A/N: Hello everyone! This is Bookgirl0, coming to you to bring today's new story- The Darling Girl! I should probably be working on my Inheritance Cycle story (readers of the Two Riders, please don't kill me!), but I've been meaning to post this for a while now. So, read. Review. Enjoy
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Boo. I'm only saying this once also!
Chapter 1: The Observations
Lyra's POV-
"I can't believe schools over!" I said to my friend Coraline Jones. She grinned. We were on the bus, heading home from the last day of school.
"I know! Are we still up for that sleepover this weekend?"
"You bet!" My other friend Haley Nickels turned to me from the seat across the aisle.
"Who's bringing the movie?" She asked, brushing her short blonde hair behind her ears.
"Me!" My last friend, Hannah Lindeman answered from next to Haley.
"I know! We should watch "Coraline", eh Coraline?" Haley exclaimed, poking Coraline in the ribs. We all groaned. Haley still hasn't gotten over that movie stealing our friend's name, even though she didn't look like the character in the movie. She did have dark hair, but she wore it long and had forget-me-not blue eyes. She was tall and muscular, the athletic one of the group. Coraline also hated cats, because she got sneezed when she got near them. She was a pure tom-boy, but a real softy on the inside. When it came down to it, she wasn't the bravest in the group, but she was the strongest physically.
Haley was the opposite. She was the bookworm of the group, her dark blue eyes almost never out of a book. She was short and skinny and anyone could easily beat her in an arm wrestling match. Hannah was also the emotional and romantic one of the group, obsessed with a new boy every month. Or week. It depends. She was easily the smartest, and couldn't do a push up to save her life. Oddly enough, Coraline and Haley were the closest friends. But what can you say? Opposites often attract.
Hannah was the more punk girl in the group, preferring black and purple (for a change of pace) and horror movies. She had mousy hair streaked with purple and mischievous brown eyes. The rest of us still haven't recovered completely from the last time she brought a movie. It kept us up for the next week, and we still have nightmares occasionally. Hannah loved punk rock, and Haley, Coraline, and I have gotten a taste for it ever since becoming friends with her. She was what we call a free spirit, and sometimes the rest of us had to rein her in from some bad ideas, like getting a tongue piercing. She was the bravest, but a little of a hot head.
I, on the other hand, was the more artistic one. I spent the majority of my time in the art rooms, making clay sculptures and painting landscapes. More often than not my wavy dirty-blonde hair had paint in it, and my hazel eyes were shining about a new art piece I had just created. I was kind of the mediator of the group, the one who kept everyone else in check. Whenever someone couldn't agree with another, they immediately turned to me. My calm, level-headed personality made me good at this job. I also had a dreamy side that appeared when I was working on my art, or thinking about it. Coraline joked that it was easier to make Hannah wear pink then to wake me up from my dreams. The others agreed (though Hannah disagreed on the pink, saying it was harder for that to happen then to wake me up). I was the glue that held the group together, and emotionally the strongest- I don't let anything get to me.
"No, I'll pick the movie," I said patiently. Hannah, Haley, and Coraline all agreed.
"I'll bring the food! Everyone good with chips and brownies?" Haley said.
"As long as your mom is making them," Hannah said, and everyone laughed. Haley was really a terrible cook. Hannah volunteered to bring the music, and Coraline was going to bring some games.
"Lyra, we are defiantly coming to your house?" Haley asked. I nodded.
"My parents are out of town and they said that I was allowed to have friends over, as long as I watched Danny." My friends all sighed and gushed about Danny. He was only six-years old, but he was completely endearing to anyone who met him.
"Meet me at my house at eight o'clock. Then we'll party until we pass out!" I said.
My friends laughed and joked about never seeing my party animal side. I noticed a boy staring at me from the front seat. He had curly golden hair, tanned skin, and startling green eyes. I had never seen him before, but at the same time he was strangely familiar.
"Hey guys. Do you see that boy up there?" I said. They all turned and looked to the front seat where the boy was sitting. The boy turned hurriedly back around when my friends looked.
"He's staring at us," Hannah observed.
"We can all see that Han, but why?" Coraline said.
"Oh! He likes one of us!" Haley squealed.
"Haley!" We all groaned.
"Sorry guys."
"Have any of you seen him before?" Hannah questioned.
"No," my friends answered, looking back to him.
"I have earlier. He was in English class. I walked in late and he was sitting in the corner. Weird thing is, no one else seemed to know he was there," I answered. Hannah, Haley, and Coraline looked at me.
"It's true," I said, blushing. My friends always teased me about blushing so easily.
The bus stopped at my stop. I called out good-bye to my friends and walked into my house. I was just lucky that my house is the bus stop. I quickly locked the door and called out for Danny.
"Danny! Where are you? You better not be in my room!" I called out to the empty house. I walked into my room and flicked on the light. Danny was no where to be seen. My room was an art maker's heaven. An old easel stood in the corner, a cloth covering my latest work-in-progress. Numerous drawings and sketches covered the walls. Two windows, one facing an oak tree over my bed, and one facing the street, were wide open to let in the warm summer breeze. Suddenly something hit me from behind. I pitched forward with a strangled, "Gah!"
"Lee Lee! You're home!" Danny cried out, hugging my waist even harder. I laughed (with some difficulty, as he was squeezing very hard) and pried him off of me. I sat on my bed and he crawled into my lap. He looked exactly like me, but with brown hair and freckles on his nose.
"How's my little Lost Boy?" I asked, tweaking his nose. He giggled and brushed my hand away.
"I'm good. I'm just glad your home all day now!" He shouted, hugging me again. Danny and I were very close, seeing that my parents were gone most of the time. Big time CEO's and all that junk.
"So am I!" I laughed.
"Can you tell me a story?" He asked.
"Maybe later. Han, Hale, and Cora are coming soon," I explained, using my friends' nicknames (because he's only six after all). His eyes got round in understanding.
"Oh! Can you tell the story when they're here? Pretty please?" He pleaded, getting his totally unfair puppy-dog eyes. I melted.
"Sure Danny. What the hay!" I said. Danny smiled broadly.
"Thanks Lee Lee!" He said and zoomed off to his room. I laughed, then stood up and walked to my easel. I removed the cloth to reveal a fight scene, sketched in charcoal. It showed one man, tall and imposing, fencing with a boy on a rocking ship. The boy's back was to the viewer, but you could tell he was in his element. The boy was floating in the air, his sword out ready to parry the next blow. I added some shading to the scene, then stepped back to examine it carefully. A shadow crossed the picture. I gasped and spun around. There wasn't anyone there. I opened my window and looked around, but the only person around was Mrs. Smith, the old British lady who lived across the street.
"Hello Mrs. Smith!" I called out. The lady jumped and looked at me.
"Goodness, Lyra, you gave me a fright!" She called back.
"Sorry Mrs. Smith!" I said, stifling a giggle.
"How is that painting of yours? Doing well I hope," Mrs. Smith said. She was one of the few I showed my personal artwork too, because she had been my nanny as a kid, and watched Danny while I was at school. You see, he has dyslexia, so he gets tutored at home by Mrs. Smith and me. I haven't told anyone but my friends, and they're sworn to secrecy.
"It's great! Do you want to see it?" I asked. Mrs. Smith agreed, and I ran downstairs to open the door for her. She walked in and followed me up to my room. Mrs. Smith gasped and looked at the art critically.
"Very good job indeed, Lyra. You're doing very well for a 15-year-old. Though an interesting subject. Peter Pan, I presume?"
"Yeah. I just can't get it out of my head for some reason this week, but all I want to do is draw Peter Pan for some reason. I guess it's all those stories I've been telling Danny," I said, sitting on my art stool in front of the easel and looking at the picture. Mrs. Smith looked at me with a curious look on her face.
"Yes, the stories can get inside your head, can't they?" She said, looking off into the distance. I got the feeling that she was remembering something from her childhood in London. I waited patiently for her to come back to Earth, picking at some clay lodged under my fingernails. A minute later she snapped back.
"Do you want some dinner?" Mrs. Smith asked. I nodded. Mrs. Smith led me to the kitchen, where Danny was already sitting at the table, drawing with some crayons.
"What's that you're drawing?" I asked. Danny looked up.
"It's a picture of Peter Pan!" He said proudly, holding out the picture. It was indeed a picture of the boy who never grew up, his dagger held high and a grin on his face.
"That's a really good picture Danny!" I said honestly.
"Looks like you'll be having competition soon, Lyra," Mrs. Smith said, a twinkle in her blue eyes. I laughed with her and Danny. It was just us, our little family, there in the kitchen.
Peter's POV:
You wouldn't think talking to a girl alone is that hard? But when that girl is in school and with her friends constantly, it is crazy hard. And I have other problems. Like the fact that most people can't see me. Oh, I'm Peter Pan, age 15 (not 9 or 13!). And the reason people can't see me always is that you can only see me, or anyone from Neverland, if you truly believe in it. Considering I was trying to talk to the girl when in a high school, that would be a problem. You see, this girl is in trouble. And I need to save her. She doesn't now that yet, but she will when Captain Hook comes knocking at her door. It's been hard trying to get her alone. I didn't want to risk some non-believer walking in, because that would be just awkward. So I've had to tail her through the entire school, onto the bus, and home.
Her name is Lyra Harding. And she has some of the clingiest friends in the world! I mean, she hasn't even gone into the girls' bathroom alone! What is up with that? Lyra is apparently having a sleepover with her friends tonight too! Grrrrr! And she has a little brother! I mean, come on! Is she ever alone?
Anyway, I was on the bus when she noticed me and pointed it out to her friends. I was seriously frustrated when they could see me. Well, at least I know that 15-year-old girls can believe in Neverland, supposedly a fairytale. I ducked down in my seat, grumbling. Tinker Bell had the sense to be quiet in my pocket, although that was probably because it would freak people out if they heard bells coming from nowhere. When she got off the bus, I followed quickly and quietly as possible. I pretended to walk the other direction. When no one was looking I took off and landed on the roof facing away from the road. I peeked into the windows until I found hers on the corner. It was a mess with paintings and drawings everywhere. And I mean everywhere. There were some on the trash can. I'm not even kidding. I settled in the oak tree to watch.
Lyra walked in a moment later, and I ducked behind a branch. I was just lucky it was a windy day. I peeked into the room. She was looking around, her long brownish-blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and her pretty hazel eyes twinkled happily as she surveyed the room. Clearly she loved her room. I ducked again as she glanced toward the window.
"Lee Lee! Your home!" I heard a young boy shout. When I peeked at the room, I saw that Lyra had been tackled by a little boy that looked a lot like her, except with darker hair that was tightly curled and a dash of freckles across his young face. I saw Lyra laugh and pry the boy off, and then sit on the bed. The boy immediately climbed onto her lap. She didn't seem surprised by this, so it must be a regular occurrence.
"How's my little Lost Boy?" She asked, tweaking his nose. He giggled and brushed her hand away. Huh, must be a fan of the stories.
"I'm good. I'm just glad your home all day now!" He shouted, hugging Lyra again. She laughed at him.
"So am I!" she said. Lyra looked so happy with her little brother. Her pretty pale, heart-shaped face lit up when she looked at him, sitting on her lap. I was amazed that such a delicate looking person could have a little boy on her without breaking into pieces like a piece of glass.
"Can you tell me a story?" the little boy asked.
"Maybe later. Han, Hale, and Cora are coming soon," Lyra said. I had no idea who she was talking about (maybe her friends) but her little brother did. His eyes got round in understanding.
"Oh! Can you tell the story when they're here? Pretty please?" He pleaded with her, getting big puppy-dog eyes. She looked at him lovingly, clearly not about to argue.
"Sure Danny. What the hay!" I said. Danny smiled broadly.
"Thanks Lee Lee!" He said and zoomed off to his room. Lyra laughed again, then stood up and walked to an old easel covered with a cloth. It was a black and white sketch of what looked like a fight scene. Lyra picked up a piece of charcoal and added some details, then stepped back, frowning as she looked at it. I flew over to get a better look at the picture. Big mistake, because my shadow fell over the art work. Lyra gasped and spun around. I zipped back into the tree and peeked back into the room. She was looking around her room, eyes wide and suspicious. Lyra went to the window I was just at and opened it wide. She examined the street, but the only person around was an old lady. Shoot, I didn't even notice her! Did she see me? The lady was looking at the tree I was hidden in, so I think yes.
"Hello Mrs. Smith!" I heard Lyra call out. The lady jumped and looked at Lyra in the window.
"Goodness, Lyra, you gave me a fright!" She called back.
"Sorry Mrs. Smith!" Lyra said, noticeably stifling a giggle.
"How is that painting of yours? Doing well I hope," Mrs. Smith said.
"It's great! Do you want to see it?" Lyra asked. Mrs. Smith nodded, and Lyra ran out of the room. Mrs. Smith looked back at my tree and went to the door, disappearing inside. When they walked in Lyra's room, Mrs. Smith gasped and looked at the picture hard.
"Very good job indeed, Lyra. You're doing very well for a 15-year-old. Though an interesting subject. Peter Pan, I presume?" What? That was a picture of me? I hadn't had enough time to see what it was.
"Yeah. I just can't get it out of my head for some reason this week, but all I want to do is draw Peter Pan for some reason. I guess it's all those stories I've been telling Danny," Lyra answered, sitting on a stool in front of the easel and looking at the picture dreamily. Mrs. Smith looked at her, facing away from me.
"Yes, the stories can get inside your head, can't they?" She said, looking off out the window I was watching from. She looked right at me, and then winked. I sighed in relief. The lady wouldn't betray me. A minute later she looked back to Lyra, acting like she was just remembering something.
"Do you want some dinner?" Mrs. Smith asked. Lyra nodded and the two walked back out of the bedroom.
"What's that you're drawing?" I heard Lyra ask from the window under me.
"It's a picture of Peter Pan!" I heard the little boy say proudly.
"That's a really good picture Danny!" Lyra said. I got the feeling she wasn't lying, but I didn't dare leave the tree to see.
"Looks like you'll be having competition soon, Lyra," Mrs. Smith said to Lyra. The group laughed. For once I longed to join them, be a part of a family. No, snap out of it Peter! You have a family in Neverland. And you have better get this mission done soon, so you can get back to them.
Because after all, it hasn't been safe in Neverland ever since Hook returned with a murderous new crew, and a pitch black heart.
A/N: Duh Duh DUH! Hook is back! What happens next? Review, and I just might tell you!