You've Got the Love

Chapter 2—House of Newbies

"Gather around, children!" Trudy shouted from the staircase. She was carrying an iPad, her Christmas gift from of her fiancé, Ade. "Oh, how do you turn on this thing on?"

Harmony reached over to press the home button and the device lit up.

"Oh thank you, dear," Trudy said. "Okay, we will have a new student that will take over Mick's old room."

An awkward silence passed and the Sibuna members exchanged nervous glances.

"Yeah, whatever happened to that guy?" Harmony asked, curious. "Joy, weren't you guys dating?"

Joy paled, "I-I-I—"

"No, H, she's dating some fancy college student now," Evan added, rolling his eyes.

"No, I meant when Mick was here. Weren't you, Joy?" Harmony asked, turning to look at Joy.

"No, they broke up after he…betrayed her," Patricia answered, saving Joy from replying and possibly breaking down. "Anyways, what's about the newbie?" She asked Trudy, changing the subject.

Trudy blinked in confusion, but continued. "But first, Mara, your brother is a guest lecturer at the school."

Mara nearly tripped over her own feet. "Ezra? Why?" She turned to Jerome for support; Jerome's gears were turning in his head, but he had no damn clue.

"I don't know, but he will be rooming in the attic. Sorry, Ryan, but you'll have to room with someone else. Mr. Sweet's godson, Tobias, is taking the cellar," Trudy responded.

That caught Eddie's attention. "Godson?" He repeated. "He has a godson?"

"I thought he told you," Trudy replied. "Anyways, they'll be here for dinner. And it says here that Tobias is a little…bratty. So, don't hesitate to knock some sense into him…his words, not mine."

And with that last remark, Trudy hurried away to start dinner. The students were still frozen and gathered on the stairs.

It was Mara that ended the trance among the residents. "I'm going to call Ezra," She announced, heading back upstairs. Jerome quickly followed her.

"I need to see someone," Eddie said, distracted from the recent events. He grabbed his jacket and headed out into the snow.

Patricia sighed; he was finally going to see his father after the Feather of Truth incident. It was going to rough, both physically and emotionally. She just hoped that Eddie actually got answers.

"Nina," Evan said as he entered her room without knocking. Nina was on her bed, reading a book.

"You could've knocked," She answered, throwing a pillow at him. The pillow hit him in the face.

Instead of throwing the pillow back, he threw a bottle of pills at her. She caught him swiftly, but soon dropped them in surprise. Evan smirked and reached into his bag. He pulled out bottles of vodka, whisky, and wine; he set them on her nightstand and stood back.

Nina swallowed. "Where did you get those?"

"Well, remember when you had that…bad act the summer before freshman year? That was fun! Especially when you—"

"Why are you doing this?" Nina asked as she choked back sobs.

"Just getting revenge on you for dumping me for a One Direction wannabe," Evan replied. "If I can't have you, I'll make your life a living hell."

"You're crazy," Nina glared. "I thought you and Joy had a thing."

Evan's eyes darkened. "No, I resumed my purpose for coming to this hellish school—to either get you back, or destroy you. Your friends and boyfriend won't love you anymore, if they find out what you did three summers ago. Goodbye, Little Nins. Oh, and you better hide those Ecstasy pills and liquor." Evan winked and left.

Nina stood up with shaking hands and hid the pills and liquor. She grabbed her iPhone and curled up into a corner. Nina texted Harmony, before closing her eyes.

Nina.

Help.

"E, you can't do that!" Mara shouted, running a hand through her dark hair.

"Mars, it's decided. Mom and Dad want me to keep an eye on you and Jerome. I don't fully agree, but they offered to pay me…and I really need the money. The teaching job is great, but they offered me…my trust fund again. I'm behind on rent and-"

"I don't care! Your little sister should be more important than any sum of money!" Mara shouted as she paced around her room. She could feel Jerome's eyes on her, but she didn't care.

"Mara, they said that you had a pregnancy scare," Ezra quietly said.

Mara stopped pacing, her eyes wide. "How do they know about that? I didn't tell anyone!"

"Well, they know and they weren't pleased. Mara, we'll figure something out. I'll be there in a few; just calm down."

Mara hung up without another word and turned to Jerome. His eyes were wide. "Wait, you had a pregnancy scare?" He asked.

Mara sighed. "Yes, in November. I found out that I wasn't pregnant on the same day that Mick pushed me down the stairs."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Mara laughed, but without the humor. "We're teenagers! My family is shunning me and we don't have any money to raise a baby! I didn't want to ruin your life."

"But you still could have trusted me," Jerome quietly said. He sounded broken. He quickly got up and left the room.

Mara stared after him, before following him. "Jerome!" She called, trying to catch up to him.

"Mara, just leave me alone!" Jerome answered, but his voice was muffled.

"You don't get it!"

Jerome turned and Mara gasped. His eyes were red and he was crying. "No, you don't get it! I was lied to and manipulated my entire life! For once, can I trust my own girlfriend?" And with that, he ran downstairs.

And for once, Mara didn't chase after him. She thought about what Jerome said. And with a gasp, she realized that he was right.

Harmony rushed into the room and found Nina. Nina's eyes were red and puffy; her dirty blonde hair was curly and messy.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Evan…he found the liquor and pills," Nina rasped.

"No, I thought you hid them when you went to rehab. Where did you hide them?" Harmony asked, inspecting the pills and liquor.

"I buried them in the garden at the rehab center. There's no way he got to them; the rehab center was in New York."

Harmony cursed. "Evan left the cruise early. He said he was going to London for sightseeing, but I bet he went to New York."

"But how did he know where to look?"

"He probably talked to Iris," Harmony noted.

"Iris, my old roommate? But I didn't tell her…"

"Iris was a crazed stalker; she probably watched you all the time. When Iris saw Evan sneaking around, she probably tipped him off."

Nina gulped. "Evan said he was going to reveal my secret. It's over; I lose. Evan wins."

"Not so fast," Harmony smirked. "If Evan wants to play dirty, I guess we'll just have to play dirtier. Evan isn't so innocent either; he has one Achilles spot: Miss Joy Mercer."

Nina cracked a small smile. "Should we tell David?"

"No, he needs to focus on Aaron. I've never seen him so happy." Harmony dryly responded.

"How about you?" Nina asked. "Are you happy?"

David entered Anubis House, talking animating with his boyfriend, Aaron. "Remember when you fell into the pool?" David asked, taking his coat off.

"I slipped on my sister's toys!" Aaron defended himself. "It was legit!" He repeated as David started to laugh.

"David!" Evan shouted as he ran down the stairs and nearly crushed his twin. "How have you been? Oh my god, please don't tell me that you lost your virginity!"

David blushed and swatted his twin's arm. "Shut the hell up, E. See you later, Aaron. Thanks for walking me home."

Aaron's face was also red, but he just nodded and ducked out. When he was out of earshot, David nearly punched his brother. "Are you freaking serious?"

Evan was too busy laughing to notice David's feeble punches. "You should have seen your faces! Oh way, I can show you your face! Duh, I'm your twin!"

"Why did you ask that? Are you trying to make him break up with me? I. AM. STILL. A. VIRGIN." David shouted, hitting him for emphasis.

"Calm down, D. I was just joking." Evan said as he walked into his room. David rolled his eyes and entered his own room.

Ryan fell back onto her cot. "Remind me why a teacher is rooming in a crowded house of students?"

"My parents are idiots," Mara answered. Ryan opted to share with them; it wasn't like she had a problem with Nina or Harmony, but Amber was the bitch. She didn't have any problems with Joy, Patricia, and Mara. "It doesn't matter. My brother will be leaving in a few and you'll have your room back."

"How is Ezra? I thought he went to Oxford to be a lawyer?" Joy asked.

"He dropped out and pursued a teaching degree. My parents cut him off from his trust fund. But he soon ran out of money and my parents pounced on him. It's smart and cunning."

"He was seriously cute," Joy thought aloud.

Mara opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off when everyone's phones rang. Joy, Patricia, and Mara pulled out their iPhones while Ryan pulled out her HTC Windows Phone 8X.

"Am I the only one in the house that doesn't have an iPhone?" Ryan asked, noticing their iPhones.

"No, I think Trudy has a Blackberry," Mara said, trying to make Ryan feel better.

"No, her fiancé bought her an iPhone," Patricia added.

Ryan ignored Patricia's quip. "It's a video from Mandi."

Mandi appeared on the screen, petting her devil dog as usual. "Hello, idiots. Congrats for not dying from alcohol poisoning during break. As you may know, I'm graduating this year and someone needs to take my place as student body president, senior coordinator, prom coordinator, and Queen Bee over the entire school. The old tradition used to be that the Junior Queen Bee would assume the throne and so on. But this year, we're shaking things up. The current Queen Bees will have competition; girls were nominated during break on my website. The freshman nominees are Hanna Bell, Katie Paxton, Elizabeth Fletcher, and current Eighth Grade Queen Bee, Remy Baker. The sophomore nominees are Poppy Clarke, Jennifer Williams, Victoria Foster, and current Freshman Queen Bee, Irene Reed. The junior nominees are Felicity Gold, Morgan Lewis, Quinn Baker, and current Sophomore Bee, Simone Moors. The senior nominees are Penelope Adams, Nina Martin, Ryan Chadwick, and current Junior Queen Bee, Amber Millington. Good luck, nominees."

Two moments passed and the girls heard Amber's scream.

"Ryan, it would be smart to run," Joy laughed.

"What about the club in downtown Liverpool?" Eddie asked, typing away at his laptop.

"What about a quiet and sexy night at home?" Patricia suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"Patricia, don't you want to celebrate your birthday with your friends?" Eddie asked.

Patricia was silent, before she spoke up. "I wouldn't call Harmony a friend."

"What happened between you and Harmony, anyways? I asked Nina, but she didn't tell me."

"I…slapped her," Patricia admitted. "She was jealous that I moved back into the house. She had a weird, school-girl crush on you and I think she still likes you."

"But did you have to slap her?" Eddie asked, stunned at Patricia's actions.

"She mentioned that you guys were close to having sex at Mandi's Halloween Party," Patricia quietly added.

Eddie paused. "Patricia, I was drunk…"

"No, I get it. I was sending you mixed signals and Harmony was there."

"Patricia," Eddie started.

Patricia got up. "Go ahead and book a club. I have to go."

"Patricia," Eddie called, but Patricia left his room.

Ezra Jaffray prided himself on books, looks, and brains. But he would've never expected to be cut off after he pursued a different career. Now, he forced to keep his sister and her boyfriend apart for money. But was money worth seeing his sister upset?

But he was drowning in debts and barely had enough to eat. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Dinner was awkward; Ezra and Tobias were late and everyone was antsy. Trudy served her homemade pizza with garlic bread, but everyone couldn't stop glancing at the door.

Also, the seating arrangements were unusual. Mara and Jerome weren't sitting next to each other, Patricia and Eddie weren't sitting next to each other, and Ryan, Alfie, and Amber were seated at opposite ends of the table.

"So, how's your boyfriend, Joy?" Harmony asked. Joy opened her mouth to reply, but Evan answered for her.

"Oh, that pervert from Oxford?" Evan scoffed.

"He's not a pervert," Joy protested.

"Then, why is he dating a 17 year-old girl from Liverpool?"

"E, how did your sightseeing in London go? It seems like you learned a lot about England." Nina coyly asked. Fabian gave her a confused look.

"It was fine," Evan curtly replied.

"Really? How did you get to London from the Caribbean? I checked all flights and there wasn't a single flight to London. However, there was a flight to New York," Nina raised an eyebrow.

Evan paled; Harmony and Nina knew that he got the pills and liquor from Nina's rehab in New York.

"What's going on?" Fabian asked, confused.

The door opened.

It's their first day back and the drama almost started up immediately! Sigh; such a pity!

-Morgan