𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚 (𝐢𝐢𝐢) | ✔

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 𝒙𝒗𝒊𝒊. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧
━━ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚

     The little party Reagan had planned turned out amazing and all her worrying had been for nothing. Thomas and Edmund had been nothing but kind to each other, no trace of awkwardness between them to be found (although, truth be told, Edmund had absolutely no idea of what had prompted the fact that Thomas and Reagan had not had any physical contact that evening). 

     When the gathering came to an end, Reagan told everyone that she could clean alone and that there was no need for them to help, since they were their guests after all. However, Edmund, Thomas and Lucy insisted and remained with the girl as the four of them cleaned her apartment. 

     Reagan and Edmund were now in the kitchen, taking turns doing the washing up and putting everything in the right cupboard as they talked about whatever came to mind that moment. Right now, they were laughing about the fact that Reagan nearly dropped three glasses when handing them to Edmund. The two of them were sitting on the floor, gasping for air. 

     "You are much clumsier than I remembered," the boy laughed, prompting the girl to splash him with the little water she still had on her hands. "What was that for?"

     "You were being rude," she laughed, but her expression changed to one of surprise when she felt liquid falling on her. "I can't believe you just did that."

     And so, the two of them began a water war, getting the whole kitchen (and their clothes) wet and forgetting about their task. The two of them ran around the room, trying to escape each other; however, Edmund caught Reagan by the waist and put it closer to her, which brought a tide of memories to both of them. Suddenly, they were back in Narnia, protecting one another from the many dangers that awaited them whenever they went. Edmund had picked up the habit of holding Reagan by the waist whenever he wanted to make sure she was okay. I guess some things never change.

—

     After the whole apartment was clean (which took them longer than expected thanks to Reagan and Edmund's little fight), the two Pevensie siblings left. Thomas, however, remained behind, claiming that he needed to talk to Reagan. The girl's hands began to sweat, unsure of what he would say and afraid that he would be mad at her, even though she perfectly knew she deserved it. Both of them sat in the sofa, one facing another as Reagan played with her hands.

     "Look, Reagan..." he began, softly, "you know I love you and-"

     "And I love you too, Thomas, really."

     "I am sure you do but... not in the same way you love him. I have seen you two together laughing and playing today and... you had a look in your eyes that I had never seen," he continued, not raising his tone at any point. "And I know you cannot fight your feelings and you cannot quiet your heart, so I think it is best for us to end our relationship here before this ends on us not standing each other."

     "Thomas, no... I..." she muttered, but no tears came to her eyes that time. She felt a kind of relief, knowing that Thomas was not mad at her. He was right, she was her best when she was with Edmund, especially after everything they had lived together. "I am truly, really sorry."

     "I am, too. And I would really like for us to become friends again, at some point. But right now I need space and time to get to the fact that the girl I love, is head over heels for her ex-boyfriend."

     "I did not want this to come to this. I did not know that I would ever meet Edmund again but... we really do go way back and... the things we have had to face together... that is something that I cannot forget. And I do hope that you find someone who deserves you because clearly I do not, someone who loves you and just you because you are one of the most amazing persons I have ever met in my entire life," she explained. Her heart ached at the sight of Thomas's face, a face she had seen by her side when waking up, a face she had seen crying from laughter... a face that was now sad because of her.

     "But I'm not Edmund, right?" he muttered before hugging her softly and leaving the apartment, all while Reagan stayed there, frozen on the sofa and thinking about everything that had just happened.