DISCLAIMER: I don't own House of Anubis.
Eddie looked over at Patricia, who was twiddling her thumbs. She looked awkward and he frowned- it wasn't supposed to be awkward, he was supposed to be getting her force field down. How could he do that if they couldn't even talk to each other?
"We can, you know, talk about you and Piper if you-" Eddie started. He had basically ranted his feelings, so now would be a good time to talk about her life, right? And if she did talk, that would mean one step closer to bringing down her force field. It might help him get his mind off things, though he severely doubted she would say anything about the topic. Patricia didn't seem to trust easily.
And of course, her sharp answer cut through his question, "No." Patricia glared at him and Eddie put his hands up in mock surrender. Her look softened, but Patricia didn't make any move to start a conversation. Was he supposed to start something? How could he just switch topics after a discussion like that? Luckily, someone broke the silence.
"Hey, Patricia, was someone at the- oh. Eddie." Piper's eyes narrowed as she walked into the room. Eddie gave her a small wave and her eyes drifted from him, to his suitcase, and back at Patricia. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out, almost as if she was wondering whether to say hello or tell him to beat it. But Patricia had said it was okay, so Piper gave him a quick smile, "Hi." The word was short and tight and Eddie returned it in a light tone. Piper gestured towards the suitcase, "Are you…staying over or something?"
"No," Eddie said, but didn't elaborate. Piper seemed practical and if he told her what was going on, she'd probably tell his mom somehow. Besides, if he was right and Patricia was the one always coming in second, Piper wouldn't get it. Nothing against the girl, but Patricia was probably the one who would truly understand. Eddie looked at Patricia, who was eyeing Piper a tad enviously in light of the previous conversation. Her feelings of being second best had returned.
But at the same time, Patricia felt kind of warmed- Eddie hadn't explained to Piper what he meant. When he had been feeling down, he had talked to her. He had confided in Patricia when he probably had a million other people to look for comfort in.
And that…for someone who never seemed good enough…that meant something. She wasn't sure what, but it meant something.
"Does mum know he's here?" Piper asked her, and Patricia shrugged. Their mother wouldn't mind, right?
"He's our next door neighbor," Patricia rolled her eyes, remembering how eager her mother would be that Patricia was making friends. "Mum won't care."
Eddie gave a nervous smile and decided to crack a joke to lighten the mood. He wanted these people to like him- now that Patricia was over the bet, Piper seemed to be holding a grudge. Winning over this family was near impossible, but he was trying, "Don't worry, I'm not going to murder you." He said to Piper in a mock assuring tone, grinning. Piper looked a little amused but rolled her eyes anyway, quickly leaving. Eddie looked over to Patricia, who had given a quiet snort and was smiling at the joke, probably thinking of Freddy Krueger once more. Eddie found himself beaming too- he had made Patricia smile, the same tiny smile that he had seen last night when she was sleeping. She looked a lot prettier when she smiled- happier, full of life.
"Why don't you smile more often?" he muttered, thinking Patricia wouldn't hear him. But when she looked up and raised an eyebrow, it was clear she knew what Eddie had said.
"What?" she asked, but she seemed more curious than offended. Eddie thought of playing it off as if he hadn't said anything, but dismissed the idea once he looked Patricia in the eye. It seemed she wasn't about to let this go.
"Why," Eddie started, "don't you smile more often?" He was hesitant as he said it, awaiting some sort of reaction. Patricia looked confused at the question and he elaborated slightly, "I mean, like…you…look…nicer when you smile. Not that you don't look nice when you're not smiling, if that makes sense…" his point was hard to make when he was trying so hard not to offend her. Patricia opened her mouth to answer, but look conflicted as to what to say. What was one to say to that? It didn't look like Eddie was insulting her or anything, but sometimes, she could never tell. It almost looked as if he had called her pretty in the subtlest way possible.
"I don't know," Eddie continued. "And sometimes…it feels like you're…two different people."
"Two different people?" Patricia echoed stupidly, not understanding what he meant.
"Yeah, like, most times you're really quiet and you don't talk about anything, and then when you get angry or anything…you kind of explode," Eddie scratched the back of his neck meekly. "So? Which one are you?"
"I- I guess I'm…" Patricia started, amazed at how dead on he was. She was constantly flitting between two different personalities, but wasn't everyone? Sure, she had become more open since coming to this school, but she couldn't let go of so many years of staying under the radar so quickly. "I don't know which one I am."
Eddie nodded, unsatisfied by the answer, mind returning to his mom and her boyfriend once the conversation finished. He frowned a little bit- they weren't engaged, so he shouldn't even be suspecting anything, but they were talking about it, right? Which meant Eddie might be having a new father soon.
Father.
"Uh, I'm going to call my dad to come pick me up," Eddie said, gesturing to his phone as he got up and dialed the number. How would Eric feel about his ex-wife's potential fiancé? Eddie wouldn't mention it yet.
The call ended fairly quickly, Eddie mentioning he was at the neighbor's house and Eric agreeing to come by early to pick him up. He turned back to Patricia, trying to push back the thoughts about his mother, putting his phone on vibrate once he realized she was calling. But Patricia seemed to have noticed that he was still upset, and cautiously got up. She couldn't believe she was about to do this- but whenever Piper came to her for comfort, words were never enough, so she usually wrapped her in a hug. It would be different with Eddie though, because Eddie was…Eddie, and was she overstepping certain boundaries if she comforted like this?
"You know," Patricia started, meeting his eyes. "Your mum does love you. She does care about you." Patricia stated, because there was some part of her that needed to make him feel better. That's what friends did, and she and Eddie were friends now. It was with that knowledge that she propelled herself forward.
"I know, I just-" Eddie was cut off as Patricia eyed him hesitantly, wrapping her arms around him. He almost stumbled in surprise- Patricia was hugging him. What? He cautiously embraced her as well, inhaling her perfume as she began stroking his back. He caressed her hair slightly- was he doing this right? Amber and he had never really hugged, it was mostly snogging and things like that.
Wait. Why was he comparing Amber to Patricia?
Patricia and he…they weren't in a romantic relationship like he and Amber had been.
"Thank you," Eddie suddenly whispered into her hair, holding her tighter. He needed this, he actually needed this, someone showing that they actually cared about him. He felt Patricia nod, and he whispered in her ear.
"Your mom loves you too," he said quietly, feeling like he owed her that. And it was surprising how honest he was being when he said, "You…you're not second best, Patricia." There was a moment of silence and Eddie held his breath, wondering how she would react. Neither seemed particularly trained in situations like these, and Eddie was wondering if he was handling it well. This was hard to do, having to pick out the right words to say. Because sometimes, even the toughest people were fragile, and for Eddie and Patricia, this was somewhat their moment.
And then, with a crack in her voice that made Patricia sound so broken, she buried her face in his shoulder as she spoke, the soft material of his shirt pressing against her.
"Thank you. Thank you so much."