We've now reached the Climax of this story. I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 29 Casualties of War
December 2, 8:15 P.M.
Alan's P.O.V.
'Looks like things could get worse.' I thought to myself as I stood underneath the pouring water from the fire sprinkler system.
After the firm alarm went off in the theater Mr. Sweet flew out of his seat and in his deepest voice possible shouted for everybody to evacuate the building. Despite all the drills we have this evacuation certainly didn't go as smoothly as the fake ones with everybody screaming and pushing to get out of the theater. The only problem was that once we were outside the theater we would be forced into the cold outside the building, which would no doubt lead to several students coming down sick.
So instead of running out with the rest of the group, Char and I stayed in our back row, allowing the others in the row to leave while watching what happened on stage. When the water hit I heard Nina shout and saw her pull away from Michael, never kissing him as he had planned. Michael looked stunned himself, and even more so when Fabian jumped onto the stage and pushed Michael to the ground with Nina gasping as he did so.
Fabian was shouting something at Michael but over the screaming of all the students and faculty I couldn't make out what he was saying. The mics that Nina and Michael had on didn't seem to work anymore since I couldn't hear what they were shouting either.
I noticed that Mara, Patricia, and Jerome were fighting against the crowd and trying to get on stage also. I decided to follow them too, jumping over the rows of seats instead of trying to navigate through the heavy crowd in the aisles. Charlotte didn't seem that interested in following, instead just standing in our row watching things play out. I also noticed Joy leaving the auditorium, her face unreadable.
My pace quickened when Michael got to his feet and Fabian pushed him back down. Nina shouted something and moved forward to grab Fabian before he could charge at Michael again. The three Anubis members were still stuck in the aisle crowd so I got onto the stage first and grabbed Fabian, who had broken out of Nina's grasp and was moving quickly for Michael again.
Fabian turned to me, his eyes showing more rage then I thought possible. "LET GO OF ME!" He shouted over the siren and water flooding down.
"NO!" I shouted. Unfortunately for me, Fabian was actually pretty strong and quickly escaped from my hold on him. He grabbed me himself, shouting at the top of his lungs, and then threw me backwards. I heard Michael shout my name as I hit the ground, barely stopping myself from falling off the stage.
My entire body was hurting, and I looked back out at the crowd and noticed that nobody was paying attention to what was happening on stage and that Charlotte was still standing in the back row along with someone else. I turned my attention back to the three people on stage and noticed that Michael and Fabian were now fighting each other, each grasping at the other and attempting to push the other to the ground. They both fell to the ground at the same time, shouting profanities and other things at each other.
Nina just stared at them stunned, but not so stunned that she didn't try to do anything. "STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU STOP IT!" She shouted, before falling to her knees and attempting to pry the two guys apart. Nina shouted out in pain as a hand went flying up and hit her below her nose. She fell back, holding her face away from the two guys who had now both stopped fighting.
"NINA!" they both shouted at the same time. She looked at them and that's when we all noticed that Nina was bleeding from either her nose or her busted upper lip.
'Oh crap.' I thought to myself.
"YOUT DID THAT TO HER!" Michael shouted, trying to balance himself on the slippery stage floor. Fabian himself stumbled back, catching his breath as I tried to get to my feet. "YOU HURT NINA!"
"YOU HURT HER!" Fabian shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Michael, "AND YOU HURT HER WHEN YOU TRIED TO RUIN OUR RELATIONSHIP! SHE DOESN'T LOVE YOU! SHE LOVES ME!"
"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Michael shouted, jumping back onto Fabian. Fabian pushed Michael back who swung at Fabian's jaw. It missed and Fabian followed up by hitting Michael in the stomach. Michael groaned and grabbed Fabian's arm while tackling him to the ground.
At that moment Jerome and Patricia jumped on the stage. Jerome rushed forward to pull Fabian away from Michael and I got up also and pulled Michael away. They both fought and kicked against us, still shouting at each other while we drew them farther away. Mara had jumped on stage and had run to Nina, pulling out something to wipe the blood off her face.
"ENOUGH!" I heard Patricia shout. "BOTH OF YOU IDIOTS STOP RIGHT NOW!"
"THAT BASTARD WAS GOING TO KISS NINA!" Fabian shouted, still struggling against Jerome.
"IT'S CALLED ACTING YOU FRIKIN IDIOT!" Michael shouted back, not struggling as much against my hold, "CALM THE HELL DOWN!"
"THAT… WAS… NOT… ACTING!" Fabian shouted. He broke free of Jerome's hold and began to charge Michael. I instinctively jumped in front of Michael to defend him but that didn't seem to deter Fabian. What did though was the shouting of Mr. Winkler.
"STOP THIS MADNESS RIGHT NOW!" Mr. Winkler shouted, running onto to the stage. Fabian stopped charging and turned to Mr. Winkler with the rest of us. I think it's fair to say we were all stunned at how Mr. Winkler looked. He looked crazier than either Fabian or Michael did, and that's saying something. "EVERYBODY GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" He shouted, his face red with rage.
We all mumbled yes and began to file off stage towards the exit. Fabian ran over to Nina to help and Michael tried to do the same, but I grabbed him before he could and began to march him off stage.
"But Nina!" Michael protested began to protest.
"SHUT UP!" I shouted at him, continuing to drag him out of the auditorium.
We exited the auditorium and found the sprinklers were also on in the hallway. I tightened my grip on Michael and continued dragging him towards the exit. "I have to do something for Nina! She's hurt!" Michael continued to protest.
"You've done enough!" I shouted.
We finally got out of the theater building and were hit harshly by the cold air. We both shuddered violently as we made our way down the stops, Michael's teeth chattered the entire time. Sometimes I forget he's from one of the warmest places in the United States and that cold doesn't always suit him. Right now he must be dying, and I thought which death would be better for my best friend. Freezing to death or Fabian? I think the first one might actually be better for Michael at this point.
"Students! Students please!" Mr. Sweet shouted over us. "Report back to your houses and find warmth immediately! Faculty make sure the students reach their house ok and then warm yourselves up!"
"What about you Eric?" Mrs. Andrews asked.
"I must wait here for the fire department. Hopefully they will not be long." Mr. Sweet said, his voice already starting to break from the cold. The doors to the theater banged open as Mr. Winkler sprinted out with the other students from Anubis House moving slowly behind him. All of them began to shake from the cold except for Mr. Winkler, who still looked like he was ready to kill someone.
My eyes met with Mara's and I saw her mouth one simple word to me. 'Go'.
I nodded my head in understanding and turned to Michael, grabbing him by the shoulder and began moving us away from the building and away from Fabian. "We c-c-can't go yet!" Michael tried to say through chattered teeth.
"Yes we can and have too!" I said.
"NO!" Michael shouted in protested.
"Michael!" I shouted, "If we stay then you'll either die from the cold or Fabian is going to kill you. We need to get you back to Odin now!"
Michael looked like he wanted to protest but didn't have the energy too. In his weakened state I was able to pull Michael along as we made our way back to our house.
What was only about a three minute walk felt like ages thanks to the cold. I was hurting badly from it but Michael must be in hell since his stage costume was hardly appropriate for such cold weather, though he did look sharp in it.
We finally made it to Odin and I kicked the door open practically as we made our way in. "No slamming doors- OH MY GOD!" Debbie exclaimed, stunned by the two of us. "What in the world happened to you two?"
"Debbie get something hot going on the stove please!" I pretty much demanded from our house mother. I didn't even care if it turned out burned or not, Michael and I needed something hot and fast.
"No! I have to do something!" Debbie protested.
"Then do something by making something hot!" I shouted. "I'll get us out of these clothes!" Debbie looked offended by the tone I was using but didn't protest and run to the kitchen to start making something. I lugged the two of to our room and locked the door behind us. Michael was heading towards his bed but I stopped him since a wet bed would be the last thing he needed.
"Come on Michael, get out of those clothes." I said, stripping off my jacket and undershirt. I began to feel warmer with them off and noticed that Michael was making no movements to do the same with his clothes. "Michael come on!" I repeated. He made no move to do anything so I began to take off his shirt. Once I had that off I reluctantly went for his pants but Michael stopped me.
"I can do that myself!" Michael said sharply. I simply nodded at him and let him strip while I did the same. I had changed into some pajamas but Michael had changed into normal clothing and was already putting on some shoes.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"I'm going back to the theater building to find Nina. If she isn't there then I'll keep looking for her." Michael explained, struggling to get his other shoe on.
"You're not going back out there." I said plainly.
Michael laughed at me and finished putting his other shoe on. "And why is that?"
"Because your freezing and you should not be around Nina right now." I replied.
Michael laughed at me again and moved to the door. I stepped in front of it to block his path and he looked at me annoyed. "Get out of the way Alan." He said firmly.
"No." I growled back.
"I have to see Nina!" He said to me.
"No you don't!" I shouted at him, "Do you have any idea what you just did Michael? Do you?"
Michael didn't respond and just continued to stare at me. "Alan, I have to see her. She's hurt."
"Because you hurt her!" I said.
"I DIDN'T DO THAT IT WAS FABIAN!" Michael shouted, "NOT ME! I AM NOT THE BAD GUY HERE!"
"Oh but you are the bad guy Michael." I said, laughing cynically as I spoke, "First you plot to kiss Nina on stage in front of her boyfriend without him knowing, but NO! That isn't enough for you is it? You have to create a scene and go off script and confess that you 'love' Nina Martin not just in front of Fabian but a good portion of the school too!" I shouted that last part and threw my arms up in the air as I did so. Michael took a few steps back himself, stunned by my tone and behavior. I have to admit I was also stunned but I was too frustrated to stop. "What the hell were you thinking when you did that?"
"I thought I would find out if Nina liked me or not." Michael said.
I stared blankly at Michael and then after a few seconds started laughing at him. Michael looked offended but I didn't care, this entire thing was too stupid not to laugh about. "And you honestly thought that was the best way to find out Michael? You are a frickin idiot dude!" I said, trying to control my deranged laughter.
Michael looked at me angrily, "Well I didn't have a friend to talk it over with! Nobody was there to help me figure stuff out."
That stopped my laughter, "You're going to blame what happened on me?" I shouted incredulously. Michael didn't look at me so I continued my rant, "You're going to say that because I wasn't there to hold your hand and tell you it was a bad idea it's my fault that you made an ass of yourself on stage?"
"We haven't had a real conversation in a week Alan. An entire week! Tell me, does that matter to you?" Michael shouted, moving forward again to confront me toe to toe.
To be truthful I did feel bad about ignoring Michael, I had been doing it for some time now. But it was only because he constantly kept talking about Nina or Charlotte and while I don't mind talking about his girl troubles with him, when Michael does it all the time then I have a problem. I also liked hanging with Alfie, which I found began to take up a ton of my time since he never seemed to complain about much.
"This isn't about us Michael, it's about you and Nina and even Fabian!" I said, partially deflecting Michael's question while also getting us back on track with the main topic.
"What's there to say? I love Nina." Michael said.
"You what?" I said stunned.
"I love Nina." Michael said. It got deathly silent after that as I tried to think of something to say. Michael wasn't doing much either since he seemed to have suddenly come to some major discovery.
I finally had to say something, "Why does everybody keep using that word."
"Love?" Michael asked.
"Yes! 'Love'! We're seventeen and in high school! We shouldn't be saying these things!" I shouted. Didn't anybody realize this? Didn't anybody care? We have our entire lives to live, why were we wasting time on trying to find somebody to 'love' at such a young age?
"We say these things because their true." Michael said calmly, "And I love Nina."
"You don't though because you're only using her to replace Charlotte!" I protested.
"Would you stop saying that! That is not true and you know it," Michael growled, getting even closer to me, "Charlotte and I are over! We've been over since last year!"
"That isn't true and you know it." I growled back.
"Oh give it a rest-" Michael protested.
"NO! I won't! Because it doesn't deserve a rest!" I shouted back, "You used to like Charlotte and you still do! You're just using Nina because you're acting stupid and being a total dumbass!"
I shouted the last part so loud my voice nearly cracked. Michael was still giving me his best death glare and it got quiet again. "Out of my way Alan." He finally said.
"No." I replied.
"Get out of my way!" Michael shouted, grabbing me by the shoulder and pushing me to the side. His hands had lost a lot of their natural tan and felt especially cold; making me worry even more about him, but my worry and anger couldn't stop him. I feel to the side and Michael shoved open our door only to run into a small crowd outside our room.
Three of our housemates stood outside: Tony, Mitch, and Charlotte. Tony was smiling like a hyena, Mitch seemed to be slightly interested in what was happening, and Charlotte looked like somebody had slapped her several times. When Michael saw her, the energy sapped out of his body and now his face had turned white.
"Charlotte…" He began, but she held up her hand to stop him.
"So… Nina's the one?" she asked him, not even caring about the three other people surrounding them.
"I… I can't…" Michael stumbled. Charlotte's gaze suddenly grew very deadly and she jumped forward to confront Michael.
"Oh so now you're unsure of yourself?" She demanded, "In there you sounded pretty confident about who you loved!"
Now it was Michael's turn to get angry, "Why are you upset? I told you that I loved you and you hated me for it!"
"That was different." Charlotte replied.
"Why because you like me now!" Michael shouted.
"No! I still don't like you!" Charlotte said. I raised my eyebrows at her and mouth 'what?' to her, but she ignored me and kept her attention focused on Michael.
Michael looked a little taken aback and managed to barely say "Well… good!" Things got awkward quickly as the two of them just stared at each other and for a second I thought they might kiss. But Charlotte shook her head and stormed away, running up the stairs and slamming her door behind her.
"Wow!" Tony said, now fully smiling. "You really know how to work the ladies! Now I kind of wish I went to this play."
Michael turned back around and made for our door. "I'll stay in." he said, and then slammed the door behind him.
The only sound now was Tony's giggling which prompted me to give him a glare. He smiled, "Sucks to be him I guess. I'm going to go find Tori, see if she needs any comforting after her set was ruined."
He turned and walked away; leaving Mitch and I. Mitch looked at me and then moved towards his room, lightly closing the door behind him. From around the corner came Debbie, holding out two bowls of what was supposed to be chicken noodle soup but instead looked like brown slime.
"I brought you something warm. Are you guys feeling better now?" She asked, all smiles and acting like nothing had happened since Michael and I walked in the door.
I sighed in frustration, not wanting to deal with our insane housemother or anybody else ever again.
8:17 P.M.
Nina's P.O.V.
Mr. Winkler stormed outside with us right behind him, the cold air hitting us all. I cringed as my body felt like it was freezing solid and sunk closer into Fabian. "I must wait here for the fire department. Hopefully they will not be long." Mr. Sweet said to Mrs. Andrews, surrounding by faculty members and a mob of freezing students. Mr. Winkler plowed through the group and reached Mr. Sweet.
"Mr. Sweet this is unacceptable!" Mr. Winkler shouted.
"Calm down Jason…" Mr. Sweet began.
"NO! My play set is ruined! I'll have to cancel the show now!" Mr. Winkler shouted hysterically, "Months of preparation poured down the drain and for what? Where's the fire Eric? Who pulled that fire alarm?"
Whoever pulled the fire alarm I want to praise. I want to build monuments to that person, to glorify them for saving me from having to answer Michael. As I looked through the crowd I noticed that Alan was dragging a weak looking Michael away from the crowd and probably towards Odin House. Just seeing Michael sent my mind into a rage.
Who the hell does Michael think he is and what the hell did he think he was doing? Saying he loved me on stage in front of everybody, he can't pass that off as 'acting' either like he tried with Fabian. My reaction to what he said and Fabians follow up actions showed that what Michael said was not scripted.
And God Fabian… what was he thinking? Assaulting Michael? Does he understand how much trouble he can get into? He was totally justified in what he was doing, and to be honest I liked how Fabian had defended me, but he went too far and I could tell he was still full of rage. He was holding me close to protect me from the cold, but his grip didn't feel caring or loving in the slightest. It felt… forced.
I could vaguely hear Mr. Sweet's voice battling with Mr. Winkler's, but I was too distracted by my pained face and the bitter cold outside to really listen to what they were saying. A shrieking voice cut through to me and brought me back to reality. "Dear God, Nina!" Mrs. Andrews shouted out. "What happened to you?"
Cold hands grasped my arms, ripping me out of Fabian's hard grasp and I came face to face with Mrs. Andrews. Her eyes scanned my face, worry written all over her own face, while a finger went up to my upper lip. She touched it lightly and I cringed in pain. "Eric she needs a doctor!"
"Well then bring her to the nurse then." Mr. Sweet said in an agitated tone due to Mr. Winkler, who was still ranting now to nobody in particular.
"She needs a hospital Eric." Mrs. Andrews hissed at him. "Where is Trudy Ms. Martin, we can get her to take you town to the hospital."
How the hell was I suppose to know where Trudy was? I was barely able to function and I suppose to keep an eye on Trudy while traumatized on stage? Luckily I didn't have to answer because Trudy came running out of the crowd, worry written all over her face.
"Oh Nina dearie! What happened?" She asked, cupping my face lightly and pulling out a cloth.
Fabian looked like he was about to blame it on Michael, so I spoke up before he could. "I… I fell while trying to get out." I replied. Fabian gave me an annoyed look and Trudy looked like she didn't care that much, she was too distracted by my injury and trying to clean it off with her cloth.
"This is going to need stitches." Trudy said, "Come on Nina; let's get you to the hospital."
"Thank you Trudy," Mr. Sweet said before turning back to Mr. Winkler, "Jason I am terribly sorry about what happened to your set and performances but there is nothing we can do now. The school will reimburse you and the department for your loses."
"I don't want your money!" Mr. Winkler shouted offended, "I want whoever pulled the fire alarm! There was no fire Eric, it was just a disrespectful prank and I want whoever did it punished!"
"Come on Nina, we should get going." Trudy said to me, she turned to Fabian, "Fabian, you coming?"
Fabian actually looked like he needed some time to himself, have sometime to cool down from everything that I had just put him through. But Patricia gave him an obvious push towards Trudy and I and he said "Sure."
As we were leaving I was looking over the face of my former housemates. Jerome and Mara looked stunned by all the events that had just happened, their intelligent and quick minds slowed down by all the drama and the cold. Patricia didn't seem to have mixed feelings since she was giving me her most 'pissed off' face I've ever seen her give someone. Mick wasn't there, though I really didn't care that much what he thought, and Alfie and Amber were elsewhere.
As I was walking away I turned around and saw that Alfie and Amber had just come running out the theater, soaked more than most of us. Mrs. Andrews was already shouting up at them and Mara and Jerome went running to the two of them. Amber wasn't paying much attention to them, instead looking me directly in the eye. I turned away from her, unable to look her in the eye back.
We got down to the parking lot and Trudy loaded us into the car with Fabian and I in the backseat. Trudy started the engine and hot air came blowing out of the A/C units, warming up my entire body. Only after I had gotten comfortable did I realize how awkward things were right now between Fabian and me.
Trudy had put us both in the back row of her car, as if giving the signal that it was ok to hold each other or whatever. Fabian didn't seem that interested in doing anything romantic at that moment though, as he kept a large gap between us with his head facing forward. I began to move closer to Fabian, but his body tensed up and I stopped. Michael had already made things bad for Fabian; I didn't want to upset him anymore.
As we began to drive to the hospital and my body began to feel less numb, I began to think about Michael again. How the hell could Michael do that to me? How could he embarrass me and put me on the spot like that? I thought he cared about me, but evidently not if he has no problem with causing that massive scene and then purposely starting a fight with Fabian.
Fire trucks went racing past us towards the school, focusing my attention even more on what happened tonight. I looked over to Fabian, trying to find some sort of comfort from him but he still wasn't meeting my gaze. Internally I began to panic, I had already lost Amber as my friend and probably most of my former housemates along with her, and I couldn't lose Fabian!
We pulled into the hospital and Trudy quickly came around and helped me to the doors. "Trudy you don't have to help me inside." I said, perhaps a bit too harshly.
"You are absolutely right Nina. Fabian, come help her instead! I'll go get us checked in." Trudy said, bringing me over to Fabian. Fabian looked at both of us and without a word took me away from Trudy and wrapped my arm around his shoulder to support me. There was no emotion when he did this, in fact it seemed more like a chore to him.
Trudy got us checked in and a nurse escorted us back to a room, telling us that somebody would be with us shortly. It was quiet after that and a few minutes later another nurse came in and told us what we already knew, I needed stitches. She left and told us she'd be back soon, throwing the room into silence again. Ten minutes passed and Trudy had given up trying to make small talk with us, sensing that something was wrong between us. She instead turned to her phone and began checking messages or something. Fabian still stood next to me, dutifully, but everything about his stance and facial expression looked like the next the time the door opened he would flee the room.
After another five minutes of awkward silence another nurse came in with a box. She was all smiles and pleasantries, hitting it off with Trudy in the first minute. After getting the full story from Trudy the nurse turned to me, still smiling, and pulled out the stitches. She put some liquid on them and began to clear away the blood on my lips. "You're a lucky lady." She said to me, "Looks like you will only need these stitches for about ten days at the most."
"Oh good." I mumbled, happy with that news at least. I didn't want to fly back to America for the winter break with those things still in my lip.
"Now hold your head back so I can put these in," The nurse said, "And don't worry, it won't hurt a bit!"
What an utter lie. Though I only need three stitches each one sent waves of pain through my body as the nurse sowed them in. I started to get angry at her for lying to me, but then my anger turned towards Michael again, and then Amber, and then everybody else I knew! My hands were turning white from holding onto the examination table so hard and I felt somebody grab my hand in support. I checked out of the corner of my eye, hoping to see Fabian there to support me. Instead it was only Trudy, giving me her usual encouraging smile. I tried to smile back while cursing Fabian silently in my mind.
"There we are, all done!" the nurse said, stepping back to admire her handy work. She handed me a mirror and I was able to observe her work close up, and since I'm not a doctor I going to guess and say she did a good job.
"They do look good Nina." Trudy said, "Not too big or noticeable. Don't they look nice Fabian?"
"Very." Fabian said, not even looking my way.
"Well we have one more thing for you." The nurse said, opening the door and grabbing something on the outside handle of the room. She reentered the room and showed off a hospital rain poncho, smiling as she did so and looking like she was handing me a new car. I tried to smile myself, ignoring the thumping in my head, and accepted the gift.
We all exited the room and Trudy began signing wavier forms and documents for the doctors. Fabian was still not looking at me and I decided to give up on it. If Fabian wanted to talk he could come to me, I was tired of trying to guess his feelings and of taking charge in everything.
Trudy finished up and we were whisked out of the hospital, the cold air having less of an impact on me thanks to my new poncho. We got in the car and drove away from the hospital in silence, Fabian and I sitting as far away as we could from each other in the back seat.
Trudy, who thankfully wasn't oblivious like my current housemother, could tell that there was something going on between us and decided to try and help. "Nina dear I'll drop you off first and then Fabian and I can drive back to Anubis."
I nodded my head to her in agreement but Fabian surprised both us. "It's ok Trudy; I'll walk Nina to the door and walk home."
We both turned to him, stunned. "Fabian sweetie… are you sure?" Trudy said stunned.
"I am." Fabian said. Trudy looked at both of us concerned but didn't say anything and just nodded her head at us, turning her attention back to the road in front of us.
I freaking out in my mind, knowing exactly what he wanted to talk about but not sure how he would do it. I tried to think about what to say to him, to try and prepare myself for all his questions and rage. But in between the cold, the throbbing in my head, and just being plain tired I couldn't come up with anything and spent the rest of the ride freaking out.
We arrived near Odin house and Trudy dropped both of us off. "Call me if you ever need anything." Trudy told me, "I'll be over in a jiffy."
"Thanks Trudy." I said. I stepped forward and gave her a hug which seemed to shock Trudy for a second. But she smiled and hugged me back.
"I'm just across campus Nina." Trudy said with affection in her voice.
"I know." I said, breaking free of Trudy. I was just happy that somebody in Anubis House wasn't mad at me for some reason, and that my old, competent housemother still cared about me.
Trudy got back in the car, waved to us, and then drove away which left me alone with Fabian. Slowly I turned around and looked Fabian in the eye, not allowing myself to seem concerned around him. Fabian was doing the same thing and then began taking steps towards me. When he reached me Fabian held out his arm and I took it reluctantly. Now bond together we both began to walk towards Odin house.
It was still earlier and most of the other boarding houses in the area were still illuminated with lights and activity. I noticed that Odin house seemed to be the complete opposite of the other houses, giving the house an eerie and otherworldly look to it amongst its bright surroundings. The silence between Fabian and I didn't help lighten the mood either.
We reached Odin house and entered the courtyard before the house. I noticed that one light was on in the entire house, the kitchen light which meant that Debbie was no doubt awake. What the rest of my housemates were up to I don't know, and I don't care so long as Michael is elsewhere.
Fabian stopped midway to the door, his eyes unfocused and posture ridged. We both stood there for about half a minute in silence while the cold wind blew around us softly. I didn't really want to be the first to say anything, and luckily I didn't have to.
"Some performance tonight, wasn't it?" Fabian asked, still not looking at me.
"I definitely did not go according to plan." I said.
"Plan? Don't you mean script?" Fabian questioned.
"Yes, that's what I meant." I replied stiffly. Does he know about my plan to kiss Michael? Did Amber have time to tell him? I don't see how since she was running around with Alfie backstage, though I suppose she could of texted him. But that isn't Amber's style, when there is big news she always tells somebody in person. "It's totally low to tell someone something about romance over text or the phone," Amber told me one day, "You always have to do it in person. It's just so much more romantic and dramatic!"
'You got plenty of drama tonight Amber.' I thought to myself.
"So everything you did was on script?" Fabian asked.
I sighed in frustration, "Obviously the last part with Michael was not on script," I explained, "Michael was out of line. He was totally talking crap and is confused."
"He sure didn't sound confused." Fabian said, "He seemed to have his mind made up. You looked confused though."
"Of course I was confused!" I said in my most controlled voice, "It's not every day that somebody tells you that they love you in front of an entire audience."
"So you don't have feelings for him?"
"Of course not Fabian," I said, "I only have feelings for you."
"Do you?" Fabian said in a questioning tone.
"Yes." I said, though the second I said it I knew that I did not sound convincing.
Fabian picked up on that too and pounced on it. "You don't sound so sure. Maybe that's why you planed to kiss him on stage."
I was stunned momentarily but regained my composure. "That is absurd Fabian-" I began.
"Don't lie to me Nina." Fabian said in a dangerous tone, "I love you, and I don't want to deal with lies from you! You had to kiss him during you scene didn't you?"
I was breathless, my head throbbing so much that my ears were vibrating… or maybe that was just my heart beating loudly. I had never seen Fabian like this. This entire night since the fight with Michael on stage Fabian had turned into somebody else, not the guy I fell in love with. "I did have to kiss him Fabes, but that had nothing to do with whether or not I liked him? It was just acting!" I protested.
"So why didn't you tell me that you had to kiss him?" Fabian demanded, turning to look me directly in the eyes. I took a step back from him when I noticed the ferocity in his eyes, a look I never imagined seeing on Fabian's face.
"I…" I began, but stopped short when I realized that I had no excuse.
Fabian didn't stop. "Did you think that I would be super jealous? That I wouldn't understand that you had to play that part for the sake of acting? That I would overreact and do something crazy against Michael or break up with you?"
Now it was my turn to get angry. "You want to talk about doing something crazy after everything you've put Michael through?" I nearly shouted at him.
Fabian looked shocked, and then laughed disbelievingly, "What I've put him through?"
"Yes, you!" I shouted at Fabian, "Ever since you've met him you've done nothing but make his life miserable! Over the course of knowing him you've attacked him twice, threatened him three times, and have otherwise treated him like crap!"
"He deserved it." Fabian said.
"No he didn't!" I protested.
"Of course you would say that Nina." Fabian said angrily, "You wanted to kiss Michael up there didn't you?"
"What?" I shouted, "I did it because we were acting Fabian! You're being a total ass about this Fabian! You went too far with attacking Michael!"
"I was defending you Nina because I didn't want to lose you to these new people and to this new house!" Fabian shouted, "I didn't want you to lose your connection with Anubis house! To me!"
"And you thought that by spending a year in Odin house I would for some reason forget all about the people in Anubis house? That I would forget about you?" I shouted back.
"Yes and you have been!" Fabian shouted, "You've turned you back on all of us!"
"I did not!" I hissed.
"Yes you have!" Fabian insisted.
"Then you're an idiot for thinking that Fabian! I hate this House." I shouted, pointing towards Odin while completely pissed off at my boyfriend. So what if I had just admitted that I cared less for my old housemates now, I wasn't about to let Fabian get away with what he was saying "I hate this place so much! I want to go back Anubis Fabian. I want to be a part of that family again! I don't want to have to wake up every morning worrying about evil roommates, a sleazy play boy hitting on me, over the top sci fi geeks screaming in my ear, whether my housemother is about to serve me dinner or some poison, or a guy who may or may not like you while you have a boyfriend all the way across campus! I HATE THIS HOUSE!"
I shouted that last part which caused me to cringe in pain as my voice vibrated in my pained head. I was a little surprised that nobody had come outside yet to check on us; no doubt they were spying on us through the windows. Fabian himself looked just as mad as he did before though his eyes were different as he seemed to be in deep thought and a bit of… pain? Since he wasn't saying anything I breathed heavily to try to control my temper and my headache and continued speaking.
"Look, I'm sorry if you feel ignored by me Fabian. I realize that I haven't been the best girlfriend to you or the best friend to the people in Anubis house, but that's only because I'm now in Odin house and have to deal with eight other people! Fate decided to put me in Odin house and we have to deal with it! If we can't then we should just break up now!"
The second that came out of my mouth my hands flew towards my face in shock. Fabian's eyes even went wide and we both stood there staring at each other in shocked silence. The wind blew by us again, lifting up a few dead leaves with twigs and sent them flying across the courtyard. The leaves and twigs broke apart and both flew their separate directions.
Fabian stared at me, his eyes making him look like he was in even greater pain now. His mouthed opened to say something but he stopped himself before he began. After a few more seconds he spoke, "Can you answer one question for me?" He asked plainly.
I nodded my head, my posture tightening along with my heart.
"Do you like Michael?" he asked me.
I didn't react at all to that question. Perhaps the pain or the cold or a combination of both had left me emotionally numb, but I felt no need to get emotional about this. I couldn't give Fabian an honest answer as I felt answering either way would tear me apart. I breathed softly, the cold now taking over my entire body. I knew my answer, and damn him if it's not what he wants to hear.
"I don't know." I responded.
Fabian didn't respond at all to that, simply standing there and staring at me with those hard eyes of his. Silence came over us again and I started to speak again, "Fabian… I'm sorry if that not what you wanted-"
Fabian stopped me before I could continue by taking a few steps towards the courtyards exit, his backing turning towards me. "I think we should take a break." He said to me.
"What?" I said, sounding stupid with my question.
"I… I need time to think about stuff." Fabian responded.
'Why do you always need time to think about stuff?' I wanted to shout, but knew better than too. "Ok." I said instead, "Let's take a break then."
Fabian laughed, "You're that willing to huh?" He asked.
"Only if you are." I said, not willing myself to be lured into a trap.
"I am." Fabian said, "And after I've thought about it we can talk about our relationship."
'What are we, in the 50s again? You're not the boss of this relationship!' I wanted to shout, but instead kept quiet, not wanting to argue anymore with Fabian.
"While we're on our 'break', try not to get into Michael's bed to many times." Fabian said.
That did it. I no longer felt emotionless anymore, the rage fueling my body and making the cold go away. I ran up to Fabian and slapped him across the face. "How dare you! Get out of here Rutter! I don't want to see you face! Why don't you go to Joy's bed? We both know she's willing, but then again maybe she's realized that you're not really much of a prize yourself!"
"At least I didn't nearly kiss Joy on stage." Fabian said.
My shoulders trembled, "GET OUT OF HERE RUTTER!" I shouted, pushing him away and out of the courtyard. Fabian stumbled out, gave me one last glare, and walked away from me. When he was I slammed the gate shut and ran back up to the house, not willing myself to cry over that ass.
I stumbled inside, not even bothering to throw my coat on the rack or saying hi to Debbie or whoever was in the kitchen. I ran up the stairs and cut to my room, throwing myself inside and slamming the door shut. I sank against the door, falling down towards the ground 'Don't cry Nina! Don't cry over him!' I told myself.
I looked across the dark room and noticed that Charlotte was on her bed, asleep surprisingly. She was clutching something in her hands, but I was too tired to figure out what it was. Slowly I moved over to my bed, got into my PJs, and slipped under the covers. I pulled them close to my body and tired to go to sleep.
No sleep came to me that night, but plenty of tears did.
10:28 P.M.
Alfie's P.O.V.
Amber and I laid together, hugging on her bed and alone in her room. I couldn't think of a more perfect feeling, a more perfect moment then just lying there with Amber and enjoying each other embrace after a long night.
After I pulled the fire alarm Amber was hysterical, realizing that the water from the system would ruin the wardrobes, set pieces, and the whole production. However when I explained that I set them off to prevent Michael and Nina from kissing she grew very happy and kissed my hard underneath the pouring water. It was actually pretty romantic, not going to lie.
After that satisfying kiss we both ran outside and met up with rest of our housemates. Somehow Nina had gotten hurt and had been rushed to the hospital with Trudy and Fabian in tow. 'I'd hate to be with those three.' I thought to myself. Michael was also gone, which was probably good since Amber probably had some angry things to say to him.
A teacher escorted back to our house through the cold and all of us Anubis members rushed in. Once we entered the house we all came face to face with Mick, who put on a big smile and ran up to Amber. "Hey babe, I'm sorry I missed your performance tonight! I bet you were great!"
"Don't even start with me Campbell." Amber said, breaking free of Mick's hug and pushing him away. Mick looked stunned, as did Jerome, Mara, and Patricia. Personally, I was loving this.
"Ams, what's wrong?" Mick asked shocked. "I'm sorry I missed your performance, I was just busy tonight."
"With Sophia?" Amber asked Mick, her voice calm and deadly. Mick's eyes went wide and he stumbled with the follow up.
"I don't know…. Who… who's Sophia?" He said in the most unconvincing voice possible.
Amber scoffed at Mick, shaking her head at him and then began to laugh at him. "Your pathetic, you know that? I can't believe that I ever thought you were loving and attractive in any way!" She said.
"Amber," Mick said, "I love you."
"Sorry! That feeling isn't mutual." Amber said, giving a sarcastic smile. Mick looked stunned and even more so when Amber threw his gift bracelet at him and then stepped toe to toe with him.
"I'm going to ruin you Mick for treating me like this," Amber said, "But I'll do that later. For now, I want to spend time with my boyfriend."
"What?" Mick said confused.
"Alfie, care to join me in my room?" Amber asked, turning to me and holding out her hand.
I smiled, "Why of course Amber." I replied, taking her hand and allowing her to pull me with her up the stairs. I looked back and smiled at my four other housemates, enjoying their expressions. Mara and Patricia looked stunned while Jerome looked at me happily and gave me a thumbs up. Mick still had that dumb look on his face and I just had to laugh at that look. Amber turned around at the top of the stairs and shouted something rather profane at Mick, so profane that Jerome couldn't help but laugh. Amber turned to me smiling and I had to smile back, "You're amazing." I said.
"I know." Amber replied, dragging us now to her room and locking the door behind us.
The next hour seemed to blend together as we both lay together on Amber's bed, rolling around kissing and sometimes simply hugging. We didn't even care that we were both in wet clothing, we just enjoyed being next to each other. We checked Facebook on Amber's phone and she officially put herself into a relationship with me and allowed me to do the same. She squealed when it was official and we both fell back onto the bed laughing, kissing shortly after.
The only noise we heard downstairs was some brief arguing twice. The first time was shortly after we locked ourselves in Amber's room and it didn't last long. The second argument was different and we could obviously tell it was Fabian who was yelling.
"What do you think they can be yelling about?" I asked Amber.
"I honestly do not care." Amber said, kissing me along me neck. I didn't care that much either I decided.
Our fun ended after two hours when Trudy came knocking on our door, telling us it was time for bed. We both sighed, sad that our time had come to an end. We lay together for another five minutes and were forced to break apart when Trudy knocked again and threatened to break down the door.
"She's in a bad mood." I said, jumping off Amber's bed."
"After being with Fabian and Nina who can blame her." Amber said.
I had carefully avoided the subject of Fabina for the entire time that we were together in her room, not wanting to spoil the moment and sour Amber's mood. Now that it was over though I figured I should at least ask.
"So how are you? About Fabina I mean?" I asked.
Amber didn't get mad at me, instead just sighing tiredly. "I don't know. I'm still totally mad at Nina and feel terrible for Fabian, but I can't find myself hating Nina that much. She was right about something's, specifically that part about us growing apart over the semester."
"Wow," I said smiling, "That's very forgiving of you Amber."
"Well I'm still royally mad at her." Amber said, "And I also think Fabian could have been a little proactive in his relationship with Nina."
"Well I'll try to be 'proactive' in ours." I said, leaning in to kiss Amber one more time. She laughed as I did so and walked me to the door.
"I'm going to have to talk with Sophia." Amber said, "It's only fair that I also confront her too about Mick after slamming him downstairs."
"Well if you want me to come, I can." I offered. Amber mulled it over in her head before responding to me.
"I'll have to think about that Alfie." She said, "You'd be great for moral support but I feel as though this is something I should do by myself."
"Whatever you decided, I'll support." I told her. Amber smiled and began kissing me again, getting really passionate with me.
"I think Joy's waiting to come in." I said in between kisses.
"Let her wait." Amber said deviously. We continued kissing for a while and then finally broke apart again when somebody knocked on the door. We both giggled and smiled.
"I'll see you first thing tomorrow Amber." I said.
"Sounds good Alfie. And you can call me Ams now if you like." Amber said.
"I'll think about it." I replied, giving Amber a devious look which she laughed at. I left the room and closed door, thinking that nothing could ruin this moment.
I quickly learned that I was wrong when I came face to face with Joy, who was standing outside the door, leaning against the wall. "Thanks for thinking about me Alfie," Joy said, "But when I really needed you to remember me you turned your back to me and ran off with Amber."
"Joy!" I managed to get out. Joy rolled her eyes and grabbed me by the arm forcing me up into the attic staircase before talking to me. She closed the door behind us and backed me into a wall.
"What the hell happened up on stage?" Joy questioned me.
"I don't know!" I lied.
"Liar!" Joy whispered harshly, her voice filled to the brim with venom. "You know something!"
"Well I don't! And while we're here, I have something to tell you. I'm not working for you anymore!" I said triumphantly to Joy. Even in the dark I could tell that Joy was unimpressed with my statement.
"Oh really?" She said.
"Yes! I got Amber already, and I already told her what you made me do! If she's willing to accept me despite what I did I bet that everybody else in this house will as well." I said. I felt myself growing with confidence every syllable I spoke, my own power returning with every breath. Maybe I would actually be free from Joy.
"They might be accepting, but I wonder if the faculty and administers would be." Joy said.
I looked at her puzzled, a sinking feeling developing in my stomach. "Why would they care? I didn't break any school rules."
"You're right. I'm sure pulling a fire alarm when there is no fire in the middle of a school production is nothing to get worked up about." Joy said.
I stiffened when she said that, "I told you I don't know what happened."
"I have somebody who says differently," Joy said, "They say that you actually pulled that fire alarm."
"And why would I do that?" I asked.
"Probably to impress Amber." Joy said, "Though that won't be the reason I give the administration when I turn you in."
"You wouldn't. If you did I'd turn you in for everything you've done this semester!" I threatened.
Joy looked unimpressed, "I don't like being betrayed Alfie and neither do the people who betray me. They don't get a 'happily ever after'. Just look at Charlotte!"
That surprised me, "When did Charlotte ever betray you?" I questioned.
"Don't worry about that," Joy said, "All you do have to worry about is how you're going to make this up to me so I don't turn you in. And make no mistake Alfie, I will turn you in and if I do then the rest of your school life is finished here."
I was trapped and I knew it. I could feel the confidence leaving my body and all the joy from the last two hours with Amber leaving as well. I sighed angrily, thinking about Amber and how she would fair if something happened to me. I realized I couldn't take it and I sighed angrily again 'I just got out of Joy's service and now she's pulled me back in. Will I never be free?'
"What do you want?" I said reluctantly.
Joy smiled and pulled an envelope out of her winter coat, which surprisingly wasn't wet. "I need you to deliver something to Nina."
That surprised me, "What is it?" I asked.
"Don't worry about it," Joy said, "All that you have to worry about is giving it to Nina. After you do this task I won't need you anymore."
I looked up at her surprised, "So we're cool after this?"
Joy smiled, "We're cool Alfie. You've been very helpful to me over the last half of this semester and I feel as though you do deserve to move on with your life."
I smiled myself now, thinking about how much more fun I could have with Amber without having to worry about what Joy might do. "Then you have a deal!" Joy was still smiling and surprised me by stepping forward and hugging me.
"Thank you Alfie," she said, "You've been very helpful and for that reason alone I'll miss you."
Wow, I've had this scene planned out for so long. I can't believe that it took me this long to get it done. I've been working this story for a year now!
At any rate, I hope you guys really enjoyed this one since it really is the climax of our story. We still have two more chapters and don't expect there to be just boring stuff afterwords. There are plenty of shocks coming along with plenty of drama. There are still some story plots that need to be finished up and I've still got a lot of work ahead of me.
In the actual canon show, Nina Martin's actress (Nathalia Ramos) has announced that she will not be in season 3 of House of Anubis... well... that ought to make things very interesting. I love the show and I think it's characters are great but Ramos is definitely the heart and soul of the show. I hope they can keep going with her gone.
With that said, PLEASE REVIEW! I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on this chapter and what you guys think of Season 3. You guys were great with your reviews last chapter so keep it up please!