A/N: Hey you guys! Thanks for the reviews, they mean a lot! Sorry it took me a little longer to get this next chapter up.

Just to clarify, this chapter takes place in OUR world, before, during, and after Nina was in the wardrobe, only it's from everyone else's perspective of what went on while she was inside the wardrobe, and before. If that makes any sense…if you have any questions, you can just ask in the reviews! Hope you enjoy the chapter! :)

By the way, the chapter title is from the song "New World" by Toby Mac. It's on the "Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia" soundtrack. You should check it out :)

CHAPTER FIVE:

No One Believed Her

PATRICIA

"80, 81, 82..."

I groaned loudly as I searched Anubis House, looking for a place to hide. Ugh, this was ridiculous. Why was I even playing, anyways?

"83, 84, 85..."

Oh right. Majority rules.

Whatever.

I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me to just refuse to play and sit out the game. It would be a lot more fun to sit by myself than to run aimlessly around this huge house in search for a hiding spot. Then again, everyone would probably throw a fit about me sitting out and force me to play. Especially Amber.

"86, 87, 88..."

You'd think that in a mansion this big, it'd be much easier to find a place to hide. Apparently, this wasn't the case. All the possible hiding spots were either taken or blocked off. Actually, now that I think about it, there were a lot of locked doors in this house.

It was a little odd, if you asked me. Like the Professor was trying to hide something from us.

"90, 91, 92..."

Someone flew past me, nearly shoving me into the wall. "Hey, watch it!" I shouted.

I caught a glimpse of long brown hair, and then it had turned the corner. "Sorry!" Nina called, not even stopping to turn around.

I rolled my eyes. Someone was taking this game way too seriously. Why she'd even suggested it was a mystery to me. I hated to admit it, but I was with Jerome on this one - hide and seek was a kid's game.

"94, 95, 96..."

Finally, I found a good spot - a long, velvety curtain. I moved to duck behind it, but someone yanked the curtain away from me. I turned to see who it was, and narrowed my eyes.

Of course it would be the biggest weasel of them all.

"Sorry. Finders keepers, losers weepers," Eddie shot me a fake smile.

"You freak! I was here first!" I shouted, and Eddie smirked. Once again, he was getting pleasure out of making me angry.

"97, 98, 99..."

"It's just a game, Yacker. Don't take it too seriously," he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Stop calling me that!" I yelled, glaring at him furiously.

"100!" Eddie ducked behind the curtain, and I quickly followed suit. Unfortunately, there wasn't much room behind it.

"Ouch! Quit stepping on my toe!" I hissed.

"I'm not even touching you!" Eddie cried, incredulously. We stood still for a minute, holding our breaths. "Although..."

"Don't even think about it, slimeball." I said through gritted teeth, causing Eddie to chuckle.

"It's okay, I'm fine! I'm back! I'm alright!" Someone yelled in the corridor.

I poked her head out of the curtain to see Nina burst into the corridor, looking absolutely frantic. "Shut up! He's coming!" I hissed.

Eddie poked his head out next to me. "What are you doing, stupid?"

Nina stared at us, confused. "You're...you're still playing hide and seek...?" She asked, perplexed.

"Uh, yeah. It's only been five seconds..." I said, giving her a weird look.

"What are you talking about? Weren't you worried about me at all?" Nina demanded.

Eddie and I exchanged confused glances.

JEROME

"76, 77, 78..."

Hide and seek. Possibly the most pointless game in the world. I wasn't even sure why I'd decided to play, anyways. I'm sure no one would object to me sitting out - it would mean less snarky and negative comments for everyone else, anyways.

"80, 81, 82..."

I yanked on a door, but it wouldn't budge. I sighed in frustration and moved onto the next one, which also remained closed. You know, this house would be a lot more interesting if practically all the rooms weren't blocked off. The Professor probably did it because he didn't want a bunch of children going in there and breaking things.

Which sounded a lot like something that Alfie and I would do.

"84, 85, 86..."

The next door I tried opened with ease. Without hesitation, I jumped inside, slamming the door shut behind me. As I jumped, I landed on something - until I figured out that it had been a person, who was screaming. I screamed, too.

"Watch it!" the person shouted.

I knew that voice. "...Mara?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes..." she replied uncertainly.

I sighed. "Of course," I muttered under my breath, feeling my stomach start to flip. It would be her, of all people.

"89, 90, 91..."

"Hang on, is that Jerome?"

"Yes."

"Jerome, this is my spot. Go find somewhere else," Mara replied stubbornly.

"For heavens sakes, Jaffray, it's only a game. Don't you ever relax?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Are you ever not rude?" Mara shot back.

"Ooh, someone's feisty," I replied, smirking.

Mara took a deep breath. "I am n-"

"100!"

"Shh, he's coming!" I cried, clapping a hand over her mouth and cutting her off mid-sentence. We stood there in the darkness, holding our breaths and trying to be as still as possible. I felt Mara's body pressed right up against mine, and quickly stepped away from our close proximity, my heart beating faster and my face getting warmer. You are so pathetic, Clarke, I thought to myself, rolling my eyes. Good thing it's so dark.

Somewhere, a door slammed and I heard heavy footsteps about two corridors down. "It's okay, I'm alright! I'm back!" Someone shouted.

Slowly, I lowered my hand from Mara's mouth. "What was that?" Mara hissed.

"I have no idea," I replied, perplexed. I moved towards the door and slowly pushed it open a crack so I could peer my head out, just as a blonde head popped back into the corridor. Mick. Quickly I popped my head back in the room, shutting the door.

"Nice try, Clarke, but I saw you," called Meathead Mick. I rolled my eyes and heard Mara sigh disappointedly as I opened the door and the two of us walked out into the corridor, where Mick was looking at us smugly. I ignored the feeling of pure hatred as I looked at him. I wasn't sure why, but Mick just really, really bugged me.

I looked over at Mara, who, of course, was blushing. I scowled to myself. What she saw in him, I had absolutely no idea. But I absolutely hated the fact that she fancied him.

"Oh, it's a bit cozy in there, isn't it?" Mick teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Haha, very funny," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"Who was shouting?" Mara asked, quickly changing the subject, still blushing. I scowled harder. No, we didn't want her precious Mick getting the wrong idea, did we?

"I have no idea," Mick shrugged, and the three of us turned in the direction where the shouting was coming from. We found Fabian, Nina, Eddie, and Patricia in the corridor, arguing.

"What's going on?" asked Mick as Joy, Amber, and Alfie came running up.

"Does this mean I win?" asked Alfie jokingly.

"I'm not sure Nina wants to play anymore," Patricia said, giving Nina a strange look.

Nina stared at all of us, perplexed. "Weren't you all wondering where I was?"

"Uh, yeah...that's kind of the point," Alfie rolled his eyes.

"Wait...what time is it?" Nina asked, perplexed.

"Does it matter?" I demanded.

"What on earth is going on?" Amber asked, completely clueless. As usual.

Nina stood there, staring at all of us as if she was suddenly on planet Mars. "But...I've been gone for hours..." She stammered.

All of us exchanged confused glances.

NINA

"So you were in here...for hours?" Joy asked, looking at me doubtedly.

All ten of us stood inside the spare room, facing the wardrobe, everyone staring at me as if I was insane. Suddenly the room began to feel increasingly small and hot and I felt redness creep into my cheeks. "Well..." I stammered.

"Is anyone going to explain to me what's going on?" Amber demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I don't think anybody really knows," Mara replied, staring at me concernedly.

"I-I went into the wardrobe to hide," I explained, wiping my sweaty hands on my skirt and trying not to look at any one's harsh gazes. "But it was really cold, and there was snow all over the ground..."

"Why would there be snow in a wardrobe?" Patricia demanded.

"Batty," said Jerome, tapping his head. "Quite batty." Alfie laughed.

I felt my face grow hotter and I crossed my arms over my chest. "Just look inside, alright?" I muttered.

Eddie looked at me dubiously. "Nina, are you trying to pull a prank or something? Because it's not a very good one."

"I'm not, I promise." Everyone exchanged glances. "Just look inside." I shoved Eddie gently towards the wardrobe.

He sighed, glancing at us, and opened the doorway to the wardrobe. Another mothball rolled out and onto the hardwood floor. He peered inside. "What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?"

"There was..." I stammered, looking at everyone. "There was this forest inside...and a lamppost, and it was snowing. And this faun, Mr. Tumnus, took me to his house for -"

Alfie and Jerome suddenly burst out laughing. "You've got to be kidding me," Alfie said, bending over from laughter.

"Are you trying to be funny?" Mick asked uncertainly. "Because I'm not sure everyone gets the joke."

"Just look," I pleaded to Eddie, not daring to look at anyone else - especially Fabian, who probably now thought that I was completely mad.

Eddie sighed, and pushed back the furry coats in the wardrobe. I held my breath, waiting for the awestruck moment when he realized there really was a whole other world at the back. But all I heard was a hollow knock. Eddie turned back to face me. "Nina, the only wood in here is the back of the wardrobe." He looked at me almost like he was scared for my sanity.

"What?" I pushed past him and stood in front of the wardrobe. Sure enough, it had turned back into a normal wardrobe, with a hollow back to it. Fabian and Amber slowly began to circle around it, knocking on the sides, while Jerome and Alfie howled with laughter.

"Nina, maybe you should take a nap..." Mara suggested, looking at me very concernedly.

"Yeah, or go to the loony bin," Alfie hissed under his breath, causing Jerome to burst out laughing again.

"Are we playing pretend now?" Amber looked at all of us, a little uncertain. "Because I thought we were playing hide and seek..."

"But...but..." I stammered, tears pricking in my eyes. "It was there..."

"Real mature," Patricia snapped, rolling her eyes and stomping out of the room.

"Wait, you've got to believe me!" I cried, but she was gone, the door slamming behind her.

"Well I believe you," Jerome spoke up. I turned to him, a little hopeful. "Yeah, didn't I tell you about the football field I found in the bathroom cupboard?" He laughed, and Alfie laughed along with him. My face fell.

"Oh, shut up, Jerome," Fabian snapped. A small flame of hope flickered inside of me. Fabian was defending me...did that mean he believed me? If not, at least he was trying to help and wasn't laughing at me or giving me weird looks like everyone else.

"Lighten up, it was just a joke," Jerome rolled his eyes.

"Well it wasn't a very funny one," Fabian shot back. "You know, it's really sad that you have to put others down to feel better about yourself." My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Where was this coming from?

"Since when did you become my psychiatrist?" Jerome snapped.

"Oh, come on, Jerome. We both know you don't know the first thing about psychiatrists," Fabian snapped back. "It's not like your parents would ever care about you enough to send you to one!"

That struck a nerve. My eyes widened as Jerome lurched forward, bubbling with anger, and shoved Fabian, hard. Fabian shoved him back, and Jerome raised his fist. But before it could make contact with Fabian's face, Mick immediately jumped in between them, holding them both back. Jerome tried to lunge forward again, but Alfie grabbed him.

Amber, Mara, Joy, and I shrank back. Jerome quickly shook Alfie off and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him with a huge bang. Fabian watched him, almost with regret, as if he realized how much hurt his words had caused.

"Well that was nicely handled," Joy said sarcastically, glaring at me. As usual. She quickly stormed from the room.

"Um, I think I'll go too..." Mara murmured quietly. She gave all of us a parting glance, and then quickly departed. Mick shook his head, and then followed suit, Alfie right on his heels. Amber sighed, giving me a slightly pitiful smile, and left as well.

That left Fabian, Eddie, and I. I turned to Fabian helplessly. "You believe me, right?"

He just sighed and gave me a sympathetic look, and slowly left the room, not looking behind him. I felt hot tears slowly begin to roll down my cheeks as I turned to my twin brother. "Eddie, please..." I sniffled.

Eddie just sighed. "I think it's time to grow up, Nina." Then he left, too, leaving me alone to cry my heart out.

NO ONE'S POV

The rest of the day was quiet, but you could practically feel the tension that hung in the air. And Mara hated tension. If anything, she tried to stay as far away from it as possible, which was hard when you were friends with Amber, Patricia, and Joy.

So, she retreated to the library, which was enormous. Everywhere you looked, there were just mountains of books, and she loved it. Libraries were her sanctuary - they were always quiet and peaceful, and they were a great way to get away from the world and invest yourself in someone else's by reading a good book. And reading was one of Mara's favorite things.

The library also had a chess set, sitting on a table with two chairs pulled up to it. Mara picked a book up off the shelf and dropped herself into one of the chairs. She stared at the chess table for a second. She loved chess - it was a challenge, and she loved a good challenge. She was half hoping that Mick would walk in and ask to play with her, but she knew that was silly. Mick would never willing walk into a library on his own, much less did he know how to play chess.

Mara sighed, opening her book. Sometimes, she wondered why she liked him at all...then he would give her a goofy smile and she'd instantly remember.

"Don't you get bored in here by yourself, Jaffray?"

Mara jumped, nearly dropping her book. "Jerome, don't scare people like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Jerome just smirked, dropping into the seat across from her. "What are you doing in here, anyway?"

"What, a man can't enter a library without having his motives questioned?" Mara lifted her eyebrows, and Jerome sighed. "Fine. I was looking to get away from all the madness going on out there. Everyone's still freaking out about Nina's trip to crazy town this morning."

Mara rolled her eyes, setting her book down. Still, she watched him carefully. She was a little wary of him after his outburst at Fabian earlier that day. It's not like your parents would ever care about you enough to send you to a psychiatrist. That comment had definitely struck a nerve. She'd seen pure anger and even a little bit of embarrassment in Jerome's eyes as he lunged at Fabian...almost like he was ashamed.

It had been scary. Mara actually thought that Jerome was going to kill Fabian. It looked like he wanted to, at least. What was even more shocking, though, was that Fabian had hit him back. In all her life, she'd never seen Fabian lay a hand on anyone. Ever.

It'd just been a good thing that Mick had stepped in and saved the day before someone was killed.

Mara expected to see signs of anger still in Jerome's eyes, but oddly enough, he looked perfectly fine. Almost as if the whole event had never happened. It looked like he didn't think it was a big deal anymore.

Unless he was just a good liar.

"Besides, I do love a good game of chess," Jerome added, breaking Mara from her thoughts.

Mara looked up at him, surprised. "You play?"

"I'm a man of many and varied talents, Jaffray," Jerome replied.

"Why can't you just call me 'Mara', like a normal person?" Mara asked.

"Because, that wouldn't be any fun," said Jerome. Mara rolled her eyes again, and he gestured to the board in front of them. "Want to give it a go? You know, unless you're scared of losing."

"Is that a challenge?" Mara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, Mara. I never play chess without making a challenge out of it." Jerome smirked.

Mara grinned back at him. "You're on."

A/N: So, I start school tomorrow, so that means I won't be updating this story as often as I was during the summer. Which wasn't that often, but still. I'll try to update as often as I can.

On a side-note, have any of you gone to see ParaNorman yet? If you haven't, you really should! It's a really great movie, it made me laugh out loud a bunch of times. Plus, it's from the creators of Coraline. Which is just a reason on its own to go see it. Anyways, thanks for reading this chapter and please review! :)

P.S. Sorry for all the Jara scenes in this chapter…I just ship it. A lot. Heh.