Epilogue: Adventures in Dating

"Are we all ready?" Nina asked, pulling on her boots. She was standing next to Eddie at the bottom on the stairs, waiting for everybody to get downstairs.

"Not if Amber continues to take this long," Eddie grumbled, cupping his voice to make it louder, "Hurry up Blondie, you're going to make us all late!"

"5 more minutes!" the blonde pleaded, "You can't rush perfection."

"We're going on a group date," he pointed out, "Not meeting the Queen."

Over the break Amber had texted Nina saying that she and Fabian should go on a double date with herself and Alfie. Not wanting to repeat the mess they had made last time they had gone on a double date, Nina quickly volunteered Patricia and Eddie to accompany them. Then Mara got word of this from Patricia and asked if she and Jerome were invited. Last but not least, Fabian told Mick about it and he said that he and Joy would also be there. So now that everyone was coming, Nina suggested that they should make a big group day date out of it and all get together the day before school started. Thus their plan was born.

"Take as much time as you need, Ambs," Alfie frowned at Eddie, "Dude, your girl isn't ready either."

Eddie grunted in response, but luckily Patricia came down the stairs, "Yacker, you're ruining my reputati-whoa. You look great!"

"Thanks," she smirked, leaning against the banister and scrutinizing his outfit, "You could be better, though."

Eddie grinned, viewing over his girlfriend as she joined him and Nina. She really did look beautiful! Today her hair was curled, and you could see a few brown streaks (her natural hair color) twisting their way through the red locks. Her makeup made her green eyes noticeable and her clothes were picked by Amber, "Better? I thought you loved my leather jacket?" he nudged his shoulders against hers playfully.

She shoved him away, "Oh hush up."

"I knew it," he laughed, zipping up his coat.

"Don't you blab on me," she warned, planting a quick kiss on his lips, "Or you'll be toast."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Nina rolled her eyes, but her look of annoyance changed to an eager one when the doorbell rang, "That must be Fabian!" she cried, making a dash towards the door.

She swung open the door and smiled brightly at her boyfriend, "Fabian, you're back! I thought you weren't going to make it back in time!"

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," he set down his suitcase, shutting the door behind him, "But sorry I'm so late! Mum really wanted us to have breakfast together before I left and Lily was not very keen to see me go."

Nina chuckled, remembering his adorable redheaded sister, "I can understand that. Speaking of, how was the holidays with your family?"

"Really great," he fished a coat out of his backpack and slipped it in, "It was nice spending more time with them. We're still trying to figure things out, but we're not doing too badly. I didn't realize how much I missed actually being with everyone."

"I'm so happy for you," she couldn't wait any longer so she threw her arms around him for a hug, "I feel dumb for saying this, but I've really missed you!"

"Me too," he admitted, eyes crinkling in wonder at how she managed to be so beautiful as she buried her face in his chest, "But it was only a week and term will start up again tomorrow."

"I've nefer seef two people more exfited for school!"

Fabian and Nina jumped, spinning around to see Mick grinning at them, a half eaten bagel in his hand.

"Hey Mick!" Fabian greeted his friend with her signature handshake, "I didn't think you were gonna make it, I thought your mom wanted to leave right away!"

"Nah," he shook his head, licking cream cheese off his fingers, "I couldn't leave Joy alone like that while you were all on some big Anubis date! Since my school doesn't start for a few more days I convinced mum to let me stay."

"Nice," Nina peeked around his shoulder, "Where's Joy?"

"Making sure everything is in check for day," he motioned upstairs, grinning, "She sure does love taking charge."

"Very true. So how are things between you two going?" inquired Fabian.

"So great!" Mick smiled dreamily, "We've been on two dates in the past week! On Wednesday we went into town and tried that new Mexican restaurant, but they accidentally doubled the amount of jalapeños for the dish we ordered, so our mouths were sort of on fire. So after we drank about a gallon of water we were checking out stores and came across one of those skill crane things. Well there was bunny plush in there and I totally won it for her."

Joy came into the living room, raising an eyebrow at her boyfriend, "That's not how it happened! He paid a guy off to win it for me, since he apparently has no skills in that area," she patted his back sympathetically, "It's okay, babes. You can't be good at every sport!"

"That's not a sport!" he cried indignantly, "And either way, she got the bunny, thanks to me."

"So what happened next?" Nina questioned eagerly.

"Then we went back to my house and ordered some Chinese food, a foreign food that can always be trusted. Then we thought that we ought to do some sort of silly coupley things, so we made a blanket fort and tried watching a movie. But we must have done a very poor job, considering the fact that the fort fell down in the middle of the movie," Joy shook her head mournfully, "And I thought that we were fantastic fort makers."

"So then we resorted to the couch," Mick added, "Which was a much better option."

"He's a massive fan of snuggling and cuddling," Joy whispered, giggling.

Fabian mentally laughed at the idea of the short tempered jock doing such a thing, "I can't even imagine it."

"So if you guys went on two dates, what happened on the second one?" Nina made a mental note to find out if Fabian liked those sorts of things.

"Took her out to a posh restaurant," Mick huffed up his chest proudly, "The kind where you have to dress in a tux and such, but it was worth it to see her in a dress."

Joy blushed, "Aw you big teddy bear, you looked great in a tux!"

"Did anymore mishaps occur there?" Fabian bit his tongue down to keep from laughing at their puppy love.

"Nope," Mick smiled at Joy, clasping her hand, "It was great, we ate delicious food and the whole place was very romantic."

"I honestly never thought you were the type to be like that," Joy confessed, "But the dinner was very lovely!"

"But we seem to have a talent for attracting trouble when we're on dates," Mick continued, "Because it was pouring rain outside and when the cab finally came we were soaked! Luckily the hotel my mum and I were staying at offered us warm dressing gowns when we got there. After that we enjoyed the hot tub and just sat around talking."

"And by talking she means snogging."

"Mick!" Joy scolded, hitting him playfully.

"What an adventure," Nina remarked.

"You have no idea," Mick's stomach growled and he moaned, "When are we leaving? I'm starving!"

"To be honest, I'm getting rather hungry myself," Joy rubbed her stomach, "Want me to whip us up some scrambled eggs?"

"Yes please!" he licked his lips, rubbing his hands together happily, "I'll help if you like!"

"Do you two want any?" Joy asked.

They both shook their heads, "I already ate," Fabian said, "And I really ought to unpack before we leave."

Joy nodded "Alright! Can't wait until we start the group date!" she led Mick into the kitchen with their hands still held, "Try not to make a mess out of the eggs by cracking them all over the counter-"

Crack!

"Oh, Mick," they heard Joy laugh.

"I almost made it in!"

"Almost being the operative word."

Fabian and Nina burst into hearty laughter, and when they were done, Fabian grabbed his suitcase, walking with Nina into his room.

"Is it just me or are those two a little…?" he asked tentatively, dropping the suitcase on floor.

"Oh most definitely," she laughed, shaking her head at the couple.

"Glad I'm not the only one," he looked relieved, "And don't get me wrong, I think it's great that they got together! But they are most definitely in that puppy love stage right now."

"We must have skipped that stage," Nina absentmindedly ran her fingers across Fabian's guitar, "Either that or everyone didn't tell us that we were acting annoyingly coupley."

"Everyone deserves to go through that first mushy stage of a relationship, but let's just say that some handle it differently than others."

Nina giggled, "That's an understatement," she sat on his bed, admiring how he looked today, "I like that sweat-I mean jumper of yours."

He looked down and blushed, "Just a Christmas present," he joined her on the bed, "You look lovely today."

"Thanks," she actually did feel pretty confident about her outfit today. Even her hair was obeying, thanks to Amber and her never ending supply of hair products, "You'd think that after a while we'd give up being so awkward."

"That's who we are I guess," he let out a staccato laugh, "Awkward from the start."

"I don't mind it though," she leaned against him harder than intended, and they both fell backward onto his bed, laughing and blushing.

"There we go again," she clutched her sides, aching from laughter, "Making awkward situations out of absolutely nothing at all."

Their hands were right next to each other so Fabian squeezed hers and changed the subject, "Why me, Nina?"

"What are you talking about?" her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Why did you choose me? I've always wondered that. I was just some nerdy guy in the same boarding house as you, but somehow, you, the lovely American, decided that I was deemed worthy to be her boyfriend."

She smiled up at the ceiling, "You were the first to be nice to me, because in a place where everybody was either making fun of me or demanding to know what I'd done with their best friend, the person who was genuinely kind to me was a blessing. Then you were my first Sibuna, the first person to believe that I wasn't crazy, and the first person to willingly venture into the attic with me. You were the first person to call me beautiful-"

"Nobody's ever called you beautiful before?" he scoffed, turning on his side so he faced her and she nodded, "Then I guess no one's ever really looked at you properly."

She just grinned, and realized that they were only inches apart, "You were the first boy I've ever fallen in love with."

"Is it too much to ask that I'll be the only one?" he murmured, tipping his chin out so that their lips were much closer.

"It's only you for me," she whispered, "Now it's your turn, why did you choose me?"

"Ah," he breathed, eyes bright as he watched her, "You are Nina Martin. You're strong, loud, courageous, beautiful, intelligent, and amazing in every single way."

"That's not an answer," Nina wrinkled her nose, "You're just-"

He held up a finger to silence her, "Do you want to know the moment I knew you were the one? It was our first prom, when Rufus had us locked in Mr. Winkler's classroom. He grabbed your arm and yanked you up to take you who knows where, and that was when I knew."

"Knew what?" she urged, voice tinged with curiosity.

"I knew that I couldn't live without you. What if he took you away forever? I wasn't willing to lose you, so I fought for my love."

Instead of saying anything, Nina stroked his face, running her cool fingers along his cheek.

"I love you, Nina."

There it was again, those words that had been uttered for the first time as they stood, embracing in the rain.

"I love you, Fabian," she whispered back, eyes closed as she leaned closer to him, leaving hardly an space between their lips, "It's funny, because I knew it was you on the exact same day. Even in that same stupid classroom, wondering what would happen to us. And I decided that if I was to die, that it'd be okay, because I was with you. But I kept worrying, because what if we died and I never told you how I'd felt? Then with every moment, I just fell further for you. When I said I love you, I really meant it. The worst was when Jason came after us, I didn't even remember much of being kidnapped. I just remember waking up to being restrained and not next to you. I was going to kill myself, because it meant saving you. Why'd you have to go along and offer yourself up instead? It wasn't your choice to make-"

The corners of his mouth twitched into a small smile, "I wanted to get even with you."

Nina arched her eyebrow, "Get even with me? What, are we Patricia and Eddie now?"

"You nearly sacrificed yourself last year with the mask of Anubis, and I couldn't let you go all the way through with it this time. I was trying to be your protector. I know Eddie is your Osirian, but that doesn't mean I can't protect you too."

"You idiot," she muttered, very unlike herself, "You didn't have to do that, you've always been my protector, even if you were chosen by the Egyptian Gods to be. I say that you're my protector and that's that! No need to prove yourself…"

"I know that now, but at that time I had to be the one who saved you. It was kind of selfish, really."

"Only you can make an act of foolish, yet unbelievable bravery seem selfish."

"Sorry," he chuckled lightly.

"Just shut up and kiss me," Nina demanded, shaking her head, "Before you get too wonderful, because you're about to reach the limit."

So he pressed his lips against her, impossibly grateful that they were here now, together and alive.

"What are you two doing?!"

Fabian and Nina quickly sat up, blushing as they saw Amber staring at them with a shocked expression on her face.

"Amber, what are you doing here?" Nina demanded, smoothing her blouse.

"I was just looking for you," Amber hissed, "But then I found you two-"

"We were just kissing!" Fabian cried, flushing a bright shade of red, "Did you really assume that we were doing that?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud, but I'm disappointed that you didn't tell me!"

"What in the world?" Nina questioned, staring at Amber with an expression of pure confusion, "You wanted us to be doing that?"

"Of course!" Amber said, as if it was a very obvious fact, "I've been waiting for it to happen!"

"Amber!" Fabian looked utterly appalled, "That's not something that you-"

"Oh come on," she exasperatedly sighed, "I know you two are slow at this, but it honestly took you so long! It hardly took me that long."

Nina opened her mouth in astonishment, feeling completely dumbfounded, "Are you being serious right now?"

"I sure am," Amber shook her head, "But guys, please! It's only 3 words, I love you. You could have at least told me that you said it to each other!"

"Oh," Fabian let out a deep breath, "That's what you meant…"

"What did you think I meant?" Amber asked curiously.

"Nothing," Nina said quickly, "I'll be with you in a minute Amber."

"But I need you right now-" Amber realized what she meant, "Oh. I'll just leave you two alone then," she grinned, nearly skipping out of the room.

"Oh gosh, Amber literally surprises me on a daily basis," Nina giggled.

"Me too," Fabian agreed, shaking his head, "Me too."

Just down the hall, Jerome had just barely arrived, "Disgusting," he stated drearily, stepping into the house, "I can't believe we're forced to go back to school tomorrow."

"Tell me about it, Jerry," Eddie agreed.

"Where's Mara?" Jerome inquired.

"She'll be here soon," Joy answered, "You're all she's been talking about for the past few hours."

"I still can't believe you got together with the meathead," Jerome gestured to Mick, who had his arm around Joy's shoulder.

Mick opened his mouth to retort but Joy beat him to it, "Oh shut it, Clarke."

Jerome threw his head back and laughed, "You're already mimicking each other!"

Mick threw Jerome a nasty glance, so Jerome just held his hands up in defeat.

"That's right, that's right," Mick smirked, giving Joy a quick kiss.

"I'm not saying it's bad," Jerome clarified, "But it's just weird, odd, unusual, out of the ordinary…do I have to list anymore synonyms?"

Mara had just heard Jerome's voice and excitedly rushed down the stairs to greet her boyfriend, "Jerome!" she exclaimed, staring at her boyfriend who had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

"Jaffray!" he cried, rushing to her and grabbing her in a crushing bear hug.

"Aren't you two just the typical airport couple," Patricia sardonically remarked, staring at the couple with utter distaste.

After a drawn out kiss just to annoy everyone, Jerome turned to Patricia, "Just because you aren't as cute as Jaffray and I are, doesn't mean you can complain."

"Cute? You've added some words to your vocabulary, Clarke" Patricia scoffed.

"You haven't seen your boyfriend for a week," Mara continued, "I haven't seen Jerome in three weeks!"

Eventually, Nina and Fabian joined their friends near the entrance, and for a while they just chatted away with each other. Then Alfie came in from the kitchen and they were all waiting for Amber.

"We should've left a half an hour ago," Eddie moaned impatiently.

"Will you tell Amber to come down?" Fabian asked Alfie diplomatically.

"Fine," Alfie held up his hands in defeat, about to call for Amber but she was already coming down the stairs, golden blonde hair flowing as she walked swiftly down. She was wearing new clothes that she had receive for Christmas and Alfie thought she looked blindingly beautiful.

"You look amazing, Ambs," he muttered, awestruck as she reached the last step.

"Thank you," she smiled sweetly at him but glared at everyone else, "None of you will ever understand how long it takes to recreate this look."

"Let's just go before we're anymore late," Mara laughed, opening the front door and gesturing for everyone to follow.

They all stepped into the brisk morning, but despite the cold it was a gorgeous day. The lightly falling snow in the sunlight looked as if someone was sprinkling glitter above them. They all walked into town, each couple with their arms laced or gloved hands clasped together, grinning and talking to each other.

"Nina, did I say that you looked lovely today?" Fabian asked kindly, pleasantly surprised by her simple yet fashionable clothing. Amber had told Nina that black was her best color, so Nina had on a black peacoat, cute black boots, and a small black beanie that made her wavy hair look rather elegant.

"Yes, you did," she laughed, "Now you're just spoiling me with compliments."

"That's my job."

Their first stop was the bowling alley, which had been Nina's idea. She had always seen movies or television shows where friends went bowling and it incredibly cheesy, yet always ended up being cute. However, to their dismay they found out that it was just the opposite. The bowling alley was sticky and in need of a good cleaning, so as they slipped on their dreadfully colorful shoes they all duly noted the sickening smells and stains of their first date destination.

"I'm sorry guys," Nina told everyone, carefully tying her shoelaces "I didn't know this place was in such bad shape."

"How can it be bad? There's food!" Mick grinned, about to make a dash for the front desk.

Joy held up a hand to stop her boyfriend, "You do not wanna do that."

"Why not?"

"Look at that!" she cried, pointing to a customer feebly pick at a plate of greasy French fries with what seemed to be moldy cheese and a mystery meat.

"That should be considered biohazardous waste," Mara visibly cringed, pinching her nose in disgust.

"Fair point," Mick looked slightly pale, clutching his stomach due to a slight nausea.

"We could just skip this part," suggested Nina, "It wouldn't hurt my feelings or anything…"

"No we have to stay!" Alfie cried, "Bowling is my thing, guys."

"He's right," Patricia agreed, "Anyway, I've got to make sure Eddison doesn't beat me at my own game."

"We'll be doing couples teams," Fabian sighed, "So you two will just have to get along!"

"No worries," Eddie smirked, selecting a red ball for him and Patricia, "We're going to win because of me."

"Hah!" she scoffed, "I'll be the knocking down the most pins!"

So everybody grabbed a ball gathered around a lane. Amber volunteered herself to type in the team names, so she skipped up to the machine and typed as follows:

Team Fabina

Team Amfie

Team Peddie

Team Jara

Team Moy

"Amber, what are you doing?" Jerome arched an eyebrow, "People are going to think we're crazy, nobody else combines names like that."

"Well we do," Amber snapped, "You actually do not understand how essential it is for couples to have a title like that."

"Please, enlighten me," he retorted, pretending to be interested.

"First of all-Alfie what are you doing? Get us that pink ball!" Amber called to her boyfriend, pointing to a sparkling ball that was an alarming shade of pink.

"Ambs are you kidding me?" Alfie groaned, "You're going to ruin my mojo! I'm an expert bowler."

"I think that you should focus on being an expert boyfriend," Amber shrugged indifferently, "Because that's what this day is about, not winning or losing."

Moaning, Alfie picked up the pink ball and shamefully set it down with the others.

Fabian and Nina were the first to roll, but neither had very precise aim so they never knocked down very many pins, so they were the first out of the competition.

Next to lose were Jerome and Mara. In all honesty Jerome was a fair bowler, but Mara did not understand the scientific formula to create a perfect throw, so that brought their score down enough for them to lose.

Patricia and Eddie were a close third, but due to their bickering they did not do as well as hoped. They were both pretty decent bowlers, but Eddie would be about to throw and Patricia would yell to him about his form, so he would be distracted and miss. Or sometimes Patricia would be preparing to roll her ball, but Eddie would say something and she just had to best him, so then her throw was incorrect. At one point they completely forget about the couples competition and solely focused on beating the other, which resulted in their loss.

So now it was down to Mick and Joy versus Amber and Alfie. Mick was an average player, and while his powerful throw could have enough force to knock down a lot of pins, but he could easily miss. Joy was quite the player, with her rather skilled and precise throw. Now Alfie was most definitely the best bowler there, apparently he had won several competitions when he was younger. However, Amber was a tragedy in ugly shoes, throwing that pink ball that Alfie loathed. Luckily Alfie's skills outweighed Amber's lack thereof.

Currently the two teams were neck and neck, Joy had just bowled a spare and the last turn fell to Amber. The only way she could win was if she bowled a strike, which had yet to happen.

"Alfie I don't want to do this," Amber complained, examining her nails, "What if I break a nail?"

Leaping up from his seat, Alfie joined Amber at the front of their lane, "Ambs, you've got this," he added brightly, "Also, your nails will be fine, trust me, those babies can survive anything."

"Don't give me that," she mumbled, frowning at the ground, "I'm awful at this and I'm going to make us lose."

"No you're not," he assured her, "You're Amber Millington, of course you can do this!"

She contemplated this, "It's not in the Millington genes to quit."

"Exactly!" he slapped her back, "No worries, yeah?"

"But how do I do it?" she inquired, peering at the ball, "My normal method is to just throw and hope that I don't hit anybody with it!"

"This is what you do," he stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her and guiding her arms into the correct position, "Swing your arm back like this," he steered her arm backwards, "Now close your eyes and let go."

"That's all?" she looked a little more hopeful now.

"That's all," he echoed, grinning.

"Thanks, beau," she leaned over and kissed him, "You're the best."

"No problem, now go out there and win! I believe in you!" he cried as he ran back to his seat.

Amber took a deep breath and slowly picked up the bowling ball, facing the lane. She turned to Alfie who gave her an encouraging thumbs up, and then she turned back to the set of pins that lay before her. Then she pulled her arm back, closed her eyes, and tossed the ball forward with as much force as she could.

There was a crash, but how many pins had she knocked down? She peeked one eye open and didn't see one standing pin!

"Yeah Ambs!" Alfie shouted, dashing up to Amber and hugging her tightly, spinning her around.

"I did it! We did it!" she squealed when he sat her down.

"See? I knew you could!" he nudged her playfully and the corners of her mouth tugged into a smile.

"You're right. I'm Amber Millington! I can do anything," she grinned triumphantly, "And you helped too, beau."

"Team Amfie for the win!" he yelled enthusiastically, high fiving his girlfriend, "Team…everybody else loses!"

Mick and Joy both groaned, but congratulated Amber and Alfie for winning.

"So close babe," Mick patted Joy's shoulder supportively.

"What's next?" Patricia demanded impatiently.

"I hope you're not being a sore loser, Trixie," Alfie scolded, "It's all about having fun!"

"That's what you say," Eddie rolled his eyes, "You were the winner!"

"Next we've got a movie," Fabian interrupted, "And there's a movie theater conjoint with this place, so all we've got to do is pick the movie."

You wouldn't think it, but this decision was quite a difficult one. Patricia, Eddie, Jerome, and Alfie opted for the newest installment of a trilogy that involved the Zombie Apocalypse, which involved blood, guts, and lots of their favorite flesh eating monsters. Amber was especially not in favor of that decision. However, Nina, Fabian, and Mara yearned for the movie that was based off of a book they had all recently read. Though they had attempted to explain the plot to their friends, it just came out a jumbled mess that confused everyone. So that movie was a definite no. Then Amber and Joy begged to see the newest chick flick that featured some attractive male that was way too old for them. Last of all was Mick, who didn't really care what movie they watched, as long as he could hold the popcorn in his lap and be next to Joy.

In the end they'd decided on a movie that seemed to suit everyone. It contained actions, romance, and a well written plot, so everyone was eventually satisfied.

Fabian and Nina's hands were clasped in the dark, and though they'd held hands a million times, there was still a sort of giddiness that accompanied it. But Patricia and Eddie were a little stiffer about their intimacy. They both glared at each other when their hands brushed as they both reached for the popcorn. Eventually Eddie got fed up with this, so during one of the more romantic parts of the movie he planted a kiss on Patricia lips and to his delight she kept on kissing him. An older couple scolded them for doing obscene things during the movie so they stopped kissing. After this incident they both held back laughter and their shoulders relaxed, feeling a bit more at ease with the other. Mara laid her head on Jerome shoulder, and might have fallen asleep but Jerome thought she looked kind of peaceful so he said nothing. Alfie felt like he ought to do something with Amber, considering the fact that everyone else was doing some sort of romantic thing. So he crept his hands towards Amber, laying his arm across the rest for her to take the hint. Unfortunately for him, she was actually focused on the movie, so when she realized his hand was waiting for she tried to reach for it, but he moved it out of the way at the last second. Sighing, Amber grabbed Alfie's hand, muttering under her breath that they were acting way too much like Fabian and Nina. But Alfie was glad that Amber wanted to hold his hand, so he stifled a laugh and happily watched the rest of the movie. Mick didn't have a problem with doing boyfriend things during movies, so he had one hand in the popcorn tub and the other draped around Joy.

After the movie was over, they all headed for the ice skating rank, Amber's requested dating location. It was an idyllic day, the sun was shining and making the ice sparkle. The ice skating rink was outside and lots of people were there, couples linking arms as they skated, children screaming as they flew past, and even hockey players practicing.

Nina was lacing up her skates, sitting on a bench and hesitantly staring out at the ice.

"What's wrong?" Fabian sat beside her, slipping his shoes on.

"That," Nina pointed at the ice rink, "I've never ice skated before!"

Patricia sat beside the two and raised an eyebrow, "You've never skated before?"

She shook her head, "Nope! I've lived in Los Angeles, California all my life, so there's not exactly an abundance of places to ice skate. Plus Gran never took me to places where you could."

"That's a shame," Patricia tsked disapprovingly, "Now you're going to fall and look really-"

"You're not being very helpful!"

"Sorry!" she held her hands up, "We all have got to fall sometimes, yeah?"

Eddie came over and dropped a pair of ice skates into Patricia's lap, "Lace up, Yacker."

"Don't be so pushy," Patricia made a face but started putting on her shoes anyway, "Tell Nina that it doesn't matter if she hasn't skated before."

"You haven't?" Eddie guffawed, "You are going to fall flat down on your face and I hope I'm there to see it!"

Nina shot him a dirty look but Patricia slapped his shoulder, "Way to exaggerate, doofus!"

"It's not my fault I was the only one willing to tell her the truth!"

Fabian scowled at Eddie but patted Nina's shoulder, "Pay no attention to him. What are you so worried for though?"

"It looks dangerous," she bit her lip nervously.

"Nina Martin? Afraid of danger?" Fabian scoffed, "So you're willing to face an undead ruler and crazy, eternal life seeking men but not go ice skating?"

"I have the worst balance!"

"You can't be worse than Mara," Patricia teased, "Or can you?"

"I heard that!" Mara cried, joining her friends, "And I'll have you know that I can skate quite well, thank you very much."

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," Patricia waved her dismissively, "But come on, who actually is good at ice skating?"

"Patricia's right!" Mara urged, "Everybody falls down, but you've just got to be willing to stand back up again!"
"And you've got us," Fabian lifted a wobbly Nina up, "Lots of helping hands to pick you up when you've fallen."

"I never fall," Eddie huffed up his chest proudly.

"Oh yeah?" Patricia mocked, pinching his cheeks, "Did daddy tell you that?"

"Ha ha," he swatted her hand away, "I'm not kidding though, I played hockey for six straight years, so it's safe to say that I'm probably the best at ice skating."

"Modest as ever," Patricia rolled her eyes, "So you're telling me that you never fell down in six years of brutal, painful hockey?"

"I'm not saying that I didn't fall down," Eddie clarified, "I'm saying that now I don't fall down. Clear?"

"As mud."

"Good," he just about left but pointed an accusing finger at her, "You don't believe me, do you?"

She smiled cheekily, "Oh honey, of course I believe you," she replied in a girly, high-pitched voice.

"Oh you are going down, Yacker."

"The only one going down will be you."

"Oh yeah? Bring it on," he challenged.

"Oh I will," she smirked maliciously, "I bet that I can get you on the ground before we're done today."

Jerome had just entered into the conversation and his mouth dropped down, "Wait, what? Are you two gonna-"

"You absolute pervert!" Patricia cried, shoving him forcefully as she left to skate.

Laughing, Jerome held his hand up for Eddie to high five, "Oh man, you have finally cracked Patricia. After all these years, it's you to do it! An American, even!"

Eddie ignored the high five, "Get a life, Jerry," he exited and joined Patricia out on the ice.

Jerome stared at the two mournfully and turned to Fabian, hand still in the air.

"No."

Jerome let out a sigh and Mara laughed at him, "You reap what you sow."

"You think you're clever, don't you Jaffray?"

"Just a bit," she stood up, lacing her arm through his and taking him out on the ice.

For a moment, Mara let go of Jerome and spread her arms out, flying across the ice.

Jerome tried to skate after her, but his arms were flailing and Mara thought he greatly resembled a newborn gazelle.

"What are you doing?" she giggled, covering her mouth with her mittens.

"I'm skating," he replied, thrashing his arms wildly so he would not fall down.

"Skating? No. Floundering about like a fish on land? Yes."

On the other side of the rink, Eddie was making circles around Patricia, who had not moved an inch other than to get out on the ice.

"Will you quit with that?" she snapped, "You're making me dizzy!"

"No," he sang, expertly zipping back and forth across the ice.

When he wasn't looking, Patricia held out her foot to trip him, but he jumped over her foot, landing to the ice with whoosh.

"What was that?" she demanded, "Because it wasn't fair!"

Sneering, he speedily whipped around to face her, "Told you I was fantastic."

Patricia stuck out her tongue, "I'm going to get you, slimeball."

"We'll see!"

Meanwhile, Mick was tightly gripping the railing, unwilling to go out any further.

"Come on big guy," Joy urged, "You can't stay there all day."

"Yes I can," he muttered, scowling at Eddie, who was twirling around a fuming Patricia, "How is he so good at it?"

"He's a hockey player," she extended her arm, "Now get out here and skate!"

"Hockey players," he grumbled, "I tried that once, but it was a complete joke."

"Or you couldn't do it?" Joy was unconvinced.

"Well maybe but-"

"No buts!" she grabbed his arm, pulling him towards her.

Mick made an unintelligible noise as he flew at her, grabbing her shoulders to stop himself.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" she dragged him further, then let go and gracefully weaving through people.

Laughing, he tried to join her but could only clumsily inch along.

"Are you even trying?"

"I am, I swear!" he cried, heaving himself forward.

"Oh dear," she muttered, racing back to him, "You've got to slide your feet, not drag them."

"I have been sliding them…Oh," Mick had tried Joy's tactic and was not slowly moving forward, much less gauchely, "That does work!"

"Told you so," she pecked his lips, "You ought to listen to me more often."

"I really ought to," he echoed, kissing her again, with his hand behind her head, pulling her close to him.

Fabian and Nina were skating together, arms linked as they glided across the ice.

"This is pretty fun!" she exclaimed breathlessly.

Fabian grinned at her sheer enthusiasm, "It is, isn't it?"

"I wonder if I could-" Nina let out a shriek as her foot slipped and they both tumbled to the ground.

"Apparently not," Fabian laughed, imagining how utterly strange they must look to passing strangers, sprawled out on the ice like this.

They both tried to get up at the same time which caused them to bonk heads.

Amber spotted them from a distance and skated to them, shaking her head in dissatisfaction, "You two are hopeless."

Nina rubbed her forehead, "We appreciate your compliments."

"I'm just saying," Amber helped her friends up, "I always thought you two would get your act together when you started dating but no, you're still just as awkward."

"We've figured that out," Fabian said, "Where's Alfie?"

"Heeeere's Alfie!" they all looked up to see Alfie speeding towards them at a dangerous speed.

"Slow down!" Amber cried.

"I can't!" Alfie zoomed at them then collided with the three, knocking everyone down in the process.

"Oh beau," Amber muttered, standing up and wiping herself off, "You really are a terrible ice skater."

"That may be true, but you're an amazing one so I think we cancel each other out."

After an hour or so, most of the people had left the ice rink and it was starting to get dark.

"Can we go now?" Joy shivered, teeth chattering.

Mick put his arm around his girlfriend to warm her up, "I'm getting pretty hungry."

"Amber's still out there," Nina sighed, "And so is Patricia, she's still trying to knock Eddie down."

"Why aren't you out there with her?" Jerome asked Alfie.

"She wore me out," Alfie rubbed his temples, "She is like the energizer bunny when it comes to ice skating."

"How are we going to get them off the ice?" Fabian asked.

"Dragging them?" Joy suggested.

"I've got an idea!" Alfie smiled cunningly, whispering something into Jerome's ear, who's grin grew wider by the second.

"What's the plan?" Mara inquired, eyebrows raised.

"Not telling," Jerome replied, "We wouldn't want you guys to know too much, we want to save you from Patricia's wrath."

"How noble of you," muttered Fabian.

"Patricia's wrath? That doesn't sound so good…" Nina looked slightly worried.

Instead of replying, Jerome just gave them all a grin and sped off towards Patricia and Eddie.

Mara clicked her tongue in disapproval, "If he isn't careful he's going to fall, I mean look at him!"

"He's like a chicken skating around with its head cut off," Alfie remarked.

"That is definitely not the right phrase…" Mara sighed.

"Oh geesh," Nina mumbled, realizing Jerome's plan as he drew closer to Patricia at a very alarming rate.

They all watched in horror as Jerome flung himself at Patricia, who fell into Eddie. Taken completely by surprise, Eddie dropped to the ground.

Patricia landed on top of him and shook her fist at Jerome, "Clarke," she growled, "What was that for?"

"Oh-Oh dear," Jerome pretended to be sorry, "So sorry, I didn't even mean to run into you two!"

"Watch it next time," she hissed.

"Of course," he bowed and skated back to everybody else, rubbing his hands together because of the success of the plan.

Patricia grinned victoriously at Eddie, "I just knocked you down."

"Did not!" he retorted childishly, "You were shoved into me, there's a difference, Yacker."

"Shove, schmove," she dismissed his comment, "Let's settle on this, I made you fall down vicariously through Jerome."

"You cheater!"

"Don't be a sore loser," she chided, taking advantage of his shocked face and kissing him.

"Mmmm okay maybe it was worth it to lose," he murmured.

"That's what I thought," she chuckled, pulling herself up to a sitting position and yelling to the others, "I'm ready to go now!"

"Told you so," Alfie muttered to Jerome.

It was now late at night, and everybody was gathered around a table at a restaurant. They had managed to get Amber off the ice, due to lots of persuasion and bribing. Their date was almost over, but the last stop was the best, a simple diner that had the best hot chocolate in town.

Everyone was gulping from their mugs, laughing and chatting about their wonderful date. It was the most memorable part of the night, and by the end everyone had major milk mustaches.

Joy held up her empty mug, "A toast," she proposed, "To us. So that we may have many more crazy adventures like this together."

"To crappy bowling alleys, holding hands at a movie theater, cliché ice skating, and delicious hot cocoa," Mara added.

"To best friends, because people like you guys only come once in a lifetime," Amber beamed at everyone.

"To boyfriends," Patricia smirked, "Who manage to be stupid and wonderful at the same time."

"To girlfriends," Alfie continued, "Who are unbelievably beautiful and totally nutters."

"Er, to Christmas Break," Fabian raised his glass, "Because it was the best one I've ever had."

Sighing, Eddie joined in, "To life, because it can suck sometimes but today it really didn't."

"To food," Mick joked, "Nah, just kidding. To England, because that's where all my best friends are."

"To scolding hot drinks," Jerome said, "Because you guys are insistent on giving impossibly long toasts and I hate drinking cold hot cocoa."

Nina, who was the last smiled softly and lifted up her glass, grinning at her friends, "To Christmas songs, because they make you really grateful for what you have," everyone stared at her, so she explained further, "The other day we sang this song and these lyrics really made an impression on me. Through the years we all will be together, if the fates allow. When I heard that, I realized that our time together is running out. I hope that we can stay in touch, because you guys are amazing. But one day, there will be a time when we don't see each other every day, but guess what we're going to do? We're going to find ways to be together, because that's what friends do. I'm so glad I met you guys and I hope that we'll spend more Christmases together. If I've learned anything from coming to England, it's that life throws a lot of things at you but if you have great friends you can get through it. I've never had more fun in my life than when I've been with you guys, thanks for making my stay here so incredible."

And with that, everyone clanked their glasses together and swore to each other that'd they'd stay in touch, no matter what happened. As the night went on, they laughed and talked, enjoying their last lovely night together before school started. Everybody shed a tear, though they didn't admit it, when Mick left.

They'd miss their Australian friend, but they'd know that there'd be many more Christmases to celebrate and many more dates to go on.

Because that's the thing about goodbyes, they're just early hellos in disguise. They're the sweet promise of seeing someone again someday.

That night the friends celebrated life, love, and laughter, because for now, that was all that really mattered.

I can't believe this fic is over! It was fun and crazy to write, but I'm so appreciative of all the support you guys have given me. This story wouldn't be the way it is without helpful reviews and friends! I'd like to thank my friends Katee and Emily for giving me tips, help on editing the story, and best of all, they'd review when I texted them that I'd still need one more review before I could update the chapter! I didn't mean to be a review whore or anything, but some of your reviews improved my writing and inspired me! I asked for reviews so I could update because if I was going to put a lot of time into a story, I wanted to know that people out there wanted it, so sorry if I seemed a little demanding. You don't have to review this chapter or anything, but your reviews make me incredibly happy and they're always appreciated, so don't hesitate. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and favorited this story, it means the world to me! I got requests for a sequel, but life is going to get very busy very fast and I'd like to leave the story like this, on a happy and fluffy note. I hope you liked their gigantic, corny group date! All in all, writing this was a learning experience, but with your guys help I got through it! Thanks for encouraging me to keep writing and I hope that you've all enjoyed this story.