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i.
“In your version of the dream, did you two get kissy-kissy?” Amber asks them, a teasing smile dancing on her lips.
Nina begins prattling off excuses, and Fabian immediately joins in, avoiding both girls’ gazes. He’s never been more grateful for Vera than when she starts shooing them out of the kitchen.
Still, a weird feeling settles in the pit of his stomach throughout breakfast: part butterflies from imagining that part of the dream, part embarrassment for even thinking about going there, and part excitement at the idea that maybe, just maybe, it may not be so far out of reach after all.
He eats in silence, lost in his own daydream, until he realizes with a start that they have to leave for school in five minutes. He glances at where Nina, who he’s supposed to be on washing-up duty with, was sitting just a minute ago. She’s not there.
“Check the kitchen, maybe,” Amber chides from next to him. Sure enough, Nina’s already at the sink, not only washing the dishes there but drying them too. He hurries to join her and ends up just standing there awkwardly.
“Need help?” He asks.
“Nope, I got it.” Her reply is curt, and she doesn’t even bother to look at him when she speaks. Fabian winces.
“Well, we should talk about the dream,” he says, going for a tone far more confident than he feels.
She raises an eyebrow in his direction, though her focus remains on Alfie’s syrup-doused plate. “It’s nothing. I just have to get to the other side of the chasm safely,” she reiterates.
“No, that makes sense,” Fabian says quickly. “I meant the bit of us at the party.”
“Oh, that.” Nina puts her sponge down and turns the water on. “You know it doesn’t mean anything. Just our imaginations in overdrive.”
It doesn’t have to be that way, though, he wants to say. We could give it—us—another try.
Before he can, though, he’s met with a sudden spray of water on his face. When he opens his eyes, Nina’s turned towards him, gingerly holding her now-soaked blouse and blazer away from her body.
“Could you finish up the forks? I need to go change.”
“Sure,” Fabian mutters.
ii.
“So, Patricia’s off on chores duty, Amber’s gone into town for an ‘emergency shopping sesh,’ and Alfie’s…well, I’m not sure what he’s doing, actually, but he’s not here,” Nina grumbles and flops down on a chair in the lounge. “How are we supposed to find the mask and get this curse lifted if they don’t even show up?”
“Well, we could study for that maths exam tomorrow,” Fabian says mildly, sitting on the couch next to her. He’s well-prepared for it already, but after several days of frantic Sibuna activity, he’s not at all against the idea of having a little time off, even if it’s just a lunch period.
“But what about—”
“Nina,” Fabian interrupts, chuckling. “It’s okay. We can work on it tonight—let’s try and get some schoolwork done in the meantime.”
She sighs, but nods. “You’re right.” She grabs her textbook and says dramatically, “Time to figure out the mystery that is…Trigonometry and the Law of Cosines.” She looks at Fabian, a look of pure disgust on her face. “As if we don’t see enough pyramids around here already.”
He rolls his eyes, amused. “It can’t be more difficult than anything else you’ve done since you got here,” he reminds her. “Look, I’ll show you.” He moves over a few inches to the right, giving her just enough space to squeeze onto the couch next to him. He grabs a piece of paper and a pencil and begins explaining the first problem.
The textbook lies open between them, half on his lap and half on hers, forcing her elbow to brush against his blazer every time she turns the page and sending his pulse into overdrive. At some point over the next half hour, his arm ends up draped over the top of the couch, hovering just above Nina’s shoulders; she leans into him enough for him to get distracted by the flowery scent of her shampoo. He can’t say he isn’t a little upset when they finish the last question and she starts packing up.
“You know, you’re a good teacher, actually,” she says, shoving the textbook into her bag. “I see why Joy asked you to be her ‘study buddy.’”
“It’s nice, spending time together outside of Sibuna like this. I missed it,” says, smiling.
Nina blushes. “Me too.”
Now’s your chance, a voice in Fabian’s head says. He could so easily drop his arm onto her shoulders, or take her hand, or say literally anything besides what ends up flying out of his mouth—
“Me and Joy are studying later, actually. You can join us if you’d like.”
Nina’s face immediately falls. “No, that’s okay.” She stands up. “I just forgot, I have to go see Ms. Ferguson about, um, strawberry picking. For the eighth-graders’ picnic tomorrow. I’ll see you later.”
Fabian watches her run away and groans.
iii.
“So, tell me about Nina, then,” Mick says. “Mara said you’d split up. The hell did you do?”
“Why do you just assume I did something?” Fabian retorts and reaches for another slice of toast. It was Saturday morning and the others were probably still sleeping, leaving him alone for breakfast.
“Mate, you almost asked out Patricia last year ’cuz you were too scared to tell her how you felt,” Mick reminds him. “So, what happened?”
“Nothing. I don’t know. It became way too much pressure so we ended things,” Fabian mutters. “But it’s fine. We’re still friends,” he adds quickly.
“You don’t sound like it’s fine. Is that why you kissed Joy? As a rebound?”
“No, no, it wasn’t like that.”
“You like Joy, then?”
“The whole thing was an accident!” Fabian exclaims. He sighs. “I still like her, you know? But after the kiss disaster and the way I handled it, I just don’t know if she feels the same way.”
“Nah, she still has feelings for you too. Just pluck up the courage and ask her out—you won’t know till you try,” Mick says, rolling his eyes through the screen.
Suddenly, Fabian hears a crash behind him. He hastily slaps the laptop shut and whips around to find Nina jumping up from the floor, clutching a silver platter to her chest. She blushes.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt. Amber’s mirror broke and she ‘desperately’ needs to fix her eyeliner, so,” she explains, gesturing to the platter.
Fabian laughs. “That sounds like her.” He remembers Mick’s words and pauses. This would be as good a time as any. “Listen, Nina, I wanted to—”
“I heard you and Mick talk. You don’t need to ask for my permission,” Nina interrupts. “It’s fine, I’m okay with it.”
“Wait, what?” Fabian asks, confused. “What exactly did you hear?”
Nina smiles halfheartedly. “Mick’s right—Joy’s totally in love with you. She won’t say no.”
“No, that’s not—”
“I’m going to go now before Amber gets even more agitated.” She sprints upstairs without another word.
+1.
“Alright, everyone, let’s give the lovebirds some space!” Amber declares, shooing everyone back into the living room. Nina waits until they’re alone in the foyer before turning to Fabian shyly.
“So.”
“So,” Fabian replies. He reaches down and threads his fingers through hers. “I just wanted to say—”
“No, it’s my turn now,” Nina interrupts, a twinkle in her eye. “You’ve had enough chances, anyway.”
“Hey!” Fabian protests, but she shoots him a look, and he shuts up again.
She opens her mouth to speak but finds herself suddenly unable to form a coherent sentence. She now understands why Fabian never actually managed to get the words out—even though she’s almost certain of his response already, this is still the most nerve-wracking thing she’s ever had to do (including everything that transpired in the library just a few hours ago).
Then she looks into his eyes, he smiles, and her heart immediately stops trying to beat its way out of her chest. It’s just the two of them here. There’s absolutely nothing to be scared of. She takes a deep breath.
“Fabian, I never stopped liking you, and I’d really, really like to give us another chance. Will you go out with me—again?”
He simply leans down and kisses her in reply.