No one knew Rufioh Nitram could sing.
No one had expected him to.
Which is why, on a warm spring day in the cafeteria, it seemed as though the entire school had quieted to listen to Mr. Popular sing a familiar song that seemed all too fitting for him.
Wendy, run away with me
I know I sound crazy
Don't you see what you do to me?
I want to be your lost boy
Your last chance
A better reality
Yeah
Wendy, we can get away
I promise if you're with me
Say the word and we'll find a way
I can be your lost boy
Your last chance
Your "Everything Better" plan
Ohh... Somewhere in Neverland
Somewhere in Neverland
Everyone knew Rufioh. They new his little brother. They knew his father. They were the nicest people in town.
More than anything they knew there was nothing Rufioh loved more than the thought of pirates and fairies and magic. Of staying forever young.
Of Neverland.
We'll start a life of the plain and the simple
Of great times with far better people
And weekends with our friends
Laughing 'bout the wine that stains their teeth
Everyone also knew that their personal lives weren't nearly as nice as the people themselves seemed to be. Even today Rufioh stood on stage with marks on his neck and a dark bruise on his shoulder.
He was a party boy, but he was the straightest party boy you'd ever meet. No one dared try and pressure him; hand him alcohol or drugs. No one wanted to see him change.
We'll talk about how your parents separated and,
How you don't want to make the same mistakes as them
I'll say it's all about sticking it out
And trying to feel Forever Young
If anyone took the time to know him personally, to become close friends, they'd know he wanted to be nothing like his two-faced father or his absent mother. He had a problem following routine, but he wasn't a bad kid. He was just trying to find his place.
So here we go again
Wishing we could start again
Wendy, run away with me
I know I sound crazy
Don't you see what you do to me?
I want to be your lost boy
Your last chance
A better reality
Yeah
Wendy, we can get away
I promise if you're with me
Say the word and we'll find a way
I can be your lost boy
Your last chance
Your "Everything Better" plan
Ohh... Somewhere in Neverland
Rufioh closed his eyes and sighed silently. The music took him away; he wasn't standing on the cafeteria stage, singing to thousands of faces he vaguely knows. He's flying through the sky with his Wendy, free and happy.
Ohh... Ohh.. Oh... Oh...
So here we go again
Wishing we could start again
Wendy, run away with me
I know I sound crazy
Don't you see what you do to me?
I want to be your lost boy
Your last chance
A better reality
Yeah
Wendy, we can get away
I promise if you're with me
Say the word and we'll find a way
I can be your lost boy
Your last chance
Your "Everything Better" plan
Ohh... Somewhere in Neverland
Ohh... Somewhere in Neverland
– –
He wasn't there the next day, and neither was Tavros. Rumours spread that Rufioh had taken his younger brother and ran away. Others said it was because the brothers were in love with each other and couldn't love each other freely under their father.
The school (or more specifically the staff) found out two days later that both boys were in the ICU after a bad fight with their father.
Rufioh had wanted to go out "for a breather" after hours and his father didn't take kindly to that. Tavros defended his brother, and Rufioh jumped his dad after Tavros hit a wall rather hard. Tavros was in a coma, with a broken arm but little damage anywhere else. It took two hours of surgery to stop Rufioh's bleeding.
A week later, Tavros woke up, to the joy of his friends and aunt. There was no question that their father had lost custody of them, and their aunt stepped up to take them in once they were discharged.
Rufioh wasn't so lucky.
The funeral was that Friday. The whole school showed up.
There wasn't a single dry eye.
Somewhere in Neverland