Page 13 of Darling

“You should go home and just leave us alone. No one wants you here!” Tinkerbelle shouted, throwing her arms out wildly.

“Wow! I just might!” Wendy exclaimed, turning on her heel. “It was nice to fuckin’ meet you, Peter—”

“I want her here,” Peter interrupted in a voice as unamused and dry as the leaves blowing down the street.

Tinkerbelle seemed to shrink instantly. Her big blue eyes snapped to the asphalt, and her mouth twisted tightly as she clenched her teeth. Peter put his hand on Tinkerbelle’s shoulder and leaned in close to her. “Wendy is our guest. She’s new to the city, and I wanted to show her a good time. She’s been so brave tonight already, what with finding me in her home and climbing down the trellis. She deserves this. Can you make some room for her?”

“I really don’t have to go, if she’s that upset,” Wendy said. She glanced over her shoulder. She could still see her bedroom window.

“No, please,” Peter said gently. “Stay.”

Tinkerbelle closed her eyes like something was hurting her immensely, then her shoulders sagged. “Fine. I’m just— It’s…” She took a breath and started again. “It’s been a long day. I didn’t expect to have to look after someone tonight, and I really just wanted to relax with my friends.”

“It’s all right.” Wendy shrugged. “You don’t have to look after me. I can look after myself.”

“I’ll look after you, too,” Peter said firmly. “I’m the one who needs to make sure you get home safe.”

Wendy could feel her cheeks burning and steadfastly willed her heart to stop racing whenever Peter said things like that. When she looked over, Tinkerbelle was watching her.

Now that the tension was dissipating, Wendy took the time to actually look back at her. Tinkerbelle was staggeringly pretty. Also, now that she was seeing Peter and Tinkerbelle next to each other, she could picture how well they would have looked together when they were still dating. They even moved like they had grown used to being close. Peter towered over Tinkerbelle, who was clearly irritated by that, but he still had his shoulder turned toward her protectively. Tinkerbelle had her arms wrapped tightly around herself, but she swayed toward Peter like she couldn’t help it.

Her clothes went well together, but they looked worse for wear in the same way that Peter’s did. Like they’d been washed too many times or worn for too long. The crushed velvet green dress had a few patches where the fabric had been stripped completely bald. Her jacket was a size or so too big for her. Not big enough to have been chosen that way as a cool “boyfriend” aesthetic, but more like she had either lost a massive amount of weight, or it had belonged to someone else before her. She had dark blue eyeliner crusted in the corners of her eyes like she had applied it the night before and just applied more on top of what was left. Her tights were practically strings left over from a pair of pantyhose, and the Vans she wore had duct tape holding them together.

Despite all this, both still looked dazzling—Peter, tall, auburn-haired, and golden-eyed, and Tinkerbelle, blond and with a gaze as deep as the sea. Wendy’s hand itched to whip out her phone and take a photograph of both of them as they stood stock-still in the middle of the alley, looking like a freakin’ editorial. Eleanor would lose her goddamn mind at how cool they looked, but Wendy couldn’t do it while they were both staring right at her.

“Look,” Wendy said. “If things get out of hand, or if I get lost or something, I’ll figure myself out. I have my phone, and I’m not an idiot. You don’t have to worry about me. Let’s just pretend that none of this ever happened and start from scratch. It’s nice to meet you, Tinkerbelle, I’m sorry you had a hard day, and I won’t cling to your ex-boyfriend. Now. Where the fuck are we going?”

Peter laughed, threw an arm over Tinkerbelle’s shoulders, and led them to the end of the alley. “We’re going to a few places, actually. First, we have to go home and pick up a few friends. Then, we’re getting dinner at a place called the Mermaid’s Lagoon. Afterward, we’re heading south to the warehouse, where the party is.”

“That’s a lot of traveling,” Wendy remarked.

Peter nodded in the direction of the train station up the street. “The night is young.” That smile was plastered back on his face. “And what sort of adventure would this be without a bit of travel?”

CHAPTER 5

Wendy texted Eleanor while Peter and Tinkerbelle were busy fiddling with the train ticket machine. She opened the camera on her phone, zoomed in on one of the train platform’s round security mirrors, and got a decent snapshot of Peter’s and Tinkerbelle’s faces without either of them noticing.

Eleanor: Oh wow, he looks like a model. Your idiocy from earlier in the night is beginning to make sense to me.

Wendy: He’s really nice, too. He’s buying my train ticket and everything.

Eleanor: Train tickets are $2.50, do not sell your dignity to men for $2.50.

Wendy chose to ignore that.

Wendy: I’m surprised you don’t have anything to say about his friend? She’s a knockout.

Eleanor: She’s ok. She’s not my type. I like brunettes.

Wendy: Valid. She’s also kind of a bitch. Apparently, she and Peter used to date??? Peter helped me get outside and I guess we were standing too close and she was HEATED.

Eleanor: lmao

Wendy: She was like “get away from him” and we hadn’t even properly said hi. It’s like b I don’t want your boy

Eleanor: u do tho

Wendy: I DO THO