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It was a pleasant and bright morning at the local park for Colin Bridgerton as he ran around the open field of grass next to the playground, playing tag with his siblings, Benedict and Eloise. Laughing boisterously, he bobbed and weaved around the two old oak trees that had been at this park longer than his six-year-old brain could even imagine, dodging Benedict’s tag for the millionth time since starting this game. His mother had told him once that he was unbelievably quick for his age.
“Ugh, you’re always such a try-hard, Colin! It’s annoying!” Eloise shouted after him, coming to a halt with a vicious glare in her eyes. Colin only laughed harder at the sight. His four-year-old sister could be so ridiculous sometimes.
“Just because he’s better than you at this game doesn’t make him a try-hard, El,” Benedict said through a laugh as he jogged up to her, patting her on the shoulder. Colin stopped in the middle of the field to catch his breath, sticking his tongue out at Eloise tauntingly when he noticed her still glaring in his direction. Eloise shrugged Benedict’s hand off her shoulder and stomped her foot dramatically.
“Whatever, Ben. I’m not playing anymore.”
Colin and Benedict made eye contact with one another as Eloise stormed off toward the monkey bars, and promptly burst into laughter.
“She ends up quitting every time. I don’t know why she still agrees to play with you when you ask her,” Benedict laughed out, walking over to Colin, his red sneakers dirty from running through the dirt and grass. Colin’s jeans and white tennis shoes weren’t faring much better. “Want a piggyback ride to the swings, lil bro?”
“Heck yeah!”
Benedict bent over for Colin to settle onto his back easier, and an elated giggle escaped the six-year-old once his brother stood upright.
“Woo-hoo! I’m ten feet tall!”
Benedict chuckled and shook his head, looking over his shoulder at Colin fondly.
“Thanks for the confidence boost, Col, but I’m definitely not ten feet tall.”
“Feels like it to me,” Colin replied with a roll of his eyes. His brother shook his head again, eyes filled with fondness, but he didn’t argue.
Colin and Benedict had been super close from the minute the younger was born. Anthony, the eldest Bridgerton boy, took himself far too seriously in Colin’s opinion, and only ever came to the park because his mother refused to let him stay home alone by himself. Colin remembered how he used to ask Ant to push him on the swings or around the merry-go-round when they had first started coming to the park at the beginning of the summer, only to feel upset and disappointed every time his older brother would scoff and tell him to ‘buzz off.’ The disappointment never lasted too long, thankfully, because Benedict was always quick and happy to step in and play around with Colin instead.
Once they made it to the swings, he jumped from Benedict’s back and tugged up the sleeve of his denim jacket that had slipped down on the ride over. He was about to climb onto the swing closest to the slide when he heard the sweetest sound.
Unable to ignore the pretty song, Colin stumbled his stocky legs away from the swings and in the direction of the twirly yellow slide, following the sound.
“Where are you going?” Benedict shouted from behind him, clearly confused.
Ignoring his brother’s questions, Colin stepped through the wood chips and around the slide, finally finding the source of the pretty melody.
A redheaded girl, with rosy cheeks and two buns at the top of her head, was sitting on the blue park bench next to the water fountains, giggling at whatever book she had in her lap. He had no idea who she was, and his mom had always warned him to be careful around strangers, but that didn’t stop him from taking the six steps over to the bench and clearing his throat to catch her attention.
When she looked up from her book and caught his eyes, Colin gasped.
Her eyes were so blue.
Not like his—hers were way more electric and bright.
“Hi!” she said, smiling widely at him. Colin noticed that one of her front teeth was missing and his heart did something weird.
She was so cute.
Colin had been so distracted by the color of her eyes and adorable smile that he had forgotten why he came over here in the first place. He shook away any lingering thoughts and smiled back at the girl holding her hand out to him.
“Hi, I’m Colin!” he introduced himself, taking her tiny hand in his to shake. The apples of his cheeks warmed immediately at the touch, and he wanted nothing more than to keep her hand in his. Stranger or not, something about her felt safe.
“I’m Penelope. I just moved here three days ago,” the girl said, holding up only two fingers. Colin didn’t point it out. “I like your jacket.”
Colin’s cheeks pinkened even more as he glanced down at his denim jacket, as if he’d suddenly forgotten what he was wearing, then he slid into the spot on the bench next to her, praying his mom would forgive him this time for ignoring her stranger danger speech.
“Thanks. I like your overalls.”
Penelope giggled, and Colin’s grin widened. He noticed that they were still holding hands, but Penelope didn’t move to pull away, so he didn’t either.
“I also like your laugh,” he added, beaming when her freckled cheeks became even more rosy.
“You’re very kind, Colin. I think I want to be best friends.”
Colin was caught off guard at the abrupt confession. He wasn’t really opposed to the idea, though. He’d only just met the girl, but he already knew there was something different about her.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. We can be best friends.”
They spent the next hour reading Penelope’s book and giggling with another, whilst also learning each other’s ages, favorite colors, and talking about their families. Colin immediately decided that he didn't like the rest of Penelope’s family based on the things she shared with him, and he vowed to always protect the pretty four year old in any way he knew how.
Soon after that, much to Colin’s dismay, the Bridgerton bunch had to leave the park to go home for lunch. Penelope pinky-promised to see him soon, and Colin told her he couldn’t wait. His heart nearly burst when she pulled him into a hug before he left.
Once home and at the dining room table, Colin enthusiastically told his mother, Violet, all about his new best friend, Penelope, and how he’d had the best day ever with her at the park. Anthony began to tease him about having a ‘crush,’ but Colin ignored him, happy that his mother looked excited for him. He wasn’t the most social child with anyone outside of his intermediate family, and usually struggled to make friends on his own.
Part of him was glad those friendships never worked out, because he was convinced that he had just scored the very bestest friend anyone could ask for.
Violet seemed pleasantly surprised to hear that his great day at the park had mostly involved him listening to Penelope read to him, and Colin could understand why. While he somewhat enjoyed reading, his mind typically couldn’t stay focused on one task long enough for him to ever finish a book.
Until now, anyway.
Penelope’s soft, high-pitched voice had been so soothing to listen to, and he found that it actually calmed the scatter that usually infiltrated his brain when he needed to focus on something.
After he was done rambling, Violet brought a hand up to cup his jaw, rubbing her thumb across his chubby cheeks. He leaned into the touch, his lips turning up when he saw how happy his mother was as she looked down at him.
“I can’t wait to meet her. She sounds lovely.”
Colin nodded.
“She is, Ma.”
Later that day, when he and his mother went into the front yard to play, the two were both shocked and elated to discover that Penelope and her family were the ones who had just moved in right across the street from them.
🛝🛝🛝
“Hurry up, Colin! The ice cream truck’s supposed to be coming by the park this morning and we don’t want to miss it!”
Colin rolled his eyes at his younger sister’s screeching, slipping on his black Nike sneakers and double checking to make sure they were on the right feet before running out the door. He sped straight past his mother and siblings, storming down the sidewalk in the direction of Penelope’s house.
“Slow down!” Anthony yelled after him. “Your girlfriend isn’t going anywhere.”
He heard Daphne and Benedict giggling behind him, as if Anthony had said something oh-so hilarious.
The tips of his ears burned at his older brother’s chirping, but Colin brushed it off and came to an abrupt stop at the edge of the curb to wait for his mother. He gripped her hand tightly once she was at his side and flicked his gaze back and forth repeatedly while they crossed the street to make sure they were safe from any cars, the rest of the Bridgerton bunch in tow.
“Leave your brother alone, Anthony. I think it’s sweet how well he and Penelope get along.”
Colin grinned up at his mom in thanks. She squeezed his hand, smiling back.
His mom was the best in the world.
“It is rather cute,” Benedict chimed in, agreeing with Violet. Colin’s ears and cheeks were practically on fire at this point. “He even shared his candy bar with her last week. Colin never does that!”
Choosing to ignore the rest of their conversation, Colin let go of his mother’s hand once they were safely across the street, jetting off toward the Featheringtons’ front door. He came to a halt once he reached it and started rapidly slamming his fist against the wood. It took less than a second before he heard the knob turn, the corner of his lips already tilting upward as the door began to open.
There was a flash of red and yellow, then Colin felt someone collide into his chest and wrap their arms around his back.
His Pen.
At some point during the last month of knowing her—and seeing her almost every single one of those days—Colin had started calling her ‘his Pen.’ Anthony and Daphne liked to tease him constantly for it, embarrassing him enough at one point that he started to think maybe Penelope was too nervous to tell him she didn’t like to be called his. His fears were quickly washed away when he confessed this to her one day on the swings and she had simply giggled in his face and told him to stop being goofy.
“I’m your Pen, and you’re my Colin. Whatever your siblings say doesn’t stop that from being the truth. We’re best friends.”
Anthony and Daphne’s remarks started to sting much less after that, Penelope’s words floating through his brain every time they’d tease him. He refused to let their stifled chuckles and murmured comments ruin things even now, as he wrapped his arms around Penelope, hugging her back.
“I missed you,” her sweet voice whispered in his ear. Colin chuckled, stepping back to look into his favorite electric blue eyes.
“I missed you, too.”
“Oh, brother! You guys saw each other yesterday!” Anthony groaned loudly, clutching his throat as he made exaggerated gagging noises. Eloise joined in, glaring at Colin as she did. She was still upset with him for becoming Penelope’s best friend. According to Eloise, it was ‘unfair’ that Colin swooped in first to claim the redhead as a best friend when she and Penelope were the same age. He tried to explain that Pen was the one who’d claimed him as a best friend first, but his younger sister refused to listen.
Colin and Penelope rolled their eyes simultaneously, looking at the two Bridgertons unamused. They both started giggling when Anthony huffed, clearly annoyed that his shenanigans had no effect on them.
“Anthony, Eloise, leave them alone. They aren’t hurting anyone,” Violet chastised the eldest Bridgerton before turning her attention to the little redhead. “How are you today, sweet girl?”
Penelope beamed at Colin’s mother, and he felt something in his chest squeeze.
“Great! Momma said my sisters don’t have to come with me today since you’ll be here, Mrs. Bridgerton. That means Colin and I can play on the swirly slide all by ourselves!”
She started jumping up and down excitedly, and Colin was quick to join her. The two had been desperately wanting to play “tornadoes” on the swirly slide this entire week, but Penelope’s older sisters, Phillipa and Prudence, were dead set on ruining any sort of fun their little sister was trying to have, blocking the slide every time the pair tried to go down it. Colin was ecstatic to hear that they would not be joining them today.
“Well, we better get going then. I wouldn’t want you two to miss out on all that fun!” Violet responded cheerfully, causing Penelope to giggle.
A song he’d never tire of hearing and would keep on repeat as much as possible.
Colin started down the path toward the park, taking one of Penelope’s hands in his. “I’ll walk on the side closest to the street to keep you safe, Pen.”
Penelope’s cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and she smiled at him with sweetness in her eyes.
“That’s very sweet of you. You’re the kindest friend I’ve ever had.”
The compliment warmed his entire body, and Colin rode that high the rest of the walk to the park, pretending not to notice Anthony rolling his eyes at the two of them when Colin protectively clutched his best friend closer to his side every time a car drove past.
🛝🛝🛝
“Oh no! The tornado is heading straight toward us!” Penelope screamed, looking far too cute in her yellow dress as she pointed at the giant yellow swirly slide in mock horror. “We’re gonna get caught in it!”
Colin bit back a laugh at Penelope’s acting, wanting to stay in character himself so as to not ruin the scene they’d created. He jumped over to where she was standing and tugged her tightly into his side, keeping his arms around her as he stared at the slide in determination.
“If this tornado sucks us up, we are in this together, Pen! I won’t let go of you, I promise.”
Penelope looked up at him with wide eyes, clutching him tighter. “Colin, I’m scared.”
Colin kissed her forehead, hoping she’d allow it for the ‘game,’ and sighed in relief when she only snuggled closer. “I’ll protect you, no matter what.”
Even though he was putting on a show, he meant every word.
The two ran up the swirly slide, screaming and twirling themselves around. Colin let the sounds of her giggles and yells fill his ears and his heart, his chest expanding with how happy he felt in that moment.
“What are you two idiots doing?”
The snarky voice cut through the bubble he and Penelope had found themselves in, and Colin’s joy quickly flipped to irritation when he recognized it.
Before he had the chance to snap back at Cressida, the biggest bully in town, Penelope slipped from where she was standing at the top of the slide, and he watched in horror as she let out a yelp and went tumbling all the way down.
“Ouch,” he heard her whimper as she landed at the bottom of the slide. Colin looked over the edge from where he stood at the top, peering down to where she lay in a heap, panic rising in the back of his throat. He was about to throw himself down the slide to check on her, when she let out a groan and slid off of the slide until she was standing upright again. Colin checked every part of her frantically while she brushed herself off, making sure she hadn’t suffered any major damage.
“I’m okay,” the sweet voice of his best friend floated up to him. She glanced up at Colin, smiling with her missing front tooth, and gave him a thumbs up. He gave her one back, trying not to grimace at the scrape he saw on her elbow. That had to sting, and he told himself not to forget to grab her some healing ointment from his mother when they got back to his house for dinner.
“Oh my god! That was SO embarrassing!”
Cressida’s loud, grating voice cut in, and Colin flipped his attention to her, having forgotten she was even there. His anger for the evil blonde doubled when he saw her with two of her friends, the group of them pointing at his Pen, laughing.
“No wonder you have no teeth! Did you just learn how to walk yesterday?”
Cressida snorted as if she’d just told the funniest joke ever, her stupid evil minions joining in.
“Yeah, Humpty Dumpty, did you have a great fall?”
Steam started to roll out of Colin’s ears. He looked over to Penelope, his heart aching at what he saw. His beautiful, vibrant best friend was hugging herself tightly, her body curled inward, as if she were trying to physically shield herself from their cruel words. Even from up here, he could see unshed tears brimming in her eyes.
“Aw, is Toothless gonna cry?” Cressida taunted, walking over to Penelope and poking her hard in the chest.
“LEAVE HER ALONE!” Colin screamed at them, seeing red.
Not wanting to allow the bullies another second to hurl insults at his best friend, Colin gripped the leverage bar at the top of the slide and launched himself down as fast as he could in a rush to protect the very person he’d sworn he always would.
Unfortunately for him, Colin miscalculated how long the swirly slide actually was, his footing catching about halfway down, and the next thing he knew, he too, was tumbling down just like Penelope had moments ago. Hitting the end of the slide with a hard plop, Colin felt a snap in his left arm that he had stuck out to brace his fall. Shocks of pain instantly rang out from where his arm had made contact with the slide, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream.
“Colin!”
Pen’s frightened voice and the sound of scurrying feet were the last things he heard before everything went dark.
🛝🛝🛝
“But, Ma, she was supposed to be here ages ago!” Colin complained from where he sat grumpily on the living room couch.
It had been two days since he tried to be a brave hero for his best friend, only to end up making a fool out of himself and breaking his arm—which was now stuck in a sling and thick cast that was already starting to drive him crazy. The only good part about it was the fact that he got to choose the color of his cast. He, of course, had chosen yellow, his favorite color because it reminded him of his favorite person.
His favorite person, who hadn’t seen him since his fall and was supposed to be coming over for a movie tonight, except she was five minutes late and he was growing restless waiting for her.
“Honey, be patient. I’m sure Penelope will be here so-“
Violet's words were cut off by the sound of knocking coming from the front door. Colin immediately bolted upright from the couch, his bare feet slapping against the hardwood floors as he zoomed past his mother toward the front entrance.
“Slow down! I don’t want you falling on that arm!” Violet called after him.
Colin reluctantly listened to his mother and slowed his steps down to a fast walk until he finally reached the front door and threw it open, ready to tell Penelope how much he’d missed her.
The words died in his throat upon seeing his best friend’s face.
On the doorstep, Penelope was standing beside her mother, Portia, her shoulders hunched and eyes downcast. When she glanced up to meet his gaze, he felt a crack in his chest at the tear tracks cascading down her cheeks. An overwhelming urge to draw her close and hold her tight to shield her from whatever was causing her distress consumed him, but when he reached his arms out for her, agony shot through his broken left arm. He winced, cradling it back against his chest as tears pricked in his eyes, his stomach dropping at the way Penelope’s face screwed up in anguish. She moved to reach for him, only to be firmly held back by Portia’s tight grip on her shoulder.
“Do you see what you’ve done, Penelope?” Portia spat, pointing at Colin’s aching arm. “Had you just kept your head down and not caused any problems with the neighborhood kids, none of this would’ve happened.”
Penelope’s eyes dropped back down to the cement beneath her, her shoulders slumping as she gave a short nod. “Yes, Mother. I’m sorry.”
Portia scoffed, shaking Penelope by her shoulder until the redhead looked back up at her. Colin felt sick watching the display.
“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to him.”
His blood began to boil when he noticed Portia’s nails digging into her daughter’s shoulder, turning the skin there a bright pink. Penelope let out a small cry, but it didn’t deter her mother in the slightest. If anything, Portia only dug her nails in harder. Colin cursed his stupid broken arm for rendering him useless to stop it. If he could, he’d have pulled Penelope into his arms and into his house away from her mother’s awful presence the minute he first saw those tears in her electric blue eyes.
This was his second time meeting Portia—the first being when he went over to Penelope’s house to walk with her to the park after learning they were neighbors, and she had simply introduced herself as Penelope’s mom before all but shoving the four-year-old girl out the door. Based on both of those occurrences, and all of the things his best friend had told him about her mother and sisters, Colin had quickly come to the conclusion that he didn’t like Portia Featherington in the slightest.
“I’m sorry for acting up and causing you to get hurt, Colin,” Penelope whispered, brushing her hands down the front of her yellow polka-dotted sundress, a habit Colin recognized she did whenever she felt anxious.
Colin glanced back and forth between the two Featheringtons, his brows furrowing in confusion as to what was happening, because if his memory served him correctly, absolutely none of what happened at the park that day was Penelope’s fault. Cressida had been the one to butt in and ruin their fun. Cressida and her stupid goons were the ones bullying and hurling insults at Penelope, not the other way around. And he had been the one dumb enough to launch himself down the slide as if he were Spider-Man, instead of going down it like a normal person, in order to protect his best friend. It was his fault that his arm was broken. Not Penelope’s.
Anger was starting to bubble to the surface the longer he stood there and watched his bright, lovely Pen shrink further in on herself as her mother continued shooting daggers down at her. The fact that this woman, her own mother, could stand there berating and blaming Penelope for all of this was ludicrous to him, and he would not stand for it any longer. Taking in a big breath, Colin puffed up his chest and opened his mouth to give Portia a piece of his mind.
“Listen here, you mean old bi-”
“Portia, so nice to see you and Penelope!” Colin’s mother’s voice cut him off right as he was about to curse the redheaded woman out, and the unimpressed look she shot his way told him that she was not pleased by what he’d been about to say. He gave her a sheepish grin and his best puppy dog eyes, hoping she wouldn’t be too upset. Violet ruffled his hair as she stood beside him, nodding her head in the direction of the living area before turning her attention back to Penelope’s mother.
Colin was grateful for his mother’s distraction, and linked Penelope’s arm with his unbroken one, tugging her through the entryway and toward the main living space, while she shouted, ”Nice to see you, too, Mrs. Bridgerton!” behind her.
Once they were settled in onto the soft, emerald green sofa, Colin finally pulled his best friend into his embrace, noticing that she was careful to avoid the arm in the cast. He hated that he wasn’t able to give her a proper hug like he wanted to, but he still melted into her familiar warmth, not realizing just how much he’d missed it the past couple of days.
“Where’s all the other Bridgertons?” Penelope asked as she pulled back, leaning forward to snatch a cookie from the plate of treats Colin had set out in preparation for their movie night.
He grabbed an eclair for himself and settled back against the cushions, already missing being in her arms. It was starting to become his favorite place to be.
“My brothers are at some Back-to-School dance thing, and Daph and El are hanging out with Clara and Macy from two houses down.”
“Oh, so it’s just us and Mrs. Bridgerton tonight?”
“Yeah, but Ma said she’ll be finishing up baking a pie, so it’s mostly just us.”
Penelope giggled, leaning her head on Colin’s shoulder that wasn’t wrapped in a sling. “Good. I’m glad.”
“Me too,” he whispered back, grabbing the remote from the arm of the sofa and pressing play on Monsters vs. Aliens—a movie Penlope had previously said she wanted to watch but her mom wouldn’t let her. A wave of satisfaction and pride washed over him when she gasped and bounced excitedly in her spot next to him.
Instead of focusing on the film, Colin spent the entire movie watching Penelope’s reactions. He had seen the movie quite a few times already—could practically recite it line by line—and it made his heart swell in his chest whenever she’d giggle and smile at all of his favorite scenes. About halfway through the movie, her head shifted from his shoulder down to his chest, and he wrapped his good arm around her to keep her there.
His mother slipped in from the kitchen shortly after that, carrying two plates with slices of freshly made apple pie. She smiled at the two of them, something soft in her eyes, and quietly set the plates on the coffee table in front of them before retreating back to the kitchen.
“Mm, that smells so good,” Penelope murmured, lifting her head from his chest to grab her plate and fork. Colin grabbed his as well, grinning against the top of her head when she settled back against his chest.
The pair munched on their treats as the movie came to an end, talking aimlessly about anything that came to mind. Penelope had started preschool the day after the slide incident and enthusiastically told Colin all about her cool teachers and classmates, relief flooding through him when she stated that Cressida wasn’t in her class and was attending the other preschool in town.
“…but the only thing I don’t like is that they never have lemonade for lunch. It’s either always milk or water, how boring!” Penelope complained, her arms crossed over her chest and an adorable pout on her lips.
“What?!” Colin gasped, just as shocked to learn this information as if he hadn’t attended that very same preschool less than two years ago. “That’s so lame.”
“It is! Everyone knows lemonade is the bestest drink in the world!”
Colin nodded in agreement. One of the very first things the two had learned about one another on that first day they met at the park was their shared love for lemonade.
“The very bestest. I should have Ma call the preschool and tell them to get their crap figured out.”
“Colin, that’s a bad word!” Penelope cried out, trying to hide her boisterous giggle behind her tiny hand. Colin beamed back at her, holding up a finger to his lips in a ‘shh’ motion.
“It’ll be our little secret,” he whispered and held out his right pinky.
Penelope giggled again, linking her pinky with his.
“So, how was your first day?” she asked him, nudging his bare foot with hers. Colin took her now empty plate out of her hands and stacked it on top of his, placing them both back on the coffee table.
“Oh, I didn’t go. Mom said I needed to take the day to rest and recover because of…” He trailed off, holding up the casted arm. His lips turned into a grimace at the spark of pain it caused, and he instantly put his arm back down, trying to play it off when he saw Penelope’s lips flip into a deep frown.
“I’m so sorry, Colin,” she whispered, tears starting to brim in her eyes like before. Colin was immediately shaking his head and using his good arm to run a soothing hand down her back.
“It’s not your fault, Pen. Don’t blame yourself.”
“Yeah, but…if I’d just told Cressida to back off, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Not true. If Cressida had just minded her business for once in her life and not ruined our fun, this wouldn’t have happened. She was saying awful things to you, and I wanted to put a stop to it. It was my decision to throw myself down the slide like a goofball.”
Penelope sighed, looking at the yellow cast with a pained expression. “Colin, you did that because you wanted to protect me—you just admitted it. That makes this entire situation my fault.”
“Nope,” he countered, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze until she was looking directly into his eyes. “I’m not letting you take the blame for this one, no matter how much your mother tries to pin it on you. You are my best friend, Pen. And I made a promise to myself to always protect you. Even if that means making myself look stupid by slipping on the slide and breaking my arm.”
“You didn’t look stupid, Colin. I thought you looked very brave.”
His cheeks warmed at the compliment.
“I just hate that you got hurt in the process,” she said in a hushed tone, back to staring at his cast in anguish.
Colin had to come up with a plan quickly to bring back his best friend’s pretty smile, hating that she was still obviously blaming herself. His eyes darted around the living room, and it was as if a lightbulb went off in his head when he spotted a cup of pens and markers on one of the shelves of the entertainment center.
“I’ll be okay,” he promised her, tugging on one of her loose curls. “Would you like to sign it?”
Penelope bit her lip and looked at him bewildered.
“Huh?”
“My cast,” Colin explained, holding up his arm as if she’d forgotten. “I want you to be the first one to sign it.”
The way the corners of her lips immediately started to tip up made his heart clench in his chest.
“Okay!”
Colin scrambled off the couch and hurriedly made his way over to grab the black Sharpie from the cup, bounding back to Penelope in record speed. He handed her the marker, giving her a boyish grin as he held up his cast for her to write on.
“So, why yellow?” Penelope asked as she sat there, face screwed up in contemplation, as if she were deciding what to write.
Colin lifted a brow, confused by the question. Penelope giggled at his baffled expression and pointed the Sharpie at his broken arm.
“Your cast. Did you get to choose what color you got?”
Colin nodded.
“Okay, so why yellow? I thought your favorite color was green?”
Colin blushed, unable to meet her electric blues as he told her his reason.
“It used to be. But now it’s yellow… because it reminds me of you.”
Penelope stopped abruptly from where she had been about to sign his cast and tilted her head at him.
“What?”
Colin’s cheeks started to burn at this point, but he’d never been able to deny his Pen anything, so he spilled his guts.
“My favorite color is yellow because it reminds me of you, Pen. You’re always wearing your cute yellow dresses or hair ribbons, your favorite drink is lemonade, and you’re the brightest light in my life—kind of like the sun, which is also yellow. Everything about you screams yellow…which is why it’s now my favorite color.”
Penelope simply stared at him for a few seconds, something he couldn’t quite place at his young age swimming in her eyes.
“I am so happy we met and that I moved in across the street from you,” she finally said, her face completely serious. “You are the sweetest, kindest, bestest friend I’ve ever had.”
“Right back at you, Pen.”
Penelope giggled sweetly and leaned forward, nuzzling his nose with hers before placing a soft kiss on that very spot. Then she sat back and grabbed his arm in a soft hold, casually signing her name as if she hadn’t flipped his entire world on its axis. The emotions flooding through him were almost too overwhelming for his six-year-old heart to handle.
Later, when Penelope eventually had to return home, Colin stopped her at the door and ran to the kitchen, grabbing something from the bottom shelf of the fridge.
“Here,” he said, trying to act nonchalant as he handed her a can of Minutemaid Lemonade. “Take this for your lunch tomorrow so you’re not stuck drinking the boring water or milk.”
Grabbing the can from his hand, Penelope looked at for a moment before she burst into her sonically beautiful giggles.
“Colin, you’re so sweet and silly. They give us lunch at the preschool, we don’t bring our own.”
Colin blanched, feeling like a dummy for having forgotten that aspect. Penelope noticed his expression and pulled him into a hug, careful to avoid the broken arm.
“Thank you,” she whispered, pecking his cheek once more as she pulled back. “I’ll sneak it in my backpack, I promise.”
Colin nodded, ignoring the somersaults his heart was doing in his chest, and looked down to where his cast read Your Pen 🖤, his cheeks starting to hurt from how much he’d smiled since she had arrived.
“Hey, Pen?” he called out once he noticed Portia walking up the driveway.
“Yeah, Colin?”
“Wanna walk to the park together this Saturday?” he asked. Then, hoping to make her laugh again, he added, “I’ll try my best not to break any bones this time.”
His words had their intended effect, and she doubled over into a fit of giggles, not even stopping when Portia stepped up next to her and scoffed.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Colin.”