DISCLAIMER: I don't own House of Anubis.

You guys are so amazing, thank you so much. I love hearing your feedback! This fanfic will go all the way up to the end of the school year in this story. Considering it's mid January in the fic right now and I'll do a time skip at one point, I'd say this story has six-eight chapters left.

GUYS WE'RE ALMOST DONE

Enjoy the next chapter!

Amber sighed before picking up her mobile. Her finger lingered over Eddie's contact number, remembering what Joy had said. Since Eddie was over her, shouldn't she be over him? There was no way she could ever move on without some kind of closure- hell, she had gotten Joy to tell Eddie that they were breaking up, she hadn't even said it herself.

She waited as one ring went by, then two, then three. She was about to hang up when…

"Hello? Amber?"

"Eddie!" she laughed nervously. "Hi!"

"Yeah, hi," Eddie said awkwardly. "…is there a reason you called?"

"Yes," Amber assured, looking down at her nails. "Okay, Eddie, I know that our breakup was hard, but we both need to move on." She had figured out a way to not humiliate herself- pretend that Eddie was the one with the problem of moving on and not her. That always worked.

"Uh, Amber, I don't exactly-"

"I know what you're thinking," she cut him short. "'How can I ever move on after dating Amber Millington?' But it's for the best, really, Eddie."

"Yeah, but I don't have feelings for you anymore-"

"Oh, denial," Amber sighed. "The point is…I'm fine if you date Patricia. I couldn't care less, really. You have my approval." It shocked her a bit, how at ease she said this. "And besides, I've moved on as well." It was a small lie, but in a couple weeks, it would probably be true. Now that she had a chance to talk to Eddie, it provided her a way to close things up for them. Their relationship was one of those that worked for a short while but wouldn't be worth the long term commitment. Once she wrapped things up, she could finally move on. Maybe to Alfie, even, who she had watched shamefully. It bugged her that she was even thinking about him, but ever since Jerome brought him up, she couldn't forget.

"Well, that's great-"

"And he's a lot hotter than you," Amber informed. "So, thanks for calling, Eddie, but I think we're better off as friends, okay?"

"You called me-"

"Bye!"

"…and then she made it sound like I had called her," Eddie furrowed his eyebrows and looked over at Patricia, as if demanding an explanation towards Amber's behavior. Patricia simply shrugged. "What does this even mean? That she's going to stop asking me if I'm dating you?" Eddie ran a hand through his hair before nudging Patricia. "Wait, you're a girl!"

"Wow, I was wondering when you'd notice," Patricia rolled her eyes and Eddie cracked a smile. Slowly but surely, she seemed to be breaking out of her shell. Today she seemed extra snappy, but he didn't mind. She was a lot more sarcastic and it was funny.

"No, I just mean, like, do you know what Amber meant?"

Patricia paused before answering, "Not really."

Eddie sighed, "Haven't you ever been in a relationship before?"

"You were my first kiss," Patricia pointed out, glaring at him. "Remember?" Eddie chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "If it helps though, you're a pretty good kisser." He said it under his breath in a tone he figured was barely audible, but Patricia apparently heard something. Her head shot up.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing," Eddie faked.

"I heard you say something," she persisted, feeling angrier than she usually would. Why did she care what he had said? Why was he all she had begrudgingly thought about last night? It made her mad, really, that she had even considered liking him as more as a friend, and maybe her temper had carried over to this moment.

"It was probably the wind," Eddie assured her, but Patricia simply stopped walking and stepped closer to him, jabbing a finger to his chest in an all too familiar way.

"The wind doesn't talk," she reasoned. "What did you say?"

"Why do you care?" Eddie threw his hands up, getting frustrated, for a minute simply loving that he was taller. It made him feel more powerful in a way.

"I don't know why I care!" Patricia admitted loudly. "Just tell me what you said!"

"I said you're a good kisser, okay?" Eddie's eyes filled with rage as he admitted it out of pure adrenaline. "You're a good kisser, Patricia! There, happy?"

"That kiss meant nothing, you said so yourself," Patricia said, voice low and shaky. She felt like she was being played all over again, like she was caught in the middle of some joke she didn't know about. She absolutely hated feeling like that, being in the dark.

"Kisses don't just mean 'nothing'!"

"Funny, your opinion's changed," Patricia remarked harshly. "You know what, whatever. Just leave me alone, will you?" She tried to push past him but Eddie caught her by the shoulder.

"You kissed me back, okay?" Eddie asked, expression hard. "You kissed me back. You could've pulled away and you didn't, so stop blaming me for everything!"

Patricia opened her mouth but quickly closed it, not sure what to say. Eddie was right- she had kissed back. Eddie seemed almost smug when he realized she was speechless, "What, nothing to say? Maybe because I'm right? Admit it, that kiss meant something to you."

"That kiss didn't mean anything," Patricia spat out once more. "Okay, so it was my first kiss, whatever, who cares?"

"Why do you keep pushing me away?" Eddie asked, frustration lacing his voice. "Do you know how hard I'm trying right now to be just friends with you?"

Patricia paused, a pit in her stomach. She shook her head, "I knew it. This is just another bet, isn't it? Who put you up to it, huh? Or did you-"

"It's not another bet!" Eddie exclaimed, grabbing her by the shoulders. He knew her well enough to know that if she wasn't close to winning an argument, she simply left. He felt like screaming, he was so confused. He wasn't sure where they stood or how he felt about her or how she felt about him and the call from Amber had gotten him thinking about if he and Patricia would potentially date.

"So what are you trying to tell me, that I'm so unlikable-"

"I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU THAT I THINK I LIKE YOU AS MORE THAN A FRIEND," Eddie finally blurted out, shouting so loud he hoped his voice wouldn't go hoarse. Some passerby turned to look at the two but he didn't really notice, too consumed in pure anger. Angry that he had told her, angry that he didn't quite understand what he felt, angry that she didn't even trust him, much less like him like that. He glared, "That's what I'm trying to tell you."

And before he could even fully understand what had just happened, his feet were leading him to the school and away from a stunned Patricia.

He wasn't quite sure what to feel.

She missed their first class together, and their second. Third period, Patricia was in Ms. Andrews' class and he was with Mrs. Valentine, but when he confronted KT about it, she had informed him she hadn't seen Patricia. KT hadn't seemed too worried, thinking she was sick, but Eddie knew better. Eddie knew because he had been walking to school with her when he had ditched her. He tried not to get too concerned- it was still light out, nothing would happen to Patricia.

"Has anyone seen Patricia?" Eddie was quick to ask as he approached the lunch table. Everyone shrugged and gave a variety of answers, but none were the ones he was looking for. For a minute, he thought about ditching class to find her, but he wasn't exactly sure where she was and could potentially be searching for hours. His best bet was that she was already in her room, safely in her house, and he couldn't afford any more trouble with his father.

"Eddie?" Mrs. Williamson beamed at the young boy. "Are you here to see Patricia?" She opened the door a little wider and ushered him in.

"Yeah," he scratched the back of his neck. "Is she okay?"

"Just a little under the weather," Mrs. Williamson informed. "She came home right before I left for work. She looked a bit pale and queasy so I let her stay home. She's upstairs, second door to the right." Eddie nodded, muttering a thanks before rushing up the stairs and knocking on the right door. Piper was the one who opened it.

"Hi," she said shortly. "Patricia's not really in the mood to talk." Before he could even reply, she shut the door. Eddie sighed, digging his bobby pin out of his pocket and jamming it in the lock. Both Piper and Patricia shot up when they saw him, and Piper let out an annoyed breath.

"He's not going to leave you alone until you talk," Piper pointed out before getting up and leaving. Patricia grumbled something about 'bad sisters' before looking down at her bedspread.

"You're not sick," Eddie accused, tapping his foot.

"Yeah," Patricia echoed, playing with her blanket. "So why are you here?"

"You know why I'm here," Eddie said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. The atmosphere turned awkward and stiff and Patricia broke the silence.

"Could you leave?" Patricia finally said abruptly.

"...that's it? We're not going to, I don't know, talk about it?"

"I'm obviously the rebound or something," Patricia shrugged. "There's nothing to talk about."

"What do you mean-" Eddie started before being cut off by Piper, who came in at exactly that moment.

"You guys okay in here?" she beamed, but Patricia looked as if she was mentally thanking Piper for being a savior. Eddie rolled his eyes but nodded, giving an awkward wave to Patricia.

"Hope you feel better," he muttered before leaving, brushing past Mrs. Williamson and out the door.

"What's up with you and Eddie?" KT asked Patricia, sliding into the seat next to her. It had been about a week since Eddie had come over to talk to Patricia, and neither had really addressed the whole issue yet. Neither wanted to- they exchanged their 'hello's' and such but each avoided the other as much as possible. Their friends had started noticing ever since Patricia had stolen Mara's usual seat so that she could stay away from Eddie.

"What do you mean?" Patricia looked up from her food, trying to sound clueless.

"You haven't been hanging out as much," KT shrugged. "I thought you guys were friends now."

"So what?" Patricia finally snapped. She had been getting weird glances from her friends all week just because she wasn't talking to Eddie as much. It wasn't as if he was the only person she hung out with…okay, maybe that was the case recently, but still. It was annoying. "I have to be with him every moment of the day?"

"No, of course not," KT started, seeing Eddie watching the two curiously. Patricia seemed to see him too, and scowled.

"I'm going to go eat in the library or something," she muttered, shooting Eddie a glare. Maybe she was supposed to be treating him nicer but he was messing up her feelings, which just made her angrier. She snatched up her tray and KT caught her wrist.

"Patricia, honestly, I didn't mean-"

"Whatever," she mumbled before stomping away. When would all of this end? Couldn't she just get through the year, not caring as usual? It was a lot easier that way, without feeling anything for anyone.

Patricia huffed quietly, sitting down at one of the tables in the library and beginning to eat once more, mind going back to Eddie and all her friends.

Ugh, she really hated feelings.