Just a one-shot I thought up between Billy and Jane. Don't own anything.
Hope you like it!
Peanut Billy and Jane
Six-year-old Jane Quimby sat at the kitchen table, her chin in her hand, eyebrows furrowed and lips turned down in a frown.
Six-year-old Billy Nutter sat at the same table, opposite Jane. His arms were crossed and he too wore an angry expression.
They were in a fight.
It had all started when a boy in their class had made fun of Billy for hanging out with a girl, citing that she had "cooties". Billy, despite being Jane's friend, was afraid this might be true and decided to steer clear from her during recess. This of course sparked outrage in Jane who insisted, loudly and angrily, that she did NOT have cooties. Ultimately all of it added up to an altercation near the swing set. Their teacher had called Jane's father to let him know about the situation and that the pair would have to remain inside for recess during the remainder of the week.
"This is all your fault. Now we can't play for the whole week" Billy huffed at Jane.
"It is NOT my fault. You're the one who left me alone at recess"
"Because of the cooties!"
"I DO NOT HAVE COOTIES!" Jane shrieked, cheeks flushed and puffed out in anger.
Jane's father was in the kitchen fixing the pair of them a snack. But he quickly headed over to the children before anything more…violent could happen.
"Jane. Please don't yell" He said firmly, pulling out a chair at the table and sitting in between them.
"But he-!" the little girl started. He cut her off by giving her a look. Billy took the opportunity to stick his tongue out at Jane but quickly retracted it as her father's stern gaze moved towards him.
"So. Are you two going to apologize and be friends again?" Jane's father asked them.
There was a beat of silence. Neither child spoke, both choosing instead to stare at the table in front of them.
"Well that's a shame because I was going to give you some special sandwiches made especially for you guys but I guess now you can't have them" Jane's father said.
Two pairs of eyes quickly shot up to his face.
"Special sandwiches?" They both asked at the same time.
"Yup" her father replied. "They were made to be eaten by you two because you guys are special and friends. But now…I guess you'll never get to taste them"
"What's in them?" Billy asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
"Peanut butter and Jelly"
"It's a PB&J?" Jane questioned, using the abbreviation like her older brother always did. "There's nothing special about peanut butter and jelly daddy" Jane said in what her father liked to call her "know-it-all" tone.
"Yeah, Tommy eats them all the time. It's not special" Billy added, referencing his own older brother.
"Oh really?" Jane's father said. He waited a moment before elaborating to peak their interest once again. Jane and Billy's small faces looked back at him expectantly.
"This is a special kind of PB&J and it doesn't stand for 'peanut butter and jelly'. This sandwich was made special for the both of you. It's called a 'Peanut Billy and Jane'. And no one else has ever had this kind of sandwich. And they can't either-unless they're friends and their names are Billy and Jane." he finished, leaning back in his chair to see their reactions.
"Just think about it", he continued noticing they weren't yet fully convinced.
"Peanut and butter together equals Nutter. And Jelly is a lot like Janie"
Billy and Jane stole a glance at one another. Her father did have a point, their names were awfully similar like it was supposed to be that way. They needed to find out more about this sandwich.
"Can we try it?" They both said in unison, once again.
Her father looked at them and pretended to scratch his head.
"Well you can only have it if you're friends. 'PB' and 'J' are eaten together because they go so well together, can't have once without the other. And you two don't seem to be acting very nice to each other. But tell you what; I'll bring them out so you can take a look". Jane's father pushed back his chair and went to the kitchen to grab the plates. As he did so Jane and Billy snuck glances at one another trying to determine what the other was thinking.
Her father brought the plates back to the table and placed one in front of each of them.
Jane looked down to see a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. However it didn't look like it ordinarily did; same white bread, crusts cut off of course. But it had been cut into the shape of the letter 'J'. Billy's sandwich was in the shape of a 'B'. They both lit up in delight- it was a personalized sandwich.
"Pretty cool huh?" Her father said. "And they taste extra good. Too bad you guys can't eat them" Jane's father reached for the plates when both of the children cried out.
"Wait!"
"No, Daddy can we please eat them? Billy and me are friends" Jane pleaded.
"Yeah, we're friends!" Billy echoed just as enthusiastically.
"Hm. Well I guess you can. But you have to say sorry to each other first" Mr. Quimby said looking at them with raised eyebrows.
Billy looked at the floor shyly for a moment before looking up, "I'm sorry I said you had cooties. And anyway I don't think you do anymore otherwise your dad would have them too"
"It's okay. I'm sorry I hit you" Jane said. She hopped out of her chair and pushed it until it was right next to Billy's. She did the same with her plate. As she climbed back on, Billy held out his hand for a high-five. Jane slapped her palm against his then looked up at her father, waiting for his approval.
"Go ahead, I'll go get you some milk" he said with a smile, standing once more.
Billy and Jane took big bites of their sandwiches making sounds of appreciation. Somehow it seemed to taste even better than any PB&J sandwich either of them had ever had.
Ever since then it became tradition for her father to make them their "special" sandwiches whenever Billy came over, no matter how old they were. And it managed to taste just as delicious every time.
-JBD-
Jane was having quite possibly one of the worst day's ever. It was almost comparable to the afternoon she had lost the Look Book actually. Gray had yelled at her at length for not picking up an important shipment, India had spent the day harassing her about it, and she was fairly certain she had flunked her history test that morning. It was one of those days where all she wanted was to come home and be met by her father waiting with a snack and a hug. But now even thinking about her father just made things worse.
And to top it all off when she had texted Billy about it he hadn't responded. It had been five hours since then, still no response. Was he mad at her? But they had gotten past Lulu, and his unfortunate prep look. Was it Nick? As she sat on the train trying to figure it out her phone pinged. She reached in her purse and took it out to see it was Billy. She started to smile before she read the message.
Billy: Can't come to the station but left Beast there. Keys on top of tire.
That was it. No explanation, no comment about her previous distress text.
As the train finally got to the station Jane got off, sulking.
Crack!
Jane's right ankle twisted painfully and she lurched forward almost falling flat on the pavement before she caught hold of a lamppost next to her. Looking down she saw that her heel had broken.
"Seriously?" she shouted, looking up. In doing so she managed to attract some looks from strangers around her. Huffing she hobbled down the steps and to the Beast, reaching for the tire. At least the keys were still there. She climbed in the car and drove away trying to determine why the universe had been so against her today.
When she finally got to her house she dug through her bag for her keys and shoved them in the door. Pushing it open she stumbled through into the living room. It was dark. Looking up she saw the only light- two long candles flickering on the kitchen table.
'Please don't tell me I walked into some impromptu date night of Ben's' she thought.
A dark figure was in the kitchen. As he turned around she saw it was Billy.
"Oh honey you're home!" he said jokingly, raising his eyebrows and smiling.
"What- what is all this?" she asked, pulling of her heels. Billy walked up to her and took her large purse.
"Here lemme get this" He put her bag on the couch and Jane looked at him questioningly.
"Oh this? Well you just seemed like you were kind of freaking out so I just made us some dinner. Ben's got some faculty thing? He said he won't be back till late. Sorry I couldn't come get you. Mr. Koontz kinda caught me with my phone out and confiscated it and gave me detention. But I managed to sneak it back for a second to send you a text. He made me clean the entire chem lab. Do you know how disgusting that room has gotten? It took forever" Billy said. As he spoke he took Jane by the shoulders and steered her towards the table, forcing her into the seat.
Jane smiled, "You really are the best" she said.
He laughed in response, coming out of the kitchen with a tray and placing the food in front of her.
"One glass of milk, one plate of tater tots, and one-"
Jane cut him off, "Peanut Billy and Jane sandwich!" she squealed in delight. Before Billy could say anything Jane jumped out of her chair and wrapped her arms around her best friend. He snaked his arms around her and hugged back.
"Thanks Billy. I…really needed one of these today" she mumbled into his shirt. Billy replied by hugging her tighter. They stood like that for a long moment before Jane looked up at him, chin still resting on his chest.
"I love you" she smiled up at him, eyes a little wet with emotion. He looked down at her and smiled back.
"I know." He said simply. "Now, sit down the tater tots are getting cold!" he mock scolded. Jane laughed and complied happily reaching for her sandwich and biting off a piece of the end of the 'J'. Billy did the same with his 'B'. It tasted extra delicious as always.
Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought. I'd love some feedback.