zinnia asked, cringing. 

"Oh Zin! It was Lily who would be nagging me saying this shit. Now what's gotten into you?" I groaned. 

I had always hated it when people told me what to wear and not. The party was an exceptional case though. 

"I didn't say anything because I know as a matter of fact that you won't listen to me," Lily said, raising her index finger at me.

I rolled my eyes. 

"Guys, I'm fine with this. This is my style and I don't care about anyone's compliment. And if you're telling me to dress up for Danish, then let me tell you one thing. He likes me in this. And not in some fucking see through shirt and skinny jeans."

"What? Did he tell you that?" Zinnia scoffed. 

I nodded my head. 

"At the party."

"Is he blind or what?" Lily asked, laughing at her lame joke.

"Then Andrew must be brainless, right?" I sneered.

Lily's smile faded while Zinnia didn't scruple to snigger. 

"Don't be late and if so, don't forget to call me or Zinnia," Lily said, just like a mom who got her tongue tied after trying to take her attitude on her daughter, who was a total bitch.

"Also, use protection," Zinnia said, poker-faced. 

I glared at her. 

"What? Wanna get pregnant?," she asked.

"For that, we aren't gonna fuck. Why do you always think of me and Danish having sex? Are you that sexually frustrated?"

"I'm stating a possibility. And also, I can see that guy is always horny when you're near him. He can't keep his hands off you," Zinnia chuckled, making Lily join her. 

I rolled my eyes at them, again. Just then, we heard a horn from outside. 

"Maybe it's Danish," I said as I took steps towards the door.

"But it's just 4:50. He's early," Lily said, looking at the clock hanging on the wall. 

"As I said, he can't wait to keep his hands on Elka," Zinnia said, making Lily laugh and giving her a high five.

I opened the door and saw Danish on his bike with his helmet on his head who waved at me as soon as he saw me. I yelled a 'wait' and turned around to Lily and Zinnia who were stretching out their necks to catch a glimpse of him. 

"He's here. Bye," I said.

"Go and have fun baby," Lily said, smiling. 

I nodded and waved them goodbyes. I stepped out and closed the door behind me. 

I walked towards him. Danish was wearing a black denim jacket over a white t-shirt along with black ripped jeans. And God, he was looking stunningly hot.

It should be illegal to be this hot. 

"Hey," he said, grinning. 

I noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

"Hi. Didn't you sleep?" I asked. 

"What?"

"Your eyes. It clearly says that you didn't get enough sleep yesterday. Were you that busy?"

"Kind of. Let that be anything. Do you have a helmet?"

"Oh fuck!" I facepalmed myself. 

He chuckled before saying, "I knew that you will forget about it. And that's why, I got this for you."

He held out a black front open helmet with a white skull on its side. My eyes went wide with amusement as I let out a chuckle. 

"What? Really?" I asked him.

"Yup. You like it?"

"Oh my God Danish! This is so fucking cool!" I screamed joyfully to which he laughed. "Did you buy this just for today?"

"Who said you're gonna be on my bike just for today? You'll be needing this from now on because you're gonna be with me often," he said, winking. 

"Let's see about that," I said scornfully. 

He giggled and said, "Come here, let me put this for you."

I took a step closer. 

"You have to untie your bun, Elka," he suggested.

"Oh, ok. No prob," I said and untied my messy bun. 

I threw my head back and wobbled after untying it, letting my curls fall over my shoulder. A few strands fell over my face because of the evening breeze. I saw Danish looking at me with a small smile on his lips. He brought his hands near my face and brushed those strands behind my ear. 
My breath hitched a bit when his hands came in contact with my skin. I took an oath that I would get used to this or else I was going to die of a heart attack anytime. After doing so, he was still looking at me. 

I raised my brows to which he said, "You're fucking beautiful."

I'm dead. I'm literally dead. 

My blood, my breath, my skin, my knees, my whole body was in a shamble. But I had to keep up my carefree attitude with him. 

"Yeah, I know. Now will ya?" I asked, pointing to the helmet in his hands and then to my head.

Only God knew how much I was screaming on top of my lungs inside. 

"Yeah, sure shorty," he said and put the helmet on me.

"How do I look? Like a rider, right?" I asked.

"Nope, more like a baby who's gonna cheer her big bro for his baseball match."

Literally a few seconds ago he said I'm beautiful. And then I'm back to being called a baby. A fucking baby!

I glared at him and said, "Fuck you."

"Anytime. But not now. Hop on."

I let out a small chuckle and rolled my eyes playfully before swinging my legs over his bike. 

"Where do you wanna go?"

"Whoopee."

"What? Where is it?"

"Ever heard of Google Maps? They are popular these days," I sassed.

He chuckled and said, "Only you can tell you don't know something without actually admitting it and making the other person gobsmacked."

I chuckled at his remark. 

It was true, I didn't know the way. 

He took out his phone and after a few seconds he said, "Owkay, I got it. Ready?"

"Yeah."

With my response, he started his bike and we rode towards Whoopee.

About thirty minutes later, we reached Whoopee. Whoopee was one of my favorite hang out spots where an ice rink and a bowling arena came together along with a food court. The place opened when I was in middle school. Me and my school friends used to hang out here often. It was a popular and trendy place for the first few weeks after its opening. Then people got bored of it and this became out of trend as the malls opened, which not only had ice rinks and bowling alleys, but also other games. But I didn't get bored of Whoopee and never will. This was never just a spot for me. It was my escape place. 

Danish parked his bike in the parking space and we walked towards the entrance. I smiled and waved at the security guard, a sweet man, who was familiar to me as he was guarding this place from the day it opened. Even though it had been a few years, this man hadn't aged a bit. He waved back and flashed a smile before saying, "Long time no see. How are you?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

He nodded his head. "Have fun," he said. 

I smiled at him and entered the building with Danish following me. 

As I expected, there were only a few people and two or three of them were janitors. I went towards the ticket counter to see a boy that was sitting behind the glass wall. He flashed me a smile and said, "Good morning."

"Ticket for two," I said as I took out my wallet from my pocket. 

He nodded his head and printed two tickets and held it out for me. As I was about to give the money, Danish stopped me by catching my arm and asked, "Really?"

I tilted my head and looked at him for a few seconds before smiling.

"Oh, yes. You're the one who's making it up to me. Ok, go on," I said, taking my arm from his grasp and putting the money back to my wallet. 

Danish smiled before giving the money and taking the tickets from the boy.

"Ok. First bowling then ice rink, if you want, and at last, food. That's the plan," I said, clasping my hands. 

"That's it?" Danish asked.

My smile fell and I asked him, "Then what else do you want?"

"Elka, to be honest, this place looks boring. There are barely any people over here. Let's go somewhere else."

"Danish, you are new here. Wait, you are new to this city in the first place. So don't you think you're quick to judge about this place? This was once the most crowded spot in the city. One day, I literally had to wait for almost two hours to get a ticket. I don't know what happened now but trust me, this place is fun," I said.

He sighed in defeat and said, "Fine. But if it gets boring, I'm out of this place."

"Ok, cool."

We went to the bowling arena and saw a group of boys and girls who all looked around fifteen. Their loud noises dimmed as they saw us. 

"See, there are people. This place is not that boring," I said to him.

He rolled his eyes. 

"Why do you like this place so much?"

"Because I have got some memories. Now stop being a grouch and try to enjoy the moment, Danish," I said. 

He was being annoying with the constant whining and complaining. 

"Ok," he said, seeing my face. "I'm sorry."

I nodded my head.

"Come, let's play," he said, cheering me up. 

We changed our shoes and took place at our assigned bowling lane. I started to type our names in the system. 

"I'll go first and then you, ok?" I asked.

"Yup."

I rolled up the long sleeves of my sweatshirt and took the ball from the rack and stood two inches from the foul line. Danish whistled and said, "You look hot!"

"Gee, thanks!" I said. 

I took five steps back and bowled in which I succeeded with a strike. Danish was surely impressed with the way I bowled like a professional and also how I got all the ten pins knocked down on the first throw. I was indeed a pro at bowling.

"Woah, you're pretty good at this," he complimented. 

"I know."

It was my second chance and again, I got a strike.

Danish applauded saying, "Girl, you are something. "

I laughed at him and said, "Now it's your turn." 

I pointed to the system that flashed indicating his turn. Danish turned his head sideways and saw it saying 'BOZO'.

"What? You entered my name as bozo?" he asked, scrunching. 

I chuckled and said, "Danish or bozo, doesn't make much of a difference. Now play."

He stood on the foul line and bowled in which he got seven pins knocked down. 

He looked at me and pouted to which I chuckled and said, "You have one more chance."

He again bowled and got a spare. 

"Yeah!" I said, clapping my hands.

We bowled for ten more minutes resulting in me achieving the highest scores. Danish was just behind me with his scores. Even though he was a rookie, he managed to get that much, which was impressive. 

We took off the shoes and slipped on our regular ones. We walked to the ice rink and I noticed that Danish was pretty excited about it. 

"Go on. I'll wait for you," I said as I sat down on the bench that was close to the rink. 

"Wait, aren't you gonna skate?" Danish asked as he was about to put on his ice skates.

"I don't know how to skate," I said, shaking my head.

"Well I didn't know how to bowl and still I managed, right? Come on, I'll teach you," he said, keeping his skates down and went to the skates rack. 

He took a pair of baby pink skates along with a baby blue helmet, even though there were other colors. 

He walked towards the bench and stood in front of me, holding up both the skates and helmet and grinned at me.

I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes at him.

"What's with those colors?" I asked.

"Baby blue and baby pink for a baby. You're gonna give off some baby vibes," he said and chuckled. 

I rolled my eyes. 

"Come on, you're gonna look cute," he said as he kneeled in front of me and began to take off my sneakers. I was gaping at him. 

How can someone be this down to earth? 

He put on those skates and the helmet for me and looked at me smiling, still on his knees. 

"What?" I asked him.

He took out his phone and flicked a picture, for the second time. 

How does this guy do it at lightning speed? 

"Hey!" I snapped.

He chuckled and sat on the bench beside me, putting on the skates and the helmet. After doing so, he stood up straight away. 

This guy has got some balance, I see.

He stood in front of me and held out his hands. 

I looked at him and seeing my hesitating eyes, he said, "Trust me. I'll catch you if you're gonna fall."

I took a deep breath and took his hands in mine. He slowly helped me stand up and balance. I was usually clumsy as fuck that didn't have balance even without any skates. Then just imagine what was going to happen when I literally had wheels under my foot?

We slowly entered the rink, Danish guiding me and I grasping onto him as if my life depended on him. He turned around facing me and slowly skated with me in his hands. 

"First, try to balance," he said.

I nodded my head and balanced myself. Suddenly I tripped a little but Danish was quick to catch me, keeping his word. 

"Easy, easy. Take your time," he said.

After seeing that I have got balance, Danish let go of my hands. I looked at him with my eyes wide. 

"It's fine. You have got balance. Now try to skate," he said, motivating me. 

I nodded my head slowly and began to skate.
Danish was still in front of me, ready to catch me if I was going to fall on my face. 

"I got it," I said, smiling widely. 

"Yes! That's my girl," he said, cheering me on and then began to skate. 

My girl?

I watched him skate like a pro. He was skating so smoothly and also spinning as if he was on Art on Ice. He really was a dab hand at this. 

After some time, I began to catch up. I smiled to myself and called Danish who was a bit far ahead of me. 

I said as he looked at me, "Look, I'm a pro now."

He chuckled and gave me a thumbs up.

"I can do the spin," I said.

"No, you're not ready yet," he said, shaking his head.

"Oh, I can! Watch me," I challenged and took a spin. 

The next thing I remember was that I was on my butt on the rink. The pain on my butt was excruciating as fuck along with the coldness of the ice that was creeping up my ass. 

Danish instantly came next to me and stood with worry in his eyes. I raised my head and looked at him. Scrunching my nose, I said in tiny, "I think my butt is paralyzed. I can't feel it."

He tightly pressed his lips together, restraining himself from laughing. 

I narrowed my eyes at him but seeing his face, I let out a chuckle. Danish bursted into laughter, holding his tummy and I laughed along with him. After a few minutes of falling about, he said, "You are a fucking mulish with a paralyzed ass."

"Yeah, fine. Laugh, you fucker. But before that, help me get up. It feels like needles are piercing my ass."

"Oh, I'm not gonna let any fucking needles to pierce those peachy ass," he said, cooing me.

I rolled my eyes playfully and reached out my hands for his which he took. 

While he was trying to get me up, the blades of his skates slipped and there, master Danish fell on his face. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand while looking at Danish, who was lying on my side. He sat himself up on his elbows with a grimace face. He cracked his neck before looking at me and saying,"You're an adorable troublemaker. Thanks for coming into my life."

I couldn't help myself throwing my head back and laughing, pinching his nose. He was a bit taken aback with my sudden affection but what to do? 

He was so cute that made me do these things involuntarily. He made me smile and laugh even if he annoyed and teased me. He made me feel special and took care of me as if I was a baby which I kind of liked. He made my heart flutter and sometimes skip a beat. He made me feel things that I hadn't felt in my life. 

Whenever I was with Danish, my phobia never crossed my mind. The fear I used to have when I was alone and under the covers at night and thinking about my love life, never crossed when I was with him. Instead, all I felt was warmth and comfort. And I was loving this feeling that I hoped would last forever. Maybe I was not a philophobic as I believed I was...

Euphoria
Take my hands now
You are the cause of my euphoria