Disclaimer: House of Anubis is not mine, nor probably won't ever be. (Awful grammar, I know, but it gets the point across.)

This is tremendously late, but quel dommage, I'm still going to finish it. Fabes999, keep reading, even though the contest is over!

Chapter 3: A Gift From Someone Unexpected

Crying on the curb for who knows how long, I soon created a small puddle of tears on the road. I tried finding a tissue or two in my purse, but there was none. I just slumped in my position, realizing that no one was coming to comfort me.

In that moment, I wanted nothing more to be with my mother. I wanted to feel her soft embrace, warm and strong, that would protect me from any harm. I wanted her to whisper sweet, loving words in my ear, to be a child once more and not worry about anything. I wanted to just be with her again, for her to take away the pain I felt and make everything all right.

My friends forgot all about me; they just dropped me for that Nina girl. I was completely alone, there was no one to help and comfort me. She replaced me. I hated her for doing I hated myself for hating her.

"Joy? Are you okay?" a voice asked me.

I slowly stood up, saying, "What?"

He placed a hand on my shoulder, making me turn to face him. "You're not okay, are you?"

I lifted my chin to meet his pale blue eyes that were full of concern. I had finally stopped crying, and I could tell that the dried tear tracks on my face made me look like I had on a bleeding raccoon mask. I took a deep breath and grabbed his t-shirt, buried my face in it. I began to cry once more and he put his arms around me, softly smoothing down my hair as the tears leaked onto his shirt's fabric. He then rested his chin on my hair as my body shook from the sobs.

"It's not fair," I sobbed. "She gets everything. She even got him. No one remembers me or cares about me."

"Shh," Mick said. "It's alright, Joy. You're okay."

"No, it's not okay! My friends have deserted me and I'm all alone!" I exclaimed.

"Joy! Where are you- Oh good, Mick, you found her," Patricia said from my left, sounding breathless. "Hey guys, she's over here!" Footsteps clattered against the pavement, voices of my housemates surrounded me, and gentle hands were placed on my shoulders.

"Joy, why'd you run off like that?" Mara asked softly to my right.

"We were just about to go grab you to give you your presents," Amber said. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Amber hold up a nicely-wrapped, sparkly red package with a bright pink bow.

I raised my head, letting go of Mick's shirt and brushing my naturally straight brown hair back behind my ears with my hands. I wiped my eyes, taking a short breath, and addressed Amber, my voice in its usual snarky tone, "Were you really? Or is this just one of Nina's presents that she agreed to give to me so I wouldn't be left out?" Amber gawked at me, her mouth in a small "o", but I saw in her pretty blue eyes that there was a glimmer of guilt, and I knew I was right.

I turned away from her ashamed face, to face everyone else around me. "I can't believe I called you all my friends. The one year that I wanted you all to be by my side and celebrate my birthday, you all abandon me. For her. For a new American girl, who completely stole my spot in the house. You all were so captivated by her that you forgot me, left me in the dirt . . . for her!" I pointed a shaking finger at Nina, who looked shocked and hurt at my accusations. I do not see why she was so appalled at my reaction-was she really that thick? She was to blame for all of this!

"Joy, please try to be reasonable here, we really did not mean to hurt your feelings-" Mara started.

"Just shut it, Mara!" I retorted.

"Now hold on, Joy," Jerome said. I saw that his icy eyes were as hard and cold as literal frost. "You're being a whiny little bitch, and that does not mean you have to ruin this day for everyone!"

"Did you just call me a bitch?" I screeched, about to attack him. Mick grasped my arms, holding me back and allowing Jerome to avoid a clawed-up face. Mick whispered in my ear, "I would love to see you scratch out Jerome's eyes, but now is not the time, Joy. Save it for another day." I almost smiled at his comment, but at the moment I was a bit too angry to rationally think about what I should and should not do.

"What did you say, meathead?" Jerome shouted.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Patricia stood in front of Jerome while Mara held her boyfriend's arms back from punching Mick in the jaw. Apparently, they wanted to spin the conversation back to me because Patricia said, "Joy, please try to talk about this rationally. We really didn't mean to forget you, it's just it was the first time celebrating with Nina and-"

I swiveled around to face her. "And you, Patricia! I thought you of all people would stand by my side and never forget about me! We were best friends and then you just betray me and buddy up with this little slut of a person-"

"Joy. Don't you dare call Nina that."

Fabian's voice held such a warning, it sent a shiver down my spine. I met his eyes. I saw that they were hard as steel, unforgiving, and, maybe, with a bit of hatred? No, it could not be, Fabian could never hate me.

I saw that he was holding a regretful Nina in his arms. I bristled at the sight. "Nina, stop wallowing in Fabian's arms and face me," I challenged. "Don't be a fucking coward."

Nina inhaled sharply when I called her name. When she finally looked up, I saw that she had a few tears on her cheeks, but her eyes were blazing. The tears astonished me for a moment, so the next thing she did was unexpected. She walked out of Fabian's arms to look at me, raised a hand and slapped me across the face. Then, she began to speak: "Joy, I'm sorry that you're day was ruined because of me. But just because we share the same birthday, and our friends wanted to celebrate our birthday with my interests in mind, it does not mean you can be a complete bitch to me. Before you start to judge me, take a look at your own pathetic life and figure out what you want to do about it."

"Wow, newbie grew a backbone," I heard Alfie whisper.

I pressed a hand over my stinging red cheek, still stunned that she had slapped me. Nina pivoted on her heel and marched off, not saying another word to me. Like a dog at her heel, Fabian walked with her without saying anything. Jerome and Mara followed shortly. Amber, her eyes watering and looking like a hurt puppy, trailed behind them, with Alfie behind her. Patricia and Mick were the only ones left, and they gave me a pitiful look.

Patricia walked forward, shaking her head. "You've really screwed up, Joy. Here's your damn gift."She tossed a blue-wrapped box with a purple bow at my feet. I immediately thought, Was this Nina's gift beforehand? The box was about the size of a box of tissues; oh no, did she just give me tissues? Lovely gift, "best friend."

Patricia then marched away in her tall brown boots to follow her Anubis "buddies", her dark purple skirt flowing in the wind around her knees. She never looked back to apologize, take my side, or even to just give me one last glance.

I turned to the last person who stood beside me. Mick gave me a neutral expression: not condescending, nor pitiful, not even angered-just neutral.

"Here, I got you and Nina a present." Mick asked. Instead of just dropping the gift at my feet, he actually handed it to me. He held up a blue envelope. "This was for Nina. You got the bigger present, you happy?" He shook his head. "I'm not one to scold someone, but even you have to admit that you took this too far."

I scoffed, outraged that he took her side. "I did not! She was-"

"Let me finish, please." Mick held up a hand which silenced me. He was never this stern. "Ever since you've come back, you've been very selfish about everything. You keep repeating that Nina had replaced you in everything, but she did not do it on purpose. I remember several times where she apologized for doing anything to hurt your precious feelings, but you never seemed to care."You know, I have been on your side ever since you came back. When people would talk about you in rumors, I stood up for you and told them to shut it. But you've been ruining your own reputation by being a complaining little child. Why couldn't you be happy with just being back with your friends, your true family?"

I never spoke during his tirade, and afterwards, I felt empty and hollow on the inside. I knew I had screwed up, but the problem was: I had no idea on how to fix it.

"Open it," Mick said.

I nodded, tilting my head down to examine the box in my hands. It was delicately wrapped with a creamy paper, where little golden flowers were scrawled in a specific pattern. There was a pale red ribbon that wrapped around the present, ending at the center with an elegantly made bow. I untied the bow, letting the ribbon fall to the pavement, and lifted the lid of the box.

Inside was one of prettiest things I had ever seen. Tucking the lid in the crook of my arm, I stroked the clear facets of the crystal that hung at the center of the necklace with my free hand. There was a crystal in the shape of a teardrop at the middle of a sterling silver chain. The chain was made of little loops that twined together and ended in a toggle clasp, and in the center of each loop was a small diamond. In the bright sunlight, the facets threw little rainbows with even the tiniest movement. It was exquisite and must have cost him a fortune.

"Mick, it's wonderful. How did you afford this?" I asked, looking around. He was not there. While I was fawning over my gift, I had not noticed him leaving. I was now truly alone, with a shattered heart and no one at my side. I had a beautiful gift, but no one to share it.

So, Joy really screwed up this time! As you can probably tell, Mick is really sweet in this story and has grown smarter, just like Nina has grown a backbone. Hope you guys enjoyed, and sorry for the wait.

Next chapter soon!

~Ary