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It’s Abboud’s 13th birthday. His "sleepover birthday parties" are a tradition, and just like every year, the whole gang is celebrating at his house. His mom made two delicious chocolate cakes – one for him and one for the guests, since her son still doesn’t know how to share food – and he got lots of cool presents like the spoiled boy he is. Farooha tries to pull pranks on him all evening but gets scolded by her mom since it’s “Abboud’s special day!” and ends up getting grounded – which makes her brother very happy since he didn’t really wanna play truth or dare with her around -.
Okay, It wasn’t really truth or dare. It was more like dare or dare. Abboud changed the rules cause he didn’t trust them to tell the truth on his uncomfortable questions as he believed they were all “lying bastards”. They just accepted it since they only played this version of the game on the chaotic boy’s birthday and It was kinda fun to see everyone going through his embarrassing dares, to be honest. And well, they could always just give up. Except no, they couldn’t, cause the punishment for “being a pussy” was having to follow Abboud’s orders for a whole week and none of them were dumb enough go through that.
The bottle they’re using spins and lands on Hamood. He looks at the fat boy’s devilish grin and swallows as he prepares himself to eat something gross like cat litter or dance shirtless to a Lady Gaga song while being recorded. The usual humiliating dares. Nothing new.
“I dare you to kiss the prettiest person in the room.” See? Just the usual- No wait.
He wants him to WHAT?
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Hamood feels his face burn, which seems to make Abboud’s smile grow bigger.
“C’mon, I’m trying to help you here! Everbody knows you haven’t kissed anyone yet.” The other guys are laughing in a friendly way and Hamood wonders if they planned this all along. Bastards.
His eyes automatically land on Honey, and he hates himself for it. His palms are sweaty and he hopes no one noticed how he unconsciously looked at the American boy first, but the others seem oblivious to that as they look in the other direction. Sabjah’s direction. She seems a bit uncomfortable, blushing and staring at Hamood with a face that desperately says “please, don’t do this to me”. And he certainly won’t.
His eyes wander to Honey’s face against his will once again, and when the other boy looks right back at him he can feel his heart beating fast as he realizes he wants to kiss him and feel his pink lips on his.
I bet they feel as soft as they look.
Wait, what?!
What is he thinking?? What is wrong with his mind? They’re kinda staring at each other and the atmosphere is weird. He’s taking way too long to say something and the others are starting to give him suspicious looks, he-
“What’s taking you so long?! Just kiss her already!” Abboud’s voice brings him out of his trance.
“I won’t do it!” Hamood says a bit too loud. Everyone gets quiet, staring at him with confused eyes. He just hopes Sabjah doesn’t get offended.
“Dude, you can’t give up” Azzouz looks at him with a puzzled expression "It's your chance to finally kiss someone! And you’ll have to do what Abboud says for an entire week if you don't do it”
Ah yes, he forgot about that. Shit.
“I’m sorry I- I can’t do it. I give up.” His panic is making him lose control of his voice. It sounds unsure and scared when he says it.
Abboud looks disappointed he won’t be able to further embarrass Hamood for a second, but his face lighten up again as he realizes the boy will practically be a slave to his evil schemes for a week.
“It’s okay Hamood, I- We can…” Sabjah looks embarrassed and guilty. She really thinks he wanted to kiss her and it’s making him anxious.
“NO! He made his decision” The fat boy says, still smiling with the possibilities of favors he can ask from his friend. “Let’s just continue the game”
A few rounds go by until the sun goes down and Sabjah has to go home while the boys get ready for the birthday sleepover to really begin. There were no more dares that involved physical touching between the players, and Hamood just prays everyone will eventually forget about the whole kiss situation. During dinner, Abboud talks non-stop about the movie he got at the video rental shop; South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. While all his friends seem excited, Hamood can’t stop thinking about what happened before. His eyes keep betraying him and taking glances over the other side of the table, where Honey eats in content silence. They haven’t really talked to each other since the game, and the kuwaiti can’t help but think about the brief staring contest they pulled against each other during the game. He hopes the American boy didn’t see right through him.
When they’re all done eating, Abboud’s dad takes sleeping pads and mattresses to the living room so they can watch the movie and then sleep. The boys grab their backpacks and start getting ready. Hamood goes inside the bathroom to brush his teeth, and notices Honey is already using the sink as he closes the door. He's already wearing his pajamas; loose pants and a baggy shirt. He took his trademark sunglasses off and Hamood feels lost in his eyes for a moment. They’re green, just like his hair, and look just as soft. There’s a light sunburn in his pale cheeks, not used to the Kuwaiti sun, which gives him a flushed complexion. Hamood’s mouth suddently feels as dry as the desert they’re in.
“Hey” Honey’s voice brings him back to the moment.
“Oh, hey” He feels so awkward now, the fresh memories of the game and the way he decided to give up just so he wouldn’t have to admit Abjah wasn’t the one he wanted to kiss are dancing around his mind. He suddenly forgot what he came to do. A brief, uncomfortable silence fills the air after Honey finishes brushing his teeth.
“So, you gotta do everything Abboud asks of you. For an entire week.” The American boy tries to break the sudden tension in the room, but what he says only makes Hamood feel more nervous.
“Yeah… He’ll probably just want me to help him with one of his schemes.” The taller boy tries to act casual, taking his toothbrush and looking anywhere but Honey’s direction.
“Why did you do that?” The question comes out of nowhere and brings Hamood off guard. His hands are shaking a bit.
Stop acting so nervous goddammit!
“Huh?” The Kuwaiti tries to sound chill, like he doesn’t know what Honey is talking about. Like he is not thinking about opening the door and running away to Egypt.
“Why did you give up the dare?”
Because I wanted to kiss you and it scared me.
“I just…Didn’t want my first kiss to be like that, you know? Right in front of everyone, because of a stupid game.” Hamood feels so stupid right now. He wonders if Honey will think he’s a pussy. “But now I feel like, like I’ve wasted my chance and now everyone will think I’m some loser. Dammit, even Abboud got kissed before, I can’t believe I’m the only one who-
Suddently, he feels a light pressure on his lips as something soft collides against them. Honey is kissing him. He thinks he’s gonna faint, but stands his ground. The kiss is brief and chaste, but leaves Hamood forgetting how to breathe. How to move. When it ends, Honey’s green eyes stare at him with a wave of shock in them, like the boy doesn’t believe what he’s just done.
“Hamood, I-I’m sorry!” Honey steps back and looks to the ground, like he’s trying to shield himself from what the other might do about having his first kiss stolen by a boy.
“Why are you apologizing?" Hamood doesn’t like the vulnerable, scared look in his friend’s face.
“I’m sorry I'm not Sabjah”
Oh no, he really thinks she's the one he wanted to kiss. He won't have that.
“I don’t care” The boy feels like he’s lost control of his own movements as his legs drag him closer to Honey like they’re both magnets with nowhere else to go. “She wasn’t the prettiest person in the room anyways. At least, not to me.”
Hamood is looking directly to Honey with a shy expression, and it takes him a minute to understand the implications of what he has just said. His heart feels like it’s going to melt inside his chest. Is this really happening? Is this real? He tries to think of something else to say, but his body acts faster, kissing the other boy again in an automatic manner, like a natural response. Like it’s the only thing it’s supposed to do right now.
Honey stands still for a second, but kisses back eagerly, like he’s been waiting to do this all day. All week. The thought leaves tingles down Hamood’s spine. He never wants this to end. But a knock on the bathroom’s door breaks the moment, bringing them both back to reality.
“Hey, the movie’s already started!” Abboud’s voice sounds impatient on the other side of the door. “You guys coming or what?!”
The two stare at each other, catching their breath.
"We're coming! Calm down your ass!" Hamood doesn't know how his brain managed to give a coherent answer to Abboud's shouting.
Honey is the first one to really move, grabbing his toothbrush and walking towards the door. Before leaving, he turns to Hamood's flushed face and smiles in a soft way that goes straight to his heart.
"I agree" He says, his voice almost a whisper "Sabjah wasn't the prettiest person in the room. By a long shot."
And then he leaves.
Alone in the bathroom, Hamood looks at himself in the mirror. He's smiling like an idiot.
He doesn't complain once while obeying Abboud's orders the following week.