Original A/N: FINALLY! I think I'll alternate updates with my two stories starting now. MAJORLY SORRY for the long wait!
Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, gave ideas, and all that good stuff. This chapter is dedicated to Precious, Jenc0449, izzi08 and xBreakingxSanityx. To the 'chart'-
Nina plays Mick/Fabian plays Mara/Patricia plays Jerome/Amber plays Fabian/Mick plays Patricia/Mara plays Alfie/Jerome plays Amber/Alfie plays Nina
I do not own House Of Anubis
Updated A/N: I'm almost certain this is the halfway point, though that's hard to gauge with how lengthy my chapters are nowadays.
Mara was perched atop the stone wall near the house. She had a sketch pad in her lap. The trees she had drawn covered the page. The forest was her muse of the moment.
Alfie caught her in the middle of drawing.
The only reason he was out there in the first place was to give her the news of his and Amber's status. Which -as expected- Jerome hadn't thought too highly of.
"Friends?" He'd practically yelled when Alfie told him the fight was over. "I can't believe you're settling for that after everything you've done to get Amber to notice you. You're just giving up."
"I'm not giving up, Jerome." Alfie had told him. "I'm moving on. I was only fooling myself thinking she'd ever wanna be more than my friend."
"Don't say that." Jerome had sounded sincere, but Alfie didn't buy it. He found himself asking for another fight.
"The only reason you're upset is because Mara doesn't have to act like she worships the ground you walk on anymore."
Maybe that was true, but Alfie didn't really want to get into in another argument. He'd just gotten out of one. So he went to get some fresh air, and tell his actress the news.
He greeted: "Hey, Mara. What'cha doing?"
"Trying to raise my project grade." When she answered, she barely looked away from her work. This didn't surprise Alfie. Mara wasn't used to being anything other than a star pupil.
"You're doing that by drawing?" Mara didn't catch the confusion in Alfie's voice when he asked that.
"I'm about as good at drawing as I am at sports."
"I don't see the connection." Alfie told her honestly, sitting down next to her. He was hesitant to do so, the two of them barely talked. Thinking about that, Alfie realized just how much the project was changing the relationship between him and his housemates. He was finally becoming friends with the people he'd been around for years.
Mara took a long look at Alfie, in surprise. "You really don't see your potential as an artist?"
"I guess not." Alfie replied, baffled.
"I find that hard to believe. I'm surprised you don't have sketchbooks all over the house. You have to have some other hobbies besides pulling pranks. You're very talented." Mara complimented.
Alfie smiled. " Thanks." His smile faded when he spoke next. "I guess I've always been too… distracted to focus on drawing." They both fell silent then.
"I'm sorry." Mara told him suddenly.
"For what?" Alfie asked.
She sighed before replying. "Lately, no matter how much I try to deny it, I know what it feels like to want to be with someone who… always keeps you guessing." Alfie laughed, rather loudly. "What?" Mara asked innocently, not seeing the joke.
"You're in love with my roommate."
"I said no such thing." When she made that argument, she looked about ready to push him off the wall.
"Sure you didn't." Alfie replied sarcastically. While Mara rolled her eyes, Alfie's laughter calmed down. He spoke again, back to being serious. "Thanks for trying to empathize, but I can't really relate to that anymore. I'm over it."
"I find that even harder to believe." Mara said.
That makes two of us. He didn't voice this thought. "I am." Alfie answered. He didn't sound defensive, he was calm. As if there was no doubt in that statement.
"Then why haven't you talked to Amber all day?" Mara couldn't help but ask. It was difficult not to notice.
"She's not having the best day."
"What happened to you?" Joy asked, walking into the living room to see Amber sitting on the couch -her trusty guitar by her side- wearing a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up. She was obviously trying to not draw attention to herself.
When Patricia walked in behind Joy, though, Amber's expression turned from solemn to angry. She mumbled: "I blame Patricia."
"What did I do?" Patricia asked with a scoff. In answer, Amber pulled down her hood to reveal the red splotches of dye scattered in her hair.
Joy swallowed a laugh while her best friend spoke. "It's not my fault you don't know how to read labels."
"She's only blaming you because she's never had so much bad luck before, and figures it has to come from somewhere." Joy explained, while getting a better look at Amber. "How come you're not wearing makeup?" She asked this in utter shock.
"I ran out of makeup." Amber replied.
"So, go buy some more." Patricia reasoned.
"I tried! The store where I buy it from is all sold out. And anyway, I'm broke after spending all my money on my now broken heels. My broken, nonrefundable heels." Amber whined.
"Tragedy."
Joy suppressed another laugh while Amber ignored Patricia's sarcasm, picking up her guitar. The other girls noticed the song she played sounded rather depressing, and exchanged worried looks. Until a string snapped, and they turned to Amber to see her looking as if an actual tragedy had occurred.
"Don't worry." Joy told her, knowing the situation looked bad. It was the first time since the project had started that Amber had broken a string. "Fabian has more." Patricia backed up her assurance by nodding slightly in agreement.
Amber fought of a sigh, got up, and walked away.
The other girls didn't see the symbolism of the situation. Amber could deal with tripping up the stairs, having to redecorate after some of her posters fell off the bedroom walls, and even the failing homework grade she would be getting after having so much trouble concentrating, but the guitar string breaking was a different story. That was serious.
The guitar was an extension of Amber, and to have one of its strings break meant that it was falling apart. Just like her.
"Is this legal?" Fabian asked, looking up at the swing that now hung from a tree at the start of the forest.
"Probably not," Mick answered, not ashamed of his project. "but no one knows about it but us."
"Oh, yeah. Sometimes I forget you're the man of a million secrets." Nina said, coming up with her own explanation for Mick's actions.
"Man?" Fabian and Jerome both echoed. Fabian's tone was one of surprise, while Jerome's was -of course- more mocking.
The idea of a swing was a bit childish. Mick didn't seem to care what anyone thought, otherwise he wouldn't have built it in the first place.
"It has a nice ring to it." Nina explained to Fabian. Then, to Jerome, she said: "Could you please be nice? It's in your character description."
"Right, nice." Jerome replied sarcastically. "That's the first word that comes to mind when I think of Amber. Speaking of her, where exactly is it in Fabian's character description that he goes M.I.A.?"
"Amber's around, she's just staying inside the house because she's embarrassed by all the bad luck she's having lately."
Jerome shrugged that off, not seeing what the big deal was. "So she walked into a door. I'm sure plenty of people do that." He said this while directing his glance at Mick, who grimaced.
"She also swallowed a bug," Nina told the boys. "and got 'attacked' by squirrels."
Jerome laughed, and the others couldn't help but laugh along, even though they felt sorry. "I can't believe we missed that."
Despite Patricia and Joy's efforts to get Amber to come outside, nothing worked. They gave up trying and went for a walk. Even so, Joy wouldn't drop the subject of Alfie and Amber.
"Can we talk about something else?" Patricia asked. "You act like the two of them deciding to be friends is connected to her streak of bad luck."
Joy shrugged. "Maybe it is." Her best friend laughed that off.
"Yeah, this is the way the house shows that it's upset that they tampered with the balance." Patricia made herself laugh then.
"Why is this such a joke to you?" Joy asked, sounding a bit annoyed. "Alfie liked Amber for so long, the least she could've done was given him a chance."
Patricia stopped walking, finally seeing what she thought Joy's real point was. "This has nothing to do with them, does it?"
With that, Joy's annoyance was clear. "I'm not talking about Fabian here. I'm seeing Alfie's side of things."
"I believe you," Patricia answered, though it didn't sound that way. "but I don't think Alfie cares anymore. He hasn't even talked to Amber today-"
"And that doesn't bother you?" Joy interrupted. "You don't see something wrong with that?"
After all she and the others had gone through just to get Amber and Alfie back on speaking terms, Joy figured Patricia would be upset that they were right back where they had been.
"No. I just think Alfie's a little preoccupied with something." Patricia told her, but Joy sensed that that wasn't the whole truth. Especially when Patricia added: "Or someone."
Joy turned her attention to where Patricia was pointing, and saw Alfie and Mara sitting on the stone wall, sharing a sketch pad. From where she stood, it looked like he was trying to teach Mara his drawing style, so she could imitate it.
"Now, that's a joke." Joy said, in case Patricia was saying she thought Alfie and Mara were a potential couple. "Talk about tampering with the balance."
Supper was a bit off schedule that night.
Since it was Fabian's turn to set the table, Amber was on the job, trying her best to stay in character. After breaking three dishes, she considered herself cursed with bad luck.
The task was left up to her best friend, who rushed to comfort her.
When it came to calming Amber down, Jerome had a different approach. He basically told her to quit complaining, and placing the blame of all her mishaps on bad luck. "Have you ever heard of mind over matter?"
"Have you ever heard of sympathy?" Amber shot back, only making him laugh.
"It's bad luck, Amber. Not the end of the world." Nina told her, trying to get her to stop overacting so that everyone could sit down and eat.
"Oh, so you're on his side?"
The sound of Nina's heavy sigh mixed with Jerome's annoyed groan. He was done with trying to reason with Amber, and turned to Nina. "We'll all starve before she gets over this."
She didn't want to tell him that she sort of agreed with that, and risk upsetting Amber even more. "It'll be okay, Amber. Trudy's great cooking cheers anyone up."
"Thank you, Nina." Trudy told her, walking into the kitchen to place the last serving platter on the table. She smiled warmly and everyone sat down, finally.
Most everyone chatted while they ate, but the only thing Amber opened her mouth for was food. She wished Nina could be right, but no matter how delicious the meal was, it didn't make her feel any better.
Trying to keep her mind off her bad luck, Amber listened in on everyone else's conversations. She barely absorbed any of what she heard. Looking at Nina, she wondered how torturous it must have been for her to drop her act for a whole day. In fact, the only person who tried to stay focused on the project at all that day was Mara. With Alfie's help.
Alfie seemed to be in his own little world, which was normal. He was happy, and seemed to be the center of whatever conversation Amber's housemates were having. But Amber didn't listen. She mostly just watched his mouth move. And his eyes sparkle. She lost her appetite in the process.
Monday was slow to start. Amber was too tired to get up, from tossing and turning all night after she was all done yelling about her bad luck. The final straw really got to her, she still wondered how she managed to drop her toothbrush in the toilet.
Without her at school, things were much quieter. Jerome tried his best to fill in the silence, sticking to his role. Fabian had the same sort of mindset concerning playing Mara, but with a twist. He was planning an end-of-the-project party, because the party his housemates already had could hardly be called one. Mara was known for her planning, but not partying.
"Do you see what I'm seeing?" Nina asked, Fabian, interrupting his thoughts when she came up to him in the hallway right when their first class of the day was over. Her tone was very much Mick-like, and he smiled knowing staying out of character for a whole day must have been quite a challenge for her. He followed her gaze, to see Jerome and Mara talking, in rather close proximity. They didn't seem to notice.
"Either they're out of character, or Alfie and Amber lied to us about what happened in the attic." Fabian theorized. Since by then, the whole house knew that those two were just friends.
"Or Mara really wants to get her score up and Jerome's telling her all of Alfie's deepest, darkest secrets." Nina joked.
Fabian was surprised. "You think Alfie has more than one secret?" He didn't see how Nina or Mick could think that.
She shrugged. "I doubt it. He doesn't seem like the type of guy with something to hide. But you never know."
Amber woke up to an empty room.
She knew what that meant, and whined about it. She hoped she wouldn't get detention for being late to school, and wondered why no one woke her up. After all the bad luck she'd had, it was probably for the best. If pushed enough, she could be vicious when angry.
And she had a lot of reasons to be angry.
When Alfie broke his silence, the first thing he did was give up. He didn't fight for her. Maybe she really did mean nothing to him, and the whole new friendship thing? That was just Alfie being Alfie.
Either way, the one person who wouldn't drop the subject was Joy. What did she care if they were together? No one else cared. Patricia seemed happy about their new status, and seemed to mock the streak of bad luck worse than Jerome had.
No one seemed to notice how unhappy Amber really was. Not even Trudy.
Amber went about her daily routine slowly, thinking she'd earned a day off. She decided no one would miss her at school, and that -with her luck- no one had even noticed she wasn't there.
She didn't like the fact that she had to brush her teeth by putting toothpaste on her finger, or that doing so made her take an extra few sips of mouthwash for backup. The shower water being scalding hot hadn't been a fun experience either.
Amber had no clean clothes to wear, so she settled for wearing pajama pants, a tank top and bunny slippers for the time being, since no one would see her for hours anyway. She put a load of laundry on herself, because Trudy was out running errands.
Amber was surprised the laundry room floor didn't end up covered in detergent, or that the washing machine hadn't mysteriously caught fire. She walked back to her room, to find that something had fallen on the floor.
A small box. Amber kneeled down to see that the box was filled with rose petals that were once red and pink. Given their age, the petals could be classified as potpourri at this point.
They made Amber stop and stare. She hadn't even remembered that she kept them, or what reason she would have to do so. As she scooped the petals back into the box, she smiled. Somehow, this was a sign. Her luck was about to change.
Which is why she was up and running -leaving the box where it lie- and headed toward the school, never looking back once.
"Everyone in our house is crazy." Nina told Fabian in her Mick voice, making him laugh. She didn't know what else she could say, seeing what she was seeing.
"Did you just realize that now? " Only after he asked this did he catch on to what had grabbed the attention of the whole crowd in the hallway.
With the exception of one person.
Alfie was searching through his locker, an idea rolling around in his head.
If he was playing Nina, he should probably be keeping a diary. That's what she would do. This thought led to another one.
Fabian would have to be mentioned on practically every page, and being that Amber was playing him, Alfie didn't see how he could make that work. She was his friend. And Amber being in character didn't change that for him. No matter how much he secretly hated their new status.
Almost on cue, Amber spoke up from behind him. "Alfie, I need to talk to you."
"I'm busy." Alfie replied, without even turning around. He hadn't meant to sound so mean, but he was frustrated since his mind went blank. Apparently, Amber was frustrated as well.
He turned around when she slammed his locker shut.
His eyebrows raised in reaction to seeing her in her pajamas. Before he could question that, she spoke again.
"I have something to say." She told him this loud enough for the entire hallway to hear. With that, all eyes were on them. All their housemates were standing in a group at that point, waiting for Amber to go on.
"I lied to you."
He was lost. She didn't have any reason to lie to him. Where was the harm in trying to be a couple? And what was the use in lying? Alfie didn't understand it, and he wanted to say so, but all he managed was: "What?"
"I lied." Amber said, but instead of whispering, she got louder. Like she didn't care if the whole world heard. "I was scared, and stupid, and sick, and… selfish." She didn't realize that her words were impacting the people listening just as much as they impacted Alfie, and went on talking. "I loved what we had, I loved that someone could feel so much for me. And then you go and question it. You had every right to, but I didn't know what to say because I couldn't believe that you were giving up on me. And I know it's too late now. I know you're over me, but you deserve to know how I really feel about you. And I need to tell you, or else everything in my life will seem like bad luck, and I'll never be able to get a good night's sleep again." As Amber said this, tears fell from her eyes. It was a heartbreaking sight that the spectators couldn't help but feel mesmerized by.
"How do you feel about me?" Alfie asked, pretty sure he knew the answer. But he didn't want to jump to conclusions. That jump would leave him with nowhere to land, and he'd forever be falling. In limbo once again.
Amber laughed, knowing how ridiculous she must look. And the fact that she couldn't care less? That was even funnier to her. "We're so different." By saying this, she was informing him of the obvious. "Telling you I love you would be crazy."
Alfie gave a nod in reply. It took all the strength he could muster, with how his head he was spinning. If Amber lied, what was the truth? She shed some light on that then, as if she could hear his thoughts.
She sounded more like the Amber he knew than she had in days, asking: "When was the last time our lives were normal?"
Hearing that, Alfie couldn't help laughing. He never would've guessed that the answer to the question that had been haunting him for so long would be another question. Amber laughed back, and the two smiled as they pulled each other into a hug.
Alfie almost expected to hear cheering, but figured no one wanted to ruin the moment. Especially when the moment wasn't over. He still wasn't totally sure if he could believe what he was hearing. "So, you love me, then?" He whispered to Amber, who looked at him, rolling her eyes.
"Yes, did you not just hear my whole speech? Keep up, Alfie."
Nina looked around at her housemates, to see their reactions. Her heart was practically melting, and she noticed that no one smiled more than Mick. She found it sweet.
Speaking of sweet. She thought, thinking her housemates should start keeping track of how many times they said 'speaking of'. They could be breaking some kind of record.
Mr. Sweet had stepped out into the hallway, to tell everyone to get to class. Being so wrapped up in the moment, the students hadn't heard the bell ring. He unfortunately had to tell Amber that she was in trouble, once he saw what she was wearing. This earned him a groan from Amber, and earned Mick a glare from Patricia.
"What?" Mick asked her innocently. Then he thought back to when he broke dress code, and understood. "Sorry?" He was unable to help that it came out as a question. She walked away without a word, and everyone made their way to class.
Patricia went slowly, not caring if she was late. She was too annoyed to care. Despite what surprisingly good friends she and Mick made, he really got on her nerves. It was as if -through the eyes of a jock- everything was a game.
Patricia wondered if Mick ever knew what it felt like to lose.
She stopped pondering that when she came across something. The torn, wrinkled piece of paper would have been of no interest to her, had it not been right outside of a classroom that no one used anymore.
She picked the paper up, and turned it over.
She didn't quite understand the words she read, but she knew poetry when she saw it. This poem was gripping and mysterious. It was written in sheer honesty, though the writer -as far as she knew- was anonymous. She couldn't help but wonder what it all meant.
Patricia knew then that finding the answer to that would be her mission, and she wouldn't stop until it was completed…
Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! Favorite part? Things you want me to elaborate on? Any ideas? (I need some, badly.) I'll update ASAP! =]