She had been assigned to be Dash's math tutor.

That was how they met, and how several days passed in awkward silences and stilted words. Dash wasn't sure if he was offending her or not, the way he stared at her headscarf – hijab, she'd muttered once, it was called a hijab – and the way he studied her beautiful handwriting. There was something about being taught by the new girl at school that left him without a leg to stand on. She wasn't popular, she wasn't unpopular. She wasn't friends with his circle, wasn't bullied, simply existed, invisible and off the radar. She was a loner not by choice but by the circumstances of being the only girl in school of her religion, or at least the only one Dash knew of.

Tahira al-Tariq was simply his tutor until Paulina broke up with him to go out with a senior who was top of the food chain. He was the laughingstock of the football team, a position he didn't know if he could take. It felt like the ground had dropped out from under him. He wanted nothing more than to get out of school for the weekend and ignore the world. Downtrodden, Dash arrived at Tahira's house to find that her father, who always seemed parked in front of the living room TV watching the news and glancing over at them occasionally, was not present. Instead the kitchen had been used, and there were a few plates of food out for Dash. She presented one to him with a small smile.

"Try it," she insisted gently. "My mother always said that food soothed things over."

He picked up what looked like pita bread with olive oil and some kind of herbs he couldn't identify. Too tired to argue, he picked up a piece, nibbling it cautiously. That quickly turned into taking a large bite as he realized how good it was. Her relieved smile made him smile weakly back at her. Apparently she wasn't going to make fun of him for being dumped by the most popular girl in school. In fact, she sat down at the kitchen table with him, Math book in hand, with extra outlines and pages of helpful quick tips. Her hijab was blue that day. It was a color she favored.

Tahira idly asked if he felt better as he polished off his second plate of whatever it was he was eating. He chuckled. "I think this is the best I've felt all day. Other than Kwan and you, everybody's been treating me like crap. You're really something else."

"I'm just doing what anyone should. You've had a hard enough day." She straightened up and smoothed out her dress. "Would you like some tea while we go over next week's assignment? If you get it done early you'll be able to cut out of the class. I know you don't want to put up with Paulina right now."

"…sure. Tea sounds great." It did; it was winter, after all. He idly played with the last bit of bread on his plate, looking at all the work she'd done for him, and he couldn't help his next question. "Tahira, why are you doing all this for me?"

"You need it," she said simply.

"No, I mean it. You know I'm a bully. I know I'm a bully. I'm a jock. I don't even talk to you at school. What is this, some kind of play to pick me up on the rebound? You trying to get in with the popular crowd? Maybe you want more pay for tutoring?" He looked at her, but he saw in her cool brown eyes he was wrong.

"You need someone to be your friend right now. That's all. I had time after Friday's sermon to make something for you. I really don't know you well enough to know what else to do, Dash. I want to help, but I can't. And that bothers me." She looked down at the tea as she put it in the microwave. "How Paulina treated you bothers me. Kwan told me you've known her since first grade. This is not how she should have broken up with you. It's just mean spirited."

"She's not all bad," Dash defended the girl that had dumped him hours ago, quietly. "She has a good side. It just doesn't come out very often. Less and less, these days, but who am I to talk, you know?"

"Everyone deserves to talk," Tahira replied, setting the tea in front of him. "So, talk. It will help clear your head."

And he did. He talked, words spilling forth into the warmth of her presence and the trust in her eyes and the softness of her being. He told her about Paulina needing help to go higher on the swings when she was little, how that was how they'd met. How she had known about his hobbies and never blackmailed him. How she had been at the funeral when his mother died. Their first dance they'd declared the song Book Of Love their song, forever. Paulina had made him look at bridal magazines together. She had told him they were the real thing, that she loved him, and he'd said it back and then she broke up with him. It was the worst kind of backstabbing he'd ever endured. Sudden as lightning, in front of the school, it was all over.

Tahira listened. She actually cared about what he had to say. He went on and on until it was dark out and a foot of snow had fallen. He drank his tea, he ate his food, she took the dishes away to give him something else to eat, which he tucked into for the comfort of warm food. It was some kind of tomato sauce with thick vegetable chunks over rice, and it was good. Comfort and relaxation rolled over him in waves until he realized he had quit talking and they were eating in companionable silence.

"There's an Arabic proverb that says that if you are hurting and I ignore you, I have failed myself." She looked at the plate as she played with her food. "I arranged this with some help from my father with the cooking so I could help you not hurt so badly. When we're together, you've always been guarded and kind of tired looking. But you've never disrespected me or been cruel to me. You've been tolerant and even polite. You say there's more to Paulina, and I can see it now. Yet I think that truthfully, there's more to you than just being a bully or a jock."

"Maybe before. I had more to me – I was Paulina's boyfriend. Now, what do I have?" he asked honestly, looking up and meeting her eyes.

"You have your sports, your improved grades, your friend Kwan. And if you'll let me, then you have me, Dash." She did not look away, even though the silence was deafening.

He stared at her for a full twelve seconds before his smile finally met his eyes. "…I'd like that."