It was over. The Mask of Anubis had been worn, and somehow things had worked out. Again! Nina hadn't died, the Sibunas weren't cursed and instead Rufus Zeno and Senkhara had been sent away for good.

The problem had been solved, and Patricia could now return to her lessons as normal. Except she didn't feel normal. No matter how hard she'd tried to hide it, she couldn't get over her fear. Her fear when she discovered Eddie was the Osirian.

She'd never truly been scared. I mean, yes, she always knew that the Sibuna thing would mean risking her own life, but she'd come to accept that. She knew and hoped that it would never come to that, sacrificing herself to save everyone else. But Eddie.

He was a lot of things. A joker. An idiot. A weasel. Her boyfriend. Her only source of normality and comfort. And now he was roped into it too. As a protector; oh the irony! She still remembered the day when he'd dropped her onto the floor- he was definitely no gentleman!

What if something had happened to him? There was no doubt about he was the hero of the day; if it hadn't been for him, who knows what would have happened? It was no good thinking like that, but Patricia couldn't escape the dread she'd felt when he'd appeared. She wanted to scream at him, tell him to go away, wipe his memory of what he had seen.

She wanted him to be pure of mind. Not that he was, anyway, but innocent of facing death head on. It was hard enough accepting that a few of her friends were at risk, but him? She couldn't bear it if something had happened to him.

A sharp whisper tickled her neck.

"Hey Yacker!"

Patricia failed to hide her smile. She'd had crushes on boys before of course, but with Eddie, she could never slip on the masquerade. Her love for him was too obvious.

"Hey.." she replied, disappointed with herself when it came out quiet and sad.

They hadn't discussed what had happened. Every time Eddie brought it up, showing-off his Osirian status, Patricia would change the subject. She'd been avoiding him too, not wanting him to realise how scared she was. He felt him tense against her shoulder; he knew something was up.

"What's up?" he asked taking a seat beside her.

They were in the Frobisher Library; Patricia needed some space alone to reflect and study.

"Just.. doing my homework!" she replied with a fake smile. Eddie raised his brows, disbelievingly.

"I meant, what's up with you? You've been avoiding me.. have I done something wrong?"

She shook her head and sighed. She couldn't tell him, but he wasn't going to stop until he found out.

"Okay... well, is it someone else?" he pestered.

"No," she managed to croak.

"So it is me?" he asked, before rubbing his face when no reply came. Taking her hand in his, Eddie plucked up the courage to ask her what he had feared all this time.

"Have you gone off me? Um, do you want to break up?" he inquired nervously, trying to rein in the tears.

He didn't know what else could be going on. Normally it was him that dumped girls, not the other way round. Patricia was different. She was feisty, at the best of times but most of all she was honest. She didn't pretend to be anyone other than herself; well, most of the time. And she sure as hell was beautiful. Not in the stereotypical kind of way, but in the sense that all her little tantrums, all her little gestures seemed to light her up and make her seem alive and glowing.

He couldn't see a future without her. For some reason, his feelings for her hadn't simmered once they'd got together, they'd only grown brighter and stronger. It would kill him if she'd told him she didn't like him anymore.

"No, of course not!" she exclaimed, suddenly looking him in the eyes. He sighed relieved, that it wasn't that. Now he needed to wrench the real problem out of her. Grabbing her textbooks and slamming them shut despite her protest, he edged closer towards her and demanded that she tell her what was wrong.

"No," she stated stubbornly, looking away.

Eddie stared at her in disbelief. Well, he'd have other ways of making her talk! He leaned forward slowly and had almost made it to her lips before a finger pressed against his lips and pushed him away.

"Don't even think about it.." Patricia warned, not meeting his gaze. He sighed, it was pointless. Unless..

"You know what? Forget it, you're dumped! I don't want a girlfriend if she can't be honest with me!"

Eddie stormed out, hoping his anger was believable and that he wouldn't have to go running back to beg for her mercy. Pausing behind a wall, he waited with baited breath. This had better work.

"Eddie, come back you idiot! Look, I'm sorry but..."

"But what?" he interrupted, revealing himself from behind the wall, "If it's about me then I need to know.."

"It's not exactly you.. it's more me and my stupid feelings.." she muttered defeated, ducking her head. Eddie pondered for a moment before totally getting the wrong end of the stick. If it was feelings she was worried about, then he could definitely give her feelings. Really good ones.

"Oh Yacker... don't worry! I feel the same way.." Eddie grinned, pushing Patricia up against the wall.

"You do?" she asked slightly bewildered. The way Eddie was grinning seemed slightly suggestive, slightly.. hold up, was he trying to be sexy? The light bulb went off in Patricia's head.

"Oh! Oh, no not that.." she cleared her throat hastily as Eddie suddenly backed off and scratched his head embarrassed.

After a moment's silence, they willed themselves to sneak a glance at each other again. Patricia realised how awkward the situation was getting, so she decided to out with the truth.

"It's just... when you saved Nina and everyone in your Osirian form.. I was.."

"Jealous of my powers?" he mocked breaking the tension.

"Scared.." she finished, a raw look in her eyes.

Eddie's gaze softened as he took Patricia's hands in his.

"Look, we all were! This Senkhara was evil and it's natural to be scared of her!"

"I wasn't scared of her," Patricia emphasized, before adding, "Well.. not as much as I was scared of losing you.."

There. She had said it.

Eddie finally understood. All those times she'd looked at him differently, longer and more meaningful than usual. The way she didn't yak on as much anymore, and she seemed vacant and dreamy. And now here she was, trying to not cry in front of him, eyes brimming with tears.

He felt his heart pound against his ribs, his ears awaken to a new sound. He wanted her close, to attract her like a magnet and never let go. He wanted to wrap his soul around her, and tell her everything would be alright. Yet she was right.

Everything had changed. He'd been shallow and seen his powers for the good that they were. He was a literal superhero and he had a purpose. At the same time he would have to battle Trouble head on, all the while those who cared about him would silently be suffering. Death. He hadn't realised but he'd been so close to it. If he hadn't come to protect Nina when he had, who knows what would have happened?

His own vision blurred when he saw the words trembling, almost visible on her lips. It was killing him, what did he have to say to get a reaction out of her?

Nothing.

"I love you.." she stated earnestly, ignoring her trembling voice. A tear slid free from her orb-like eyes. Never had Eddie seen such emotion from her. She continued to surprise him.

It was like a dream. Suddenly his heart's wishes had been granted and he heaved a sigh in elation. He watched her go, open-mouthed and eyes glistening with knowledge. Pure, sweet knowledge of that retreating figure and her love.

Wait!

"Yacker wait!"

He'd been slow in his response, overwhelmed by his own emotions to care about hers. Eddie sprinted to catch up Patricia who stopped fleeing and had crouched near the side of the path, heavy rain mixing with her salty tears.

"Leave me alone, weasel!" she managed to spit out as he wrestled her flimsy punches.

"Yacker, look at me!"
"No!"

"Damn girl.. just listen to me.."

"Go away! Fly back to America! I hate you!" she cried as he finally clutched her waist and brought her closer.

"That's strange, cos a second ago I thought you said you loved me.." he smiled, feeling warmth wrap around his heart.

"Eddie, if you're going to make a joke..!"

"I love you too," he breathed before he could think about how soppy he looked, "And some nights, you're the only thing on my mind and I never want to lose you. Ever"

He finally exhaled. It wasn't exactly what he wanted to tell Patricia, there was a whole load he'd missed out. Like how her smile seems to make his heart flutter and how he secretly liked her insulting him. Oh, and how edgy her taste in music was. And fashion. I mean did she really have to wear tight stuff all the time?

Patricia stared into Eddie's eyes. He was never good at hiding his emotions, but to say them aloud and with such feeling? She almost couldn't believe it; that she'd been lucky enough to find someone who loved her to the moon and back. She remembered when they first met, she'd boxed him off as another patronising American.

She knew now that she'd only done that to protect herself from falling for him. And even though he'd tried to make out that he was this big player, he only had eyes for her. And she wasn't blind to that. She'd known but now she accepted it.

Someone cared deeply for her. And she was madly in love with him.

They smiled at each other, finally letting themselves love one another freely.

Patricia quirked an eyebrow, "So about all those nights you were thinking about me..?"

Eddie's eyes widened in horror, "No.. wait I didn't mean.."

She grinned slyly, "I don't mind.. if you want to take things further"

Eddie reflected her grin, "So.. just to clarify, we are talking about sex right?"

She bit her lip and nodded shyly before asking, "And just to clarify, I'm not dumped right?"

He laughed and shook his head, before sharply stealing a kiss from her lips. Patricia was startled for a second, and felt the blush tinge her cold cheeks with colour. Seeing Anubis House in the distance, made her tummy swirl with anxiety of the mysteries the house still held, but all that didn't matter now. She had Eddie, and he had her.

She took one look at his loved-up face and saw her opportunity to finally catch him off guard.

"Race you to the house!" she shouted before sprinting off into the distance.

"Oh come on! That's cheating!" came the reply, as the two lovers took their flight into their brave new world. Together.

And they wouldn't want to have it any other way.