(Josie Sayz: This is
the newest instalment of my ‘Jane Chronicles’ series. I’m not writing them in order
(which I know isn’t helpful) but the one that started it all off (which is not the
first in the series, but I haven’t written the first one yet) is ‘Peter and
Jane’ https://josiesayz.blogspot.com/2017/01/peter-and-jane_20.html
My ‘Moving’ https://josiesayz.blogspot.com/2019/05/moving.html
story although is a Peter and Jane story, it isn’t in the series. It’s just a
silly little something I wanted, at the time of writing it. Mr Starkey still sold
‘The Neverlandian News’ to ‘Hook’s Inc.’ and Fox (and many of the others) still
moved to work for Mr Hook. Jane still moved to work for the ‘SlightlyFood’ network
for a few months, before returning in ‘Jump’ https://josiesayz.blogspot.com/2020/02/jump_66.html
The characters from
this story are all taken from JM Barrie’s ‘Peter and Wendy’ and ‘Peter Pan’ and
‘Disney’s ‘Peter Pan,’ ‘Return to Neverland,’ and the ‘Disney Fairies’ franchise.
Peter is the main male protagonist.
Jane is the main female protagonist (in ‘Disney’s ‘Return to Neverland’ she is
Wendy’s daughter, but in this story she is not related to Wendy).
Iridessa is Peter’s girlfriend (and is from the ‘Disney Fairies’ franchise).
Wendy is Peter’s housemate.
Fox is Jane’s friend. He works with Peter at ‘Hook’s Inc.’ following ‘The
Neverlandian News’ merge. Fox is own through Peter Pan lore (and various recreations)
that Fox was once a Lost Boy.
Curly is Fox’s boyfriend.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or location references – these
are works by JM Barrie and ‘Disney’.)
Reconciliation
His heart fluttered.
Her soft hand stroked his cheek. Tingling danced up his spine. A sweet
fragrance wafted inside is nostrils. Warmth sprang from his chest. Nestling her
head beneath his chin, she wrapped her arms around him. His eyelids lowered. A
warm hum escaped him, as he stroked a hand through her red hair. Tilting her
head towards him, she whispered, “I love you.” An explosion of butterflies
erupted from his stomach.
He bolted upright. His eyes pierced open. Darkness.
Sweat trickled down his back. Gasping for air, his chest trembled. ‘That dream
again,’ he shuddered. He closed his eyes, inhaling a slow, shaky breath.
Turning to his right, he gazed down at the brunette, asleep beside him. Knots
twisted in his intestines. Sliding his hands up his face, he pressed his
fingers into his closed eyelids. He groaned. A tightness squeezed at his
throat. Dragging his hands through his scalp, he clawed at his hair, before
rolling his shoulders back. ‘It was just a dream’ he told himself, exhaling a
long, deep breath.
Glancing back at his sleeping partner, his heart
flopped to his stomach. His eyes dropped to his mobile phone, on his bedside
table. He prodded his thumb into the ‘Home’ button. The screen illuminated. It
was 00:38. He grunted. Sliding the phone back onto the table, he grabbed the
edge of the duvet and rolled onto his side.
With his back to her, he stared ahead at the wall
for some time. Knots spiralled in his stomach. He snarled his nose. Snapping
his eyes tight, he inhaled a sharp breath. ‘Why won’t you go away?’ he cursed
at the image of the redhead in his mind. He rolled onto his back. A gentle
snoring sounded beside him. ‘I am happy,’ he growled to himself. ‘It’s just…’
Flickering his eyes closed, his shoulders relaxed. Her face appeared before him
– the redhead smiling back at him.
With a huff, he shuffled himself up to sit.
Reaching out for his laptop, he plonked it on his lap, sliding his glasses up
his nose. As he tapped the keys, he flickered a glance over to the girl sleeping
beside him and dimmed the brightness of his screen. He opened his email. Empty.
He opened another tab and another and another. On each, he opened a different
social media site and typed in the same name: Jane Barrie. The redhead from his
dreams appeared. Her smiling face. Her sparkling blue eyes. The left corner of
his mouth prodded into his cheek. His heart panged. A sharp sting twinged into
the corner of his eyes. He sniffed. Murmuring sounded beside him. Inhaling a
sharp sniff, his eyes widened, as he turned towards his girlfriend. He snapped
the laptop shut and leapt off the bed.
Hopping up and down, he stuffed his legs into his
trousers and hauled them up. With a grunt, he swiped his hoodie, layered with
two t-shirts inside it and shoved it over his head. As he tugged at the ribbing
of his hoodie with his right hand, he swiped his keys from his bedside table
with his left and stuffed them in his pocket. Grabbing his phone and laptop, he
swept out of the room, without looking back.
The door, to his study, creaked open. He seeped a
breath, as he snuck inside, closing the door behind himself. He flicked on the
light switch. Dropping into his chair, his heart gave a hammering thud. He
clattered his laptop and phone onto his desk and began rummaging around in his
desk’s bottom drawer. Papers rustled. Pens clattered. His chest trembled. ‘It
has to still be here,’ he told himself. A bottle lid. An empty wrapper. A used
tissue. His fingers stroked against a book cover’s feathered, leather edging. A
calming exhale washed over him. He flopped back in his chair and brought the russet
coloured notebook near. His thumb fanned the pages. A page paused open. A
rectangular piece of card protruded from the centre. He pulled it out, dropping
the notebook back into the drawer.
Leaning back in his chair, he gazed down at the
glossy photograph in his hand. On the right, he gazed back at himself. His hair
shorter. His face cleanshaven. A smile stretched on his face. Beside him was
the redhead he had dreamt of, Jane. She rested her head on his shoulder,
smiling. He stroked his thumb across the photo, a warm rush of memories washed
over him. Her beaming smile. The warmth that embraced him whenever he was in
her presence. Her glowing sparkle that followed her wherever she went. Their
fingers intertwined. Long walks in the woods. Her hugging his arm. Picnics in
his favourite park. The sun beaming on them as they lay in the grass. Her
adorable giggle. A weight lifted from his shoulder blades that he had not
realised had been weighing him down. The heavy pressure that fuzzed his head,
drifted away. A warmth spread from his heart, stretching down his limbs,
entangling him with a tingling glow.
His heart dropped to his stomach. The memories
vanished. A shudder washed over him. His head shot towards the door. A lump
lodged in his throat. The photograph fluttered to the floor. Pressing his thumb
into the ‘Home’ button on his phone, he unlocked it and stared at his
background. An image of himself smiled back at him, but with the brunette, that
lay asleep in his bed, smiled alongside him. The thumping in his chest froze.
He held his breath.
His vision hazed. His thumb pressed buttons. A dial
tone rang. Beeb-beeb. Beeb-beeb. Beeb. It cut short. A murmured, “Hello?”
sounded. His stomach spiralled.
“Jane!” he breathed.
“Peter?” she mumbled. “Peter Pan… is that you?”
“Sorry,” he muttered, clawing a hand through his
hair, as he turned to look out of his office window. “Did I wake you?” he
asked, looking out onto the deep, slate-grey and foggy-plum clouds that drifted
across the midnight sky, towards the waning moon.
“No, it’s fine,” came Jane’s reply.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
“Of course we can,” she told him.
“Can I drive over?” requested Peter. “It doesn’t
feel right over the phone.”
“Okay,” was Jane’s shaky reply. “When?” He heard
her swallow. “Now?”
“Is that okay?” he asked, as his brow furrowed.
“Erm… okay,” she replied.
“Great,” beamed Peter. “Give me ten minutes. I’ll
be right there.” Slipping his phone into his pocket, Peter leapt to his feet
and raced to the door.
*
Her heart raced in her
ribcage. Clawing her nails into the cuffs of her pyjama top, she scraped the
sweat from her palms. Sat upright in bed, she crossed her legs, staring down at
her mobile phone in front of her. ‘What just happened?’ she asked herself, as
she exhaled a shaky breath. ‘Peter… I haven’t heard from him since-’ A shudder
crept up her spine, shuddering her out of her thoughts. Shaking her head, a
nervous laugh escaped her. ‘I know, I dreamt it,’ she sighed to herself. ‘I
haven’t heard from Peter in over a year. Why would he call me?’ Her insides
swirled around in a circumbendibus. Holding a hand to her stomach, she reached
out for her phone. After pushing a few buttons, she opened up her call history.
Her heart froze. She stared at the screen. Call History: Peter Pan. Duration:
38 seconds. “Buh-but,” she breathed.
Closing her eyes, she sniffed, as memories of Peter
flooded to the front of her mind. His warm smile. The green flecks in his soft,
brown eyes. A warm spiral of butterflies in her stomach, as he took her hand to
lead her on another adventure. Pressure lifting from her head, whenever he was
near. The safety and comfort of his hugs. The bubbling spark, she felt, as she
looked forward to their future. Her chest tightening. The inner corner of her
eyes stinging, as a salty prickle filtered into them. Gripping her cuffs tight,
as he let her down again. Shallow breathing. Her heart aching. He didn’t have
time for her. The tugging and tugging of her heart, as she waited and waited
and waited for him, only for Peter to forget her. He didn’t seem to care.
Sliding down the wall, she collapsed to the floor, crying. For hours, she lay
awake at night. Too scared to sleep. Hurting too much to try. Peter in the arms
of someone else. Anger. Burning rage. Peter crying. Apologising over and over.
Holding him tight. Feeling his warmth. The love in his kisses. The cycle
repeating. Her heart breaking. His cold eyes. His last words, “I don’t feel
anything for you, Jane.”
Balling her hands into fists, a shaky breath
escaped her. Every emotion: happiness, excitement, love, warmth, safety,
comfort, worry, longing, hurt, confusion, loneliness, anger, upset, fear,
forgiveness, adoration, devotion, disappointment, betrayal and hopelessness
spiralled around in her mind, each fighting for her upmost attention.
“Not now,” she growled aloud. ‘I’m in a good
place,’ she told herself, with a sigh. ‘I actually feel okay being just me.’ Stretching
an arm out, she stroked a thumb against the plush of her bear. The soft texture
caused a tingle to dance up her spine. She pulled it near. Her brow puckered,
as a smile prodded into her cheek. Memories, of Peter winning Jane the bear at
a fête, fluttered butterflies in her intestines. Her heart sank to her stomach.
‘What if he needs me?’ she worried, bolting up right. ‘Peter doesn’t
need me,’ she scolded herself, scrunching her nose at her silly thoughts. ‘He’s
with someone else. He told me to leave him alone forever… and forever’s an
awfully long time.’ Jane’s shoulders sank. She stroked a thumb across her bear.
Her eyes widened. She straightened her back. ‘I won’t let him bring me down,’
she decided with a firm nod. Closing her eyes, she inhaled a slow, deep breath.
‘I need to show him I’m strong and I don’t need him,’ she told herself,
pressing her shoulders back and her chest out as she dropped her bear down on
the bed. As her eyes lingered on her bear, she grabbed it back and squeezed it
tight. “That doesn’t mean I don’t miss you, Peter,” she whispered.
Slipping her feet into a pair of shoes, she looped
the keyring of her housekeys on her finger and grabbed her phone. Her heart
beat faster and faster, as she peered through the curtain. Headlights
flickered. Her stomach spiralled. She gripped a hand to her chest, as her heart
skipped a beat. Vibration buzzed in her hand. A text message from Peter
illuminated her phone. ‘I’m outside,’ it read.
Jane’s stomach churned as she crept down the
stairs. Stopping at the mirror, in the hallway, she ruffled a hand through her
fringe. Her heart gave a twinge. Jane pinched her lips in and darted her eyes
to the floor. Taking in a shaky breath, she rattled her keys in the front door.
She froze. Closed her eyes. ‘I can do this,’ she told herself with a nod.
*
The passenger door to Peter’s
car swung open. His stomach fluttered. Pressing his chest forward, he straightened
his posture. The redhead, he had pictured many times that night, dropped into
the seat beside him, tugging the door closed. “Hey,” Peter beamed, as his
eyebrows bounced up. Her sparkle radiated, as she lowered her head and dropped
her hands to her lap.
“Hey,” muttered Jane. She forced the right corner
of her mouth into her cheek and flickered a glance in Peter’s direction, before
returning her attention to her shoes.
“You look well,” Peter told her, forcing a swallow
at the lump that formed in his throat.
“Thanks,” muttered Jane, adding, “You too,” as she
flickered another, brief, glance towards him.
“Your hair’s grown long,” Peter exclaimed with a
chuckle, admiring the copper locks that curled out at Jane’s waist.
“Yeah,” she murmured, as she dug her nails into the
cuffs of her pyjama top.
Peter’s tongue scraped against the roof of his
mouth. His intestines swirled. The thumping in his chest grew louder. Faster.
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, staring ahead at the empty street.
Sweat clammed his palms. He flickered his eyes towards Jane and back to the
road. Trembling bounced in his left knee. He inhaled a shaky breath. “Jane,”
his voice cracked as his breathing quavered. “I’ve been seeing someone,” he
told her, as his forehead furrowed. His chest tightened.
“I know,” muttered Jane, lowering her head to her
chest. Her bottom lip quivered.
“What?” gasped Peter. “How?” he raged, snarling his
nose.
“Fox and Curly,” Jane replied with a shrug.
Inhaling a shaky breath, Jane closed her eyes. The
inner corners stung. She pinched her lips in. Blowing out a calming breath, she
fluttered her eyes open, flickering her vision to Peter’s knees. “Her name’s
Iridessa,” she heard Peter say. “She works in the print room, at work.”
“I know,” Jane whispered, wrapping her arms around
her stomach.
“She’s amazing,” Peter breathed. Jane lowered her
head, twisting herself away from him, as her throat tightened. “She’s beautiful
and so smart. She makes me laugh, but
best of all, she’s so helpful. She’ll go out of her way to talk to anyone. All
of our visitors and travelling journalists rave about her talents, when she
serves them in the lobby. She’s amazing,”
he gushed. “She’ll talk to anyone, and everyone loves her. She hasn’t got a
negative thought for anyone.”
“She sounds perfect,” Jane managed to say, as she
struggled against the lump in her throat.
“She is,” she heard Peter go on, as she inhaled
another shaky breath. “We’ve been living together several months now.”
“That must be nice,” squeaked Jane, with a smile,
as her eyes sparkled. She clawed her nails into her sides, as she tightened her
grip around her waist.
“I dunno,” Peter muttered. “I
just… I dunno.” A
deflating sigh escaped him. “Maybe I’m just being selfish,” he murmured.
“Selfish?” repeated Jane, as her brows slanted.
Loosening her grip around her waist, Jane twisted herself around to face him.
She fluttered her vision towards him, lingering on his sunken shoulders, tilted
head and glum expression for the first time.
“I thought that’s what I wanted… to be with someone
like her,” Peter went on, as he stared ahead at the empty road. “She’s unlike
anyone I’ve ever met… but it’s suffocating. I can’t take it.”
Jane noticed Peter’s grip on the steering wheel
tighten. His veins rose to the surface of his hands. He growled a sigh,
thumping his fists to his lap. Jane’s eyes widened. “You need to talk to her,”
she told him.
“I can’t,” sighed Peter. “Just seeing her gets me
so frustrated.” He balled his hands into fists. “I’ve tried,” he exclaimed. Closing his eyes, Peter let out a sigh and
loosened the tightened grip on his hands. His shoulders drooped. “She just
doesn’t seem to be able to spend time by herself,” he complained. “I just-“ he
froze. Arching his head towards Jane, a sigh escaped him. The left corner of
his mouth prodded up. His eyebrows shot up. “Seeing you’s made me feel a lot
better,” he confessed with a soft smile.
Jane’s heart panged. Her stomach erupted with
butterflies. Staring at Peter, her lips parted. A warm glow stretched from her
chest. Her right hand hesitated towards him. A twinge pulled at her heart. Her
eyes sparkled. Swiping her hand back, she twisted away from him. She lowered
her head. Her eyes stared out of the passenger window. Her chest pounded. Seeping
in a shaky breath, she told him, “Go home, Peter.” Silence. She swallowed the
lump in her throat. Closing her eyes, Jane took in a couple of long, slow
breaths and relaxed her grip around her waist, before twisting her head towards
Peter, fixing her eyes on his lap. “Tell Iridessa how you feel,” she said in a
soft, calm voice. “Maybe the two of you can work things out,” she added, with a
smile, as she looked up at him.
“We can’t. I can’t,” grumbled Peter. “I just get
frustrated with her. I don’t feel anything for her anymore.”
“Then you need to talk to her,” Jane explained. “Maybe
ask her to move out for a bit. Give her a few days, or a week to move her stuff
out. Give yourself a few weeks to yourself to think things through.” Lowering
her sight to her lap, Jane shuffled herself around to face him. The drumming in
her chest raced. Sweat clung to her palms. “Maybe after a few weeks apart,
you’ll work everything out,” Jane suggested with a shrug, as she flickered a
glance back at Peter. His snarled expression made Jane force a swallow, as he
glared at his shoes. “She must mean a lot to you, for you to ask her to move
in,” Jane whispered, resting a hand on his forearm. “Regardless of what you
decide, you know how to find me, if you need me,” she added, taking her hand
away, as he turned his head towards her. “Or if you want a friend or just
someone to talk to.” Placing her hands in her lap, Jane’s heart gave another
twinge. “Promise you’ll call, or text, if you need me?” she asked fluttering
her sight to his.
“Promise,” replied Peter, as he locked eyes with
her.
Peter’s slanted eyebrows and sunken mouth, softened
as he gazed back at Jane. A warm smile poked into his cheeks. Jane shuddered. A
warm tingling sensation danced up her back, as she smiled back at him. “Come
here,” Peter sang, as he held his arms out towards her. Jane let out a breath,
she had not realised she had been holding and beamed back at him. Leaning
towards Peter, she rested her cheek on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around
him. His warmth engulfed her, as he hugged his arms to her back. His familiar
scent flowed up her nose, as she inhaled a soft, slow breath. A stretching
smile tingled her cheeks. Stinging seeped into the corners of her eyes. Her
chest trembled. Her throat tightened. An involuntary squeak escaped her, as she
squeezed Peter tighter. “You okay?” he asked, stroking a thumb on her back.
“Yeah,” she squeaked. He hummed against her.
“I missed your cuddles,” Peter told her with a
chuckle.
“I missed yours too,” sniffed Jane, as she leant
out of their embrace. Sniffing, she rubbed the backs of her thumbs beneath her
eyes.
Jane’s vision blurred, as she beamed back at
Peter’s warm glow and smiling face. “I love you, Jane,” he blurted out. “I
still do. I always did. I never stopped,” he confessed. Jane’s lips parted. Her
eyes darted to her lap.
“You’re just saying that because you’re hurting,”
she told him, as her throat tightened.
“I’m not,” insisted Peter, with a raised brow.
Jane’s shoulders drooped, as she sighed.
“I love you too, Peter,” she told him with a pout,
slanted brows and wide sparkling eyes. “But I don’t want you to say or do
something you’ll later regret.” Her breaths grew shallow. Her heart raced. “You
haven’t been drinking, have you?”
“No,” he told her with a chuckle. “This is all me,
Jane.”
“Look,” she sighed. “You’re obviously not in a
clear headspace, right now.” Forcing a swallow, a stern stare formed on Jane’s
face, as she dropped her sight to a chocolatey smudge on Peter’s jeans. “Talk
to Iridessa.”
“I don’t want her,” Peter sighed. “I want you.”
“You say that now, Peter, but I don’t want you
changing your mind or regretting your decision,” Jane warned him. “I love you
and care about you too much to lose you again.” Her vision blurred, as she
gazed into his eyes. “Or to have you hurt me again,” she continued, dropping
her eyes to her lap, as her voice quivered. “Please, go home,” she managed with
a squeak.
“Okay,” muttered Peter, with a nod. “Sorry Jane, I
didn’t mean to-”
“Don’t be sorry, silly,” Jane told him with a soft
smile, as she shook her head. “I’m glad you came to me when you needed me.”
“Thanks,” smirked Peter.
With a slow deep inhale, Jane fluttered her eyes
closed. Exhaling, she nodded to herself, before turning to Peter and flickering
her eyes open. “Go home and get some sleep,” she told him, with a firm nod. “Talk
to Iridessa. Take some time for yourself,” she said with another nod. “And
don’t keep yourself busy every second of the day, so that you can’t think about
your feelings,” Jane added, rolling her eyes. “The whole point of this is to
help you think about them.” Peter’s smile drained. He lowered his head from
Jane and stared out his window. “You have to want what’s best for you,” her
voice softened, as she leant towards him. “Not what your family or your friends
want for you, or Wendy. All that matters is what you want, in here,” she said
as she poked his heart. “So longs as you’re truly happy… then I’ll be happy for
you, whatever you decide you want.” Jane sniffed. Relaxing her shoulders, she
inhaled another slow breath. “Be it me, Iridessa or someone else.”
Arching his head back to Jane, Peter’s shoulders
drooped, as he lowered his head to his chest. His heart sunk to his stomach. He
dropped his eyes to the gearstick, between them. “You need to think about
things, Peter,” he heard her say. His stomach churned. Stiffness tightened at
his shoulder blades.
“I don’t know,” he mumbled with a shrug, as he stared
at the numbers engraved in the gearstick.
“Please, Peter,” murmured Jane. “You have to try.
Do it for me?” she asked, with a puckered brow. Looking up at Jane, a lump
lodged in Peter’s throat. His forehead creased. He turned towards her, pulling
Jane into a tight embrace.
As Jane leant against him, she felt his chest
tremble. Hugging her left hand to his back, she slid her right hand through his
hair. He sniffed and murmured against her. “It’s okay,” Jane breathed, stroking
her thumb against his ear.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice quivering.
“It’s okay,” she repeated, squeezing him tight. “It’s
okay.” Resting her chin on his shoulder, Jane inhaled and exhaled several,
long, slow breaths, to which Peter followed.
Tingling stung the inner corners of Jane’s eyes, as
they leant out of their embrace. She flickered her eyes to Peter’s. As he gazed
back at hers, the green flecks in his eyes caused her stomach to swirl. A smile
poked into the corner of her mouth. Peter beamed back. His lips parted. Jane’s
heart fluttered. Her eyelids lowered. He neared her. His breath brushed against
her skin. Snapping her eyes shut, Jane twisted away from Peter, holding her
hands up to her chest. “Please, go home, Peter,” she told him with a shaky
breath, as she squinted open her eyes. “Please,” she whispered, after releasing
a soft exhale. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she leant towards Peter and
placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Lowering his head, Peter nodded. He sniffed,
gazing back at her sparkling eyes. “See you soon, yeah?” she squeaked, wiping
the back of her hand across her blotchy face.
“Yeah,” Peter breathed with a nod. Jane pinched her
lips in, as she nodded back at him. Grabbing her phone and keys in her left
hand, she tugged on the car door’s release handle and prodded the door open. “Jane,” Peter
called out, placing a hand on hers. Jane’s heart skipped a beat, as she spun
her head around to see him. “Thanks,” he smirked. Smiling back at him, Jane
nodded. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Peter,” Jane whispered, as she held
his gaze.
“I’d best let you get some sleep,” Peter chuckled.
A nervous laugh escaped Jane, as she nodded. Stepping back, she pushed the door
closed to Peter’s car. Her heart danced in her ribcage. Her stomach erupted
with butterflies. A smile beamed into her cheeks and she waved, as the
headlights to Peter’s car flickered on, the engine rumbled and he drove away.
- Josie -
