Chapter 12; Loving memories

Wendy suspected that her father would start foaming at the mouth any second now. His face was slowly turning into a violent shade of red. Mr. Darling was indeed so angry that he could not utter a single word. He kept waving with a letter that had been delivered just minutes before, trying to find the right words. His daughter only stared at him, very much hoping that he would not verbalize his thoughts.

Mrs. Darling was standing quite close to her husband and did not need words to understand his feelings. She had recognized the seal that had been printed on the envelope and had a suspicion what it entailed. "George, please calm down," she tried and added: "We cannot understand you when you act like this."

Wendy's father took a deep, rattling breath and managed to roar the three words that explained everything. "That little slimeball!"
Needless to say that everyone in the Darling household knew about whom Mr. Darling was talking. The boys took it as their cue to leave and darted up the stairs, to the safety of their room. Even for boys who once bravely fought pirates, facing their father's tantrum went too far. The only ones who did not flee were Mrs. Darling and Wendy. Although that latter took a big step back, not daring to make a sound.

Mr. Darling did not need any more encouragement then he already had in his wife trying to calm him down. "How dare he! That arrogant little prick!" He crumpled up the letter but did not throw it across the hallway. Instead he kept compressing it into a smaller ball. "This is just insulting. Calculating bastard!"
He muttered something that one would never hear in civilized conversation and looked straight at his wife. "First treating our daughter like a street worker and not this! –he held up the letter as if it were a poisoned apple- She is not going I tell you! Never!"

With that said he walked across the hallway and into his study, slamming the door shut behind him. Mrs. Darling stared at the spot where her husband had been standing only seconds before but then slowly turned to face Wendy. A smile appeared on her face as she tucked a strand of hair behind her daughters ear. "He does have a flair for the dramatics, doesn't he? Don't worry sweetie, I'll talk to him once he has calmed down a bit."
She winked and walked back into the sitting room, leaving Wendy wondering what on Earth was going to happen.

In live there would be invitations you could decline, while others you simply had to accept. Or so Peter was left to believe. In his opinion this invite should've been declined but Bianca thought otherwise. In fact, she had very much forced him to go. So he was standing with his back facing the wall, not looking particularly inclined to engage into conversation.

The head of the house was standing not too far from where Peter stood, eyeing the crowd in a very similar way. To some extend Peter found it somewhat comforting that he was not the only one who seemingly had been forced to attend. The host seemed to loathe the fact that so many people were in his house and that he had to be somewhat polite when someone didn't read his facial expression correct and came over to talk to him.

Granted, the elder man kept people at bay with far more ease then Peter but that only had to do with the years he was his senior. By the time Peter was at least a hundred years old he too would be able to keep people at a distance by merely looking at them.

"Peter, please stop looking like you are going to set the first person who even dares to look at you on fire!" Bianca whispered next to him and Peter fought the urge to roll his eyes. She had made him attend, how would she like to have him look? Like he had just peed his pants and was all warm and fuzzy? Well, that never lasted long!

Instead of telling her, Peter managed a smile that should make her feel better. He wouldn't want to give her the idea that he was not enjoying himself, even if it was the truth. He did not want, nor feel the need to be anywhere near Christian. Or as Peter silently called him 'Spawn of Satan. ' He had not seen the other boy yet and if he could manage to keep it so the rest of the evening, he would be such a happy camper!

"Why don't you go and ask someone to dance with you Peter? There are a lot of lovely ladies without a partner." He could hear the words but was unable to answer. At what point had he looked remotely inclined to have his feet flattened by some cow who couldn't dance even if her life depended on it? Bianca must've lost her mind! For a moment the teenager clenched his jaw, just to prevent himself from asking just that question. After a moment he managed a civilized: "No thank you, I fear I might get a massive headache after a single dance."

With that remark he hinted that most girls just did not know when to keep their mouth shut and he had no intend whatsoever to suffer through it. Bianca refrained from any comment, she probably found his words rude towards women in general but the man next to Peter snickered softly. It was the only sign that he was eavesdropping but Peter didn't mind. It was nice to know that adults didn't always were so proper as they liked to pretend.

For the first time that evening a genuine smile appeared on Peter's face but it disappeared just as quickly for he had just spotted the Spawn of Satan. And he was crossing the room, walking towards a girl Peter would recognize anywhere. Wendy! Peter's breath faltered as she glanced uncomfortably at Spawn of Satan and tried to escape. Even to her it was obvious he fully intended to snatch her from her mother' side. Something inside of Peter protested even to the thought of the other boy touching Wendy. He could not allow it.

Before Peter could stop himself, he had stepped forward, totally ignoring Bianca, who had just said something to him. He walked across the room and without saying a word, he stepped in front of 'Spawn of Satan.' Wendy's eyes focused on Peter and he grinned at he, folding one hand in front of himself and one behind his back. He bowed for her, just like he had done all those years ago. Straightening up and totally ignoring a offended remark from the young man behind him, Peter held out his hand out for Wendy to take. "Would you care to dance?"

Wendy stared at him as though he had spoken Chinese instead of English and seemed unable to respond. Behind hem Christian said something that wasn't worth listening to and that made the girl in front of him regain her wits. She glanced towards her mother, obviously asking her permission to go with him. In the past she had never looked to her mother for such kind of approval but they were in public and she needed to respect certain rules. Peter understood or could pretend to do so for the time being.

Mrs. Darling nodded and after that Wendy took his hand. As always there was no contest from the mother whatsoever. He had taken Wendy all those years ago and if he wanted to, she would allow it a second time around. With Wendy's hand still in his, he turned around and nearly walked into the Spawn of Satan. A wolfish grin appeared on his face and he looked the boy straight in the eyes. "Excuse me. Would you mind stepping aside, Miss Darling has just agreed to dancing with me and you appear to be blocking our path towards the dancing area."

For a moment or so Christian looked far more inclined to hit Peter in the face than to step aside. But his mother had raised him to be a gentleman and causing a scene at a part his parents hosted was something one simply could not do. So he stood there, giving Peter the evil eye and the teenager could say with ease that he was not impressed. There had been a time during which he had face far greater dangers then some guy wanting him dead over a girl. So he just stared back at the other boy and after some time he stepped aside and said what was expected of him. "Your partner is a lovely creature, I wish you both a good dance."

It felt like her heart was about to break out of her chest and start running away in both fear and panic. The fact that Peter had just so obviously had saved her from having to dance with Christian didn't diminish those feelings at all, for now she had to dance with the boy she had slapped not too long ago. And yet it did not cross her mind to refuse to dance with Peter, it seemed so natural to just take his hand and walk towards the other couples with him. It just seemed normal, when you ignored the fact that Peter and Christian had shared some awkward moment during which the later had to give in as not to cause a scene.

By now she and Peter were standing on the dance floor with all the other couples an waited for the music to start. Peter's hand tightened over hers, just for a moment and he smiled awkwardly at her. There was a silence that made Wendy feel rather shy, something that did not tend to happen very often. As soon as the music started, Peter leaded her between the dancing couples an casually said: "It's been a while since I've danced."

A mischievous grin appeared on his face and Wendy realized that it was a hint. He was telling her when he had last danced. It almost felt like he wanted her to remember that they had once shared a very magical dance. If Wendy had not known him as well as she did, or thought she did, she might've argued that the teenager was in fact flirting with her. It was a flattering thought but it really didn't seem to align with Peters personality. Perhaps it was something to ponder over at another time, so she just smiled at him and replied: "I can remember a dance we once shared."

"That was my last, I don't think Bianca even knows I'm capable of dancing without amputating my partner her toes in the process." Peter chuckled and there were two thoughts racing through Wendy's mind. One: Who exactly was Bianca? Two: Why had he not danced with anyone else? It were thought she couldn't possibly voice out loud, so instead she just said: "Just don't try to push me up and into the air…"

Peters face faltered but he did not miss a single step. There was a silence, during which Wendy started to suspect that she had said something very wrong. Peter was cross with her and might not speak again for the duration of the dance. She was about to apologize but then Peter leaned in and whispered: "I won't, I can't fly anymore."

For a moment he sounded so forlorn that Wendy wanted to hug him. Just to comfort him nothing more. Yet it was something she could not do here. Society would condemn her for it and her entire family would suffer from her act of compassion. So she just said: "Nor can I but we can always pretend."

"Dancing with you ensures that I have no need to pretend at all," Peter said in a whisper. "Perhaps I asked you to dance, not just because of that idiot but because I really wanted to."

"You know just what to do, so that I can't stay mad with you Peter…" Wendy answered softly and within an instant his entire demeanor changed. The uncertain teenager disappeared altogether and the cocky boy she once knew resurfaced. "Now why on Earth would you ever be mad with me? I'm perfect! I can fight, laugh and even dance! Flying is no longer within my capabilities –he leaned closer- but I can still make you feel like you can…"