Forword
The setting for this fic is in the late 1930's, before Paul was ever taken to Kingdom Hospital. You may find the following story odd in parts. It's somewhat strange and quirky-like the origional character, Beverley. It's meant to be mildly funny with romance and adventure mixed in.
This story was inspired by a dream I had, and was nagging the hell out of me to write it. Whether you love it, hate it, or are neutral, the story existed and it was begging to be written.
It has evolved quite a bit from my dream. It origionally started out like a drama and the character more normal, but that changed when, in a funny mood, I decided to write it (or another version of it) to amuse myself rather than try to impress anyone, and from there many more ideas and much more creativity flowed. It really helps to loosen up, relax and do it for fun.
Prologue
What is a girl to do when faced with the most reckless, hostile, and insane person she's ever met? Avoid him like the son of satan. At least, that was my plan, but it didn't work. Little did I know I was fated to cross paths with just such a person, and things would never be the same.
Chapter 1: Trouble in Paradise
"...Is that Paul? What's he doing here?" I wondered aloud, looking at him from my spot on the tree's branch. He was exploring the woods behind the schoolhouse that I always went to. Why he suddenly started lurking around there I had yet to find out.
Paul Morlock. I remember his name being called by the teacher long ago, back when he used to go to school. It was no surprise to anyone when he dropped out. The trouble maker he was, rules and structure didn't agree with him.
Full of spice, nothing nice.
A demon in disguise.
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When the sun finally began to set, I headed home. The smell of dinner cooking greeted me as I opened the door, along with the sounds of my obnoxious brothers rough-housing and my father yelling at them to stop. I closed the door behind me, grabbing their attention. "Oh, Beverley, hi. Janet might need your help in the kitchen--BOYS, I said stop it, now that's enough!"
"Ok, Dad." I continued into the living room.
He went to go set the table after turning around and pointing at James and William. "Settle down."
I started to make my way into the kitchen to help with dinner, but I was blocked by my younger brother, James, who seemed determined to drive me insane. I was in no mood to fight, which I was never good at anyway as I wasn't the strong or assertive type, despite having two brothers who often tried to provoke me. My parents would usually step in and take the slack off me and try to make them behave.
I stood there for a moment, my head falling back in frustration, and my eyes rolling as far as they would go, letting out a long sigh. "James, pleaaase just let me go to the kitchen, I have to help Mom!" The ten-year-old pest just stood there and giggled. I tried in vain to go around him, but he just laughed and stepped in front of me, so I feigned defeat and ran into the kitchen.
Mom stood at the stove stirring something in a large pot. "Hi, honey, how was your day?"
"Good. So what do you need me to do? What is that, beans?" I said looking in the pot.
"Yea, you can make the cornbread to go with them," she said, still stirring.
Finally, the beans were soft, and the cornbread was done baking. My mom brought the pot of beans to the table while I grabbed the cornbread. As my luck would have it, I wasn't but a few feet from the dinner table when somehow I managed to trip over my own feet and land on the floor, sending the bread sailing several feet ahead of me.
"Ahh..! Why do you have to be so clumsy?!" my older brother, William, whined.
James chimed in. "Yea, Beverley, look what you did; you ruined the cornbread!" I got up and recomposed myself, scowling at the ever so annoying hellions.
Dad looked down at the table and then gave a frustrated sigh before he directed his attention to them. "Boys.." He said as if to warn them. William gave me a quick glance before shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
"Wait, okay, what I can do is cut off the side that touched the floor...." I announced, desperate to fix the situation. I stood there waiting for feedback as everyone just sort of looked at each other.
"Well...I guess that could work," Mom said, finally bringing me relief.
I then proceeded with my brilliant idea and then put the cornbread on the table. Finally I got to sit down and eat. James found it a good, opportune time to amuse himself. "Have a nice trip, Beeverleyy?" He laughed.
"James, now that's enough; leave your sister alone."
I had always wished my father would be more strict, just one good woopin' would have been nice. I'd gladly go find a belt or paddle to aid in disciplining them. Of course I wasn't any better myself; I was also soft. I had grown to be soft like my parents, and my brothers had grown to take advantage of it.
I shoveled the beans and the cornbread (which I probably could have eaten right off the floor as hungry as I had been) into my mouth. The walk home always gave me a healthy appetite. It was so healthy, I had seconds--which wasn't such a good idea as I'd come to find out later.
Evening turned to night, and finally it was time to say goodnight. I collapsed onto the welcoming mattress of my bed, happy to finally let myself relax and unwind. At last, time to myself-very special time which I needed, otherwise I'd tend to get cranky. I closed my eyes and allowed my mind to drift off into randomness. The thought of seeing Paul at my forest creeped in. I replayed the vision of him there, walking around, looking about. Suddenly, he was in my face--really, really close to my face. I didn't say or do anything, just stared at him. Then he grabbed my arms hard enough to cut off the circulation. A second later, everything went black. I realized I had fallen asleep and started dreaming as consciousness returned, soon followed by true sleep.
When morning arrived, I got ready and headed off to school with James and William. I looked down at the dirt road as my mind rambled on about random and irrelevant things, my brother's voices from the other side of the street in the background. A stray pebble hit my temple, and I saw it fall beside my shoe. I quickly turned my head to see James with a big, dumb grin. I picked up the small stone and, aiming for his head, threw it back at him. It flew a foot away from his face and landed on the ground. Better luck next time. We continued on-- me looking at the ground most of the time and them talking and occasionally picking on each other as siblings do.
Forty minutes of that then finally we reached the schoolhouse. My brothers were anxious to visit with their friends before class started.
Something about people trying to force information into my head just didn't sit well. If I was going to learn I wanted it to be on my own terms, not someone else's. It was intensely boring, trying to learn things I didn't care about, like math and history. I was into more creative pursuits like writing and art. I didn't have a social life either so that made it more boring for me. For some reason I was never good at making friends, and really preferred keeping to myself.
I was glad to be free when the last class finally let out. I did what I always did after school or on the weekends when I wasn't busy with chores at home, and enjoyed the company of the trees, birds and other critters in my forest behind the schoolhouse. I walked around for a while, poked at mushrooms with a stick, and played with a few creatures likes frogs and mice I knew just where to find. After about a half hour of that, I sat in the very big and very old hollow tree--which I named Hollow Tree--and buried my head in a book I'd been reading.
Before I knew it, time flew. I felt like I needed to get up and stretch a bit, walk around, and get the circulation flowing. I put down my book and stepped out of Hollow Tree. I heard yelling coming from just outside the schoolhouse-which I must've tuned out-- something I had gotten a little too good at. "Paul..." I whispered as if to acknowledge his presence. He was yelling at someone leaving, God knows what about.
The other person ran off, and Paul started walking towards me. He didn't notice me there yet; he was just sort of looking around. He decided to spend his time there after all, which of course worried me. Could we stay out of each other's way? What if we didn't get along? What if he chased me off and I couldn't come here anymore? I grabbed my book and hurried into the shed that was located a little ways into the woods, unable to come up with a better course of action at the moment. I wasn't good at thinking on my feet. I'd freeze and then use poor judgement.
I resigned myself to reading, hoping that the coast would be clear after a while. I went through five chapters when it occurred to me to see if he was still out there. I opened the door just enough to peek. I didn't see him. I opened the door all the way and stepped out to get a better look around. He was nowhere in sight. My relief was shortlived when, turning back to the shed for my books, I walked right into him. He must have been on the other side where I hadn't even thought to look. Creepy little weasle....
I stood there, frozen. That was the first time our eyes met. He gave me a look that sent chills down my spine.
I'd never gotten a good look at his face until now. Black, ragged curls framed intense green eyes filled with anger. Those eyes looked right into my soul...and almost made me feel naked.
"Well, what do we have here, a little girl alone in the woods?" The way he spoke was ominous and sinister. He was so close I could feel his breath on my face.
A strange feeling came over me, strong and intense, like butterflies in the stomache, except lower. I stood there frozen as my eyes shifted from his very well-crafted face with those piercing green eyes to the shed and the trees beside it.
I struggled to get the words out. "I...uh-I'm n-not lost. I come here all th-the t-time."
"Got a stuttering problem?" He asked, slightly amused.
"Uh, n-no..." I was so nervous I couldn't speak. I wasn't sure I could walk either as I could literally feel all coordination leave my body. My nervousness grew even more as I could feel gas developing and trying to make it's way out. "Damned those beans!," I thought to myself. Unfortunately, the effects of last night's dinner hadn't quite left me yet. So there I was: a stuttering mess of nerves, standing there with my butt cheeks clenched so tightly I thought they'd go numb.
"Sounds like you do to me." He enjoyed the obvious discomfort he was causing me.
"I have to go." I started to run the opposite direction, and made it four feet before I tripped and fell to the ground. "Damn my two left feet!" I thought, frustrated. To my relief, the gas I'd been holding prisoner made a silent escape upon me hitting the ground. Luckily for the me (and him), the breeze wasn't blowing in his direction.
I could hear Paul chuckling behind me. I quickly got up and walked very quickly away. Halfway home I realized that I had forgotten my books. But that would be the least of my worries.
Chapter 2: It is Something
