After two weeks of nothing, there's finally something... my apologies to everyone reading. If you're still here, great! If not, I'm not surprised since I am probably the worst updater and if I was reading, I would get annoyed that the author was not updating enough...

Anyway, this is obviously not the way the season is going, but that's why it's called FANfiction, right? Right. So, sorry for confusion, thanks for reading!


Chapter Two: The Enemy Appears

"It was about time you two got together! I wasn't even sure it would happen after you two avoided each other like the plague last term," Amber said, dropping into her vanity chair with a flip of her hair. She took out her camera that she had used on Nina and Fabian, and turned it on. She flipped through the photos, nodding to certain ones and immediately deleting others.

Nina remembered. After that kiss, she and Fabian had still sat and talked to each other like normal, but there was this unspoken, awkward tension between them. When Nina had to leave to go home, she and Fabian had given each other hugs and promised to text each other later, but nothing more.

Nina felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "That was last year. Now we're together, everything is fine," she said, reassuring herself.

"You do realize that to make it official, you need one of Amber Millington's famous scrapbooks," Amber said.

"Fine, go ahead," Nina said, giving in. "But I'm going to go get a snack." She stood up and stretching her arms. I'll do anything to get away from Amber's camera, she thought.

"I'll come with you," Amber said. "I'm feeling a bit peckish."

Nina smiled at the word, and they walked down into the kitchen to see Trudy bustling about with trays of food in hand.

"Hey there, Truds," Amber said. "What is the food for?"

"Oh, for . . . for a party," Trudy said, looking panicked and nervous.

"Really? For who?" Nina asked, her curiosity sparked.

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Trudy gave them a stressed smile. "I mean, look at Jerome and Alfie. Any day that we can eat lots of food, and they don't need an excuse."

"True," Nina agreed.

"So can we help you bake? I just love baking, except for getting really dirty with that flour and gross eggs," Amber said.

"Of course you can help, girls. Don't worry about your clothes, we have aprons," Trudy said.

Nina and Amber strapped on aprons, Amber whining about how the apron was made of cheap polyester and was a horrid color, which was not surprising because she was Amber. They began to place the baking sheets full of cookies into the oven, but not before Alfie interrupted them.

"What's that amazing smell?" Alfie asked, drifting into the room as if caught in a daze. His eyes popped open when he was right in front of the finished cookies. "Mmm, they look good."

Nina grinned at him while Trudy said, "And you'll get some after dinner, Alfie."

"No, Trudy! Come on, we just got back and you're laying down rules about dinner? What has the world come to?" he cried dramatically, falling to the ground in a melodramatic heap.

"Get up, Alfie," Amber scolded, since he had fallen right in her way. She nudged him with her foot as she tried to work her way around him.

"No, Amber, don't make me face this cruel world again!" Alfie exclaimed.

"Alfie . . ." Amber said, shaking her head. She took a big stride over his sprawled body, and placed the sheets of finished cookies on the counter. Nina glided past Trudy to put the mixing bowls and used utensils in the sink. But she snatched an already-cooled cookie and passed it to Alfie, whose face lit up as he gobbled it down.

"I'm just saying that you need to figure out what you're going to do!" Mick's voice echoed through the hall and into the kitchen.

Everyone's heads turned to the source of the noise, seeing an angry Mick storm into the living room followed by a conflicted Fabian. Nina saw Amber and Alfie exchanged glances, knowing that some sort of fight may be happening and it was not going to be good.

"I told you that I'm confused as well! I mean, I love Nina, but you remember how close Joy and I were when she was here," Fabian argued, sounding stressed.

"Speaking of, why was Joy gone?" Mick asked. When Fabian hesitated, Mick rolled his eyes and continued, "Never mind, I just want you to know that you will need to face this problem soon. You can't just avoid it forever."

"Thanks for your advice," Fabian replied. He sighed and shook his head. When he lifted his head, his eyes met with Nina's very confused ones.

"I-" he began, realizing that she had heard everything he and Mick had been talking about. He looked down, breaking his eyes away from hers, and hurried out of the room.

Nina looked away from where he once stood to face Amber's sympathetic face. "Aw, Nines, don't worry. Fabian would never cheat on you with Joy or anyone. One, he's not that kind of person and two, he loves you too much."

The American girl smiled sadly, faint glimmers of hope shining in her eyes, though her voice was full of doubt, "Thanks Amber."

"Nina, everyone here knows that you and Fabian are meant to be."

"She's right, you know," Trudy put in. She smiled, giving Nina a pat on the arm, and began to wash the dirty trays that had once held cookie dough on them.

Nina sighed. "Amber, I don't know, though. Fabian and Joy do have a history, I mean, that was obvious last year. Even though he asked me to be his girlfriend-"

"He did?" Amber exclaimed with a victorious smile on her face.

"Amber!"

"Oh, sorry," the blonde said, lowering her voice.

Nina continued, "What if that kiss was nothing to him, and once he sees Joy he'll remember his feelings for her?"

"Nina, stop worrying. I promise you and swear on the sacred name of all that is pink, that if Fabian breaks up with you for Joy, I will personally make his life a living hell," Amber said, holding up her hand.

Nina raised her eyebrows in surprise, partially glad that Amber would stand up for her like that, and partially because she was worried about Fabian if that scenario happened. Sure, she was unsure about her and Fabian, and even when they broke up she would want him to be safe. They were still friends! They would always have the other's back, and that would never change, no matter what happened between them. Right?

"So, are you convinced?" Amber asked.

"Yeah, thanks, Amber," Nina said earnestly. "But, you wouldn't really do that to him, right?"

"Oh, yes. I absolutely would," Amber replied.

"Why?"

"Nina, your my BAF, and no one messes with you or makes you cry!" Amber exclaimed as if it was an obvious answer.

"Crying? Who's crying?" Mara asked, walking in.

"Oh, Nina is worried that Fabian is going to break up with her because Joy is coming back," Amber bluntly replied.

"Amber!" Nina hissed, smacking her on the arm.

Mara shook her head with a smile on her face. "Nina, don't be silly. He would never do that to you."

"How do you guys know?"

Trudy, Amber, and Mara all said in unison, "Because he loves you."

Nina rolled her eyes, letting out an uncertain, breathy laugh. "You're just saying that."

"No, we're not, Nina. Stop doubting yourself. You and Fabian are perfect for each other and no one could ever break you up," Mara said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Here! To prove it: let's bring the guy in question in here!" Amber said, dragging Nina from the room with Mara at their heels.

The blonde knocked on the door, and Mick's voice answered, "Come in."

"Do you know where Fabian is?" Amber blurted as soon as she saw opened the door.

"Oh, I thought he went into the laundry room or something. You know, to think," Mick said, shrugging.

"Okay, thanks!" Amber said.

As they closed the door, Mara stayed there and took Mick's hands, beginning to talk to him. Nina wondered what they were talking, but didn't have time to think because she heard a familiar voice from the living room.

"Do you know if Fabes is here? Me and him texted all summer, I bet we're going to get together any day now-" Joy said as Nina and Amber walked into the kitchen, standing beside the table that they both noticed now sat ten.

"Joy?" Nina asked.

"N-Nina," Joy stuttered, just as confused as Nina. "I-I didn't know that y-you were coming this year."

"Same to you. I thought your father had taken you out of this school," Nina lied, because she had known for a fact that Joy was coming back: Patricia had announced it to everyone via text message. Nina had just hoped that Joy wasn't coming back.

"Nope. I convinced him not to. And I mentioned that I would fall behind if I left, so that really sealed the deal,"Joy countered with a cool look in her eye.

They stared at each other from opposite ends of the room, both with friends on their side: Nina by the kitchen with Amber, Joy at the window and Patricia beside her. Nina and Joy's eyes met, both sending silent glares to the other. It was clear that they had both been expecting to win Fabian's heart with ease.

But you already have, a voice in Nina's head whispered. You two kissed and are dating now, remember?

Nina's mind shouted with glee, a secret smile playing on her lips. A flash of the red rose that sat in her room in its exquisite glass vase that Amber had insisted it be placed in appeared in her mind, and Nina felt confidence filling her.

Joy was no match for her, Fabian was already with Nina and there was no doubt about it in anyone else's mind that they would stay together. And if everyone else believed it, why shouldn't Nina believe it?

"If you'll excuse me," Nina said, putting a lock of hair behind her ear without breaking eye contact. "I need to go find my boyfriend and tell him that dinner is almost ready."

Nina turned on her heel, doing the first hair-flip of her life, and walked out of the room. She could hear Amber's heels clacking behind her on the wooden floor. Instead of going to find Fabian, they went up to their room to talk. Once Amber had shut the door behind her, Amber turned to beam at her best friend.

"That. Was. Amazing!" Amber squealed. "You stood up to her and everything!"

"Yeah, it was great," Nina said, grinning.

Nina glanced at the gorgeous red rose that sat on her table, glittering in the sunlight in its brilliant state as if it was immortal and could not be touched by anything. And it just told her that nothing could beat her and Fabian's relationship, nothing. As long as that rose stayed in its glorious perfection, everything would be perfect.


I wasn't sure if that many Brits called cookies "biscuits," so because it was in Nina's POV, I just kept the name cookies. Sorry for the confusion!

Yeah, I'm making Joy the villain yet again. I know, I know... But it's in Nina's POV so it's hard NOT to make Joy the antagonist...

Please review and tell me how I did this chapter...sorry if people are OOC!

~Ary