Where the Sidewalk Ends

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Kristen, my very own, customize as you wish character.

Chapter Eighteen: He'll be your King of Hearts

((I wish they had medicine developed to cure Writer's Block. Now it's Kristen's turn to realize her feelings for Peter. Although she may have already, its time to see how far her feelings really go. Thanks for the wait))

It had taken a few days, but with Lucy's magical potion mix and lost of rest, Kristen had been restored back to full health. And within no time, she was running around the castle playing hide and seek with 3 out of the 4 Pevensies, Peter out doing something Kingly with Aslan. Kristen couldn't help but noticed how caring and friendly he was being to her. She didn't mind it, but it was a bit overbearing considering she had gone from being in the shadows to his only concern. He watched her day and night and was practically at her beck and call 24/7. It was slowly starting to make her wonder what had really happened when she'd been gone.

"Tag! You're it!" she yelled as she tapped Edmund's visible shoe. He had been hiding behind some of the large curtains in the Grand Hall but had forgotten to conceal his left foot. He groaned and emerged slowly, throwing Kristen a glare in the friendliest way.

"You're so good at this!" He complained as Lucy and Susan ran into the greet them. Within a few seconds they all scampered off to different parts of the castle, Kristen running gleefully after Lucy and Susan up the stairs. Just as she was about to turn the corner, Susan and Lucy already sprinting down the first floor corridor, she her someone call her name and she stopped and looked down the stairs. Her just below the knee length red and white floral dress ruffled as a breath of the warm, summer air met her. At the bottom of the stairs was Peter, looking very human in a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt. At the sight of his apparel, she looked around and then walked down to meet him, her face flushed with confusion.

"What's with the clothes?" she asked with a laugh. Edmund's final numbers rang out and her eyes fluttered to the hall, where he was just about to scream out his last number.

"Quick!" she whispered furiously as she grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs, her long brown hair waving behind her. She pushed him into the nearest room and then shut the door behind her. She heard Edmund's voice scream the signal call that said he was finished counting and she frantically looked around for someone to hide with Peter.

"There! Get in" she said as she ran over to a closet door and threw it open. Peter quickly entered and she followed, shutting the door and sealing them in silence and darkness. Only once everything was dark did she realize how tightly compacted they really were.

"Oh…wow. Sorry" she said as she shuffled, bringing her hands up to some how try and separate their bodies. They were pressed together in the darkness awkwardly and instead of separating them, her hands just rested on his chest since she couldn't move them anymore. Not that she minded.

"Why do you look so normal?" she asked, remembering in the darkness how she saw him wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Kristen longed to wear pants again, but the dresses were slowly growing on her.

"Just taking a break. I can't go anywhere in Narnia with the royal robes on so once in a while I just go out into the forest dressed normally for a hike"

She nodded but kept still out of fear that Edmund was in the room and waiting for a note of noise to come and find her. After a few short minutes, she felt Peter's arm extend and surprisingly, a soft light lit the closet, basking its contents in a soft, golden glow. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the newfound brightness and then finally looked upwards where Peter was smiling ever so faintly down on her.

"I'd move but…" she said quietly, trying to push herself backwards off of him, but finding no such luck. She smiled sheepishly at her failed attempt and regained her position against his chest. She took another look up at him and then back down to her feet. His hair had grown slightly longer then when she'd first met him. Now it hung in front of his eyes and was lighter due to sun exposure. She kept picking out his features but when his voice softly broke the silence, she looked up.

"I'm sorry I didn't come for you. Aslan told me not to" he said awkwardly, adverting his eyes towards the door with a steely glare. He felt her eye upon him, but kept his locked on the doorknob.

"Peter…it's ok. I'm alive aren't I? I never expected you to come. And I'm glad you followed Aslan's orders" she said honestly. She'd gotten herself into a dangerous situation and she'd gotten herself out of it. She was self-sufficient and as angry and rude as it was to say, she didn't need a knight in shining armour to save her. She saved herself, although almost barely.

"I should have come"

"You did what was right. Don't question Aslan. You know how cranky he gets when you do that" she joked as she examined his stone cold face. His eyes remained away from hers and she couldn't understand why he was telling her all this. Did he feel guilty about something? She thought about his behavior over the last few days and she didn't find herself with an awkward feeling in her stomach like she used to. As she looked up at his strong face, she felt even more attracted to him then she'd ever. Of course she'd had small feelings for him when she first arrived. He was tall, gorgeous and caring; every girls dream. But now, as she reviewed her days back at the castle and how he had been treating her, she found herself fighting back the urge to grab his face and kiss him till she couldn't kiss anymore. Although at first she had found his presence over bearing and annoying, as he stood before her, more vulnerable then she'd ever seen him, he was now the same caring, thoughtful, beautiful soul he had been before she'd left.

"Kristen…you almost died. I…" he started, unable to find the words to communicate what he was dying to tell her. He wanted her to know how much he wanted to go after her. He wanted her to know how much he missed her. He wanted her to know everything he'd ever thought about her.

"But I didn't. I'm alive. And that's all that matters" she said with a small reassuring smile. He kept his eyes on the doorknob, to ashamed to look at her after how much of a coward he had been. He was supposed to be a strong King. Not one who was told what to do by large, mangy lions.

She screwed up a determined face and nudged his head with some effort to look at her. Regretfully, he brought his eyes down and looked at her smiling face.

"Relax. It's all good now. It's all in the past and there's no point in looking back. Now I'm here and we can do everything we promised we'd do," she said in a bare whisper, remembering she was hiding from Edmund. She began to get off balance so she gently pushed off the wall behind her to steady herself. She looked back up at him and smiled

He smiled down at her and for the first time, he threw all caution to the wind. He looked at her for a second and then brought his head downwards, pressing his lips against hers and as he held his breath, not daring to breathe, he felt her lips press back against his and kiss him, with even more passion and forcefulness then he had kissed her. He didn't kiss her back, but instead, ever so slightly withdrew and turned his face to the side. He could hear her breathing was just as heavy as his was.

"Since when?" she whispered to him between deep breaths. The minute she had felt his head leaning towards hers, it was like time had stopped and only started again when he withdrew his lips from hers.

He didn't have to ask her what she had meant. He smiled to himself and then pulled his head back, bringing a hand up to brush her cheek. She smiled up at him and waited for his answer, patiently but eagerly.

Right as he opened his mouth to answer, the door flung open and Edmund, along with Lucy and Susan all shouted the call of Hide and Seek gleefully.

She yelped in fright and tried to move, but instead fell right out of the closet and into the bedroom, her body landing klutzily on the plush red rug on the floor. The impact didn't even faze her, and instead she burst out in laughter at her clumsiness. They all joined in and Peter helped her up while laughing, his face brilliant with colour and amusement. He reached out a hand and she took it, and he pulled her up right to him with ease. They all laughed for a few more minutes before leaving the room and heading down to the garden for lunch. Peter gently took Kristen's hand and she smiled at him, squeezing his hand as they walked down and out of the castle. It took a while for the other's to notice, but when they did Lucy squealed like a cat, Susan sighed a lovesick sigh, and Edmund just smiled.

Maybe things weren't that bad after all.

((Author's Note: I can't write love scenes. I can't. If anyone is willing to help me, let me know because this chapter officially SUCKED. Sorry about the wait. I know it wasn't worth it))