Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places etc. related to House of Anubis.

Perfect

'cause we were just kids when we fell in love, not knowing what it was

This was probably a foolish thing to do.

And truly, Eddie Miller was no stranger to foolish things. He almost always led his life by instinct, which had gotten him into trouble more times than it really should. He'd applied to college in America on a whim, and then sort of won a sports scholarship. He'd hopped in his friend's car one night thinking they were headed to a party and he didn't return to his own place until two weeks later with a healthy tan from the Mexican sun. One time he'd sort of sacrificed himself to an Egyptian god to save the world from ending, and that wasn't something many people could boast.

But this. This was foolish on a whole other level, because it relied on someone else, and Eddie wasn't the best at trusting others.

He could remember the evening that started this so vividly, which was pretty impressive for saying it was a good five years ago now.

Eighteen years old, and catching a tear with the edge of his index finger, thinking that this was probably the most dramatic moment of his entire life. Well, attempting to catch a tear at least. The girl in his arms furiously dashed it away with the back of her hand before he could get within an inch of her, and the glare she shot him clearly informed him that if he even tried to wipe away the next, he might lose his hand.

It wasn't the most dramatic moment, of course, but at the time it'd felt like the apocalypse. And that was coming from someone who had actually experienced a near-apocalypse. Teenage break-ups just had a habit of seeming like the worst thing in the world.

"Okay, I have an idea," Eddie had murmured, and she'd looked up at him expectantly, eyes still shining from the tears yet to fall.

In hindsight, if he hadn't said anything, just left it at 'I think it's best we take a break while I go to college', he might have avoided the searing pain of a wicked black eye, but then he wouldn't be stood here at this very moment, so swings and roundabouts.

But he had said something, he'd gone and suggested that if they were both around on the night five years from now, they should meet again. In front of the restaurant where they'd had their first date, splitting a pizza that cost a tenner with free drinks because they were high school students, a fake rose in a plastic bottle in the middle of the table next to a flickering light-up candle. The epitome of romance, and it had really seemed to be so.

So that's where he was now. Stood in front of a restaurant in the city he used to go to school in, except it wasn't a restaurant anymore. It had changed from a restaurant to a pub at some point over the years, and now it was closed, so their epitome of romance was just a dark and dingy building with boarded up windows, and ripped flyers advertising DJ sets from two years ago providing the only decoration.

And it was foolish, because Patricia Williamson had made it very, very clear that she wouldn't be attending this five year reunion.

Eddie couldn't remember exactly how things had panned out after that, but he'd ended up with swelling on his face that didn't go down for a week - honestly, he was in awe of that girl - and ears ringing from the amount of yelling she'd done at him. The words were a blur but he remembered there was enough harsh language to make their old housekeeper come running out of the old house they'd lived in together and chide them both, shooing Patricia away to her taxi before anything else could happen.

That was the last time he'd seen Patricia Williamson, and it had been fairly memorable.

Of course it wasn't the last he'd heard of her. Only weeks later he'd called her, and they'd spoken properly, leaving things on considerably better terms than her last night at Anubis House. The internet had been supremely useful in helping him stay up to date with all of his schoolmates - not only had he followed Patricia's short stint at university, followed by her more successful career in publishing, but he'd also watched Amber's rise to fame in fashion design and Fabian doing disgustingly well in all aspects of uni life.

So Patricia was no stranger to Eddie, but he was still painfully aware that the chances of her meeting him here tonight were incredibly slim. Even if she still held any sort of hope for their relationship, there was every chance she'd forgotten about this many, many years ago.

Eddie didn't know how he'd remembered. All he knew was that over the last few months, he'd been having a crisis, and he was clinging on to anything that would give him direction.

He'd moved back to the UK a few months after graduating, deciding to reunite with his father having had his fill of the US again. He'd only lived in England for a handful of years, but it had left a permanent mark on him, and it felt like home just as much as America did. So when it came to looking for a job, he'd decided he might try the UK first.

Not that he'd tell anyone this, but he kind of missed the ever-grey skies and the relentless drizzle of rain for ten out of twelve months of the year. There was something about England that he just loved, and he had no doubt that had been cultivated by spending formative years of his life at a cliche, rickety old boarding school, complete with haunted attics and mysterious disappearances.

He didn't tell his dad this, of course. He had to maintain that Anubis House was truly the worst place in the entire world, and it was going to take a lot of work on his father's part to make up for subjecting him to that.

So he was back in the north, deciding he'd give London a miss for now, less than eager to join the rat race. He'd got himself an apartment in the city, oddly fond of the sprawling view of grey and red brick buildings, an accountancy job which paid so much he'd had to read his first payslip several times over to check he wasn't dreaming, and had built up a solid group of friends, taking up his familiar role of the token American.

There was still something missing though. Something he hadn't ever found in America, something he'd been hoping to find moving back here, but had so far had no luck.

Eddie had no idea what it was, either. At least if he knew, he could search for it, but nothing came to mind. All he knew was that he was lacking something, something he felt he'd maybe had within his grasp at one point, and so he'd racked his brains, trying to figure out where to even start fixing this problem. Patricia's face had floated into his head, and next thing he knew, he was booking train tickets to the next city over, using his phone to navigate the way to his current spot.

Night was really starting to close in by this point, and Eddie was grateful for the bright streetlamps that afforded a warmth to an otherwise empty and slightly intimidating side street. He'd been leaning against one of said streetlamps for the past hour now, hands shoved in his pockets against the surprising chill of an August night, and his legs were starting to seize up.

Across the way was a small park, slightly less well-lit, but with several empty benches, and Eddie was sorely tempted.

Ten minutes later, he mooched over to the closest to his previous spot, where he still had a clear view of the front of the restaurant turned pub turned dive, but could also sit down and give his legs a rest.

Glancing at his watch, Eddie chewed his lip, wondering how long he could rationally wait here for a person who was definitely not coming. It was already past nine, and the longer one hung out in an empty park at night, the more sinister the atmosphere grew. He vowed to give it another hour or so, and then head back to the hotel room he'd booked for the night. Get an early night, get an early train home. Try and forget the burning shame of a rejection that wasn't even really a rejection.

It was a shame, Eddie pondered. Getting ready to travel here, staring out of the train window, he'd felt it at his fingertips. It had seemed closer than it had in years, whatever 'it' was. And even now, sat on a bench very pointedly alone, he still couldn't shake the hope.

God, he was so glad he hadn't told anyone what he was doing this this weekend. Not having to explain anything was going to make this so much easier to forget.

Someone turned the corner of the street, and the shadow made Eddie's head jerk up so violently his neck cricked. It wasn't Patricia, obviously, but a half smile formed on his face as he considered what it would be like if she had shown up.

She'd round the corner, probably looking unsure, because, well, any sane person would be. Her hair would probably be down, but it was so much longer now than it had been at school, but still just as dark. Her clothes would be dark too, because Eddie didn't stalk her photos, but he did take a mild interest in them, and her style had matured but it hadn't changed too much. Her eyes were still usually ringed in black, she definitely had multiple ear piercings at this point, and he wasn't sure but he swore she had a tattoo now, and yeah. That was pretty damn hot.

When she arrived, he'd stand up, and wander over. Smooth, casual. He wouldn't run, because that would be tragic, but maybe he'd call her name, catch her attention with his voice before his presence. She'd grin, in that cute way that didn't match her default pout, and he'd smile too, and then maybe they'd pick up the pace to close the last few metres between them.

He'd open his arms, and she'd fall into them, and he'd rest his chin on the top of her head, finally feeling like he truly had come home. Maybe music would spill out from one of the bars on the main road, the moon would peek out from behind the clouds and-

"You know, Weasel, people waiting for a reunion with their high school sweetheart generally look a little less vacant."

From nowhere, someone dropped into the space next to him, while Eddie promptly leapt a foot in the air, scared half to death.

He blinked, twisting suddenly to find a smirking Patricia lounging on the bench, arm slung carelessly over the back, looking up at him innocently.

"Wh- what- uhhh-," Eddie stammered, flustered, while Patricia snickered, standing up and stepping closer to him, peering up with the stars reflected in her eyes.

"Charming and eloquent as ever I see," she chuckled in that way of hers, that way that made Eddie's heart stutter, and suddenly he was there, he was back in the moment and Patricia was there with him, and this was really happening.

"Yacker," he breathed out, and she grinned, properly.

"That's still just as awful as it ever was," she informed him, pressing a finger to his chest. "But I'm glad you still have that terrible accent."

Eddie stared at her for a while, drinking in everything about the woman. She looked exactly as he'd been imagining, even if this moment had played out a little differently than how he'd pictured.

"I didn't think you'd come," he said after a while, his voice low and quiet, and Patricia's teasing face softened into something more akin to fondness.

"Yeah, neither did I, but I had the evening free," she shrugged.

Eddie rolled his eyes, shaking his head at her but amused all the same.

"Hello," he said softly, smiling at her properly and feeling his stomach flip pleasantly.

"Hi," she replied in a half-whisper, smiling back at him. "I've missed you."

When Eddie woke up the next morning, he had a beautiful woman sprawled across his bare chest, sound asleep, and his lips were still tingling from where they'd met hers over and over again the night before. They had so far to go, so much to catch up on, so many things to work through to try and make this work again, but that was for another time.

Right now, Eddie had Patricia in his arms, and he felt complete again for the first time in a long, long while.

we are still kids, but we're so in love, fighting against all odds

A/N: New series? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯