Nayla rushed back to the living room with the popcorn. She couldn't believe how well this is going. She had stood up to Madison, even though it was anonymous it was still a win. And now Anwar was at her house? She sat down next to him and willed her hands to stop shaking. This couldn't be happening. She felt like she was in a dream.

Anwar smiled at her and turned on the T.V. The newest episode of B99 had come out yesterday, and Nayla already had it pre-recorded.

They watched in silence for a while and ate the popcorn, but eventually, the tension eased up a bit. They started making fun of Boyle and Nayla almost choked on her popcorn when Anwar did his Holt impression. The episode ended way too quickly. They looked at each other as the credits played. Nayla bit her lip nervously, was he going to lean in for a kiss?

She was disappointed and somewhat relieved when Anwar started talking. He started asking her questions about herself that she would never have thought that he'd ask. He's so sweet and raw Nayla thought. She hesitated before opening up to him.

"I go to speech therapy," said Nayla.

Anwar looked taken back, "Really? Your stutter is barely noticeable. And I think it's adorable." he said.

Nayla felt her cheeks redden, "So what's going on with you?"

Anwar leaned back on the couch and propped his feet up onto the table. He gave her a side glance and a quick smile. "Well, basketball's going pretty well," he said.

Nayla nodded, " I hear you guys are making the finals."

He laughed, "Yeah, you should come to one of our games." He paused for a second and looked at her again. Nayla looked at the floor, but she could feel his gaze on her.

"In all seriousness, things are not going that well at home," Anwar admitted.

Nayla leaned in and took his hand in hers, which was a really bold move. She felt a rush of energy. "Really, what's wrong?"

"Well," Anwar paused and ran his hand through his hair. Nayla noticed it, maybe he did that when he was nervous. "My older brother Azim is tryna join the Nation of Islam and my moms going crazy about it."

Nayla focused on him and nodded in understanding. "Are you ok?"

Anwar shrugged, "It's kind of throwing my whole family off balance. My dad said he's coming from Dubai in a couple to talk to him and my mom."

"If it'll make you feel any better my family's not doing so hot either," said Nayla.

Anwar turned toward her rather quickly, "Really? What's up with yours?"

Nayla sighed, where to begin? "My brother's been in and out of the hospital for the longest time," she said. She watched Anwar sit up and scoot a little closer to her. It felt nice to open up to someone about it. "Yeah and I've been kind of looked over. My parents and siblings are always dealing with so much, and I don't want to add onto their already full plate. They have no idea about what's going on at school."

Anwar nodded along and gave her hand a squeeze, "Wow, you're so brave," he said.

Nayla let out a hearty laugh. "No, I'm dead serious." said Anwar, "how do you deal with it all?"

Nayla paused for a second unsure how to respond. Was she really about to tell him this? She looked up at his eager eyes. He was so sweet and caring. She took a breath and got her phone from the table.

"Promise you won't tell anyone this?" said Nayla, holding out her pinkie. She would literally die from embarrassment if anyone found out about her Wattpad, which was where she ranted about everyone that went to her school in private.

"Promise," said Anwar locking his pinkie with hers. He leaned in to get a better view of her phone as she opened up her Wattpad account.

"I vent on my Wattpad," said Nayla handing him her phone. "Whenever something happens, or I'm sad, I go there for support. I write it out."

Anwar nodded as he scrolled through. "I like your page's aesthetic," he said, smiling. "It's so Nayla."

Nayla felt the blush creep up to her cheeks. She took her phone back and smiled at Anwar.

"I should get going," he said, standing up and heading towards the door.

Nayla looked at the time, "Yeah, you should." She said. She stood up to show him out.

"Do you want to hang out this weekend?" Anwar asked.

Nayla glanced up at him and smiled, "I can't this weekend. I'm going up to Newsville to visit a family friend, but maybe next weekend?"

"Yeah, ok. Bye," he called as he walked outside.

She waved at him and closed the door. Nayla did a little dance once she knew that the coast was clear. That had gone literally perfectly.

Maybe she should stand up for herself more often? She did hear a rumor about Madison's mother being at an AA meeting...