The next week flew by much faster than it should have. I told Badr everything I could about my cousin and her relationship with me. We even tried to figure out a way out of this, but we came to a dead end every time.

The only good thing that came out of it was a finished Spanish project and being able to spend more time with Badr. Today was the day that we were getting ready to leave, so that we would be at our homes the next day. It was a two hour drive, but we still needed at least one night to spend at home before everything took place.

I didn't have a car anymore since whatever the issue was, destroyed it from the inside out. Badr offered to take me, but I refused since sitting in a car alone with a non-mahram for two hours was not a good idea. Instead, I would take the bus.

"Hey." I sent, wanting to talk to Badr a little before I left for the bus. "Are you ready?"

"I'm packed, yeah. Mentally, no." He texted back. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I really don't want to marry her. I know she is your cousin but..."

"No, it's fine. I get it... I'm on your side. You know that." I grabbed my backpack and wallet, heading for the door.

"Salah, why is this happening to me." Even through the text, he sounded so broken.

"I don't know... I'm sorry." I bit my lip as I walked. "I wish I could fix it all."

"If only my parents had let me say what I wanted to first." He sent. "Then none of this would have happened."

I stared at the message in confusion. "What could you have said that would have changed all this?"

The three dots popped up for a little while, but then they shrank away. "Nothing, nevermind."

"Oh, come on. You can't just leave me hanging!" I really wanted to know what it was that could've changed the outcome of that call.

"It's really nothing. It didn't happen anyway." A message came through as I walked down the street.

"Bob! If you don't tell me, I will call you RIGHT NOW and force you to!" I bit back a slight smile

"Salllll, dont do thaaaat!" He texted. "😭"

"Why? You don't wanna hear my voice? 🙁" I giggled quietly, teasing him as I walked to the bus station.

"Sally, I'd rather facetime you, if anything." He sent, no doubt with a smile. "Buuuut, I'd probably be on pause the entire time bc i have to keep my gaze lowered, ya know."

"Bob, you're the sweetest idiot on the planet." I laughed quietly, covering my mouth with my hand.

"And you're any less, Sal?" I hoped he was smiling as hard as I was.

"🙄 well, you still haven't told me what it is that you could have said." I let my finger hover over the call button.

"And I won't tell you 😝" I bit my lip and clicked on the call button, bringing the phone up to my ear.

"Hey." I hummed, now sitting at the bus station and waiting for my bus to arrive.

"You mean, asalam walaikum." He teased, his voice a little raw and tired.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Walaikum asalam. Badr, were you crying?" I asked softly, keeping my voice down.

"N-" He began to answer.

"Don't lie. You know it's a sin." I reminded him.

I heard a sigh come through the phone. "Yeah, I was..." I heard him say, his voice quiet, holding embarrassment.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Badr." I bit my lip, trying to think of ways to cheer him up. "I get it... This is the worst possible thing that could've happened."

"Yeah..." He mumbled through the phone. "I just- I don't know. Ugh. I don't want to do this." I heard his voice crack. For some reason, knowing that this brought him so much pain made me feel like crying as well.

"Aw, you're gonna make me cry!" I rubbed my eyes. "I just want you to remember your favorite quote. 'They plan, and Allah plans. Surely, Allah is the best of planners.' Now if Allah is planning everything, we just have to remember that everything will be okay."

"I'm trying to do that. I really am. I promise. It's just, really hard." He whispered. "Especially when everything seems to be going wrong."

"It may seem like it's going wrong to us, but it's all in Allah's plan. And I'll always be by your side. When things seem like they're going wrong, I'll be there to show you that it's okay because they're going to be okay." I spoke softly, trying my best to comfort him. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but we became friends in a couple days. And I sure as hell consider you my best friend, I just hope you consider me as one of yours."

I heard a quiet chuckle. "Of course, Sal. You're one of my best friends, despite the lack of time that we've had to know each other so far." I thought I could hear a smile in his voice. "Thank you, jazakallah khair... for being here for me. Through everything, I have to say this is the worst thing that I've ever had to go through and you and Zakir are the two people I can say have been there for me through it all."

I bit the inside of my lip. "I lo-" I was used to saying 'I love you' to my friends, never having said it to Badr. I didn't realize that I couldn't say it to my male friends, especially not Badr. Not when I might actually mean it.

There was an awkward silence for a moment. "I'll just pretend I didn't here that and you can pretend you didn't say it." He laughed softly.

I felt my face turn red. "Shu- Shut up! I didn't-didn't say anything." I grumbled in embarrassment.

"Lemme guess, you're covering your face with your hand because you're bright red right now." He spoke.

He was right, I had a hand over my face and I was red. "Oh, and let me guess." I hummed, "You have a smirk on your face because you think you're so smart." I grinned.

"Now you're grinning." He hummed, nonchalantly.

I grumbled. "Yeah, and you're leaning back in your seat with a slight smile."

"Is it not a little bit creepy that we know each other that well? Especially in like a matter of weeks." Badr laughed.

"I think it's cute." I shrugged as the bus pulled up. "Well, here's my bus. Gotta go, Bob."

"Okay, see ya, Sal." He spoke softly, ending the call.

I climbed onto the bus, getting ready for the long ride.