[jerusalem | armenian quarter] all is not butter that comes from a cow. [nayiri]

“Imah…” Shiraz stared at his mother, his brow arched over his light coloured eyes. She bustled around the kitchen, but every time he called out to her, she just flicked her eyes over to him, and jerked her hand towards the table. She was on the phone, talking to someone, and was too busy to address him. He’d only been home for three days for a visit, and he was already ready to go back to the circus. It was like he didn’t belong here, and he knew it. She knew it, and it was like they fought it every time.

She shoved a bag into his hand, and being the nosy boy that he was, he shoved his nose against it. Inhaling deeply, he let out a happy noise, ignoring the fact that his mama was shooing out of the house. It was a thing that happened often, so he didn’t take it offensively. Or he tried not to take it offensively. Like was too short, and after what had happened already that summer, he didn’t need any more disruption. Just thinking about that made him think of Nayiri, and it hurt. He tried to bury the feelings down deep in his chest, but it hurt.

It’d been no ones fault. They’d been at the wrong place at the wrong time. He hadn’t expected her to come to the circus to come see him, though many of his friends did. It’d been a bad day, and after the events all hit him at once, he’d snapped. He hadn’t meant to scare her, hadn’t mean to bring that look of abject terror on her face. She’d rushed away, and as much as he wanted to chase after her, his pride had him stuck. So there he was, without his best friend, and stuck in the world.

He traveled through back streets, ambling as he shoved the sabich into his mouth. Eating like he’d hadn’t even for weeks, it was then that he saw a familiar, and almost choked on pita. Coughing loud, the boy brought attention to himself. When Nayiri saw him, he stepped back for a moment before squaring his shoulders to walk over to her, and he cleared his throat. And stood there silently, like he was a deer in headlights. He knew he looked like an idiot, but he ...didn't care. This was Nayiri. She...didn't hate him? He could fix this, right?

“…Hi.” And he shoved the sabich back in his mouth so he wasn’t forced to speak, and she could ignore him if she wanted to. Which he didn’t. Want her to ignore him at least. He didn't know exactly what he wanted but he knew he wanted her there. "Visiting family?" 'I missed you.'

@Nayiri Yazdjian

Nayiri didn't particularly like visits to the Old City. Too many tourists and sounds and crowds... it was enough to make her panic. No matter how much she protested, year after year her parents would always drag her to the Armenian Quarter to visit her Tati and Papi for a few weeks before school started. As much as she often hated the visits, she always returned to Armenia wishing that they could've stayed a little longer, though she was sure not to mention that to anyone.

It was a fairly nice day - and quite early as well - and her mother was already shoving her out of the house, telling her to take her sister Nanar to the different sites within the Old City. Nayiri wrinkled her nose at this and sighed as her mother glared at her. "Okay, Mama, we'll be home before dark," she said, closing the door behind her and then stopping to lean against the outside wall of the house. She closed her eyes for a few moments, relishing in the heat of the sun against her skin. She soon felt a tug on the hem of her shirt, and she opened her eyes and looked down at her sister. "Ma nishma?" her sister asked. Nayiri shook her head and smiled at her. "Nothing, Nanar. Yalla, noo?! I'm hungry, and I heard that Chokmat Haburekas Mehaifa has the best burekas."

Without a second thought, she grabbed her sister's hand and began trudging towards the gate and onto the street. Once they were out of sight from their grandparents' house, Naya dropped her sister's hand and began to speed up her pace. Her stomach was growling, but she was also growing anxious at the sight of people near the exit of the Armenian Quarter. She just needed to make it to the end and then they'd be safe until they entered the Muslim Quarter. No big deal.

Soon her sister was running towards the nearby bakery and Naya began yelling at her. "Nanar, come on!" However, Nanar then waved at her and said she'd meet up with her later. Rolling her eyes, Naya then stomped her feet and muttered under her breath, "Bat zona." Well, that certainly killed that mood, she thought. She didn't even want any burekas, especially now that she was alone, but she couldn't turn back and head home. She glanced around and then she saw him. Shiraz.

She began to panic and started looking for ways to escape this situation, but it became apparent that there would be no escaping. If this had been years before - hell, months before - she wouldn't be trying to flee, but after what she'd been through... she wanted nothing to do with that monster.

And then he was next to her.

"Hello," she said, her voice emotionless and cold. "Yes, we're visiting my grandparents for a few weeks." What to say now? She looked down and kicked the few rocks on the ground, avoiding all eye contact with him. "What are you doing here?" As soon as she said it, she knew it sounded more accusatory than interested, but suddenly she didn't care.


^{Ma nishma? = What's up?
Yalla, noo?! = Let's go!"
Bat zona. = Daughter of a b*tch}

He felt the bottom drop from his stomach and nausea overtook him for a split second before he swallowed his food and squared his shoulders. He kept his features calm and almost pleasant, but in his mind his thoughts were racing. He shouldn’t have come over there. Even if he’d had the best intentions, it was the worst idea he’d had all summer. He could feel himself itching to flee, but he’d be damned if he let her snap at him and make him run away like a dog with a tail between his legs. It was confusing, because he knew he was somewhat at fault. He couldn’t help it, but he could have told her. Instead…she’d found out in the worst way.

Sliding his sabich back into the bag, his free hand slid into his pocket. He tried to lounge comfortably, but it just made him stiff and awkward looking, even more so than his growing height did. “I live here.” He said gently, reminding her. Had things gone so bad that all of the conversations that they’d had she’d pushed out of her memory. “My family stays down that way…” He pointed behind him towards the path in which he’d come from. “But you knew that right?”

Shiraz licked his lips, rocking from his heel to his toe, not meeting her gaze. “It’s good that you’re visiting family. They must miss you during the school year.” Unlike Shiraz’s family, he was convinced the Nayiri had always had it easier than him. A better family, more of everything. Maybe it was why it was so easy for her to look at him with the disdainful look that she threw around like it was nothing.

“Don’t worry, I leave to go back tomorrow.” That was a surprise to him, but thinking of them being in the same city for weeks made him want to run. “You have fun.” He began to take a step back, still looking at her. Still hoping and wishing that they could undo all of this, but with the venom that she spat at him, he knew it was a lost cause. That didn't stop him from hoping. From wishing. Wishing was free, yeah?

"Of course," she commented, rocking back on her heels as she shoved her hands in her pockets. She wasn't sure, but she almost felt like he was staring at her, waiting for her to apologize for her question. She knew that he knew that she wasn't stupid; she knew he lived her. Her question was more of a 'why are you here while I'm here?' sort of inquiry, but the brunette didn't plan on revealing that to him. Instead, she was going to play it cool and pretend that she didn't care. "I don't know what you're talking about. How was I supposed to know?" Glancing up, her eyes were almost daring him to fight with her. "It's not like I know everything about you, right?"

After seconds of meeting his gaze, she looked away, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. While she had a lot of fight in her, she wasn't overly confident with herself and sometimes she couldn't help but feel subconscious at the wrong times. Right now was definitely a very wrong time. When he began to speak once more, she tried to think of an escape. She always went back to the idea of an escape, but never was successful in planning one out. As he spoke, a group of tourists walked by and she wanted to jump in and walk with them, striking up a conversation with one of them about Merlin knows what.

She shrugged. "I guess so." Looking up for another moment, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's only my grandparents. It's not like they don't see me enough during the summer holidays. And I wouldn't say it's fun. I absolutely hate it here. It's crowded and noisy, there are too many tourists, and honestly the food makes the place smell horrible." Wrinkling her nose, she pointed at a cafe that her grandparents always took her to when she came to visit. "Especially that place over there."

"Oh?" He had piqued her interest, and suddenly she wanted to kick herself. "That's nice, I guess." Shrugging, she crossed her arms against her chest. "I hope you don't plan on revealing your secret to anyone else."

He forgot how cutting Nayiri’s words could be. She wielded them with a precision that Professor Liu must have taught her. It was sharp, it dug in. And as much as he wanted to apologize, he wanted to rage at her. She was supposed to be his friend, she was the one person that he trusted above anyone, and this was how she treated him. He swallowed, closing his eyes to hide the flash of gold that knew that came with a sudden influx of temper. He wouldn’t let her get to him. They were here. There was no going back. “No. You don’t.” He responded calmly, resisting the urge to bare his teeth at her. He’d been smiling less, showing teeth less since. He hadn't wanted to scare any one, have them give her the same reaction that she'd given, and she'd proven him right.

Shiraz ignored all of her complaints about the city. As much as she complained, he felt like the reason why she hated this place because he was standing there. If she wanted to hate him so bad, she could hate him. He deserved it, and it was killing him inside. “My mom loves that place.” He murmured softly, gangly limbs making him feel uncomfortable. He didn’t know were to place them, where to move. All his steps were clumsy, and awkward. “But it’s okay. You can’t help what your parents what. It’s not something you can control yet…”

Shiraz froze, looking at her with flashing gold eyes, and he stalked over to her slinkily. He stared her down, smiling a slow, empty smile. “Oh, this secret? Is this what you want me to hide? You got a little scared, and now I have to hide? Why should I Naya?” He sang her name softly, sweetly. “I get hurt, and It’s my fault so I have to hide. I’ve been hiding for a year, so I wont freak anyone out, and I’m tired of hiding. Didn’t you see me hurt?” He backed away. “Why am I even trying with you?”