Wendy Darling was sitting at a desk in the library of Oxford University. She scribbled her story down frantically, trying to recall every detail of Neverland. She used an ink pen which smudged all over the place and made it difficult to read her own writing, which grew highly frustrating! The images were so vivid in her mind-all of them except one. Peter himself blurred out of focus whenever she tried to remember his face. For three years after she left Neverland she could remember his face perfectly-his pixie ears and his boyish grin, his hazelnut eyes and his blonde curls. He had with no doubt been her first love. But she suspected that the reason she was forgetting him was because she was getting older and she thought she better write her thoughts on paper before she lost her memories of Neverland completely.
There'd been plenty of times when her heart had skipped a beat because she thought she'd seen Peter in a crowd. It was never him, but a good look-alike. She loved him even though she knew they couldn't be together and for her that was the hardest part of it all. He wouldn't become an adult, so she had had to let him go. He didn't want what she wanted and so essentially, it had become a mutual decision. But sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night, dreaming of the one time she had kissed him and only then would she remember his picturesque features as though she had only said goodbye to him yesterday. They often say that when you're awake at night, it's because you're awake in someone else's dreams. Sometimes she thought that she dreamt of him so vividly because he was dreaming of her. She was awake when she felt like she could touch him and see him so perfectly. Wendy would then hurriedly pick up her notebook which she kept next to her bed and scribbled frantically what she could recall, although even her dream Peter would slip as suddenly as he had come, from her mind. She was nineteen now, but she still couldn't forget. She would never forget.
It had gotten more difficult to write those vivid dreams down when Matthew began sleeping over. He was her boyfriend and had been since her first year in Oxford. She was now half way through her second studying literature, and he was doing law. They'd met through a mutual friend. She couldn't very well turn the light on and start explaining to him why it was on. She'd spoken of Peter, and Neverland, but she told it as a Fairytale to the lost boys (who weren't so lost anymore as they were her brothers), and John and Michael, and John's children, or whoever wanted to hear it. Matthew had been there on one of those occasions, but he didn't seem to believe that it was real. He thought she'd made it up in her head-part of her desire to write a bestselling novel, he said. He never looked at her like she was crazy though, like some people did when they heard the story. Those people were the ones she ignored. Some were fascinated-like her mother, her father even and Aunt Milliscent. Some called it "poppycock" but only her and all of her brothers knew how real it really was.
Wendy was snapped out of her frantic writing by someone asking, "I'm sorry, do you mind if I borrow this for a min…" the voice trailed off and she glanced up irritably to find her mouth dangling wide open. She gaped, completely speechless for a second and then watched the brown eyes she knew so well stare wonderingly into her own. She whispered fervently, "Peter…?"
The hair…the eyes…the boyish chin…the ears…they were all there. Standing right in front of her- he was gaping at her as much as she was gaping at him. He was standing there, frozen to the wooden flooring, his hands in his tuxedo pocket and she felt her heart finally react. She didn't realize she'd been holding her breath for so long.
Wendy stood up slowly…tentatively. He looked as though he couldn't move-like he was in a trance. She moved out of her desk and clasped his shoulder tightly, just checking he was real. This could easily just be one of her dreams and she had fallen asleep at the desk. She gripped his arm and closed her eyes, trying to clear her head. They were still closed when she asked, "Are you really here?" She took a step back and opened her eyes as he nodded. She realized he still hadn't said anything and then she panicked. He was here, right in front of her. And Matthew…Matthew…she couldn't do this to him. She couldn't risk falling for Peter again, even though her wildest dreams were coming true.
Finally, Peter spoke and whispered painfully, "Wendy...I…hoped we wouldn't meet." She frowned and swayed dazedly on her feet, "Why?" He grimaced and glanced at the ring on her engagement finger, "Because…I wanted you to forget me. I hoped you would have forgotten that I existed by now." Wendy frowned in confusion and murmured, "But...why would you want that? Why are you here?!" Peter glanced sheepishly down at his fancy shoes and it struck her again how odd it was to see him in a full outfit, rather than the scraps he'd worn in Neverland. He was much taller now-taller than her even-and his face had grown thinner, his lips fuller and his hair blonder. She was slowly but surely processing this information. He even had stubble. She hesitantly lifted a finger and touched the stubble growing around his chin. He seemed to relax his face into her palm slightly and then she heard a voice she knew like the back of her hand, "Wendy, Wendy darling?"
Wendy pulled back suddenly and Matthew appeared, also in a shiny tuxedo, looking dashing as ever. His brown locks cut perfectly and clean shaven. His piercing blue eyes sparkling happily as he reached her, slung an arm around her casually and he kissed her lips swiftly, "Wendy, I was calling you but I see you have company." He appraised Peter curiously and Wendy nodded, "Uh…this is an old childhood friend of mine, Peter." She prayed that Matthew wouldn't connect Peter with her stories she told. He didn't seem to as he smiled cheerfully, holding out his hand to shake it, "Hi Peter. Nice to meet you. Funnily enough Wendy has never told me about a childhood friend called Peter. She's only ever believed in her fantasy stories of a boy name Peter Pan." He laughed and Wendy forced an awkward smile and Peter laughed forcibly too. She blushed terribly and refused to make eye contact with Peter. She stared at his shoes and she said embarrassedly, "I never said they were fantasy, Matt, you just believe they are." Matt laughed again, "Well of course they're fantasies. Who on earth would believe they're real. Don't kid yourself darling." He chuckled again and Wendy could feel Peter's eyes boring into her, even though she wasn't looking at him. She could feel the heat and electricity as Peter said, somewhat sarcastically, "Yes, who would ever believe in such childish fantasies?" She couldn't believe he was using sarcasm. It didn't fit him. It seemed so cruel coming from him.
Matthew thankfully didn't register the sarcastic tone, so laughed more and said, "See Wendy? I'm not the only one who would think it's not real. Neverland. Ah well, good to meet you Peter. You should come around for dinner one night. I'm sure Wendy can get your phone number?" Wendy glanced up to see Peter nodding stiffly, as she tore off a piece of paper she had been writing on and shakily handed him the ink pen. He hurriedly wrote his number down, handed it back to her and said swiftly, "See you soon then, Wendy." By the time she glanced back up again, he'd vanished. Matthew grinned down at her, his left arm still around her and resting on her hip as he said, "I like that guy. Nice chap." Wendy said nervously, "Yes…it's been a while."