Two is Company (House of Anubis)

Chapter 85: An Exercise in Trust

"So the oxygen tank was a bad idea," conceded Eddie the next day at school while he, Fabian, and KT headed to their next class.

"Yeah," agreed Fabian in the same sharp tone he'd been using since the night before. "Slowly and quietly, that's how we're gonna get in there, Eddie."

KT's lips quirked up in amusement as they rounded the corner. "You guys are a regular old tortoise and hare, aren't you?"

Eddie chuckled and was about to respond, when he saw Patricia drop her books at her open locker. Before he could valiantly swoop in and help her like a good boyfriend, though, Benji suddenly swung in like a regular Don Juan and gathered up the spilled textbooks. "I've got you!"

Patricia smiled gratefully and thanked him, while Benji shrugged modestly. Oh, he was good. Eddie's blood simmered in his veins.

Fabian gave a low whistle at his expression, and KT merely shook her head exasperatedly. "What is it now?" she asked.

"Get a load of this guy," he groused, gesturing at the disgusting display before them.

KT failed to hide a laugh. "Oh, yes. How terrible," she teased dryly. "He's helping her with her books."

"What? No, you guys don't understand the way Ben operates. Not like I do, okay? Cozying up to Patricia is all part of his scheme!" he insisted.

Fabian wrinkled his nose bemusedly. "Right," he said slowly.

"Okay, take it from a girl who understands girls, Eddie," KT assured him patiently, linking her arm through his and guiding him down the hallway. "That girl only has eyes for you. In fact, I'm gonna help you make sure Patricia knows that you know that you guys are soulmates. Capeesh?"

Eddie sighed, trying not to let the whole thing bother him too much. "Capeesh," he confirmed, hoping he sounded convincing. "I think."

Still, he felt better knowing that he wasn't the only one keeping a close eye on Benji. He was sure that if he tried anything too shady, Kira would have something loud to say about it.

"Excellent," said KT as she dragged him along, Fabian a few steps behind them chuckling to himself at Eddie's expense. "How do you feel about picnics?"

—

For the moment, Kira had other things on her mind than the Ben debacle, mainly helping Mara and Joy make dog food from the leftovers in the refrigerator. It was harder than it sounded, honestly; there were so many things a dog could or couldn't eat, and trying to mix it quickly and quietly without alerting Trudy or, worse, Victor to their presence was an ordeal all on its own.

"Seriously, guys, thanks for helping my with my secret dog," Mara said for the hundredth time as she whisked some of the shredded chicken into their goopy dog food mixture.

"It's really fine, Mara," Joy assured her, kicking the fridge closed with her food, arms laden with Tupperware containers. "I'm starting to really love the little guy. Sort of."

"Not so little," Kira joked, taking a few of the containers to lighten Joy's load.

"You can say that again." Joy beamed her classic megawatt grin at her, and Kira had to duck her head to hide the unwanted flush, feeling incredibly awful about it. Here she was, still seething over Ben and still a little flustered by Joy, all while being very happy with her lovely girlfriend. What kind of a hypocritical piece of shit was she?

Mara saved her with a new topic: "How's it going with Jerome?" she asked Joy.

"Well, you definitely broke the ice for us," she explained. "We've been getting along great since I comforted him... He's been really friendly with me."