Grow Up

Six

That next morning, Gardenia woke up before anyone else it seemed. All the Lost Boys were piled in the room. They were dead asleep in hammocks and other weird places. Gardenia wanted to see if Peter was up, but should she? He did warn her yesterday about no one ever entering his room unless he granted permission. She decided to go up.

Walking up the stairs as quietly as possible was stressful for the girl. One wrong move and she could possibly wake anyone up. But she went up without making any kind of ruckus. She peaked her head in, scared that he would be up already. What she saw was nothing, so she walked about the mini lounge of his upstairs area. She turned a corner and peaked her head in again into a different room. There she saw a sleeping Pan. Half of his blankets were covering him while the other half were off. His left hand was dangling off the edge of his bed. He looked peaceful.

"I thought I told you that no one is allowed in here without my permission." Gardenia jumped back, not ready for Peter to speak. His voice was still groggy and his eyes were closed still.

"I-I'm sorry, I ju-just wanted to, uh, to... um, see if you were sleeping still," she stuttered so much that she sounded stupid. "How did you know I was here? You didn't open your eyes."

Peter smirked, eyes still closed. But they soon opened and he sat up. "I could hear your footsteps."

Gardenia felt stupid. She sighed, mumbling small sorries. Peter motioned for her to come in. Hesitating and breathing hard, she walked inside. What did he want? She stood awkwardly in the center of his bedroom. He only sat atop his bed, cross-legged now. They stared at one another for a moment, as if studying each other.

"Feeling better?"

"I guess--listen, I'm going to go shower. Where are they?"

"They? As in showers?" Peter leaned in a little before chuckling. "Flower, there aren't showers here. Surely that should have been obvious."

Gardenia didn't know what to say. Where was she supposed to bathe then? "Okay, then how do I wash up? I need to get this dirt off me."

It was true. She had dirt smeared all over her face and arms from living on the streets, and roaming small parts of Neverland. The only thing clean on her were the clothes Peter gave her yesterday. She needed a good washing, get the grime out of her hair and off her skin.

"There's a creek. It's good for washing things. Need some new clothes? Need someone to guard you?" He asked teasingly. It sent a chill down her spine. She didn't like his voice one bit.

"I don't... I don't need a bodyguard. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." Peter scoffed. As if. This girl may be able to take care of herself in her world, but here in Neverland, things were different. There's magic and evil lurking about. How could she possibly be so dumb?

Gardenia bathed in the creek Peter escorted her to. Even though he left, she was so shy and scared of someone walking over and seeing her. She kept her undergarments on. It could technically pass off as a two-piece swimsuit, and that's what she kept her mind on. That she was in a swimsuit, not her undergarments. Still, she hurried, extremely uncomfortable. She didn't need soap or anything, just take a quick dip in the water long enough for the dirt to rub off. And once she was done, Gardenia then took noticed that she never brought a towel or big piece of cloth to help dry herself.

"Crap," she had mumbled to herself. There was no way in hell she would wander back to the camp where all the boys could see her exposed. She didn't care, she got back in her clothes that Peter gave her the day before. No care in the world that they would be damp for a while.

When she came back, food was being served. Breakfast time. All the boys grabbed plates of food, sitting about on different types of fallen logs, perfectly placed on the earth. Gardenia took note on who sat with who. It was obvious that the older looking Lost Boys sat together, while the middle boys would sit around wherever, and the younger--youngest of them all--would sit in their own little area with each other. Some of these Lost Boys looked mean and dark while others looked completely innocent. Another thing Gardenia realized, there were a lot more Lost Boys than in the fairytale. Instead of just Cubby, Slightly, the Twins, Nibs, and Tootles, there were more. Fifteen to be exact. None were even wearing cute animal-themed onesies.

But they were all diverse. All from different parts of the world with different accents. Some were dark-skinned, others just tan. Some were even paler than pale despite being in constant sunlight. There were tall ones and shorts, thin ones and big ones. A few had visible scars from accidents, others seemed to have no scratch on them. They all had dirt on their skin, however; not bathing in quite some time probably.

"Mother?" A small Lost Boy, looking not a day older than six, tugged on the girl's shirt. She glanced down at him, grinning kindly.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm not a mother," she kneeled down to his height, pushing some damp green and orange locks out of her eyes.

The boy gave her a confused look. "But... But that's what some of the others are saying!" He exclaimed in his small Australian accent, looking over at a group of other younger Lost Boys. Gardenia couldn't help but smile even more. He was adorable and so innocent. How could this poor little guy feel so lost?

Gardenia picked the boy up, him being so light. Before she had enough of being in foster care, living in different homes, she did sometimes help take care of smaller foster kids. She was a natural at it. Mainly because her older sister and mother were very kind and full of love towards every child.

"Well, maybe we can play a game. A game where I can be your mother." The boy's head perked up and his eyes went bright.

"Really?" His voice squeaked, making Gardenia fall more in love with this cutie. She nodded her head.

"Yep, you just have to tell me one thing. Your name." The little boy's cheeks reddened and he looked away shyly. So bashful.

"I'm Tootles."