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Wendy was fifteen now. Girls around her were changing. Her friends at school had started noticing boys, and Wendy had started noticing Alice.
The blonde haired girl was different from the others around her. She was wild and unpredictable in a way that Wendy had only seen in movies and tv-shows. Alice had bright blue eyes and warm hair the color of a canary and the spirit of one, too.
Wendy watched one day as her old friend Peter asked Alice to a school dance coming up, and Alice giggled in his face and said that she didn't want to attend any dances, because she didn't want to dance in public with her peers. He then proceeded to ask her out to watch a movie, and she said she didn't like movie theaters at all, because they never had snacks she liked. Peter gave up after that, and Wendy found her curiosity peaked.
She sat by the stranger at lunch until she wasn't a stranger anymore, but her best friend. Like Wendy, Alice had a huge imagination, unlike Wendy spent her days drawing and writing silly scenarios and stories instead of paying attention in classes. While Wendy preferred to behave, she found herself waiting outside of their school's front office, eager to escort Alice back to class anytime she was reprimanded.
Soon, Wendy's feelings became confusing and hard to navigate. She considered talking to her mother Mary first -- but her mother didn't have any lady friends, so she knew it wouldn't help. She then considered talking to her father, but he thought that Alice was a bad influence, so she knew that was a bad idea, too. Her brother John was too caught up figuring himself out, and Michael was much too young to understand.
So, she found herself sitting with her old friend Peter during lunch one day when Alice was home with a stomachache. "I just don't understand. Why do I get so angry when I see Alice talking to the new boy in class? I'm not at all interested in him..."
Peter stared at her in an impish way, his boyish feature scrunched up like a dishrag. "Well ain't it obvious, Wendy? You like Alice!" He blurted it out like it was as clear as the night sky, and Wendy felt her face heat up.
She shushed him and spent the rest of the day thinking over what he said. Before now, she had never considered that she could like Alice. Were girls allowed to like other girls? She didn't know any who did, or at least, she didn't think she did.
After class, she approached her English teacher Mrs. Porter, and cautiously knitted her hands together. "Uhm, Mrs. Porter, today when we were talking about Romeo and Juliet... would it be possible for a Juliet to find another Juliet, instead of a Romeo?" She asked ina small voice, relieved when her teacher didn't seem surprised or upset by the question.
"Well, of course they can, Wendy. Now, not everyone can understand that, but..." She spoke with her hands and Wendy found herself frowning slightly.
"What do you mean not everyone understands that?"
Mrs. Porter thinned her lips and stared at a photo on her desk of a woman with deep red hair and blue eyes thoughtfully. "Sometimes... people are angry at those Juliets, and think that two Juliets being together is wrong somehow. But just because someone believes that something is wrong doesn't make it true."
"Like... when Mr. Thatch said some people believe the earth is flat?"
Giggling slightly, Mrs. Porter gave a short nod. "Precisely. If you want to be a Juliet who loves another Juliet, than nobody can stop you. Just... understand that not everyone will understand and be happy without their understanding. Understand?"
Wendy gave a short nod, satisfied by the answer. "I understand. Thank you Mrs. Porter!" With that, she made her way out of the classroom and out of the school, thinking over everything that had happened. So, she maybe had a small crush on her best friend Alice, and maybe, that was alright.
And maybe that was Alice, sitting on the front porch of her home, despite being told she had to stay home? Wendy nearly dropped her books in shock as Alice spotted her and hurried forward, catching them. "Helloooo Wendy!"
"Alice! You're supposed to be resting at home! If your sister knows, if my father knows--"
Alice only giggled, taking Wendy's books and heading inside of the Darling home, setting them on the table. She raced back outside and grabbed Wendy's hand tightly, squeezing it. "Well, I may have lied to my sister about having a stomachache this morning. I just didn't want to take Mr. Thatch's history test."
Gasping in mock horror, Wendy couldn't help the amused smile that befell her face. "Oh Alice! Your sister is going to maim you!"
Giggling again, Alice dragged Wendy's hand further and started to walk down a familiar path near the Darling's home that led straight into the woods and to their hideout. She listened to Alice ramble on about her ruse and how much she hated history class, but Wendy drowned her out for once, her own thoughts louder than Alice's words.
Wendy let herself be led, going abnormally quiet as she thought about her feelings. Should she tell Alice how she felt? She wasn't sure. She knew in the movies that she watched that telling your best friend you liked them could go well or very, very badly.
"What's on your mind, Wendy? You've barely said a thing. You aren't feeling ill, are you?"
Wendy blinked and shook her head as they reached their little hideout; it was a fallen tree house they had found a few months ago, where they had dumped blankets and pillows inside and over it, making it their own little wonderland that nobody else knew about. "No, no. I was just thinking about that play we're reading in Mrs. Porter's class! Romeo and Juliet."
"Why?" Alice questioned with a raised eyebrow and smile.
"Oh, well, you know, about... about how some Juliets love other Juliets?"
Alice stared deeply at Wendy for a moment as they both sat down on a blanket inside of their little wonderland. She turned on a nearby electric lamp they had left there before and leaned forward. "Why are you thinking about that?"
Wendy felt her face burning brightly like a fairy's magic. How was she supposed to answer? "Well, I... was thinking that maybe I'm a Juliet that likes other Juliets. I don't know if I ever would like a Romeo."
"What is that supposed to mean? You know I didn't pay much attention in class," Alice explained, before the epiphany hit her. "Oh, wait! Are you saying that you like girls?"
Wendy gave a short nod, and averted her eyes. What if Alice was one of the people that Mrs. Porter warned her about? What if she just didn't understand?
Suddenly, her hand was warm again, and she stared down, at where Alice was holding it. "That's good to hear. I think I've always liked girls. Or... Juliets, as you were saying." She giggled softly, squeezing the hand tighter. "I've actually had my eye on one Juliet in particular."
Wendy felt her face burning hotter. She felt that familiar unease building in her stomach that she had felt for the new boy in class, but now it was for some strange girl she didn't even know. She pouted and felt her stomach twisting when Alice suddenly laughed loudly, pulling their intertwined hands up in between them, kissing Wendy's hand.
"You're the Juliet I like, silly! You looked like you were about to cry. Did I use the word wrong? The synonym... the metaphor, or something like that? I really haven't paid much attention in Mrs. Porter's class."
"I'm your Juliet? Really?" Wendy felt her heart lifting at the words, relief washing over her. "Well, I hope we don't end up like Romeo and Juliet."
"Why is that? Don't they end up happy ever after or something?"
Shaking her head, Wendy smiled shyly in amusement. "No, they definitely don't. Mrs. Porter says it isn't really a love story either, but I can't think of any love story I like to use as a metaphor."
"Hmmm," Alice thought, a gleam in her eyes, "well, I think that we will just have to make our own story then, won't we? Ours will be more entertaining, anyways."
Giggling, Wendy agreed with Alice's declaration, leaning back against one of the walls of their wonderland. "In that case, we better get writing and plan our first chapter. Our first date, I mean."
Alice nodded curtly. "Alright. You should let me do the planning this time. I'm sure after my sister grounds me for lying that I was sick that I will have plenty of time to come up with something fun. Something better than a school dance or the movies."
A week later, when Alice dragged her along to go to a water park, Wendy agreed that it was a wonderful start to their new story.