Going back to normal after so long wasn't easy. Not nearly as easy as she'd expected it to be; somehow, it was nearly impossible. But Wendy had put on a brave face and a new name and fought her way back into a world as normal as she was going to get.
As much as she ached to, they couldn't go back to London. It had been too long, too much had changed, and she already wasn't able to keep up. In Storybrooke, she fit. In London, they'd never be able to explain why she didn't know about cell phones, or any number of current events or inventions. So they had to stay.
John and Michael rented rooms at Granny's until they could buy a house. A few of the residents had forgotten their true loves during the curse, and when it was broken, they'd moved, leaving a few houses open.
She got a room on the second floor, with a large window that John and Michael set up, remembering even after so long how much she'd loved the window from their nursery. Wendy didn't think they thought too much about it; they'd gotten her a copy of the window she'd left through. But it was a kind gesture, and she had thanked them.
One week. They'd given her one week to adjust before Mary Margaret had come by, sat the three of them down gently, and told them that Wendy would have to attend the town school. They didn't fight it.
She took a deep breath, adjusting her uncomfortable new clothes, and faced the door that lead outside. Her brothers were already gone, working like they always were. John was a writer; he disappeared to the woods to write nearly every day. Michael, however, worked for Rumplestiltskin. He knew more about magical objects than nearly anyone else in the town, due to trying to find magic for so long after Wendy left.
Wendy didn't want to go. She didn't like what they had her wearing, she didn't know anyone here, and she'd been in Neverland for more than a century. What could highschool possibly do, anyway? She wasn't ever going to leave Storybrooke for anywhere other than perhaps the Enchanted Forest. Who cared if she knew any of what they felt was so important for children of this world to know?
Still, she steeled herself, and went through the door. The school was a short walk; good thing, too. Wendy absolutely refused to be driven anywhere. She didn't trust cars yet. Too much was happening all too quickly for her to be able to take it all in.
It didn't take her long enough to reach the school. Wendy had wanted to grow more relaxed, steadier, before she actually attended classes. She was still nowhere near steady. She put on a brave face and walked inside.
It was packed. There were people everywhere, and it felt like they were all looking at her. Over a century with Pan, and this was what was scaring her? Wendy kept her head up and walked with false confidence to her first classroom, taking a seat in the very back of the room without saying a word. She wasn't the first inside, but there were still a few seats empty.
A few minutes passed, the room steadily filling up, until a bell rang. Wendy jumped, startled, but recovered with a few deep breaths.
"Good morning class." A man walked in, balancing a few books in one arm, and greeted them.
The class chorused back a good morning. Wendy didn't say anything.
"I trust that-" He was cut off by the door opening, and one more student walking in.
Wendy's heart dropped. She recognized him; Devin. One of the Lost Boys. One of the Lost Boys she'd left behind.
He opened his mouth to speak, but she was already standing, grabbing her books and leaving the room in a rush. Wendy knocked past him, in a hurry to get out.
"Wendy!" He called after her, and she hated the familiar cut to his laughter.
She didn't know the way out; Wendy cursed herself for not paying more attention, for not learning the exits before she'd even entered the building, just in case. How was Devin here? It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible. But there he was.
In an instant, before she could even realize what was happening, Wendy felt her back hit metal and heard her books hit the ground.
She looked up to see another sickeningly familiar face.
"Felix." Wendy tried not to let him know she was shaking.
He was very close to her; he'd shoved her into the bay of lockers when she'd rounded a corner, grabbing her arms and holding her still. She didn't try to break his hold; this was familiar. Wendy knew how this ended from experience. New setting, different story.
Felix grinned. "Didn't mean to scare you."
She rolled her eyes, tugging on her wrists. His grip was too tight; she'd known it would be. TIght enough that she'd probably have bruises.
"What could you possibly want, Felix? I left. You can't take me back; however you got here, there's no way to get back to Neverland." She grit her teeth, staring him down. He was at least seven inches taller than her, but she knew him. He was a puppet; if Pan had wanted her hurt, Felix would have hurt her already.
"I don't need to take you back to Neverland." Felix gloated, not budging. "The island's dying, haven't you heard? We've moved on." He paused, and Wendy realized what was going on. "We're here to stay." He purred, quiet as ever. "All of us."
Felix leaned in, looming over Wendy; she tried to move away, but there was nowhere to go.
"Pan's in charge, Wendy." He grinned, finally letting her go. Wendy scrambled away, immediately turning and running as fast as she could down the hall.
Felix called after her, one last gloat. "There's nowhere to go, Wendy! Nobody escapes Neverland unless Pan wants them too!"
The boy's cackles were the last thing she heard before Wendy slammed through the door at the end of the hallway, running outside and sprinting home.
She crashed into her house, barely managing to twist the knob on the front door and throw herself inside before turning and frantically locking it behind her. Only once it was locked did she let herself breath, great swallows of air rushing into her lungs as she tried to recover. They were back; they were all back. Pan included.
"Hello, Bird." She was spinning before he'd finished the first word, his voice, the same as that haunted her nightmares, rang out behind her.
He was sitting on the stairs, leaning on the railing as if there was nothing off about him being here. As if he belonged there. Wendy felt her heart freeze.
"Peter."