The Summer Story

It's something about the way she walks to him that he loves. They're at the airport, and they've spotted each other already, of course, and all Eddie wants to do is rush over and envelope her in a hug- but no, that would be too cliché, wouldn't it? And they just don't do cliché in the same way that she doesn't do restaurants.

So he waits for her, sweaty palms stuck in his pockets, a stupid grin plastered on his face. He wants to be able to smirk the way she is right now, so mischievously, but he's too damn excited to even care if he looks desperate. And when she finally does make it to him- finally, god, couldn't she have walked a little faster? - Eddie grins, outstretching his arms. It hasn't been that long since they've seen each other, but still. Something about Patricia makes him giddy.

"Hey, Yacker," he whispers in her ear right before they separate. He grabs her luggage in an effort to show how macho and manly and strong he is, and she snorts at the gesture but lets him take her baggage anyway because she doesn't want to carry them. He kisses her gently as a welcome, and she laughs, looking around.

"So this is America," she finally muses, crossing her arms as they make their way to the exit of the airport.

"Yeah, how do you like it?"

"It's as pathetic as I imagined," she says, but there's some hint of amusement, some sense of fondness in her voice that makes him think she doesn't mind one bit.

"So, how were those three weeks with your family?" Eddie jokes as they get into his car. For once, he opts to keep the radio off, much more interested in talking to her. And it surprises him, really, because the old Eddie Miller usually would've wanted to drown anyone out with the sound of Sick Puppies.

Patricia shrugs, "Piper this, Piper that." But it doesn't look like it fazes her anymore and her eyes light up, "So? What's your mum like?"

"Seriously, Yacker? That's the first question you think of?" Eddie rolls his eyes, taking one hand off the steering wheel so that he can hold hands with her. Neither mention the gesture but it's definitely appreciated.

"Well, yeah, I need to know what she's like. If I want to impress her, Weasel-"

"Then just be yourself," Eddie laughs. "No calling up Piper and asking her to come over to America, got that?"

"I wasn't going to ask her that," Patricia scowls, but they're both still excited over the fact that they're seeing each other again and she can't bring herself to be that mad. "But honestly, what does she like?"

"Sassy Brits," Eddie answers, and she punches his shoulder. "She's going to love you. I mean, she already knows what you're like-"

"Ah, so you talk about me?" And there's a gleam in her eyes and Eddie sighs once he realizes what he just admitted.

"I don't talk about you," Eddie denies. "But you know, my dad…"

"Oh, yeah, right. Tell me, does your dad talk about all his students with your mum?"

"…shut up, Yacker."

"Honey, I'm home!" Eddie calls as he enters the house, Patricia's suitcase rolling behind him. It's almost instantly that his mother comes into the foyer, beaming. She looks fairly young- younger than Mr. Sweet by far- and it's clear Eddie gets his blond hair and hazel eyes from her, Patricia notes.

"Oh, she's so pretty," Ms. Miller gushes, and Patricia tries not to turn a deep shade of red at the compliment.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Miller," she says, not sure how to go about this. The last time she met Eddie's parent, she had already known him and she had sent her sister. "I'm-"

"Patricia Williamson, oh, I know," Ms. Miller says. "Eddie goes on and on about you, I swear-"

"Mom!"

Ms. Miller fumbles over her words, "I mean Eric. Eric goes on and on about you, obviously." She winks at Eddie not so discreetly and Patricia holds back a laugh as Eddie bows his head. His mum's still talking, "Eddie, be a gentleman and put Patricia's bags in her room."

"Why can't she do it herself?" Eddie cries indignantly, but one stern glance from his mother has him grumbling under his breath and heading upstairs, luggage in hand.

"It's really nice to meet you, Ms. Miller. Eddie talks about you a lot," Patricia offers politely, breaking the awkward silence. Truth be told, Eddie doesn't really mention his mother all too much, but that would be rude to say.

"Call me Rebecca," Ms. Miller says, smiling warmly. "I hope my son's been good to you…he's never been in an actual relationship, you know?" Patricia furrows her eyebrows, no, she doesn't know, because to her knowledge, Eddie can get any girl any time of day. At least that's what he makes it sound like, so why would he have never been in an actual relationship?

Ms. Miller lowers her voice, "Honestly, I think you're the first girl he really likes."

I think I'm falling for you, Yacker.

And it was that which got the ball rolling…

Were they falling too hard too fast?

He wraps his arms around her waist from behind as she unpacks, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Now remember," Eddie says, tone teasing. "If you ever feel the need, my bedroom door is always open. You're welcome anytime."

"Slime ball," she rolls her eyes but leans into his embrace in a way that she would never do at Anubis House.

"You're going to love it here," Eddie promises. "Tomorrow, we can meet my friends and then we can go to the beach and…" he trails off. "I'm just really glad you're here."

"So, Mom, what do you think of Patricia?" Eddie raises an eyebrow before looking down and sticking his tongue out in concentration, finishing off the pancakes with a dose of whipped cream. He looks up at his mother again before squirting some whipped cream in his mouth. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right?

"She's nice," Ms. Miller says. She doesn't know the girl very well, and even though Eddie had told Patricia to just be herself, the Brit had spent the whole evening being as polite as she knew possible.

"She's trying really hard not to screw this up," Eddie explains, and Ms. Miller nods, grabbing her keys and getting ready for a day at work.

"Behave, Edison," she reprimands, grinning, and Eddie laughs as she leaves. He carefully holds two plates of pancakes and brings them up to Patricia's room, where her hair is still wet from her shower.

"Eddie Miller's delicious pancakes," he introduces, handing her a plate and fork, to which she raises an eyebrow. It's like a honeymoon stage for them, a time when everything and everyone is perfect, and Eddie's making the best of it.

It's a week later that Patricia wakes up in the middle of the night to tiny shrieks emitting from the room next door. She rubs her eyes tiredly and checks the time- it's too early to be up, especially after such a stressful day of trying to get along with Eddie's friends, who are just as cocky and annoying as him if not more. But she's almost sure that it's Eddie making those sounds, which is reason enough to get up and trudge to his room.

"Eddie?" she whispers, looking over his sleeping figure, which is tossing and turning all about, face wrought in agony. "Eddie? Wake up!"

She shakes his shoulders desperately, but to no avail. Patricia sighs, yawning, "Eddie! Wake up!"

"Osirian," he mutters, and she freezes. His dad has promised to tell him more about all that at the beginning of next term, but that doesn't sooth the worries she has right now. Nina was put in life threatening situations for being the chosen one, having nightmares just like these…was this some kind of vision? He needed to wake up, he was scaring her.

She has no choice so she slaps him, and he jolts up, breathing hard and clutching his cheek. "Yacker?" he asks, rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing here? I mean, yeah, my door's open, but not at 3:00 at night." She raises an eyebrow- does he honestly not remember the nightmare he just had? "And did you just slap me?"

"You were having a bad dream," Patricia mutters, and Eddie stiffens as if it's all coming back to him. "You said 'Osirian.'"

"That's so weird," Eddie mumbles, before scooting over in his bed and patting the empty space. He looks at Patricia and yawns, "Well?"

"Eddie," she hisses. "I am not sleeping in your bed."

"Sure you are," he says tiredly, and she can't repress that girly part of him that thinks he looks absolutely adorable when he's sleepy. He tugs on her wrist and she lands on the bed in surprise. Eddie wraps an arm around her waist and buries his face in her neck, bringing one of her hands up to stroke his hair.

"What if your mum comes to check on us?"

"Why would my mom be awake right now?"

"I don't know," Patricia whispers, a blush growing on her cheeks as she tries to pull away. "Eddie! Let me go! If my parents knew about this, they would-"

"But they don't know about this," Eddie says quietly, eyes closed. "Shush, Yacker, just go to sleep."

"I really like Patricia," his mom tells him a week later, grinning. Patricia had finally started opening up and Ms. Miller definitely liked the girl better than any of Eddie's previous girlfriends.

"I really like Patricia too," he laughs, checking his watch. He and Patricia were going to get lunch soon, but she was still getting ready.

Ms. Miller locks eyes with him, voice quiet, "Do you…do you… love her?"

Eddie stays silent for a minute. Was he in love with Patricia? She was amazing and wonderful and perfect and the question had been on his mind for ages now. Every time they were together, Eddie was happy just being there with her. And now that they finally had a break from all the residents of Anubis House, he was definitely starting to see a new side to her, a side that didn't have to be so mean and harsh, a side that laughed at his stupid antics and just made him feel special.

"Yes," he murmurs, voice barely above a whisper. "I…I think I do." He looks to his mom, who stays frozen for a minute before opening her arms and wrapping him in a hug, much to his objection.

"My baby's in love," she mutters, rocking him slightly and planting a big kiss on his cheek. "My baby's in love!"

The next few weeks went great- cuddling, kissing, hugging, teasing, a couple fights about the stupidest things but not many. Patricia liked it, she really did, she liked being there with him. She didn't know what it was about Eddie, but he made her feel special. Wanted. And she felt himself falling just the way he had with every kiss, hug, and conversation they shared.

And that scared her.

This was her first relationship- nobody falls in love in their first relationship. It was completely unrealistic, and besides, weren't they moving just a little too fast for a couple that hadn't been together for at least a year? She couldn't love him. She couldn't. Because loving someone would mean getting too attached to them, and she didn't even know anything about love anyway. How could she be absolutely sure this was love and not just immense like?

She pulls away from his lips and Eddie frowns. She picks herself up off of his bed, effectively ruining the mood the snogging session had brought. But these thoughts have circled around for too long, and she just wanted them to go away. They couldn't go away when she was staring at her boyfriend who she might've maybe just a little bit been in love with.

"Something wrong?" he asks.

"No," she shakes her head, wringing her hands. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just…tired."

Eddie nods, plopping down in bed and Patricia goes over next to him as they've done so many times. "You look worried," Eddie observes and she closes her eyes. How was Eddie so perceptive? Was she that easy to read? She shifts and doesn't say anything, pretending to have already fallen asleep.

Maybe it's that what prompts him to say it for the first time, just as practice, his voice soft, "I think I love you, Yacker."

It's becoming more serious.

It's becoming more serious and she's scared.

The summer has been great- his mum liked her, much to her surprise, and his friends grew on her and she could at least tolerate them now. Against her wishes, Eddie had decided to throw a little 'going away party' for her and she's currently mingling with people she doesn't even know that well when he sneaks up behind her and whispers 'Boo!'

"I scared you!" he accuses, and she scoffs. Of course he scared her- in more ways than one, actually. He scared her because to Patricia, Eddie was somebody she had come to care about so much that she would put her life on the line for him, she would do anything for him. She gives him a weak smile, and Eddie frowns.

"Are you upset? C'mon, Yacker, I know you didn't want this party but I had to!"

"No, the party's great," Patricia says. "It's just…I don't want to go home, yeah?" And it was partially true.

"Told you you'd love it here," he smirks before wrapping her in a hug, Patricia looking over his shoulder worriedly.

"Well, this is it," Patricia murmurs, gripping her suitcase handle tightly. Eddie's dropping her off at the airport and she's been considering this option for a while now- she just didn't know how to say it. Doesn't know how to go through with it.

"Hey, we're going to see each other soon," Eddie laughs, not understanding why she looks so nervous. He steps closer and takes one of her hands. "…hey, Yacker?"

"Yeah?" she asks, squeezing his hand tighter.

"I love you," he says, smiling softly and kissing her. He pulls back to gauge her reaction, but to his dismay, Patricia looks fretful. She doesn't love him, does she? He said it too soon...she doesn't love him. She doesn't love him.

"Eddie," she starts, gulping. She doesn't want to do this, but she can't go on like this any longer. Besides, no one falls in love this soon, Eddie's probably fooling himself. He doesn't actually love her…and now she can let him go so that he can go date one of the girls here, who aren't as rude and mean as her. "Eddie," she whispers. "I- I'm sorry. But I can't…I can't do this anymore."

"W-what?" Eddie looks so disappointed and she's feeling as if she's not only breaking his heart, but her own too. "Patricia, what did I do wrong?" She can't take that heartbroken look, the crack in his voice. What is she supposed to say? That she was scared?

"I'm sorry," she mutters, feeling tears wet her eyes. No, she would not cry. She angrily swipes the traitor tears away and gives him one last kiss before waving goodbye. It's not a real goodbye, considering they'll see each other soon, but it's a goodbye from their relationship, a goodbye from the best summer ever.

"Patricia," he whispers as she walks away, opening and closing his mouth before sighing and burying his head in his hands. She had loved it here- he knew she had.

And he loves her. He told her that he loves her. The first girl he had ever loved.

Eddie looks up, willing himself not to do anything rash. Honestly, he doesn't even feel like doing anything anymore besides just standing there. How…what…why?

He sees her standing in line, and he lets out a sigh.

It's something about the way she walked away from him that he still can't help but love.

I don't own House of Anubis.