A/N: I decided to start another Narnia novel. Please let me know in a review if you guys like the idea so far. I will be changing quite a few thing so as not to follow the movie exactly.
The Fantasy of Reality
~Chapter One~
Overprotective To A Fault
"Which one do you suppose is the most handsome boy of Hendon House," Eloise Hastings asked, appraising eyes sweeping over all the boys their age.
"I do believe the title goes to Henry Paxton," Margaret Hale stated. "That gorgeous smile of his!" Margaret promptly sighed as she started after the object of her affection with swooning eyes.
Clara Walsh rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Henry Paxton has nothing on Charles Bradford's bottom. It truly looks squeezable." She tittered at the shocked looks on all the girls faces.
Mia Bennett looked up from her novel in shock, but then curiously looked over at Charles Bradford, wanting to see what had Margaret so flustered. Her checks turned red as she instantly looked back down at her novel. She had been caught staring and now the boys, whom had originally been playing football, were now gathered in a similar circle across the field from them, whispering and staring back. Because the all-boys school had been destroyed by flying shrapnel and debris from an air bombing, the Hendon House boys were invited to attend school at St. Finbars, which in turn caused Eloise to invent the game during lunch hour as a way to entertain herself. It sure had made for a very interesting month so far as the boys teased and flirted with the girls.
"Margaret," Susan Pevensie gasped, wide eyes staring at her.
"Don't be such a priss, Sue," Eloise giggled. "What about you? Whom do you find to be easy on the eyes?"
Mia glanced up, curious to see just whom Susan would name. Usually, Susan tended to be private about such things. Perhaps today was the day she would share. Unsurprisingly, Susan refused to give them a name, despite their badgering and comments about her being a stick in the mud.
Coming to Susan's defense, Mia challenged, "Why don't you answer, Eloise?" Blue-green eyes narrowed, waiting expectantly for the brunette's answer. Susan shot her a grateful smile, to which Mia nodded understandingly.
Eloise made a show of thinking about her answer carefully by staring unabashedly at the boys, eyes openly observing them. Mia rolled her eyes, aiming a dry look at Susan and the other girls. Smirking, she pointed at a tall boy with black hair and blue eyes. Ah, Edward Burke, deemed the most gorgeous boy by most the girls at St. Finbars. Even if Edward had been blessed with good looks, Mia found his condescending behavior very off putting. Said boy waved back at Eloise, with a roguish smirk, causing all the girls to crowd around Eloise with giggles and squeals. Mia gave in unimpressed scoff, focusing once more on her book.
"What about you, Amelia," Jane Hastings, Eloise's cousin, sneered, brown eyes glaring at her. No doubt she was annoyed by the way Mia had talked to Eloise. Never mind the fact that Eloise had started it first by picking on Susan…
Smacking her novel down on the bench next to her, Mia glared back unflinchingly, irritated by the use of her full name. Anyone who knew Mia, understood of her distasted for her full name. Only mother dearest and teachers got away with using it. The rest of the girls quieted down, staring with interest at both of them. "I don't have time for such trivial things," Mia snapped.
"You're such a wet blanket just like Pevensie here," Jane complained, hands on hips. An outraged Mia jumped to her feet, fists clenched. "Bet you can't get Edward to acknowledge you!"
"Watch me, Hastings!" And they shook on it, much to Susan's horror.
Mia spun on her heel and walked over to the boys, the girls looking on with interest. She made sure to lock eyes with Edward as she neared him. Edward grinned cockily at her approach.
"Hello, Amelia Bennett," Edward greeted. "To what do I owe this pleasure to?"
Mia's eyes widened in surprise briefly, but she recovered quickly by aiming an alluring smile at him. He knew her name. Huh, that sure was a bit of a shock. "Hello, yourself, Edward. I just wanted to talk to you." Mia casted a quick peek over her shoulder at Eloise and the others before she daringly stepped closer to him. She then noticed Charles Bradford peering curiously over Edward's shoulder at her. Remembering earlier, she blushed and swiftly adverted her eyes back to Edward, whom unfortunately had noticed their brief exchange. Glaring in warning at Charles, Edward shifted so that he was no longer within her eye sight.
"Is that so," he replied, suddenly reaching up to curl a strawberry blonde lock around his fingers. "May I ask what you and your friends were talking about earlier?"
Mia refrained from cringing at his touch. Another quick look back to see Eloise and Jane, with equally jealous looks on their faces, encouraged her to gently untangle Edward's fingers from her hair, quickly squeezing his hand before dropping it in favor of taking a step back. "I'm sorry. I don't believe I am at liberty to discuss that with you," Mia responded coyly.
He took another step forward. "Were you talking about me?" Mia internally rolled her eyes at his words, forcing a sheepish smile on her lips for his benefit. Edward stood taller, smiling pompously. "Why don't you let me treat you to a bottle of pop after school," he suggested, grinning what he probably thought was a handsome smile.
Realizing this has gone on longer that she'd like, Mia decided to let him down gently. "I'm sorry, but no."
He was exchanging wolfish smirks his friends when her words caused his head to quickly snap back in Mia's direction in shock. Seeing the look of utter surprise on his face, Mia immediately knew that he had never been turned down before. She grimaced, watching his face turn from surprise to sheer determination. Just what she needed. This stupid boy confusing her answer for her wanting to be pursued relentlessly by him. Now, Mia understood why she typically stayed away from the opposite sex, apart from her brother and the Pevensie brothers.
"No," he asked with a chuckle of disbelief. "Come on, Sweet Checks, I'm sure you'll rather enjoy our little outing…" He winked suggestively.
Mia wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I said 'no', you stupid, stubborn boy," she snapped, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she stalked away with a scoff. It wasn't too long before, Edward shadowed her steps, his hand falling heavily on her shoulder as he spun her around to face him. He gripped her wrist tightly, hard eyes gazing down at her with patronizing amusement. It was right then, in that moment, that Mia realized just how tall Edward was compared to her.
Refusing to show just how tight his hold was, Mia glared daggers back at him. "Let go, Burke," she spat, nostrils flaring.
"Not until you say 'yes,' Love," He laughed, his hold tightening to a painful degree.
"No, you arse!" Mia stamped harshly on his foot, eliciting a satisfying howl of pain from him.
He released her at once, reaching down to favor his throbbing foot. "You bitch!" He stumbled forward in a threatening manner.
Hands suddenly shot forward, violently shoving him away from her. Peter Pevensie, with a murderous gleam in his eyes, protectively stepped in front of her. Mia hissed in pain as the blood rushed back to her wrist, and she cradled it against her chest. Her noise of discomfort prompted Peter to tower menacingly over an astonished Edward.
"Stay away from her, Burke," he snarled, his form shaking with anger. "Or else I will be forced to tell Liam Bennett that you have been bothering his sister, and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to stop him if he decides to beat you to bloody pulp." Mia flinched. Peter was right. If her older brother had been here, he wouldn't have hesitated to clobber Edward even if it meant suspension and an earful from their mother. Since their father's departure to the Western Front, Liam had become increasingly overprotective to an irritating fault. It was a good thing he was at home recovering from the stomach flu.
"What is going on over here," Ms. O'Neill demanded, rushing over to help Edward to his feet. She glanced over at Peter and Mia expectantly.
"Everything is quite alright, Ms. O'Neill. We were just wrestling a bit, weren't, Edward," Peter lied smoothly, calculating, cold eyes staring at him, silently daring him to say otherwise.
Edward nodded wordlessly as he lumbered back to his friends. Ms. O'Neill turned back to Peter with suspicious eyes. "Not too rough, Mr. Pevensie," she scolded, taking her leave.
He sauntered over to Mia and threw his arm over her shoulders. As he led her away, he looked back at the rest of the boys. "And that goes double for the lot of you!"
Mia allowed Peter to walk them over to the girls, whom were now grinning like Cheshire cats. Ignoring the stares from the other girls, he sat her down on a bench and crouched in front of her, gently pulling her wrist away from her chest. He lightly traced his fingers over the red mark now forming around her wrist. "Ow," Mia hissed.
Peter gritted his teeth. Mia could see that it was becoming increasingly difficult not to storm over to Edward and deck him across the face. "I should have punched that bloody bastard when I had the chance," he growled furiously, glowering at Edward's back.
"I'm glad you didn't," Mia whispered. "Thank you." Peter sighed, his gaze softening when it fell on her.
"You're welcome. Please refrain from over-exciting any other boys. I'm not sure you are fully aware of the affect you have on them," he murmured, squeezing her shoulder. He pressed a kiss against her forehead, provoking a rather strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She frowned in confusion. Exactly what had he meant by that? Since when did kisses from Peter evoke such odd feelings?
As he walked away, he ruffled Susan's hair, dodging her hand swatting with a laugh. Everyone crowded around her, giggling and talking loudly over one another. It was Eloise's voice that she heard as clear as day though, and it was probably because her words had irked her for some unknown reason that she could not fathom.
"I changed my mind. Peter Pevensie is most definitely the most handsome and chivalrous boy of Hendon House," Eloise sighed, staring after him with moony eyes. The rest of the girls giggled their agreement. Mia made a face at Eloise's declaration.
After school, Susan and Mia waited patiently for the younger Pevensies and Peter to walk home together. Everyone that Mia locked eyes with would either look away swiftly or stare back with curiosity at her. It seemed that the incident from lunch had already reached the ears of everyone and now every boy was heeding Peter's advice.
"What you did was beyond foolish," Susan exclaimed. "The rational thing would have been to just ignore her and walk away. But you did the opposite of what I expected of you."
Mia sighed exasperatedly. "Sorry. It won't happen again, Mum," she quipped. Susan stared impassively, finding zero amusement in her little joke. Mia winced, smiling apologetically. "Truly, Susan, I'm sorry."
Before Susan could respond, Lucy ran up to them, Edmund following closely. She seemed rather excited about something. "Is it true that Peter defended your honor against Edward Burke today and then forbid all the boys from talking to you," she asked breathlessly.
Edmund, she realized with some bemusement, was awaiting her answer with interest instead of the scorn she had become accustomed to seeing as of late. Mia cringed. Now that Lucy had said it out loud, it did sound a tad bit absurd, but it was essentially how it had occurred.
"More or less," Mia said sheepishly.
"How romantic," Lucy squealed, clapping her hands. Mia managed a half-hearted smile at the ten-year-old's enthusiasm. "Does that make Peter your beau?" Mia's eyes widened at Lucy's innocent question while Susan and Edmund smirked at each other.
"Sorry, Lu, but not quite. Your brother is just my friend," Mia said, her heart sinking a little at those words. The youngest Pevensie pouted cutely, but nonetheless accepted her reply with little protest. Once Peter arrived, the Pevensies and Mia immediately made their way home. They had loitered around school longer than intended and did not wish to receive a word lashing from their mothers. With the recent increase of aid raids, their mothers had insisted in them remaining close to home when not in school.
When Peter insisted on seeing Mia to her front door, she joked lightly about Edward being unlikely to be hiding out in her mother's rose bush because of all the thorns. Peter saw no humor in her joke, much to her surprise. "Please, go inside, Mia," He ordered solemnly.
Mia moved to open the door but hesitated. She turned to face him. "What did you mean by earlier? About not realizing the affect I…" she trailed off nervously, biting her lip as she gazed at him from under her lashes.
Peter ran a hand through his hair and exhaled sharply. "I don't know, Mia. I guess it was more of a jest than nothing. Forget about it, alright? Now please go inside."
Nodding, she bided him good-bye, as she entered her home. Even though Peter had claimed that his words meant nothing, Mia couldn't but help think back to how serious he had looked when he had said them back in the schoolyard. What had he intended? Nibbling on her lip, Mia realized she would never truly know what his line of thinking had been at that very moment. Perhaps he was right and she was only reading into it more than she should. Or perhaps it had meant something more. But what exactly?
Why does the opposite sex have to be so damn bloody confusing, Mia lamented.