Runners of Neverland

Oi, Greenie

Y/n found lunch incredibly uncomfortable. Forty or so pairs of eyes boring into the back of her head, and whispers and murmurs swirled through the air like a thick, suffocating fog. She'd heard a couple of whistles and cat-calling earlier, but Alby had shut them up pretty quick. Unfortunately, he couldn't exactly stop the stares and whispers. This was a completely different atmosphere than the one at the Serenity House canteen. At least the food was better. She'd be glad to never have that horrible grey slushy porridge ever again. 

Looking around, Y/n recognised a few faces. She recognised Zart and Alby sitting near each other at one of the tables, and she noticed Winston, his acne glistening in the sun. That guy seriously needed to do something about that. Newt wasn't back from whatever he was up to at the gardens and Minho wasn't here either... probably on Runner Duty, as Newt had mentioned.

Y/n made conversation with Frypan, who seemed like one of the friendlier guys around. He asked her about what her life was like back at Serenity House, and she told him about the typical daily routine, and some stories like that time she and Emily pranked Matron Blackwell by putting gravy into her teapot. The look on her face was priceless. 

"So..." Y/n said, still smiling about the memory about her and Emily's prank, "what's with the fairy dust?" She'd wondered why people weren't just constantly flying around if it was an option. She most certainly would.

"Pixie dust," Frypan corrected, "makes us fly. Great stuff."

"Yeah, but why aren't people like constantly flying? Wouldn't that be a better way to stay away from what's his face? Hook... and his pirates?" Y/n took a bite out of her lunch sandwich.

"It ain't that easy," Frypan said, dishing up a plate of sandwiches to a glader, who was staring with an expression halfway between confusion and curiosity. Y/n gave a slight wave and he shot a small awkward smile back and shuffled away. "Pixie dust is shuckin' hard to come by. That's one of the duties of being a runner. Not only do you discover new bits of the island, you have to go and find pixie dust. And the shuck fairies are pretty serious about their dust. Poor old Stan half got his shuck eye poked out by a bunch feisty fairies protecting their dust. Usually we just use it to get the Greenie every month."

"So it comes from fairies?"

"Yeah. They store it in knots of trees and other funny places. It's pretty shuckin' hard to find their hiding spots and then fight off the defending fairies. No idea how they make the stuff, though, but its hard to come by. For us, at least. About a week ago, Ben, he's one of the runners, came back and told us that Captain Hook has barrels and barrels of pixie dust. No idea what on earth he does to get that much. Maybe he's got a shuck fairy farm in his ship. We don't know, but it's definitely not good. We haven't seen any flying pirates either, so we have no clue what he's using it for."

Y/n furrowed her brow. "Does the dust do anything other than making you fly?"

"Not that we know of," said Frypan, assembling another sandwich.

"Hey, Y/n/n!"

Y/n turned to see Newt approaching the dining area, smiling. The sun glinted off his dusty-blond hair, setting it alight with gold. 

"Hey, Newt," She felt a small rush of relief course through her veins. It was nice to see another friendly face. 

Newt snagged a sandwich from Frypan, "Thanks, mate," he said, taking a bite.

He turned to Y/n. "So, Y/n/n, as I said earlier, I'd continue the tour later, but really, there's not much left to see other than the Deadheads, and that's not a really cheery place, y'know? It's just forest, and there's the graveyard right at the end-"

"Graveyard? "

"Yeah," Newt muttered, looking keen to change the subject. Behind him, Frypan's usual cheery face bore an uncharacteristic frown. Y/n decided not to press him any further. 

Y/n took another bite of her sandwich, "Well thanks, Newt, for showing me around, that was nice of you."

"Ah, it's nothing, it's just duty," he answered, with a smile. "Oh, by the way," he said, swallowing another bite of sandwich, "there's a bonfire tonight, to celebrate the new Greenie, that is you, then tomorrow, we'll get you trying out for jobs. We typically get the Greenies to start off with Slicers."

Y/n grimaced. She hoped she wouldn't get picked out for Slicer in the end. 

"For the rest of today, you can get used to the Glade. Talk to people. Get your bearings. I have some things to do, but I'll see you at the bonfire, alright?"

"Right," Y/n said, "Seeya." She watched Newt as he jogged away, noticing his uneven stride again.

"Thinking about the limp?" asked Frypan, knowingly. Y/n nodded guiltily. 

"Yeah thought so. He broke his leg a year or so ago. It's never been the same since."

Y/n wondered how, but decided not to press any further, not wanting to come across as nosy.

"Anyway, Y/n, go take that quick walk around the glade. Meet people, make friends. I need to do the dishes," Frypan said, and with that, Y/n waved goodbye and set off to explore the Glade. 

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Y/n really wished she hadn't had visited the Deadheads. Just like Newt had mentioned, there was a small graveyard out back. The fact that there were so many graves for teenagers was beyond disturbing.

Actually, she didn't mind the Deadheads. They were actually quite peaceful and quite beautiful, minus the graveyards. As she walked away from the clump of headstones, the air smelt clear, with an earthy undertone, like mud after rain. Everything felt so much lighter here, and Y/n was relieved to be free of the thick, choking environment of Serenity House. 

Thick covers of moss grew like blankets over fallen branches, and colourful toadstools grew in little clumps around the trunks of the tall trees. 

Y/n trudged out of the Deadheads, her feet sinking an inch into the soft dirt with every step. She really needed to replace the worn out orphanage boots she'd come to Neverland in. Changing up her outfit into something more practical than her pale grey orphanage frock would be good too. 

The sky was alight with gold as Y/n approached the Homestead. It was if the sunset itself was celebrating her escape from Serenity house and arrival at Neverland. 

Y/n could hear the distant sounds of the Gladers finishing up their tasks for the day and preparing for the evening bonfire celebration. 

"Oi, Greenie!" A sharp voice called. Y/n turned to see an absolute brick wall of a boy with a perpetual scowl etched across his face. His harsh features were intensified by his incredibly angular  eyebrows, that challenged those of Matron Blackwell's. 

"What do you think you're doing here? A shuckin girl glader. What was Alby thinking, letting you come here?"

"Hey, back off, Gally" said a voice from behind. It was Newt. "Y/n, has every right to be here. The Map chose her, and she's part of the glade now. You'll just have to deal with it."

Gally's face contorted into deeper expression of anger. "Fine. But if anything goes wrong because of her, don't say I didn't warn you."

With that, Gally turned and angrily trudged away.

"Thanks, Newt," Y/n murmured. 

"Don't worry about Gally, he's a bit of a slinthead. Give him some time, and he'll settle down. He's a builder, you see, they're very good with their hands, but not much going on upstairs." Newt tapped the side of his head, and Y/n snorted in amusement.

"Now come on, it's time for the bonfire, and you're the guest of honour."

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A/N

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I tried to put some action in this one because the last one was the most filler klunk I've ever written.