Ola had rolled her eyes for the 15th time that evening. She had been counting in her head because of how bored she was from what she was seeing, as well as hearing.

Freda, though, was enjoying herself more than she should have. She had a sharbat* glass in her hands and a smile on her lips, talking to people she didn't even know as if she was the one that had arranged this whole exhibition.

Her reason for the popularity had something to do with the artist himself, who had shaken hands with the woman at the entrance when Freda and Ola had come inside of the hall. His infatuation hadn't left them at all even when his presence had been left behind at the entrance when the two women walked forward and over to the art pieces.

Ola was annoyed somehow, even when she didn't want to be. She was annoyed because the sharbat was damn good, and that even the drink was taunting her about how she had lost her red-headed companion to the artist.

The red drink was as bittersweet as what Ola had been witnessing all along in the half hour they had been there.

Faiq Raza had chivalrously swiped himself into the conversation that Ola and Freda had been having. A smile playing on his lips as he looked at Freda a little too long.

There had been warning signs going off in Ola's head then, but that was just because of the sirens I had placed right beside her ears. Even Ola wasn't sure why alarms were going off around her even when everything around her was calm.

"You are خوبصورت." (Beautiful, pronounced Khoob-soorut)

Ola had frowned as the man had extended his hand out towards Freda again. "We already met at the entrance." The brunette had spoken out annoyed that the man had interrupted on whatever Freda was explaining about the painting they were viewing.

Faiq's eyes turned towards the woman beside Freda, as if he was seeing her for the first time. "We did? Oh, I must've forgotten then." His smile was sly and cocky as Ola frowned at how it made Freda giggle so easily.

Ooh, I sense jealousy.

"Shut up."

Freda had widened her eyes as she turned to look at her companion, who looked angry for some reason. "Ola." The red-head's voice was low and in a scolding tone, as she turned to smile apologetically towards the man. "I'm sorry, she doesn't like meeting new people."

Damn right, Ola didn't. She hated meeting new people, and especially those people that looked like Faiq. All confident and handsome, as if they knew that the world was going to bow down at their feet if they glanced at it only once.

"It's alright." Faiq grinned as his attention turned back to the red head. "Would you like me to share my thoughts on all of my work?" It seemed like a proposal as he held out his hand for the red head, who was confused as to why the man had even asked her such a thing.

Couldn't he see that she was with the brunette in that moment?

Freda was about to decline when Ola spoke up. "Shouldn't you be with your other guests? Maybe, some people you already know and didn't just meet for the first time at the entrance."

Ola's eyes were squinted as she stared down the handsome man. Even Faiq looked taken aback as he stumbled on his words a little. "I-I mean, you b-both seem like you like art, so I was just offering." He seemed like a puppy who had been kicked by a middle-aged man, but Ola saw right through his pretty boy façade.

But unfortunately, she was the only one that did.

For Freda, Faiq looked exactly like an attacked puppy, and Ola the cruel middle-aged kicker.

"Oh no. We're sorry. Ola didn't mean that. Of course, we'd like to hear about your ideas. It'd be an honor." Freda had said so many wrong things in the same breath, it was horrifying, especially for Ola, who was shaking her head frantically.

"I like to interpret art according to myself." The smile that had surfaced onto Faiq's face didn't seem to show his disappointment as he had worded it out. "Oh, that's disappointing."

Freda looked confused as she looked at the brunette, who had turned around to face the art piece they were initially looking at. And that was the perfect opportunity for Faiq to drag the red head away as if whisking her away from the evil stepmother.

Unknown to him, he was actually the evil stepmother/stepfather/whatever.

So yeah, that was what had actually gone down and why Ola was alone at an art exhibition she didn't even want to be at, but instead of looking at the art pieces she was just watching Freda and Faiq.

Freda looked like she was having fun as Ola watched her laugh at some joke that Faiq had said. Even though Ola doubted that the man could be funny.

She sighed to herself as she sipped on her sharbat, waiting for the night to end somehow. She didn't even want to go eat something after since she had this weird feeling in her stomach. It felt like if she were to eat anything, she'd just throw it up right away.

That's called jealousy, darling.

"Shut up." Ola murmured as she frowned before her eyes fell on Freda again, and this time she found herself staring right into the red-head's eyes before Freda had immediately looked away with her cheeks turning insanely red.

Ola raised an eyebrow in question before she turned in another direction as well.

Maybe she isn't enjoying herself as well and is just pretending so that you can 'interpret art according to yourself'.

Ola frowned in response as she looked over at Freda again before walking over in the direction of the woman. It was Faiq, who had noticed the brunette approaching them as he had excused himself from the couple who was conversing with Freda.

"We need to go now." Faiq and Freda both frowned as soon as Ola was in front of them, and even grabbed onto Freda's wrist for more effect.

Faiq was quicker to respond as he smiled slyly again as if he had a plan to have the red head stay with him and leave the brunette altogether. For him, what was better for him than to have Ola leave them alone completely?

"Oh, but it's still so early." Freda watched Ola look at her wristwatch before frowning. "We have dinner plans." Ola let out without letting her annoyance show. She was indeed annoyed and irritated by the man in front of her.

He was overconfident and manipulative from what she had just seen him do before, but most of all, he had whisked Freda away from her, which somehow made him a little more annoying in Ola's eyes.

It was as if Freda had finally come back to her senses as she let herself be pulled next to the brunette by the woman herself. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Faiq, but we do have dinner plans."

Faiq was playing a losing game as his eyes showed his frustration.

Dude, chill the hell out. You're not even a side character in this story.

"How about we all get dinner together?" His last resort was to include the other woman as well since he knew that Freda would leave if Ola wasn't there with her. But Ola shook her head easily. "Sorry, we just want to have a dinner date. Just the two of us."

Freda looked to the woman with a surprised expression, "We do?"

"Yes, we do." Ola frowned back at Freda, who blushed a deep red before she turned to nod at Faiq. "It was so great to see your work though."

"Yeah, so great." Ola's voice showed her disinterest since she had thought that his work was mediocre. But she wasn't going to say that aloud because that would just break the man. And from how affected he looked at the moment, he didn't deserve to be hurt like that at this moment now.

"Um, maybe if we could talk to each other again?" He wanted to have Freda's number and both of the woman got that hint from his questioning sentence, but Freda didn't want to give him her number. Because she wasn't interested.

The whole evening consisted of her trying to subtly reject his advances since she had her eyes on a certain brunette who looked like she was brooding across the hall. Freda wanted nothing more than to go back to the woman, but then she'd remember how Ola wanted to be left alone and Freda didn't want the other woman to feel suffocated with her.

But this change in Ola was unexpected, as Freda watched the woman speak up.

"Yeah, maybe we'll see you again in your next exhibition." Faiq's face turned grim as Ola flashed him a fake smile and then dragged the red head away from him with her. "Good night, Faiq." Freda smiled at the man as she was taken away by the brunette, which she didn't mind.

She was actually enjoying herself, more than she had wanted to acknowledge.

Ola had just called their little outing, a date. And then stopped the man's advances for her. Freda and Ola made their way out of the hall and that was when the brunette had let go of the other woman's wrist. Not expecting Freda to hook her arm with hers instead.

"So, this is a date?" Ola frowned as she looked at the woman clinging onto her. She looked like the sharbat she had been drinking the entire evening inside the exhibition hall. Bittersweet, with just a hint of familiarity and comfort.

She had felt exactly like the sharbat her mother always made for them during the month of Ramadan or when she wanted to drink some coke and her mother had told her no. "I like your hair." Freda's cheeks had become as red as her hair as she widened her eyes at the brunette, who didn't really understand why the other woman looked so affected by just a single compliment.

Because she's interested in you!

Ola frowned as she stuck a finger in her right ear while Freda broke their sudden silence. "W-Where should we go eat?" The brunette's attention came back to the woman holding onto her arm as she shrugged her shoulders. "Let's just walk around and see if there's some place good enough." Freda giggled as she nodded her head. Ola wasn't sure what had made the other woman giggle, but she didn't question it as they began to walk over to the exit of the building so they could finally go eat.

No, no, wait. So that they could finally have their date.

Yeah, that's better.

Ola lightly tapped her right ear as she frowned, while Freda mindlessly clung to the woman and walked in whatever direction they were going.

*****