Lyric's POV
There came a knock at the front door and I wondered who could possibly be here at this hour of the night.
"James, come on in." I heard my father invite the man in. I listened to their conversation.
"John, has some agreement been made? When can I sit down with my lovely bride and work out the details?" Even his voice sent chills down my spine. I tried to not run downstairs and tell the man what kind of agreement I was thinking of.
"Lyric is going to be spending the holiday with her aunt. It will give her the time she needs to think things through. I'm sure she'll make the right choice and will have the answer for you when she returns." Father seemed so sure that marrying a man old enough to be my father was the right choice for me… and for him. I knew there had to be some sort of business deal involved; but then maybe this Mr. James Raider character really did believe that an 18 year old would make the perfect wife.
"I was hoping for something sooner, John, but I guess I can wait a little longer. That girl of yours is worth the wait." I heard him laugh a little and it made me more uncomfortable than I already was. I wanted to leave for Aunt Wendy's tonight.
"Yes she is. It was good to see you, James, have a wonderful evening." Father showed the man out. My attention had now returned to the sky. "Lyric?" I heard Father enter my room. "I wish you wouldn't climb out on the roof, dear. Shouldn't you be packing?"
"I was just getting to that, Father." I looked once more at the stars and then made my way back into the room. I walked over to my dresser and then watched as Father closed and locked the window. He hadn't completely forgotten. I smiled a little.
"That was James Raider. He is expecting an answer from you when you return from visiting your Aunt. Jane will be coming here for that time. The two of you really should put aside your differences… you are cousins." The fact that Jane would not be around made the trip even more exciting; it was almost as if I should have been Aunt Wendy's daughter and Jane should have been Father's. "I have to be at the office early so I won't be able to see you off. Have a safe trip and say hello to your Aunt for me." He kissed my forehead before heading back downstairs.
"Maybe we should run away to Neverland, Mist." I shut the door and then opened the window. I sat on the window seat as I brushed my hair. "'Second to the right and then straight on till morning.' Right, Mist?"
"Just a happy thought and some fairy dust and we can be there before morning." Silver Mist settled down for the night in the bed I had made for her. She wasn't always in my world, but it seemed like she was more and more these days.
"That's the thing, Mist, I have no happy thoughts right now." I laid down and pulled the covers over my head. Tears stung my eyes as I thought about how cold Father seemed to have gotten over the last few years.
"No happy thoughts? That is sad indeed." That voice! I shoved the covers off my head and looked at the boy—man—standing in the open window. Sandy blonde hair brushed against his forehead as bluer-than-blue eyes pierced my soul. It was as if he had been sculpted from the hardest, yet softest, clay known to man. Sun-kissed skin glowed in the light of the full moon, and a smiled tugged at his lips. He was still a boy in so many ways, but clearly also a man. In this world he would be considered a man and would be expected to be in the University or working by now. But Peter Pan didn't live in this world anymore… His home was Neverland, where he could still act like a boy and would never have to fully grow up.
"Peter?" My voice sounded off. It came out soft and hoarse; like I hadn't spoken in a long time. I had forgotten how much just his presence affected me. I hadn't seen him since the day I turned 18; the day I'd made the choice to let him go.
Peter Pan's POV
I had been watching her from the moment she sat out on the roof. I had heard the men's conversation and I wanted to have a word with John Darling; I wanted to tell him that his daughter belonged to me. Lyric Darling had been the reason I grew up; she had been the one whom I decided to grow up for.
"Maybe we should run away to Neverland, Mist." I watched her shut the door and then open the window. I watched as she sat on the window seat and brushed her hair. "'Second to the right and then straight on till morning.' Right, Mist?" She remembered.
"Just a happy thought and some fairy dust and we can be there before morning." Silver Mist replied. Tinker Bell had not been happy when Silver Mist had refused to return to Neverland with the rest of the fairies the other day. It was the real reason I was here now. Tink wanted to bring Silver Mist home.
"That's the thing, Mist, I have no happy thoughts right now." I faltered a little. I couldn't believe she'd just said that. She had made the decision months ago to let me go; to let me remain forever 19, a man by this world but still very much a boy at heart.
"No happy thoughts? That is sad indeed." She shoved the covers off her head. She stared at me for what seemed like an eternity as I stood in the window—well, hovered. She was more beautiful than I remembered. Her auburn-brown hair hung to her waist and her aqua-colored eyes seem to pierce my soul. Never before I had been so breathless; never before had I seen anything so beautiful. The separation that she had hoped would break whatever connection we seemed to share had done just the opposite—it seemed so much stronger now.
"Peter?" Her voice came out soft and hoarse. Had I not just heard her speak but a few minutes ago, I would have thought it was the first she'd spoken in a long time.
"Hello, Lyric." I entered the room as she stood up. I looked at the suitcase sitting at the foot of her bed. "Going somewhere?" She followed my gaze to the suitcase and then nodded.
"I'm going to spend time with Aunt Wendy. I have a lot to think about. Father wants me to marry James Raider. They're both hoping that I'll agree. I have till the time I get back to decide." She sat on the bed and twirled an acorn around in her hands.
"What do you want, Lyric Lady?" I knelt in front of her and watched as the acorn fell from her hands. It was the same acorn that I had given Wendy a lifetime ago.
"What I want doesn't matter… not to Father." She sounded defeated. She had already made her decision; that much was clear. Now I had to try to get her to change it before I lost her forever.
"It matters to me, Lyric. What do you want?" I lifted her chin so she had to look at me. I could see the turmoil in her eyes; her beautiful aqua eyes were a stormy gray now. "What is it that you want?" I had asked that question before… months ago and her answer then had crushed my heart.
"I want to be in love with the man I marry. I want to be happy with the man I marry. I don't want to feel forced into marriage with a man who is old enough to be my father; a man whom I could never love."
"Then come with me to Neverland." I pulled her to her feet and started for the window.
"I can't. It would break Father's heart." She released my hand and hers fell to her side. I turned to face her. I could see the fight within her. "I want so desperately to be with you, Peter… I don't know how Father would react if I just disappeared." She stepped towards me. "I have to go see Aunt Wendy; she's expecting me. Jane is coming here."
"Jane? I thought she would have been married by now." I disliked Jane. When I first told Wendy that I wanted to grow up for Lyric she had told me to give it a year. If after a year I still felt that way, she would take me in. Wendy became my foster mother while I grew. Lyric and Wendy were the only two who knew who I really was. To John and Michael, I was just some boy who Wendy had decided to take in. To Jane, I was someone else that she could tease.
"She hasn't found someone rich enough." Lyric disliked her cousin more than I did.
"Lyric, who are you talking to?" John stood outside the bedroom door. I flew into a darkened corner of the ceiling. I held my breath as the door opened. "I thought I closed the window? I don't want it opened, Lyric."
"Father, it gets too warm in here with it closed." Lyric tried to explain why the window was open.
"What's with you, Lyric? Ever since that boy left you've been daydreaming and staring out the window. It's time to get your head out of the clouds. It's time to grow up, Lyric." John ran his hand through his hair. He looked tired and worn out… he looked old.
"What boy?" She asked innocently enough.
"Peter, the boy whom your Aunt had taken in; the two of you seemed really close and then he just disappeared…"
"Father, are you alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost?" I watched as the thought flickered across John's face and then quickly vanish.
"I'm fine. I just need to get some sleep I think." He kissed Lyric's forehead and then mumbled something on his way out of the room. Lyric closed the door and leaned against it.
"That was close." I said as I flew down from the ceiling.
"Too close… Peter, I think it best if you leave now." She looked at me and it was as though we were alone at the park again. If she kept saying that to me I was bound to run out of happy thoughts and I would never be able to fly again.
"Alright." I replied; my voice thick with disappointment.
"Peter?" She rested her hand on mine as we stood by the open window. "Will you come to Aunt Wendy's?" I sighed. "I know what I said all those months ago; I know that I said that it was time that I gave you up. I was only fooling myself by thinking you could be happy in this world as a grown-up. But now that I've seen you again… Now that I've heard your voice again; I don't think I can give you up this time."
"What about your father? What about that man he wants you to marry? You don't want to cause your father pain and I can't let you do that." It broke my heart to say that to her, but I knew she wouldn't be happy if she knew she caused her father pain.
"Peter, please?" She begged. I could hear the tears in her voice.
"I need to think about it." I didn't dare turn to look at her. It took every happy thought I could think of to get me off that window ledge. I flew back to Neverland; back home, but something was missing.