"Alfie, please, that is so disgusting!" Mara said, rolling her eyes white the boy shoveled food into his mouth.

"Mara!" Alfie mimicked. "How many times must I tell you it tastes better this way?" Mara glared back, and Jerome let out a laugh.

"Here, Alfie, want some more?" Jerome asked before flinging a spoonful of mashed potatoes towards Alfie. As usual, the boys erupted in a miniature food fight. It all came to a halt, however, as soon as Victor entered the room. The student watched him silently as he stood there.

"Miss Martin," he finally said, turning towards Nina. "The telephone, for you." He turned and walked away.

"It must be my Gran. I haven't called her lately, she probably just misses me," Nina said dismissively to Fabian. She walked out of the room and sat down in the chair next to it before picking it up.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver.

"Nina Martin?" Nina sat up straight, surprised to hear a man's voice.

"Um…Yes, I'm Nina. Who is this?"

"I'm Father Andrews, from your grandmother's church."

"Oh, hello Father. Uh…Why, exactly, are you calling me? If you don't mind me asking."

"Nina, I'm very sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your grandmother had been very sick lately. She didn't think it was serious, and didn't want you to worry about it so she kept it from you. Unfortunately, last night there were some complications with her lungs, and—"

"Is she okay?" Nina asked, suddenly filled with concern. "Do I need to come home?" Father Andrews let out a sympathetic sigh.

"I'm sorry Nina, but she didn't make it." Nina felt her heart stop.

"Oh my God…" she murmured. "Oh my God…"

"Nina? Nina, are you still there?" Father Andrews asked worriedly. With shaking hands, Nina put the phone down and rested her head in her hands.

"Really, can't you two do this when it's your turn for chores? Who do you think is going to have to clean up after you pigs later?" Mara asked in annoyance. Alfie and Jerome simply laughed and continued eating their food. Mick looked around the table and noticed Nina's chair was still empty.

"Hey, is Nina still on the phone with her Gran?" he asked.

"I don't know. She's been talking on it for a while now; it's been almost fifteen minutes," replied Mara.

"Isn't her Gran, like, old? How much does she have to say?" Amber asked. Patricia rolled her eyes while everyone else just laughed.

"Well, Amber, why don't you go and see if she is still on the phone with her Gran. And tell her to hurry it up. I promised I'd ring my parents tonight," Patricia suggested, speaking as if she was talking to a toddler.

"Okay," Amber agreed, oblivious. She stood up and walked out of the room. The first thing she saw was the phone on the table.

"Oh, you're off the line! What are you still doing out here then?" Amber asked. When Nina didn't reply, Amber took another step closer and saw Nina holding her hands to her face.

"Nina? What's wrong? Don't you want to finish your supper?" Still no answer. "Nina? Are you okay?" When Nina still didn't answer, Amber walked over and put her hand on Nina's shoulder. "Nina, answer me, please! Is everything all right?"

"Oh my God," was all Nina could say. She started rocking back and forth slightly. Amber started to panic. "Trudy! Trudy! Somebody, come quick! Fabian!"

Back in the dining room, all chatter stopped at the sound of Amber's screaming. Patricia rolled her eyes.

"What's going on?" Trudy asked as she ran into the room, still holding a spatula in her hands.

"As usual, something is wrong with Nina," Patricia scoffed. Trudy lowered her spatula.

"Oh, well then, what is it?" Everyone looked around. They heard Amber yelling again.

"Fabian!" All of the students at Anubis House (and Trudy, of course) stood up and walked out in to the hallway where they saw Amber with her arm around Nina. Fabian rushed over and knelt down next to her and Nina. Trudy followed him.

"What's the matter?" Fabian asked, worry etched in his voice.

"I don't know, I just walked in and she was like this! She won't say anything!"

"Is the phone still on the line?" Trudy asked. Fabian looked at Amber, who said she didn't know. Amber reached over and picked up the phone.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" she asked.

"Yes, this is Father Andrews. Who is this? Is Nina okay?" Amber got a confused look on her face.

"You're not her Gran?" Amber asked.

"No, I'm Father Andrews, her grandmother's priest."

"Oh, so do you know what's the matter with Nina?" Amber asked.

"Nora, her grandmother, died this morning." Amber gasped.

"Oh, that's awful!" The group standing in the hallway looked at Amber anxiously.

"Is Nina okay?"

"Not likely, we haven't been able to get a word out of her."

"Will you give me a call when you know more?" Father Andrews asked.

"Oh sure, what's your number?" Amber listened and the wrought the number down before hanging up the phone. She stood there while everyone else looked at her expectantly.

"Well?" Fabian, who now had his arm around Nina's shoulders, asked. "Who was it?"

"Oh, that was Father Andrews," Amber replied. He waited for a further explanation.

"…And?"

"Oh, it's horrible! Nina's Gran passed this morning!" Mouths dropped and gasps were heard throughout the hall. Even Patricia felt bad for Nina, and everyone knew she didn't really care for her. Trudy's eyes teared up and she put a hand to her mouth.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Nina!" Mara said.

"Fabian, will you help me get Nina to her room please?" Trudy asked, walking over to the girl.

"Sure," Fabian said. He tried to help her up, but as soon as she was her feet, she collapsed to the floor. "Nina. Nina, come on. Trudy and I are going to take you up to your room." He tried pulling Nina back up, but she seemed determined to stay where she was at. Fabian sighed before leaning down and picking her up. After Fabian, Nina, and Trudy had disappeared up stairs, it was a few minutes before anyone said anything.

"I was unaware that Fabian could pick anything up, let alone an entire person," Jerome joked. Alfie was the only one who laughed. Mara smacked his arm and Jerome rubbed it in pain, glaring at Mara. "What was that for?"

"Her Gran just died, Jerome. That was completely insensitive!"

"Did I say anything about Nina or her Gran? No. I was merely making a surprised observation that may or may not have been a jab at Fabian and his manhood." Everyone looked at Jerome in annoyance and the group walked into the sitting room.

"I feel so bad for Nina," said Mara.

"Me too," Mick agreed. "It must be horrible, losing her Gran like that. Do you think she'll be okay?"

"Yes," Amber said, looking a little distracted for a moment. Then, she had a sudden look of clarity. "I mean no. No, I don't think she will."

"What do you mean, Ambs?" Mick asked.

"Nina said her Gran was her only family left. She said that it was a nightmare when her parents died, and she was really young then. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if her Gran died."

"Well, she sure can now," Patricia mumbled.

"Patricia!" Mara exclaimed.

"What?" Patricia asked, looking around the room. Jerome coughed and nodded his head towards the entrance. Everyone turned their heads to see Nina and Fabian standing in the doorway. Nina rolled her eyes and practically ran back up the stairs.

"Way to go Patricia. Why do you have to be such a witch?" Fabian asked before turning around and going after Nina.

"Did you see her?" Amber asked, looking around the room with wide eyes.

"See what?" Alfie asked.

"Fabian is totally sweet on Nina!" Amber squealed happily. "This is fantastic! Exactly what Nina needs to help her cope with her Gran's death!"

"Fabian? Crushing on Nina? That's ridiculous!" Patricia exclaimed.

"Oh, Amber, you've such an eye for details," Jerome laughed.

"I know, don't I?" Amber agreed, twirling her hair.

"Come on you guys; as if Fabian would ever fancy Nina. The whole idea is just ridiculous. I mean, she's Nina," Patricia sneered.

"Actually, it isn't that ridiculous. I know for a fact that Fabian likes her as more than a mate," Mick chimed in.

"And how, pray tell, do you know this, Mick?" Jerome asked, still laughing at Amber.

"When Ambs thought Fabian and Nina were secretly dating, we had a little chat and he told me that it was possible he fancied her a little bit."

"And really, when you really start to hang around them, it's almost disgusting how obvious it is. Obvious to everyone but themselves, that it," Amber said matter-of-factly.

"So, uh, Amber…do you know if anyone else fancies anyone else in the house?" Alfie asked nervously.

"Don't be silly, Alfie, who else in the house would be dating? I mean, Mick and I broke up. And if Mara likes someone, I've yet to hear of it," Amber replied. Alfie looked disappointed and turned on the television to cover it up. Everyone turned their attention to the cartoon that was playing on the screen. Everyone except Amber, that is. Amber was looking at Patricia.

-Nina and Amber's room-

"I'll go brew you up a nice hot cup of tea. Fabian, are you going to stay here?" Trudy asked.

"Of course," Fabian nodded. He was sitting on the floor next to Nina's bed. Nina was curled up in a ball. She was frighteningly pale and her eyes were red and puffy, but she hadn't cried. Not yet, anyway.

"I just…I can't believe it," Nina said, closing her eyes. Fabian squeezed her hand. "What am I going to do, Fabian?"

"It'll be okay," he reassured her. Fabian fell silent for a moment. "Hey Nina…do you think you'll be moving back to America now?"

"I don't know. I don't want to. My Gran was the only family I had so it's not like there's anyone waiting for me there. And I'm still a minor," she replied.

"What does that mean, exactly?"

"I'm not old enough to make decisions by myself. I'll probably go back and be put in a foster care home back in America." Fabian was silent, processing what Nina had said. She couldn't leave yet, not when he was getting so close to telling her how he felt.

"And there is no way you can change it? Like getting emancipated?" Nina opened her eyes and lifted her head up a little.

"Look, Fabian, my Gran just died. I'm not sure if I can think about what happens next. I'm still kind of wishing this is all a bad dream."

"I know I'm sorry. It's just…I don't want you to leave, Nina. You just got here. And you know your Gran wouldn't have wanted you to leave just yet."

"I know, Fabe." Right then, Trudy walked back in carrying a cup of tea.

"How are you feeling, dear?" she asked with concern.

"I'm fine, Trudy. Thanks." Trudy nodded and set the tea on Nina's nightstand.

"Well, I've got to go clean up the kitchen. Are you going to be alright here, Nina?" Trudy asked.

"Um, yeah. I think." Trudy shot her a sympathetic look before leaving the room.

"Would you like me to stay" Fabian asked.

"Could you?" Nina asked look apologetic.

"Of course! So, how are you really?" Nina laughed.

"Honestly? I feel like I want to go in a hole and die," she replied as he started sniffling again.

"I'm really sorry Nina. If there's anything I can do for you, anything at all, just let me know."

"Hey Fabian?" Nina moved closer to the edge of her bed. Fabian looked up. "Thanks. For everything." Fabian gave her a soft smile. Nina closed her eyes, and after awhile her breathing became steady. He watched her until he, too, began drifting off to sleep.

[A/N] Hey! Thanks for reading. Sorry the writing quality falls off a bit. This is the first thing I've actually done besides editing in a while. It doesn't help that this was orgininally planned out as a one shot. Or that I planned on Nina and the house going back for something happy and having them meeting Gran...but my beat/best friend deicded that wasn't dramatic enough. So I hope you liked it! Please review:)

- Meredith Glass