DISCLAIMER: I don't own House of Anubis.
Thank you for the amazing reviews last chapter! I hope this lives up to your expectations; it's mostly Eddie settling into his new status. Willow, Mara, Alfie, and Nina are introduced as well, so I hope I did a good job of keeping them in character.
"Hi, Eddie," his mom greeted as he walked into the house, feeling empty and isolated. But her voice was too sharp, her tone too insincere, for it to be a friendly statement. Ms. Miller lounged on their couch, legs crossed and eating ice cream out of the tub. She licked the spoon clean before setting the container on a nearby table and talking again. "Your father called."
Eddie sighed, not wanting to hear this now. His day had just gone from bad to worse, and a lecture was the last thing he needed. His mom continued, "And he said that you weren't there. But I thought, no, he has to be, right? Because I gave him my car to drive and I trusted him to go to his father's house like we agreed. So, Eric waited for you to show up, because maybe something had gone wrong." She gave him a long, pointed look. "But nothing went wrong, did it?"
"Mom, I-"
"Eric was heartbroken, thinking his own son didn't want to spend time with him. Care to explain, Eddie?"
He gulped, "I was at the party."
"I figured as much," Ms. Miller nodded, not even looking that angry, just upset. Unhappy that she couldn't trust her own son. She sighed, "You're usually such a good boy, Eddie. What's been going on?"
"Nothing," Eddie quickly avoided the question, because if he told her about one detail, he would feel compelled to share them all. And if he did that, his own mother would feel disgusted by him, by the fact that he would play with people like he had. Ms. Miller raised an eyebrow and he corrected himself, "It's complicated."
"Well," she said, standing up and placing the ice cream away. "I hope this isn't: you're grounded. One month, you go straight to school and come straight back home, and if you want to go anywhere on weekends, I have to approve and I'll be the one driving you." Eddie nodded dully, not in the mood to argue.
"It's not like I'll even have anyone to hang out with," he muttered, yet Ms. Miller caught it.
"What about your friends? Uh, Jerome and Nick?"
"Mick," Eddie corrected. "And nah, I don't think they're going to want to hang out anytime soon."
"That's too bad," Ms. Miller shrugged. "I quite liked Jerome." Eddie snorted- Jerome was the type to put on an act in front of adults; he seemed sweet and innocent, if not a little conniving, until anyone got to know him. "Oh, Eddie?"
"Yeah?" he looked up.
"The Williamsons were over an hour ago, asking about their daughter, Patricia. Do you know where she went?" The question was innocent, but to Eddie, it felt as if someone was mocking him by asking. Yes, he knew where she was. Yes, he knew where she had gone.
"I just saw them pull up," Eddie confessed. "I think they found her. Night, Mom."
"Night, honey," she called, her voice faint as Eddie traveled further up the stairs and into his room. He collapsed on his bed, checking the time. It wasn't normally when he would go to sleep, but he was overwhelmed and that made him tired. He peered out his window curiously, hoping to check on Patricia. It was stupid of him to even think about looking at her anymore, but he did genuinely feel bad about what he did.
But there was a sign taped to her window, words written in thick black marker.
This window is out of service.
He almost found it funny before remembering why it was there in the first place. The events came rushing back as he closed his curtains- that didn't need to be the first thing he saw the next morning.
Sunday passed uneventfully. Though his mom had mentioned she could drive him somewhere, Eddie didn't need to be anywhere. There was no Amber to please, and no Mick to play sports with, and no Jerome to prank with. There wasn't even a Joy to talk to.
He debated calling KT, since he figured they had gotten along pretty well before and they could relate now, but quickly dismissed the idea. KT probably felt more than a little tired of him- Eddie, like everyone else, hadn't really stopped Amber when she kicked KT out. And besides, didn't KT hang out with Patricia and Fabian now? She definitely wouldn't side with Eddie.
Fabian himself was off the list; ever since the talk in the library he had regarded Eddie as some kind of disgusting piece of trash. And anyone else Eddie might've remotely known, he wasn't comfortable calling. For someone who used to be so popular, his list of friends was limited.
And so he spent his Sunday carefully counting out a hundred pounds, Patricia's voice ringing in his head.
I hope the money was worth it, Eddie.
Word had spread.
He didn't know how Amber and Joy had managed to contact everybody, but Monday morning, every student knew he was out. Suddenly, Eddie was the one who navigated the halls with his head down and sat at the back of the classroom as everyone shot him dirty looks. It didn't seem like anyone even knew Patricia had been involved though- nobody was looking at her weirdly. Some people simply didn't seem to care about what had happened between him and Amber, figuring it was a temporary thing. Because of that, he made it through his morning classes fairly easily, remaining quiet unless he was called on.
But now it was lunchtime.
Sitting with KT wasn't an option- Patricia and Fabian sat with her. And all three of them didn't really like him at the moment. But where else could he sit? Even though he knew almost everybody in this school, half of them hated him because of his actions as a popular, and half of them didn't really know him well enough to let him sit at their table.
"Could I, uh, sit here?" He finally chanced it and approached a girl with strawberry-blonde hair, who nodded eagerly and scooted over. Her three friends sat around her, but they looked so different it seemed as the only way they could've been grouped was because they all were outcasts.
"I'm Willow," she greeted after a moment of silence, outstretching her hand in a formal manner, yet giggling when he shook it. "That's Alfie," she pointed to a dark-skinned boy. "He likes aliens." He waved slightly, and Alfie smiled in return. "That's Mara; she's smart. And that's Nina; she's giving off bad vibes." Willow shook her head sadly as she looked towards Nina, who raised an eyebrow.
"I'm Eddie," he introduced, which was met with silence. They knew who he was; everybody in this school knew who he was. More awkward silence followed his greeting, and he began doubting his decision to sit here.
"So what's up with all the rumors?" Willow finally burst. "I'm not getting bad vibes from you…you seem nice."
"I made some mistakes," he muttered, unwrapping his sandwich. Mara and Alfie had quickly ignored him and began a conversation over what sounded like alien existence. Nina was alternating between staring down at her salad and Fabian's table, and Willow leaned towards him slightly before whispering.
"Nina's sad because she and her boyfriend broke up," Willow remarked before looking off at a nearby table. "And it looks like Fabian's already moved on." Eddie followed her line of sight to see Patricia and KT on either side of Fabian, laughing and talking animatedly. Sure, Patricia looked a little subdued, but other than that, she was fine. She was…smiling. Maybe not as wide as KT and maybe not as happily as Fabian, but still.
Eddie watched as Nina excused herself from the table- she had obviously heard Willow talking. Mara and Alfie looked up as she left, and then turned to grin at Eddie.
"Hey," Alfie said, way more enthusiastic than before. Eddie raised an eyebrow at the behavioral change before looking to Mara.
She grinned, "We've been trying to be supportive of Nina, you know? Bringing another guy into the group is kind of like replacing Fabian. Sorry about the rude welcome." Eddie smiled- he could do this. No one at this table seemed to care what he had done.
Willow leaned over the table. "So, who do you think he's moved on to?" she asked curiously, innocently.
"Uh, KT, maybe?" Alfie speculated, looking over. "They look close."
Mara bit her lip, "But KT used to be one of the popular people. You know how- oh, sorry, Eddie." She looked down sheepishly.
"It was my fault," Eddie admitted. Maybe he could set some people straight about what had happened, give them his view point? Sure, nobody would particularly listen to Willow, Mara, and Alfie, but it would be nice having someone on his side.
"How so?" Willow asked.
No, he couldn't tell people what had happened- they would all hate him, and Willow, Mara, and Alfie would kick him out from the table and he would have to eat in the library. They might not care what happened between the popular people, but bringing Patricia into it had been wrong and even they would agree. Eddie shrugged nonchalantly, "I just…did some things I'm not proud of, you know?"
Alfie nodded, "Jerome was involved?"
Eddie looked up in surprise, "Yeah, how'd you know?"
The normally fun boy looked slightly bitter as he now talked. "Used to be his best friend; Lewis and Clarke. Now it's just Clarke." He looked wistful as he watched the popular table, where Jerome looked dreadfully out of place, quiet as Amber made extravagant hand gestures and Mick and Joy talked.
Eddie turned to Alfie once more, who was being comforted by Willow. Nina still hadn't returned and Mara was glancing anxiously at the lunchroom door. At their table, Patricia, Fabian, and KT had started a steady conversation, laughing and smiling and eating.
And it was in that moment, surrounded by at least a hundred people, did Eddie feel alone.
Patricia was nervous. She was definitely nervous as to what KT and Fabian would think of her new side. Actually, it wasn't particularly new as it was simply unknown to them. They'd always known her as quiet and bitter, but they'd still sat with her at lunch and talked. In return, Patricia figured she should consult them about her experiment to see if actually being her true self was a good idea.
"Hey," she greeted nervously, setting down her tray.
"Hey," KT said. "Did you hear what happened with Eddie and Amber?" Patricia raised an eyebrow- she knew the story was going around, but wasn't sure she was included or if it was even the truth. So far, it was mainly revolved around why Eddie got kicked out of his exclusive group of friends- neither Patricia nor the bet were even mentioned.
Patricia sighed as she sat down, "I was there."
Fabian's head shot up, "You got involved with him."
Patricia immediately got defensive, "I didn't get involved with anybody. Maybe I was a bit stupid, but I was not on a date with him and he did not cheat on Amber with me. The only reason he dragged me to that party was on a-"
"Bet," Fabian finished. KT looked confused as her eyes darted in between the Brits, if not surprised at how easily Patricia was willing to talk. "I told you not to trust him."
"And I didn't," Patricia shot back. "And it's not like you told me exactly what was going on, Fabian." She glared at him but internally reprimanded herself. She had possessed doubts on Eddie, so she couldn't pin this problem down on Fabian. "But after…all that…I, was, uh, thinking. And I don't think I've been completely honest with you guys."
KT raised an eyebrow, "How so?"
Patricia sighed, "You know how when you do something and get in trouble, you usually don't do it again?" Both KT and Fabian nodded. "Well, for me, that was talking. I was always getting in trouble for saying what I wanted. So I shut up. But…I think I've given people here the wrong image. They think that because I don't talk to them, I won't object to being pushed around." She paused, trying to figure out how to phrase this. "And I don't want to be pushed around."
"So, what are you saying?" Fabian asked. "You're going to start talking more?"
"Yeah," Patricia smiled. Small grins lit Fabian's and KT's face, as if they were waiting for something like this. She felt overjoyed herself, overjoyed that they were actually rooting for her like this. "You would not believe how many times I wanted to talk back to Amber."
KT laughed, "Oh, I can imagine…"
"Edison Miller to the principal's office," Mr. Sweet announced over the intercom. Several people eyed him suspiciously as he made his way out the door of his English classroom. The halls were empty as expected and Eddie's mind went into overdrive.
"Ah, Edison," his father greeted, peering over his glasses. Eddie rolled his eyes; his father always looked surprised to see him, even though it was he who had called him down in the first place. "Please, do sit."
Eddie cautiously sat down, "Look, before you say anything, I'm sorry. I should've been at your place like we had agreed." He genuinely did feel sorry- and besides, if he had gone to Eric's house and not the party, none of this would have happened. Sure, maybe he would still have the bet hanging over his head but the positives outweighed the negatives. If he hadn't gone to the party last night, Amber might still be his girlfriend, he would still be cool, he wouldn't be grounded, his father wouldn't be heartbroken, and Patricia wouldn't be out to get him.
Maybe there would be normalcy in his life had he not gone.
"Your mother tells me you were at a party?" Eric intruded, though his eyes showed a certain level of disappointment in Eddie, ditching him for something like that.
"Yeah," Eddie grimaced. "It…that was a bad decision. I should've been at your house."
Eric nodded, "Shall we reschedule? I'm free this upcoming Saturday."
"Sure," Eddie shrugged. "I'm free every day now actually."
Handing Jerome the money passed quickly and discreetly and easier than Eddie had anticipated. Luckily, Jerome had cornered him after last period and Eddie had parted with his hundred pounds in a way nobody else could see.
Now, Eddie walked home. He had looked around for Patricia before setting off- he didn't want to encounter her on the way, unlike most days. She was well in front of him, hair bouncing on her backpack as she walked, boots stamping the sidewalk. Eddie sighed- one part of him wanted to constantly apologize to her and the other wanted to pretend it had never happened. One sliver of him even wanted to ignore her and see what she did- she how she 'ruined his life'. It couldn't exactly get worse than this.
Once he was inside his room, safe and sound from his mother's endless questions, he let himself relax. It was going to be okay. This would all blow over. He had made new friends…if Willow, Mara, Alfie, and the disappearing Nina could be counted as friends. He would make it.
And then he looked out his window at the paper taped on Patricia's.
How does it feel, huh?
No way was he letting him get the best of her. Eddie grabbed a piece of paper and his own black marker, sticking up his sign with some tape.
Terrific.