Wendy's Peter

Chapter Three

                "So, anyway, my shadow, I sort of need that," Peter explained, running a hand through his hair. We were sitting on the edge of my bed and I was still staring at him in disbelief (or maybe just because he was excruciatingly attractive, more so than I had envisioned in my story telling, and I was all too aware of the heat radiating from his body next to me). "Wendy?"  I jolted at my name.

                "Uhm. Y-yeah, your shadow, w-we should l-look for it." Crap. I silently prayed he hadn't noticed how hard I was staring at him. He chuckled and leaned in to whisper in my ear.

                "And, Wendy?" His hot breath tickled my ear. My eyes closed automatically.

                "Yes, Peter?"  He paused and I swear I felt his lips against my skin. I shivered.

                "You don't have to stare so much. I'm not leaving anytime soon..." He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and kissed my cheek. John and Michael were still rummaging around the room, searching for the shadow. I blushed deeply and smiled at him.

                "Good."

                I don't know how long we searched, but it felt like a lifetime. I was constantly stopping Peter from opening up my underwear drawers and even locked one shut.

                "Oh, was that really necessary? It's not like I've never seen women's underwear before, Wendy," Peter complained mockingly. My face turned bright red.

                "Definitely necessary. Not all of my panties are cute."

                "Ah. I see. You don't want me looking at all of your granny panties."

                "I didn't say that!"

                "I bet you're wearing some now," he said, eyeing my shorts suspiciously.

                "Am not!"

                "Prove it." I stuck my tongue out at him.

                "You wish." He laughed and shook his head. I gave a loud "humph!" and started to check under the beds.

                Searching for a shadow in a room full of shadows isn't exactly easy. Not to mention it was probably hiding. I mean, what shadow wants to be connected to a body? I wouldn't want to be.

                "PETER, WENDY, JOHN: I FOUND IT!" As soon as Michael shouted the words, Peter's shadow shot out from the corner. John managed to leap and grab its legs while Peter wrestled it to the ground. He straddled its chest.

                "Ah, there you are, I've missed you, shadow!" Peter exclaimed, grinning. "And thank you, Michael, without your help, my shadow might have been lost forever!" Michael smiled brightly. "And John, nice leg grab. I know how tough it is to catch these things. You've got reflexes like a cat, man." John smirked and nodded at Peter.

                "How're you gonna get your shadow back on, Peter?" Michael asked. I raised an eyebrow at Peter.  I was curious as well.

                "Well, uh, maybe..." he tried to stick the shadow's foot to his own. It didn't work. "I'm really not too sure. He's never been fully detached before. Usually he just drags me around..." I thought for a moment and looked around the room. A needle and thread sat on my nightstand from a clothing mishap the day before.

                "I could, like, sew it..." I offered, not really sure that it'd work.

                "It's worth a shot," Peter agreed. John shrugged and sat down. Michael watched intently as I pulled the thread through the eye of the needle. His stomach grumbled loudly, causing us all to laugh.

                "John, why don't you heat up a frozen pizza or something for Michael? I'm sure you'll eat what he doesn't finish..." I told him, laughing. John chuckled and Michael shouted "YES!"

                "Alright, come on, Mike," John ordered. "We'll be back up in thirty." I nodded and turned back to Peter's shadow.

                "Okay. Time to sew," I said solemnly. Peter laughed, but watched what I was doing carefully. I slowly poked the needle into the shadows foot and pulled it through. It didn't seem to cause any pain, so that was good. Peter drew in a deep breath right before I pushed the needle into his foot. He let it out and I assumed that meant it didn't hurt. I did a few more stitches before checking on Peter.

                "Doing alright?" I asked. He nodded.

                "It doesn't hurt. It's just weird seeing it go in."

                "It's weird that it doesn't hurt." I started another stitch. He shrugged.

                "It doesn't hurt when your shadow becomes detached either. Must be something to do with that." I nodded like I understood (I didn't) and continued on sewing. I finished and bit off the end of the thread.

                "There. That should hold," I told Peter. He inspected my work and gently tugged on his shadow. He seemed pleased.

                "Why thank you very much, Wendy," he said, smiling sweetly. I grinned back.

                "I'm just glad it worked," I admitted with a small laugh. Peter chuckled and nodded.

                "How ever will I repay you, my dear?" he mock-asked me. I giggled.

                "Well, sir, considering I basically performed a surgery, I'd say quite a bit..."

                "Hmm, I'm afraid I don't have much money." He was sitting up now and leaning toward me a bit.

                "I'd spend it on clothes anyway." He leaned further in.

                "And I'm not too handy around the house since I live in a tree." I sat up straighter and leaned toward him.

                "It's not my house and my dad fixes broken things." He shrugged and nodded his head.

                "I'm not much use as a butler either. I'll get cranky."

                "Cranky butlers are no good." I agreed. We were both sitting with our legs crossed — our heads were only a couple inches apart.

                "I can only think of one other form of payment..." he glanced down to my mouth and then slowly met my eyes. I gulped, but didn't break his gaze. My mind raced for something witty to say. I couldn't think fast enough and I only wanted one thing.

                "Kiss me, Peter," I whispered. His lips parted in a small smile as he whispered back:

                "As you wish, my Wendy-bird."

                I closed my eyes and he closed the gap.