Fabian paused at the door and turned his head only slightly, just so that he could see me in the corner of his hardened black eyes. I saw his jaw flex, clenching and unclenching. Then, without saying a word, he kept walking.

It's me again with your latest instalment of House of Reunion. I can officially say that this is the beginning of the conclusion for the Fabina plot. It will span out over perhaps the next few chapters, but no more.

Nina

The last time I saw Fabian was a moment that I'd replayed over and over in my head in the months that followed, trying to understand it, make sense of it.

There was only me, Amber and Fabian left in Anubis House, the others had all left for the last time. Amber's chauffeur was transporting her many suitcases from the hallway back out to the car. Amber held me for a long moment. She was crying, but I was surprisingly dry-eyed. Maybe it was because I'd used up all of my tears over the past few days. When she finally let me go, there were tear-tracks staining her model-gorgeous face. Amber made an unladylike snort and wiped her eyes with the back of her long, delicate hands, being careful not to smudge her black mascara.

She swallowed hard before taking my hands and squeezing them. "Promise you'll call or email every day."

"Every week, Amber," I corrected. We'd already talked about contact, and settled on once a week, on Friday or Sunday night. "Remember what we talked about."

Amber gave another snorting sniff. "Oh, yeah, right. I'm going to miss you!" She throttled me in another hug.

"Yeah, me too Amber," I replied, my voice muffled by my mouthful of silvery-blond hair.

"But you promise?" She probed.

I nodded. "Of course, Amber. I promise." I assured her, patting her back gently. Amber's chauffeur Bollard, a grey-haired man with a leathery, weather-beaten face stepped into the hallway looking flushed from the effort of carrying Amber's suitcases.

"All set, Miss Millington." Bollard said.

"Thanks, Bollard." Amber replied. "Just give me a minute."

The chauffeur inclined a polite nod to Amber "Yes, Miss Millington," He repeated the gesture for me. "Miss Martin."

When he was out of sight, Amber sighed shakily. "And call me when you get to LA!"

I rolled my eyes and gave her a little shake. "If you don't get going, you're going to be here until next term." I said. She smiled and with one last look at me, she turned and walked out the open doors. A minute later I heard the engine of the Millingtons' expensive car pull out of the driveway. I checked the time on my watch. Another fifteen minutes and my cab would be here, and it would be my turn to go. I was about to make my way upstairs to fetch my things, but I paused. Fabian was walking down the corridor, carrying his case in one hand. He hadn't been out of his room at all since our date. He glanced up at me, but didn't quite meet my eyes. He just walked straight past me, almost brushing my shoulder with his.

I turned and watched him as he walked towards the door without even saying goodbye. I was going to let him go, but I was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of guilt. "Fabian!" I called out his name once. It was the only word that had been floating in my mind recently, but I'd scarcely said it aloud. Fabian paused at the door and turned his head only slightly, just so that he could see me in the corner of his hardened black eyes. I saw his jaw flex, clenching and unclenching. Then, without saying a word, he kept walking.

Now, standing in the very same place, the whole world had gone the same deadly quiet.

Amber, Mara and Trudy's chatter became faint. They seemed miles away as I turned to face him for the first time in three years. Fabian stood in the doorway, watching me with those dark, dark eyes. He looked so like he had the last time I'd seen him. The late-morning sunlight shone from behind him, making his ebony hair gleam brown, and casting a long, dark shadow across the black and white checkerboard tiles. My eyes traced every single one of his features. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I could feel my pulse in my fingertips, beating quickly and evenly. I was too scared breathe or blink or move. Fabian was staring too.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, he spoke. "Uhm, hey,"

"H-hi," I stammered. "We th-though you weren't coming…" I managed to control my nervous stuttering just enough to make the words understandable. Fabian opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by the appearance of two other people who came bounding up the small steps behind him. One was a pretty girl with shiny brown hair, hazel eyes and skin like cream and coffee and the other was a muscular guy with a mop of tousled golden hair and darker golden stubble on his chin and upper lip. They stopped behind Fabian, who was frozen in the doorway.

"Hey, what's up with the traffic jam, Fabes?" Joy Mercer asked. Fabian blinked once, finally taking his eyes off of me, and stepped to the side to allow his friends to get through. When Joy saw me, her face lit up.

"Nina!" Her eyes glittered as she hugged me warmly. Hesitantly, I returned the embrace. We'd never been extremely close, but we'd never been enemies.

"Hi," Mick Campbell smiled. I had hardly recognized him at all at first glance. He had always been the biggest, strongest guy at school, the object of all of the girls' desires, but he was now more built up than ever. I could see the iron muscles move under his T-shirt as he gave me a little awkward wave before stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Where are the others?" Joy asked. I nodded towards the living-room.

"They're in there." I told her, trying to make my voice sound more normal. I knew that Fabian was still watching me, but I didn't look at him.

As Joy and Mick walked past me, heading towards the living-room, I heard Mick say, very quietly, "Get your earbuds ready…" Sure enough, as soon as they disappeared around the door, the excited squealing began. After a short hesitation. I turned to follow them.

"Nina," I heard Fabian say from behind me, injecting a pleading note into his voice. I paused for a second, turning my head just enough to see him in the corner of my eye. I kept walking.

Cat

I sat on my bed, staring at the varnished, dark floorboards.

I'd never fully understood the term "someone walking over your grave", but now I felt as though I knew perfectly what it meant. When Nina, the dark blond-haired American girl had walked in, it had been like an ice spider had crawled up my spine, forcing my entire body to judder uncontrollably. There was something about her that seemed oddly familiar to me, like I already knew her. I could hear the others downstairs, talking loudly, laughing as they caught up with one another. I looked around my room. There was only one explanation: I was going crazy. All that time of solitude spent painting or sketching had finally driven me around the bend. There was no way on Earth that I could already know Nina. I barely even knew everybody in the school by name, let alone the previous students. And yet, and yet.

I took a deep breath and went over to the window. Two more cars had appeared out front on the gravel and joined the first one. They were neatly parked one beside the other. It reminded me of the beginning of term, when everybody came flooding back to the house, and the grounds which had been so quiet in the summer months were suddenly alive with the buzz of teenagers settling in for term. A light breeze had picked up outside, tugging at the branches and the short green grass of the vast lawns. The sun was still beating down, warm on my face even through the thick double-glazed window. It was almost midday, and lunch would be ready soon. I could smell it wafting in from under the door. I was about to turn away and head downstairs, when something caught my eye. The feeling that I was being watched crept up on me like a shadow.

Just for a second, I though I saw something moving in the bushes, an indistinct dark shape, flashing between the leaves, there one minute and vanished the next. I squinted to get a better look, but as soon as I blinked, the ghostly shape seemed to dissolve into the undergrowth. I'd seen it before. The first few times, I'd assumed it was a deer or maybe a boar in the woods, plucking up the courage to come a little closer to where it could find food. But eventually, I'd realized that it was far too big for a wild boar. It couldn't be a deer either, because it seemed far heavier than the graceful, shy animals that roamed the woods. Maybe it was just my imagination playing tricks on me. Some of my teachers described me on report cards and occasionally to my face as an "over-imaginative young lady". That was just the Adult Code for "total fruit-loop". I kept my eyes on where the shape usually appeared, but nothing happened. It was gone again.

Mara

"Jerome's later as per usual." Amber huffed, glancing up at the clock hung above the TV near the window. She batted away a lock of starlight pale hair in annoyance.

We were all sitting around the coffee table in the living-room, and Amber was holding court just like the old days. Because of the lack of seats, I was sitting on Sam's knee on one of the comfy old armchairs and Mick and Joy had had to pull up two of the ornate wooden chairs from the dining table, which they had placed between our seat and the sofa. I lent back against Sam's chest and listened intently as Amber went on and on about her trips around the fashion capitals of the world, searching for inspiration for her column. Patricia looked about ready to fall asleep. My hands and Sam's were knotted and resting on my legs. I felt like a loved-up teenager again, with my dumb smile.

"I know," Alfie replied. "He said he was going to be here." His wide brown eyes were disappointed.

Patricia snorted as she ran a hand through her glossy, dark red pixie crop. "Huh, you know you can't rely on Jerome, Alfie. I though you'd have learned that by now." She said indifferently. Alfie sighed, then gave a small nod of reluctant agreement. I cast my mind to the only absent member of the reunion. Back when we were about sixteen, Jerome Clarke and I had been quite close. He'd helped me run my election campaign and eventually, I'd managed to coax him out of his concrete shell, and he'd told me things – secrets – that I was sure he hadn't even told Alfie. But when Mick and I had started dating after his trip to America, he'd just stopped talking to me. I supposed it was jealousy. It had stung when he'd only adress me when he absolutely needed to, only ever giving me brief looks but never quite looking into my eyes the way he had before. I regretted losing such a close friend, but I had no idea how to right the wrong. To be honest, I wasn't sure what the wrong was.

Trudy appeared in the doorway through to the kitchen, interrupting my thought pattern. "Lunch will be ready in about half an hour, lovies." She called over to us, fixing her blue gingham apron.

"Awesome!" Alfie exclaimed, rubbing his hands together eagerly and seeming to forget the whole thing about Jerome being absent. There was a mumble of general agreement. Trudy's dinners were something to drool over. She'd made us all sorts of things: curries, stir-fries, roast dinners, pasta, everything. Anything she'd made for us was phenomenal.

"And after lunch we can move onto the photos!" Amber said. "Joy, did you sort out the slideshow album for us?"

"Of course," Joy nodded.

"I dug out some old photos too. They're in the car," I said. "I'll go get them now."

I untangled my hands from Sam's and stood up, and he fished around in his pocket for the car keys. "Back in a minute."

It was hot outside. It was the hottest weather that I could remember for years. The midday sun was blinding as I walked across to Sam's little car, which was neatly parked by Amber's. I hit a button on the key ring and there was a short beep-beep noise and the locks clicked open. I opened the passenger door and stooped down, reaching inside the sweltering, turkey-roasting heat to grab my bag, which was hidden under the seat. I searched around inside of it. Sure enough, the shiny multicoloured cardboard sleeve that contained the photos was there. I slid them out and quickly checked them. The top one was an image of seventeen-year-old versions of me, Patricia, Amber and Nina pulling stupid faces on one of our trips into the town. I smiled at the squint eyes and wobbly mouths.

"Aha, gotcha," I whispered to myself as I straightened up and closed the car door, still looking at the photos, inspecting each one

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness, Jaffray," Mused a familiar voice. There had only ever been one person who called me by my surname. My eyes went to the window. Reflected in the shiny mirror-like surface, was a lanky guy with messy hair and high cheekbones.

I whipped around and found myself staring at Jerome Clarke for the first time since graduation. "Jerome!"

His grin widened. "The one and only," He said with his usual cockiness. My eyes flicked over him. He was wearing a tight white T-shirt that emphasized his straight-up-and-down shape and a dark waistcoat. I laughed in amazement and pulled him into a fierce hug, crushing him aginst me. Jerome made a soft "Oomph!" noise, but a second later I felt his lanky arms return the embrace. My head still only barely passed his collarbone. When we pulled away, I stared at him, smiling.

"It's so good to see you again! I just… I can't believe you're actually here!" I gushed.

Jerome shrugged lightly. "I didn't want to miss an opportunity for a free meal, especially when it's Trudy Food." Jerome said. I nudged him with my elbow and giggled.

"That, in Jerome language means Yes, it's good to see you too, Mara." I laughed. He shrugged again and treated me to a flash of his trademark lopsided grin.

"Come on. Everybody's here and lunch is almost ready. Plus, I have some memories for us to get teary over." I said, waving the photographs at him.

"Oh, deary me, I can feel myself welling up already." Jerome replied, dramatically putting the back of his hand to his forehead and forcing his pale lips into an exaggerated pout. I rolled my eyes and took hold of the front of his waistcoat and began towing him along behind me across the chipstones, towards Anubis House.

Ta-da! I believe I added this chapter just in time before I was responsible for a Jara Fan riot. Don't worry; this is just a snippet of Jara, more to follow. And I can promise you, one and all, that it is going to prove very yummy indeed! ;D