DISCLAIMER: I don't own House of Anubis.

"Welcome!" It was only a minute after Patricia had stepped through the doorway of the Millers house, and she was already being engulfed in a hug. Her first instinct was to pull back, but she quickly caught her mother's eye and sighed, hesitantly patting Ms. Miller on the back in return. The scent of some strong perfume washed over her, and Patricia wrinkled her nose, finally stepping away and giving the lady a slight smile. Ms. Miller didn't even notice though, having already grabbed Piper in a similar hug.

"You ladies look lovely," Ms. Miller complimented them, and Patricia looked down at her dress. It was the same one she had tried on yesterday, and it still felt uncomfortable on her. Piper had said she looked great, but Patricia couldn't really trust Piper's words. The girl would've said anything to keep her in a dress.

Apparently, it was that kind of occasion where they had to dress up- Piper was in a dress similar to Patricia's, just in green rather than red. It kind of bugged her actually- why did Piper have to wear almost the exact same dress? She was setting them up for comparison- a 'who wore it best' of sorts. And Patricia hated being compared to Piper.

She looked around as Ms. Miller and her mum exchanged greeting, eyes landing on Eddie, who hadn't made any move to greet them. Which Patricia was fine with, actually- she didn't need to talk to Eddie. Piper's assumption that Patricia had a 'crush' on him had her on edge- she didn't want to say or do anything that might further convince Piper of it. She didn't even know how Piper could even assume such a thing. It was as if Patricia didn't verbally say she hated someone or something, then Piper immediately thought she loved them. It was exactly why Patricia didn't share her personal life with her twin.

"Eddie?" Ms. Miller beckoned him over, and Eddie obeyed, looking up at Piper. Patricia narrowed her eyes. The way Eddie stood- angled away from her- that had to mean something. Patricia hadn't expected Eddie to look at her and her only, but this was different. It was almost as if he was ignoring her, trying not to look at her. Patricia racked her brain for anything she might've done recently to make him behave like this, but she drew a blank. Maybe she had subtly talked about the bet and disobeyed their deal, but Eddie physically looking away from her was a bit extreme.

"Well, Mrs. Williamson and I will be in the kitchen," Eddie's mum said, and the two ladies laughed at something as they made their way into the next room. Patricia rolled her eyes- this was how it always was. What neither mother seemed to realize was that just because the three were the same age, didn't mean they got along.

Patricia glanced over at Piper, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Uh, could you give me a moment?" Piper asked, already hurrying into the kitchen before either Patricia or Eddie could object.

Eddie was ignoring Patricia.

He had to.

He couldn't look at Patricia- he had spent all of last night trying to forget that he had called her pretty, and then when he had realized the dinner was a fancy occasion, he figured Patricia would be wearing the dress.

And he didn't want to go through the mental turmoil he had gone through last night.

So, if he didn't look at her in that dress, then he wouldn't have to remember that he had thought she was pretty. It was a good plan until Piper decided to go off to the kitchen, leaving the two alone.

Great.

Eddie turned to her, focusing on his feet instead of talking. He didn't know Patricia handled it- awkward silences and such. She was never the one to start a conversation- she just sat there and listened, pitching in when needed but otherwise laying off. Apparently, she did it at lunch too- Eddie hadn't been to lunch a lot because he was eating with his dad, but KT had informed him of her behavior.

And now they were stuck here, Patricia not saying a word and Eddie shying away from her.

This was going to be a fun night.

Piper giggled slightly as she thought of her plan. Patricia's crush on Eddie was totally obvious, and being the amazing twin sister Piper was, she had quickly concocted a plan to get them together. Patricia had never really mentioned any guys to her, so Piper figured Eddie was probably the first one she had ever liked. And Piper was determined to make their relationship happen- Patricia could deny the truth, but one day, they'd both be thanking her.

"Ms. Miller?" Piper peeked into the kitchen and the lady looked up, beaming.

"Yes?" Eddie's mum asked, and Piper bit her lip shyly. How was she going to explain this, that Patricia had a massive crush on Eddie but was just ignoring her feelings? How was she going to explain that she had taken it upon herself to get those two together? A worried frown crossed her face- she should've thought about this more.

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Williamson asked, seeing the concern on her daughter's face. "Piper?"

She had to do this. For Patricia. Piper took a deep breath, "Ms. Miller, do you have any mistletoe?"

"Does Piper know?" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them and Eddie mentally insulted himself. Why would he say that? He should've just stayed quiet- and if he wanted to talk, he should've just mentioned casual things like the weather. Now he was going against the deal and now he was looking towards her for an answer- because he actually was curious for one- and now he was seeing the dress. And just like last night, it still looked nice. Patricia still looked pretty, and he found himself wanting her to go back to loose tops and colored jeans and weird skirts because those were normal and he was used to seeing her in those.

"About what?" Patricia scoffed, but recognition was clear in her eyes.

"About…you know," Eddie gestured. He wanted her to talk about that night first- then he would still be abiding the rules of their deal. Patricia knew what he was talking about, but unlike lunch the other day, she didn't feel like talking now.

"No," Patricia muttered, a clipped, short, curt answer. One that brought on another wave of silence. But now Eddie had something to think about: why wouldn't Patricia tell her own twin? Weren't twins supposed to tell each other everything and be best friends? And yes, Patricia did often block herself off from others, but Piper? Her own sister? Did Piper even know anything about what had happened recently?

Probably not.

Ms. Miller's eyes widened, "Mistletoe?"

"For Eddie and Patricia," Piper clarified, and Mrs. Williamson looked up, confused. Last time she had checked, Patricia hated the boy. The few times she had mentioned him had all been complaints, and now Piper was saying she liked him?

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Williamson asked nervously. "I didn't realize Patricia felt that way about Eddie."

"Eddie hasn't mentioned her," Ms. Miller nodded in agreement, but Piper simply grinned.

"Yes, but mum, you know Patricia. She won't come out and tell us anything. Besides, I'm her twin. It's my job to know these kind of things." Her eyes darted between the two, her plan already coming together. Unlike Patricia, Piper was actually quite fond of the belief in true love. She did think that sparks would fly between people who loved each other- she had yet to find her own boyfriend, but helping Patricia get one was kind of the same, right? Maybe karma would treat her and soon enough, she'd have someone to kiss too.

"That is true," her mum nodded along, and Ms. Miller donned a sly smirk.

"I do have mistletoe," she admitted. "I haven't put it up in ages though. I suppose I could today…" Piper beamed, whispering thanks and looking out the room at Patricia and Eddie, who were standing in silence.

Probably because they were too shy to talk to each other.

That had to be it.

"Piper, where are we going?" Patricia whined. After Piper had come back from the kitchen, Ms. Miller had called Eddie in. Patricia should've been suspicious then and there, but frankly, she was just glad Eddie was gone. Why couldn't he have just stayed quiet? She didn't need to explain her reasoning about why she hadn't told Piper- not to him, not to anybody. And now her sister was edging her towards the kitchen, claiming they needed help with the food.

Piper giggled slightly, "Just trust me." Patricia grumbled under her breath, letting Piper lead her outside the door to the kitchen. She gave her twin a questioning look, but Piper didn't say anything, watching as Ms. Miller steered her son towards Patricia until the two were face to face again. Patricia's face turned emotionless and Eddie looked down at his shoes once more.

"Guys?" Piper chuckled slightly, pointing up above the two. Eddie and Patricia both looked up before exchanging glances, for once thinking the same exact thing as the green leaves hang above them.

No.

Oh no.

Patricia panicked, suddenly realizing what had happened. Piper had tricked her, Piper was still under the impression Patricia had a 'crush' on Eddie, and she seemed to have spread her theory to Ms. Miller, who was beaming behind Eddie. Eddie locked eyes with her, looking nervous, not moving at all. If she was anybody else, he wouldn't have minded- a kiss was a kiss, nothing more, nothing less. It didn't mean anything if he didn't want it to.

But Patricia on the other hand- she couldn't kiss Eddie. One, she didn't like him- which was enough argument in her mind. But if she did kiss him, she would be giving her first kiss away. Yes, nobody had ever kissed her. She hadn't exactly told people she'd never been kissed, so people had just figured she had. By now, she should've been. Besides, a first kiss was supposed to be special- she didn't want to be wasting it on Eddie, who had kissed so many girls he'd have to use his toes to count.

"Go ahead," Ms. Miller laughed and Patricia's mum appeared alongside her. Her jaw dropped- her own mother helped plan this? "Kiss!" Eddie bit his lip- it was just a kiss, that was it. He'd kissed many girls before- so what was one ore? He could just pretend she was someone else. He leaned closer, closing his eyes and puckering up.

But when nobody's lips touched his, he opened his eyes to see the cheers had died down and all that was left was a familiar redhead heading up the stairs as if she had lived here her whole life.

"Patricia!" Piper called, making her way to the stairs before turning around. She could still save this- maybe kissing had been a little too extreme. Patricia obviously wanted to go slow- talking was slow enough, right? She and Eddie could talk about their feelings and Patricia would realize there was no shame in liking him. "Eddie, would you mind getting her?"

Yes. I mind very much. Why can't you talk to her? She's your sister. She'll hate me. She'll think I had something to do with this.

But now his mom's stare was boring into him, and Piper's pleading eyes were following his every move.

"Okay. I'll go."