The Meetup

ANISA'S POV:

I rushed to the meeting room as fast as I could. On the way I could only think about one thing, "Who was my Fiancé? What was he like? Was this really happening?" with a million questions regarding the guy I was soon going to be spending the rest of my life with, I stopped in front of my destination.

I reached for the door knob and turned it. The door flew open and I hurried inside. I saw my dad and his friend, Khaleel uncle sitting across, facing him. My eyes instantly went to uncle's son, AKA my fiance who I was forcefully getting married to next week.

And there he was, staring at me. The horror on his face was mirroring mine. Ali Hassan?! What was he doing there?!!! I sat beside my father facing his way. Both of us were still in a state of shock with out mouths hanging.

"Meet your soon be wife, son. Her name is Anisa." My father said to Ali, politely. My world stopped. "Meet your soon to be husband, Ali Hassan." Khaleel uncle said to me.

You must be kidding, right?! My bully?!! I am going to get married to my bully?!

He looked at me, still shocked. "Why don't you both sit down together alone and get to know each other? After all you're getting married next week." Khaleel uncle shot a smile at both of us. I smiled back while Ali just rolled his eyes. "At least be nice to your father, dude."

"Yes, Khaleel is right." My father spoke up, giving me a pat on the back. I looked at him, angrily. Pfft! What a great father. Only giving me pat so no one could know what a disgrace he really was. He looked at me and I quickly shifted my gaze to the ground. I couldn't let him know that I was secretly throwing him glares.

He leaned in closer. "Remember, spill a word and you're dead." He warned me, moving a hand over his neck to show how dead serious he was. Trembling, I nodded. I knew he would say that. He didn't want anyone to know what kind of person he was. Besides, he would most probably go to jail if anyone knew about his crime. He was just a coward, blackmailing others to hide his crime.

He and Khaleel uncle walked out with steps in union and there was only Ali and I left in the room. There was awkward silence for a long time, until I decided to speak. "No one at school needs to know about this." I said to him. He raised an eyebrow. "Sure."

Awkward silence filled the room again until I groaned. "I am fed up! This silence is killing me! What're we supposed to do now?!" I asked him. He sighed. "I am glad it is you." He told me. I frowned. "Why?"

"Because, it could've been worse, right?" He reasoned. I shook my head. "For you maybe. Not me. I am getting married to a person who has bullied me for years." I stated. He laughed. "Guess so. I think we should try to know more about each other. That's what our fathers told us to do, right?" He suggested. I agreed.

"You go first." I offered. He nodded, a smirk playing on his lips. "My name is Ali Hassan and I am 17 years old. I go to high school and will be graduating two years from now. I like to eat, party and have fun. I don't know why but a girl named Anisa Malik hates my very existence. And fun fact; we're actually getting married." He paused to look at me before erupting in laughter while I just rolled my eyes at him. "Sure, you have no clue." I said, sarcastically.

He laughed. "Now you go" he told me. I took a deep breath. "My name is Anisa Malik and I am 16 years old. I am turning 17 next week. I love to read, play pranks, play sports and read Quran. I am bullied by a boy named Ali Hassan for no reason at all. I will also graduate from high school two years from now. And from today onwards, my life will be a living hell." I stopped talking. I could see that he was looking at me with ammusement twinkling in his eyes.

"Well, it's not like I bully you. It's just fun and jokes." He tells me, smiling smugly. I roll my eyes again. "Oh puh-leese! Those aren't jokes and fun. That is simple bullying! Humiliating me in front of people is bullying." I remind him.

"Anyways, why don't you tell me about your favourite food and your hobbies?" He suggested. "My favorite food is ice cream and pizza. My hobbies are to sing, draw and just chill in the pool." I tell him. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy.

Oh no you don't, Anisa! Stop right there! Remember the last time you thought he wasn't​ a bad guy? Think again, girl!

A voice in my head screamed at me. It was right.

"What about yours?" I asked him. He smirked. "My hobby is to bully you and my favorite food is well, everything unhleathy." He replied, waiting for me to react. I glared at him and folded my arms over my chest. "See? Now you're admitting it! You do bully me!" I told him. He laughed. "I was just kidding."

"Anyway, who's your favorite singer?" He suddenly asked me. I thought about it with a hand under my chin. "I don't know. I like Ellie Goulding, I guess." I said, unsure. His eyes widened. "Me too!" He exclaimed. I was taken aback.

"You're such a girl!" I teased him, laughing. He glared at me. "Shut up."

"How does it feel now, huh? Getting teased?" I asked him. He looked away. "It isn't that bad." he shrugged. "Jokes aside, Can I ask you something?" He asked. I was a bit shocked. He was actually serious for once! Of course I was curious about what was bugging him.

"Of course." I replied. "I mean that's why we're here, right?" He looked down at the floor, hesitating a bit. "Are you and Imran... You know... Are you two together or something?" He asked, nervously. I frowned in confusion. "You know Imran?" I questioned. He nodded. "Yeah, he's one of my friend's friends." He replied. I then realized what he had asked me.

"You're​ asking if I am dating Imran?! Astaghfirullah!" I exclaimed in shock and disgust. He looked up to me. "But, you two were hugging each other, so you know. I thought maybe you two were dating." He defended himself. I shook my head immediately. "Of course not! He's my nephew! I can't date him! He's exactly my age." I told him, my eyes still widened.

I noticed a look of relief on his face. He was such a weirdo. "Oh okay, fine." He simply said.

He got up from his chair and I did too. "I should be leaving." He said. I nodded. "Me too." He then smirked at me. "Let's exchange numbers." He suggested. I backed away. "What?! No!" He gives me the 'Really? Are you for real?' look.

"We are engaged, aren't we? It's just natural." He shrugged. I gave up. He was right. And besides, there was nothing wrong with it. We exchanged numbers and parted ways right after that.

Reaching home, I thought about everything that happened. Maybe he was right. It could've been much worse. At least it wasn't some kind of old man looking for a young wife to take care of his grandkids. At least it was a young, full of life, humorous, handsome— okay that was enough.

I should just thank Allah for everything. Even though this was not something small, it was a test from Allah. And I had to try my very best to succeed in it.