The day of the winter formal finally came, and Hanan woke up to the worst news possible.
"You want me to do what?!" she shrieked into her phone.
"I'm sorry, I know it's sudden, but Amina has a bad cold and she can't go to the dance. Could you please go in her place. It's a masquerade ball, you'll be wearing a mask, he won't be able to recognize you," Noor begged. Hanan sighed. How could she refuse to help her friend.
"Fine. But you'll have to find a way for me to do this without my parents finding out," Hanan muttered.
"Thank you so much! And don't worry about your parents, I've got it covered," Noor assured her. Hanan sighed again. What had she gotten herself into?
...
Hanan took a deep breath. She was standing outside of the school's auditorium, where the dance was being held. Noor, Amina, and Amir were inside Noor's car, waiting for their cue for action. Noor had told Hanan's parents that she was taking the girls and Amir to the movies, which would explain why Hanan would be gone for a good three hours. The dress had fitted her nicely, and the mask was firmly secured on her face. The heels were a bit too big for Hanan since Amina was a shoe size larger, but that couldn't be helped as no one had planned for Amina to get sick and for Hanan to take her place.
"There you are!" a loud and arrogant voice exclaimed from behind her. Hanan turned around to see Alex. He wore a black suit that fit him nicely, and his tie was an ice blue to match Hanan's outfit. Had it been a halal situation, Hanan would have admired her date (a'udhubillah). However, since the situation was anything but halal, Hanan could only feel utter discomfort. "Let's go in," he said, before grabbing her hand. Hanan immediately snatched her hand away.
"Don't touch me!" she exclaimed. Alex stared at her.
"What's wrong Amina? You've never had a problem holding hands before, so why are you complaining now?" he asked. Hanan swore under her breath. Just how far did her friend go with this guy?
"My hands are sweaty!" Hanan exclaimed. "I don't want you to hold my sweaty hands, especially since I'm kind of sick," she said, before she proceeded to cough into her hands. Alex tried to hide his look of disgust.
"I get it. Let's just go in, I'm pretty sure you can wash your hands in the bathroom," he said, before walking towards the entrance. Hanan followed him, smiling at her little achievement. She could waste a little time in the bathroom before spending time with the jerk. The two entered the auditorium, which was alight with shining disco balls and colorful lights strung throughout the room. The walls vibrated with the sound of the music, and the air was humid with the sweat of hormonal teenagers trying to show off their nonexistent dance skills. A table was set up to collect the tickets, so Alex went there to give his and Hanan's tickets.
"I'll see you in a bit," Hanan said, before walking towards the girls bathroom. She washed her hands and checked her phone. After five minutes, she walked back out and searched the room for Alex. He was standing at the refreshment tables flirting with some of the girls there. Asshole. Hanan made her way to the playboy.
"Finally!" he said when he saw her. "Why do you girls always take so long in the bathroom? Does it take longer for you to pee or something?"
"Why do boys always complain about how long girls take in the bathroom? Do you guys run out of stalls in the boy's bathroom or something?" Hanan retorted. Alex clenched his jaws before stiffly offering his hand.
"Shall we dance?" he asked.
"No," Hanan said.
"You don't have a choice. Have you forgotten what I will do if you don't listen?" he bit out. Hanan felt like beating him senseless, but she couldn't do that in front of all the other students.
"Fine," she replied coldly, before taking his hand. Her palms burned upon contact with his hand, and Hanan could practically feel the fires of Hell tickling them. Alex pulled her into the dance floor and started dancing. Hanan stood still, refusing to let her body be taken over by Shaytan. Alex tried to get Hanan to dance with him, but he couldn't get her to move with him on the dance floor. He gave up after a few tries and went to dance with some other girl. Hanan quickly left the dance floor and stood against the wall with the other wallflowers, trying to ignore all the haram that was happening around her. The Shaytan-vibes were starting to irritate her, and she wanted nothing more than to get out of the place. But to do that, she needed to get Alex's phone. Hanan braced herself for what she was about to do next.
Noor, tell Amir to get ready. I'm about to get the phone.
As soon as she had sent the text, Hanan put her phone away and returned to the dance floor. She carefully made her way through the horny students till she reached Alex, who was having fun dancing with his friends. At that moment, the loud and upbeat music switched to romantic, waltz music.
"Isn't this the most important part of the night?" Hanan asked Alex. He grinned at her before stepping towards her.
"May I have this dance?" he asked as he offered his hand, apparently trying to seduce her with his clicheness. Hanan could see right through him, but that didn't mean she could do anything about it.
"You may," she said quietly before taking the non-mahram's hand again that night. Alex placed his other hand on Hanan's hip and she placed her free hand lightly on his shoulder. The two began to dance slowly to the music, Hanan discreetly steering them towards the back entrance, where she would make her escape.
"I'm surprised. You can dance pretty well," Alex said, clearly impressed. Hanan scoffed.
"It's just a waltz. There's nothing complicated about it," she muttered.
As the two continued to dance, Hanan spotted a shiny object glinting from inside Alex's jacket. It looked like his phone, but she couldn't be sure. She discreetly pressed her arm against his chest to feel for any hard surface; yup, that was his phone all right. She smiled at her small victory. Hanan glanced over Alex's shoulder. They had arrived at the back entrance. Her eyes flitted all around them. There weren't that many students around. She could grab his phone without making too big a scene.
"Alex, I need to go to the bathroom," Hanan said.
"Okay," Alex said, before releasing his hold on the girl. Quickly, Hanan snatched Alex's phone from inside his jacket and ran outside, trying to keep her balance with Amina's big heels. She ignored the startled shout from behind her and kept running. She saw Amir standing outside, waiting to intercept Alex. Her eyes met his and for a brief moment, time stopped and they were the only two there.
"Give me back my phone you b***h!" Alex exclaimed, effectively snapping the two out of their trance. Hanan was so startled, she tripped down the stairs. One of the shoes fell off and landed on a step while the other shoe stayed on Hanan, who was curled up in pain.
"Hanan!" Amir shouted. She looked up to see Alex looming over her. She tried to get up and move away, but her foot was in too much pain. "Hanan!" Amir shouted again, this time looming above Hanan as well. He shoved Alex away, giving Hanan a bit of room to crawl away. She saw Amir holding on to Alex, who was trying his best to get to her and his phone. Hanan took Alex's phone and found the sim card. She grabbed the shoe on her food and used the heel to smash it to pieces.
"WHAT THE F*KC ARE YOU DOING YOU B*TCH?!" Alex screamed. Amir clamped his hands over Alex's mouth.
"Don't you dare insult her like that, you hear me?" he growled under his breath, his face red with fury. Hanan put her shoe back on and left Alex's phone on the ground.
"Here, you can take your phone back now," she said nonchalantly. Amir let Alex go and Alex stormed towards Hanan. He picked up his phone and stared at the broken sim card on the ground.
"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT YOU B*TCH!" he screamed as he raised his fist. Hanan quickly shielded her face and kneed Alex where the sun don't shine. He screamed in pain and shoved Hanan.
"Ya Allah!" she shrieked as she fell, before a strong arm caught her and steadied her. Hanan didn't even have time to thank him before Amir punched Alex in the face.
"Don't come near her ever again!" he yelled as he continued to punch Alex. "And don't you dare think about threatening her ever again, or you'll have to deal with me!" he yelled before punching Alex one last time. The idiot ran away, crying and peeing his pants.
Amir panted heavily. He walked towards the steps of the back entrance and picked up the Hanan's fallen shoe, before making his way back to Hanan.
"Your shoe," he said, as he got down on one knee to help her up. Hanan had had enough of touching non-mahrams. She took off the other heel and gave it to Amir.
"These belonged to Amina anyways," she said as she got up on her own. She winced from the pain. Dammit, she had a swollen ankle. How was she going to explain that to Mama?
"Let's get you home, we need to treat your ankle," Amir said. Hanan nodded and the two made their way to Noor's car.
"How did it go?" Noor asked.
"It was a success," Amir answered.
"Alhamdullillah!" Amina exclaimed. Hanan smiled as she got into the car.
"Amina, promise me something," Hanan said as Noor started the car and left the school.
"What?" Amina asked.
"Promise me that you won't forget your faith again," Hanan said. Amina smiled.
"I promise."
A/N: Salaam everyone. Don't worry, there will be an epilogue, so look forward for that.
Ma'asalamah!