Disclaimer: I don't own House of Anubis.

Yay, Palfie! They're simply adorable, best friendship in the show in my opinion.

They're ten when they meet in the foyer of Anubis House, Alfie bored out of his mind and Patricia simply bored in general. She can't care less that she's suddenly been shipped away to boarding school- or at least that's what she tells herself- and Alfie just wants to make a new friend while Jerome's being yelled at in Victor's office.

"Oh, dearies, go on, get to know each other," Trudy, their housemother encourages, and while Alfie beams, Patricia just rolls her eyes. "Alfie, this is Patricia Williamson. I expect both you and Jerome to treat her well, no silly pranks, all right?"

And Alfie gives a sheepish grin, "All right." And Trudy pats his shoulder and kisses him on the cheek before going off to prepare dinner, leaving him alone with this new girl who looks as if she's judged him already and doesn't like what she's seeing. He gulps, not sure what to say.

"Hi," he outstretches a hand. "I'm Alfie. Alfred Marmaduke Lewis."

"Marmaduke?" she lets out a small laugh, but it's not the giggly sound every other girl makes around him. This is a real laugh, and he likes it. He likes hearing that, likes making people laugh, so he grins along and nods.

"Yeah, don't know what my parents were thinking," Alfie shrugs slightly, suddenly feeling a bit shy as he studies her up and down. Her hair's a dark shade of brown; her eyes are green; there's no denying she's pretty. But then again, he's been stuck with only Jerome for company for a good year now. Even Amelia Pinches, the most disgusting girl in their year, looks pretty after long holidays spent in Anubis House with the only 'girl' actually being a twenty five year old woman Alfie considers his mother.

"Tell me about it," the new girl rolls her eyes but doesn't elaborate, and he's left wondering that maybe she has an embarrassing middle name of her own. Or maybe she just generally doesn't like her parents, maybe they're too hard on her the way Alfie's parents are on him.

"You know you shouldn't do that," Alfie urges her, wagging a finger like he's seen Victor do. "That thing with your eyes. My mum says if you keep doing that rolling thing, they'll freeze like that." He lowers his voice an octave, "Do you want your eyes to freeze like that?"

"Uh," Patricia draws out the word, looking at him strangely. "…no?"

"Exactly!" Alfie says cheerfully. "Here, let me tell you about this place. There's only one other person living here- he's my best friend. We prank together- he might want to prank you because you're new-"

"You prank?" her eyes widen and Alfie cocks an eyebrow as she takes off her backpack and crouches over it before withdrawing a bottle of silly string. Patricia cracks a smile, "Me too."

"B-but you're a girl," Alfie says, horribly confused. He's never known a girl prankster- he didn't think girls pranked at all. Jerome told him they didn't, and Jerome's always right...

"So?" Patricia looks mildly offended, and she glares at him in a way that makes her look more scary than pretty. She packs away the silly string again and surveys him up and down, as if scanning him. "I don't think I've told you my name."

"Well, Trudy-"

"I'm Patricia," she says matter-of-factly. "Patricia Williamson."

"That's such a long name," Alfie groans- he's never been one to do things to long way when there's a short one available. His eyes light up, "How about a nickname?"

She looks skeptical and dubious, "What kind of nickname?"

"Patty?" he tries, but by the look on her face, she clearly doesn't approve. "Okay…Tricia? No, that's not very good…Trixie!"

"Trixie?" Patricia's nose wrinkles up at the nickname but Alfie nods eagerly. She still doesn't look entirely pleased, but it's something about that innocent face of his that makes her sigh. "Fine, you can call me Trixie." Alfie lets out some girlish sound before clapping his hands excitedly.

"We're going to be best friends!" he enthuses. "We can prank together- but don't prank Victor, he's mean- and we can talk about aliens- by the way, are you an alien?- and we're going to be best friends until we're really, really, old." He nods solemnly and Patricia's confused- she's never had somebody who wants to be her friends this bad, and truth be told, it's kind of endearing. So she lets this new friend of hers, Alfie, lead her to the table, where he tells her all about life at Anubis House. And she lets him blabber in about aliens for a long time, adding on to his theories even though they're foolish and unreal. And she lets him discuss previous pranks and she jumps in with ideas of her own. It's the first time that day that she hasn't thought about her twin or her parents, and it's all because of Alfie Marmaduke Lewis.

Patricia remembers every single thing he tells her that day, as if it's engraved in her memory- she knows Alfie's favorite color and food and his shoe size. And she remembers his middle name too, which she teases him on during years to come until he regrets ever telling her about it. But if he hadn't, they might not be where they are today.

Marmaduke.

It was the start of a friendship.