eloise @golden-eloise - Tumblr Blog

Jul 19

double date

for the lovely @incorrectsibunaquotes thank you for the inspo <3

some say opposites attract.

like how magnets have poles that are only attracted to opposite sides.

then some say that the best relationships start off as friends. that the idea of being compatible with someone as a partner is best determined by how well you connect initially.

patricia and eddie had nothing short of the rockiest of starts to their relationship. months of mutual pining hidden behind brick walls built on insults and rivalry gave the students at anubis house the idea that they were destined to be sworn enemies. but through one way or another, the universe spun that bitter resentment into all-consuming limerence that eventually pushed the two together.

patricia couldn’t stand him at first. not just because he was the only one brave enough to bite back when she lunged, but because this stranger somehow knew the ins and outs of the labyrinth of her mind without her ever letting him in. he knew how she felt, what made her tick, and what she was going to say before she even did. it petrified her, and she hated him for it. but, what she hated more was that he hadn’t come into her life sooner.

nina and fabian’s relationship couldn’t have started any more differently to theirs. nina’s thoughts were too consumed with the fear of leaving america combined with patricia’s not-so-warm welcome to notice the way fabian’s eyes followed her across the room. fabian hadn’t really had any crushes in his life, meaning that the overwhelming warmth he felt growing in his chest was fascinating yet utterly terrifying.

he didn’t really know what he felt. equal parts guilty for not worrying about joy as much as patricia was, and overly smitten for the girl who had changed the dynamic of anubis house as soon as she arrived. he couldn’t really see it, but the rest of his house mates did. as soon as nina walked in, fabian was screwed. he was in love.

then, besides those relationships, valuable friendships were made along the way. as far as opposites go, nina and patricia were exactly that (at first, anyways). patricia didn’t hate nina, really. but like her feelings towards eddie, she was scared. scared by the notion that someone could so easily walk into her bedroom and strip away half of the life that patricia had become so accustomed to.

eddie knew that patricia was quite the closed book, and couldn’t open up to everyone. but joy knew that better than anyone, better than he did. despite how inseparable patricia and joy were, it took years for them to reach that point. as they grew up together, patricia found herself trusting and confiding in her roommate, and eventually becoming the best friends we know today. in fact, joy was beyond her best friend, she was her platonic soulmate. regardless of who this new girl was, or if her arrival immediately following joy’s disappearance was actually a coincidence, she was never going to let someone replace her joy.

not only was she frightened of nina replacing joy, but she herself was scared of being replaced. she hadn’t failed to notice the way that nina charmed her way into everyone’s hearts, despite her best efforts to ostracise her. maybe she was bitter and perhaps slightly insecure, but when everyone was so accepting of nina, she wondered why it couldn’t have been that easy for her. what did nina have that she didn’t?

if anything, nina and patricia’s relationship was even more unforeseen than eddie and patricia’s. after the fights, switching bedrooms, and dumping water on nina, it was safe to say that none of the other students were anticipating the friendship that the two girls eventually shared. despite everything, over the next few years the girls found themselves in situations that had them trusting each other with their lives. nina didn’t hesitate to follow patricia’s trail into the woods to save her from her kidnapper, and patricia blindly followed nina down dusty tunnels to save her from an ancient curse. whether patricia was willing to admit it or not, nina — along with joy, amber, fabian, alfie, eddie, and kt — wasn’t just a friend, she was family.

luckily for eddie and fabian, they got on like a house on fire. ignoring the first few nights after eddie moved in when he’d keep fabian up until the early hours of the morning with blaring music, they clicked pretty instantly. eddie admired the way that fabian had so much to care for, and he carried it all so elegantly. on top of being an academic weapon, fabian was a great friend and housemate, and eddie was envious of that. he hadn’t really made friends when he first came to the uk and he constantly felt like an outsider, whilst everyone had nothing but nice things to say about fabian. deep down, he wanted to be a better person, a better student, and a better friend. and, if befriending fabian meant simultaneously getting closer to patricia, then eddie couldn’t complain.

fabian liked the idea of another guy thinking that he was someone worth knowing. yes, he was friends with the other boys, but he and mick didn’t have much in common. they learned about the things the other liked, and trusted each other like brothers, but they weren’t very similar as people.

and obviously, jerome and alfie had each other. before sibuna brought them closer together, the pair had often dismissed fabian as being too sensible to spend loads of time with. and that was fair enough. while jerome and alfie found joy in pranks ending with them getting grounded, fabian couldn’t think of anything worse. which was why fabian was glad eddie had moved in. he liked music, mostly kept to himself, and didn’t question (or snitch) when he noticed how often fabian snuck out of his room at night. and, well, fabian couldn’t ask for anything more from a friend.

and maybe that’s why this group works as well as it does. friends and lovers made not by proximity or coincidence but by pure choice and purpose. their attributes bounce off each other perfectly. equal parts rational and practical mixed with rebellion and chaos with a shared passion for world-saving missions.

the 4 students sit at the edge of the short pier, legs dangling off the edge as they admire the sunset painting the sky. fabian thinks of ra aging into atum as he descends into the underworld. nina thinks of her gran, and wonders if she’s enjoying the summer heat as the sun remains high in the sky over america. patricia cherishes the shades of orange, pink, and blue scattered amongst the clouds, thinking to herself ‘i could paint this’. she picks up her polaroid camera off her lap, and quickly snaps a picture to look at later. eddie doesn’t think of anything. he just relishes the feeling of finally having patricia curled up next to him as she finishes the remains of her ice cream after the group spent the evening at the arcade overlooking the coast.

—————————————————————————

“ugh i don’t know why we even bother!” patricia moaned. “we’re never gonna find an activity we all enjoy.”

the group of students sat scattered around eddie and fabian’s shared room. nina lay sprawled across fabian’s bed with her head hanging off the edge, as if she was trying to physically tip the scattered thoughts out of her brain. fabian was sat at his desk chair, glasses sat firmly on his face as he scrolled through endless blogs and websites looking for a suitable double date idea. patricia huffed as she slumped her head down on eddie’s pillow, as he sat at the edge of his bed stroking her leg, subtly calming her down after her sudden outburst.

“she’s right,” nina groaned in response, shutting her eyes. “months of us living together and being attached at the hip, and suddenly we have nothing in common anymore.” fabian chuckled and rolled his eyes at her dramatic comment.

“come on, we can’t give up!” eddie declared. “there must be something we’d all enjoy… oh! what if we drive to the lake and go cliff jumping?” he asked, excitedly.

fabian and nina’s heads simultaneously snapped towards eddie, with identical skeptical looks on their faces.

“are you joking?” fabian asked in disbelief.

“no?” eddie responded, confused. “you said it sounded cool when i showed you videos of me doing it in america? and nina likes the water right?”

“um, no…” fabian started. “i said it sounded insane.”

“yeah! that means cool right?” eddie questioned.

“no you doofus!” patricia interjected. “he’s calling you a maniac. we’re trying to plan a double date here, not a double funeral.”

“well, i do like the water” nina chimed in, picking her head up and rolling over to lay on her front. then, fabian’s head spun in the complete opposite direction, towards nina.

“you’re not actually thinking of jumping off cliffs with this lunatic, are you?” fabian asked, completely perplexed as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at eddie. eddie feigned offense in response.

“gosh, no!” nina laughed. “but come to think of it, i haven’t been near the water in ages. maybe we could do something with that?” she hinted.

“we could treat the girls to a spa day? god knows we need it after the year we’ve had” fabian proposed.

“so we can sit around bored out of our minds in sticky face masks? no thanks, you should just take amber instead” eddie scoffed at the idea.

“alright weasel,” patricia said, with an exaggerated eye roll. “no need to be rude. his idea was better than yours” she challenged.

“well i don’t see you coming up with any brilliant ideas” eddie retorted.

“actually, i do have a brilliant idea” patricia countered, now sitting up straight. “we’ll go to the arcade! it’s on the pier so nina can see the sea, fabian can geek out at all the puzzles, and me and eddie will play the actual fun games!” she looked around to gauge the group’s thoughts.

the other three shared looks with each other, silently agreeing that it was actually a brilliant idea.

“that’s actually a really good idea, trish” fabian agreed.

“oh, well don’t sound so shocked” patricia scoffed. “you’re not always the smartest in the room, you know”.

fabian and nina glanced at each other with matching smirks. maybe he wasn’t always the smartest in every room, but considering he was sat opposite a guy who thought cliff jumping was a good idea, he was definitely the smartest in this room.

—————————————————————————

the weekend came just a few days later, and the group found themselves driving towards the beach in eddie’s dad’s car.

“what’s it like driving on the other side of the road eddie?” nina asked.

“still super weird” eddie responded. “but i can’t really complain when i’m driving this beauty” he added, referring to his dad’s porsche.

“i do admit, it is gorgeous” fabian added, glancing around the interior.

“yeah, why else do you think i agreed to go out with him?” patricia quipped, as eddie playfully nudged the side of her head.

“alright, we’re here” eddie stated, as he pulled into a parking space where the land met the pier.

nina stepped out of the car, and took in a deep breath as she marvelled at the beauty of her surroundings. somehow, everything she sees is a reflection of her soul. the shore stretches for miles so there’s room for her to grow out of the ‘chosen one’ confines. the birds are soaring free, and so is she. with every crash, the tide pulled away a years worth of battles. she decided that this moment marked the first day of the rest of her life. she felt reborn. she felt clean.

“you okay?” fabian wondered, as he made his way to her side of the car, shutting the door for her as he looped an arm around her shoulders.

“yeah” nina replied, leaning her head towards him. “just taking it all in.”

“well don’t get too comfortable” fabian teased, as he lowered his arm to intertwined his hand with hers instead. “we’ve got games to play, and a very competitive couple to beat” he said, referring to patricia and eddie who had already started making their way towards the arcade, arm in arm.

fabian and nina followed the couple in front of them, arms swinging between them. as they stepped through the entrance of the arcade, nina couldn’t help but giggle at how his eyes lit up at the maze of machines in front of them. what normal people saw as just silly games for random prizes, fabian saw a room full of strategy, tactic, and calculations.

“okay, what are we doing first?” patricia asked, bouncing up and down in excitement.

“i don’t know about you guys but i’m looking forward to the old school games. i think they’ve got a whole row of vintage pinball machines!” fabian replied, full of excitement himself.

patricia and eddie shared a look of disbelief. “really dude? all the games here and you’re heading straight for the ones your grandpa played?” eddie asked, mockingly.

“hey!” nina interjected, drawing the word out. “don’t make fun of him, he’s really good at those games! i bet we’ll win way more tickets than you” she challenged.

“ha! you’re on!” patricia challenged back, before pulling eddie in the opposite direction of the pinball machines.

“let the best couple win” fabian whispered to nina, who giggled in response before letting fabian lead her by the hand towards the vintage machines.

—————————————————————————

“what’s the name of this game again?” nina asked, tilting her head in confusion at fabian’s overwhelming excitement at the seemingly boring game.

“ice cold beer!” he replied. “basically, this marble rests on this horizontal bar, and the aim of the game is to use these two joysticks to tilt the bar so you can carry the marble up the maze and drop it into one of the holes. once the game actually starts, one of the holes will light up and that’s how you know where the goal is. if the marble falls into any of the other holes, you lose” he explained. nina listened as closely as she could, making mental notes and channeling mara for a split second.

“okay, sounds simple enough! why don’t you go first and show me how it’s done” she chirped, wrapping herself around one of fabian’s arms.

nina watched in awe as fabian expertly shifted the joysticks, carrying the marble up the wall whilst dodging the incorrect holes. as interesting as the game was, she couldn’t help but turn her head towards him. she giggled to herself at his concentrated face. eyebrows furrowed, biting his lip, eyes darting down towards the control panel then back up to the marble over and over again. the bright bulbs reflected like stars in his eyes, and she swore she could see her entire universe in them. he couldn’t have looked any more adorable.

“yes! i did it!” fabian gasped, triumphantly. he turned his head towards nina’s resting on his shoulder, and his cheeks flushed when he noticed that she was already looking at him. she bit her lip to hide her grin when she realised she’d been caught staring.

he released his arm from nina’s hold to instead rest them both on the control panel, trapping nina between him and the machine.

“didn’t you see me win?” he asked, already knowing the answer was no.

“i saw enough” she teased back, one hand resting on the panel behind her, the other finding place on the back of fabian’s neck.

they locked eyes for a moment, grinning sheepishly at each other, before fabian started leaning in slowly. just as nina prepared to feel fabian’s lips on hers, the machine groaned to life, startling the couple as fabian jumped back slightly.

they laughed as nina began to catch her breath, before she felt the scratch of tickets being dispensed behind her leg. she bent down and plucked them out, before standing and ungracefully trying to collect the long strip in her hands.

“nice going!” she beamed, as fabian helped her gather the string of red tickets, then sticking the bunch in his back pocket.

“come on, your turn now” he grinned, spinning nina around so he was stood behind her with his hands covering hers on the joysticks. initially, nina did want to compete with him, but her mind was far too consumed by the feeling of him hugging her from behind to even begin to concentrate on the game. eventually, after 4 tries, she managed (with fabian’s help) to land the marble into the correct hole.

“yes!” she cheered, spinning around and throwing her arms around his neck. fabian wrapped his own arms around her waist as he picked her up in a tight hug.

“see? i knew you could do it!” he congratulated, as the machine dispensed a second stream of tickets. this time, less than the first.

“that’s so unfair! you got way more tickets than me” nina playfully huffed.

“sorry, love, the champion gets more tickets” he teased back. the way nina blushed at the nickname didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“come on,” he said, offering his arm out for her to link her own through, “let’s go show the others what we’ve won.”

—————————————————————————

“can you believe him?!” patricia said, through laughter. “all these awesome games and he wants to go play with pinballs! he can be such a dork sometimes.”

“oh, leave him alone” eddie laughed, playfully ruffling her hair. she groaned in mock exasperation at that, as she brushed her hair back into place with her fingers.

“they’ll have fun together, with their little marbles or whatever. we will take advantage of, well…” he gestured around them, “literally every other game in the room!”

patricia laughed, her hand covering her mouth as she hid her face in eddie’s shoulder.

“come on then, what should we do first?” she asked, still giggling. eddie took her hand in his and led her over to the basketball machines.

“some hoops to start? considering you’re a lady jock and all” he teased.

“yeah and don’t you forget it!” she boasted, as she set herself in front of her machine. “put the coins in, you’re going down, weasel” she challenged.

“in your dreams, sweetheart” he quipped.

patricia’s face twisted at the sickeningly sweet pet name. she knew he said it to taunt her, but she couldn’t tell if she loved it or hated it. as the basketballs rolled towards her, she briefly recalled the way jerome called her ‘cupcake’ on their pretend date. she shuddered at the memory, how her shoulders tensed and jaw clenched at his cringy attempt at flirting. but it was different with eddie. regardless of whether the nickname was used to provoke her or not, it was still different.

the couple stood side by side, laughing loudly as basketballs flew through the air. some making it into the hoop, some bouncing off the rim, and some missing altogether. patricia doubled over laughing, clutching her stomach as she saw one of eddie’s basketballs hit the rim and bounce back towards him with such speed it almost hit him in the face.

“aren’t you supposed to be good at this?” she asks, wiping tears of laughter out of her eyes. “i thought americans loved basketball!”

“we do! and i am good!” he defended. “you must be cheating somehow!” he accused, as he picked up a basketball from patricia’s side, intending to shoot it at his own hoop.

“hey! give that back!” she laughed, reaching over to grab the ball in his hands.

“no way! i am not losing to you!” he replied, yanking the ball they were both grasping back towards his body. the pair then started a tug of war over the basketball between them, before patricia wrapped her arms around the ball in a futile attempt to get her ball back.

“eddie i’m serious! this is so unfair!” she giggled, knowing that she was still ahead of him in points. if neither of them threw another ball at the basket, she would come out victorious.

eddie then wrapped himself around her and the ball, so that even if she had possession of the ball, he had possession of them both. she giggled as she squirmed, trying to free herself from his grasp. he placed his head over her shoulder, trying to bounce the ball out of her grasp.

“no way, yacker. i am not losing to you” he grumbled into her neck, causing her to giggle even more. suddenly, the machines buzzed in unison, signalling the end of the game and solidifying patricia’s win.

“yes!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air and forgetting about the ball altogether.

“how does it feel to be a loser, loser?” she asks, fake sympathy laced through her voice as she turned around in his grasp to place her hands on his shoulders as his settled around her waist.

“i’d be careful about who you’re calling a loser” he replied with a smirk.

“oh yeah?” she challenged. “or what?”

“wouldn’t you like to know” he dared, voice low as he leaned in, pressing his lips on hers. her heart raced as his lips moved against hers before she pulled back to catch her breath.

“enough, you” she playfully scolded. “there are probably kids here.”

his eyes flickered past her shoulder, noticing the supply closet’s door slightly ajar.

“well then,” he started, leading her towards the dim room, “who am i to argue with that?”

patricia laughed as he pushed them through the door, his lips finding their way back to hers in the dark.

—————————————————————————

“where could they have gone?” nina asked, slightly concerned.

“i’m not sure” fabian replied, with the same amount of worry in his voice. “it’s not like them to sneak off without saying anything.”

“should we call them?” she asked. fabian was about to reply before he spotted the row of claw machines behind nina.

“no, let’s give them a few minutes. they’ve probably just headed to the toilets or something” he said, reassuringly. “plus,” he started, “these seem heaps more fun than running around trying to find them” he said, referring to the claw machines he noticed earlier.

nina looked over her shoulder before giggling and crossing her arms. “you really think you could win one?” she challenged.

“oh, i know i can” he replied, lifting his chin in confidence as he led her towards the row of machines.

“take your pick, my lady” he said, pretending to bow as if she were royalty. she laughed and nudged his shoulder before walking up to one of the machines, filled with teddies resembling dolphins of all different colours.

“that one” she tested, pointing at a lilac coloured one over at the far side.

“got you” he replied, still extremely confident, as he fished through his pocket for their remaining tokens. the playful music filled the space as the timer began, and fabian guided the claw towards the purple fluffy dolphin.

after a few unsuccessful attempts, the couple cheered as he finally managed to grab the teddy, watching it drop down the chute. nina instantly pulled it out and hugged it to her chest, before hugging fabian with her other arm.

“aw thank you, i love it!” she beamed, pulling back to admire her new souvenir.

“no problem” he smiled back, kissing the top of her head. nina looked up, still grinning as she leaned towards him.

“hey guys!” patricia burst, seemingly out of nowhere, unknowingly interrupting nina and fabian’s moment. the couple jumped back from each other, startled. eddie looked quizzically at nina, noticing the new stuffed toy she was clutching to her chest.

“oh my gosh!” nina breathed. “where have you two been?”

“oh you know,” she hummed, “here and there. what have you got there?” she asked, pointing at nina’s dolphin in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

“oh! it’s a dolphin! fabian just won it for me” she praised, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“oh that’s not fair! i want one!” patricia complained to eddie.

“since when did you keep stuffed toys?” he asked.

“i don’t, but it’s the principle” she sassed back.

“well if you don’t like teddies, why don’t you just get her something with the tickets you won?” fabian asked eddie.

eddie and patrcia looked at each other before bursting out laughing. they had just remembered that they completely forgot to grab their tickets before they snuck off.

“yeah, about that…” patricia said, through giggles.

“we actually didn’t win any tickets” eddie laughed, finishing her sentence.

“what?” fabian asked. “then what have you been doing all this time?”

“some of the games just don’t give tickets” eddie shrugged. it technically wasn’t a lie, but the basketball machine did dispense tickets, they just didn’t have them.

“alright, well, nina and i won some out of the pinball machines, so you can have these” fabian said, generously handing over the roll of tickets he pulled out of his pocket.

“you okay with that neens?” patricia asked.

“of course! i already have my prize, you should get something too.” nina replied.

“aw thanks! come help me pick what to get” patricia said excitedly, as she led nina towards the prize counter.

fabian smirked as he handed the tickets to eddie.

“no offence mate, but that lipgloss isn’t your shade” he said cheekily. eddie’s face flushed as he wiped the remaining gloss off his face with the back of his hand.

“thanks, man” eddie replied quietly, cheeks still red. fabian laughed as the pair followed the girls towards the prize counter.

they didn’t have many tickets, and so patricia’s choice was limited. she happily chose a box of chocolates as her prize, costing nearly all of her tickets. she used the remaining few to claim a few lollies and small packets of sweets for the ride home.

—————————————————————————

that leads them to where they are now. sat at the edge of the pier, soaking in the sea breeze as they watch the sun dip below the horizon.

“come on guys.” eddie stands, offering a hand for patricia to pull herself up as well. “we should probably get going before lights out.”

fabian and nina stand up too.

“you guys go ahead first” fabian said. “we’ll catch up once nina finishes her ice cream.”

eddie and patricia nod, turning around as they start walking the short distance to the car.

“thank you for all of this, fabian” nina says sincerely, referring to the teddy, the now-finished ice cream, and the overall perfect day she’s had.

“anything for you” he cooed, wrapping his arms around her neck, placing a kiss on her forehead. the teddy now sits in the crook of nina’s arm, allowing her to wrap her arms around his back.

“i’m so excited to spend the summer with you” she admits, dreamily looking into his eyes.

“i promise you, there’s no one else i’d rather spend my time with” he whispers, before passionately pressing his lips against hers. suddenly, a flash of light causes them to turn their heads towards the source. they found eddie and patricia ducking behind the gate separating the carpark from the pier, with patricia snapping a polaroid of them through the gaps.

nina breathes out a laugh as they pull apart. “i was staring to think that would never happen” she whispers, referring to the kiss they finally shared.

fabian smiles. “i’ll always find my way back to you” he proclaims.

nina presses a final peck on his lips before pulling away and linking her arm with his as they start walking in the same direction patricia and eddie had a few minutes ago.

“i bet the picture’s cute at least” nina shrugs, making light of them getting caught up in their moment.

the other couple are already in the car when nina and fabian climb in, music blasting through the speakers as patricia nods along.

“you lovebirds ready to go?” eddie teases, as he starts reversing out of the parking space.

“you’re one to talk, mate” fabian quips back, making eye contact with eddie through the rear view mirror. eddie laughs quietly, shaking his head slightly as he continues driving away from the beach.

patricia reaches over her shoulder, handing the now-developed polaroid to nina sat behind her. ‘yeah,’ nina thinks to herself, brushing her thumb over the image, ‘this is cute.’

some believe that only opposites attract, but nina and fabian couldn’t be more similar if they tried. we are all made of stardust, and the atoms making up nina and fabian were found in the same stellar core, some billions of years ago. nina’s destiny is being the chosen one, fabian’s is nina.

then some believe that the best relationships start off as friends. in patricia and eddie’s case, it starts off as enemies. they couldn’t be any more different, but somehow they work perfectly together, like the classical tune of a violin in a heavy rock song. what started off as nothing, suddenly became everything. when eddie first came to amun, he didn’t know anything. after being kicked out of his previous school, there was pressure from his father to figure his life out, even when eddie hadn’t figured himself out yet. but there was one thing he knew, and it was patricia. it was like she was in his heart before he even met her. whatever may be, patricia is everything. patricia is forever.

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