DISCLAIMER: I don't own House of Anubis.

Eddie swallowed, slowly closing his locker. It was the end of the day, and if he didn't say something now, he would be suffering with Jerome and Mick all weekend. They had slept over yesterday, and Jerome and he had made a stupid bet he couldn't back out of now. During lunch, the two boys had dropped subtle hints about Patricia, but Amber didn't seem to realize it. Joy and KT had looked as if they suspected something, but overall, nobody had seemed to figure it out.

"Hey," Eddie manned up and walked over to where the freak stood, closing her locker and shifting her backpack on her shoulder. She looked up at him in surprise, obviously not used to being talked to. Everyone thought she was weird, so she lived a lonely life. And besides, Eddie was cool, why was he talking to low class Patricia Williamson?

Her eyes narrowed, there was an ulterior motive. "Why are you talking to me?" She decided to face it head on, confrontation was the best way to handle this.

"What do you mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and feigning innocence before holding the door open for her so she could leave, an unusually nice gesture on his part. That just confirmed her suspicions that there was a reason why they were chatting.

She looked down, "You know what I mean."

"I really don't," he shrugged, and he mentally congratulated himself. This was a good lie, he was doing a good job. If she suspected anything right now, she would blame it on something else. He couldn't let her catch on, couldn't let her know this was a bet. If she did, then Edison Miller would be the laughing stock of the school, because Jerome prided himself in taking revenge.

"I don't think your girlfriend would approve of you talking to the freak," Patricia explained distastefully, and she realized that he was walking with her as she walked home. Was he just being nice or did he live somewhere near her? She hadn't familiarized herself with the neighborhood yet, but she desperately hoped it wasn't the latter.

"Who cares?" Eddie shrugged, surprised at how honest he felt as he said it. Who cares? Being with Amber was great- it was wonderful, but she was honestly a bit ditzy sometimes, and even though she was cute…she just wasn't his type.

Patricia didn't have anything to say to that, so they just went on walking in an uncomfortable silence. She wanted to push him away, wanted to say "get lost because I don't want you here." It was what she usually did, shut herself off. Maybe that was why she hadn't had any luck at finding friends in any of her schools. Although, who needed friends? Honestly, what could they do for you?

And besides, "get lost because I don't want you here" was only something she could say at home, she wasn't that bold with classmates. Being bold drew attention, she had figured that out in middle school, and Patricia just wanted to get through this year under the radar. It was better for everyone, really.

"So, you're Patricia, right?" Eddie clarified. He knew she was Patricia, Joy had announced it, but he needed to make conversation. Patricia nodded dully, and Eddie sighed, knowing getting a worthy reaction out of her wasn't going to happen anytime soon. The two continued on, Eddie kicking at a rock and Patricia walking just a bit faster, as if she wanted to leave him behind.

"Why don't you ever talk in school?" Eddie asked, looking up from the pavement and turning to face the girl. She looked up as well, and Eddie took the time to analyze her features. If she didn't put as much eyeliner on and didn't wear the clothes she did and didn't keep her hair in her face all the time as if she wanted to hide, she could actually have the looks to be considered popular. "Seriously, everybody thinks you're all weird because you don't ever say anything to anyone and you dress like that."

"How I dress is none of your business," Patricia muttered. "And even if I didn't dress like this, people still wouldn't hang out with me."

"How do you know?"

"Why do you care? You're popular, remember?"

"What, just because I'm popular means I can't care?"

"Pretty much," she confirmed, and Eddie looked down, a tad ashamed. Did everyone feel this way at school? That if you weren't popular, you weren't anything?

"So, how did you come here?" Eddie asked, the awkward silence getting to him.

"…I walked?" Patricia answered his stupid question in a confused manner.

Eddie rolled his eyes, "I meant your backstory, fr-Patricia." He quickly corrected himself, but she knew what he meant to say. She knew something was up now. If it wasn't obvious before, it was now.

"Who put you up to this?" Patricia looked him in the eye, her green ones burning with intensity. "Your mum, asking you to help out the poor little newbie? Your asshole friends, trying to make me spill so they can have a new rumor to pass around?" Patricia mentally face palmed, so much for staying under the radar. It just angered her, this whole thing- Eddie had an ulterior motive, and she wanted to know what it was. She was not going to be left in the dark, not anymore. Eddie sighed, looking around as if it would help him come up with an excuse. He saw his house, barren and desolate because his mom was out with some guy like always. Eddie sometimes wondered if it got awkward between his parents- he lived with his mom whenever she wasn't on a date, and his dad lived about twenty minutes away. The two had divorced and thrown Eddie between the two houses so often he felt like an unwanted hot potato. His dad was the principal of the school, but it was a secret, and nobody knew. Not Amber, not Mick, and certainly not Jerome.

"Nobody put me up to this!" he exclaimed after a while, but he knew it was wrong to say it now. Patricia was more perceptive than a lot of people, she wasn't like Amber, who you could trick in a second. The long pause he had taken before denying her doubts was proof enough that she was right.

"Yeah, right," Patricia scoffed, holding on to the strap of her bag before stepping past him and to the mailbox of the house right next to his. Eddie almost groaned, Patricia was his neighbor. His mom had driven him to school this morning, so Patricia must've departed before him if she walked in order to get to school on time. Most days, however, Eddie's mom was too busy to drive him, meaning that Eddie would have to walk. And if Patricia walked as well, what if they bumped into each other? He could not handle another awkward time with her, it was pretty clear she hated his guts already. And if they did see each other but didn't acknowledge the other, then that would make it even more awkward.

However, Eddie tried to look at the situation in a positive way. He could get closer to her and eventually ask her on a date, and boom! That would be the end of this bet, and Eddie would walk away praised and rich. But if people saw them, what would they assume? Eddie's reputation was very important to him.

Honestly, he had been ready to wing it and just ask her on a date, and she would say yes like every other girl. But he obviously couldn't do that now.

"Why do you do that?" he called out to her, surprising himself and her, but she turned around anyways, clutching envelopes, a look of defense already gracing her face. He sighed, knowing he should've shut up earlier, but he couldn't stop now. "Why do you push people away? Why do you scare them off, huh?" Patricia's face remained blank though, emotionless as she shook her head and walked to her front door.

And so Eddie dug out his key and opened the front door to his house. It was all he could do right now.