Happy Holidays, this is for my wonderful readers, reviewers, followers and favoriters.
Dedications: IloveIronMan, four guest reviewers and SeddieFTW777. Now 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 don't own House of Anubis
"What's wrong with these kids?" Mick asked after a scoff, sitting atop the playground monkey bars and watching another three scatter after spotting him.
"Right. The kids are the problem." Amber answered, deadpan. She and Joy sat at a table, where Mick was still in earshot.
He argued: "I'm not the one who told them to run away screaming."
"Might as well have." Joy replied. "To them, you probably look like an angry raccoon."
Amber held back her laughter while Mick scowled. "I have a right to be angry. What gives them the right to be annoying?"
The girls looked at each other, wondering when he'd quit fighting them. If Mick was trying to prove he could stick to his role, he had Joy convinced. "They just wanted to play and you stole their spot. You're acting more childish than they are."
"Besides," Amber added, "Just five minutes ago you said- and I quote- 'run weasels'."
Before Mick could point out that he never told the kids to scream, Joy literally pointed in an authoritative manner, to the empty spot beside her. As he reluctantly walked over, she said: "We're not here so you can get your kicks out of scaring five-year-olds. We're here so 'Fabian' can play for people."
This was news to Amber. "We are?" She asked this with a stutter threatening to creep into her speech.
"Why else would we bring your guitar?"
"I don't think I can do this." Amber told Joy nervously. Something in her face made it clear that emotion wasn't acted.
"What's the harm?" You're playing can't be worse than 'Patricia''s angry raccoon routine."
"I wasn't the one being irritating." Mick cut in.
"We disagree." Amber told him.
"Can we just drop it?" Joy asked. She was tired of Mick being stubborn -even if it fit his character- and wanted to do what she came to do: give Amber a bigger audience. Which -she hoped -would prove to Fabian that he should do the same.
Amber still wasn't excited about the opportunity. "Everything? Fine with me, let's just go home."
"After you play a song." Joy agreed.
Amber didn't answer, but she looked close to queasy over the idea. This made Mick groan loudly. Several glaring stares were sent his way. Indifferent to that, he got up and opened Fabian's guitar case, causing chatter among the other playground visitors. (He guessed the majority of them thought the goth kid was going to show everyone he had other 'skills' besides scaring children.) He set Amber up -since she sat there frozen in fear- and asked: "Do I have to move your hands too?"
Swallowing a sigh, Amber answered. Though not with words.
The notes she played were not from any song her friends knew, but she seemed to know them by heart. Despite how scared she was of having others hear her, she didn't falter once. Since she had her eyes closed -to make it easier to pretend no one was with her -she didn't notice the crowd forming around her. As well as the money being dropped in the open guitar case. At the sound of change jingling, Amber stopped strumming and opened her eyes, only to have them widen when she did.
Though that wasn't over the fear of being watched. It was about being misunderstood. She couldn't help but stammer, trying to clear things up. "Oh no, please, take it back." She awkwardly handed it back to the man in front of the crowd of strangers. "I'm just glad to have someone to listen." Amber explained. With that -instead of making captivating music like before- she was spreading smiles.
No one's smile could beat out those of Amber's housemates. Mick was just plain proud of her, but Joy had also achieved her goal. With this performance, Amber would have more confidence to play in front of a larger audience. Hopefully, that would give Fabian the inspiration to do the same. Since the people were listening. And they liked what they heard.
At the store's checkout line, Fabian placed one last item on the pile. Mara eyed the bright green bin with confusion. "What's that for?"
"It's your prize." Fabian explained sheepishly. He expected her to say something along the lines of "Clarity comes in a box now?" in reply, but that would be out of character.
Instead, Mara gave a weak and puzzled 'Hooray' as answer. Especially since she was supposed to pick her own prize.
"I know we're not on the same wavelength most of the time, but I thought you might follow my logic here."
"Well, you thought wrong." Mara said bluntly.
"Then let me explain." Fabian's tone implied that he was trying not to get annoyed.
As the two friends took their purchases and headed for home, Mara decided: "I don't really care, you paid for it anyway."
He could tell she was joking. (As the best friend of Jerome Clarke would.) He went on with the explanation after a chuckle. "We've all grown with this project. We've branched out."
"Yeah..." Mara agreed, still not seeing the point. As she walked, she waddled a little. The weight of the two bags she was carrying being just over what she could handle, though she'd rather waddle for awhile then ask for help.
"I think this could be another of those... beginnings."
Of course, she wanted to know why Fabian thought so. "Deep." Mara commented, sparking a laugh.
"This is for all the random knick knacks that will help you be a master prankster."
She grinned slyly. "I thought I already was."
"That's debatable." Fabian said gently, earning himself a look. "If you don't want it-"
"You'll keep it?" Mara asked hopefully.
"I was going to say I bought you this hat." Fabian clarified as he took it from the bag, making Mara's suddenly shining eyes go wide. "But maybe I'll just keep both."
Her eyes pleaded that he reconsider, and she grabbed the hat happily and put it on her head. Her prize was certainly her own choice then.
Fabian's smile seemed to say: 'That's what I thought.' Though what he said in actuality was: "By the way, it glows in the dark."
"The bin or the hat?" Fabian asked curiously.
Fabian checked the tag -that was still attached to Mara's hat- and answered: "Both."
"I wish I would've known her." Alfie's words broke through the silence he and Nina had lost themselves in, as they stood there in the cemetery.
"Me too." Nina said, though it took her a moment. She'd also been lost in her own thoughts.
"I wish we could've come with you… you know, when she died. It would've made things... easier." Alfie finished finally, despite feeling that he hadn't phrased that right.
Nina switched her focus from Sarah's stone to Alfie's eyes. "It's alright. Sometimes, I think it's better to do stuff on your own. More... cathartic. Plus, I kinda feel like I owed it to her." Sarah had faced a huge portion of her life on her own.
"So, do you visit your parents?" Alfie asked uneasily. He felt every word coming out of his mouth was wrong, but she didn't judge him on it.
"Not until Sarah." Nina admitted. The look he gave her held the message that she had no reason to be ashamed of that. "At the time I was too young, Gran thought. And after, I didn't wanna go because I thought I wouldn't be able to handle it."
He managed a chuckle. "You're are one of the strongest people I know." Alfie assured.
She sent him a thankful smile, but it soon faded. "I couldn't even be mad. I still can't, Alfie." She said this as a sharp anguish filled her tone. "I don't even know why it happened. And shouldn't that be a good enough reason to be angry? Don't have a right to?"
The way the tears poured down her face then, it was like witnessing a flash flood. Alfie took in the sight with a strength he didn't know he had. "Of course you do, but what's the use in that? Nina, being angry over it won't solve anything." His tone had her almost afraid. It was a rarity to hear him be so serious. Alfie placed his hands on Nina's shoulders, in hopes of really getting his point across. "Right now, all you can do is miss them. And make them proud. Like you do every day."
Her thankful smile made a comeback. "You know you make your parents proud, right?" She thought it was something he needed to hear.
He thought she was just telling him what he wanted to hear, and dismissed it with a scoff. "I couldn't even stand up to my dad. Mara had to do it for me."
"She wouldn't have done that if-"
"If I had the guts." Alfie cut in.
"If it didn't fit your character." Nina corrected. "You may not be what your dad expected, but that doesn't mean you're not amazing." She saw a slight smile surface on his face then. "At the moment, he's just too shocked to say so. Your mom was right, he'll come around."
Alfie nodded as if that would help him believe those words more. He really hoped Nina was right. He'd seen what happened with Mick and his father, and that made it easier to think things would change.
When he thought about it, nearly everyone in the house had some sort of issue with their parents. Whether it was because they weren't with them, or they didn't relate well. If the project had brought Mick and Rory close, it could do the same for Alfie and Philip.
That was a good note to leave the cemetery on, since Alfie believed people should always try to leave places like that feeling positive. But there was one more thing left to do before he and Nina went on there way.
"Sorry we couldn't get to the florist today, Sarah." He reached into his pocket and unfolded the paper he had in there. He placed it by her stone, thankful that it wasn't a windy day.
Nina admired Alfie's sketch of the yellow lily -that replaced the wilting bunch- for a quick moment. Then, with a silent goodbye, the two headed home.
Patricia's slow steps took her through the forest. Jerome was at her side, quiet as she was. She figured that -if he was still in character- he'd spaced out. That was typical for Amber, whenever she would daydream. Only, the look on Jerome's face told Patricia that the thoughts running wild in his head weren't happy ones.
She couldn't say she was surprised. Though that might've been because they hadn't spoken since he decided they should take a walk.
Patricia wondered why she agreed so quickly. The same way she agreed to bond with him. (Even though he had to be breaking the rules. Amber hadn't been this quiet since her fight with Alfie.) Maybe the problem was that bonding could not be planned. Maybe they'd been stupid to try.
She laughed, but not to herself.
"What?" Jerome asked, almost startled by the sound.
That was enough to get her to fall silent again. Despite how loud the voice in her head was.
Patricia remembered how neither of them wanted their roles. She remembered how she didn't think Mick could stand up to the challenge of playing her.
"What?" Jerome probed a second time. The silence had only been comfortable when he didn't think she had anything to say.
"What do you think we were saying back when we didn't want any part in this project?" He didn't know how to answer. That phase hadn't lasted too long. Though Patricia had her own ideas about it. "I doubt we were trying to be... noble and say we refused to be anyone but ourselves. We can still be us and be actors at the same time."
"Of course." Jerome agreed.
"So either we were scared, lazy or... we realized how much we didn't know each other." Whether that was true or not, it didn't sit well with either of them. "It's not like I don't see you as a good person, even if I do call you Slimeball."
"Sometimes the name fits." Jerome admitted, knowing what Patricia had told him took a lot. "I didn't know I meant so much to you." He didn't sound like he was teasing. That was tough to grasp. Almost as tough as it was for Patricia to find words for a reply.
She reflected on the events the project had brought on. She still had the text message he had sent her about Mick breaking dress code. Though she hadn't done that out of obsession. (She would drive herself crazy that way. Patricia wasn't that kind of person.) Joy had asked her to keep it just in case she wanted to film something with it on the final day of the project. Everyone agreed Patricia's phone had the best screen.
She had basically told Mara to get over Jerome, through an in character moment. Patricia wasn't sure if she'd done that to stick to her role, or subconsciously.
"You mean a lot to all of us." She finally settled on saying that, since it was the neutral response.
"How sweet." The comment sounding mocking to her, as if he was trying to get under her skin. Doing that wasn't too much trouble for Jerome. Patricia didn't want to let him in on that, though. Whatever effect he had on her, it was enough for Mick to ask whether she had a crush on Jerome twice. He'd said they had common ground. (Though Patricia knew if she thought about it enough, she could find similarities with all her housemates.)
"So, why do you always dress like you've got somewhere to go?"
For Jerome, the question was random. But Patricia asked because she knew it had some sort of impact on him when she complimented the way he dressed. "I don't know." He told her this because it was easy. He almost didn't want to explain it to himself.
Patricia didn't seem to care what he wanted. "There must be some reason."
He stopped short, kicking up dirt in his frustration. She almost didn't notice. " What's the reason behind what you usually wear?"
"I like it." Patricia said simply.
"Sure," That was obvious. Otherwise, she wouldn't dress that way. "but that's the easy answer."
"You gave me the easy answer." Patricia countered. She thought that sentence over, and rephrased: "You gave the answer that takes no effort."
Jerome's eyes settled on hers. The emotion in them was one she rarely saw. She almost expected him to yell, but he spoke softly. "Don't you feel confident dressed the way you're normally dressed?" She nodded, not grasping the point. He continued, hoping she would catch on. "Isn't it nice to have control over at least that? It's good to have something -no matter how minor- constant in your life, right?"
With that, Patricia knew why he wanted her to agree on what he said. That's how he saw the situation. Regardless of the fact that he teased her moments before, she couldn't do the same to him. Not after that. "Absolutely."
"See? I'm a genius, too." He couldn't help joking. She was too busy giving him a playful shove to question what he meant by 'too'.
They resumed walking, slipping into silence again. Patricia's mind traveled back to when she refused to tell him one of her secrets. It was suddenly clear to her why she had done that. Her honesty was hard for even her to handle. He hadn't reacted well to her bringing up just some of her deepest feelings.
Jerome didn't know that she thought the hug they shared after discussing his parents hadn't lasted long enough. She wondered if he'd even care if she spoke up about it.
After all, it was his fault. He had called her pretty, he had held the door for her. He had winked at her and found one of her soft spots. He had given her jewelry and kissed her cheek. Worst of all, he had dropped the act right after.
Though Joy seemed to think Patricia was the one to blame, since she had accepted the gifts. The fact that she was still wearing the jewelry didn't help her case.
It had never just been about Jerome. That's what stopped her from saying anything. Along with guilt.
Patricia had called her best friend out on keeping a crush that was already taken. Yet she couldn't face things like that herself. She let the distraction of playing Jerome go on as long as possible, trying to stay away from the thought that even when he was infuriating, it was laughable. No matter what, her mind was fixated on him.
"If I was really honest, I would've said something different." The second out-of-the-blue statement took awhile to register. Jerome looked to her to elaborate, only to find her unclasping her necklace and taking off her ring. His eyes went wide, and his palm went numb as she went to drop the two items in it. "But I didn't." A smile graced her face, but it was scary for him to see since it seemed out of place. "So I guess I deserve this."
There was an anger in her tone Jerome knew was solely directed at herself. He could see she felt she only had herself to be mad at at this point. She'd told him she'd been a hypocrite. But even so, he couldn't stand to see her so miserable.
His eyes shifted from the jewelry in his hand to wear Patricia had been standing seconds ago, and he saw that he was going to have to run after her. In his shock, she'd managed to get away from him.
He couldn't help thinking how Amber would complain about having to run in nice shoes, with such a risk of scuffing them up. Jerome held in his laughter as he went to find Patricia. He was saving it for later, once he cheered her up.
"What's wrong with M-Patricia?" Joy stammered when she saw him resting his head instead of eating the food that had been placed in front of him minutes ago. (The food that would've already been gone if he wasn't in character.) His eyes slowly settled on the girls.
"I don't feel well." Mick mumbled, confused by his sudden change of mood. Minutes before, he'd been talking and laughing with Joy and Amber. Now he felt like he didn't even want to move. Though it wasn't because he felt too sick to. When he thought about it, it wasn't his feeling. His empathy wasn't exactly easy to explain, but he figured it was worth a shot. "Actually, I don't think it's me who doesn't feel well." His rephrasing got back blank stares of confusion he expected.
"I don't understand." Amber told him, as if her and Joy's faces hadn't made that clear enough.
"Sometimes I know what other people are feeling even when I'm not around them."
"Like a superpower?" Amber asked, managing to sound scared and excited at the same time.
Joy laughed and -while she probably counted that as an out of character moment- Mick couldn't help but recall what Fabian had told him when he walked into a door. Superpowers were fun to think about, but Amber had definitely overstated Mick's ability. "No, it's just empathy. And it only works at a distance with people I really care about."
"Oh." Joy said, and it was clear by the expression on her face that she grasped the concept along with Amber. Though not completely. "So who isn't feeling well then?" That question made Mick chuckle. He shrugged, disappointed that he didn't know.
Joy thought that over, while her peripheral vision caught Amber slowly reaching over to take whatever she deemed appetizing from Mick's plate. He failed to notice, not concerned with the food. "Maybe it's Fabian." A puzzled look swept across the blondes' faces, so she clarified: "I mean real Fabian, not... Amber-Fabian."
"I'll check." Mick decided, getting his cell phone from his pocket. While he fumbled around for it, Amber couldn't help but reach for more food off his plate (forcing Joy to stifle her laughter so she wouldn't be found out.) It surprised her how good it was. "Oh, right..." Mick mumbled, scrolling past the name he was about to select.
Which made Joy realize something. "You changed your contacts' names to match their characters'?" Mick nodded. Amber- who was now working to clear his plate- looked appalled at herself for not realizing that doing something so simple could help gain points, and immediately reached for her phone. "Copycat." Joy teased.
She didn't take offense. "Everyone copied off of Mick by dressing like their characters. And more points for me means more points for the house in the end." Neither of the others could argue with that logic.
Mick placed his phone in the middle of the table once he dialed 'Mara', and put it on speaker. Barely anyone was in the restaurant, so there were no complaints. "Hello?" The voice on the other line answered, raising eyebrows around the booth. The greeting was definitely in character -since Mick and Fabian had one all their own- but something was different about it. It sounded whiny -in contrast to the hysterical laughter in the background- and squeaky. Not feminine, outright squeaky. As if a squirrel had picked up the phone.
"Mara, what's wrong with your voice?" Amber asked, keeping a straight face. She was concentrated on her meal and changing her contacts.
"You sound like you've been sucking helium from a balloon." Joy added, giggling,
"That's because I have." Fabian admitted reluctantly. "It's amazing the things Alfie Lewis can convince people to do." This sparked 'his' ironic reply, in a voice less squeaky by comparison.
"You sound ridiculous!" The group in the restaurant was laughing so hard Mick nearly forgot his reason for calling. Until his best friend asked -completely in character- wanting the embarrassing conversation to end as quickly as it could.
"Just calling to see how you're feeling." Mick wondered if that would cost him points. Patricia would ask about her friends' well being, he just wasn't sure she'd use those words.
"Great, apart from this humiliation."
Under laughs, 'Alfie' chimed in again. "Great timing, Trixie!"
Mick basically ended the conversation there, for his best friend's sake. Embarrassment could get a person down, but he knew it wasn't enough to make Fabian feel physically sick. So why did he?
His thoughts were disconnected from that when he looked down to find his plate empty. He didn't seem upset -just baffled- as he looked to Joy. She shook her head and pointed at a sheepish Amber-Fabian, thinking the blonde should've gotten the part of Mick instead.
Nina practically buried her face in her cotton candy. She expected it to taste good, but not as good as it did. But it served as more than a source of nourishment. It kept her from thinking about something Trudy had brought up when she and Alfie had basically begged Victor for another outing: The project would be over Friday. Nina wasn't ready for Friday, so she tried to forget that.
"Are you just really into carnival food, or..." Alfie started, in character given the accent he used.
She followed suit, and finished the sentence for him, laughing at herself. "Should we actually do something while we're here?"
Alfie laughed along. "I think we should avoid rides for a while, though."
"Yeah." Nina agreed, nodding. "I don't wanna be seeing my candy floss again."
Alfie dismissed that with an 'Ew', while Nina thought of what they could do next.
"I could win you something." She was itching to have a go at a carnival game. "Well, I could try."
Alfie seemed surprised. "I didn't expect you to rephrase that. Figured you had a bigger ego."
When she was finished with her cotton candy, Nina glanced at Alfie. "I can admit to my flaws, even when I wish I didn't have to."
"Hmm." He had to wonder what inspired her to say that, especially which how much he could relate. "Well... don't sell yourself short." As they walked up to one of the game booths, he wondered if she would relay that message to Mick.
It made Nina think back to when Mick told her she had given him too much credit when his father came to visit. Those words stuck with her because she knew the feeling. It was a terrible one, that she and her housemates didn't deserve to have.
The feeling of not being good enough.
This thought pushed her to do her best in knocking down the three milk bottles she aimed for, as if that would somehow disprove that feeling. In a way, it did. Nina hadn't expected to hit the target dead on. Not only did she do that by knocking all three bottles down, she caused them to fly in separate directions and topple three other milk bottle towers. While the carny gaped and Alfie beamed with pride, Nina facepalmed herself.
Alfie couldn't understand why, since she did better than she thought she would, but it let him think of a joke (which wasn't as easy in character). "You almost broke the booth."
While Nina laughed, rid of her embarrassment, the man behind the counter waited for her to pick a prize. He didn't know that was up to Alfie.
There were many animals to choose from, but as Alfie looked them over, he knew whichever one he picked wouldn't only be something to remember the day by. Scanning the choices, he got an idea.
Jerome hoped he was getting closer to finding Patricia. He was following her shoe prints -which belonged to shoes in a style similar to his own, only smaller- but that proved to be increasingly difficult thanks to the approach of nightfall. All his thoughts were hushed, and he was completely focused on finding her before dark. Or else his housemates and Trudy would be worried, and Victor would most likely have toothbrushes ready.
Patricia sat by the water, listening to the calming trickle. Jerome almost didn't want to disturb the peace she had managed to find herself but he had to bring her home.
"I think you were right about a lot of things."
She turned her head in his direction, and lazily motioned for him to sit beside her. She decided not to say anything, no matter how much she enjoyed hearing that she was right. It was his turn to talk. "The majority of us tend to be lazy, so that's a given." A laugh scratched at Patricia's throat, but she swallowed it. "And I can't speak for the others, but I know what I was afraid of."
She couldn't help but be a bit amused by this, and prompted: "What?"
"Getting it wrong and facing Amber's wrath." Jerome said simply, but he could tell by the look in Patricia's eyes that another easy answer wasn't going to cut it. "Especially with what she said to me. I was focused on proving her wrong. But I had to play my role perfectly for that. If I were to play her too mean, or too soft, or too dumb-"
"Then she'd be right, and you'd need a lot of acting tips." Patricia wondered why she kept interrupting, and thought about how earlier on she might have laughed at the thought of Amber being portrayed as unintelligent. That was the impression of anyone who didn't really know her.
"Exactly." He admitted this to Patricia's surprise. Though the surprise didn't stop there. "But if that happened and she took it too hard, then she might think I didn't care about her enough to play her role properly. Point is, no matter how I make it seem, I don't want any of you to feel like that." For some proof -and as a way to let her know she was listening- he said: "All of you mean a lot to me... and you mean a lot to all of us."
"How sweet." Patricia replied, with a seriousness she was too annoyed to recognize when he said those words. Jerome had to wonder why Patricia ran off if he was so sweet. Instead of asking, he wordlessly handed her back her gifts.
"It would've been incredibly idiotic, not to mention heartless, of me to give you these just to make my own fun."
'So that's not what it was about, then?"
"Absolutely not. Just think of it as my way of saying 'Job well done'." It may not have been the answer she was looking for, but it was an honest one. There may have been more she wanted to say, but she forgot it in that moment.
Patricia smiled. "I think you're onto something there."
He smiled back, despite his confusion. "What do you mean?"
She stood up. "I'll explain back at the house." With that, they went on their way.
The housemates returned to a supper that was ready much later than planned. They changed into their pajamas before heading to the dining room, because they wouldn't have the stamina to do anything but relax afterward. Plus, it would be nearly ten o'clock when they finished.
The group ate up quickly and thanked Trudy for the meal. The chatting stayed at a minimum, since they were too tired to do much talking. (Mick saw genuine smiles all around the table, so he knew he didn't have to ask anyone how they were doing. His worry melted away.)
Once the meal was done, the kids cleared the table and wished each other goodnight under yawns. The girls dragged their feet up the stairs to their rooms.
Alfie found a place for his new stuffed elephant -that he'd picked it because it seemed fitting for remembering the long day everyone had- and basically fell into bed. Jerome didn't have much energy left to laugh.
"We're all gonna sleep well tonight." Mick said to Fabian, though he wasn't looking at him because his eyes were already closed. Even so, he had a feeling his roommate nodded in agreement.
"I think I'll stay up a little while longer." Fabian decided.
"Suit yourself."
Fabian was the only one awake to hear Victor's nightly chant, when he went to fetch his guitar.
When he got back to his room, he flipped open his songbook to the first blank page. He grabbed his eye of Horus guitar pick and softly strummed. Once the random chords he through together morphed into a sound that caught his ear, he started writing down the notes. He smiled at himself and whispered: "This'll be the perfect present..."
Thanks for reading, please review! Let me know if there's anything you wanna see in the last few days of the project. I'll update ASAP! =]