DISCLAIMER: I don't own House of Anubis.

Patricia paused, hand curled into a fist and ready to knock on the bathroom door. She doubted Eddie was really going to the bathroom- he was probably just sitting there and trying to avoid her. He still had an hour before his mum came home, and he was obviously planning to spend it alone. And as much as she wanted to say he was overreacting, she couldn't. She had approached a sensitive topic, and even she recognized that.

But he deserved it, didn't he? What was one comment opposed to a bet? She had been a victim of a week's worth of teasing and torturing and of Eddie pretending to be the good guy. In the end, it had all crumbled. One hurtful comment about his father could not hold a candle to all that.

Nevertheless, Patricia was pretty sure Piper was watching her, so she couldn't go back and say she had apologized when she really hadn't. She sighed before finally knocking.

Eddie scrambled out in a short amount of time, and she stood back, waiting for him to say something as their eyes locked. Patricia knew he had probably expected her mother or Piper, but no, she had come to apologize. It was something she didn't do often, so it was hard to force the words 'I'm sorry' out of her mouth when he should be the one saying that to her.

"Oh," he finally muttered, looking down at his shoes. "Did you, uh, need to use the bathroom or something?"

"No," Patricia admitted, crossing her arms. "I guess I...kind of owe you an apology." The words felt bitter on her tongue- why was she apologizing? He should be groveling at his knees for her forgiveness; he was the cause of all of this. "So," she gulped before gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes to brace herself. "I guess…I'm sorry." When Eddie didn't say anything, she opened her eyes to gauge his reaction.

Eddie looked a little lost and majorly confused as she spoke. Was that a tinge of guilt in his eyes? "Did Piper make you say that?"

Patricia scowled but didn't answer, probably giving Eddie the confirmation he needed.

"Look," Eddie sighed, catching on to her bitter manner. "About that night-" Patricia's eyes widened in alarm and she quickly pressed a finger to his lips before realizing what she was doing. Eddie was looking down at her finger, but he made no move to take it off his lips. It was Patricia who did that, awkwardly stuffing her hand in her pocket.

"Piper's probably watching us," Patricia whispered. "And she can probably hear us too." The last thing she needed was her twin knowing about this bet- there would be endless hours of questioning and countless days of reliving and retelling if Piper knew.

Eddie raised an eyebrow, and Patricia twisted one of her bracelets to distract herself. She did want to talk about that night, but at the same time, she didn't want to hear his explanations. He had played her and acted like a friend and that was all there was to it.

However, she also wanted her apology. Some part of her wanted to put this all behind and just forget about Eddie Miller. Some part of her wanted to be able to walk the halls with him and just think of him as another classmate, a neighbor, an acquaintance at most. But she knew that would never happen, whether he apologized or not. To her, he would always be a liar.

"Let's go in this room," Patricia finally let out a small sigh, beckoning for him to come into the downstairs bedroom. She sat down on the bed and tried to make herself as small as possible, carefully outlining the distance Eddie had to preserve between them.

"Well?" she looked up once Eddie didn't say anything.

"Right," Eddie nodded, sitting down as well. "Do you mind if I start from the beginning?" Patricia shook her head.

"Okay," he started. "So, it all started a couple weeks back when Jerome and Mick came over. We were playing Truth or Dare, and Jerome dared me to get you to go out with me. And then it became a bet." He paused to see her reaction, and Patricia fought to remain emotionless. "And, I don't know, I just…agreed. And so I tried to get close to you, start with being a friend. But you obviously knew something was up. So…that day that we held up signs, I asked you to go out with me because I wanted to get the bet over with. I just didn't feel like going through with it anymore, you know? And then you said no, so when we went to the party, I just lied and said you were my date." He breathed out a sigh of relief.

Patricia looked down, thinking. It hadn't sounded like he was particularly fond of the bet, but that didn't mean much considering he had still accepted it. The words tumbled out of her, "Why would you do that? I mean, you weren't my friend. Not even close," she clarified quietly, not raising her voice but keeping it firm and stern. She wanted to stop talking, but some sliver of her was urging her on. Speak your mind, Patricia. It was the only way she was going to get answers. "But," she sighed. "You weren't who I thought you'd be either."

Eddie raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, stunned by this rare show of feeling. Patricia took the chance to keep talking, mostly to herself, "I was stupid to think that maybe one of you popular people were actually half decent." It was a comment full of resent and regret but actually one of the best compliments Patricia gave out- 'half decent' was probably the nicest thing she had ever said to him.

Patricia waited for him to say something, and after a while, Eddie finally did. "You know, I used to think you didn't have feelings." She looked up and scoffed, and he rushed to correct himself. "Like, I knew you had feelings, it's just you never showed them." He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, "So I just kind of forgot they were there."

Patricia remained silent, not sure what to say. Eddie mumbled a couple last words, "And I'm sorry." That was it- that was the apology she had been waiting for, thinking it'd make everything better.

But it didn't.

A moment of silence passed, full of contemplation. Patricia wasn't sure what to say or what to do, but she knew the truth.

"I don't know whether I forgive you or not," she finally admitted. "I don't know if I can." Eddie nodded as if he was expecting the answer, and Patricia continued, much to her surprise. It was as if she didn't have any control over what she wanted to say, and while she hated that, it also gave her the chance to say things she wouldn't normally and let them off her chest. "I tried to be bolder," she started. "That's why I made that comment." She bit the inside of her cheek, "Guess I should just stick to being quiet, yeah?"

"No," Eddie answered, surprising both himself and Patricia. "You- you shouldn't let people push you around." Eddie sighed, thinking of middle school, a time before he met Amber. Fabian and he hadn't been the most liked in school, and it was only after he became popular that he finally got respected. And maybe he had been the one to strike the hardest blow against Patricia, but he was also the one who knew most that she didn't deserve it. This girl he had come to know…was she that nice? That friendly? That open? No.

But that night he had figured something out, while her finger jabbed at his chest.

She had feelings. Maybe he hadn't fully acknowledged them before, but that didn't mean they weren't there. The fire in her eyes as she fumed, the looks of regret she sent him when their eyes locked- maybe she was a master of hiding her emotions, seeming uncaring because it was beneficial in the end. Eddie supposed he couldn't really criticize, considering he was the tiniest bit similar.

Patricia was silent for a while before finally outstretching her hand. "How about we make a deal? I'm not going to forgive and neither of us are going to forget…but maybe we can…pretend like nothing happened?"

"We could go on with our lives," Eddie nodded, understanding what she was saying. "Without talking, without being near each other."

"No ties between us," Patricia continued.

"We won't be mean to each other," Eddie said, remembering her promise to ruin his life. Patricia rolled her eyes, but it looked as if she was taking back the threat. "But we won't be friends either."

"We'll be nice to each other when we need to," Patricia finally finished, and Eddie shook her hand. What the two had just come up with was a way to avoid each other, only thinking about each other during appropriate times, like if Patricia came over for dinner again at the Miller's. They could lead independent lives and pretend as if they were never connected, as if they were simply neighbors that said 'hi' to each other when suitable but nothing more. It was a good deal simply because it gave them both a chance to move in- Patricia didn't want to think about him whenever she put a bobby pin in her hair and Eddie didn't want to think about her whenever he wrote on his whiteboard.

"So," Eddie scratched the back of his neck as he checked his phone for the time. It was nearing 9:00 and he needed to get back home. "I guess this is it." Patricia raised an eyebrow at his word choice, but Eddie ignored it. He stood up and she mimicked.

"You're not a freak, Patricia," he muttered, lightly patting her on the back. It was a friendly gesture that Patricia wasn't used to.

"And you're not a complete asshole," she shrugged, lightening the mood. Was she actually joking with him about this?

Eddie gave a light chuckle before making his way to the door, "See you at school tomorrow."

"See you."

And once he left, Patricia flopped down on the bed. No more Eddie Miller. No more Eddie Miller.

She felt better than she had in days.

THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY.

It's more like a break; an intermission, a part one and then the next series of chapters will be a part two. But it is far from over yet, so keep reading please.