Unbreak My Heart
Disclaimer: Standard. Don't own it… blah blah blah…
Here's chapter one. Newly updated and newly revamped. The reading goes much smoother now and the dialogue and everything is properly spaced and punctuated. SO much better. Hope you enjoy! (Also, there's much more detail and explanation!)
The book said that Peter Pan never returned to the Darlings' Nursery... well, the book was wrong. He returned, often, to listen to Wendy's stories. But he never let his presence be known. That is until recently. Our story begins five years after their return from Neverland…
"Slightly!" Mrs. Darling called from the family room, "You'll never guess who's finally back!"
"Mother!" Slightly cried, tromping down the stairs. You see, Aunt Millicent had left a little more than a year ago to settle some family matters across the country. "Where is she?"
"She should be here any minute," Mrs. Darling said.
Almost as though on cue, Millicent strode through the door. She walked into the room and Slightly ran into her open arms. After one of the most heartwarming scenes ever witnessed by the Darlings, Millicent turned to Wendy.
"Wendy… I've been wanting to ask you since last year when you turned sixteen..." Millicent said, "Have you found, yet, who the hidden kiss belongs to?"
Wendy blushed a marvelous shade of red.
"So you have!" Millicent exclaimed, "Who is he? How old is he? When do we get to meet him?"
Wendy's eyes misted over with tears. "He's nobody, he doesn't even know how old he is, and you can never meet him. I'm going to my room. Good night!"
Wendy walked, chin held high, up the stairs and to her room, where she slammed the door forcefully. Slightly looked at his mother.
"You can't blame her for being that way. It was all rather tragic," he said.
"Slightly!" the other boys hissed.
"What was?" Millicent asked.
"Er… I'm sorry, but I can't say," Slightly said.
"Can you answer her questions?" Mrs. Darling asked.
John stepped forward. "His name is Peter, by the looks of him I'd say he is about a year older than Wendy, and you can never meet him," he said.
"Would someone care to explain why we can never meet him?" Mr. Darling asked, frustrated by all of the secrecy.
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," Michael said.
"Try me..." Mrs. Darling said.
So they told them, from start to finish, exactly what happened. Honestly, it was rather confusing… you see, they each wanted to tell the story and so bits were mixed up or jumbled together. However, when they were through, Mr. Darling could only stare in wide-eyed shock. When he regained his composure, he walked up to Wendy's room, followed by the other inhabitants of the house.
"Wendy!" Mr. Darling bellowed, throwing her door open, "The boys have some preposter…ous-" His words were lost as they watched Wendy prepare to leap from the window sill.
"Wendy Moira Angela Darling! Get down from there!" Millicent screamed, "What must the neighbors be thinking?"
"What were you doing?" Mrs. Darling asked.
Wendy turned to face her family, jumping to the floor and walking toward them. "Oh, I was only admiring the stars."
The Lost Boys exchanged looks. They all nodded in agreement.
"Liar!" Toodles accused.
"What? Why would I lie?" Wendy chuckled.
"You were going back to Neverland!" the Twins said.
Wendy gasped.
"You see?" Mr. Darling exclaimed, "Do you want to know what these boys say happened five years ago, when you disappeared?" He explained to her what they had said, and she sighed.
"Why, that's nonsense…" Wendy said, making the boys all stare at her wide-eyed. She gave them a little smile. "Number one- my stories are not true. Number two- I wasn't that good with a sword. And number three- Captain Hook is a black-hearted fiend, and Peter didn't need that kiss to beat him!"
Mr. Darling nearly fell over. Mrs. Darling smiled as she helped Millicent keep her balance. The boys all began to laugh as they ran to Wendy and hugged her fiercely. Wendy laughed along with them.
"Now, could I possibly get ready for bed? I'm rather tired," Wendy said.
"Of- of course dear. We'll see you in the morning," Mr. Darling said, as though he thought he was crazy.
"Good night," Wendy said, as they all left the room.
She quickly dressed in her blue satin night gown and curled up under the covers. Only a few minutes later she jumped from her bed, quite frustrated. She lit the lamp near her table.
"Ugh!" she growled softly, "I cannot sleep!" She looked out of her window and grinned.
She jumped into the air and took flight. She began zooming about her room, this way and that, up and down and up again. She flew towards the open window and heard a loud snore from the boys' room, which distracted her and caused her to fly straight into the wall.
"Wendy! What on earth was that?" Mr. Darling called from the room next to hers.
"Nothing, Father!" she called back, hiding her pain, "I only fell out of bed!"
"Well, go to sleep!" Mr. Darling grumbled.
Wendy clutched her head as she collapsed in a heap on the floor. Her shoulders shook, and if one had seen her, one would have thought that she was crying. However, the soft giggling would have given away the fact that she was trying to control her laughter. Wendy leapt into the air when she heard a soft snicker from just outside her window. With lighting fast reflexes, she grabbed the sword that she had brought back from Neverland and flew out the window, pressing the tip of the sword to the throat of the intruder.
"Hello, Wendy," the boy said.
"Peter?!" Wendy gasped, "Is that really you?"
"Of course it's me. Who else would be flying outside of your window?" he said, grinning.
"But… that can't be," she said.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"You've grown, Peter," Wendy said.
"Oh. That..." he said, a little sadly.
She scrutinized him carefully. He still looked like the Peter Pan she remembered, with the untidy hair, and bright sparkling blue eyes that reflected the stars no matter the time. However, he had grown much taller, and his shoulders were broader. His features were sharper, but not much, and he was still incredibly lean. The thing that was the most familiar to her, though, was the impish look in his eyes and rather cocky, lopsided grin he was giving her.
She threw her arms around him, squeezing her eyes against the tears. How often had she dreamt of him? How often had she wished for him to return to her?
"It is you. Oh, Peter, I've missed you so much…" she said softly.
He returned the embrace fiercely.
"Why haven't you visited?" she asked, pulling away.
"I have. I came to hear more stories and make sure that you were okay. And the Lost Boys, course," he covered quickly.
"You never even said 'hello'," she said, "Why didn't you let me- us know that you were here?"
"Because… I don't think I could have left," he said, blushing lightly.
She smiled. "So… how?" she asked.
"Huh?"
"How is it that you've gotten so…big?" she clarified.
"The fairies said..." Peter faltered.
"Yes? What did they say?" Wendy asked, flying closer.
"They said that… it's because of- what you did on the Jolly Roger to save me. That because I began to feel, and grow up inside, it made me grow up on the outside, too," Peter explained.
"Oh, Peter- I'm so sorry," Wendy whispered.
"You know something?" Peter said, eying her coldly.
"What?" Wendy said.
His eyes glinted with humor. "You would have made a lousy pirate. You apologize too much."
Wendy laughed at his silliness. "So you're not mad?" she asked.
"Not really. It wasn't so bad. But you have to come with me," Peter grabbed her hand and began pulling her away.
"What? Wait a minute!" Wendy pulled her hand away, "Why?"
Peter's face turned grim. "Hook's back."
"What?" Wendy screamed. Peter tried frantically to shush her, but she ignored him. "But he died! The crocodile ate him! Swallowed him whole! We all saw it! How the hell did he come back?"
"What the bloody hell is all that racket?" Mr. Darling exclaimed, poking his head out his window. He took one look at the scene before him and his jaw dropped. Wendy, his first born daughter, was flying, with a boy, in her night gown, with a sword. "Mary! Come and have a look at your daughter!"
In her father's moment of distraction, Wendy pulled Peter into her room.
"What is it, George?" Mrs. Darling said, looking out the window.
"Why is Wendy flying with outside her window with a half-naked boy??" Mr. Darling yelled.
"George, there's nobody there…" Mrs. Darling said.
"What?" he looked outside, "But… they were there! I saw them!"
"Of course dear… we'll ask Wendy about it in the morning. In the meantime, you should get some sleep," Mrs. Darling said temporarily placating her husband.
Wendy pressed her ear to both walls to make sure everyone was asleep before turning her attention back to Peter, who was looking at her curiously.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I'm just wondering how you can still fly," he replied, "You don't have a fairy, do you?"
She giggled. "No…"
"Then… how?"
"Well, I've never seen you use fairy dust. How do you fly? Tink certainly isn't with you all of the time," she said.
"You have to have an incredibly powerful happy thought to focus on. If you've got that, you only need the fairy dust once," he said.
She grinned. "Well, then, you have your explanation."
"What's your happy thought?" he asked.
"Oh, that's easy. All I have to do is think of you and my time in Neverland," she said, "But mostly you…"
"I see," he said, avoiding her eyes. She'd never guess that he usually thought of her nowadays.
"So... where have you been all this time?" Wendy asked.
"In Neverland... fighting pirates and that sort of thing," Peter replied, "What have you been up to?"
"Same old boring life!" she said, sighing, "I wish I had some excitement."
Peter glanced up. "Wendy, you have a chance for excitement. Come with me to Neverland. We can beat Hook again!"
"Let's wait until morning. I'm frightfully tired… good night, Peter," Wendy said, crawling into bed.
"Good night, Wendy," Peter murmured.
He waited until he was sure she was asleep to get up and poke his head out the window and whistle softly for Tinkerbell. "Tink, go back to Neverland. I'll meet you there soon, okay?"
Tinkerbell nodded her head, flying off into the distance. He turned back to Wendy's now sleeping form and walked silently to stand beside her bed. He looked down at her and tilted his head. He used to think she was pretty, but now the only word that he could think of was "wow". Her hair had straightened out a bit, and was halfway down her back, she was certainly taller, and had… filled out a bit. He sat down in a shadowed corner of the room and leaned against the wall to sleep.
XXXPWXXX
End of chapter one then… How did you like my edit? Yeah… it was horrible before! Ugh! I hate looking at my old stuff, cos I always think "How did I write that? It's awful!!!" But I fixed it!!!!! YAY ME! REVIEW NOW!