"I'm bored," whined Dina, her cheek resting against the russet desk while her laptop sat in front of her. She lifted her face, pouting at Nicholas when he refused to acknowledge her or even speak. "Nemo, let's play a game."

He shook his head, distracted by the endless pages upon pages of words he had written about a book he hated. Familiar stirrings of a migraine pounded against his skull, leaning against sensitive parts of his brain. Nicholas was too busy typing up one last paper to even worry about Dina. 

"Nemo."

Only the rapid press of keyboards and silent curses were heard.

"Nick."

He ignored her once more, bright blue eyes never straying from his blinding screen, even when his eyes begged to close shut and drift to a peaceful slumber, but the alarms in his mind slapped Nicholas back to reality every time. He was approaching the finish line of his education, so close and right within his grasps, but he had to continue the work for a couple more weeks until graduation. 

"Nicholas! Stop ignoring me!"

His eyes flickered to Dina. "I'm not."

She narrowed her eyes. "Yes, you are."

"No."

"Yes."

Nicholas sighed, pushing himself out of his chair and standing over the book cart to stalk the barren shelves. "Fine. I'll take a break."

Almost instantly, Dina followed him with a bright, white smile, one that made the blood rush all the way to his cheeks, bruising them in a crimson tint. He couldn't function on doing a simple task like pushing a cart all because of her damned smile, her heartwarming beauty, and her soft as velvet voice.

"We should play Pokemon again. I brought one of my stronger decks this time. If not Pokemon then we can try Yugioh or Uno. Do you think these library computers could download League of Legends?" she rambled, perfectly in sync with his steps. "I guess that wouldn't work since it would take forever to download."

As Nicholas replaced the empty cavities of his beloved library with captivating books, he couldn't help but steal glances at Dina, watching her animated expressions with a newfound joy and relishing in the warmth that her tranquilizing presence surrounded him in. When she met his gaze, he became paralyzed, stumbling over his own feet.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath.

"Nemo," gasped Dina dramatically, "fish don't curse."

"Well, I'm not a fish."

"In my eyes you are," she grinned.

"Should I take offense to that?" he wondered out loud. 

She viciously shook her head. "Of course not! Finding Nemo was my favorite Disney movie. If anything you should take it as a compliment," she huffed. 

He smiled, leaning a little closer to her as they walked. A part of him longed to wrap his arms around her waist, to capture her soft lips, to ravish every part of her until they were both left with the feelings of bliss and desire to be satisfied. 

But Nicholas knew the rules of Islam now. He knew her limitations. 

"Hey, Dina?"

She hummed in response as they stopped before another aisle. 

Nicholas slowly put the books on their designated places, his heart pounding within his chest as he wondered if she could hear it. He didn't understand how she still affected him in the most dramatic ways where Nicholas was consumed with thoughts of her day and night. 

She was his first thought when he woke up and before he went to bed. 

Then he remembered his questions, his doubts, his fears. Could I really move on from my depression? Could I truly believe in Allah and His messengers? 

Dina recognized his ambivalence. "Is something wrong?" she asked, doe-like eyes staring up at him in a curious gleam.

"I wanted to ask you about something."

"What?"

"Does a religion like Islam help someone... uh... overcome their personal demons?" he asked, stuttering from how foolish he sounded.

Her gaze softened. "No religion can force you to become better. You have to want that for yourself first before you can commit to anything."

"I haven't told you this but I started researching Islam," he started slowly, "and I like what I found. I like the pillars in Islam, the strong moral conduct, and the emphasis on personal salvation."

"But you're still hesitant," she finished for him, leaning against the shelf as he continued his menial task. 

"Yeah," he sighed like a weight was lifted off his shoulder from his confession. "I just don't know if I should convert. I want to be with you, Dina. You have no idea how much I want us to be together."

The mood in the room shifted towards a darker, more desolate atmosphere where the claws of a dim future grabbed Nicholas and Dina, forcefully tearing them apart with shattering truths and fallen love. They were a Romeo and Juliet love story, one without a happy ending, but Nicholas couldn't let her go.

Her lips settled into a deep frown, a sadness etching itself into her eyes as she prepared to reject his confession. "Nicholas, you can't convert for me. We can't be together, you know this," she said even though every word cut like blades to her tongue. "There's so many complications to just loving me. Why won't you move on?"

Nicholas stilled his movements, peeking at her through thick lashes before gathering his courage to finally face his demons, to face the fear of rejection. If Islam taught him one thing, it was to never fear anything or anyone but Allah because Allah controlled everything, including the past, present, and future. 

Allah loved all His creations even if he wasn't a Muslim yet. All his life he believed there was no one who loved him, no one who cared about his well-being, yet he had been wrong all that time. Meeting Dina wasn't fate or a coincidence, no, it was more than that. It was Allah's plan.

"I've been a coward all my life, Dina, but I swear to Allah that I will never run away from anything ever again," he said, voice hoarse as he forced himself to say the words that were trapped between his lips for so long. "I won't convert for you, Dina. I'm not that type of guy. I'll convert for Allah."

"Are you okay?"

"The best I've ever been," he gently smiled as tears began to brim his eyes. "A Muslim is someone who submits fully to Allah, right?"

She nodded, still confused.

"Don't you see it, Dina? All my life, I've been searching for some sort of salvation, some sort of spiritual awakening, and I never found it until now. Meeting you, falling in love, meeting your brothers, all of it had to be part of a plan."

"Well, Allah's plan is always greater than ours. That's why He is our Creator."

"Did Allah plan to save all along?" he asked.

"Nicholas," she started in her soft, melodic voice, "you were always saved. Allah made you go through all those trials in life because He loved you. He made you into a wise man by putting you through the harshest trials. He was always watching after you."

"What if I'm not ready to be a Muslim? I don't even know how to properly pray or know anything in Arabic. I'd be a horrible Muslim."

"Firstly, are you really converting for Allah?" she questioned again.

He nodded. "Yes."

"Do you believe in the Holy Qur'an and all its messengers including Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon him), their holy books, and the Angels?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe in Allah's commands including the Day of Judgment, concepts of Jannah (heaven) and Hell, and that everything is destined by Allah?"

"Yes."

Her lips broke into a wide smile, teeth glimmering in the dim lights of an abandoned and partially empty library. "That's the basic belief of all Muslims. Nicholas, if you believe in all of that, then you are already a Muslim. You just need to say the testament of faith," explained Dina. 

"But what about-"

"Nicholas," she cut him off firmly. "Don't worry about the maybes or hypothetical. Focus on yourself. If you believe in Islam, then you should convert as soon as possible. Allah will take care of everything else."

He paused, wondering if she was really right. After so many years of wandering a fallen path to darkness and dull pain, he felt a glimmer of relief form his worldly struggles. The chains that fastened around his body loosened for the first time in years, the air he breathed seemed cleaner, and the world that he saw had finally brightened.

Nicholas was ready to become a Muslim.

----

It's like 1 AM and I'm somehow still awake. I promised a chapter and I stick to my promises. 

Honestly, this book had been pretty hard to write when it came to spiritual stuff because this is a point of view I've never really worked with and a character personality that is so different from my other books.

I hope I did this chapter some justice :D

How many of y'all are screeching in joy right now? Don't worry, the end of the book isn't near since I want to dabble more on this journey, something I didn't get to do with ADII.

Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow!