- Sigh, Miss Green. I am doing this without your help. You didn't even give in to blackmail. Excellent work!

Chapter Ten

The feeling of euphoria was unable to be ignored. My breath caught in my throat, and was determined to stay there. I had the uncontrollable urge to love the boy in front of me. Wait, no. I simply loved the boy in front of me. I stared directly at him, scrutinising every one of his features, trying to find an imperfection. I watched as he leaned unbearably close to my face, as though scanning it for something that couldn't be found. I watched as his eyes darted backwards and forwards, with his long eyelashes curling upwards, framing them beautifully. It seemed - as cliché as it was - that his eyes led directly to his soul. There was a smattering of freckles dusted over the bridge of his nose, and his hair sat messily on his head, the auburn colour contrasting his pale skin oh-too-perfectly.

Peter flew behind me, and I could feel his eyes boring into my back. He continued the 'examination' - for want of a better word - for a few more seconds, before turning to step directly in front of me. There was a slight furrow in his brow, a knot that gave away the confusion he was clearly trying to hide.

"What's the matter?" I questioned, inclining my head so it mirrored his.

"I'm not sure." He replied, still analysing my face. The crease in his forehead became more pronounced as he flew around me once more, until coming to rest in the same place as before. "You, it's just you." He muttered.

"Why? What's wrong with me?" I asked curiously.

"You just look different. It's…it's changed." He replied.

"What's changed?" I pressured, wanting to know what he was thinking. What could he think has changed? I was still me, I was still me.

"I'm not sure. It just feels different. Your eyes, they're greener, and they're sparkly." He said, raising one eyebrow.

"Sparkly?" Now I was confused. They hadn't knocked me out had they? Chucked some glitter in my eyes? "Is that bad?"

"Well, it only happens when -" He stopped. He looked utterly speechless.

"When?! When what?" I enquired, worried.

"When you never want to grow up." He whispered, sounding fairly anxious. "You see, Bea, the island is, well, me."

"Wow. Still overcoming your shyness, Peter?" I laughed.

"No, it's me. The island changes with my moods, where I am and…who I'm with."

"You mean, that, because I'm with you, the island is affecting me?" I asked, intrigued yet slightly apprehensive. How had it affected me? Was I going to be like this forever?

"No, I think it's you."

"Me? Why me? What have I done?"

"It's you being with me, Bea. The Neverland reacts to my emotions, my feelings and my thoughts. When I'm lonely, the weather is bad, the plants start to wilt and the waters are cold. Yet, when I'm with you, I have so many feelings at once. I'm happy when we fly, excited when I show you around, sad, when you go to sleep…" He trailed off.

"So why am I sparkly?" I questioned again.

"You know how you felt when you saw the Neverland from the Rolling Hill?" He asked, pausing to hear my answer.

"Yes, it was wonderful. Everything was so beautiful, bright and colourful." I replied.

"That was the first day you came here. The island hadn't been that alive for many years. It was you, Bea, you, who made the difference."

"But, I thought you controlled the island?"

"My feelings control the Neverland. And when I'm with you, they're so happy. I'm not sure what it is, you just change it all." He ended, still looking confused. "When you described the Neverland, beautiful, bright and colourful, that's when I knew it was you who was changing it."

"How?" I asked, just as confused as he was.

"Because that's you. Bright, colourful, and beautiful." He finished, his eyes still keeping mine. "I don't know what you've done, Bea. You've made me feel like I've never before. No matter what I try to do or think about, it always comes back to you."

I was unable to reply. My legs had buckled beneath me, and my brain had disconnected from the rest of my body. I was uncontrollably and immeasurably in love with him.