THEY WERE STARS. ( UNDER EDITING )

THEY WERE STARS.

THEY WERE STARS
(  the promised neverland  )

Once there was a little bunny who wanted to run away.
So, he said to his mother, "I am running away."

"If you run away," said his mother, "I will run after you.
For you are my little bunny." THE RUNAWAY BUNNY / Margaret Wise Brown

Eleanor read a world bigger than Grace Field. She read about a world where waters larger than streams existed, where strange animals bigger than rabbits roamed. A world that was far bigger than she knew; wider, brighter, and stranger than Grace Field that she learnt to call her home. Eleanor had tucked herself in the darkest corner of the library, with nothing but a small candle carefully held as her source of light, as she read the books that told her about an unknown world just like he had, with the note he left neatly folded in her hand. And just like any other girl who dreamt to be something, Eleanor yearned to see it.

For many years, her world was as small as the broken cup collecting dust at the back of the shelf. Her world was her mom, the wide, green fields and the library, and her siblings that came and went, surrounded by tall walls she never had the courage to climb.

Some of her siblings were lucky enough to leave. Donning the same uniforms — black instead of pristine — and a hat, holding their suitcases as they waved goodbye to those who weren't chosen to have a real family. They'd exchange tearful goodbyes and "I miss you"s, promising to send gifts and letters that'll tell everyone what life outside Grace Field was like.

But the letters were never sent, and no gifts were received. Eleanor was kept waiting like a dog on the orphanage's doorstep, waiting for something — someone, that will never come back, even in the form of scribbles on tearstained papers or as a toy bought and sent with the thought of her. Perpetually waiting for someone who will never come back while the world ticks on the outside of the walls that enclosed Grace Field.

But one night, when Eleanor finally had the courage to race in the dark fields as the cold breeze of the night stung her skin, she found out that what she had been waiting for never left. They were still with her — in the things they loved and cherished most; a stuffed bunny, a pocket watch, a note, a lullaby never forgotten. The world has always been ticking all along in Grace Field, and it was them living in it that had gone still.

Secrets after secrets unravel as they work in the shadows, making plans in hushed whispers hidden from their mother's sharp, prying eyes. It has been decades since someone threatened to go against the laws of their world, and it was finally time for things to change.

"If you become a tightrope walker and walk across the air," said the bunny,
"I will become a little boy and run into a house."

"If you become a little boy and
run into a house," said his mother,
"I will become your mother and catch you in my arms and hug you."

"Shucks," said the bunny, "I might just well, stay where I am and be your little bunny."

And so he did.   THE RUNAWAY BUNNY / Margaret Wise Brown

THE FIRECRACKER THAT WISHED TO BURN AS BRIGHT AS THE STARS
Eleanor / 44194
as described

"You're an angel, I'm a dog.
Or you're a dog and I'm your man
You believed me like a God
I destroy you like I am"
— I'm Your Man / mitski

together with.
The Shepherd's Dog / Ray
The Boy Who Cried Wolf / Nicholas
The Love Felt Through Songs / Julia
&&. the rest of the Yakusoku no Neverland cast

DISCLAIMERㅤYakusoku no Neverland belongs to Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu. They Were Stars is a fictional story created by me (@ttalgisoda), and the original characters (Eleanor, Nicholas, Julia, etc.) and their storylines to me, whilst the canon characters that are mentioned/seen in the original animanga belongs to Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu!

WARNINGSㅤThis book will contain mentions of: death, blood & violence, gore, attempted suicide & suicidal behaviour, complicated family dynamics, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and strong language. Please read with caution! English is also not my first language, so I apologise for any grammatical or typographical errors later in the story!

NOTESㅤThis fic is dedicated to my friends (and other readers) that read this trash a few years ago! I know it's kinda crazy that I'm still updating and rewriting the fuck out of this book years later, but I genuinely could never be satisfied (Hamilton, anyone?) of anything I come up with, and creative slump is a biiiiitch... I also know that the TPN fandom is either currently dust or in the fucking trenches, but this book is my first love and first forever baby, and I love this and the characters too much to just... completely abandon it forever <333 so yeah live laugh love!

I hope you enjoy the 9000th rewrite of this shit, and if you're interested, I have other fics :DD (that also have been neglected lmfaooo) love, kai xx