"Absolutely not," Miss Peregrine answered sternly.
"With our combined peculiarities," Enoch tried again.
"I said no," Miss Peregrine sighed, "I will explain this only once, and then you two are not to even think of it again. Yes, the two of you could possibly bring back Victor - but at what cost? This doll had no ailment, no injury - it was a fluke that nothing happened to Penelope. Now if you try and do this with Victor, Penelope could go blind or possibly even die. The risk is too great. I would love to have Victor back too, believe me, but I can't justify risking your life Penelope."
Miss Peregrine returned to what she was doing, and Enoch and Penelope took that as a signal to leave. As they walked out of the room dejected, Penelope tried to look on the bright side. "We could make live toys for everyone," she suggested brightly.
"No," Enoch said quickly.
"Why not," Penelope asked slightly hurt.
Enoch turned red and rubbed the back of his neck. Looking at the ground shuffling his feet, he had a hard time saying the words out loud.
"What is it," Penelope implored, "Did I do something wrong?"
"No," Enoch said quickly forcing himself to look at her, "it's just..."
"Just what," Penelope asked.
"I uh I made Annabel Lee just for you," he stuttered out, "I don't make things for just anyone...in fact I've never made something outside of for my own enjoyment."
Penelope blinked at him, her face unreadable. Enoch could feel his face get hotter by the second. Without warning she pushed him up against the wall of the hallway and kissed him passionately. His eyes were wide open in shock while his mouth had its own mind and responded to hers with ease. Eventually, the rest of his body caught up and he close his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. As the kiss deepened further he nervously moved one hand to the back of her head while the other travelled dangerously low on her waist.
Annabel Lee started running up Penelope's calf and back flipping off it to get her attention. Penelope unwillingly parted breathlessly from Enoch. They stared at each other, eyes shining with passion, looking like they were about to pounce on each other. The sound of stomping was the only thing that fully snapped them out of their daze. Penelope turned her head in time to see Emma stiff backed and running the opposite way.
Reluctantly Penelope pulled completely away from Enoch's embrace. "I have to find out what's going on," she said emphatically, "I'll come find you later."
Before Enoch had a chance to respond, she quickly kissed him on the lips and ran after Emma.
"Emma," Penelope called out, "hey Emma are you -"
"Penelope, you're a very happy person and I'm very happy for you, and this may be hard for you to understand but I just can't be around you. It's not your fault, I just can't," she called back as she slammed her bedroom door shut.
Realization washed over Penelope and she hung her head. She may have finally gotten Enoch's love, but she lost a friend - at least for the time being. Immediately she felt guilty, she was so wrapped up in her own bliss she had forgotten that the sting of losing Abe was still fresh for Emma. Seeing Enoch and herself together must be so painful for her, she reasoned.
Penelope sighed and placed a hand on Emma's door. "I do understand," she called through the door, "and I will respect your space. I'm here whenever you need me, I promise."
A/N So NaNoWriMo snuck up on me. It's been difficult working on both stories at once, I had hoped to finish this before it started. That being said there's only 2-3 chapters left until the end. Part of the reason it's taken so long is I have 2 very different endings and I can't decide which one to go with. I'm thinking about posting both as separate chapters - alternate/choose your own endings, any thoughts?