Without You

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own anything; I am merely an obsessed fan with ideas stuck in my head.

The moonlight shone softly as a soft breeze drifted through an open window, making various objects rustle slightly. Nina Martin jerked in her sleep, sweat trickling down her forehead. The mark of Anubis lit up on her arm, and she let out a moan in pain.

"Fabian!" Nina cried. "Come back!" Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn't bother to wipe them away.

"No, Nina. Just stay away from me!" Fabian growled. Nina felt like she had been slapped in the face—that was so unlike Fabian.

"Fabian, please," Nina sobbed. "Please, I need you. I can't do this without you!"

Fabian gave her a cold look. "You're going to have to deal with it," he sneered. Then, he turned around, and began to walk into the darkness.

"Fabian—" Nina began, but was cut-off by a sudden object forcefully clamping their hand over her mouth.

"I warned you, child." Senkhara hissed. "If you don't find that mask soon . . . you'll have to say good-bye to your beloved Fabian."

"No," Nina wailed, "No, please! Please, don't take him away from me." She was crying hard now, so hard she could barely stand.

"I warned you . . . " Senkhara's voice was trailing off now. Nina looked up through her teary eyes. Skenkhara was backing away, further and further into the darkness; dragging Fabian with her. She let out an evil cackle as Nina watched in horror.

"Goodbye, Nina," Fabian whispered.

Then they were gone.

"NO!" Nina screamed. "FABIAN!"

Nina's eyes burst open. She was panting furiously, and sweat was dripping like a faucet down her body.

"Nina?" Amber Millington, Nina's best friend and roommate, rushed to her side. "Are you alright?"

Nina opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, she shook her head vehemently.

"Did you have a bad dream? Did a lion rip apart all of your clothes? Because I had a dream like that once—"

"Amber!" Nina said sharply, able to somewhat speak again. "Yes, I had a bad dream. But not about a lion. It was . . .worse."

Amber gave Nina a confused look. "What could be worse than a lion destroying all of your fabulous clothes?" she shuddered. "Just the thought of it is terrifying."

"Amber . . . " Nina groaned, sinking her head full of light brown curls into her pillow.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Amber apologized quickly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Nina sighed. "Maybe later, but not right now."

Amber nodded her head, giving Nina a sympathetic look. "Okay. I'm going to go get you a warm wash cloth. That should calm you down." She stood and walked across the room. The door creaked slightly as Amber did her best to open it quietly. The girls cringed at the rather unpleasant noise. Amber looked both ways, making sure the hallway was clear, before turning back around.

"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." She ordered, and began to tip-toe down the hall to the nearest bathroom.

Nina merely shook her head and rolled back over. The only thing that was on her mind was the dream. Dreams like those had occurred more and more frequently as the weeks went by. Nina would constantly wake up in the middle of the night, sweat coating her body, and the mark on her arm glowing. All she could remember about the dreams where a few bits and pieces, but this recent one had stayed fresh in her mind. Nina hadn't ever had a dream like that; sure, Senkhara had often appeared in her dreams to harass her about finding the cup before it was too late, but she had never threatened to take away one of Nina's best friends.

Nina didn't understand—why Fabian? Things were already complicated enough between them; now she had to worry about losing him forever? None of it made any sense. Then again, when it came to Fabian and Nina—nothing ever made sense.

Nina didn't want to be overprotective about Fabian, especially since they just broke up. Nina hadn't wanted to break up with Fabian; she had merely been trying to talk to him. She had been trying to tell him that it was fine if they didn't go on any fancy dates just to prove that they were a couple; what really mattered was how they felt about one another. But Fabian had twisted her words, and had thought that she wanted them to just go back to how things used to be: being best friends. She was going to protest, but she hadn't wanted to start an unnecessary argument with Fabian at the moment; so she agreed.

Now, all she wanted was to go back to that day and not break up with Fabian. That was the biggest mistake she had ever made. Sure, she didn't mind being best friends, but that didn't stop her undying feelings for him to be hers. Especially now that Joy was after Fabian—she just couldn't let Joy take Fabian away from her.

A thought struck Nina, and she felt as though a light bulb had just turned on in her head. Maybe Nina's dream wasn't a warning; maybe it was a sign! Senkhara could've been talking about losing Fabian to Joy—maybe she was supposed to try and get him back!

Nina couldn't help but smile; something she hadn't done in quite a long time. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't even hear the door creak open, and Amber shuffle softly across the room.

"I'm back," Amber whispered, causing Nina to snap out of her reverie. She jumped, and looked up. When she realized it was Amber, Nina breathed a sigh of relief, her hand rested on her chest.

"Amber, you scared me!" She announced quietly.

Amber gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry Neens!" she held up her hand, a damp wash cloth covering it. "I brought the wash cloth."

Nina nodded her head slowly, "I see that."

Amber ignored Nina's comment, and pressed the wet cloth against Nina's sticky forehead. "How's that feel?"

Nina sighed and relaxed. "Much better. Thanks for doing this Amber." She smiled up at the blonde.

Amber smiled back. "That's what friends are for!"

"Wait, so let me get this straight. You think Senkhara came into your dreams to tell you to get Fabian back before Joy steals his heart?" Amber asked for the umpteenth time that morning. The duo was on their way to school, but was walking quite slowly; so they were probably going to be tardy.

Nina tilted her head back, an irritated groan escaping from her lips. "Yes Amber, for the thousandth time. Yes."

Amber was quiet for a few seconds, before erupting into squeals, dancing around a little. "Yay! Another Fabina shipper!" she shouted with delight.

Nina laughed at her friend. "I don't think she's a Fabina lover. But I do think she's trying to tell me something about Fabian."

Amber stopped happy dancing, and started directly at Nina, blonde eyebrows raised. "Like the fact that you're the most adorable couple ever and that it was the biggest mistake to break up?"

Nina sighed, "Amber, I know you're not happy about our—" But Amber interrupted her.

"She's got a good taste in couples for a creepy spirit." Amber said.

Nina couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, Amber."

"What? Did I do something wrong? Is my hair a mess?" She began to frantically run her fingers through her straightened blonde hair, while muttering, "this is bad…really, really bad."

"Amber," Nina began, prying at Amber's hands. "Amber, stop it." She took Amber's hands in her own, and placed them at Amber's sides. "Your hair is fine."

Amber sighed, "Good, because that would've been so embarrassing if I walked around school looking like I just woke up."

Nina gave her a confused look, "But you kind of did…"

Amber huffed, "Oh, you know what I mean."

Nina shrugged and looked down at her watch. It was almost eight o'clock.

"Shoot!" Nina cried. "We're going to be late!" She grabbed Amber's petite hand, and the girls took off as fast as they could towards the large boarding school in the distance.

"If this ruins my shoes, you're going to pay for some new ones!" Amber shouted at Nina as they continued to run.

Amber and Nina flung the door to Mrs. Andrew's classroom open. Everyone's eyes traveled over to them.

"Honestly, don't they know that staring isn't polite?" Amber whispered to Nina. "Unless if they're admiring my gorgeous looks."

Nina gave Amber a look, "Or, they're staring at us because we're ten minutes late!" She hissed.

"Ah, Nina, Amber," Mrs. Andrews greeted them, her face unreadable. "Glad you could join us."

"I'm so sorry we're late. We lost track of time and—" Nina began, but Mrs. Andrews stopped her.

"You two can do the rest of your explaining tonight in detention. Now, I suggest you take a seat and not interrupt are class again."
Mrs. Andrews said sternly, gesturing towards the few open seats in the classroom.

"Yes, Mrs. Andrews," Nina and Amber said simultaneously, and began to walk down the isle to the back of the class, where the only desk with two seats were available.

Nina passed by Fabian's desk, and scowled when she saw who was sitting next to him. Joy. He caught her eye and gave her a sincere look, before turning back to his notebook. Joy looked up at Nina and smiled smugly at her, as if to say, "I got him now, and there's nothing you can do about it!" Nina glared ferociously at Joy, her lips pursed in a tight frown.

"Nina, come on," Amber whispered, snapping Nina out of her trance. She blinked a few times, sent Joy one more nasty look, and followed Amber to the back of the room.

"Aww, how sad! Fabina is falling apart," Jerome said sarcastically to Nina as she slid into her seat.

"Mind your own business, Jerome." Nina snapped, pulling out her notebook and pencil and began to copy down the notes Mrs. Andrews had written on the board, just as everyone was doing so.

"But you see, Nina, it is my business—" Jerome started.

"Jerome!" Mrs. Andrews barked. "That'll be a detention tonight for you as well."

Jerome rolled his eyes and turned around to glare at Nina. "Thanks a lot, Martin." he hissed.

"You're welcome, Clarke." Nina smirked.

Jerome just stared coldly at Nina for a few minutes, before turning back around as Mrs. Andrews began lecturing.

Nina could barely focus on what Mrs. Andrews was saying; her mind was too preoccupied with the thoughts of her dream. And Fabian; though he was always on her mind. She found herself staring at the back of his head, admiring the way his dark hair swept to one side. Fabian must have felt someone's eyes watching him, for he turned around, his brown eyes meeting Nina's hazel orbs. Nina felt a blush creep onto her cheeks as Fabian smiled softly at her, so she bowed her head so he couldn't see her flushed face.

Damn you, Fabian! Why do you have to be so damn cute! Nina exclaimed in her head.

When she looked back up, Fabian's back was facing her again. But a new pair of eyes were on her this time; Joy. She narrowed her eyes at Nina, and mouthed, "He's mine."

Nina's jaw tightened, her eyes growing darker and darker towards Joy, "In your dreams, honey" she mouthed back. Joy's nostrils flared with anger, her brown eyes flaming with furiousness. Nina wouldn't have been surprised if Joy grew horns and a tail, because she looked identical to a devil at the moment.

Nina was going to get Fabian back. And no one was going to stop her from succeeding.