Original A/N: This was a tough one, my lovely readers. (That's why it's two days past the deadline I set for myself. Sorry, sorry, sorry.)
This chapter is dedicated to We'rekindacrazylikethat and The Throne. 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
My note at the end of this chapter is super duper important, so please let me know your opinions. Enjoy!
I do not own House of Anubis. (Times two, 'cause I oddly forgot to say that last chapter.)
Updated A/N: Next up, new content!
Patricia froze almost mid-step. When Mick's words registered, they made her stumble. But only mentally. She kept her balance, and turned only her brave face back toward him. Her last word to him for hours came out smoothly, but her vocal cords felt strained. "Goodnight."
She marched herself back to her room. When she got there, he shoulders sagged and she sighed silently. She was doing what she said she was ashamed of. She was letting him lose.
He stood stuck where he was, mulling over her minute reaction. It was as if she didn't notice he called her anything out of the ordinary. And why brush the words off so callously to go back to bed if she'd just lie awake?
Mick's nickname for her was something she'd gotten used to, but she hadn't known he was the one who came up with it. Just two of the words she had memorized. She pretended the poet who wrote them was some stranger when she found out the truth, because she honestly didn't know how she was supposed to react to them.
That didn't make things easy on either of them. He didn't suspect that she knew. Not based on the way she responded, but because it was up to him to tell her. No one else in the house had said anything. He was sure of that much.
He wasn't sure of what would happen at breakfast, but he had a feeling he'd just lost his appetite.
"And we're rolling!" Joy informed her housemates at the breakfast table later that morning. That was a first.
Alfie recognized that, and questioned it. "Since when do you tell us when we're rolling?"
"Since you need the heads up." Joy clarified. "It's interview day."
"You're gonna interview us?" Nina asked.
Joy nodded. "It was Mara's idea."
"I said no such thing." Fabian protested. He knew what she meant, though hardly anyone else did. He just didn't want to feel Amber's wrath by being responsible for putting off the rest of their songwriting.
Joy gestured to Mara, who replied with: "I said no such thing."
"Okay, so it wasn't your idea. It was mine," Joy corrected herself. "but you inspired it."
"Who's up first?" Jerome asked.
"Hoping it'll be you?" Joy asked him.
"Of course," He said this after something of scoff. "the camera loves me. But I have something to take care of first."
"What?" Alfie asked curiously.
"That's strictly business." Jerome answered. "My business, not yours." With that, he walked out of the room.
"I can't tell if he meant that as Amber or his slimeball self." Patricia remarked. Although it felt like a long time since he acted in the latter way. She looked around the table to see if the others had something to add. They didn't answer. When her gaze landed on Mick she took notice of something she hadn't all breakfast long. There was no place set in front of him. He noticed her looking, and sent her a smile. That seemed strange. Stange for her because of the way she shut him down just hours before. Strange for him because the smile was genuine. "Oi, where's your food?"
"I finished eating before any of your even got down here."
She narrowed her eyes. "Why don't I believe you?" In answer, all he did was shrug. "I'll tell you why." As she explained, she gathered random foods from around the room and put them on a plate for him. Knowing he wasn't picky. "There's nothing in the sink and there would be since anyone in this house besides Trudy would rather let the dishes pile up for whoever's on dish duty. And besides that," She poured him some juice as she continued: "you're never finished eating." While some of the others laughed lightly, Patricia told Mick: "Take care of yourself." Then, about the juice, she muttered: "You're lucky I didn't pour that on your head."
Patricia was next to leave the room. Seeing that Jerome had signed himself out, she did the same. Then she went outside to find him. She kept a steady pace, but she didn't have to run to catch up with him. "Where are you going?" The question made his shoulders raise slightly in surprise.
"Like I said, it's my business."
She didn't seem angry -just suspicious -when she asked: "Are you plotting something?"
Jerome chuckled. "When am I not plotting something?"
She didn't even care to know what. She was in. "I'm coming with you."
He wasn't arguing. He knew there was no use in that. Still, he told her: "If you come with me, you'll know what I'm planning for you."
"So you might as well just tell me now." Patricia reasoned.
"You're really that eager to know?" Jerome joked.
She didn't find it funny, considering she'd left Mick hanging when he had something to tell her. Since she didn't know what to do with that information, she wouldn't push for this. "No, I just don't wanna be stuck in the house all day."
"I'm buying presents." Jerome revealed. He watched as Patricia tilted her head slightly to the side.
"Well, it's a scheme, but there's nothing evil about it."
"Still interested?" Jerome asked.
"Sure, why not?" He thought that was all she'd say about it. So did she, but she spoke a random thought. "Maybe we can help each other."
Surprise entered Jerome's eyes. "Well, I know what I need help with. Although pink's not your color." He said this as more of an afterthought. Then, he asked: "But what do you need help with?"
Alfie was first up to be interviewed. He and Joy had gone over to the skatepark. So early in the morning, no one else was around. Which was ideal for filming, so there wouldn't be a lot of background noise.
"So, what's the first question again?"
Joy giggled. "I haven't told you the any of the questions yet."
"Well, that explains why I don't remember." At first, Alfie mumbled. Then, louder, he asked: "What is the first question?"
Before she replied, Joy pressed the record button. "What's the most challenging part of playing Nina?"
For a moment, Alfie looked up. As if the answer could be found in the clouds. "Oh! I guess it would be-"
"Uh!" Joy interjected sharply, telling him he'd done something wrong. "Remember what we talked about on the way over here?"
He hadn't forgotten, it was just tougher to pull off than he thought. "Right, sorry." Before he rephrased, he had to laugh. "Nobody talks like that."
"I know." Joy replied, eyebrows dancing.
After a pause, Alfie spoke again. What he said came out surprisingly natural. "The most challenging part about playing Nina was definitely the accent, at first. I had to think before I spoke, which is something I'd never really done before this project." He left space for the laughter he knew was coming. "To get these different pronunciations and inflections and to pitch my voice… I had to train my mouth to move in a way that it doesn't on a daily basis. I'm used to it now, but starting out I was surprised it could actually be painful. I mean, I know it can be painful to hear me talk-" He didn't have an ending for that sentence, but he didn't need one. The whole reason he said it was to make Joy laugh again. "Now the most challenging part about playing Nina is something I can't even explain."
Saying this, Joy had to wonder why he was still talking if he didn't know what to say. What she didn't know, was that he would take a shot at explaining the unexplainable. Then she realized something. Should be expected for someone who believes in aliens.
"Maybe Nina sticks out here because she's American… but I don't think that's all it is. There's always been something about Nina. And if I managed to capture whatever that something is, then I've done it." He gave a confident smile as he added: "I got it right."
Joy had to smile as well. She was impressed with that answer. She stopped recording -momentarily- and told Alfie: "One question down, three to go."
"You're raising a lot of eyebrows." Patricia informed. She was sitting on a small bench in a dress shop, skimming through a magazine she couldn't care less about. She'd caught the odd glances being sent in Jerome's direction.
Dryly, he replied: "Let 'em raise." He cared what strangers thought of him about as much as Patricia cared about the content in the magazine she was looking through. She listened as he pushed hangers back and forth on the rack, until the noise sounded grating.
Rather than yell at him to stop, she said: "That's the eighth dress you've taken off the rack. Don't you find it strange that you're spending more time shopping for Amber than Amber would spend for herself?"
He gave her a skeptical look. "I hardly think that's true. If you've really been keeping track, and I'm only the eighth dress, I have a lot more to go. She probably wouldn't stop until forty."
She didn't really see the point in all this. "Why even buy a dress?"
He couldn't say for sure, but he gave that question thought anyway. "It's not like a got I chance to wear one while playing her."
"So you really do care about the eyebrow raises?" Patricia asked teasingly.
"No," Jerome replied, in all seriousness. "I just don't have the knees for it."
Her laughter was silent, but it was hard to hide her smile behind that magazine. She agreed: "Probably not."
"I know she has so many that one more probably wouldn't make any difference. But I want it to." Jerome admitted. To show that he'd learned something.
Patricia still smiled, but she wasn't stifling laughter this time. She was showing pride. "What you mean is, we're going to be here for awhile."
"Yeah."
"Then I might as well start texting the others."
"What for?" Jerome asked, as he moved on to a different rack. He noticed that the pickier he was, the higher the prices got.
Patricia got up, standing on the other side of the rack he was looking through. "How do you think they'll feel if Amber and I are the only ones getting gifts at the party? I have to tell them what's going on."
"With all the party planning Fabian's been doing, I'm sure he came up with this idea, too."
"That does no good if he keeps it to himself." Patricia reasoned.
Jerome saw her point, and she got to typing.
The brunch spread out all across the table seemed to be overcompensating for something. Esther saw the meal as an apology she didn't need. She ate anyway. No sense in passing up a good meal.
"How were they?" She asked this after a few bites.
"Same as they always are. " Stan said after a sigh. His voice was low and distant, though he was looking right at her. "They need me. They need me to be a good person."
"You are a good person."
"Not according to your students." Stan pointed out.
"My students?" Esther echoed. Though she knew what they thought of her fiancé.
"They hate me."
At first, she denied it. "They don't hate you." When she saw the pitiful look on his face, she added: "...that much."
"Do you think they know?" The question hung in the air for a bit.
Esther shook her head. "I don't see how they could."
"Have you told anyone?" Stan asked.
"Not at the school, no." Esther replied.
"So you're ashamed of it?" This was a thought spoken too quickly. He watched her face harden.
"I just don't think it's any of their business."
He wasn't trying to argue, but if he didn't things would unravel on their own. "Don't you think they'll figure it out? Don't you think they'll see me as worse? I don't wanna be the villain here."
Suddenly, she didn't feel like eating. "What're you saying, Stan?"
He curbed a sob as he spoke. "We can't have two lives."
She reached across the table to place her hand over his. "We wouldn't. We'd have one complicated life, which is what I've always had. I'm not asking you to leave any of that behind." She said this in hopes she was getting through to him. "You had someone you loved."
If Esther had let others' criticisms of her relationship with Stan get her, his next words would chill her to the bone. "I still do love her. Just not in the way I used to."
"That's not reason to abandon her, and I know you wouldn't use it as an excuse to."
"You're right." Stan confirmed. "You know me better than anyone who's ever tried to end things between us. " She managed a faint smile, and he went on. "I won't keep away from her. And it'd be wrong of me to keep you away from him."
Now, she was the one close to sobbing. That was the last thing she thought she'd hear him say. "What?"
Actually, that was next to last. She watched Stan's eyes lose their focus on her before regaining it. At this point, they'd glazed over. "...Jason's a good man."
She wasn't disputing that. "Yes, but I don't love him." Her closed hand was gripping the tablecloth, and if she wasn't so upset she'd wonder why all the plates covering it had stayed perfectly in place for the most part.
She let out a breath, and Stan gave voice to a thought that he oddly didn't find haunting. "Did you ever want to, Esther?"
"Stan, I…" Her voice was almost gone. Like she'd been screaming.
"Did you ever think you could? Did you ever want that chance?" The chance she didn't try hard enough to take.
She didn't have the strength to speak. All her energy had gone into holding back tears. Tears of anger, at herself. Tears of confusion, over Stan's calm tone. He had more questions, but held his tongue. And when they both stood, legs shaking and heads spinning, they held each other close. Unsure of what would be once they let go.
Amber's phone buzzed mid-scribble, so she stopped writing to check it.
Fabian read over what she had written while she read over the text she received. He saw her smile.
"Good news?" Fabian wasn't sure why he asked. He wasn't trying to pry.
His songwriting partner assured: "You'll hear." Then she nodded in the direction of his songbook. "What do you think?"
He gave a totally honest answer. "I like it, but I'm not sure I understand it all." Instead of being upset by the admission, she laughed. "I just wanted to include everybody for this part. Each line is about one of us. Except Mick. I haven't thought of something for him yet."
Fabian found this funny. "You'd think that'd be easy for us."
She nodded in agreement, as he played some of the music he'd written so far. She could see her reflection's quietly curious eyes.
He stopped playing, and looked at her without turning around. "Why do you play in front of the mirror?" Amber asked.
He had an answer, but he knew it wasn't the right one. "So I can see what I'm doing."
"I think it's so you make sure no one else can see what you're doing." Amber said disappointedly. This time, he did turn to look at her, but he couldn't think of anything to say. "I don't understand why you'd want to hide something you're so good at."
He reasoned: "Hands can stutter, too."
She raised her eyebrows. "It's our song. If you get it wrong, how will they know?" He laughed silently. "Perform with me at the party." Amber urged. "Without you, I wouldn't even know how to play."
Fabian smiled appreciatively, as his phone went off. The text he read sparked a thought. "I'm not the only one you have to thank." Before Amber could respond, there was a knock at the door. "Come in, Mara."
"You knew it was me?" She asked this from the doorway, somewhat surprised.
Most times, she was the only one of his housemates who knocked. "It didn't take two weeks of playing you to figure that out." Her actor told her teasingly.
After a playful eye roll, Mara's focus landed on Amber. "Amber, are you free? Joy says you're up to be interviewed."
Amber looked at Fabian and asked: "To be continued?" He nodded.
Joy and Amber set up in the common room while the others watched from the kitchen.
Amber's ankles were crossed as she patiently waited for Joy to press record for the second time since she sat down.
"Ready for the next question?" Joy asked.
"Whenever you are." Amber assured. Of course, she didn't mind having an audience.
"What do you think was the most challenging part of playing you for Jerome?"
Seeing Amber look up, Alfie laughed silently. She knew what to say, she just had to figure out how to phrase it. "Early on I think we all joked Jerome was too grumpy of a person to play me convincingly. He really isn't. Not all the time." The others smiled. Not just because they wanted to laugh, but because that was a subtle sign that they all had grown closer. "The real challenge Jerome had playing me was… knowing how much I know. Do you know what I mean?" From behind the camera, Joy shook her head just slightly. Amber was happy to explain. "I am a style expert and quite the matchmaker, but those aren't my only skills." She named a few just off the top of her head. "I speak French. And I play ping-pong." She fought the urge to look off-camera when she added: "And guitar. I am a princess." Amber stressed the word the way some had when using it to insult her. To show that it no longer had an effect. "What Jerome had to realize and… does realize is that being a princess is more than what most people would expect."
"Mick, you're up." Joy informed him. Since his mouth was full at the moment, he just nodded. "I'm just trying to figure out a new angle." She said from the kitchen doorway.
"Wanna go for a walk?" It wasn't a rule that they had to stay in the house. She hadn't when she interviewed Alfie.
"Where would you rather go?"
"School."
Jerome and Patricia weren't around to chime in with a sarcastic comment. And Alfie was eating, though that didn't matter to him. He wanted to say something, but his actress beat him to it. "Never thought I'd hear that…"
Surprised, Mick looked over at her. Seeing the goofy expression she wore, it was tough to stay angry.
Joy got back on track. "Where in school where you thinking of filming, the gym?"
He raised his eyebrows and simply said: "No." Not offering elaboration.
She shifted her eyes playfully, and announced to the others: "I'm going with the crazy jock now. If I don't come back, know to look for me at school."
Once again, Mara won out on responding first. She sounded blissfully oblivious to Joy's mock-fear when she said: "Okay, see ya later! Or not."
"Did you ever consider that, along with being a poet, you could have a future as an interior decorator?" Joy asked, as she looked around the room that was no longer a secret from her. Mick laughed, though he appreciated the compliment. "It's nice."
"Thanks." Aside from saying this, he was rather quiet, and she wondered if that was because he was nervous about the interview.
"So, are Nina and I the chosen ones?" Joy asked, trying to make him brighten up. He failed to see what she meant, so she clarified: "The only ones who get to see your secret spot?"
Mick nodded as if in agreement, but then said something that contradicted that. "Except Mr. Sweet."
"Sweetie approves?"
"I didn't think he would," Mick admitted, remembering how he thought he'd get in trouble for setting up this room for himself. "but… yeah."
Joy's eyebrows rose. To her, it wasn't that Mick got away with everything. She knew the room must have some sort of special significance, so she figured the headmaster was just happy to find it in one piece. Even if it did look completely different from the way he left it.
"Well, if you want to keep this place a secret, I can film it so no one can tell where you are." Joy offered, adjusting her focus.
Mick wasn't sure about keeping the room a secret. At least, not from his housemates. For the time being, he decided that was for the best. Nine people could make the place pretty crowded. "Thanks."
She shrugged. It was the least she could do after he gave her access to a filming location she didn't even know existed. "Thanks for letting me come here." In frame, she watched his head bob around a little.
"I don't want you to feel like you're not a part of this project 'cause you don't get to act." That's why he showed her the room. He saw her head lift up, tilted a bit, like she was about to object. He had to finish his thought first. "Especially since you're the whole reason it worked."
Even after he said this, she still saw the situation a different way. "That's not totally true."
"You made us participate." Mick said. "Not that we're not thankful."
"I got you to agree to it, but what if Alfie never tried to speak with Nina's accent?" Joy asked. "What if Amber never picked up a guitar?" Looking at him, she thought of an example to add. "What if you never put on eyeliner?"
Mick tried to stifle a scoff by laughing. It didn't work. "Why does that matter?"
"Because you're seeing things through her eyes." He seemed skeptical, but that was only because he didn't know how Patricia was feeling now. His so-called superpower was failing him, and she wasn't around for him to ask how things were going. "None of this was part of the original project." The housemates weren't required to talk like their characters. Or dress like them. Or trade talents. "We all made this what it is." Joy told Mick proudly. She never wanted to be put on a pedestal. She was just happy to be included.
Amber looked up at the sound of Fabian's laughter.
"What's so funny?"
"Mara's acronym." He said, looking over the song lyrics.
"Why?" Amber asked, taking the songbook back and checking to see if she spelled something wrong. She hadn't.
"Because it's cheating." She gave him a look. Of course he would see it that way. The time she spent portraying him should have prepared her for this. And even though most of her housemates were taking the day off because of interviews, Amber figured her act could aid her argument.
"I think it's perfectly logical."
"It is not." Fabian argued. His tone was playful, but he still didn't see how the lyrics she wrote made sense to her. He challenged: "What smells like anarchy?"
Amber exaggerated a shrug. She hadn't yet thought of other examples. She rattled a few off then. "Fire, blood-" She offered a third example despite the look Fabian gave her. "Rain… heavy rain. And, like the lyric says, mistakes."
"Okay, sure." Fabian decided, under a laugh. He watched as his songwriting partner stood up and walked out of the room. He followed, wondering if she thought he was making fun of her. If so, he had to clear things up.
The front door opened. Jerome and Patricia walked through. "You're back!" Amber said happily, alerting the whole house. She went to give them a hug.
"Did you tell her what we were doing?" Jerome asked in a hushed voice, once they'd both gotten their hugs.
"No, but she could probably guess." Patricia reasoned. She had told her housemates to make sure they had presents for the party, one each for their characters and actors.
He silently decided that she was right. "Amber, I don't know how you can stand doing all that shopping." Jerome said. "It's such a long and drawn out process."
She countered: "Not for me. Not all the time. Sometimes I impulse buy."
Her roommate had to laugh. " The last time that happened, it didn't go over too well."
Without turning around, Amber held up her index finger. "Let's never speak of that again."
"Okay." Nina agreed, suppressing another laugh.
"When do I get to be interviewed?" Jerome wondered aloud.
"I guess as soon as Joy and Mick get back from school." Nina told him.
Jerome and his actress exchanged looks, making Alfie and his actress laugh.
"How's the songwriting coming along?" Alfie asked. Apparently, word about that had gotten around, too.
"It's nearly finished." Fabian informed.
"Just one line left to go." Amber added.
"Alright, guys!" Nina said in a congratulatory way. "Can't wait to hear it."
"Neither can I." Alfie agreed. "As fellow songwriters, you two have my full support."
They both wanted to laugh, but instead, they just said: "Thanks, Alfie." in perfect sync.
"What was your favorite memory of the project?"
"Just one?!" Mick asked, his voice only raising because of surprise.
Joy laughed. "I'm keeping that in there." As she said this, he thought about his answer.
He didn't like excluding most of his housemates, but he went with the first thing that came to mind. "My favorite memory of the project was going to the zoo with Patricia." Joy tried not to let her expression speak for the fact that she knew he would choose something related to his crush. She expected that, but not what he said next. "My dad got me tickets for it, even though I never asked him to. It's something I wanted to do for a long time." She sent him a smile as he went on explaining. "I loved it. Patricia and I made up a new game, had a good talk, saw all kinds of cool animals. There's a jaguar there that owes me a high-five." Joy chuckled, but that wasn't the funniest part for her. "We almost got kicked out," Mick said, like he enjoyed the rush of it. "Patricia got a new profile photo. I learned how to share food. That was… a milestone." He said this more to himself. Then, he remembered a detail he nearly left out. "And we almost got struck by lightning on the way home." Shockingly enough, he said this with a smile. " It was a great time, overall." That last sentence spoke not only for Mick's favorite memory, but for the project as a whole.
When Joy and Jerome left Anubis house to film the last interview for the day, the others stayed inside.
There was still some time left until supper, but that usually didn't matter for Mick. Mara found him standing near the oven, but he didn't look hungry.
"Hiding in the kitchen?" She had a bright smile on her face when she asked this. She was echoing words he once spoke to her. She didn't expect her observation to be much more than that, until he nodded in reply. That caused her smile to disappear. "Why?"
He answered her question with another question. "Am I a good friend?"
By the look on her face, he could tell she was wondering where this was coming from. That's not what she said, though. She answered with: "Sure. I think we're all learning how to be better friends."
Mick could admit, they all made progress. He still felt stuck in some areas. "Am I a good boyfriend then?"
Mara only knew how to answer for herself, because the circumstance that brought them together weren't ideal. "Just because it didn't work out between us, doesn't mean I didn't have a good time. I don't regret it."
"I do." Since Mick was looking at the floor when he said this, he was sure he hadn't meant to out loud.
"Why?" Mara managed again, much quicker than she thought she would. Her immediate thought was that she was the reason he said what he did. She remembered the night she told Fabian her secret. His reaction ended up making her upset at herself all over again.
Mick could relate to that. He looked up at her when he spoke. "I know I… I hurt you. And Amber." He didn't say so, but he thought that -if given the chance- he would hurt Patricia, too.
"You got hurt, too." Her voice was lower than she'd hoped, like she was keeping her shame a secret. Not knowing he could hear her just fine. "I could've ruined your life."
He laughed harshly, but the harshness was directed at himself. "I ruin my own life." Mara's concerned expression told him not to think that way. If he hadn't said this, though, he wouldn't have realized what he did next. "I think I hurt people even more by trying not to hurt them. It's why I'm not close with my dad." Their eyes had moved from each other to the small crowd in the living room, as if Mara know what Mick was about to say. "It's why I haven't told her." He didn't mention that he tried, because the reveal hadn't happened and he didn't press on to make sure that it did.
"Remember how hurt Amber and Alfie were in the middle of this?"
At first, he didn't see her point. "How could I forget? "Jerome and Fabian threw a party for them. Not to mention me."
She nodded. "And it wasn't much fun. For anyone, really."
"I think it made us feel worse." Mick admitted.
"But they talked about it," Mara said of Amber and Alfie. "because you forced them to... " She trailed off into laughter.
"My brilliant plan." Mick recalled jokingly.
"It was." Mara insisted. "It got them talking."
"But they didn't say anything they wanted to."
"Not until later." She said this in hopes that he would consider his plan to be a step in the right direction. Looking at them now, she knew they'd said what they needed to. "I think their pain helped them."
Mick wasn't sure he saw her point. "So, you're telling me not to worry?"
"I don't mean you shouldn't care about hurting her." Mara clarified. She thought it best to compare the potentially painful situation he was about to march into to one he'd already been through. "You were able to admit being in pain over being distant from your dad and that worked out well." Or, at least, it looked promising that it would work out at this point.
With that, Mick understood. He had to own up to the pain he felt, and try not to cause anyone any more pain.
Patricia was running out of proof to hold onto. The first bit had been sacrificed to the sprinklers. The first draft of Mick's poem was now unrecognizable. That hadn't been her first clue to what he had to tell her, though. She remembered something Jerome said.
Or, tried to say. Before she shut him down.
"I'm sorry, I really am."
"Jerome, I mean I really don't believe you. If you were so sorry, you wouldn't lie to me."
"I swear, I'm not lying."
"No? You're lying to me right now! I get it. You don't know how you feel about me -if you even feel anything about me- but it doesn't make it any less confusing to say that someone else does."
"But it's true!"
She knew that now, but was suddenly scared to face that truth.
That's why she hadn't brought it up during their shopping trip. That's why she hadn't said anything more about it once she returned to the house.
She went down the hall to Fabian and Mick's room, poised to knock on the door. It opened before she could. Mick was on the other side, ready to step out into the hallway. They both looked surprised to see each other, even though they were hoping they could have that conversation they both held off in the early hours of the day.
He looked over his shoulder, at his empty room, then back at her. She understood the question he hadn't voiced, and took it as an invitation to come in. She shut the door behind her.
The sound wasn't loud, but it made him jump a little. "Should I feel threatened?" Mick asked, almost shyly.
Patricia raised an eyebrow. "Did you want me to leave the door open?" She crossed her arms, waiting for an answer. He shook his head. There was a pause, because she thought he had something to say. She did nothing to break the silence, because she thought she already knew what that something was. Mick wasn't given a chance to explain himself early that morning. Maybe, Patricia thought, she had the story wrong. Maybe Jerome had the story wrong, too. It was possible Mick just found the mysterious poem when he went to leave her his anonymous invitation to the zoo. The handwriting for each seemed so different. With that in mind, she asked: "Should I be sitting down for whatever it is you have to tell me?"
She wanted him to gauge how much this news would affect her, but that was tough for him to do. If he knew how she would react, he wouldn't have held off telling her for so long. He hoped she wouldn't be uncaring. That hope is what led him to say: "Sure."
Patricia sat across from him rather than next to him, on Fabian's bed. This distance caused him to gulp in reaction, and he hoped that reaction went unheard. She didn't mean to make him nervous. In her view, she could see him better from where she chose to sit.
For a few long seconds, it was as if they were having a staring contest. She tried to swallow a sigh, but that did not go unnoticed. He took it as a sign that she was growing impatient.
"You were right not to trust me." She gave him a look that was as sad as she thought that sounded.
By the way she replied, it seemed that his statement also sounded ridiculous to her. "What? What're you talking about?"
He didn't look ready to retract that statement. "We're friends. Better friends than I ever thought we could be." No matter how she reacted to what he was working up the nerve to tell her, he didn't want to lose that. Neither did she. He folded his hands, eyes locked on them for a bit. "If anyone was gonna find out, it was supposed to be you. You were supposed to be first."
"So I'm last?" Her own tone startled her, but she hoped that didn't show. She wasn't trying to get him upset with her. She was trying to get him through this.
Mick wasn't upset with her. He had himself to worry about. "I'm sorry. I'm making a whole new set of mistakes lately." He tried to speed through his sentence, to hide the break in his voice. It didn't work.
"I didn't mean it." Patricia said. Another surprise.
He was surprised she thought that was in response to her question. He shook his head slowly, thinking about how his feelings had changed in the past couple weeks. Surely, that wasn't her intention. "No, I don't think you did." Mick answered finally, sounding distant when he did. She gave him a lost look he didn't catch while reaching for his poetry book. It was next to him on the bed, since he'd been ready to take it with him when he went to talk to her. Patricia's curious eyes settled on his hands, that flipped through the first few pages. When he found his spot, he looked up at her and asked: "Ready?"
"I've been ready since breakfast." Or so she thought.
Mick cleared his throat. Perhaps just to stall, like he did with finding the book. (He didn't really need it to recite this particular poem.) Then, he began. Speaking the two words she had never seen as a nickname, not even the first time they were said aloud. (Patricia had read those words a hundred times over, and not once did she think they were meant for her.) "Emerald Eyes, don't let your heart fester just because you fell in love with the King and the Jester." Every word seemed shaky, but the 'fell in love' part was particularly so. As if he felt he didn't have a right to say that.
The third time he mentioned those emerald eyes in front of Patricia, she was staring straight on. His empathy told him nothing of whether that was from wonder, fear, sorrow, or disgust. He didn't know what to feel. " Emerald Eyes don't cry like no other just because you fell in love with the Jester and the King."
With each word, she seemed to stiffen more. He was focused on reading, but faltered a bit in worry that she would forget to breathe. "As we… as we put this book to a close on this heartbroken fairytale, to us it's not the end but perhaps it's just the beginning." There was no doubt about it. There was no way of them forgetting this.
The two friends had choices to make. "So either speak up or move on, but keep the faith."
Patricia didn't notice, but -suddenly- she moved. It was a reflex.
In the depths of his mind -where, most times, he dared not go -Mick recognized the impact of words she'd already heard. It didn't register with her, but she mouthed part of the last line along with him. "For someday when we can say ...'finally'. The tone that last word took on was a shameful one. Same with the words that followed. "You knew."
She looked panicked, but sounded calm. "I didn't know I knew. I found the first draft." Patricia explained, seeing anger flash in his eyes. The look only stayed for a second, because it wasn't meant for her. She continued disappointedly: "It got ruined." Then she said something he imagined was hard for her, considering he didn't know about her conversation with Nina near the bleachers. "I love that poem."
She smiled a bit, not knowing what else to say. Mick smiled back, not knowing what else he could do. Words had left them then. She stood up, and he expected her to walk out the door without so much as another glace.
That, of course, was embarrassment talking.
She joined him where he sat, leaving about an inch of wiggle room. He hardly moved, until she gestured for his book. He handed it over, and she let it fall flat so that it shared space on both their laps. She gave him a questioning look, asking for permission to look at some of his other work. With a nod, permission was granted.
She flipped the page and read slowly, soaking in every word. In that moment, they didn't know much of what was to come. That didn't seem to matter. They knew they had more talking to do, once they got their words back. In that moment, they were perfectly comfortable looking through that book until suppertime.
"Last question." Joy told Jerome.
"Oh, finally." He was only half-joking, as the previous three had been tough to answer. He was starting to think he should've held off shopping so that he could sit in on others' interviews to get an idea of what to say. Especially since there was only five minutes until supper.
"Is there anything from this project that you would like to keep?" A question he didn't have to think about.
He simply said "This," while holding up his wrist to show off the bracelet he was still wearing.
"You can't just say 'this'. " Joy's response was less a reminder and more a confused bit of criticism, since Jerome had restated every question thus far. "How is anyone even supposed to know what that means?" Joy asked, zooming in on the bracelet so the potential audience could see that it was engraved.
"If they've met Amber, they know what it means." Jerome reasoned. "And if they haven't, it's a conversation starter."
The interview was turning into an argument, until the camerawoman said: "At least explain why it's important to you."
He swallowed a sigh. He had to think again. "Because of this project. Because of how seriously we took it. Because we actually did learn, there will come a time in the future when I have a problem that I can't solve, and-" For a second, he looked up, thinking back to how he felt when he found out that he'd been cast in the roll of Amber. He hadn't found it funny, but it was hilarious to him in hindsight . So, he smirked as he folded his hands over his chest and finished his sentence. "I'll ask myself… 'What would Amber Millington do?'
"You know what I like about this project?"
Nina's eyes found her boyfriend as he spoke words she'd said to him on the first night of the project. In the same spot.
"What?" She squeezed his hand a bit since she had already been holding it.
"Even though it's been much harder than I thought it would be," The breath he took in was filled with the sound of her laughter. "You and I are still a couple." He hadn't known this project would mean the end of that road for Mick and Mara. Though they were happy with the new paths they found, he was glad it hadn't ended up like that for him and Nina.
With those words, she thought of something to add. Her eyes bulging as she did, because what she was about to say had seemed like a longshot at the time. "You and Amber are, like, best friends."
He nodded happily. "And it seems to me that our dynamic duo is more than just a duo now." He said of Jerome and Alfie. "With the addition of my wonderful actress and character."
Nina giggled, and for a second he thought it was because he sounded like he was bragging. "Don't forget the poet Patricia."
"Don't forget yourself." Fabian reminded, looking at her with pride. "Anyway, my point is, you were right." Her boyfriend smiled. "The project didn't get to our heads."
It felt odd for Nina to shake her head in agreement, but she did so anyway and spoke her happy thought. "It got to our hearts…"
Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! And when you do, it'd be a great help to know:
-How you think the housemates would answer the four interview questions
-What you think everyone should get as presents at the party.
I have ideas for both those things, but I'd LOVE to know your thoughts. Lastly, general ideas are always welcome. Only two more chapters to go, my lovely readers! The official last day of the project, and the presentation/party day. I know with your help I can make 'em great.
Please let me know if there are any spelling/grammar/phrasing mistakes. And of course, anything you want me to elaborate on. I'll update ASAP! =]