A/N: As promised, I'm going to try and make the chapters longer to make up for me not being on as much. Hope you guys are liking it so far. Thank you so much for all your kind reviews, favourites, and follows. X
The following morning, Wendy woke up to the scent of a floral tea and beef-broth stew. She massaged her thigh to soothe the pain as she yawned, waking up on her makeshift bed that she set on the floor. "How's your leg?" asked Peter, walking out from his room with hair messy in stiff waves. He had just woken up as well, and to Wendy, he looked like an absolute Greek god. Every time she saw him in the morning, she completely lost her mind. It was something about him that stood out to her. Although she hardly knew him, it was something in his eyes and the way he walked, that made her feel like he was somebody worth fighting for.
"My leg is fine, thank you," Wendy shyly replied. "How was your sleep?" she asked again, as if it was routine to ask everyone that exact question. That was exactly what her family loved about her. It was the way how she was always caring towards others and how she was thoughtful.
"It was okay," Peter smiled as he walked over to the kitchen to get two bowls of soup and two cups of tea from Nico and Seth, who were hastily preparing breakfast for everyone. He sat in front of her as he handed over her servings.
"Has anybody seen John?" asked Nico.
"Yeah, I'm worried. He didn't come home last night," Seth added.
"No sorry," Wendy shrugged. "It's alright, John does that a lot. Trust me," she smirked. "I think he'll be fine," she added as she took the soup and tea from Peter's hands. "Thank you."
"You know, sometimes I get worried about John. He's so young and he doesn't even know what's out for him," Seth's low Scottish accent quivered as he ruffled his hands through his hair. "I mean," Seth put out a wooden bowl as he poured in a little bit of soup. "I don't want him getting hurt, you know? I want him to be safe. You know how shitty everybody here can be like. Hook and his boys, you know?" he asked.
Peter nodded. "Quite a liking you've taken to John, Seth. Maybe that's all he really needs – a big brother," he pout-smiled. "I never had one," he told Wendy. "Don't really want to remember much about my family either," he looked down, letting her in a little but still being uncomfortable with the topic.
"What if I don't want to be his big brother?" asked Seth.
"Are you saying you like John as in – you like John?" asked Nico. Suddenly, Seth was quiet. "So what you're trying to say is you're gay."
"Would there be a bloody problem if I was gay?" asked Seth, clenching a fist.
"No! Calm down! That's cool, man," Nico smiled. Seth looked down. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's just… I don't think John would look at me in the same light. I'm pretty sure he's interested in girls because I overheard him talk to you about Tigerlily. And besides, he's a kid and I'm some creepy Scottish guy in his early twenties. He might as well just call me a fucking pedophile," Seth looked down.
"Well seventeen compared to twenty three isn't all that bad of an age difference," Nico said. "Neither is sixteen to eighteen," he mumbled. "Right Wendy?" his cheeks flushed red. Wendy laughed it off a little, but tried to avoid saying anything further by gulping down some tea.
As Seth and Nico continued preparing meals for everyone and having conversations about their appreciation for John, both as a friend and as a secret admirer, Michael was as usual, in his own world, the twins Max and Jax were arguing, Chaddie was sleeping, and of course Peter and Wendy were just in their own little corner. "Do you want to go out today?" asked Peter. "Do you think maybe you're fine to walk?"
"As long as we don't go on a hike, I think I should be okay," Wendy smiled. "Why?" she asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
"Well, you're a girl and I know girls like girly things and there are a few girly things here on this island that you might be interested in. Plus, John's nowhere to be found and the boys are going out hunting later and I think for as long as I'm with you, nobody will be mistaking you for another damn deer," he laughed.
Wendy smiled and laughed lightly back. "Okay," she nodded. "Well if that's the case, I guess I have no choice but to hang around with you if I don't want to be shot in the other leg," she giggled. He nodded as he quickly chugged down the last of his soup and tea before getting up and placing it on the counter.
"Are you done?" he asked.
"Gee," Wendy sarcastically, yet jokingly, rolled her eyes as she looked down at her bowl. Peter's eyes followed and he laughed.
"Alright," Peter smirked. "Well as soon as you're ready, I'll just be outside waiting. I'll see you in a few," he picked up an apple from the counter and juggled it back and forth as he made his way outside.
He sat on a little wooden bench in front of his hut of a home as he bit into his apple and looked out into the distance. As he looked at the sea foam coloured sky, he instantly remembered Wendy's eyes, and as he stared at the raspberry-bush filled garden that sat before his home, he remembered the fiery shades of copper that scattered all throughout her hair. Many minutes passed by and Wendy soon made her way outside. She sat beside him on the empty side of the bench. "So where exactly are we going today?" she asked.
"A place," Peter said, his mouth filled with an apple. Wendy gulped a little, disgusted. "What?" he asked.
"I never eat with my mouth full," Wendy said.
"What?" asked Peter, raising an eyebrow.
Wendy shook her head, realizing what she had just said. "I meant I never talk with my mouth full. Sorry," she giggled lightly, looking down with shyness.
Peter smirked as he finished the last of his apple and simply threw it far enough to land into a little pond not too far away from the hut. He stood up and dusted off his pants. He held out his hand for her. "Ready to go?" he asked, and just as Wendy was about to entwine her fingers with his, he simply gave her a friendly high five as he trotted off as a signal for her to follow him.
Wendy followed after him and soon enough, the two of them ended up on the opposite side of the island. Their bare feet dragged across the white sand on the beach they were on, and every now and then would the shore crash against their ankles. The salty scent of the ocean breeze filled the air and seagulls were singing. "This is a beautiful place Peter," Wendy commented.
"Yeah, it's alright," Peter shrugged it off as he made his way to the edge of a dock on the bay. He dipped his feet into the water and splashed them around. "Sit down," he called her over, and so she followed. She didn't put her feet in, but instead sat cross-legged. "You afraid of water, Wendy Darling?" he asked with a teasing wink.
"No," Wendy shook her head. "Just… not clean water," she gulped as she looked down to find that the water Peter's feet were in was a murky green colour, and underneath were bunches and bunches of kelp. At the bottom of the water were a few bones of fishes and unwanted things, like bronze spoons, medals, and even old sandwiches.
Peter shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said. "But you know, when it all boils down to the last day of your life, you either say you once dipped your feet in an ocean filled with shit, or you were too big of a coward to walk barefoot in the dirt," he smiled. "What sounds more adventurous to you?"
"Doing neither and coming here and escaping my nagging parents," Wendy joked.
Peter laughed.
"I can kind of read people," Wendy gulped nervously. "And I know you must have been uncomfortable when everyone was talking about family earlier," she sighed. "And you don't have to tell me. But if you ever do need to tell anyone, I think I'm good at keeping quiet so you can always tell me. Besides, things always get worse if you don't let them out."
"I'll let you in on the story if you put your feet in the water," Peter smiled. "Like you said, things get worse if you don't let them out. You're missing out on hundreds of fish eating away the dead skin cells at the bottom of your feet, Wendy Darling," he laughed.
Wendy bit her lip as she thought it over. Soon enough, she slowly but surely, dipped her legs into the cold water before her. She splashed them around and giggled, as if she was a child again. "I don't even like beaches to be honest."
"But you're smiling. So I'm thinking you like them now," he winked.
"I guess so," Wendy replied.
"It's nice to enjoy the little things. Even if sometimes they're odd," Peter said as he looked off into the day sky, past the ocean, admiring the other little islands that sat alone in the distance. One of them was the infamous Skull Rock, a place that Peter didn't give much thought to. It wasn't that he didn't like that island, but it was simply that he didn't want to remember it.
"So I've let go. Now it's your turn," Wendy smiled.
"Um," Peter looked down. He swallowed his pride and was preparing to talk about his family, when suddenly, he saw something in the distance. "Hey, look!" he pointed at it, happy that now there was a distraction to drive them off topic. A violet-coloured tail with fins splashed up and down like a dolphin. As the little tail got closer, Wendy noticed that it wasn't like any other sea creature. The upper half of the creature was that of a young woman, and her hair was long, wavy, wet and mint green.
The young woman, who was outstandingly beautiful, made her way to a large rock that was just before the dock that Peter and Wendy were on. Her breasts were covered by her long hair. "Good morning Peter," she swooned, giving him a flirtatious wave.
"Hello," Peter waved.
"Who's this?" asked Wendy, her tone slightly snotty.
"Mermaid number one," Peter smiled at her.
The mermaid smiled at Wendy and just then, her eyes glowed a luminous shade of silver. "Hello there. Do you want to go for a swim?" she asked. Wendy reached her hand out for her as the mermaid got of the rock and slowly swam over. Peter gulped as he observed the two young women before him, both beautiful. As the mermaid got closer to Wendy, her smile grew from being calm to being more sinister, though Wendy didn't seem to notice.
She reached out her hand for Wendy's as her nails somehow grew longer and more dagger-like. Peter quickly got out of the water as he grabbed Wendy's hand and ran off the dock with her, bringing her onto the sand. A piercing shriek was heard just as the mermaid splashed back into the water and darted its way to Skull Rock. "What just happened?" asked Wendy, grasping her head as if she was light-headed.
"Mermaids are bitches," Peter shook his head. "One of them almost killed me."
"What do you mean?" asked Wendy.
"You don't want to know," Peter shook his head. "Are you okay?" he asked, putting a lock of hair behind her ear as he checked her for any bites and scratches.
She laughed lightly. "Yes, I'm fine, thanks. As far as I know, nothing attacked me. That mermaid… I just remember her reaching out for me, but I don't think she hurt me," Wendy said.
"Good," Peter said. He relaxed a little as he sat before her on his knees. He looked into her eyes as the corner of his lips formed into a little smile. "You sounded a little jealous back there."
"What?" asked Wendy, embarrassed.
"When I said hi to her, you asked me who it was and you sounded a little jealous," he teased.
"I wasn't jealous," Wendy rolled her eyes. "She just didn't look very friendly so I was just trying to be conscious of my surroundings," Wendy gulped as she looked down.
"Yeah, well you're right about that. Mermaids aren't very friendly at all. And I don't want you getting hurt," Peter bit his lip.
"You don't?" asked Wendy, looking at him.
"Um, yeah," Peter nodded.
The two of them sat there in silence as they gazed down at each other's lips. Wendy slowly leaned in but just before she could even connect her lips to his, he simply got up and she almost lost balance and fell face-first into the sand. "Um, I should um… continue showing you around, I guess," he said. Embarrassed, Wendy's cheeks flushed beet red as she got up and dusted sand off her skirt. She nodded as she followed Peter to their next destination.
Not too far away from them was Tinkerbell, hiding behind a tree in the forest behind the beach. Tears filled up her eyes as her wings slowly guided her to the ground. Fairies were known to be so small to only have one emotion at a time, and because of that, Tinkerbell was more than sad. She was unstable and vulnerable. Her body started trembling. Tinkerbell and Peter had known each other almost all their lives, and for all those days did Tinkerbell love him. However, seeing the way that Peter looked at Wendy was a way that he had never looked at her. Tinkerbell was hurt. She huddled herself into a corner against a little boulder as she embraced her legs and brought herself to an endless sob.