Disclaimer: House of Anubis belongs to Hans Bourlon and to Gert Verhulst.

Summary: When that Jerome kid had come offering his services, Rufus was very far from imagining the journey that was about to start.

Author's note: Please note that my first language is not english, it's french. If you find any mistakes or weird sentence, let me know, so I can better myself. While I know I am almost fluent and while I do read after myself and use Grammarly to help, sometimes, a mistake can pass by.

Second note: I've had this idea in my head for almost three years but I never dared starting because I thought I needed to stay as close to the first season as I could. But hey, it's fanfic, so as long as the timeline is respected enough, I guess no one will be mad at me for displacing a comma. I hope you'll like the idea I had. Note that I have only seen the first two seasons but it was a long time ago.

Twists of Fate

Chapter 1

From the corner of his eye, Jerome noticed Patricia's cellphone. The Scooby Gang she was part of was starting to really piss him off. Always snooping around, acting like he was dumb enough to believe the lies they fed him.

Nina being into Egyptian mysteries? Why not? He didn't know her enough to declare it was unusual of her.

Fabian being into Egyptian mysteries? The guy was a nerd, curious about everything and most importantly, way into Nina. So, no surprise there.

Patricia? That was one of the things he couldn't really understand. Patricia was by no mean a bad person. She was fiercely loyal to her friends and when Nina arrived on the same day Joy left, of course, she grew suspicious. Who wouldn't? He had enjoyed the prank she played on her, he didn't like it when it turned into bullying. And now, like four months after all this, she was hanging out with the girl she harassed from the very beginning like it was nothing. Everything was suddenly forgotten. While it was good of Patricia to overcome that hatred and to befriend Nina, it was happening way too fast for it to be completely genuine. Something was definitely off, it was linked to Joy's disappearance. He could be called a schemer, she was no better, to be honest.

But the worst blow was Alfie. Alfie having fun with them and their Egyptian mysteries? Alfie was the type of guy who would like it. And he certainly was bound by a promise to remain quiet. Jerome wasn't stupid, he had seen it in his best friend's eyes, he wanted to talk but he couldn't. He could respect that. However, they were supposed to be best friends, to never hide anything from one another, except for pranks and surprises.

Mara was off again in Mick's adventure land, Alfie had joined Nina's crew and despite trying, no one seemed to want to fit in him.

And when they'd need him, they'd rush back to him, trying to win his favour.

Oh, they could always try. He'd have fun all by himself. He scrolled through Patricia's texts and found a special number: Rene Zeldman. The guy she had contacts with when she tried to locate Joy. And he too, apparently, was searching for what the Scooby Gang was looking for.

He smirked.

If they wanted to play, he could too.

"Game on." He thought as he texted Rene.

XXXXX

"It will cost you." Jerome confidently said. "This kind of work isn't free."
"Of course. If you can't have something out of it, why bother?" Rufus agreed

He took some money from his wallet and gave it to the teenager before letting him go. He watched as Jerome vanished. He had to admit it, he had been kind of surprised to receive a message from a student, living in the House of Anubis, offering help, a good one at that. The kid knew what he was talking about. Whatever his reasons were, it was a help he wouldn't spit on, especially when time was running out. Jerome would be able to search in places he couldn't. As a student of this school, it wouldn't be weird for him to be seen wandering around, while he could be seen as a creep. What kind of "man in his forties" hung around a school? He certainly didn't need the police on his heels while he investigated for the cup. Yet, there was something about that kid that remained in his mind. He didn't know why it clicked, why it stuck around. That boy was just like any other teenagers, playing with fire to test his limits.

Was it because he was glad to have found a possible reliable spy and ally? Possibly. But he knew it wasn't the real reason.

Was it because the boy, with his recklessness and confidence, reminded him of him in his younger days? Maybe.

He sighed. No, he had to be honest:

What unsettled him the most about Jerome Clarke, the reason the boy's image remained his brain for too long, was his eyes.

They shared the same, the shape, the colour, even the fire in them.

Also, why in God's name did that kid look exactly like him when he was his age?

To Be Continued

So, this is how chapter 1 ends, I'm sorry it seems a bit short and I hope you like it enough to follow the rest of it!