Six Plasters { Peter X OC }

Girls Shouldn't Climb Trees

7th April 1937

"Edmund, my love, stand still... no! Oh, come on, now!"

"Helen, he's six years old." Frank Pevensie chuckled slightly to his wife as he walked to church, his youngest daughter swinging one of his hands, "If the lad can't keep a tie straight, leave him be for it."

"Mrs. Wrain will be there, Frank! You know what she gets like- aha! There. Now leave that alone Edmund, for Heaven's sake."

The youngest of the Pevensie brothers immediately saw his opportunity and sprinted to his Father's free hand. Helen could only roll her eyes.

"Mummy." Susan Pevensie spoke up, her tone curious but incredibly mature for an eight-year-old, "We're near church and I prethume- presume Peter should be here, also. So where did he go a few streets back?"

Helen laughed lightly, looking around her, "Why Susan, he's- he's- oh, Dear Heavens! Frank!"

Peter Pevensie was never one to wander away or run away or, well, partake in any of the tricks that a disobedient child might. For he wasn't a disobedient child in the slightest- not up until this day, that is. In fact, all the scolding he'd get later for disappearing, especially before church, was mostly down to his parents' shock.

But Peter didn't simply wander away for the sake of it that morning, it was because he spotted something in the neighbouring yard that looked-

"Dangerous." The young blond crosses his arms, "That's just dangerous. Girls shouldn't climb trees."

"Oh yes?" The girl, who looked around his age, called down to him, looking quite affronted, "Why does it make it less dangerous if a boy does it?"

Peter glanced back to his family disappearing down the road- they hadn't noticed he was gone yet and he really ought to catch up with them but- he also had to be right. "Because boys are stronger." He almost laughed at the absurdity of anyone questioning the matter, "That's just fact."

"Then you climb up here! I bet you can't get this high."

Peter scowled- of course he could! But- "I'm in my Sunday best, I can't be climbing trees. Besides, you'll be late for church, now."

"And you'll still be boring."

Peter scowled harder, eyes finding the branch above her flaming, messily braided hair. "If I get up there," he nodded to the branch in question, "Will you come to church? Then neither of us will be in too much trouble."

"My Daddy doesn't go to church."

"Well, he should." Peter replied, scandalised, "You should go, at least, otherwise you won't get into Heaven."

"I heard that Charles said church is boring." The tree girl replied, climbing up to the next branch.

"It is if you go alone..." He admitted, watching her, "but Edmund pulls faces and Susan pokes him and Lucy finds everything ever so funny- you could come with us!"

"There is no 'us'." The girl replied, pointing up the street, "They've left you."

"Then we'll just have to catch them up. But first, move along that branch or I won't fit up there."

~

"I'm Peter." The blond boy spoke minutes later, now sharing her branch and holding his hand out as formally as he could whilst clinging to a tree. "Peter Pevensie."

"And I'm Lilith Moore. But I shan't shake your hands because you'll push me out the tree."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because we're enemies." The redhead replied as if it was the most obvious thing on Earth.

"No, we're not."

"Yes we are, we argued."

"Friends are allowed to argue."

Lilith thought over his words moment, "Fine. Well, if we're friends, I suppose I might shake your hand."

"And come to church?"

A contagious smile fluttered across her lips, "We race there, though- and I bet I beat you."

He did beat her, in the end. But only because she misjudged the curb and fell to the pavement at a speed that alarmed them both. Peter was horrified and she had to fight him off from trying to carry her around the back of the church to find a First Aid kit. It was, as she told him a thousand times, only a scrape and the six plasters he put on it was more than enough.