Happy Thoughts || Peter Pan

Chapter 15

Red strands of hair hung dripping in front of her eyes. Avery stared at the campfire. She had just pushed her head into the river to cool off. She didn't know what to say or do. Thoughts raced through her head. All the dreams she used to have about Neverland, all swept away by Peter's story, as if they had never existed. This was no longer the land of dreams, but the land of nightmares.

Peter had not spoken all this time. He stared at her from the other side of the campfire, his hands clasped together and the muscles in his jaws tightened. He sat as if he would jump up at any moment to yell something at her, but he stayed in place and remained silent. Avery knew exactly what he was pondering. But Avery had no intention of leaving.

'Peter,' she began, and the boy startled. 'What are we going to do?'

He frowned, looking at her dubiously. She folded her arms in front of her chest. 'You didn't think we were going to sit here and let Jacob terrorize Neverland, did you? I'm not leaving here until we free Neverland.'

Peter straightened his back and the frown disappeared like snow in the sun. A smile so wide it must have hurt his jaws appeared on his face. He shot into the air, did a somersault and then landed on his knees right in front of her and grabbed her hand. 'I'm so glad to hear you say that!' It took a second and then he quickly let go and hummed something as he stood up. 'I mean, of course you're staying. You're here now, with me, why would you want to leave.'

Avery couldn't suppress her laughter. Then she shook her head, walked over to Peter and, before he could flinch, pressed a kiss to his cheek. She gave him a gentle pat against his now fire-red cheek and walked past him. She heard the pebbles on the ground crunching behind him as he turned and she called out; 'Now come on, Pan, put out the fire. I'd like to get some sleep.'

As the first rays of sunlight hit the Nest, Avery was awakened from her slumber with a deafening croak, which led to the first thing she saw being the wooden planks. Were it not for the fact that she was so tired, she would have slapped Peter. Bitten, she smashed her pillow right into his face, but Peter dodged it just in the nick of time and laughed.

'You think it's funny, Pan?' growled Avery as she stood up and patted her knees.

'Most entertaining,' was his short answer. He perched on his stomach in the air, watching her like a hawk.

'Watch your back,' Avery said, 'just wait until you fall asleep. You can't stay awake forever.' She threw him a devious grin. She snatched her selfmade towel from the table. 'Can you take me down?'

Peter nodded. 'Sure, anything the lady wishes.' He sank down beside her, lifting her legs off the ground, and she wrapped her arm around his neck. Avery liked this way of flying. Not only because it felt a lot more stable than when she was hanging on his neck, but also because it felt nice being so close to him. She couldn't ignore the fact that now that he had gotten older he looked quite handsome. And even though it was just Peter Pan, the boy who didn't want to grow up, it felt different. Especially since one hand now pressed into her bare thigh and the other grasped her ribcage high. She shook the blush from her cheeks as Peter lowered her to the floor below. 'See you later,' she said quickly and fled toward the riverbed where she always bathed. This time far away from the waterfall.

Undressed, she placed the towel at the water's edge and walked into the fresh water. She had actually gotten used to washing in the cold river water. Once the initial shock was off her body, she appreciated the gentle flow of the water against her body. It felt renewing, like it washed all the worries out of her. Especially after all the information she had received last night.

Carefully combing her hair with her fingers, she replayed the whole story through her head once more. Unbelievable. That was the only word she could come up with when thinking about this situation. Unbelievable how Neverland could have been changed so much by the arrival of one person, one thoroughly heinous person. The island seemed almost uninhabited. All right, it wasn't London, it wasn't like she had to expect to run into someone around every corner, but still.... Neverland, too, had inhabitants. But where were they?

Suddenly her attention was drawn to the treetops across the river. Leaves were rustling, louder than she thought a bird could make them do. She lowered herself deeper into the water and folded her arms in front of her breasts, searching for the source of the rustling. 'Hello?'

It took a moment for the figure to come down and emerge from the bushes. Avery was surprised to see that it was a monkey. One of those she really only thought she'd encountered in zoos. A few others also finally showed themselves among the branches and watched her. They were no bigger than the average Jack Russel with a long brown tail with a black tip at the end. 

The monkey made its way to the river and Avery sat motionless as the little animal quenched its thirst. He looked at her occasionally. He strode along the stream and stopped when he came across Avery's pile of clothes. Avery laughed when he picked up her underwear and then tossed it aside. She had to do her best not to burst into laughter as well when the monkey put her bra over his head. Avery shook her head disapprovingly and chuckled when he put it back on the ground, but when the monkey suddenly snatched up the entire pile and ran away, she sprang up from the water, startled.

'Hey!' But it was already too late; the monkey had disappeared among the trees, yelling loudly. 'Come back' she screamed, but the monkey did not return. The monkeys' cries could still be heard from afar. 'Well, have fun with it,' she mumbled. She looked around. How was she supposed to get out now? Surely she couldn't go back to Peter like that?

The monkey might not have heard her call, but did, and came flying towards her, because when a woman called for help, Peter was there. Even when it was less convenient.