Platonic Narnians

They were here, behind the gym.

Jill tried to remind herself that They hadn't been as bad ever since Aslan and Caspian had come to Experiment House- and there was no denying that there were fewer of them- but They were still painful at times. And this was certainly one of those times.

"Oh look, it's Pole," Adela Pennyfeather giggled. "Hello!"

She wasn't sneering as she used to sneer, and Jill supposed she could be thankful for that, but she was still annoying.

"Aw, leave her alone, she looks miserable, the poor thing," said Edith Winterblott condescendingly. Jill tried to remind herself of the enormous change Edith Winterblott had undergone since her return from Narnia, and in truth, she did feel a measure of thanks to the older girl. On the other hand, if there was one thing that irked Jill, it was condescension. In fact, it was the thing she disliked most next to being told-

"She's moping because her special friend isn't here," someone snickered, and Jill let out a shriek of irritation.

"It must be true!" Adela gasped, and They went off, talking amongst each other.

Jill leaned against the wall and sighed.

Experiment House was much better now than it had been last year- she could walk the hallways without entering the next room in tears. Some of Them were gone, and those that remained had changed dramatically. Recently, however, it seemed as though life was trying to irritate her. People would talk about her- not saying horrible things, but they would talk about her and- and- well, it was as though they were Together. And they weren't!

"Ah! I see you're feeling glum. You'll likely die of it, as a cousin of mine once did. I'm in no danger of that, though. I'm too cheerful. That's what they always say. You should be more like me, Jill," a gloomy voice in her head sighed. For a moment, she laughed, even as the tears came to her eyes.

She missed Puddleglum. She missed tramping through barren wastelands, though at the time it had hardly seemed fun. She missed the feeling of satisfaction when she lay down in the wigwam after a long, hard day. She missed having to recite the Four Signs over and over- she said them every now and again, just for comfort's sake. She missed Rilian. But most of all, she missed Narnia.

"You'll get back again, I shouldn't be surprised," Peter had told her confidently.

She remembered that afternoon clearly, now. It had been a slightly overcast day, but she hadn't felt the slightest bit gloomy. It had been impossible to, when Lucy had bounded down the stairs, throwing her arms around a girl she had only met once before.

"Oh, but I do feel we have met before," Lucy had said cheerfully. "See, you've been Narnia- and that's something we'll always- well, it's something that we will always share, won't it?"

And though Jill had wondered momentarily at the pause in Lucy's voice, and at the faint cloud that passed through her eyes, she had nodded and smiled.

"I love Narnia. I so miss it," she had confessed, and her heart still burned with yearning at the thought of Narnia. (home.)

Good heavens, where had that thought come from?

But now that she thought of it, it was home. And oh, how she longed to be there again!

"You'll jolly well return- Aslan's faithful like that."

Eustace's voice, so stout and certain, flitted through her mind, and something that felt a little like peace crept back into Jill's heart.

Let me return, Aslan, she thought, closing her eyes. The sun played lightly on her face, and she breathed deeply. It's lovely here, and I do enjoy it, but oh!- please let me return!

"Don't worry, Pole, everything will work out right," she heard Eustace say once more. "We've got Aslan, remember?"

Aslan, she thought, more fervently this time, and felt a little less lonely.

"Hullo," said a voice from beside her, and she turned around.

"Scrubb!" she exclaimed cheerfully, and he sat down, grinning.

"What are you doing sitting out here?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"Narnia," she said simply, and he understood.

This was precisely where he had first told her about Narnia- where they had attempted to reach Narnia- where she had first heard about Aslan.

"We'll see the place again," he said presently, and Jill felt a warm glow fill her heart. Then-

"What are you doing out here?" she blurted out. Then she realised what a frightful risk she'd taken. She had risked finding out the answer, and she was fairly certain it would be an answer she didn't particularly want to hear.

"Oh," he said, and went slightly red. "They found me and They started- well-" he flushed. "They started- talking."

"Talking?" said Jill.

The heat was rising.

"Yes," coughed Eustace, "about- saying- well- things about- us."

"Oh," said Jill, and her face went very red. "Well- it's only- nonsense," she finished jerkily, and cursed herself for blushing.

"Pure garbage."

"Garbage, like the Witch's lies."

"Complete and utter lies," Eustace said firmly, and they both nodded.

Then he suddenly reached out and took her hand in his.

Jill sat bolt upright.

It's simply platonic, she comforted herself, and slowly, she relaxed as the leaves played on the roof of the gym.

Completely platonic.

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A/N: Gripped by a sudden urge, I went and decided to revise this fic slightly. Not very much has changed, but I just rewrote the middle section. I do adore flashbacks, but the flashback in the first draft seemed a little forced- structurally, at any rate. Please give feedback on this new version! The 'review' button isn't purely aesthetic :)