Disclaimer: I do not own House of Anubis, will not own it when we start to drive hovercrafts, and still won't own it when I sing in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

So this is based on spoilers I read of the last episode. I haven't been keeping up with the show for a while, so it hasn't been easy to write for this fandom. But I just had to write this, partly to get back into HoA to continue my other stories, and to get this irritating plot bunny out of my head. So, on with the story/drabble thing!

(I do know that Joy is OOC, I apologize for it, but this is just me trying to have a shot at seeing how characters would react in certain situations. I doubt that Nina, in the show, would choose to cry in public, and I wouldn't think that she's that patriotic, and I'm not too sure if Fabian would be that bitter. Sure, he'd be angry, but essentially he's the angelic goldenboy who doesn't have the ability to hold grudges. So, once again, I apologize for the OOC-ness)


Step.

Step.

Step.

Joy's neutral expression slowly turned to a sickeningly cheerful smile as she saw the American curled under one of the school's trees, her head buried in her arms.

"Niiinaaa…" Joy crooned, skipping over to her. She received no reply, and Joy repeated the American's name.

"Niiiina…" She whispered, crouching down to the girl. The girl lifted her head from her arms, a cold glare piercing into the other girl.

"What?" Nina asked hoarsely, her voice lacking the usual spirit that one would think flowed through all Americans. Joy's surprise flickered momentarily across her face, but any trace of evidence was gone as Joy smiled again.

"He's mine now," Joy said calmly, as if she was simply talking about the weather. Nina's head went back to her arms, muttering softly into her sleeves.

"I didn't hear youuu," Joy sang. Suddenly, the girl's head snapped up, an expression of fury spread across her face. Joy felt her smile slip off, replaced by a mix of sympathy and fear. There were dark shadows under Nina's eyes, and the red rings around them hinted she had been crying.

"Fine, he's yours! Go away!" Nina screamed, her eyes widening, her lips turning to a snarl. Joy smiled angelically.

"You know, Nina. You don't belong here, with your strange American ways and your misunderstanding of British culture. You can barely figure out how many centimetres are in a metre!" Joy squealed with amusement, her giggles sounded fake and sugarcoated. Nina stayed silent, simply staring off into space.

"You. Don't. Belong," Joy hummed softly, punctuating her sentence with a hard poke to the American's arm. Nina stood, collecting her possessions.

"I may not belong," She murmured, "But I'm here anyway. And I'll march these lands with Lady Liberty watching me." She started to smile beatifically, reminded of her home, where she was not plagued by Egyptian spirits, not head over heels for someone who didn't want her back. Where she was simply Nina from Arlington, Massachusetts, and not Nina from across the Atlantic.

"And you know what? I don't need boys, or stuck-up princesses who believe their heritage proves their status. I just need me, and the stars and the stripes looking onto me every night. That's all I need, and you can't take that away from me." Nina finished her speech, letting out a gusty breath, and disappearing to god-knows-where.

Joy sat under the tree, speechless. She started people-watching, for lack of a better thing to do. Suddenly, she spotted Fabian. His hair had become bedraggled, and his lips were turned in a frown. His eyes flickered to the tree, and Joy gestured frantically for him to sit with her. He scowled in distaste, and continued to walk, shaking his head, as if he was trying to keep a thought out.

And as Joy sat, under a slowly wilting tree, she realized that she was more alone than she had ever felt.


(I do know that Joy is OOC, I apologize for it, but this is just me trying to have a shot at exploring the different personalities that characters could display. I doubt that Nina, in the show, would choose to cry in public, and I wouldn't think that she's that patriotic, and I'm not too sure if Fabian would be that bitter. Sure, he'd be angry, but essentially he's the angelic goldenboy who doesn't have the ability to hold grudges. So, once again, I apologize for the OOC-ness)