Peter Pan The Killer

Chapter 1: Peter Pan, I Will Not Forget

They whispered behind her back. She was the strange, reclusive girl as she refused to have a little more than a few words with them. She usually left the moment classes ended, never seen in the cafeteria. Some eyed her with pity. The news of her missing best friend had become the talk of the town. Poor girl lost her only companion. Some gave her looks of disgust. How stuck up could she be?

But alas, this was not high school. In university, you could be a lone wolf and it would not matter. Gwendy Larson, an undergraduate student in Psychology in the Manchester Metropolitan University, could not care less about these talks behind her back. She stuffed her notebooks into her backpack and left the lecture hall the moment Professor Brookes concluded his lecture.

Large window panels allowed the bright sunlight to filter into the corridors. Summer was over, but the sun still shone despite autumn taking its place. Gwen headed down the corridor straight to the parking lot, but as she did her eyes darted towards the wide notice boards on the wall. It was layered with event notices, announcements, and more. Her eyes beached on the poster almost hidden by a banner of the upcoming fall festival.

There it was, smiling back at her. Her golden brown skin, full of life, dark hair pulled into a ponytail, eyes glimmering with kindness and mischief. Pauline.

It was yet another missing poster. Each time her eyes caught on one, her heart would plunge into the ground. The memory of her scream would ring in her ears.

It was all my fault.

Gregory Skul, the psychopathic criminal on the loose, kidnapped her. Or so she hoped. Ice filled her veins as she thought of the other possibility that never ceased to enter her mind. Did he kill her? It was her fault Pauline got involved. Her fault Skul targeted her. If she did not pursue the case... if she did not pursue Peter...

Peter.

Gwen looked away from the poster and continued on towards the parking lot. Her silver Prius was waiting. Starting her car, she drove out of campus.

It had been three months since she had seen him. Three months since their parting. When Gwen woke up at the hospital, James came to visit her. He apologized for getting her shot in the leg- as if the apology was necessary-and told her he confirmed she was under Peter Pan's hypnotic influence, hence her rash actions. James had asked-or more like ordered- her to forget about the case and leave it to him.

Of course she could not. She was on the edge for three months, hoping James had not caught Peter's tail. Fortunately, he did not. In those three months, it was as if Peter had disappeared off the face of the Earth. Which was expected? He said he knew how to handle situations like these. He had done it before countless times.

But it did not change the fact that Gwen broke her promise. She promised she would help him. Promised he would not go down just like her sister Anna. Wherever he was, he must be lonely. Peter was not stable in the mind. There were countless things that could trigger him into  committing serious crimes. Back when they were still together, Gwen felt he was changing and healing.

But now, all she could do was hope that deep down he still remembered her. Her words. Her warmth. A pang of pain hit her when she thought of him not bothering to remember her. Had she meant nothing to him?

Gwen pulled up at Mrs. Gonzales's driveway, Pauline's house. After Pauline's disappearance, Gwen had taken the responsibility to look after her mother. She was a single parent who had lost her husband fifteen years ago, and now her daughter was gone as well.

"Mrs. Gonzales, I'm home!" Gwen said as she entered the warm household. As much as Gwen declined her offer, Mrs. Gonzales insisted that Gwen move into her home. She did not want to be a freeloader, but after Pauline's disappearance, the poor woman's health had plummeted. She had a mild heart attack a week after Pauline's disappearance and her doctor insisted she had a caretaker. Mrs. Gonzales refused, so Gwen decided she would take up the role, subliminally. It was the least she could do.

"How were classes, dear?" Mrs. Gonzales said as she brought out a pot with steaming hot dinner from the kitchen.

"Same as usual." Gwen helped to set up the table, and they both sat down to eat. She watched as Mrs. Gonzales recited her prayers before eating. Gwen was never so fancy of religion, but right then, if God was listening, all she asked was for the people she cared about to be safe.

After dinner, she had made sure Mrs Gonzales took her medications and slept before retreating to Pauline's bedroom. She inhaled its scent. Even after months, it still smelled like Pauline. A mix of her intoxicating Victoria's Secret perfume and her peculiar lemongrass bath soap. Gwen was smelling like that too, since she started using it.

She kept Pauline's room exactly the same. Her K-pop shrine filled with albums, posters and trinkets. The large cut out of one of her favorite idols still stood smiling at her. Her lavender curtains and wallpaper remained unchanged. However, what had changed was her desk. Gwen's university books now occupied it and hung on the wall beside it, was a pin board. The same one from her old apartment. This time, the articles and printouts were different. It was all about Gregory Skul. Her goal was to find him, Pauline and unveil his crimes. Hopefully, it would save Peter.

Gwen walked over to Pauline's K-pop shrine and picked up the pink rubber hammer, then flicked on its light. The hammer glowed a beautiful pink. A different perspective, Pauline had told her. And Gwen did just that. She found a side of Peter she could not unsee. A side of vulnerability, fear and pain. Yet it was the way his eyes had held hers, after she had gained his trust, that burned into her mind. He made her feel unlike anything else. Special, trusted, like a lifeline.

Gwen placed the hammer back onto the shelf and leaned against the open window. The cold breeze pressed against her skin; it almost felt like Peter's touch. She imagined him standing there on the windowsill, his notorious smile on his face, blonde hair fluttering in the wind. He would leap down, come up towards her and cup her cheek.

"I'm back, Wendy," he would whisper.

Gwen's mind woke up and the empty sky stared back at her. Pauline, Peter... She missed them.

"And that's why you bet your soul you will find them, Gwen," she whispered to herself.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Hello, Lost Boys! The first chapter of Part 2 is up, a little later than planned. I hope you enjoyed it, leave a vote and comment. Share this story to your friends too!