A/N: I do not own Riley Bloom by Alyson Noël or Peter Pan, but I do have my own version of Peter, so please do not take it! (It's the same version in my other fanfictions, a lookalike of the 12-14 year old Baelfire in Once Upon a Time, but with red hair!) Please read and review!
An Unusual Soul Catch
12 year old Riley Bloom is not your ordinary girl. Sure, she's tall, she can have a bit of an attitude, she has long blonde hair, she is adventurous, and she tries to be just like her sister, Ever. But there's just one more thing about her. She's dead. Yes, dead; died in a car accident in the American state of Oregon along with her parents and her dog, Buttercup. One person she left behind is her sister, Ever. She is the only one still alive. Riley lives in the Here and Now, the name for the afterlife. She has a job as a Soul Catcher, and helps Lost Souls cross the bridge into the afterlife from Earth. Her spirit guide is also a boy named Bodhi, who is sometimes a little mysterious. Today was her last day of her Spring Soul Catching on Earth. She was to take a small vacation to wherever she wanted on earth after she was done with this Soul Catch.
So, today, Riley was assigned an old house in Bloomsbury, London, England, to help an old woman ghost who had just died, cross over. Riley crossed the bridge to the Earth, and flew her spirit body all the way to England. Of course, she's invisible, so nobody ever saw her (unless she wanted to show herself, which she didn't do at this time.) Riley flew past Big Ben and much more. When she arrived at the house, it was already dark out. She flew into an open window on the third floor of the house. The room was amazing. It was that of a nursery, beds still there, toys strewn out all over the floor, drawings of an island. It was a child's dream room. But, why would an old lady ghost be in here? Riley just couldn't understand it.
"Hello? Is anyone in here?" Riley didn't hear anyone after she had asked this. Then, she heard a shuffling sound, and saw a shadow on the wall about 2 minutes later. "Ugh. Seriously? I know you're in here. And, I'm not afraid of an old lady. I'm here to take you to the afterlife. It's amazing there. I could show you where it it is you just show yourself to me, and I can help you cross the bridge.", said Riley. Just then, an old woman comes floating towards the ghost of Riley. "Is it as good as the island?" She asked in a slow tone. Riley thought the old woman looked familiar to her, but she just needed to get this woman across the bridge and into the afterlife. She didn't need to also ask her what she meant by "the island". She answered: "Yes, it's probably just as good as the island. The Here and Now is just like here, but it's a lot better. You see that light? It's coming from the bridge into the afterlife. There, you will have a special job and you'll be able to see your loved ones again." Riley pointed to the big, bright loving light. The old woman ghost walked up to it, Riley sort of "escorting" her by the arm to the bridge. Then, right as she walked up to the light, she turned around. "Tell Peter I said goodbye." And, then the old woman left.
Riley thought that was the easiest Soul Catch she has ever had to do. After, she wondered aloud after the woman left. "Peter? Who did she mean by Peter?" Just then, she saw someone come through the bedroom window, standing in the middle of the room. This person didn't look like a ghost. He looked like an alive 14 year old human boy, standing with his hands on his hips. But, Riley noticed that he had shorter brownish red hair, was wearing a shirt made of green leaves, and wore brownish green skinny shorts that went to his knees, partly made out of leaves. He even had a small belt on his side containing a Pan flute and a dagger. He also could fly!
He then started to talk aloud. "Wendy? Where are you, Wendy? I have come back to take you to Neverland. Please stop playing hide and seek with me, 'cuz I really need you to come and listen to me! Neverland is in trouble! Please, Wendy! I need you to help me save the island! Please, don't abandon me!" He started to cry. Riley was invisible, but felt she should help this boy. She showed herself out of nowhere. The boy let out a small shriek. He didn't seem like the type of guy to do that. He looked brave. "Ahh! Who-who are ya and how did you do that? And, what did you do with Wendy?", he asked, forcing his dagger close to her energy filled body." Whoa- whoa -whoa. No need for that. I'm already dead. Don't to try to kill me again. It won't work." The boy lowered his dagger. "How are you dead if you aren't old?" The boy said. "Cuz I died at 12, in a car crash. I don't know if I will ever even be able to grow up. I always have wanted to be 13. A teenager. But, now that I'm dead; well, I don't think I can ever grow up. I've heard it is possible to be able to grow up in the afterlife, but I've never known anyone who's been able to do that before." That means you're just like me? Except the dead part. I'm not dead, of course. I never grow up. I always want to be a younger boy and have fun. No adults will ever tell me what to do! And, why would ya ever want to grow up?"
Riley ignored his question and felt that she's heard this particular legend before, of a boy who never grew up. She tried to connect the familiar stories she heard as a young child and somehow connect them to the ghost woman in that room before. She thought. Then, it came to her. The ghost woman had said "Tell Peter I said goodbye", the boy said he never grows up, and he had called out the name Wendy. This boy must be the real Peter Pan. He had said Neverland was in trouble! And, he was looking for his cherished Wendy. Wendy Darling, who must be the dead ghost woman Riley had just crossed over. How was Riley going to tell the legendary Peter Pan that his Wendy died, that she moved Wendy on to the other side, and he has nobody to help him with saving Neverland? Will Riley have to help him save Neverland? This was gonna be interesting.