Setting- Post-Prince Caspian

Edmund lamented the loss of his torch, but not as much as Peter and Susan lamented the loss of Narnia forever. Then again, they'd had fifteen years and more there, he'd only got the torch last week...

He ought to hit himself.

"Come on, Phyllis, we get off here." The nerdy boy- whose name Edmund couldn't remember at ALL- spoke, as the train slowed.

"I know." Susan said, wondering if slapping him would be wrong. He wasn't actively irritating- it was just his entire being. She wondered if this was how Peter felt about Caspian- before deciding that not to think about anything related to Narnia, becauss that would make her have to acknowledge the hurt. "Let's get down."

Peter nodded, he'd been uncharacteristically quiet the whole journey. He'd so longed to go back to Narnia for the entirety of last year- and now, he realized that it was because he knew somewhere, deep down, that it would be his last time there. It pained him, it pained him a lot, but he wasn't going to become the rageful boy he'd been only a few hours ago, according to the time in their world. He'd grown up, truly and utterly, and he would act grown up.

"Yes. Let's go."

Despite their words to the contrary, Lucy saw that her eldest siblings seemed to have no intention of getting off the train, so she took matters into her own hands.

"Come along." She said, grabbing Peter and Susan's hands and hauling them out as soon as the train doors opened.

Edmund stared in consternation after them, before looking at their luggage and calling, "Hey- the suitcases- oh, come on!"

"I'll help you!" The nerdy boy said brightly and knocked down Peter's suitcase as he bent to pick up Susan's.

"Thanks." Edmund said, but couldn't resist making a face at him when he wasn't looking.

--

Edmund could see a head of dark hair as he neared the bench, and couldn't help a smile. After the day's- well, the week's, in Narnian time- events, he was rather pleased to see his friend there.

"Marco." He called, standing beside the tree and saw Sanya's head jerk up.

"Polo!" She answered, before getting up and turning around. When she saw him, she beamed.

"See, I brought a book." He said, just in case, holding up a chess manual.

But when he neared, the smile slid off her face.

"No." She said, shaking her head. "No. No. No. No."

"What?" he asked, looking around himself. Surely, he wasn't the problem? "What's wrong?"

She stared at him in horror and he was prompted to move towards her and shake her.

"You're taller than me!" She cried, eyes still wide. "Just- look, stand beside me."

He did, and he found that when he looked beside him, he was staring at the space above her head, instead of at her head itself.

He wanted to make fun, but she seemed genuinely troubled.

"Yeah, I grew about half a foot this summer- I'm about five foot eight now."

"I grew an inch. An inch- I'm just five’four! And it isn't just your height- you've changed completely!" She said, wheeling about to face him. His face had lengthened, his hair had grown longer and almost covered his eyes, his shoulders were broadening now- had he been playing football or something?- and he looked utterly scrumptious, as Trixie Adams was fond of saying. He was the embodiment of tall, dark and handsome!

"Well- you too." He said, rather awkwardly. Now fourteen, he was completely in the most awkward stage of his life- adolescence, and he wasn't any fonder of it here than he was back in Narnia.
"You do look like a woman now." He added, but valiantly controlled himself from scrutinizing her body. It would just heighten his physical discomfort. But he could notice that her hair had grown, and she wore it loose- she usually tied it into a ponytail- and her face had lost some of the childish look. She looked at least fifteen, despite being only thirteen.

"And you- you're an okay Mr. Darcy, now." She couldn't say what she was thinking, of course, so she had to resort to the good old fictional-character-comparison.

Edmund didn't know whether to blush or be insulted.
"An okay Mr. Darcy?" He repeated, rather stunned by her words. Oh, he knew how much girls loved the proprietor of Pemberley, and he wondered if they'd love him the same if they knew his name was Fitzwilliam (it was the second-most silly name he'd read in romance novels- Heathcliff was at the top). "An okay Mr. Darcy?"

She smirked at him, "Tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me."

Now it was his turn to stare at her.

"I really should be insulted, but I'm just impressed that you managed to take an exact quote from the book and work it perfectly into the conversation."

She flipped her hair, mock-ostentatiously.
"I am impressive, don't know why you sound so surprised." And then, feeling rather guilty, she said, "The exact quote is 'she is tolerable', actually..."

He shrugged, "Doesn't make it any less impressive."

Sanya grinned.
"So. Apart from becoming something my classmates will drool over- oh, you should try out for some sport, it'll be so much fun watching my friends stare at you-"

"You want me to try out for sports? You? You hate sports." But he couldn't deny that the thought hadn't crossed his mind. Hendon had six sports- lacrosse, rugby, football, cricket, swimming and tennis. He'd always fancied rugby- he wasn't so keen on cricket anymore.

"No, I hate physical ex-egg-exertion." She finally managed. "I hate when that stutter comes back. Anyway, I enjoy watching games. Football is my favourite- apart from swimming, of course."

Edmund wrinkled his nose. "I don't really like football."

"Well, no one said you had to like what I like." She shrugged, leaning back on the bench. "Go for something you want to do."

Edmund looked at her, and grinned, "You know what, I just might."

--

Edmund participated in the try-outs for the rugby team, and after he'd scored the maximum number of goals and run faster than any of the others (he'd had a lot of training with Orieus- a ball wasn't a sword, but one had to adjust), his position on the team and status in school was assured.

He was no longer 'crow boy', he was Pevensie now. "Hey, Pevensie!" rang through the halls whenever he passed by. He helped the smaller kids who were bullied and joked around with the bullies to distract them, he gave directions to the new boys and behaved in such a way with the eldest boys that they accepted him as of their age, he was cordial to teachers and excelled in schoolwork- and, accordingly, Edmund's status as hero of Hendon was established.

None of that went to his head- after being King and Duke and Lord and a bunch of other Titles, he doubted simple hero-worship at school would inflate his ego. But he did change- and although it was a small and imperceptible change, it wasn't a nice one. If one of the mean boys didn't stop bullying even after he'd told them to, repeatedly, he would hit them, instead of talking it out like he used to. He, who had always preferred using his tongue, started dealing with persistent problems with his fists. He didn't beat them up for no good reason- yet he took out his building aggression and violence out on the rugby field, and was commended for it. He had been bothered far more about leaving Narnia again than he'd realized- and he now understood what Peter had gone through.

Speaking of Peter, he'd undergone a complete personality change, and his classmates (most of them had had a physical altercation with him at least once) were absolutely astonished. He spent all his time in the common room or the library, studying. His customary reply to Colin inviting him out for a walk, or even to the pub in the nearest town (something he had always jumped at) was, "Sorry, Col, but I've really got to cram for this test." And if the common room was too loud, he would go back to the dormitory and work in solitude.

Peter had decided that, just because he couldn't have a life where he wanted, it didn't mean that he couldn't have the type of life that he wanted. He wanted to pursue medicine, and it was his last year in school, so he needed top marks to get into his university of choice- Cambridge. And being violent and generally disturbing to be around was a waste of energy, and he needed to use his energy in a productive manner, so his reign of terror in Hendon ended just as his brother's reign started. Lucy, who visited the boys every weekend, was partly glad to see him bruises-free and passive, but she was still alarmed and was afraid he'd overwork himself.

Lucy, rather predictably, had thrown herself in school life. She was starting school a year late (most children were eleven when they started school, but she was twelve and had straight away joined second year) but she was naturally bright, so she did alright in studies, and worked hard as well to maintain that. But her main joy in school was making friends and being social. Being the bright ball of sunshine that she was, no one could help warming up to her (there were those nasty one or two, as there always were, but let's not worry about them). She joined almost all the clubs (non-academic ones, mainly- photography was her favourite), made friends with everyone (though she was yet to find someone to be her best friend), and was one of the more well-liked of the new girls. If you ever saw her walking down the hall, saying hello to every girl and smiling at anyone who crossed her path, you'd think she'd been there for years, instead of it being her first year. She was, quite simply put, the antithesis of what Susan was.

Susan, in the last year, had become so frightfully withdrawn into herself that no one wanted to make or remain friends with her. That was fine with her, and she spent time alone, reading or just gazing at the scenery, while the Hendon boys would stare at her walking by. She had attempted to pay attention enough to studies so she'd scrape a pass, but otherwise spent classes in a daze. But she longer even tried. Now the reason she was always alone wasn't because no one wanted to spend time with her, but because she wanted to spend time with no one. She'd be snobby if anyone spoke to her, she'd put on 'airs and graces' as Ms. Rivers, the games mistress, said and would walk with her head held so high that girls started to mockingly call her 'Your Majesty' behind her back. Susan soon found out, and the first time she heard herself being called so, she sneaked out of school and got properly plastered at the nearest pub she found. The rest of the times, she'd sneak in a small bottle of whatever liquor she could find at the dodgy corner shop. She didn't know if it was the name which bothered her, or the memories.

"Susan!"

Susan blinked and turned and saw her little sister standing there.

"Lucy? What are you doing here? This is the fifth-year dorm!"

Lucy blinked.

"No- it's- we're in the garden." She looked worriedly at her. "Are you alright, Su?"

"What? Oh- yes, of course. What is it? Did you need something?"

"It's Edmund's first match of the year- against Webdon Academy. I promised him we'd all come to support him- I even got Peter to say that he'd take a break and join us. So, come on, the rest of us are g-"

"Us?" Susan asked, unaware of her sister's social butterfly tag.

"Yeah, my friends. The whole school goes to watch any interschool matches at Hendon, didn't you know? I think it's because they're more interested in the boys than in the matches, but Madge said that that's to be expected, seeing as we're all shut up with nothing but girls all the time. Anyway, the rest of us will come a little later, as there's still awhile left for the match to start, but I figure we could go keep Ed company and help his morale before the mob descends- Su, you listening?" Lucy asked, plaintive as she looked at her sister, who looked as absent as ever.

"Hm? Yes, Lu, I agree. Let's go watch the match." She agreed, and took her sister's hand. And perhaps, she would seek comfort in a boy's touch after, instead of in a bottle or a smoke (Ms. Johns should really lock her stuff up better).

--

"What is it? Sunlight too bright for you, hm?" Colin asked as he and Peter walked out of the building and the other boy squinted. "How many months has it been since you've breathed fresh air?"

"My brother used to say there's air inside, and he's right." Peter made a face at him. "Anyway, no, I'm looking for my sisters- Lu said that the three of us would go and sit with Ed until we were shooed off..." Peter said, and craned his neck. Where were they?

"Well, let's go to where there's a puddle of drool. We'll find no doubt half of Hendon's population, but we'll also find your sister- Susan, at least."

He groaned, "Oh, gosh, I don't want to beat up yet another person because they looked at Su in the wrong way. I've done so far too many times already."

"Consider me warned." Colin laughed, before looking at the entryway to the rugby field, where two girls stood, staring and open-mouthed. "Isn't that them?"

Peter looked. "Yeah, but- hey, what are you looking at?" he called as he made his way towards his sisters.

Lucy turned in surprise and when she saw who it was, shushed him violently.

"Shush! We're Edmund-watching."

"He's a specimen, that's for sure, but what-"

Susan hit him and hissed, "Be quiet, and look!"

Peter rubbed his elbow but looked.

His eyes widened.

"Is that-"

"It is." Lucy wanted to squeal.

"With a-"

"Yes." Susan answered, and she looked more animated than she had in weeks.

"Oh, dear As- lord."

Colin looked too, but couldn't see anything which would make one behave so peculiar.

"What is it?" He asked impatiently. "It's only your brother chatting with a girl."

"That's just it. No matter how cool he gets, Ed can't talk to girls. He actually can't- and won't." Peter said- it had been fine when his brother had affairs with male knights in Narnia, but it hadn't been good when he'd had to speak to Princesses and Ladies at meetings- but didn't move his eyes away. She had dark hair and was wearing the Finbar uniform, but he could see nothing else.

"He used to pretend girls didn't exist." Lucy shrugged, before looking at her siblings, "Any idea who it could be?"

Peter shook his head, but Susan looked thoughtful.

"He mentioned a girl- I can't remember her name but she's on the swim team- he said they were friends, of a sort..."

"When?" Peter asked, wanting to shake her so that she'd speak faster.

"Last year."

"Last year- Susan, what is wrong with you, you're supposed to-"

But Peter was cut off by Lucy's squeal.
"Look!"

And they all looked, and saw the dark-haired girl lean up and kiss Edmund's cheek.

"I bet he's gone full strawberry now." Susan said, sighing. She remembered how red Ed got when he got flustered.

--

"Why are you here?" Edmund asked, as soon as he spotted Sanya coming towards him.

She frowned at him, and pressed her lips into a thin line.

"Not happy to see me?"

"Don't be silly, Nya. Of course I'm pleased to see you, just surprised. Even the rest of the team's not out yet."

"Oh, yeah. Came early so that my friends don't see me with you and get the wrong idea." She made a face. "I'm kind of notorious for having crushes. One of them even has a list."

"I can alphabetise it, if she wants."

Sanya ignored him, and looked around the deserted field, as if she'd just noticed they were alone. Which, considering how oblivious she was, was probable.
"Where are your teammates?"

"Still getting dressed and all. I got ready early."

She gave him a sympathetic glance, "Anxious?"

I don't get anxious, he was about to lie, but this was his friend- his best friend, if he dared, and he wouldn't lie to her.

"Extremely. There are several live rats jumping about in my stomach right now." He admitted, biting his lip.

She patted his shoulder, feeling slightly out of her depth. She wasn't good at comforting people.

"I didn't know live rats was part of the Hendon diet." She joked, and was extremely grateful to see him grin a bit. "Ed, you'll do fine. I've seen some of your practices-"

"Stalker."

She ignored him again, "and you're easily the best player on the team, it's like your instincts have been particularly honed for sports or duelling. Of course, there's no sword-fighting taught here, sadly, so I have to assume it's just sports." She reassured, and in the moment she took to feel disappointed about the lack of swords at school, she missed her friend's expression. "Even if you lot lose, you'll have a pretty feast waiting for you and lots of pretty girls waiting to comfort you."

He smirked, and asked, "Was that an offer?"

Her eyes widened, but not the sort of widened where she was aghast or shocked by his words. It was the kind of eye-widening when one someone remembers something she had to do after having forgotten about it for a long time.

"Oh, right." She said, puzzling him, and then she leaned up (four darn inches) and kissed his cheek.

Edmund went as red as a strawberry. He'd never been kissed- well, not in this world.

"Wh-wha-" He stammered, finding he was unable to look at her directly. "What was that for?"

Despite her brown cheeks going as red as her blazer, she said quite calmly, "A book I'm reading has the hero's ladylove kiss him before he goes on his quest, as a good luck charm. As you have no ladylove- I'm assuming at least-"

"The only love affair I'm involved in is with chocolate."

That made her grin, but she went on, "And as your best friend- I'm assuming that, too, and don't interrupt- I felt it was my duty to give you something similar, just for luck."

"So it's not because I'm one of your notorious crushes?"

"I wouldn't crush on you even if you were a prince." She assured him, before adding, "You're my best friend, Pevensie, that's better than being an annoying and paltry crush."

"Ed!"

"And speaking of annoying." Edmund sighed, turning and plastering a smile on his face as his siblings- and Colin- made their way towards them.

"We wanted to sit with you before the match." Lucy explained, though it didn't explain the smug grins on Peter and Susan's faces as they looked at Sanya, who'd shrank to the side. As bold and open she was with Ed, she wasn't good at interaction with other human beings.

Ed felt sorry for her- and he also felt curious as he noticed her cheeks had flamed even more suddenly.

If she was crushing on Peter, he might just stab someone.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure." Peter said, looking at the younger girl, who- thankfully, Ed thought- only looked nauseated as she looked back. "I'm Peter, Ed's brother."

"I'm Sanya, Ed's friend." She said flatly, in a tone which expressed clearly how much she wanted to run away from the situation. "I know Susan-" Susan smiled, which didn't match the empty look in her eyes, "and Lucy too."

Lucy blinked and was about to ask how, when she realised that she'd seen the girl at one of her clubs.

"Oh, yes!" She exclaimed happily. "She's in the literature club with me."

"Exactly how many clubs are you in, Lucy?" Peter asked- she'd mentioned photography, and science, and tennis-

"I lost count after six."

"Here I thought you were the ambitious one, Pete." Colin joked, before holding out his hand to Sanya, "I'm Colin Clarke."

And the instant Sanya shook his hand, Edmund realised who her current paltry crush was.

"I've seen you at our school, sometimes." She spoke shyly, wondering how to not sound creepy. "You're a Prefect, right?"

"Yes, and thus the job falls to me to deliver fruit baskets to your Headmistress whenever Principal Thomas wants."

"I've said for years that they should date."

"You didn't even know our Principal's name till I told you last year." Edmund spoke rather irritably, and found that he wasn't pleased at the company after all. "Anyway, you lot go and get seats, I can see the rest of the school's coming down."

Lucy obviously wanted to stay, but Peter didn't want to anger his brother before his first match, so he simply nodded and marched his sisters to the bleachers.

"I think he forgets I exist sometimes." Colin rolled his green eyes. "Well then, shall we?" He added to Sanya, not forgetting that she'd been left behind as well.

"Of course. My friends will be coming soon anyway." She smiled nervously at him, before turning to Ed, "All the best, again."

"Don't I get any more good luck charms?" He was unable to stop himself from asking. He was sure she'd hit him.

But Sanya only smiled at him, "Let's see how this match ends up, and we'll see," before walking away with Colin.

Edmund shot the winning goal. 
--