The night air shifted. The moon hung above them like an amused spectator watching two idiots argue on a balcony.
Habeel finally exhaled, shoulders slumping.
He looked at her. At the bat. At her suspicious eyes.
"…Fine," he muttered. "I did come here to steal from you."
The bat DROPPED an inch.
Ababeel's soul LEFT her body.
Then—
"WHAT?!" she shrieked and launched herself toward her phone on the sofa.
"HEY—WAIT!" Habeel yelled, scrambling after her, nearly tripping on the balcony rail in his panic. "CAN YOU AT LEAST HEAR MY STORY FIRST—?!"
What followed was pure Tom-and-Jerry chaos.
Ababeel sprinted across the room; Habeel chased her like a desperate cartoon character.
She dodged left—he dodged left.
She faked right—he slammed into a chair.
Ababeel: "GET AWAY FROM ME YOU CONFESSED CRIMINAL—!"
Habeel: "WE JUST MADE A TRUCE FIVE MINUTES AGO!!"
They circled the coffee table like angry siblings fighting for the remote.
Ababeel waved the phone in the air. "I'm calling the police!"
"NO—WAIT—DON'T!" Habeel pleaded, hands flailing. "You haven't even heard WHY I was going to steal—!"
"Oh, wonderful," she hissed. "There's a WHY?? You want to give me a PowerPoint presentation too?!"
"I CAN MAKE ONE IF YOU STOP RUNNING!"
They were still chasing each other, feet pounding the floor, breathless, dramatic—
When the universe decided to shut both of them up.
BOOM.
A thunderous explosion shook the night.
The windows trembled.
The floor quivered.
The lights flickered—once, twice, then stabilised with a trembling hum.
Both of them stumbled mid-run, grabbing onto furniture to steady themselves.
And then—
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Not thunder. Not fireworks.
Something much bigger. Much closer.
The entire apartment vibrated with each shockwave.
Ababeel's eyes widened. Panic replaced her suspicion in a heartbeat.
Habeel froze, too, all humour evaporating from his face.
Both are children at heart. Both scared, despite their bravado.
They looked at each other—
Wide-eyed. Breathless. Frozen in the same fear.
Together, in perfect harmony, they whispered:
"What the fff—?!"
The room shook again. The lights flickered.
Outside, the world was no longer calm.