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Damian's POV

Mariam's aunt's house was pretty big. Like, even bigger than mine. Which was a good thing, because Mariam had a pretty big family. So big that I was barely noticeable, until I was noticed.

"Who's that?" a young boy pointed bluntly at me, and beside him a girl who looked about my age, maybe younger, scrutinized me.

"I have no idea," she replied dryly, placing a protective hand on the boy's shoulder. "But he's pretty damn fine." She smiled at me the way girls usually did, and she wasn't half-bad looking, so I shot her one of my trademark smirks, until I felt a hand clamp on my shoulder. "Let me save you from my crazy cousin," Nasr hissed, dragging me away.

"Hey, I'm not crazy!" the girl cried indignantly after us.

"She is, trust me," Nasr muttered to me, and I chuckled. We were now in the backyard, via the living room, but there were so many people sitting on the couches talking and laughing that no one really noticed the non-Arab dude being dragged by an Arab dude.

"Where's Mariam?" I asked, because as soon as I had stepped into the house, I had lost sight of her, even though we had come in the same car.

"Oh, she's probably with her girl cousins gossiping or something," Nasr said dismissively. He then called out, "Oi, Amir! Come over here!"

I turned to who he was speaking to and felt something tap against my foot. I looked down and realized it was a soccer ball, and a smile spread across my face. It had been so long since I'd played a proper game, mainly because I had no one to play with.

"Who's the new guy? Some distant cousin or something?" I looked up at the source of the voice, and a tall guy with bushy eyebrows and thick black hair shaved at the sides cocked an eyebrow at me.

"This is Damian," Nasr introduced me, slinging an arm around my shoulders sine we were practically the same height. "He's a Muslim revert."

The guy raised his eyebrows which looked quite comical. "Really? Wow, man. That's pretty cool. Salamu Alaykum, I'm Amir."

"Wa Alaykum musalam, Amir," at my reply Amir looked even more awed. He glanced at Nasr in amazement.

"You weren't kidding!" he burst out.

"I never kid," Nasr said soberly. He then kicked the soccer ball from me and hollered, "Let's play some soccer, boys!"

"Hold up, Nasr, we need teams," I interjected, and Nasr nodded.

"Yeah, you're right," he laughed. He waved his arm and yelled, "Yallah, boys, we're playing soccer!"

Suddenly a whole herd of boys ran onto the lawn, some young, some...old. In fact, I was pretty sure a few of them were uncles! And they all had a gut, but as we split up the teams and started to play, that didn't seem to hinder their performance. Though after a while a few of the older uncles were breathless and decided to quit the game, so we young hooligans continued to play.

I dribbled the ball and scored a goal, and all the boys on my team cheered my name and slapped me on the back as if we were old teammates, and not complete strangers that had just met. Honestly, as I played with Mariam's cousins, I enjoyed myself and had a good time, which was ultimately what Eid was about, and it had been a while since I felt this puffed out and pumped with competitive adrenaline. It had been a while since I had been a part of a team that was on my side.

Though it was cold, the majority of us boys were starting to perspire, and as I mopped my forehead with the sleeve of my jumper, I smelled something.

"Is that...food?" I sniffed again, my stomach groaning as I realized I hadn't eaten since breakfast. Yet fasting every day for the past month had made me less susceptible to hunger, I had been running about for the past...I didn't even know how long.

"Lunch time!" Amir pumped his fist in the air and we all rushed into the house, following the delicious smell. I had tasted Lebanese food before at the mosque that night I first went to meet Hassan, who I've become pretty good mates with, and yet there was still so many dishes I hadn't tasted.

"Sit, sit," an auntie practically pushed me into a chair, and a plate was handed to me, which I was required to fill.

More and more people joined the table, and I noticed Mariam among the girls who came in. A lot of the girls in her family didn't wear the hijab like she and her sister did, and I wondered why. I thought all the girls had to wear it, but I guessed not.

As soon as Mariam saw me, she smiled, and I smiled back, until the moment was ruined by the same auntie that forced me to sit, now forcing me to taste one of her dishes.

"Here, eat this," she shoved a pastry into my mouth, and I heard a few people laugh at me. I chewed the pastry, widening my eyes when the taste exploded in my mouth, and involuntarily groaned.

"It's good, isn't it?" the auntie grinned at me, before offering to shovel some lasagne onto my plate. She was sitting next to me, and she kept babying me even though I was no baby. But in terms of this whole new culture, I was an infant.

"Oh, man, once Auntie Ola has you in her clutches, it's hard to escape," Nasr sniggered beside me, and I elbowed him accidentally to shut up.

I glanced across at Mariam, who was all the way on the other side of the table surrounded by all her girl cousins, talking and laughing with them. Among them was the "crazy" girl from before, and she caught me staring at her, so I quickly averted my eyes. However, I couldn't help peeking up again to Mariam, hoping she'd look this way, but she was too busy enjoying her meal, so I decided to do the same.

"So we hear you are a convert," an auntie said to me, and I nodded at her.

"How long have you been Muslim?" another auntie questioned, and so I told her how long. Had it already been more than a month and a half?

The rest of the lunch involved family members interrogating me, from what my father did as a job to what university I wanted to attend and then what my cultural background was, which I replied as just 'Aussie' cause that was what I identified as.

"No one is just Aussie, you must come from somewhere," an uncle I had played soccer with said.

"Well, my mum's mainly English, with some Irish and French thrown in," I explained. "And my Dad's got some German and Welsh as well as English."

"Geez, that's so white," Amir said, earning a hard look from one of the aunties.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I'm not from some cool exotic place."

"Do you speak French if your mum is French?" One of the Mariam's cousins, who was a twin, asked.

"I wish," I snorted. "My French goes as far as 'Les Trois Petits Cochons.'"

The twins and a few other cousins laughed. "Hey, that's more than I know, so well done, buddy," Nasr said humorously.

There was a pleasant atmosphere as we had our lunch, and the aunties kept getting me to eat more, even when I assured them I was really full, but that didn't seem to stop them from scooping more food onto my plate. I swear if I ate any more my stomach would burst, and yet each time I found myself politely giving in and eating a bit, sneakily trying to give some to Nasr, who was shovelling the food down like there was no tomorrow.

"Dude, how are you still eating? I'm stuffed," I whispered.

"When you're Lebo, you gotta have a big stomach, otherwise how else would I fit all this delicious food in?" Nasr told me through a mouthful of tabouli. Tabouli was the best salad I had ever tasted, even better than my mum's coleslaw. It was the only food I had space for at the moment, and I wasn't getting sick of it.

"How are you not fat, Nasr? If I ate like that I'd be a sumo wrestler!" Amir joked, and I realized he was the funny cousin. Each cousin had their own traits, like how Huda, the crazy girl, was a chatterbox, the twins, Layla and Lina, were intelligent and graceful, while the little boy, who was Huda's little brother Haydar, was...weird.

"Once, my belly button fell off," Haydar whispered to me after lunch.

I raised my eyebrows in amusement. "Oh, really?"

Haydar's large hazel eyes stared at me, almost penetrating my soul. "Yeah. But it grew back again. Wanna see?"

"No one wants to see your belly button, Haydar," I turned to my saviour, who scooped little Haydar up into her arms and prodded his nose. I couldn't help smiling at the gesture as Mariam spoke some Lebanese to the boy, and the boy spoke back sheepishly. I watched their interaction until Mariam set him down and slapped his butt, saying, "Barra!"

She then focused her attention on me, and in that moment I realized how...beautiful she was. Whoa, where did that thought come from?

"Sorry about that. You're probably weirded out, right?"

I shrugged. "I've met worse."

Mariam laughed at that, and I could suddenly smell something smoky and sweet floating in the air, and I could hear the distant clinking of plates and cutlery as the women cleaned up the table while the men sat outside.

"What's that smell?" I inquired.

"The men are smoking from the hookah pipes," Mariam sighed as if this was just another regular thing. "They always do that after meals."

At the mention of smoking I stiffened slightly. I had seen the effects of smoking first-hand, thanks to my mother and her unfortunate condition, though the doctors had told us that genetics had more to do with developing lung cancer than actual smoking, but I knew that was bull. Smoking caused cancer. End of story.

"I gotta make a call," I pulled out my phone, something I did whenever I wanted to get out of something, and in this case, I just needed some air. Fresh air.

Mariam nodded understandingly, not even questioning anything. I silently thanked her for that as I spun on my heel and headed towards the front door, which was already open, and when I stepped outside, I groaned. Could I ever get some alone time in this place?

"Hey, Damian, want to play tag with us?" Haydar asked as he chased after a little girl with pig tails who was squealing with laughter.

"No, thanks, I'm good," I replied to the eight year old boy. The driveway was long enough to fit all the cars of the family, and in between the cars, a few of the younger kids played. I decided they wouldn't be a bother while I called my mum, so I sat on the front steps and dialled her mobile number. She picked up after two rings.

"Damian! Where are you? I thought you'd be home by now," I inwardly cringed at how worried I had made my mother, since worrying would only make her feel worse.

"I'm sorry, Mum, I should've called earlier but I lost track of time," I replied calmly. "You see, Mariam's father sort of invited me over to their Eid family gathering, and I sort of agreed to come."

"Oh, really? That sounds nice. Have you had lunch yet?" Mum asked.

"Yeah, I just did. I swear, the food is amazing, I'm still trying to digest it all," I chuckled. "They really love their food."

"Well, after a month of fasting, I could only imagine how much food they'd eat!" Mum laughed, only to fall into a coughing fit.

"Mum, don't strain yourself," I said soothingly. Even out here I could still smell the sweet scent of the smoke from the backyard, and I clenched my fists. I wished people would stop using socialising as an excuse to smoke and wake up to the reality of its consequences. If only they knew...

"I'm okay, darling," Mum assured me. "Anyway, tell me about Mariam's family. They seem very welcoming if they let you join their Eid celebration."

"Well, yeah, they're so cool," I smiled just thinking about them. They were the warmest, bubbliest bunch of people I had met. I wished my family was as large and harmonious as Mariam's.

"You can stay there as long as you want to, Damian, I don't mind," Mum said after I told her all about them. "I trust Mariam, so I trust her family to take care of you. They seem to be feeding you better than I ever did!"

"Mum don't say that, you fed me well," I proclaimed.

"But I could never cook up a feast like they do. Anyway, have fun and I will see you tonight, right?"

I nodded, then realized she couldn't see me. "Yep. In Sha Allah."

Mum let out a small laugh. "Yes, In Sha Allah. I think you might be slowly trying to convert me, Damian!"

I laughed. "That's the plan."

"Really?" Mum asked seriously.

"No, Mum, you believe what you want to believe. It's a free world," I replied just as seriously. "I'm just glad you accept my new beliefs and aren't trying to disown me as your son."

"I would never!" Mum gasped. "Plus, you're my only son, so what kind of mother would that make me?"

"A pretty bad one," I chuckled. "Now take care of yourself. Is Dad home?"

"Actually, Kate's here with me," just as mum said that I heard a giggle in the background. "Tracey will be staying over later too, and I'm sure you're excited about that."

"Yeah, whatever," Mum knew how much I loved Tracey, but I never really showed it. I hadn't seen her since I spoke to her about my conversion, and I couldn't wait to tell her all about today.

"By the way, how are you getting home? Is Mariam's father going to drop you off?" Mum asked.

I was waiting for her to ask that question. "No, her brother will. He picked me up, remember?"

"Oh, yes, your new best friend," Mum teased. "I won't keep you any longer, so go and enjoy yourself and make sure to text me when you leave, okay?"

"Okay, Mum, love you," I said in a bored voice, but underneath it all I really meant it.

"Love you too, sweetie. May peace be with you," Mum loved using that phrase now that I taught it to her, because it seemed much more meaningful than just a plain 'goodbye.' I totally agreed.

"And you."

Please, God, protect her while I'm gone, I prayed silently. After hanging up, I sat there for a few moments, watching the kids chase after each other and shoot each other with nerf guns, before standing up and heading back inside.

***

Mariam's POV

"Truth or dare?"

"Oh, come on, not that again," I groaned.

"Don't be a chicken, Mims, we're gonna do this," Huda stated firmly. "So who's up for a little truth or dare?"

"I am!" Zeinab exclaimed, as well as everyone else in the room, including Nasr and Amir and the twins. I peeked at Damian, who shrugged.

"Sure, why not?"

Huda smiled in satisfaction when Damian spoke, and then she turned to me. "Well, Mariam? Are you in or are you out?"

"Or are you too chicken?" Damian teased as Nasr began clucking like a chicken.

"Why do I feel like I'm being peer pressured?" I sighed in defeat, and swung my legs underneath me, adjusting my skirt.

"Okay, shall we begin, ladies and gentlemen?" Huda clapped her hands once, grinning evilly at all of us.

"She really is the crazy one," I overheard Damian hiss to Nasr, who chuckled. "You bet."

The first dare was for Amir, who volunteered to go first. He had to go in front of all of the aunties and belly dance wearing Auntie Ola's hip scarf, and Huda videoed it on her phone as the rest of us watched, unable to contain our laughter.

When it was Layla's turn she chose truth, because she was smart like that, so I asked her, "What's your biggest fear?"

"Ending up as a lonely cat lady," Layla responded, making us all laugh.

"Really? No spiders or snakes or heights?" Nasr inquired.

"I love heights, and snakes are so cute," Layla said genuinely.

"Not when they bite you," Amir muttered.

"Okay, now it's your turn, Mims!" Huda was the leader of this game, perhaps because this was her bedroom, but also because she loved taking charge, even though she wasn't the oldest. Nasr was the oldest, but he was too lazy to be a leader.

"I choose..."

"If you say truth I am going to -"

"Going to what, Nasr?" I asked calmly, raising my eyebrows at him.

"Let the girl speak!" Huda cried, glaring at Nasr, who mumbled under his breath.

"I choose dare," I smirked at Nasr, who looked pleased.

"Good choice. Can I decide the dare?" Nasr asked Huda, who grinned.

"Absolutely, I'm sure you've got a good one up your sleeve," she said, and suddenly I regretted my choice to go against the norm. I only chose dare to spite Nasr, but it seemed I was just spiting myself.

Nasr regarded me with a malicious gleam in his brown eyes and I gulped. "Nasr, whatever it is, please don't make it too crazy. I have my limits, you know."

Nasr smirked. "You owe me, remember, Mims? When I drove you to that party all those months ago?"

At the mention of party everyone gasped. "You went to a party?" Huda was the most surprised out of them all, and I just shrugged. I really didn't want to discuss that unfortunate event with my cousins. Especially when Damian was there too.

"Anyway, you have to do whatever I tell you, alright?" Nasr said to me, and I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, just get it over with already."

"Okay. I dare you to..." Nasr paused, until I realized he was still thinking.

"Hurry up, Nasr! We don't have all day," Zeinab urged. I could tell she too couldn't wait to hear my dare, and see me get humiliated.

"Take a puff from the hookah pipe," Nasr concluded, and there were mixed reactions. While Huda and Amir were pumping their fists and crying, "Yes!" The twins were shaking their heads in disapproval. I didn't even want to glance at Damian to see what his reaction was, but I could tell he didn't like it. Not one bit.

"Seriously?" I scoffed.

"Hey, I've had a puff before. It's not that big of a deal. Worst case scenario is you cough a bit, but that's it," Nasr shrugged nonchalantly, like it was no big deal.

I finally had the guts to look at Damian, but he just had an unreadable expression on his face, his eyes averted as he fiddled with a thread in the carpet.

"I reject the dare," I stated firmly.

"What? You can't do that!" Amir cried.

"Yeah, that's against the rules," Nasr seconded.

"Actually..." Huda interjected sheepishly. "Everyone is allowed to pass up one dare each, but the only way you can do this is to dare someone else. So Mariam, who do you dare in your place to smoke? And it can't be anyone who's already gone."

Amir moaned in disappointment while Layla looked relieved.

"Okay, then. I choose you," I decided, looking straight at Huda.

Huda smiled. "Okay. I'll do it. But only because I'm experienced," she added with a wink as she stood up.

I sighed with relief, following her out of the room along with everyone else. As we padded down the stairs Damian came beside me and murmured, "You did the right thing."

"I always do the right thing," I replied teasingly.

Damian fixed his green eyes on mine and nodded. "That's what I'm counting on, Mariam."