Here's to Never Growing Up

Chapter 15

Back at camp, Tink was busy getting all of The Lost Boys up. They were being extra lazy today. It was probably because of the time that they went to bed yesterday. It felt as if their insides were eating themselves they were all that hungry.

Peter and Lola were heading back and The Lost Boys knew they should get up so they hurried out of bed. Tink placed her hands on her hips and her eyebrows furrowed as she scowled at all them. she flew to Peter who was carrying a bird.

"No wonder dodos are nearly extinct!" Slightly remarked.

"They're entirely extinct where Lola is from." The Lost Boy's jaws dropped to the floor, eyes wide in shock.

"For how long?"  Curly asked after he'd managed to stop gawping.

"Oh, for hundreds and thousands of years."

"Is that a long time?" Tootles inquired.

"Very."

+++

They ate and once they had, they were ready to spend their day out in the woods. That was until the heavens opened and it started to pour down. The Lost Boys danced around in it and started performing a rain dance which Peter joined in with. Lola observed curiously and then unconsciously started to move with them.

There clothes were soaked and Tink was sulking in the treehouse because of the weather but everyone was having a great time. They were fed and they all had each other. That was until an unexpected rustle of leaves came from behind them. They instinctively went still; stiffening and becoming as still as statues.

Words could be heard; "We'll get him for rescuing those lil brats." It was Captain James Mccafferty and his crew. They slashed at the leaves heartlessly and all the animals that inhabited the woods scurried and left because Mcafferty's face wasn't the most pleasant in that instance.

Lola made sure that The Lost Boys would be safe and she ushered them up to the treehouse. She was about to make sure that Peter was behind her when all of a sudden she noticed him going into the woods, towards where the pirates were. "Peter!" Lola shouted after her friend. She raced after him automatically. She didn't know the woods as well as him so she soon ended up becoming lost. She was stood behind the group of pirates as the walked along. She hoped none of them would notice her. That was too much to ask for when she accidentally snapped a twig. They all whipped their heads around and saw Lola looking like a dear in the headlights.

"Leave her, we need Peter." Mccafferty obviously didn't think that Lola wasn't important. She also noted that Wendy wasn't with them. This was in someway unnerving because if she wasn't with her crew, where was she.

"It wasn't Peter who helped them get free." Lola shouted as they searched the woods. She followed after them.

Lola looked up to see Peter in the tree. He was signalling something. It was hard to interpret. He was saying something like 'Don't finish that sentence.' but of course Lola had to to save her friends. She needed to look after them all because they were her friends and was she really worthy to have Peter Pan rescue her. She wanted to be the hero in this story.

"It was me." The pirates stopped and Peter's heart sank to his stomach as Smee and Mcafferty made their way to Lola while pointing knives and swords in her direction.

Lola felt so stupid. Selfishness was always at the root of bad decisions and this sure was it. Peter wasn't thinking about himself though when he jumped in front of Lola and the knives dug into him. He winced but he didn't really care all that much.

"Peter! What are you doing?"

"I'm protecting you." He shouted to Lola over his shoulder.

"I don't need protecting." She argued although the circumstances weren't in her favour.

"Oh really." Peter raised an eyebrow as he fought off some of the pirates who were trying to get past him to Lola. "When I say run, run!" Peter got scraped and made sure all of the pirates were distracted before he told Lola to run. She couldn't move though. It wasn't as if she didn't want to. Her feet were firmly planted in the ground and she suddenly felt herself lower and sink.

"Peter! I can't move!" Before she knew it she was up to her waist in quicksand. Peter ignored the pirates as he rushed straight to the side of his friend. He pulled at her but resulted in him going into the quicksand too.

They began to sink down down down until all but their heads were still above ground. "I'm sorry Peter. This is my fault."

"No, it's me who should be sorry because if I hadn't have gone off you wouldn't have looked for me and we'd all be safe in our treehouse, still alive."

There was a tinkering behind them. Tink. She grabbed hold of Peter's hair and Lola's hair and tried to pull them out. She was not successful. She pondered over some options for a moment and then sprinkled them both with fairy dust. The opposite started to happen. They started to rise up out of the sand and began to fly. "Tink! You're amazing." Lola squealed in ecstacy as she floated to a tree branch. Her outfit was ruined and her hair was a mess but Lola wasn't bothered as she was alive and she could move. Maybe this is what she had needed all along, from the very beginning.

She was broken from her thoughts when Peter leaned in and pecked her on the cheek. Lola couldn't help but blush and the unexpected gesture. "Thanks."

"I don't understand why you're thanking me. I'm the one that got us in this whole mess."

"I was thanking you for showing me how to care for someone." Lola's breath hitched as Peter's words sunk into her.

"Y-y-you care for me? What's that supposed to mean?" Lola asked hesitantly, not sure if she wanted to hear his answers.

"Like a friend." Lola's heart dipped and her chest began to ache.

"I care for you too." Lola tried to hide her tears but her voice was filled with despair.

"It doesn't sound as if you do." Peter leaned closer to Lola, close enough to see that tears were streaking her face. Where was the rain when Lola needed it?

"I do, promise." Lola smiled as Peter reached for her face and wiped the tears away.

"Oh, good." Peter smiled and then took Lola into a ribcrushing hug that Lola couldn't help but return it.

Tink made some noises that Lola couldn't decipher but Peter understood perfectly. The Lost Boys and the treehouse. Pirates. Peter withdrew from the hug and immediately darted to his home leaving Lola behind in the tree.

Tink smiled knowingly at Lola as she darted off behind Peter.

+++

Wendy was sat on the edge of the treehouse doorway swinging her legs as The Lost Boys beckoned for her to play with them. That was before Peter came around the corner and looked around bewildered. "There aren't any pirates here, Tink. Just Wendy." Tink flew over to Wendy and started to pull her hair unnecessarily as Wendy swatted the pixie away, hitting her a little too hard and Tink fell the ground, wounded and unmoving.

"Peter..." Wnedy started.

"Move out of the way." Peter barged past to get to Tink and caressed her gently. Her wings twitched and Peter tried t sort them out with his clumsy fingers.

"Will she be all right?" Nibs asked.

"I don't know." Peter answered truthfully. "But she said there were pirates here. Are there?" The Lost Boys all shook their head simultaneously.

"Look after her. I need to go get Lola." Peter had twigged as to what Tink had done. She had put Lola in the path of danger and he had been gullable enough to believe her. Tink knew Peter too well and exactly what came above everything else; his family. But in the midst of it all, he'd forgotten all about the most important person to him.

Lola.

this one was longer than my others for you guys :) hope you liked it bc a lot happened in this one, right?