Original A/N: I'm happy to (finally) get this up in celebration of the season 2 finale! This chapter definitely goes out to all my loyal, readers, reviewers, favoriters, idea givers, and all-that-good-stuffers. I couldn't have done it without you! (And Dad, who named the zoo and convinced me to keep a certain scene in.) 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: Alfie got Amber to help him with a (little) prank!

"May I help you?" Mara asked, slightly confused when she saw Jerome standing behind her. She was seated on the couch and had a notebook in her lap.

"No, but you could help yourself. Aren't you supposed to be picking out a prize?"

"Oh, right, the contest. I still can't believe I actually won." When she said this, she sounded distracted.

"Neither can I." Her mind registered that perfectly, based on the face she made. "But I should have known you would." Jerome added, trying to repair whatever damage he'd done.

Mara quickly got over it, a faint smile forming on her face. "I don't want anything."

"Now that I really can't believe. A month of no chores sounded great to me." That wasn't a selling point for Mara. For the first time since she'd known him, Jerome's voice sounded like a high-pitched buzz when it went through her ears. Justified by that -in her opinion- everything seemed annoying when it broke her concentration.

She barely registered the words that left her own lips. "When I think of something, you'll be the first to know."

"I'm special." Jerome declared jokingly. Mara kept her serious tone, looking straight into his icy blue eyes when she responded.

"Don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise."

Jerome hid his shock with a smirk, and walked back to his room without saying another word to Mara.

As he closed the door, he was practically ready to slide down it with an enormous grin on his face, but Alfie caught his eye and he remembered to act natural.

"You know," Alfie said. "This morning I was worried about falling asleep in my soup because of you. Now I just hope I have things left to talk about."

"You're mad at me for helping out a friend?" Jerome asked, referring to the long talk he had with Amber after he lost the contest. He had to get him back somehow for saying that. " Why would you have soup on a date?" His face contorted as Alfie swallowed a groan, not wanting to start his date off angry.

"By the way," Alfie said, ignoring the ridiculous question. "what are you smiling about, man?" Alfie adopted a goofy expression, possibly mirroring the one Jerome wore.

Jerome figured Alfie was too concerned with his date to actually care. So he answered honestly, but vaguely. "I'm special."

Alfie raised his eyebrows. "People say I'm the strange one, but I have no idea what goes through your mind sometimes." He left with a good-natured laugh. Jerome couldn't help but laugh as well.

This wasn't a matter of the mind.

Mara went back to her room with a dissatisfied frown on her face.

"No luck with dissecting the poem, huh?" Joy guessed, while Patricia sighed in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Patricia." Mara told her. "I analyzed it backward and forward, but all I see is angsty rambling and overly-dramatic fluff."

"I think it's romantic." Joy disagreed, since she felt she related to the content of the poem in a way. Like she'd been there.

"Even if it doesn't make any sense." Patricia said. She was on the fence.

"It would if we knew who wrote it." Joy said, earning herself a look. "I know, I know. That's the whole point of pulling the poem apart."

Patricia's expression softened. "No, you're right. I shouldn't have put you guys through all this trouble." Patricia's guilty pleasure was to read the poem whenever something irked her. (Like being in the middle of her own little mystery). It put a smile on her face. Joy and Mara had lives, and lives that weren't currently dedicated to finding the author of a poem. Especially one written in such a way that could only be described as chicken scratch. "And Mara, the only thing you should be doing right now is celebrating your victory. " The girls grinned, until Patricia said something that wiped their smiles right off their faces. "It's hopeless."

"Give yourself a break." Joy told her best friend. Despite how she had to wonder why the poem was so important to her anyway.

"Don't worry." Mara said. "You'll find your fellow poet in no time."

"Time." Patricia echoed in a low voice, as if something struck her. She got up hastily, but kept her tone calm. "That reminds me, I have to go to the zoo."

"What?" Joy asked as she and Mara exchanged odd glances.

"I don't know either." Patricia told them. "I got this anonymous note." She held it up, and Joy tore it from her hands angrily. Though when she spoke, she sounded worried.

"You don't know who the invitation's from, and you're gonna go anyway? You could get kidnapped, or worse. This could be another one of Jerome and Alfie's pranks." Patricia didn't like it when Joy made jokes about her being kidnapped -since that happened once before- so she ignored that statement altogether.

"A dynamic duo is nothing when it's cut in half. Alfie's got his date, remember? It's a good thing too, because if I went to the zoo with him he'd probably try to take a monkey home."

While Mara laughed, Joy thought that over. "Speaking of dates, if Jerome's the one that left this then that could be his intention... you might wanna change."

Mara didn't laugh this time. Neither did Patricia. She scoffed and went off to the zoo, not caring who had invited her. She just needed to get out of the house.

Joy looked between Jerome and Mara, unable to keep for giggling. "Where is everyone?" The three of them were alone at the dining room table.

"Fabian and Nina went on a date as well." Trudy answered while she set out the last of the dishes. "I believe he said there's a fancy new restaurant that's having a grand opening. I would've gotten all the details, but I was a little too busy laughing when Mick told me he planned to go to the zoo. It was so unexpected."

"You're telling me." Joy replied. When she looked at Mara, she could tell she was thinking the same. Jerome didn't know what to think, and was choking back a laugh attack.

"Is it me, or does Mick keep getting weirder?" Joy wondered aloud, bringing out some of Jerome's laughter.

"I think what's strange is that he invited Patricia to come to the zoo with him... anonymously." Mara said.

"Yeah." Joy agreed. Since she was looking at Mara, she didn't see Jerome shake his head.

"How can you girls be so blind?" His question left them to be the ones giving blank stares.

Mick kept his head swiveling as he talked into his phone. "Thanks for the tickets, Dad. Really, this place is amazing." While his father talked, Mick caught sight of Patricia walking through the zoo's main gate. "Yeah, I've still got company." Mick said in answer to Rory's question of whether or not he was able to find a date. His dad didn't get the update on Mick and Mara's status until he came to visit. "It's not like that, though." Mick explained, trying to keep a nonchalant tone. Patricia walked over to him. "I've gotta go now. Say 'hello' to everyone for me, yeah?" He laughed lightly, thinking of how his actress loved to throw that word around. It had become like a catchphrase for her. "Bye, Dad." Without faltering -even in Patricia's presence- Mick added: "I love you, too." He hung up, slipping his cell phone into his pocket.

Patricia shook her head slightly, in disbelief. "Are you just gonna keep surprising people like this? I mean, it just doesn't make sense. Mick Campbell: jock, pianist, zoo enthusiast." They shared a laugh.

"You left out big eater and dancing machine." Mick said casually.

"More like dancing fool." Patricia teased, not understanding why their little game was so much fun for her.

"And hopeless romantic." It was a Freudian slip, but Patricia had no way to tell.

Unconsciously, she raised her eyebrows. "No one's more hopeless than me."

Despite his shock, Mick had a sparkle in his eye that he blinked back. "You know, I'm surprised you actually showed up." He couldn't help but say it, though he knew it was wrong. That was confirmed when Patricia's face dropped and anger flared up in her eyes.

"Why? Do you honestly still think I'm that... obnoxious?" That callback cut Mick deep.

He sighed. "...No." He wondered if he ever really had thought that, but didn't have time to figure it out. Patricia looked about ready to leave. "I just wanted off the subject." He didn't want to start his zoo adventure off feeling depressed. Patricia had to agree with that, but didn't want to say so. She just let Mick speak. "Didn't you think the note was... over the top?"

"It was... different." Patricia decided. "But so are you. And... so am I." She felt herself sinking into sappiness, and decided she had to stop before it swallowed her. "It's not like I had anything better to do, and-" She got distracted, and finished her sentence in a way she hadn't planned. "Look how cute that baby panda is." As Mick turned his head in the direction Patricia was pointing, he couldn't help but laugh at the fluffy tone she had spoken in. He'd never heard her talk like that, and felt there was no way he could argue with the label she gave the animal. "By the way, if you tell anyone I did that, there will be serious consequences."

"Gonna hit me with another book?"

Patricia narrowed her eyes to slits as she chuckled. "Why do you keep coming back to that? I'm starting to think you enjoyed it." Mick laughed back and the two began exploring their surroundings.

The highlights of their trip were seeing African Hunting Dogs -nine of them, that lived like a family- which the friends found to be the greatest kind of ironic.

Trying to teach the parrots to say 'amazeballs' was a total bust, but they had fun anyway.

If it wasn't for the glass separating the two from the zoo's lone jaguar, they would have been nose to nose with it. (Mick trying to get the animal to give a high-five was another pointless effort, but it kept Patricia entertained.)

The kids were glad to have a chance to interact with the frogs and toads. The non-poisonous ones, of course.

When Mick and Patricia viewed the plethora of fish and turtles, he thought out loud. She figured it was because the silence -apart from some short sentences and spurts of contagious laughter- was killing him. She didn't know he kept quiet to avoid saying something regrettable.

"So, I guess this place is... mislabeled."

"Why, what would you call it?" Patricia asked.

Mick looked at her reflection in the glass of the fish tank when he replied. "A zooquarium, I guess."

"You just wanted to say that word, didn't you?"

"...Maybe."

Minutes later, the two were running for their lives, dodging through the crowds, with beaming smiles on. "You know," Mick said. "I'm sure Alfie would be perfectly happy if we got him a stuffed monkey."

"Not by Victor's standards." Patricia argued, making him and herself shudder.

Their last stop was the butterfly house. They stood still and silent, not wanting to startle the creatures. They stood so long Patricia's knees were close to buckling, and she wondered what Mick was waiting for. He doubted anything noteworthy would happen, besides the breathtaking sight of the butterflies.

That is, until a purple-spotted swallowtail used his hand as a perch.

Patricia held back a gasp, and the only thing that spoke for Mick was his awestruck smile. He turned his head at a speed that was almost nauseatingly slow, to catch his friend's reaction. She snapped a picture of him and the butterfly, just before it flew away.

Mick stood beside Patricia, to see the shot. She turned to him, smiling faintly and said: "That is definitely my new profile photo."

Alfie and Amber walked through the glass doors of a crowded restaurant. Uniquely shaped bookshelves were placed along the walls, and the ceiling had the night sky painted on it. The other decorations were scattered about and seemed wonderfully random. Not typical -like licence plates and movie posters- but not tacky either. The picture window revealed that a storm was brewing, and only a few small patches of blue sky remained visible.

"This place looks like someone took a library and shoved a few tables and chairs into it, then threw a bunch of stuff on the walls to try to cover up that it was still a nerd's favorite hangout." Amber commented, which brought her to another thought. "So, is it true you used to be a nerd?" She told Alfie: "That's the first thing Jerome told me." Alfie would've laughed, had he not noticed Fabian seated at the table directly next to the one reserved for them.

He pointed to that general area and whispered to Amber. "Why am I even remotely surprised?" The two of them headed over there laughing.

"Hey, Fabian!" Amber greeted cheerfully.

"Amber, Alfie!" Their names flowed so nicely together, that to say them apart seemed wrong. A sheepish sort of smile spread across Fabian's face. "We probably should've discussed where we were going on our dates."

Alfie gave a nod, while Amber asked: "Where's Nina?"

"Bathroom." Fabian replied.

"I bet there's a table in there, too." The boys exchanged looks, wondering what went through Amber's head. More importantly, they were wondering what they should do.

They couldn't possibly ignore each other for the entire night, even though it hadn't been planned out as a double date.

"This is so out of character." Jerome commented, looking across the chessboard at Mara.

"For you or Patricia?" She asked this as she took her turn.

"Both." Jerome admitted, looking straight into Joy's camera when he did. Joy was standing over Mara's shoulder, filming the game. "And as for you Mara, it's definitely not something you'd catch Alfie doing. Ever." She nodded slightly.

"Can I play winner?" Joy chimed in, while Jerome made his move.

"Sure, you can play me." His reply made the girls chuckle sarcastically. "I can't believe how bored we are without the others." Jerome said, going back into a serious mood.

"That's probably my fault." Joy told him, after she stopped filming and switched the camera off.

"Why?" Mara asked as she took her next turn, not wanting Joy to feel guilty. Especially without a reason to.

"If I quit being a third wheel, you two could pass the time by snogging."

With a light laugh, she left the room.

The pawn in Jerome's hand dropped, scattering the other pieces. His bewilderment prevented him from even looking at a just as shocked Mara when he asked: "What did Trudy put in her food?"

"Wait, before we go-"

"You're not about to ask if we can get matching T-shirts with stupid slogans like 'I dropped my watch ring in the penguin exhibit at the Children's Interactive Zoo', are you?" Patricia interrupted. The expression on her face said that was out of the question.

"What?" Mick asked, totally lost.

"It can happen." The way she said this had him convinced there was a penguin somewhere in the world that ticked because of her.

"I'm just hungry." He told her, after a laugh.

"Of course, when aren't you?" The question was obviously rhetorical, so he didn't answer. "Don't eat the animal food." Patricia teased bluntly.

"I'm not that hungry." Mick clarified.

After insisting that she didn't want anything, Patricia gave Mick a cheeky smile and he walked off to find food.

As expected, he was back in no time at all. He didn't say anything when he returned, and Patricia figured the only sound she'd hear for the next few minutes was him chowing down on an oversized bucketful of popcorn. He looked at her, still silent, and then spoke slowly.

Mick wasn't used to the words that were about to leave his lips. He'd never said them before.

"Wanna share?"

She would've glared at him, having just explained that she wasn't hungry, but she couldn't.

"We're about to make headlines." Patricia told Mick. "Girl Faints From Shock at Zoo."

They both laughed. "So is that a 'yes' , or a 'no'?"

Patricia had only said she wasn't hungry because she didn't want to be bothersome, but she couldn't refuse the offer. "Of course it's a 'yes'. This kind of stuff doesn't happen every day."

"Sorry." Nina said, as she scootched into the booth, sitting directly across from Fabian. He looked forgiving, although he thought there was nothing to apologize for. "Weren't we sitting at a table before?" She looked like she couldn't believe it was possible to forget a detail like that. She was pretty sure they had been, and it wasn't like she'd been gone for more than five minutes. Fabian couldn't help but chuckle at her confusion.

"Yeah, but... I thought this would be more comfortable. No one had a problem with it."

"Oh, okay." Nina replied, glad she hadn't been hallucinating. "Have you decided what to order yet?"

"Still debating."

A gushing smile appeared on Nina's face. She loved his jargon. He returned the smile, and her eyes wandered from him to the menu. She began silently reading. When she got to the last page, something grabbed her leg. Nina jumped, and her scream attracted the attention of the other diners. She was too busy staring daggers at Alfie, who popped up from under the table, to notice.

"I couldn't resist." He was quietly hysterical, but his expression begged Nina not to stab him with her fork.

"I'm sorry." Fabian said. "I would've warned you, but I had no idea he was there." He figured Alfie was waiting around for Amber outside the girl's bathroom, since she always spent an unreasonable amount of time in there. They told Fabian they were going to surprise Nina, but this wasn't the way he expected that to happen.

"It's Nina who should be apologizing." Alfie said, sitting next to her. "You kicked me."

"Good." Nina joked, giving him a playful push.

"HI, NINA!"

After making sure her heart hadn't stopped beating, Nina turned to give her best friend a stern look.

"You guys are gonna get us thrown out." Fabian warned, as Amber sat down, sharing a smirk with her boyfriend.

Nina looked between the two of them, laughing a little. "I can't believe this is how you guys bond."

Mick and Patricia were almost home. They could see Anubis house straight up ahead, but they headed there slowly, tired after their trip. When Patricia felt a raindrop, she swallowed an exasperated groan. She turned to see Mick still smiling brightly. It was odd, yet comforting.

"Hey, I thought of another thing for our game." Patricia told him.

"What?" He sounded curious, as it started to drizzle.

"Morning hater." Patricia said simply.

"Definitely." Mick replied with a nod. He certainly was, especially with the mornings he'd had lately.

Patricia curbed a laugh, so that she was still coherent when she spoke next. "Fruit bowl stealer."

Mick's grin grew wider. "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"

"Never." Patricia thought of something else to add to the list. "...Total key thief." Memories of the year before were flooding back to her. All of things she hadn't noticed before.

"That was clever." Mick insisted, though he was only joking. Only when the rain got heavier did he realize he was walking slowly on purpose.

"It was stupid." Patricia turned so she was facing Mick directly, since she'd gotten ahead of him. "So, anyway. Where's my list?" She figured it was his turn to play.

Mick opened his mouth, and lightning cracked the sky. It struck a tree and split it. Too shocked to scream, the friends shared a silent understanding that the tree could have been them. Which is what sent them bolting toward the front door.

"That doesn't look well-done to me." Nina said, regarding the steak on Alfie's plate, which had just been handed to him seconds before by an exhausted-looking waiter.

Alfie wished he couldn't care how the food was cooked, since his friends had been waiting so long to eat, but he had to agree with Nina. It didn't look the least bit appetizing. He mumbled miserably: "I should've ordered the soup..."

Amber shuddered, catching sight of what he had. She couldn't resist commenting on his tone, with sarcasm. "You sound pleasant." It was hypocritical, and only proved that she was just as upset.

"At least they didn't mix up our orders." Fabian said, making a great deal of effort to look on the bright side. "Right?" He asked this only to see Amber spit out her drink.

"Wrong! That's raspberry flavored."

Alfie didn't understand how a mistake like that could be made. "We didn't even order anything raspberry flavored, with your allergy in mind." Alfie's comment overlapped a question from Nina.

"Is this pasta supposed to be crunchy?"

"I'd offer you my dinner," Fabian told her. "but it doesn't look much better."

"Are we expected to actually pay for this?" Amber asked.

"We're paying for it, alright." Alfie grumbled. "Like Trixie being force-fed tuna." The others laughed, even though their stomachs were turning.

Patricia walked into the kitchen when she saw it was in use for the second time that night. "I know we missed dinner, but we just ate. Is your stomach a bottomless pit?"

Mick chuckled. "It's not for me. Fabian just called. The date was a disaster."

"How much of a disaster?" Patricia asked curiously. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at how she was interested in -but not exactly concerned about- what happened.

"Amber almost had an allergic reaction, and Alfie's convinced the food came from another planet."

"What do you expect from Alfie?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be true."

Patricia laughed. "Why?"

"Fabian had the special, bubble and squeak. Just like his uncle Ade's except for the fact that it actually squeaked."

Patricia tried not to gag over the thought. "That's disgusting." After a pause, she said. "You're brave. I'd hate to be around when they get home. They're all probably ready to tackle someone."

"We're home!" Amber announced cheerfully. She ran into the kitchen with the three others following behind. They were all laughing happily.

Patricia looked at Mick, puzzled, but he caught on to why the four others were acting the way they were. The date may have been -hands down- the worst date of their lives, but they'd spent it together.

"What's the with your eyes? Stay up all night watching a zombie marathon without me?" Patricia asked under a laugh. She was on the way to class with Mara the following morning.

Mara didn't have the energy to talk about what Joy had said during her game of chess with Jerome. She had just gotten done rolling out of bed, rushing her morning routine and skipping breakfast. Realizing she wasn't going to get an answer, Patricia looked around the hallway and spotted Jerome, which had her wondering what she'd missed. He and Mara could compete for best bedhead.

Amber was not going to let that fly. She walked up to him silently and held out a comb. She said: "Thought you could... use this." Though she was thinking: Combs weren't invented yesterday; you're making me look bad.

Around the corner, Fabian and Nina were watching Jason and Esther outside the history classroom. "What are they talking about?"

"Wedding plans." Nina replied through gritted teeth. Her tone of voice not only reflecting Mick's anger, but his empathy. (She figured Mr. Winkler and Mick could relate, even if the former wouldn't agree.) "She's going on like she's oblivious to how much it hurts him."

"Maybe she is." Fabian said after a sigh.

"I wish he'd speak up." American-accented Alfie said, walking up beside the two. "Make her... un-oblivious."

"Wouldn't that be wrong?" Fabian asked.

"If he really cares about her, he should let her be happy." Nina said. She was thinking about the situation the way Mick would, considering how he talked about the way things were when it came to his relationship with Patricia.

"While he suffers?" Alfie asked, sickened by the thought.

Joy came around the corner leading the others, minus Mick. "I know we all love our drama, with the exception of one person," She directed her glance at Nina, knowing how Mick felt about that. "but we're gonna be late for class."

"They're so wrapped up in conversation, they don't even notice." Alfie pointed out.

"The only person she should be talking wedding plans with is her fiancé." Jerome said. "Where is Stan anyway?"

"He just left," Mick informed the others. He caught up with his housemates just in time to hear Jerome's question. "...with someone."

"A female someone?" Amber asked, earning a curt nod in reply. He wasn't mad at her for asking. It was the answer that had him angry.

"Did things seem suspicious?" Joy asked, speaking everyone's thoughts.

"We hate him." Patricia said, though there was no need to remind her. "Everything he does is suspicious..."

WHOA, that finale! Thoughts everyone? (On the episode and the chapter.) All ideas are greatly appreciated, I'll update ASAP!