WPV
I sat, idly tapping my fingers, listening to Jeremy droning on. On my face I wore a mask of riveted attention, while I retained myself from pushing him out the door.
"Wendy?" Jeremy's voice jolted me into reality. "I, uhm, need to talk to you about why I came here today." He reached out and grabbed my hand. Oh, really? You didn't come here to talk about, what was it? Accounting? I thought dryly. I gazed into Jeremy's brown eyes, and with a shock I saw green eyes that had looked at me that same way, almost three years ago. I hastily snatched my hand away from Jeremy's grasp.
"What?" I snapped. He paled. "I'm sorry. That came out sharper than I intended it too." I suppressed a sigh. Glancing at the door, I saw my parents nod encouragingly. Forcing a smile upon my face, Jeremy visibly relaxed.
"Well, we're getting older you know," He started.
"I'm only 16," I interrupted.
"And you're nearing the age to be married," He continued as if I hadn't said anything. I stared at him with growing horror. "I've already asked your father, and he agreed." Jeremy got down on one knee, pulling out a velvet box. Clicking it open, a diamond ring stood in the center. "Wendy Angela Moira Darling, will you marry me?" He smiled, his perfectly white teeth showing in all their glory.
I couldn't believe my ears. I mean, it was one thing for a boy to court you, and a completely different thing for him to propose marriage! I still had school and a career to think of… and although I wasn't ready to admit it, I was still in love with a certain boy who had whisked me away to a fairy tale. A world with mermaids and pirates and Indians… a world where fairy's danced in the moonlight and children never grew up.
But I had to forget him. He had forgotten me. With one last look at my parents, who were smiling their approval, I whispered my response to Jeremy.
"It would be my honor, Jeremy Robert Alexander Smythe," He smiled again. Oddly, the perfect smile that made all the girls fall at his feet simply repulsed me. I couldn't help but remember a crooked smile, with impish eyes above it and golden brown hair falling into those striking green eyes, with a scar just above the right eyebrow. Green eyes that were sometimes blue in certain lights, like when we danced with the moon… Stop it, I thought stubbornly. These thoughts will get you nowhere. You're with Jeremy now. In fact, you're lucky someone like him noticed you. But somehow I couldn't convince myself.
Jeremy gently slipped the ring unto my finger, his hands lingering there longer than they needed to. Something inside me recoiled at his touch, but I ignored it and grinned brightly. As Jeremy got up to leave, I didn't need to ask if I would see him soon. His family lived a few houses down from us, so I knew for a fact we'd 'run into' each other.
"Farewell, Wendy, darling," He bent down and softly kissed my lips. I watched him leave, as if I were a statue. When the door closed behind him, I ran to the nursery and threw myself upon my bed and wished for the millionth time the boys were here, and not at boarding school. Slightly, Curly, Tootles, and the twins were the only people who could prove that Neverland really was real, while I could tell my brothers anything. They'd understand.
And so, with tears streaming down my face and the ring sitting heavily on my finger, I dreamed one again of the place I should never have left.