Second Star to the Right

Chapter Six: A Familiar Face

"If Pan wants you, he will get you."

~Peter Pan, ABC's 'Once Upon A Time'

Chapter Six: A Familiar Face

"Wendy Darling, why are you sleeping on the window sill?" Mrs. Darling asked as she awoke Wendy. Wendy groaned and stretched as she got up. 

"I..." Wendy blinked her eyes and yawned. "I wanted to look at the stars." 

"Well you can look at the stars on a map at class today. Hurry and get ready or you'll be late." Mrs. Darling left the room and Wendy stood up. The boys had already left, and that motivated Wendy to get moving. 

School was boring and dull as usual. Wendy spent he entire time staring out the window. Her teachers sighed when she didn't pay attention. When the final class ended, Wendy rushed out the doors and began her walk home. 

She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and crashed into someone.

"I'm so sorry," Wendy and the person said at the same time. Wendy looked up and smiled at the familiar face. 

"Bae!"

"Hey, Wendy." Baelfire smiled. "How have you been?" He looked at Wendy. She was in her school uniform and her hair was loosely braided. 

"In the past twenty-four hours?" Wendy laughed, "I've been fine." Then, Wendy noticed Bae's clothing. He was filthy, and his clothes were torn. Wendy sighed. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Bae quickly answered. He looked down at the ground, and Wendy could tell he was lying. 

"Do you need a place to stay?" Wendy found herself asking. "There's a secret door in my nursery at home. You could stay there for a while, if you are quiet." 

"You mean it?" Bae asked, grinning from ear to ear. 

"Well, I'm not going to let you sleep on the streets."  Wendy smiled. Bae nodded his head. "Come on, my parents won't be home for a while. I can sneak you in now." Bae ran with Wendy all the way to her house, and they talked and laughed the entire way. A proper, rich girl, running through the streets with the neighborhood street rat. 

In an alleyway across from the Darling's home, a dark figure watched Wendy and Baelfire enter the house. The figure looked down at a hooded boy, who nodded. 

"Pan isn't going to like this." 

*********

"And if you pull this small latch right here," Wendy showed Bae the door to the secret room, "it opens up your room. See?" She asked. Bae crawled into the room. It was small, but he could stand and lay down, and that was all that he needed. 

"It's wonderful, Wendy." He said. Wendy smiled at him. 

"No one knows about it, except for me. I come in here to hide when I'm angry sometimes. I'll get you some blankets." Wendy turned and dashed away. 

"Who are you?" A small voice behind Bae asked. Bae stood up quickly and hit his head on the ceiling. Bae saw a small boy standing in front of him. He was in a school uniform, and held a teddy bear in his small hand. Then, another boy walked in, this one with black hair and square rimmed glasses. 

"WENDY!" The older boy yelled as he dropped his books. 

"John! Michael!" Wendy yelled, running back into the room with a pillow and blanket in her hands. She set them down on the floor and walked over to Baelfire. Baelfire came out of the hole and waved to John and Michael.

"He smells funny," Michael pointed out and crinkled his nose. Baelfire laughed awkwardly. 

"I'm telling father!" John stated. He began to storm out of the room, but Wendy grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"No, John!" She begged, "You musn't!" Wendy looked at Bae. "He just needs a place to stay for awhile." John looked at Bae as thoughts raced through his head. 

"Fine, I won't tell." John humphed, then went to work on his homework. Wendy and Baelfire smiled and quickly hugged. Michael tugged on Bae's shirt. 

"You need a bath." He said, and even John smiled at that one.

*********

"Where have you been all day, Felix?" Pan demanded as he paced on the beach in Neverland. "The Lost Boys decided it would be fun to have a 'kiss the mermaid' contest, and I had to clean up the mess by myself. No one died, sadly," he paused,  "Although Timothy lost part of his upper lip and a toe..." Pan laughed at that. "Anyways, where were you?"

"Checking up on your test subject. Looks like someone broke his promise." Felix answered, and Pan stopped smiling. 

"You did what?" 

"Why did you not go back for her?" Felix asked.

"Why did you go behind my back? She is none of your business." Pan retorted and walked up to Felix. 

"She was with a boy." Felix said before Pan could do anything. 

"What?" 

"A boy, Pan, I think you know what that is considering you are one. Forever. Unless you get distracted and your plan fails." Felix said, knowing that would get Pan back on track. Pan gritted his teeth. 

"I'm not distracted. I think she is the one to save the magic. What is the number one rule on this island?" Pan asked. He smirked and Felix grinned.

"Pan never fails."

"And he always gets what he wants."