beautiful
chapter 4: goodbye
The fleeting days we had left were now gone, and tomorrow was when I would be going back to America. All of my things were packed, except my change of clothes and other necessities for the next morning. All we had left to do was wait.
Fabian and I were sitting on a bare mattress in the empty shell of the room I had shared with Amber all semester. We were making small talk, but soon our lips were touching. I hadn't exactly realized how much I would long for Fabian's touch until now. I wanted this to last as long as possible; it was perfect.
I ran my fingers through his smooth hair and his hands moved rhythmically up and down my back. We began kissing more ferociously ("snogging", as Amber would say). I was milking this for all it was worth; if I got my fair share of Fabian now, maybe I would miss him a little less.
"I love you," Fabian quietly moaned into my mouth. I suddenly became still. He noticed, and pulled away. His eyes widened in fear once he realized what he had said.
The door flew open and I heard a voice say, "Oh, am I…interrupting?"
Fabian blushed fiercely, and I'm pretty sure I was red, too. I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't make a sound.
"I'm sorry," the intruder sounded a bit flustered themselves, and closed the door behind them as they left.
"It's okay, Joy," Fabian muttered a little too late.
You could practically feel the awkward in the air. Fabian stared at me, but I found I couldn't look him in the eye. He lifted my chin gently, trying to make eye contact with me.
"Nina?" he whispered, smiling at me.
Somehow I couldn't help but smile back.
"Nina!" I heard Trudy call from downstairs, "Dearie, your cab is here!"
I groaned. I didn't want to leave just yet. Fabian stood up before me, holding out his hand to help me up. I took it, standing and starting over to the door.
"Hey," he whispered, pulling me back gently, "One last goodbye?"
I giggled before softly touching my lips to his for a moment. Then, he followed me down the stairs, insisting on carrying my bags for me.
Everyone's bags cluttered the foyer; suitcases leaned against the stairwell, the wall, and against the legs of everyone standing there waiting.
"Nina!" Amber cried, rushing to me. She almost tripped about four times, mostly over her own pink luggage. She hugged me so tight I could barely breathe.
"Amber," I managed to choke out, "It's only for a couple months. You'll be fine."
"But I'll miss you so much, Nines!"
I thought I was turning blue by the time Alfie pried Amber's arms from my waist. I saw mascara running down her cheeks, along with tears, and I gave her a proper hug.
"I'll miss you too, Amber," I whispered, feeling a tear escape my eye as well.
"Nina," I heard Trudy's voice behind me, "Why don't we take your things out to the cab?"
I nodded, composing myself. Everyone followed us outside; Fabian and Mick carried all my stuff, Amber stayed attached to my hip, and everyone else just wanted to say goodbye.
Once they placed all of my things in the cab, I opened the door in preparation to get in. As soon as I reached for the handle, it swung open before me.
"Gran!" I exclaimed as soon as I saw her familiar face. She smiled at me, and got out of the cab to give me a hug. My Gran looked very young, despite being fifty-seven years old; she looked more like she was in her forties. Gran still had light blonde hair, with barely white roots; it blended very naturally. She had the same color eyes as me, and we were relatively the same height. Her eyes always smiled when she did, and her cheeks and lips kept a youthful blush of color. The only things that made her look a day older than thirty were her wrinkles.
"Oh, Nina!" she said, hugging me tightly, "I've missed you!"
"Gran, I missed you so much!"
When we broke apart from the hug, I turned to my housemates with a huge smile on my face.
"Everyone," I began, "This is my Gran. Gran, this is Amber, Alfie, Jerome, Mara, Mick,
Patricia, Joy, and Fabian."
"Ahh," Gran replied, turning toward Fabian, "So this is Fabian! I have heard so much about you!"
I flushed bright red, and exclaimed, "Gran!" But that didn't suppress the giggles that
broke out from all my friends.
"Hi," Fabian replied bashfully, "It's good to meet you."
"He's just as handsome as you said he was," Gran said to me, not-so-discreetly.
"Aww, Nines!" Amber cooed as my cheeks grew redder and redder.
Gran insisted on staying for a while, in order to get to know my housemates/friends. She kept saying things about how I said this about Fabian, or told her something else about him. I don't think he or I ever stopped blushing.
"Nina, our flight leaves in about two hours," Gran said as the sun began to set, "We
should get going."
"Oh," I replied simply, my gaze falling to the floor, "Okay."
"Aww, Nina!" Amber came over and hugged me, and she sounded like she was going to
cry again.
"Amber, haven't you done enough crying today?" I joked, tears threatening to fall from my eyes as well. We both giggled weakly.
"I'm going to miss you, BAF," Amber whispered, hugging me tighter before letting go. She flashed me a weak smile, and attempted to wipe her tears.
Patricia came over to hug me next.
"I don't know how I ever disliked you," she told me.
"Patricia, are you crying?" I asked her quietly. She pulled away to give me a strange look.
"What would make you think I was crying?" Patricia sniffed in reply, quickly wiping her eyes dry. I just smiled at her.
"Well, American," Jerome said as he approached me, "You turned out alright after all." I smiled, and hugged him. He seemed surprised to suddenly find my arms around him, but hugged me back awkwardly.
"Nina," my Gran's voice echoed behind me. I turned to see her already by the door, "We really should be going."
I sighed, turning to everyone else. We all suddenly mashed together in one big group hug.
"I'm gonna miss you guys," I said, trying to wrap my arms around everyone.
"Let me walk you out," Fabian said, placing his hand on the small of my back after we broke out of the group hug. I turned to wave one more time before walking out the door.
"Nina," Fabian whispered, his arm around my waist, "Are you okay?"
I shook my head in reply as tears began to cascade down my cheeks. He pulled me closer, and stroked my hair.
"Shh," he comforted, "It's okay, love."
"Fabian," I whispered, my voice hoarse, "I'm going to miss you so much." I turned my head to look up into his eyes.
"I know," he replied, almost inaudibly, before pressing his lips to mine. When we broke apart, he opened the cab door for me, and helped me inside. We kissed once more, and then Fabian closed door. The cab pulled away from Anubis House, and I waved to Fabian until we turned the corner, and he was gone.
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while! This is probably the longest chapter so far, and I've decided to completely change the direction of the story (but I won't say anything!) All I can say is, I hope the new plot sets this story apart from all the others! Enjoy! I don't own House of Anubis (sadly.) Also, there's a link on my profile to the new Fabina Fans forum! Go check it out :)