"Just because our beliefs are different doesn't mean that we aren't all humans"

Zach's POV

"What is harem?" Zach asks out of the blue making Amal's brows to furrow as she looks away from the lake to stare at the boy in confusion.

"Harem?" she asks him just to be clear because what is that a Shakespeare book/film or something?

"Yeah, you always say that, like that day I grabbed your hand the day that Anaya and her crew went to bully you..."Zach explains making Amal to remember with a laugh because his pronunciation though!

"Oh haraam!,It means things forbidden in my religion" she says making Zach frown

"Grabbing your hand is forbidden?" he asks in disbelief while Amal smiled of course his atheist self wouldn't understand.

"They are many things that are forbidden in my religion,like how we are seating alone away from civilization right now"  Amal states making Zach frown they are rules on how to live your life too?, wow.

"What's so bad about us seating alone?" he asks curiously

"Because when a guy and a girl are sitting together,the devil is actually with them" she explains making his brows furrow before he stared at her like she had lost her mind.

"Devil?, are you being serious right now?" Zach asks with a laugh not making fun of her but he was raised not believe in God, so how would he believe in The devil?

"Yes" Amal states making him to raise a brow

"Oo prove it to me" he says teasingly making Amal send him a determined look

"Have any stupid thoughts crossed your mind?" she asks out of the blue making him frown

"Stupid thoughts?, what do you even mean?" Zach asks still confused

"Yeah,thoughts about me for example?" she asks feeling confident all of a sudden making Zach's eyebrows to shoot up at the very confident question...well that question isn't as innocent as it sounded.

"Are you just trying to find out if and how i'm thinking about you?" Zach replies not missing a point

"N-no that was not what i meant!, I just- you said I should prove it to you!" she rants with her red cheeks

"Relax I was just messing with you go on" Zach says with a grin

"It starts to whisper things and make you have this strange thoughts about the person next to you,who is of a different sex so my religion prohibits it for safety" Amal explains Zachary actually looks like he was taking that information in.

"Then why are you seating here then? if it is har-am" Zach asks curiously making Amal's mouth to fall open as she suddenly feels like all the words have escaped from her brain, she stares up at him dumbly while he waits patiently for her to reply with a smug smile.

"Stop staring I already know I'm cute" he says with a smirk

"Shut up!,i'm going home"  Amal says defensively turning away from him with a blush before standing up

"No,please don't go, I was just messing with you"  Zach states while Amal just glares at him making him burst into another fit of laughter

"you are annoying" Amal states

"I know, I just like seeing people especially you angry" Zach confessed making Amal send him a look of disbelief

"You are such a sadist"  She states with a laugh

"You just look more beautiful when you are mad" Zach blurts out making Amal mouth to fall open for the second time that evening, was this boy really on some type of strong drug?maybe it was his drugs.

"Oh right...ha-ram thoughts!" Zach states with a smile making a quotes which made Amal to burst into laughter at his foreign pronunciation of ha-ram ignoring the fact that her friend just called her beautiful, Also ignoring the fact that her question was not answered yet well it was kind of was answered indirectly.

"oh shizzle!,it's time for magrib " she states sounding stressed and worried making him raise a brow at her

"What's that?" Zach asks curiously

"Prayer...we offer during sun down" she explains well she tries too

"Oh how many times do y'all pray then?" he asks curiously

"5 times daily" she states staring at him waiting for a reaction from him

"Wow" he mumbles making her smile

"Why do you keep asking about things that surprises you, i thought you didn't believe in God?" she finally asks because well she is curious.

"Because i'm a curious human being that why" he says making her cock her head to the side before shrugging to herself because his answer made it all make sense somehow.

"When we were driving over to this place,I spotted a mosque can you like drop me off to pray quickly?, please!" Amal says giving him the puppy eyes making Zach roll his eyes he wasn't going to stop her anyway.

"Okay lets go" Zach states standing up and trolling after the girl who was literally flying over to his car,he opens the door for Amal before opening his own, he got into his seat and they were on their way to the mosque soon as they arrived Amal rushed out of car.

"Just give me 5 minutes I would be right out"she says as they pull into a stop

"Take as much time as you need" Zach states she smiles before turning around, he couldn't help but to feel amazed but the amount of people rushing onto the mosque, is having someone that controls your life that much fun?, that everyone wants to be caged in a religion?, he still doesn't get it.

He turns off his car and deciding to dial Sam's number, who picks up after the second ring.

"can you come over for dinner? " Sam states making Zach roll his eyes...his friend dumped his manners somewhere.

"Yeah,hi to you too and Sure,i would but only after I take Amal back home" Zach states making Sam frown in confusion he sat on his bed holding the phone closer to his ear.

"Amal?" Sam asks and Zach can hear the suspicion in his voice making him roll his eyes

"Don't start" Zach groans but as usual his best friend ignores his words.

"Okay,so where are you guys though?,  your house?" Sam asks curiously

"Not at my house but at the mosque" Zach states

"Mosque?" Sam asks sounding taken back

"Yeah,she went in to pray" Zach says with a sigh

"Oh I thought you dislike going close to any dumb religious home" Sam recites in quote  making Zach kiss his tooth, he really did say that didn't he?

"Haha,very funny"Zach states making Sam laugh harder

"Whatever man, make sure you don't forget the dinner,mom has been asking about you a lot this days" Sam says making Zach smile Sam's mom was basically his second mom.

"sure!,I wont let me call my grandma and let her know bye" Zach states before hanging up he strolled through his contacts

"Slay grandma" he reads out loud as he smirks at the name he remembers the day he changed the name to this,his grandma had decided to buy him a pear of Jordan's and when he said he wanted the black not the white she had bought,she wore the white and got him a black one this all happened during that time he was depressed after finding out that his father was never coming back anytime soon and neither was his mom.

"Hello grandson"

"Hello Nona,i just wanted to let you know that I won't be coming home from dinner today"

"Aw why?"

"Sam and his mom wants me to stay over for dinner also Sam wants to have a sleep over with me"

"Oh okay please take care of yourself and tell them I send my greetings,where are you now?"

"Mosque" Zach says but then his eyes catches Amal smiling as she talks to a woman before she started to make her way back to where his car was packed that smile though never fading

"Oh" his grandma says trails off but Zach doesn't notice due to his divided attention

"Yeah I gotta go now,Amal is coming,bye" Zach says before hanging up as Amal opens the car door and enters the car with a smile

"You done?" he asks the girl who just entered the car

"Yeah" Amal says with a smile making him smile back, he wasn't expecting her to come out with a grin,i mean don't get him wrong, he didn't expect to see her crying but smiling wasn't what he expected.

"Did something exciting happen in there?" he asks curiously making Amal send him a confused look

"No...just everyone praying" she says making him nod slowly so prayers can put her into a good mood huh he never knew.

"So where to now?" he asks

"My house" She says without knowing how wrong that sounded until she heard a chuckle coming from the boy driving

"not like that Gosh Fransisco" she whines

"Great now, you know my middle name" he says rolling his eyes

"you say that like it is a bad thing" she says

"It is now everyone would know" he complains making her roll her eyes this time

"it's not even embarrassing"she states

"You wouldn't get it, what's your middle name?" he asks curiously

"Why would you want to know?" she asks suspiciously

"To make fun of you" Zach states bluntly making her roll her eyes

"Adama" she states out the blue

"Adam-a?, Such a strong name for a little girl Like yourself "Zach states Making Amal to send him a glare

"I'm not that little,wait?, are you trying to be a say I bare a guys name?,like Adam?" Amal asks in disbelieve making Zach to burst into laughter making Amal to scowl this boy is just too much.

"Haha very hilarious,i think I just piss my pants, I think i found kelvin hart's lost his twin" Amal says sarcastically with a glare making Zach laugh harder he stops the car abruptly making it to jerk forward.

"Would you watch where you are driving to,before you kill us" Amal asks making Zach to turn and raise a brow at the girl

"We are actually here and you are alive prince Adam " he says making her frown thinking to herself what is the boy even saying anymore?, is he on drugs?

"Wow, are you that blinded by rage?" Zach asks with a grin making her stare at him with a Glare while thinking to herself that maybe he is really a sadist,he enjoys seeing her mad!

"Your sarcasm was deeply appreciated" Amal states sarcasm at it's best and Zach gets it totally so he whines down her window.

"So was yours and now here is your house" Zach states with a smile making the frown as the girl peaks out the window sends him a sheepish grin

"Fine, you win only this time though don't forget to text me but text me when you get home safely only" she says like a caring mother making Zach smile.

"Okay would text you when I get to Sam's" Zach states

"Sam's" Amal asks confused

"Yeah i'm going there maybe even going to spend a night, his mom wants me to come over which means I guess he lied because he misses our sleepovers" Zach explains with a laugh Amal smiles that sounds like something Sam will and can do.

"Well you better start going then" Amal says before getting out of the Range Rover, Zach lowers the window down giving her a playful salute before driving away,Amal rolls her eyes but a smile was evident on her face, Zach is...like a box of surprise gift, everyday a new side of him is surprising her and to be honest, she loves surprises, and be it good,bad,beautiful or ugly, she would like to keep on opening more sides of him as a person, to her his mental disorder doesn't define him but instead he defined himself as a whole.

opening her house door to find her parents seating on the couch and her sister looked nervous while Abtal looked emotionless.

"Salamualaikum" Amal states sending everyone a  nervous smile

"Where have you been it's already past Eesha?" the question of the night was asked by her dad making Amal wonder if it was too late to run out of house, and run away with Zach to the middle of nowhere.

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