Date: February 14, 2013 (Is today supposed to be special?). Time: ?? Location: ??
Peter wasn't kidding when he said he'd carry me. He picked me up bridal style then opened my window and jumped. I closed my eyes out of habit and began to immediately regret my decision. Is this even real?
"Open your eyes." He said after we didn't hit the pavement. I did as I was told and held onto Peter even tighter. I let out a small scream but only Peter could hear me because we were miles above my town. I was terrified but felt so much freedom.
"We're flying." I stated trying to have it make sense. "OH MY GOD WE'RE FLYING." I repeated loudly. Peter laughed at me and then held on tighter.
"Get ready because we're going in." He smirked. I turned my head to see we were hurtling towards what looked to be paradise because it was shining so bright. I closed my eyes when the wind was too much for me.
"A lot has changed since we left." Peter spoke softly when I opened my eyes again. We were floating towards what looked to be a giant island. Most of it was covered in black what appeared to be soot. This is not at all how I remembered it.
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Peter and I landed in the sand and he put me down. He grabbed my hand then whispered,
"Stay close to me and do as I say."
I nodded and held on tight to his hand. Only then did I realize I really would have rather been wearing flip flops and shorts with a tank top. There's always next time. Wait, was there? Or is this a dream? It all seems so real. I heard voices coming from our left through the trees.
"Smee, has it occurred to you that Peter Pan has been gone for ages? Whatever little bird you saw in your telescope is not him." A gruff voice stated.
"I saw him clear as day! He looked much older than last time and he had a maiden with him. A very pretty one if I saw so me-self." Smee responded. Peter motioned for us to duck.
"Peter Pan is the reason we are in this mess in the first place. Ole Hook won't give it up that he's gone. He still wants to find that damned hideout. I swear, it's like we've burned every surface in Neverland twice and still nothin'." The voice said.
"You're probably right. Should we tell Capt'n what I saw?" Smee asked.
"NO YOU IDIOT." The other man said and a smack could be heard through the forest.
When the coast was clear Peter lead me to the old hideout. He made the birdcall sound and the door to the mouth of the cave revealed itself. We slipped in and made our way through the candlelit passageways until we reached our destination of the den. Six attractive boys around my age looked my way.
"Camo?" Binky asked. The boy next to him, Marmaduke, had the same confused expression and not just because they were twins.
"It can't be her. Camo had brown hair." Tootles concluded.
"You moron, remember the whole dying hair thing?" Slightly scoffed as if he couldn't believe Tootles had been so stupid. "You look sexy as hell Camo." Slightly smirked eyeing me up and down. I rolled my eyes.
"Keep it in your pants." I remarked. That got all of the boys including Nibs and Curly to laugh. Peter, however, seemed less amused.
"It looks like everyone is here." Peter spoke, wanting to get down to business. "We need to find out what we've all been up to for the past 7 years. Anyone want to start?"
"I will." Tootles said. As he spoke I tried to remember everything about this new, older him. He looked more confident. He was definitely more attractive. He had dark hair and was just about the same height as me. I was a bit shorter. "I had been living with a family that took me in. They were great and everything but honestly I missed you guys right away. I would have come back sooner if I could. But I've learned so much since then. I'm happy to be back though."
"My turn." Slightly said soon after Tootle finished. "I've been living at one of my very old friend's houses. He still remembered me after all that time. He adopted me as his son and about three months ago he passed away. Since I've left Neverland I've experienced many different things." He paused and his eyes flickered over to me then winked. "Many different fun things that I bet I could make fun for everyone involved. I'm VERY experienced."
"That's enough." Peter cut him off.
"We'll go." Marmaduke and Binky said. They described how they had both stayed in London together and went through school. But they also mentioned they wanted to come back years ago. Apparently they had quite the reputation in London for being ladies men.
Curly went on after them and described how he had joined many wrestling and fighting competitions. That would definitely explain how he lost his baby fat. I couldn't help but stare a bit at him.
Nibs was next. He talked mostly about a girl he had met and told us that he fell in love. He also told us that she had broken his heart. That's when he knew he had to come back to Neverland.
"What about you Camo?" Slightly inquired.
I looked around the room at the boys who I used to know so well and realized that while we had become strangers, we still were all connected but I still wasn't ready to say anything.
"Pass." I spoke quietly.
"You can't pass it's against the rules!" Slightly exclaimed.
"We'll come back to her." Peter said. "I'll go now. Well, pretty much I've been going through high school and then also occasionally checking up on all of you and visiting Neverland. By the way, Tink is still mad at all of you for leaving her so good luck trying to get her out of her cage."
"You've been checking up on us?" I marveled.
"That's an invasion of privacy!" Slightly pounded his fist down on the rock he was sitting on.
"I had to make sure you were safe." He addressed all of us. "Who do you think helped you when you when you were failing that math test? Do you think that cheat sheet slipped itself under your paper?" Binky looked down at his feet. "Who put out the fire when the oven lit up 5 years ago?" Marmaduke scratched his head. "Who told you that the nightmares weren't real?" Tootles smiled. "Who slipped that karate flyer into your room?" Curly gasped. "Who do you think beat up the guy that cheated with your girlfriend?" Nibs realized what Peter had done and let out a chuckle. "Who made sure you always had condoms in your car or pocket or wherever so you didn't do something stupid? Who bailed you out when you were put behind bars?" He looked directly at Slightly that time who was shocked to say the least then Peter looked at the floor. "Who do you think switched that bottle of pills to candy a year ago?" My pulse quickened but I kept my poker face. Peter stood up and began to walk away.
"If that's how you feel then I'm outta here." He called back. I got up and stumbled over to him, grabbing his hand. He looked surprised but followed me back to where we all were sitting.
"I guess it's my turn." I smiled weakly. Peter squeezed my hand and I started. I told them almost everything. I told them about how my brother had been hurt and how I didn't have friends. How I thought this was all a dream. I did not however bring up the pills that Peter was talking about. When I finished my story I looked up at the Lost Boys. Tootles looked like he just wanted to hug me. Marmaduke, Binky and Curly looked like they weren't sure of what to do. Nibs looked at me knowingly. I had expected Slightly to move in and try to hit on me but he had his eyes closed and a very concentrated expression on his face. I will never forget the look Peter had on his face. He knew. He had watched me the whole time. He knew what happened. Everything.
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