❝ there was a difference between living and existing, and for the first time, phoebe felt like she was living. and wasn't that a marvellous thing?❞
[book 1]
in which a boy calls a girl irrelevant, but somehow manages to fall in love with her anyway...
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Training with knives was harder than Phoebe had anticipated. She'd never been any good with knives, even in the kitchen (and she had the scars to prove it), so Phoebe really had no idea why Father Christmas had decided they were her ideal weapon. Not to mention the fact she had terrible aim. Even Lucy was better than her - Susan maybe less so, but nonetheless it was embarrassing. The time slipped by as they trained, and Phoebe was unsure what time it was when Susan grabbed her arm.
"Phoebe, we'll keep training tomorrow. Come on." Susan tugged impatiently on Phoebe's arm, and she really had no choice but to let herself be dragged along. "Where'd you go off to last night?" Her voice was curious, laced through with almost a sort of knowing humour. Phoebe knew exactly the answer Susan expected. "Phoebe, we both know you didn't go to sleep straight away. Come on, tell me!" Susan shook her lightly, but both girls jumped when out of nowhere, Lucy and Peter fell into step beside them, Susan's hand flying dramatically to her chest. Well, wasn't this perfect?
"Tell you what?" Lucy's voice was just as inquisitive as Susan's, although at least it wasn't directed at Phoebe this time. Phoebe could've sworn Lucy was playing with the dagger at her hip to scare and intimidate Susan, and she laughed under her breath, not missing the way Peter's eyes moved to her. Susan gulped, shaking her head.
"Where she was last night. You were asleep, but Phoebe stayed up later than us both. I just wanted to know where she went." Susan shrugged, trying in vain to seem innocent, but it was impossible to miss the way her eyes went from Phoebe to Peter and back again. It would've been more annoying if she hadn't been exactly right, Phoebe thought. Glancing over at Peter, she saw that there was almost a humorous glint in his eyes, a knowing little spark. His eyes flicked up to meet hers, and she thought she saw him smirk slightly, a blush covering her face. Honestly, she was just too proud to ever admit to Susan and Lucy that she'd spent all of the previous evening with Peter, but she supposed it was rather unavoidable now.
"I went up on that hill, over there." Phoebe pointed, and the younger girls' gazes followed her lead. "Just kind of thinking, I suppose. The view's really nice up there, Susan. You should go up sometime." Looking quickly over to Peter, Phoebe saw that he was barely containing his laughter, and she couldn't help but laugh a bit under her breath. Susan sighed, clearly exasperated, and Lucy just giggled at the impatience of her older sister.
"Come on, Phoebe, that can't be it!" The four children continued to walk, Phoebe shaking her head down at the ground. Peter remained silent, if only because he likely wouldn't be able to restrain his laughter if he opened his mouth. "Phoebe! I'll feed you to Aslan, trust me, I will!" She was trying her best to be threatening but it was far funnier. Susan hit her arm lightly, and that did it for Phoebe - she burst out laughing, and Peter quickly followed suit. The younger two's eyes were flitting between them, confusion evident (although Phoebe could've sworn she saw Lucy practically grinning like the Cheshire cat).
