Maggie's POV
"I'm really sorry your wedding isn't happening today," I told Jack.
"It's fine. There's no way we're going to make it, anyway...I think. I have no idea what time it is here," he said.
"There is no time here," Smee replied. We were being monitored, of course.
"How is that possible?" Jack asked, fascinated.
"Jack, we were kidnapped. This isn't a field trip. Stop trying to learn things," I joked. He smiled. "So, when you met Jeanette, you were at Walmart?" I laughed. We were still catching up.
"Yeah. It was hilarious," he laughed. I laughed, too. For the first time in about five years, I felt like I was having fun with my brother. Weird, right?
"How romantic. God, you buy shirts from Target now? What happened to you? Where's my perfect, baseball-playing big brother?" I asked.
"He grew up," Jack said. We were quiet for a minute. He grew up.
"That's the most depressing thing I've ever heard you say..." I joked, though it was true.
"Well, everyone has to do it," he said.
"Not everyone," I whispered, thinking of the Lost Boys. Thankfully, Jack didn't hear this.
"What do you think our parents are doing right about now?" he mused.
"Well, dad is probably doing work, duh. Mom is probably freaking out because we aren't there," I said.
"Yeah. She wanted everything to be perfect for this wedding. That's why she wanted you to come so bad," he said.
"You knew about that?" I asked.
"I knew you probably wouldn't come because I thought you were too worried about your perfect life to see me. But I did listen to a few of mom's phone calls with you," he replied.
"What?" I asked.
"Well, she leaves her bedroom door open, so it's kinda easy to just-"
"No, I mean...you think my life is perfect?" I asked. I was shocked.
"Well, yeah. You live in New York, free of our parents. You can do anything you want..." he said.
"Jack, I'm a cashier at Macy's. I don't have the money to do anything I want," I laughed. "Anyway, I thought you were perfect, with your amazing job and lovely fiance." He blushed.
"Well, I wouldn't call her lovely all the time, but we have our moments and I love her," he said. Wow. So he thought I was perfect. Funny how things work out sometimes.
Lily's POV
"Liliana's back!" the boys yelled. I smiled as they raced around excitedly. I found materials in the woods and quickly made an outfit the same way I used to. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail.
"There she is," Ace said from behind me.
"Who?" I asked, turning to face him.
"The Lost Girl I've been missing for so many years," he said. I smiled. I definitely wasn't the same girl I was before, but it felt like I was. We met all the Lost Boys in the middle of camp, where I now remembered seeing Peter for the first time when he came back, wrapped in vines and leaves. The boys smiled at me.
"Do you really remember?" Too Small asked. I nodded.
"I do remember," I said, kneeling down so I was face to face with him. "Everything." He smiled.
"Then you'll remember when I used to do this!" he said, pretending to take my nose and running off with it.
"Hey! Come back here with that!" I yelled, running after him, laughing. I was playing again. The other boys followed us. We chased Too Small for a while until I finally caught him (fast little guy!) and I started tickling him. He laughed really loud. I remembered that he was very ticklish.
"Okay, okay!" he laughed. "You can have your nose back." I stopping tickling him and he pretended to place my nose back on my face. Then he started walking away.
"Excuse me, sir! Where are you going?" I asked. He turned back and I tapped my nose. He giggled.
"I was hoping you wouldn't remember that part," He walked back over to me and quickly kissed my nose.
"Awww," Jeanette said. I turned and saw her standing beside us.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"Tink told me to meet you guys," she said.
"Why?" I asked.
"Everyone!" Tink said, flying up to us. "Maggie is with Jack on the ship. She was kidnapped by Smee last night. We have to get them back and defeat Smee!" She saw me and gasped. "You...you're a Lost Girl." I nodded. She smiled. "Well, we missed you." I briefly smiled.
"So, what are we gonna do to get Peter back here?" I asked.
"What?" Tink asked.
"Peter...We need him, right?" I asked.
"Well, yes, but we may have to do this alone," she said. "Peter is older now. He might not be able to-"
"No! We need him! Tink, we could all die. I want him to be here. Smee wants Peter, so get him," I said. Jeanette's eye widened. She'd never heard me speak with so much rebellious sass before. Meanwhile, Tink's eyes narrowed.
"Lily-"
"Liliana," I corrected her. My Lost Girl name.
"-I don't know why you think you can call the shots all of a sudden, but I've lead this group for decades. Leave all of the hard decisions to me," she said.
"Tink, I don't wanna fight with you, but come on. We both know it would be better if he were here."
"He's NOT coming back and that's FINAL!" she yelled. The boys looked surprised. Tink doesn't usually yell. She flew off in an annoyed huff, leaving us to wonder why she didn't want him to come back.
Later that night, Tink still hadn't come back, and the boys were afraid to sleep alone. They wanted to be altogether in case the pirates attacked us. After all of the boys were asleep Jeanette and I sat on the ground, talking (surprisingly). I sat next to Ace, who was fast asleep.
"You know, I may have a bad attitude about this, but I just want Jack back. I like him, ya know?" she asked.
"You obviously like him enough to marry him."
"Well, we aren't married yet. But I hope we will be soon," she smiled.
"Woah! I didn't know you could smile," I said.
"Shut up," she joked. She looked up at the sky.
"It does look really pretty here, actually," she said, looking up at the sky, where the four moons came perfectly into view. We were quiet for a few moments, looking at the sky. "Tell me about them."
"What?" I asked. "Who?"
"Peter. Jack and Maggie when they were here the last time," she said. "Just tell me."
"Well, it's no big secret or anything. It's not even that important and-"
"Please?" she asked.
"Okay... Well, Jack almost stayed with Hook. Maggie, being the stubbornest person in the world, believed in Peter the whole time," I said.
"Why would Jack do such a thing? Betraying his father doesn't seem like a thing he'd do," she said.
"Well, he was mad at Peter at the time," I said. "But after Jack watched Hook kill Rufio, Jack realized that he could overlook his anger, and remembered how much he loved his father. Neverland makes you forget. Sometimes it's for the better, other times, like in Jack's case, it's for the worse."
"He watched someone being killed?" she gasped. "Wow. That's big. He's lucky he doesn't have emotional problems."
"I can't handle it. Why did this have to happen?"
I gasped. She looked at me.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just...I remembered something...It doesn't matter right now, though," I said. I took a deep breath.
"Who was Rufio?" She asked.
"He was...well, it's hard to describe him. He was everything and nothing all at the same time. He cared for the boys and me. Taught us. Protected us in any way he could. He was a real hero. Sad to think we are the only people who remember him. He was a great leader," I said.
"What about Hook? What was he like? Were you afraid of him?"
"No way! He was just some drunk old pirate who had way too much power. I wasn't exactly afraid of him, but once he had Jack and Maggie, I was scared of what he would do to them."
"So...scared, but not afraid?" she asked, genuinely trying to understand.
"Yeah. It probably doesn't make sense, but-"
"No. It totally makes sense," she said. We were quiet. Scare, but not afraid. "I guess that's how I feel about Jack right now. I'm not exactly scared of Smee. I didn't even get to meet him. But I'm afraid of what he'll do to Jack and Maggie."
"And Maggie?" I asked, surprised. "I thought you didn't like her."
"Well, maybe sometimes she acts childish and intolerable, but she's gonna be my sister. I think we can learn to get along. I know she's a good person. Jack talks about her all the time, how he misses being so close to her. How she used to love acting when they were younger, and how he admires her for going to New York and following her dreams." I had no idea Jack thought of Maggie so much. "That's another thing. When Jack loves, he loves a lot. With all his heart. It's quite...beautiful, actually." She smiled again.
"I know," I smiled to myself.
"What?" she asked.
"We used to go out. But it's totally over now, so..."
"Oh," she said. We were quiet for a moment. "That's cool," she finally said.
"What? You're not mad?"
"No. I think it's good to talk to someone who knows what I mean. You know, you aren't so bad, Liliana," she said.
"Liliana," I heard a voice from behind me. I turned and saw Too Small walking up behind me, rubbing his sleepy little eyes. "I had a bad dream."
"Aww. Come here," I said. He walked over and sat with us.
"What are you girls talking about?" he asked.
"Stuff," I said. "Jack and Maggie. The pirates."
"You're really lucky, you know that?" Jeanette suddenly said.
"Why is that?" he asked.
"You get to stay here. Forever. Look at how beautiful this is. I've been trying not to get used to it because I know I'll have to go back when this is over," she said.
"To tell you the truth, I honestly don't think you can ever get used to something as amazing as Neverland," he said. "I've been here many more years than I can count, and I still haven't gotten used to it."
"Do you remember anything? You're family? Friends?" she asked. He thought for a moment.
"No. I wanted to forget. Every once in a while, though, I try to remember and I can't. That's what Neverland does. Stay here long enough, and eventually you'll forget about everything before you came here," he told her.
"Seems scary," she said. "Forgetting everything and everyone… being here all alone forever."
"Well, that's why we have each other," he said. He walked over to her and hugged her. "So we aren't alone." She hugged him back.
"Ya know, you aren't so bad, kid," she said. "But don't tell anyone I said that." He laughed. They pulled apart.
"It's okay. I know you like me. I'm a total catch," he joked, winking at her. She laughed, winking back.
"Maybe…" she said, as if trying to figure something out. "Maybe I've been looking at the all wrong. Maybe this is a good thing." I nodded.
"When you open up to Neverland, Neverland opens up to you," I said. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and forgetting reality and the Mainland. When she opened her eyes again, she was looking at Neverland through the eyes of a kid. No worries or stress. She wasn't thinking, 'This is impossible.' She was just...there. In the moment. So cliché.
"It really is beautiful," she said. I decided to check the forest for pirates before I went to sleep, and when I came back, Jeanette and Too Small were curled up next to each other, fast asleep. I smiled, knowing that the next day, she'd see Neverland in a whole new light. Maybe even like it a bit. Welcome to Neverland, Jeanette.
