Somewhere Out There

Chapter Seven - First Glance of First Love

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. :)

Lyra looked in the mirror. Would Will even recognize her? Her golden hair wasn't below her ears anymore and she was taller and wiser and freckled… And most importantly, she was grown, they both were… They both had changed so much.

"What if he doesn't like me anymore?"

"Nonsense," said Pantalaimon; he was speaking again, and Lyra thought maybe she saw even a little bit of his naivety they both obtained before they walked over the bridge in the north, as they waited impatiently for the hours to pass. "Of course he does."

She tied her French braid with a band and slipped on a white headband that matched her perfectly white sweater; she adjusted her peacock blue dress and sighed nervously, glancing at the clock.

"We still have an hour," Lyra said. "And Collin isn't home from work yet. Do you think we should leave now?"

"If you want," said Pan, but she could tell he was fidgeting with anxiety.

"Let me just get my book so I can read while we wait." She ran upstairs and retrieved her tome, and ran just as fast back down the stairs. Her hands were sweaty and shaking, but she was too desperate to reach the garden to stop and calm herself. She threw open the door and ran headfirst into a tall figure.

"Darling!" Collin exclaimed, enveloping her in a hug. "How sweet of you to come greet me. Did you miss me?"

"Of course," Lyra laughed nervously. "D-dinner's on the stove, it's probably cold by now. But I'm sure it won't take long to warm it up."

"Where are you going?" he said, leading her inside.

"J-just for a walk," she answered, and for once, because it was so close to the time when she would finally meet Will again, all lies failed her. "Y-you don't mind, do you?"

"No, of course not! I know how much you love the fresh air. Just don't be home too late." He kissed her gently and she smiled before opening the door and leaving.

"Are you okay?" Mary asked with a grimace as Will walked out of the bathroom after being sick.

"I'm just nervous, that's all," he said, and Mary nodded, having heard all about the letter.

"When are you leaving?"

"Soon."

"But it's only eleven!"

"I know. I just can't wait much longer."

Mary smiled, enjoying the site of two people so in love. "Well… I want to hear all about it when you get back." She squeezed his arm tenderly and said, "Good luck," before walking down the stairs.

"Better get dressed," he muttered, and turned to walk into his bedroom when he shouted in surprise. Xaphania was standing in his doorway.

"Hello, Will," she said. "So I see you made your decision."

Will swallowed and nodded.

"Then you've chosen well. You've learned not to listen to the wiser ones just because they are of good judgment."

Will didn't say anything, only nodded again.

"Here. This is for you." She put a nearly invisible hand forward, and in the dim light of the hall Will saw a golden chain glinting delicately.

"What is it?" he asked, allowing her to drop it in his hand.

"Look closely."

He did so and gasped. It was a miniature alethiometer, all of gold, with little barely recognizable symbols along the edges, and two petite handles; it wasn't any bigger than an American quarter, and possibly the most beautiful piece of jewelry he had ever seen.

"I think you know what to do with it," said Xaphania amusedly.

"Thank you," said Will, but for the second time that day, when he looked up, the angel was gone.

Only as Lyra and her dæmon made their way towards the Botanic Garden did everything really become clear to her: she was going to see Will. Even after being told that she would never, ever, see him again, she was actually going to see Will.

"What's wrong?" said Pantalaimon as tears streamed down her face.

"We're going to see them again, Pan," she said, and she cried harder than even before when she had wept her grievances into the Master of Jordan College's robe. "It's like a dream come true, isn't it? I never thought we would be seeing them again, never…"

And then they were there. They were at the gates to the garden and Lyra was opening the lock with the key the Master gave her, and they were walking into a place they rarely went to except for Midsummer's Day… And Lyra was sitting down on the bench that always brought her to tears, except this time she was crying because she was so happy…

…And Will, in his own world, was crying too. He had walked into Lyra's world until he found the garden, then had cut his way back into his own world, leaving a whole just wide enough for him to peer through. He had seen her come, crying, sitting down on the bench and weeping as she waited for his lost love…

Will couldn't take it anymore. Her crying echoed miserably and he longed to put his arms around her and protect and comfort her… He opened the window wider and stepped through. Her back was to him, but even so, he knew she would be even more beautiful than he had ever remembered.

And for the first time in ten years, he reached out and touched her, as if unsure if she were really there or not, and his three-fingered hand rested lovingly on her shoulder.

Lyra screamed. Someone had put their hand on her shoulder and it had shocked her so much, because she swore Pan and her had been alone… She was about to grab her dæmon and run, but as she looked, she saw the hand was missing two fingers and--

"Will?" she whispered, not even daring to turn around.

Will's heart jumped. She spoke quietly and softly, the sweetest sound he had ever heard, and not until then did he realize just how much he had missed the melodious sound of her voice. "L-Lyra?" he said uncertainly.

"Oh, Will," she cried, and she clutched desperately to his hand still on her shoulder; but she didn't turn around. She couldn't turn around.

Pantalaimon bounded from the shadows of the bench and leapt towards Kirjava, hiding behind Will's legs. The two tackled and rolled along the grown, mewing and crying aloud for all the happiness they felt.

The feeling Will and Lyra experienced as the two joined once again was one they would never forget.

A/N: Sorry it took me so long! I had the next five parts written, I just didn't feel like posting them. I think this is my worst chapter so far. Ugh. I hate it. It's getting a little too sappy, too. I think I should tone it down a bit. Sorry this was so short! The next part will be much longer, I promise. The longest chapter yet.