Dedicated to YouWillRememberThisPenName, because it was she who provided me with some great Jilstace ideas, including the plotline for this oneshot. :) Thanks for all the encouragement!
Okay, so this takes place two and a half years after SC, and Jill is 14 and Eustace 15. I live for reviews, so it would be nice if you could tell me what you thought of it. Enjoy!
"Going out with Scrubb again?"
Jill froze at Annie Black's voice, instead choosing to stare at her pale reflection in the mirror. She was in the bedroom that she shared with her fellow classmate, Annie, and after a long day of school was getting ready to meet up with Eustace. But not…going out. "What did you say?" she asked carefully.
"Your boyfriend. Scrubb. Don't play dumb, Pole. Everyone knows you guys are together now." Annie shoved a notebook into her drawer and leaned against the wall.
"We are so not going out!" Jill exclaimed before lowering her voice. Shoulders rigid, she picked up her hairbrush and brushed her hair with short, stiff strokes. "What on earth gave you that idea?" she finally hissed when the silence became too much. She hated people talking about her behind her back.
Annie held up her hands. "Hey, don't get so defensive. I think it's cute that you guys want to keep your romance private, rather than the subject of gossip."
"Romance?" Jill threw the hairbrush down, shaky hands smoothing her shoulder-length brown hair and checking to make sure her shirt and skirt weren't wrinkled. "In your dreams, girl." Mine, too, believe me. Annie still looked skeptical. "Listen, I'm dead serious when I say we're just friends."
"Whatever you want to call it." Annie shrugged and plopped down on her bed, fiddling with her pillow. "But you'll have to convince more than just me."
Jill stared. "You mean other people are talking about me and Scr-Scrubb together?" She couldn't even say his name properly! What was wrong with her?
"Everyone," Annie said simply.
Jill paled. "There must be something I can do. To prove them wrong." She knew a blush was crawling up her cheeks now. But why? She liked Scrubb, yes, but he had never cared for her in that way. All this silly gossipy nonsense might embarrass him so much that he'd stop speaking to her! After all, he only liked her as a friend.
Didn't he?
Yes, of course she was just a friend to him, he'd never paid her extra attention. Why pretend anything else? Jill flung her hair back, lips tightened. "I don't care what anyone else thinks, okay, Black? I'm going to go hang out with Scrubb as a friend. Because we have a strong friendship. And we like to talk to each other. And that's all. So goodbye and good riddance!" She flounced out of the room, taking long strides.
There were few other people in the hallway, but Jill noticed as she walked that two younger twin sisters giggled and whispered to each other when she walked by, and a willowy girl with a French accent passed her by with the remark, "You and Scrubb are pretty cute together, even if you're both geeks" floating in the air. Still, Jill didn't take offense. She was proud of the fact that she and Scrubb studied hard. And at least she didn't run into any of Them. That sort of teasing she would never tolerate.
Eustace was waiting for her outside in the yard––behind the gym, actually, which had been their special meeting place ever since Narnia. It was early spring, still a bit chilly, almost two and a half years since the big incident when they'd become friends. On evenings when there was good weather she and Eustace would meet up and talk together about how their day had been, or on occasion take a stroll through the yard.
"Hey Pole," he greeted her, slouched against the brick wall and looking somewhat distant. "How has your day been?"
"Horrible," Jill grumbled. She almost went into a longwinded story of all that had taken place, but when she saw that Eustace was only half-listening she decided to drop the big bomb and see how he would react. "Annie Black accused me of dating you."
She expected him to say "That's nice" or "How interesting" and then she would jab him in the arm, as that was what had been going on a lot lately. Ever since the New Year, practically, there had been a good deal of tension between her and Scrubb. It was hard to pinpoint what it was, exactly, but whenever she asked him he just said nothing was wrong.
This time, though, he jumped and gave her the sort of look a startled deer would. "Wh––I'm sorry, what?"
So she gave a little offhanded shrug, trying to act casual, and said, "You heard me." She tossed her hair over her shoulders. "Isn't it ridiculous, though? I think it's the funniest thing since Carter messed up the science experiment and the fire went up in the room. He was walking around with no eyebrows for almost a month, they were so singed off!" She was faking the laughter and they both knew it. Annoyed at herself, Jill kicked a rock and sagged against the wall.
Eustace was giving her an incredulous look, obviously still astonished. "You're just brushing this off? Like nothing?"
"Well, isn't that what it is? Nothing? Who cares what they think? I mean, it's not like the rumors are true, right?" She hated the way everything she said was a question.
He was still staring at her. "Honestly, Pole, I think we'd know if they were true."
"Right. Because we're so not a couple, you know?" Jill tucked her hair behind her ear, fresh nervousness arising. She was scared, she realized, of what he might say. She couldn't just admit that yeah, she really did like him and had actually had a crush on him for almost a year now, but she couldn't breathe a word because he obviously didn't like her back since he always ignored her nowadays, and there was no way she could spoil their friendship.
She'd denied it for ages, but that was long since past. She liked him. They were both opposites and alike, day and night, yet like the sunrise and sunset melting together. Huh, that had almost been poetic. Jill whistled and then caught herself, clearing her throat. She was turning into such a sappy girl! "I mean yeah, we're so different and we just hang out, you know, because of Narnia and all, but I guess it depends on if you care whether or not people are gossiping about us."
He was silent.
She thought for a second. "We could meet in secret, if you like." Ooh, that was a fun idea. Maybe sneak outside during the night so they could talk privately? It was sort of romantic.
But nope, Eustace burst her bubble. "So you don't care. You don't care what people think. Should I assume, then, that that means you don't care about me either?" He was very nearly shouting.
Now it was Jill who could only stare. "Calm it, Scrubb." She squinted, her heart beating fast. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Only that I've been in love with you ever since I saw you for the first time, here in this very spot! Crying behind the gym," he said, mouth set determinedly, standing up straight now. "That was well over two years ago, Pole. I think I can tell from a time that long that you don't care for me in that way."
"Wait. W-w-wait, slow down." Oh, she was stammering again! Jill tried to take control of her tongue. "You mean you really like me?" Oh yeah, her heart was pounding super fast now.
He was looking at her with an expression torn between hurt and annoyance. "I would think you'd have figured it out by now. Of course I do."
"But…" She stared to stammer again, but he pinned her with that pained look. She cleared her throat. "But you always ignore me. Every time we meet to talk, your head is in the clouds and you're only half-listening. You always act so tense around me."
He groaned and put his face in his hands. "You act really tense around me, too! I was afraid you only liked me as a friend, so I tried to move myself away a little, because I knew if I kept acting like a real friend to you, it would only become obvious that I liked you. And I knew there was no way we could keep on being friends after that because you'd probably be too embarrassed to even be seen with me, and––"
"Eustace?" She purposely used his first name.
"Yeah?"
"Shut up." Then she kissed him, a short but sweet kiss on the lips.
Eustace was staring in shock when they finally pulled away from each other. "You mean you like me?" he asked, not even trying to hide his disbelief.
Jill sighed. "Yes, you idiot. I can't believe we both liked each other and couldn't admit it."
"You didn't mean it? When you said we're so not a couple?"
"Of course I didn't mean it! I was saying it because I was trying to act casual, because if I didn't say something like that then you'd be able to tell I'd like you, and it would––"
"Spoil our friendship," he said, finishing the exact same words with her. He groaned again. "We both thought the exact same thing about each other and didn't have a clue what the other was thinking. How dumb is that?"
"Pretty dumb," Jill agreed cheerfully. "But it still leaves what we're going to do about the rumors."
He stared at her briefly before ducking his head, a small smile growing on his lips. "Well, we should probably put some truth behind them, don't you think?"
Jill was grinning too, and the smile didn't leave when Eustace leaned forward and kissed her tenderly again. This time, though, a loud "Ooh" was heard from nearby and at about the same time, Annie's head poked out from behind the side of the gym, along with the French girl and the young twins.
"Annie Black!" Jill seethed as she forced herself to take a step back from Eustace. "What are you doing here, girl? I'm going to kill you!"
Annie merely laughed. "How could I resist stalking you? When I saw the girls in the hallway they wanted to come too. You walked so fast, we could barely keep up with you, but we caught up just now. And it looks like you were lying after all."
"I was not lying!" Jill protested, secretly relieved that they hadn't heard her and Eustace talking.
"Really? Because I'm pretty sure I just saw you kiss Scrubb like you're head over heels for him."
Jill turned a bright red, but more out of embarrassment than anger. She looked at Eustace, gave a lighthearted laugh, and said, "Fine. You know what? You can gossip about us all you like." Confidence flowed over her as the next words spilled out, "Because we are a couple."
Eustace gave her a surprised but pleased look and said, "Yeah, she's right. So leave us alone now, okay? You're satisfied; the rumors are true. Now you can go."
The French girl snickered. "What? So you guys can kiss some more?"
Jill said calmly and coolly, "That's not any of your business now, is it? Go." The girls rolled their eyes, obviously still pleased at the confirmation of all the gossip, and stalked off. Jill and Eustace lingered for a little longer, talking for a while behind the gym. Jill gave him one more short peck on the lips that evening before they went their separate ways and she joined Annie, who was already asleep, in her room.
She had a lot on her mind, but she fell asleep with a smile on her lips and dreamed of Narnia. A shiver went up her spine as she thought about the dream the next morning. She and Eustace were closer friends than ever now, and she had a feeling they were going to need to rely on that strong bond if they ever returned to Narnia.
Someday, she thought. Someday she would get back to Narnia, and she and Eustace would be together and happy. She was sure of it.
The thought kept her going every time she was discouraged. Narnia. One day she'd return there, but for now she was content with hearing remarks like "There's Scrubb's girlfriend. The two geeks, you know? They finally got together" every time she went down the hallway.
The gossip didn't bother her anymore.
*sigh* Aren't they just the cutest couple? Anyway, so what'd you think? I hope the ending worked out, because I wasn't sure about it. Comments and constructive criticism are more than welcome. Thanks for reading!