Grow Up

Two

That night, after Gardenia finished her dinner, she dashed over to this little place that she always found herself at. It was the place where she slept, since no one bothered it during the night. It was at this train station. A huge bridge went over the tracks for people to cross over to both sides, there being giant glass walls and a roof. During the middle of the night, no one was there. It was the perfect place for her to sleep.

This time, however, something was off. The air felt different for some reason. Like it was thicker. Lifting her head up, the teenager looked up at the sky. Sure enough, heavy rain clouds were making their way. Slight panic rose inside her. She may have loved rain, but she could not stand the thunder and lightning that usually came with it.

She strolled down the sidewalk, turning the final corner before actually entering the train station parking lot. As she neared the lot, the darkness above her moved. Her head snapped up, seeing nothing. Tonight felt very strange, Gardenia couldn't help but feel anxious and paranoid. Her legs moved faster as she ran to this somewhat safe haven. But before she could climb up the stairs to get on top of this bridge, something grabbed her. She screamed in terror, hoping someone was around to hear and help, despite her wrongdoings with stealing. But no one came. Fear struck her, scared that someone was going to hurt her tonight. Though what happened next took her by surprise.

Whatever had grabbed Gardenia, lifted her off the ground. Not as in carrying her, but levitating. They were both levitating. The ground beneath her seemed to be growing smaller and more distant as she and this thing got higher. Another shout escaped her throat.

"What's going on? Set me down!" She demanded. The thing didn't reply. Instead, it only looked at her.

It was all black and translucent. Where the eyes would be, were bright white glowing orbs. The girl shuddered at the sight. The thing looked like a shadow, but this was impossible. She only stayed quiet, shutting her eyes tightly. Fear washed over her. Though it worsened when the loud cackles of thunder boomed in her ears as they kept flying higher and higher into the sky.

Blue flashes illuminated the sky, loud booms pierced her ears, and rain pelted her. She couldn't help but cry. The girl rarely cried, but tears were pooling out of her eyes. Gardenia hated thunder and lightning more than anything, and she had no idea what was happening right now which made the situation worse. Shivers ran up her spine as she begged for this thing to take her back down to the ground. Exclaiming to it that she was terrified. But the mysterious figure only flew up and up. She thought she was going to die with the air thinning, soon no oxygen for her lungs. As she gasped for air, bright lights flashed some more, but it wasn't from the lightning. It was something else. Colorful lights blinded her, then the rain stopped. Along with the thunder and lightning. The sun was up now with clear blue skies. Where was she now?

Gardenia was in a whole other place. Below her rested an island. It looked deserted, the only inhabitants being the large plants and possibly animals.

Before another word could escape her mouth, the thing dropped her soaking self to the earthy surface. Of course they were much closer to the ground now. Her body dropped, gravity taking its toll on her. She hit the surface, leaves and branches crunching beneath her weight. Without hesitation, she shot up, looking around through damp strands of hair. Trees, plants, dirt surrounded her. No one else seemed to be in sight.

"What was that?" Gardenia questioned herself, body shaking from all the adrenaline raging inside her.

She took notice of her hair as well. It was no longer the deep red. It was a forest green with an orange ombre. It was extremely strange. "What the hell?"

The plants seemed larger than usual. Trees were as tall as skyscrapers, leaves as big as cars. Flowers were as big as her head. It was like she was the size of a bug. She felt smaller than usual, and didn't like it. She'd no clue where she was or what even brought her to such a place.

"Hmm, now how did a girl end up here?" Someone with a British accent asked aloud, causing her to jump. Their voice was low.

The girl whipped around to see a tall boy. He had light brown hair, dark green eyes, and was tall. He wore mossy green and brown clothing. He looked menacing. She backed up, not knowing what he wanted with her.

"What am I doing here? Where am I?" She tried so hard to hide this panic and terror, putting up a strong front. She kept her voice firm and deep--well, as deep as her vocal chords would let her voice go.

"Ah, no need to be feisty," he chuckled, sounding dark. He eyed her, inspecting her visible features. "Interesting. An American accent, and exotic eyes. One icy blue while the other a sandy brown." The girl furrowed her brows, finding his choice of words strange.

"Answer my questions." She stated sternly after a pause, sending a chilling look his way. It didn't faze him at all. In fact, the boy found her reactions even more amusing than before.

The boy stepped closer, only to have the girl step back. She was in a fighting stance, ready to defend herself if necessary.

"Easy, now. My name is Peter. Peter Pan. This is Neverland." He said rather slowly. The girl scoffed, laughing coldly through chattering teeth.

"Yeah, and I'm Wendy Darling. Very funny. Where am I really?" Sarcasm was clear in her tone. The boy--Peter Pan--furrowed his face, tilting his head slightly to the side. Confusion washed up on him.

"Funny? I'm all for humor and games, but this is no joke." Full seriousness was laced in his voice. "My name is Peter Pan, and this is Neverland. What would ever make you think this is a joke?" His voice was still low and taunting, but he genuinely was lost.

"What makes me... Oh please, don't be stupid! Peter Pan is a fairytale. A story. A myth. Neverland doesn't exist and neither does Peter Pan--"

Anger raged inside of Peter. He marched right up to her, grabbing her wet wrists before she could react to his actions.

"Listen here, girl, I am very real and so is this place." He seethed at her. The front she had up before was gone. Fear shown now. She shook and tears returned in her eyes, but they didn't fall. True terror flashed in her abnormal eyes. "Hmph, you're not as tough as you make yourself look."

"Yo-you're hurting me," her voice was quiet, quivering. He loosened his grip, never intending to actually hurt her for the moment.

He jerked his head up before bringing it back down to her gaze. "What's your name, girl?"

There was a pause. The girl gulped, looking into those frightening forest eyes.

"Name's Gardenia Asteriae Bellis..." she brushed it off, awkward.

"Gardenia Asteriae Bellis?" Peter hummed, voice still taunting. "Little Flower."

Gardenia was in for a show, and she wasn't even aware of it.