Original A/N: Chapter 2, YAY! Loved writing this, hope you love reading! Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! =]

I don't own HoA

Updated A/N: Where did past me get these quips?

Nina plays Mick/Fabian plays Mara/Patricia plays Jerome/Amber plays Fabian/Mick plays Patricia/Mara plays Alfie/Jerome plays Amber/Alfie plays Nina

When it came time for Mick and Mara's training the next morning, the real Mara should have guessed that her stopwatch would be missing. She swore she could faintly hear Fabian urging Nina on outside, and wondered if Nina came anywhere close to beating Mick's record.

She made her way down to the kitchen, with something hidden behind her back. Jerome noticed her immediately, but wasn't sure if he should show interest or not. Amber could be confusing that way, Jerome still had no idea whether she liked Alfie or not. He could bet Alfie didn't know either.

"For you." Mara said, holding out a rose to him. It took all Jerome had for his face not to turn the color of that rose, especially when Mara added: "The epitome of… loveliness." He couldn't help but laugh at that. It was one of the strangest things he'd ever heard, and certifiably dorky, so it definitely fit Alfie's character description. Though he wasn't sure if Alfie knew what the word 'epitome' even meant.

"Aw, thanks Alfie." Jerome told Mara. It sounded extremely awkward, even though Mara was already responding to 'Alfie' as if it was her given name. Plus, Jerome was beyond thankful.

Mick tried not to let what he was seeing bother him. He had to remind himself that it was 'Amber' and 'Alfie' he was looking at, not Clarke and his girl. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if Patricia was jealous of the situation. He always thought of 'Slimeball' as more of a pet name, and decided that after lights out he would ask Patricia if that was the case. She was looking in his direction anyway, possibly to avoid the scene in front of them.

Mick hoped he was in character, because he honestly felt like a green-eyed monster. And he was dead tired of that. Standing up, he left without a word. Typical behavior -sometimes- for Patricia. Oddly enough, he wasn't acting like her in that moment.

Forget about training. The thought crossed his mind because he wasn't even sure if that would be going on for the next two weeks.

So instead, Mick was making a classic Amber move. He was going shopping.

"Ugh, gross." Nina said, unable to stop herself when she caught sight of her roommate's fingers as the two were walking to class.

Amber didn't think it was very in character to wear gloves, so she shoved her blistered hands into her pockets, and simply said: "It's called dedication." She was annoyed that Nina seemed to think she could get away with saying anything insulting, just because she said it with a British accent.

Nina couldn't agree more with what Amber said, though. Amber Millington, allowing herself to play guitar until she blistered, just for a project? That was dedication.

Just then, Jerome came running up to the two girls. Amber knew the look on his face. It was an expression she used, perfectly mirrored. She knew what was coming: gossip. As he spoke, she wondered: How did he master my gossip face so fast?

"Someone's in trouble." Jerome informed them in a sing-song sort of way. An Amber trademark.

"Who?" Nina asked, while Amber had a feeling they wouldn't get an answer.

"You'll see."

Genius. She complimented herself, rather than the boy playing her role.

Nina groaned, in true Mick fashion. She thought she must be in character because she suddenly found Jerome annoying. Even if it was Jerome playing Amber. She wondered what the real Mick would think of it all.

Down the hall, Joy was talking to Patricia. "Nina's in the lead right now."

"That's no shock. She always has to be the star of the show."

Joy laughed coldly in response to that. "You're doing a good job too. Spoken like the true jerk Jerome is."

Not that Joy could blame Patricia for being mad. No matter what, Nina would always stand out at their school. Joy thought: No one stands out more.

Meanwhile, Patricia received a text message. It was from Jerome. She could tell without even looking at the top of the screen since everything was written out properly. Not that she knew any way to translate the message into text talk.

At first, she squinted in confusion when she read it: PATRICIA WILLIAMSON BROKE DRESS CODE. Then it clicked.

'Patricia Williamson'. Also known as Mick Campbell.

Joy got the same text, and the two best friends looked at each other. "Why would Mick break dress code?" Patricia thought aloud.

"Maybe because he's a rebel." The reply came from behind her.

With how far Joy's jaw dropped, she was almost afraid to turn around. Joy took back her last thought. Mick had star potential too. But Patricia didn't notice that when she looked at him.

All she saw was eyeliner, rimming blue eyes filled with defiance. "But I wouldn't know." Mick went on, while Patricia stared at his biker boots, black clothes and the contrast of a gray jacket. (Much longer than to her liking, but she counted it as poetic license.) Utter shock had her frozen in place.

Mick walked away, smiling smugly. "Tell me I'm dreaming." Patricia told Joy. It looked like something straight out of a movie. The scene in the hallway, where all the awe-filled eyes were locked on one person who walked like they owned the world.

In Patricia's opinion, Mick's score should've gone down just because of that. She couldn't remember a day when she made everyone's heads turn. (Then again, she'd never pulled anything like that.)

"What are you all starin' at?" Apparently, Mick agreed.

Fabian was at his locker at the end of the school day, when Nina came striding up to him.

He hadn't seen her all day, and now he knew how Mara felt. No wonder she could come off as clingy and awkward to other people.

"I figure you can blame temporary insanity if you don't like it." Nina said, handing him something. A present, left unwrapped. It was plain to see why when Fabian's mind registered what he was looking at.

A songbook -half full with the chords to some of his favorite songs, and half empty for the ones he had yet to write- along with glow in the dark guitar strings and holographic picks. Some depicted constellations and other stuff science freaks swoon over. There was one that stood out from the rest: the eye of Horus. That one blinked.

Everything was completely customized and personalized.

"I was gonna buy you a gift that fit Mara's personality, but then I wanted it to be extra-special so I stopped obsessing over my project grade and-"

"Bought me all this expensive stuff?" His question tried to stress that while he absolutely loved the gift, she should never spend her money like that again. His smile spread so wide his cheeks hurt. It was good pain.

"Well," Nina said, returning a smile just as bright. "It was either that or a recording studio, and who knows how much that would've set me back."

Their laughter echoed through the halls, nearly drowning out all of Fabian's words of thanks.

All throughout the day, Mara had followed Jerome around like a lost puppy, and not once did he complain. Although, conversation was awkward since every line seemed scripted. He wished Alfie and Amber would shut up once in awhile, so he and Mara could let their eyes do the talking for them when they were in character.

Even as Amber, Jerome knew that he would stay in a state of limbo with Mara since nothing was official between Amber and Alfie. He wasn't the only one who noticed.

Patricia dragged Mara away from the table at supper. Annoyed that she interrupted Mara's attempts at flirting -as Alfie for Amber, but flirting he'd thoroughly enjoyed no less- Jerome just had to eavesdrop.

"Listen," Patricia ordered. "as your best friend, I've held this in for a long time, but you know how it is. I don't want to see you hurt unless I'm the one causing the pain."

"Dude, what are you saying?" Mara asked, all Alfie-like. Jerome was lost, too. Whatever this was, it didn't sound good to him.

"I'm saying you should give up on Amber."

Jerome's eyes went wide, but not just because of what he'd heard. A blue and white soccer ball nearly caught him right in the face.

"Sorry." Nina said, chasing after it. Patricia and Mara were so caught off guard, they forgot what they were even discussing. Jerome could tell, and mentally breathed a sigh of relief. "I made the team today. You'd think I'd have much better aim."

Mick, who only left the kitchen when he saw it was his property being kicked around and went to investigate, had to break character then just to ask: "When have I ever played football in the house?" In response, Nina simply folded her arms. "Okay, maybe once."

"Wait a second." Patricia began, turning to Nina. By now, all of the kids were in the hallway, wondering why everyone else was letting the food get cold. "Did you just say you made the team?" Nina just nodded in answer. "Wow, they must be letting anyone on these days." Patricia said, slipping back into character.

Nina 'fought back' by following her lead. "Always got something to say, Clarke. Yet nobody's listening."

Jerome wished something else would come crashing through the room, so everyone would stop talking about him like he wasn't there.

That night, no one could sleep.

Instead of heading to the attic, something brought Fabian to the living room, where Patricia and Mick were deep in conversation. He couldn't believe his ears, because hearing them talk to each other at all was a rarity.

"Just because you're playing me doesn't mean you know everything there is to know about me."

"I know that," Mick replied. "I thought that's why we were talking."

Patricia laughed sarcastically. "No, we're talking because you got hungry -big surprise- but the fridge is empty."

"Thanks a lot, Nina." Mick mumbled miserably. Fabian swallowed his laughter, not wanting to give himself away.

At that moment, Patricia spoke a bit louder as she said: "You're not literally invisible. We know you're there, Fabian."

Her words would have hurt if Mick hadn't stood up for him. "I think you're taking your role too seriously, Patricia. Besides, you can't even play Jerome right." He said this as Fabian joined the two others on the couch. "Not everything he says is an insult."

Patricia gave Mick a look. "How would you know? He hates your guts."

"That's encouraging." Mick replied, gritting his teeth when he faked a smile.

Fabian tried to steer the conversation away from Jerome. He seemed to be a touchy subject for both Mick and Patricia. The last thing Fabian wanted was another fight. He didn't even want to be stuck in the middle of one. "So, uh, did you end up getting in trouble for breaking dress code today?"

His roommate answered: "Actually, I didn't. I guess the teachers found it too funny to care."

Patricia scoffed. "No, that's not the reason." When she said this, both boys looked at her to elaborate. She eyed Mick angrily. "Don't you get it by now? Must be nice to have your father's money get you out of everything."

Mick was taken aback, but didn't make that obvious. Still, he had to know: "Why are you so mad?"

"I'm not mad," Patricia insisted. "I'm-"

"Obnoxious?" Mick interrupted. She sure sounded it to him. She'd been throwing jabs at him since he got there.

"Spell obnoxious." Patricia challenged, doubting Mick had the brain power to do so.

Yet he responded with no hesitation. "P-A-T-R-I-C-I-A."

Fabian couldn't help laughing then. "You walked right into that one." He noted that when he said this, he sounded very unlike himself. He blamed that on surprise over the fact that Mick had a comeback.

Patricia cocked her head to the side a bit when she replied. "Yeah, I did." That admission surprised him as well, but not the threat that followed. "Just like if you don't watch out Fabian, you're gonna walk right into my fist."

She was answered by a wince. "Ouch. That hurt me." The three on the couch looked up to see Alfie.

He looked at Patricia and asked: "Why you gotta be so mean?"

She smiled, appearing amused by the question, and answered him with one of her own. "Why you gotta quote Taylor Swift?"

Alfie looked to Fabian then, asking: "Don't all American girls do that?" Fabian shrugged. He hadn't the slightest notion of how to even begin to answer that. "I'm practicing." Alfie explained to Patricia. "I gotta get my act together."

Fabian laughed at the pun, and Patricia gave him a look. "Do you think everything's funny at 4:00 in the morning?"

"You can't tell time." This made the other boys laugh along with him then, since she was exaggerating.

In response, Patricia groaned. "If this conversation isn't going anywhere, I'm going back to bed."

"But you haven't even answered my question." Mick reminded her, referring to what he'd said when he first sat down with her, long before Fabian showed up.

"What?" Apparently, he had to remind her of that as well.

Mick looked between Fabian and Alfie, then back at Patricia -who was losing patience- almost nervously. "I can't repeat it now that there are people around."

As far as he was concerned, her secrets were her secrets. If he was playing her, they would just have to be his secrets too.

Besides, someone stole the other's attention. "Are you guys having some sort of secret party without me?" Amber asked as she walked into the room, even though it had gotten quiet enough to hear crickets chirp.

Fabian didn't bother to answer her right away. He informed the others: "It's 12:01. And we're up, so does that mean we're back on the clock?"

Patricia responded to both Amber and Fabian's questions. She laughed beforehand, and Mick noticed that for the first time since they'd been sitting on the couch together, it was a good-natured laugh. "I really hope not. I don't wanna scare anyone with my imitation of Jerome's dancing."

"That's scary enough on its own." Mick said, sharing a laugh with all the others.

"Aren't you one to talk?" Jerome asked, as he led Mara, Joy and Nina into the living room. They all showed up at once, wondering where their roommates had gone.

Fabian got an idea, and -trying to avoid yet another argument- he let everyone in on it. "As long as we're all up, shouldn't we be figuring out how to play each other better?"

Everyone agreed, but no one spoke for awhile. They were afraid that the more they talked about themselves, the deeper they'd go.

Keeping still tongues was caution, since the secrets that were right on the tips could make them razor sharp.

Fabian decided to be the first to take that risk anyway, even though he had no idea what digging deep would lead to. He just had to think of where to start…

Thanks for reading please review! Also, feel free to give any ideas, especially on acting tips for the next chapter. Tell me some of your favorite things about the characters, it'll be a really big help. Thanks again! =]