Hey! I've gotten a lot of requests to do a sequel to Unexplained Love, so here it is!
Also, this was meant to be posted a week and a half ago, but I haven't had any time to complete or edit it, so here it is, on Valentine's Day… Ironic, huh?
I hope you enjoy it!
Truth Be Told
Mick's POV:
Even though I loved the sports academy in Australia, I'd finally convinced my parents to let me go back to England and finish off at Anubis House. Mr. Sweet cleared it and said I could still live there - I'd just have to triple up with Eddie and Fabian.
Fabian, I thought. He was my best mate. I shared everything with him - more than I told my younger sister. Although, there was one secret that I'd been keeping from him, and pretty much everyone else.
I was in love with him. His smile, his soft, dark hair, the way he wrinkled his nose when he laughed, his sparkling eyes, his love for books…
I loved it all.
Obviously, I hadn't confessed anything to him. Last I remember, he had broken up with Nina. In the email I got from him a week or so ago, he went on a tangent about how he'd gone to see a movie with Joy, and she'd treated it like a date when he'd told her again and again that it wasn't. I'll admit I was a bit jealous, even considering the circumstances.
Staring up at the large, creepy house that I'd called home for the past five or six years, I sighed deeply, reaching for the doorknob.
"Hello?" I called.
No answer.
Closing the door behind me, I made my way into the dim-lit house, down the corridor to what once was mine and Fabian's room. Now I'd be sharing with that pompous-sounding American.
Opening the door and shutting it after me, dropping my trunk by the only empty bed, I took a look around.
Eddie had completely taken over my side of the room - I mean, that was expected, seeing as he kind of did replace me. Everything just seemed so… weird.
I made up my bed and hung some pictures and posters on the wall, putting my clothes away soon after. Sitting on the edge of my bed, tossing my football in the air, I spent a while lost in my own thoughts.
What's going to happen when I see Fabian? I asked myself. I so badly want to tell him my feelings, but… what if he thinks I'm being a creep? What if he doesn't accept it? What if it ruins our friendship?
I pushed all my bad thoughts aside as I heard someone turning the doorknob. Looking up, I let out a sigh of relief once I realized it was Fabian.
"Fabian!" I exclaimed, jumping up and rushing over to him. We'd done our weird ritual where we slapped each others' hands three times, then he enveloped me in a huge, bone-crushing hug.
"Mick!" he replied, an ear-to-ear grin taking over his features. "How've you been? I didn't expect you to be back so soon!"
"I've been good, mate," I responded. "I liked Australia, but… there were things I needed to come back here for."
"Oh?" He looked confused. To my dismay, he'd let go of me and took a step back. "Er… Mara's kind of in a relationship with Jerome…"
He looked so flustered and awkward. I smiled on the inside as I tried to keep my expression neutral.
"Is she?" I wondered aloud, feigning hurt. "Well… I mean, it was bound to happen anyway, I guess. At least she's happy, right?"
"Yeah, I think so."
There was an awkward pause.
"So," I started, trying to think of what to say next. "Erm, how's everything else? Nina? Joy? That whole situation?"
He looked crestfallen. "It's a lot more complicated than you think, mate," he muttered. "Nina's been really snippy lately; all she does is shoot death glares whenever I'm hanging out with Joy… which is a different story altogether. Joy and I are just friends, and no one seems to believe that. I think it's because she's been trying to make moves on me ever since she returned, you know?"
I nodded, as if I had any idea what he meant. In reality, I just loved to hear him talk.
"Anyway, Amber and Nina have been acting like they hate me for almost the entire term," he continued. "I've done a few things that basically saved their lives, more-or-less, and they've treated me like dirt throughout everything, all because of their petty, superficial problems." He sighed. "Sometimes, I just wish girls weren't so damn complicated."
"I get what you mean, man," I responded. I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder. "That's part of the reason why I broke up with Amber a while back. Mara, on the other hand… even though it was partially because of me leaving-" I cut myself off.
"Even though it was partially because of you leaving…?" he repeated, smiling slightly and looking expectant.
I froze, mid-thought. What do I do? I asked myself. I can't just bluntly come out and say 'Fabian, I love you,' can I?
I uncharacteristically bit my lower lip.
"Mick…" he trailed off, shifting awkwardly. "I-I have something to tell you."
That cute little frown he gets when he's concentrating made an appearance.
"Wait," I cut him off. "Fabian, before you say anything… I just wanted to tell you that…" I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't look at him. "Quite frankly, Fabian… I-I'm in love with you."
I can't look at him, I told myself. He probably hates me. No, scratch that - I know he hates me. Coming back here was a huge mistake… I never should've left Australia.
Opening my eyes again, I was shocked to find him smiling, blushing a deep scarlet.
"F-Fabian?" I asked, wringing my hands together. I was really nervous. In the back of my mind, I wondered if he could hear my heart beating as loud and fast as I could.
"I'm in love with you, too," he answered, taking a step closer.
"You are?" I asked, dumbfounded.
He nodded. "Yeah. I just didn't know how to tell you… and then Nina and Joy were more-or-less fighting over me - the whole situation was so frustrating." He paused, his eyes starting to brim with tears. "Plus, you left me."
"But I didn't mean it," I answered softly, enveloping him in another tight hug. "I left because I needed to get away from all this - Mara and I had too much of a perfect relationship, but all the while I was with her, I kept thinking about you and how much you meant to me. I didn't want to tell you because of fear of what you might think. Plus, you were in a situation with Nina and Joy that I just couldn't help you with."
"You could have," he pressed, burying his face in my chest. "I'm just glad you're home, Mick."
"I'm glad I am too, Fabes."
He lifted his head up and his face turned a darker crimson at my use of Joy's nickname for him. "Fabes?" he repeated, grinning once more.
Instead of nodding or giving him any other type of answer, I simply just leaned in and kissed him, square on the lips. And, a bit to my surprise, he kissed back.
His lips were so soft and welcome. It felt completely different from kissing Amber or Mara - it felt… right. Like it really was meant to be. Kissing Fabian had the power to expel every single thought from my mind and fill it with a fluffy, blurry haze of what I processed as happiness.
And in that moment, I knew anything was possible.
