Second star to the right - Larry

THREE

I've admittedly been puzzled since we were dropped into the ocean, but what Jack is telling me makes even less sense than Peter's behaviour. Everything has been turned upside down more than once, so I'm not sure where to begin my questions. And yet perhaps it's obvious.

"Then who did?"

"How are we supposed to know that?"

"Zayn," Jack warns, turning back to me as Zayn rolls his eyes. "How did you get back?"

I tell them what happened, but the only thing I can think about is who brought me back when it wasn't the boys.

"Peter doesn't remember you," Zayn says, smirking as though he's amused. "He's not the one who brought you back."

It's hard to believe I've spent years thinking about someone who doesn't remember me. I hadn't expected him to remember our adventures, but I had expected him to remember me—always me. And yet I suppose I've been rather naive by thinking I was the exception, because Wendy and Jane are completely gone to him as well.

I look back at Jack. "How did you know we were here?"

"Fawn told us."

"Fairies know everything," she explains, coming closer to she can stand on my palm. "Or the Queen does, anyway. I was spying on them when I overheard someone say that you were on your way with someone else. I went back to tell the boys because they had previously been talking about you. I've been looking out since then, so when I saw you dropping into the ocean, Jack asked me to bring you here so you weren't running into whoever brought you back."

Jack steps closer to me, which has Harry placing a hand on the back of my neck. "Zayn is right, Louis. Peter doesn't remember you, so there's no way he's the one who's behind it. And nearly everyone else does as Peter tells them to. Fairies can be sceptical about certain things, but they're mostly on Peter's side. The mermaids would never purposely allow you to come back when they know you were the only thing Peter could concentrate on the last time. And the Indians don't do business with anyone but themselves, so they don't care about Peter, much less you—no offence."

"Some taken," I mumble, eyes momentarily closing when Harry squeezes my neck. "Someone has to have brought me back."

"Tiger Lily does actually care about Peter," Liam points out. "They've been running around together since she was allowed to wander around in the woods on her own."

The last time I saw her, we were the same age, always bragging about being the Piccaninny tribe's Princess. Even then she had been beyond beautiful, not to mention confident despite her sickening arrogance. By now she's bound to possess a certain strength, but I can't see why she'd be the one to bring me back.

"But what could she possibly want with him?"

"Nothing," Jack tells Zayn. "It wouldn't make any sense, but it doesn't matter who brought him back. I think you should just be happy about his presence when it means he can help us."

"The kid doesn't even know how to use a weapon."

"Let him try."

Zayn rolls his eyes, then turns around to leave—he's clearly done with our conversation. Liam goes with him to check on him, presumably talking him down when we can't hear them anymore.

"Is he always so angry?"

Jack snorts but ignores my question. "How about I show you those weapons?"

He leads Harry and I up to the quarter-deck, then opens the door to the captain's quarters so we can go inside. He seems to have taken over as the one in charge. Liam seems more reasonable, so I would probably have chosen him instead, but I reckon Jack has a rather manipulative side to him. I would normally see it as a bad quality, but it's probably a good trait to have in Neverland.