Untouchable (A Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Story)

Chapter 23 🦔

The time had finally come. There was only one day left of our trip. Tomorrow, everything would be packed up and we would return to Philadelphia. How will I tell Victor? When he finds out the truth, it will break his heart.

"Hey, Miss Roxy!" Oh boy! How will I do this? Should I just tell him quickly like tearing off a bandage? Or should I wait until the right moment? What do I do?

"Do you want to go for a walk with me?"

The sweet sound of his voice broke me from my thoughts. The chocolate hue of his eyes made me feel like my heart was melting. No one has ever made me feel this way before... except for... well, it was never going to happen anyway. I should tell him soon or else he'll be mad at me.

"Victor, can we talk about something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

I won't hold the news back any longer. No matter which way you choose to rip off a bandage, it still hurts. "I'm leaving," I said, a few tears threatening to fall.

"You're what?!"

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

His smile slowly faded as a flower does when its time to bloom is over. "What?"

"My father brought me and my brother here for my birthday... and the vacation was only meant to last for three weeks. We're going home tomorrow. I'm sorry."

Slowly, his mouth fell agape, stretching to its limit. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. What have I done? I broke my boyfriend.

Luna's POV:

Lance had told me that he's leaving, so I decided that we were going to spend the rest of the day having fun. I made water constructs for us to play with. The way I made the foaming stream take the form of elephants, wild cats, birds, and even some mythical creatures was enough to make his grey eyes light up in wonder. The way he drenched himself whenever he touched one was enough to give me butterflies.

As we played, I couldn't help but wonder if I should tell him the truth: That he could stay here forever. His smile spread for miles and the light of the sun was captured in his eyes. His quills seemed to bounce as he jumped on top of a construct of a cougar, sending water all over him and myself. Like a dog, he has the habit of shaking water off of him, which is so adorable. "Hey, Lance," I said, causing him to look up at me with glittering eyes.

"Yes?"

"You could stay here forever... if you want to."

"Really?!" His breathing became slightly heavy. "With... You?" Suddenly, he fell over, still with a smile on his face. Had he fainted? Thrown into a panic, I picked him up (it was hard) and took him to my room. I thought he looked cute when he was awake, but he looks even cuter when he's asleep. The eyelashes that rimmed the lids were like tiny feathers, so soft and fluffy. His lips were the petals of a rose, so soft looking that you wonder if they actually are as soft as they look.

Like a tortoise climbing a hill, Lance's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Morning, Sleepyhead," I said in a sweet voice.

"I can stay here forever?" He asked, his tone of voice as inquisitive as ever.

"That's right. We can stay together in the loop forever. We can play together always."

"But what about Roxanne? What about my family?"

"You're peculiar, Lance. She is peculiar. You belong with us. Your parents wouldn't understand what you're going through."

"Dad wouldn't understand if I told him," he said, his face becoming down cast. "He can't be reasoned with. Even if I say no, he'll just force me to go with him. I'm eight, after all. Who would listen to me?"

Tears started to form in my eyes at his words. In all honesty, I understand what it feels like. My parents never listened to me either when they were still alive.

"Maybe you could come with us!"

The excitement in his voice made me feel horrible. "I can't go with you."

"Why not?"

I might as well tell him. "We can't live forever Lance, even though you think we can. A loop just arrests us at the age we were when the loop was created. How old do you think I am?"

He started counting on his fingers and whenever he ran out, he started counting again from where he stopped on his other hand. "I came up with thirty-five. Is that how old you are?"

I nodded my head. "If any of us were to leave the loop, all of the years we've spent here would catch up with us and we would age forward. That's what happened to Charlotte and it's all my fault."

"Who's Charlotte?"

"Enoch used to live in another loop before this one. It was raided long ago and Miss Peregrine took him and a girl named Charlotte in. I hated her! She always bullied me because of my pale skin and white hair and it brought back some very painful memories. One day, I just couldn't take it anymore and shouted 'If you hate me that much, then why don't you just leave?!' The next day, when we were taken out of the loop, Charlotte burst into tears and ran away. When she finally was returned to the loop, she had aged forward a considerable amount. It's one of the worst regrets I've ever had."

In response to my words, the porcupine boy hugged me from behind as the waterworks leaked out. "It's okay. Look, if Roxanne agrees, then I'll stay."

That made me feel very happy.

Roxanne's POV:

"Why can't you just stay here?"

"Because my dad is just as stubborn as I am. Even if I say no, he'll just force me to go back with him."

After the news sunk in, Victor started coming up with ways for me to stay with him. I didn't realize until now that he's as stubborn as a rock, much like myself. "Then, why don't I go with you?"

Out of all of his plans, that was by far the worst. At the sound of his voice, I let out a breath that had been weighing on my lungs and trachea. "That's a bad idea, Vic. If you leave the loop, you'll age forward and then we couldn't be together. After all, you are at least twenty-six years my senior."

"I don't care!" He shouted, holding me in a tight embrace. "I still want to be with you. I hate living here, living the same day over and over. It's boring!"

I sighed at his statement. "At least it's better than everything that's going on out there. There's a war going on, Victor."

Confusion wrote itself across his face. "But I thought the war ended. That's what you said."

"World War II ended, but that only led to the beginning of another war between superpowers. A war where no one would directly declare war on the other: A Cold War. Germany was split right down the middle and so was the capital, Berlin. Of course, all of that is just the tip of the iceberg."

"What could be worse than that?"

"Nuclear war, Victor! Nuclear war! You think that the bomb that almost destroys the house is bad? Well, that is small potatoes compared to an atomic bomb. Plus, there's the war going on in Vietnam right now. Long story short, the world is a mess right now."

"Then why don't you stay in the loop?"

I shook my head. "I told you. My dad..."

"Just talk to him. Tell him what is going on."

"Thanks, Vic." I nodded my head at his statement, making my way through the woods until I reached the loop entrance. Katie soon appeared next to me. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to help you," she said, licking her paw and rubbing her patchy ear. "He might not believe you, but he might listen to me."

"But you're a cat!"

"I know, but I also have to look after you two. Where's Lance? The more of us that are present, the more he will believe us."

"I'm here, Katie!" Lance's voice could be heard and very soon, he was standing with us. "So what's the game plan?"

"We have to talk to him and tell him what's going on."

"Okay I get it. Let's go."