Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews so far, guys! So, this story is really kind of taking place during the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, in a way (you'll see during Chapter Three). And I really want to focus this story more on Susan and Peter's relationship with each other, especially since they've grown so far apart now. This is more a story about family than anything else, and you'll see that in the next few chapters, which I plan to add flashbacks of the year when Peter and Susan were fighting. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter Two
She was speechless. She could find no words to speak, no thoughts to think, no ways to move. It was like she had become a solid block of ice.
Impossible. This was simply her eyes playing tricks on her, wasn't it? She wasn't supposed to go back! She couldn't! Her life was here- in England, in college, gaining an education, living a life without magic and adventure. She had learned what she could from Narnia, right? If so, then why was it being offered back to her like a pig on a serving platter with an apple in its mouth?
Susan contemplated stepping forward, but she didn't move a fraction of an inch. What was the point? She would go in, look around, feel adventurous for a few days, and then have to return. And then she would have to undergo the Year of Depression all over again. It wasn't right. This, she knew now, was why she could not allow herself to enter.
Susan slammed the refrigerator door shut, panting slightly. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying that the image of soft, grassy plains and Telmarine flags waving off in the distance would disappear. She cautiously opened the fridge door again, and her eyes widened when it was still there. Wasn't it supposed to disappear?
Wait a second. Telmarine flags?
That couldn't be right.
"This is a joke," Susan whispered to herself, racing to her bookcase and picking up the book. It was impossible. Things like this didn't just happen.
Someone groaned, and Susan froze, realizing that she was not alone. She turned, and saw Minni rising from her cocoon of blankets, her strawberry blonde hair in disarray. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, looking sleepily around the room, her eyes finally resting on Susan.
"What are you doing? And why is the fridge door open?" Minni asked hoarsely, slipping out of bed and throwing on her robe. Susan shoved the door shut, praying to God, or whoever was up There for that matter, that Narnia would disappear.
"Susan, can you please move? I need some breakfast," Minni mumbled, shoving her roommate out of the way to grab something out of the fridge. Susan tensed immediately, afraid of what she would see.
But, oddly enough, the contents of the fridge had returned.
Susan ogled the fridge, so much that Minni started giving her odd looks.
"Okay, what's wrong with you?" Minni asked bluntly, holding a glass of juice high in the air like she was toasting someone. Susan brushed her hair from her eyes and straightened up, clearing her throat.
"Um… I need to find my brother," she said quickly, stepping around her roommate and rushing for the door. Minni grabbed her arm and gave her a stern look.
"I thought you two weren't speaking after the stupid sorority thing," Minni said, causing Susan to pause. It was true, they weren't, but after what had happened yesterday, Susan wasn't so sure anymore. For one moment out of over a year, she had thought that she was getting her brother back. But he hadn't tried to talk to her again after that. In fact, they had passed each other on the way to the library, and, just like usual; he picked up his pace and brushed past her.
"We aren't," Susan whispered, pushing back a black curl that fell into her face.
"Then why do you want to talk to him?"
Susan didn't answer. Instead, she slipped on a pair of sandals sitting by the door, and stepped out of their dorm room and into the hallway. She speed-walked toward the door, and stopped. It was raining.
Susan grabbed a blanket from one of the chairs in the lounge, and wrapped it around her head like a turban. She took a deep breath and stepped out into the pouring rain.
Unfortunately, the blanket didn't do much. By the time she arrived at Peter's dorm, she was soaked to the bone and freezing. She knocked on Peter's door, and thankfully, he answered, not Alex.
Peter's eyes went wide. "Su, you're soaking! Come in, come in!" he said, causing Susan's heart to warm. He was talking like a concerned older brother again.
Susan stepped inside, and Peter unwrapped the wet blanket from her body and shoved it in the laundry basket, while Susan stood shivering in the middle of the room. Peter wrapped a fluffy towel around her, and pushed her into a chair.
"Are you okay? What do you need?" he asked gently, as if completely forgetting that they were supposed to not be speaking. Susan lifted her knees into the towel and said,
"I read the book."
Peter gave her a look of surprise. "You did? How was it?"
Susan gulped and said, "I think it talks about the future."
Peter stood up immediately, pacing. "What?"
"I mean it talks about the future. It said in the book that we would discover Narnia through a refrigerator, and when I woke up and went to get some juice, I found Narnia. And if this is true, then that means that Edmund and Lucy have already gotten into Narnia."
Peter stopped pacing and gave her a look of disbelief. "Are you sure about this?"
Susan nodded, completely ignoring the cold seeping back into her veins. He was giving her a look she remember well- the same look that said that Susan was insane, that she didn't know what she was talking about. It was the same look he gave her over a year ago, when Susan was just starting to be rushed into her mother's sorority.
"Peter," Susan whispered, her blue eyes wide. She wouldn't will herself to cry. She cried the last time he gave her that look. She had cried and run away from him, because she hadn't wanted to deal with the pain of his look, the pain that filled her stomach at the thought of distancing herself from her brother.
"Peter," she said again. "I'm not lying. Come with me, and you'll see that I'm not."
Peter gave her a wary glance. "Su, are you sure? After all, Aslan said we weren't to go back."
Susan stood up, and placed a hand on his arm. "Trust me," she said, her eyes piercing into his. He finally nodded and opened the door, allowing her to step through first. She pushed through the heavy rain, ignoring the sting it left on her tender skin, and stepped through the door and entered her dorm. She trudged up the stairs, hearing her brother's footsteps behind her, and opened the door to her room.
"Susan?" Minni said when she entered. She was standing in the middle of the room, clutching her juice and staring at her with bewildered eyes. Susan figured Minni must have been confused, from what had happened that morning, and Susan running out spontaneously.
"Minni, can you move for a second?" Susan hissed, dropping the towel that was still wrapped around her shoulders. Minni shuffled to the side, her eyes flitting from Susan to Peter.
"Uh, hi, Peter," she said awkwardly, her fingers shaking slightly and spilling orange juice over the side of the glass cup she held.
Peter waved, and then focused on Susan. She stepped to the fridge, her mind reeling.
Please let it still be there. Please let us want to come back. Aslan, please grant us this moment.
Susan grasped the handle on the fridge, and pulled it open, her eyes widening at the scene of green grass and bright sunshine before her. It was still unbelievable.
She heard a loud gasp from the other side of the room, and she tensed immediately. She had forgotten Minni was watching.
Susan turned quickly, her eyes on Minni's face. "Minni, I can explain," she said, her voice stringing words together in a hurry.
"You can EXPLAIN why there is grass and sunshine in our refrigerator?" Minni whispered, blinking to recover from the shock. Susan winced. That didn't sound good.
She exchanged a glance with Peter, who was clearly still amazed that Narnia was before them, because his eyes were as round as saucers. She took a deep breath, and said,
"Okay, Minni, listen…"
* * * * *
Susan was surprised Minni hadn't fainted yet. It was an hour later, the fridge was wide open, and all three were sitting on the couch while Peter and Susan tried to explain Narnia to them. Susan, however, didn't like it. She was afraid of telling Minni- she had thought that Narnia would stay a secret within the family, and Minni wasn't exactly the best secret-keeper in the whole world.
"Oh. My. God," Minni finally choked out, obviously shocked. And awed.
Peter winced at her words. "Yeah, we know. That's how we felt."
Minni turned to Susan, her gaze hardened. "You lied to me, then! If what you told me is true, then that drawing I found was of a real person!"
Peter rounded on Susan. "What drawing? What is she talking about, Susan?" He has that look of disbelief again. He seemed to be wearing it a lot lately, which made Susan's blood run cold and her heart pound so heavily that she felt it would burst out of her chest and shove itself onto the ground, begging Peter to stop injuring it with his look.
Susan stood up and walked to the bookshelf, pulling it from its hiding place. She handed it carefully to Peter, who opened it and took one glance at it before rolling his eyes and setting it down.
"Are you seriously serious? You DREW him?"
Susan bit her lip and looked down. "You sound like you think I'm crazy," she answered, her heart pounding again.
Peter snorted. "Well, kind of. You're a little obsessed."
She heard a gasp from Minni, and Susan looked up, suddenly seething.
"A little obsessed? How would you know? We've barely talked since YESTERDAY!"
Peter seemed taken aback by her words. "What?"
Susan clenched her fists and looked away. "You heard me, Peter," she hissed through her teeth. "Don't try and deny it- we haven't talked in basically a year. You're just being stupid about this. Everything. I don't want to fight with you, Peter, you're my brother. But I just can't DEAL with you anymore. It's my life, it's MY business. STOP acting like you know everything, because you don't! You don't know what goes on in my head, you don't know why I drew him, and you don't know these things because YOU DON'T TALK TO ME!"
She had said everything that had been running through her head for a year in under five minutes.
Peter was pressed against the wall, his eyes ablaze, his breathing shallow, and Susan immediately felt bad for being so rude and cold to him. It wasn't her nature to be like that, but it wasn't her nature to be so openly forgiving either.
Minni snapped her fingers. "Can we get back to Narnia, please?" she snapped, sending Peter out of his thoughts. He glanced up, and walked to the fridge, keeping his distance from Susan.
"We should go," he said quietly, glancing up and locking eyes with Minni. "All three of us."
"What?" Susan said, her eyes widening. "We… we ca-can't, Peter. You know that. Aslan said we can't."
Peter glared at her. "Well, if Narnia is showing up for us, obviously things have changed. Just because you're afraid to go back and see that things have changed with Caspian doesn't mean that you have the right to cripple the chance for everyone else. Minni hasn't even BEEN to Narnia yet. She should see it."
Susan opened her mouth, obviously offended. "There you go again, Peter! Assuming things! That is NOT why I don't want to go back! It's called PLAYING BY THE RULES!"
Peter didn't answer for a moment. He stared deeply into the beautiful grassy plains of Narnia, and said quietly, "We've played by the rules long enough, Susan."
Susan felt a shiver of nostalgia run through her. The way he said that reminded her very much of planning the battle against the Telmarines. Peter had said, "We've waited for Aslan long enough."
He was basically saying the same thing again.
Susan ground her teeth together but didn't say anything. She let Minni answer for her.
"Well, let's go!" she squealed, obviously excited. Susan bit her lip and finally whispered,
"I don't trust this. I was the one who read that book, not you, Peter. There's a catch. We can't be seen."
Peter raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
Susan shot him a stern glare. "We. Can't. Be. Seen. Peter," she hissed. Minni winced and nodded.
"I have to agree with Susan, Peter. You guys can't be seen. It could be something else- Aslan may not actually want you there."
Peter stared at them for a moment, and then nodded, turning and stepping into the fridge, followed by Minni. Susan stalled for a moment, picking up Eternity and tucking it under her arm. She looked at the drawing of Caspian lying on the couch, and sighed. Maybe Peter was right. Maybe she didn't want to go to Narnia because she was avoiding the inevitable- everything would have changed.
With a final glance, she stepped into the portal, not knowing what would happen.
