I had turned around to face a tall man, wearing a long leather coat, leater pants and a black shirt. Scruffy beard and several peices of jewelery, even a sword hanging from his hip. But the thing that stood out most was his left hand, or the lack of a hand to be more precise, he was wearing a shiny, sharp, metal hook.
"Nice to see you too, love." He said with an irish accent. "I don't like lying, and that wasn't an answer. Captain." I had stopped cleaning and had crossed my arms. He walked over to me, crossing pretty much every personal space rule there was. "No need to be this hostile darling. I'm here as a friend, not a foe. I'm here to warn you." He said softly. "About what." I hadn't moved and I wasn't gonna show any sign of emotion in my voice. "About Pan." His hand was travelling up my arm. "What about him. He let me go, he isn't interested in me anymore." I said coolly. "That's where you are wrong, he is certainly interested in you. And your work. He has been keeping an eye on you, love."
"I'm guessing you have as well, or did he give you directions?" I asked, making him chuckle. "I found you using my own skills thank you."
I started to back away, laughing a bit bit in suprise. "You want me to believe your came here on your own accord? What's in it for you?" He stayed where he stood. "Why is it so hard for people to believe that I can do something for another?" This time it was my turn to walk up to him. "Because you're a pirate. So what do you get out of all this?" I whispered the first bit. I saw him cave after those words. "Indeed I am. I need your help." He spoke. "And with what may I ask?" Whatever it was, it was gonna make up for him warning me, so it was big. "That research of yours. How much do you know about the Dark One?" He asked. I couldn't help but grin a bit. "Still after that crocodile then? I have some infromation yes. Not much though." "I will not rest until I get my vengeance on that coward. so any information will help." He was standing incredibly close again.
I heard the door to the kitchen swing open. "Lilly? Can you... Oh hello. What's going on here? Can we help you?" Kimberly had come in and I guess it was quite the sight. I stepped away quickly and walked to the counter. "Kim, this is an old friend. We were just catching up a bit." She didn't seem to buy that story. I turned around to face Hook again. "My shift ends in fifteen minutes, we can talk then." He nodded and walked out the diner.
"Since when do you have old friends? And why are all the guys you know hot like that? It's not fair. And was he carrying a sword? What was he wearing anyway? What's going on Lilly?" Kimberly rambled, the sound of her voice made Jason come out as well. I sighed. "Fine, if you must know. I'm not who you think I am." I started. "And you are probably not gonna believe me when I tell you everything but you have to let me finish." They nodded silently.
"Right. I'm not from here. And with that I don't mean not from this city, or country, I mean not from this world. I'm from a place they call the enchanted forest, not a joke, real place, and I am over two hundred years old. I a human, just like you two, but when my parents died me and my brother left. He summoned the shadow and it took us to a place called Neverland. That's where we lived for two hundred years until I got into a fight with a boy called Peter Pan. He is the leader of this group of boys that come to Neverland, I was the first girl. He sent me away, my brother stayed. I have been here ever since.
That man that was in here, he was an old enemy. But he claims to be a friend now, I guess it makes sense he has been fighting Pan for three centuries. So we're allies now. He is a pirate captain called Killian Jones, but most people know him as..." "Captain Hook." Kimberly finished for me. "I saw his hand, are you saying that those stories are real?" She asked. She and Jason had taken a seat so they wouldn't fall. I sighed again. "Yes, in a way. Those people in the stories, they are real, but not as you might expect. Those stories are told to children, meant to fuel their imagination with nice adventurous thoughts. But the truth is darker, much darker. Peter Pan is not as jolly and nice as you might think, he is cold, cruel and ruthless. At least to his enemies, to his lost boys he can warm up a bit, still he is not one you want to cross. Hook is indeed a pirate with quite the criminal record, but he is not that bad as people make him out to be. He has his reasons to be this evil, I know some and some I will never know. But all in all, he isn't the villain in this story."
Both Kimberly and Jason looked at me in awe. Still processing the information bomb I just dropped, I let them. I started to close up, and by the time I was done, my friends were able to form a complete sentence again. "So what now?" Jason asked. "I don't know, I'm gonna see what Hook wants and see if I can help him. After that, I'll need to go. If Hook was telling the truth then Pan knows where I am, I need to get moving. It was a pleasure getting to know you guys, it really was, but I guess this is goodbye."