Disclaimer: I do not own PJ Masks or any of its characters.

Three years ago

"What are we going to do with her? We can't take her with us."

"Maybe my parents can watch her."

"I don't know. She hardly knows them."

"Do you want to take her with us?"

"You know we can't."

"Then my parents are the only option."

"Fine."

Having heard enough, Laura backed away from the vent. Her parents didn't know that she could hear their conversation from the living room all the way in her bedroom. She walked over to her desk and sat down.

Her window was open and the tiny beat of wings made her look up at the moth beside her. Normally she'd be happy to see her only friend, but after hearing what her parents had planned for her, she couldn't bring herself to feel joyful.

"Oh, moth!" she sobbed. "I don't want to go live with people I don't know. What am I going to do?" She groaned and laid her head on her desk.

The moth whispered in her ear, and Laura lifted her head slowly. "That's… a great plan!" She hopped out of her chair. "Moth, I'm going to need your help."

The next morning, Laura's parents came to tell her that she was going to her grandparents. But instead of saying that she was going to stay with them like it sounded like what they meant, they told her they were going to visit them for the weekend.

Laura said nothing, and the next couple of days, her and her parents packed enough stuff to last them a few days. Still she remained silent. Finally the day that she was dreading came.

"Laura?" her mother asked softly as they put their things in the car. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

Laura only nodded, and her mother didn't push it. As they got into the car, Laura's moth friend hid so it wasn't left behind. Laura looked at it knowingly. They already went over the plan, and now all they had to do was wait for the right time.

An hour into the drive, they stopped at a store to get drinks and use the restroom.

As the car came to a stop, the moth flew out of its hiding place and sat down on her mother's lap. It took a couple seconds for the woman to notice, but then she jumped and screamed. She panicked and her husband tried to get the moth to fly out the window, neither parent noticing their child sneaking out of the car until the moth flew out the window to meet the child in her hiding place behind some trees.

By the time they noticed she was gone, it was too late to stop her. She was at a safe distance. Finally she found somewhere to hide for a while. Her parents seemed to give up after a few minutes of looking around which was halfway relieving and halfway hurtful. Once she was sure they were gone, she slowly left her hiding spot and tried to figure out where she was. She didn't have any idea of where to go now so she just started walking.

After a few hours of looking around the city she had found herself in, she was getting tired and hungry. The sun was going down and the air was beginning to get uncomfortably cold. Each breeze chilled her bones and each step felt like it might be the last that she was capable of but she didn't want to give up so she just kept trudging through the tall grass, down a road that seemed to go nowhere.

At the end of the road stood a seemingly abandoned house. She cautiously walked toward it, and hesitantly called out. There was no answer. With a sigh of relief, Laura entered the deserted building. She found a corner of the house that was sheltered from the wind. She didn't have a pillow or blanket, so she was still cold.

"Maybe running away was a bad idea," she murmured, shivering. She didn't know how to survive on her own. She was only five years old! But her parents tricked her. They could have told her that she was going to stay with her grandparents while they go off to do something they didn't want her to know about, but instead they lied to her and made it seem like they were just going for a visit, while really they were leaving her with people she didn't know.

Suddenly her attitude changed. She didn't care about her parents anymore because they obviously didn't care enough about her. They could have told her the truth, but they didn't. They betrayed her, and she hoped they were missing her.

Just then Laura's moth friend came through the window.

"Where have you been?" she demanded angrily, but really she was worried about losing the only friend in the whole wide world she had.

The moth flew to her and whispered in her ear. Laura's eyes widen. "Really? More moths?"

As she spoke, a swarm of nighttime flying insects surrounded her. "W-Where did you all come from?" she stammered.

Her first moth friend replied.

"Really? Just around the city? Hmm…" She thought for a moment. "I could use more company." Just then her stomach growled loudly. Embarrassed, Laura stammered," I guess I'm hungry."

The swarm of moths flew out the window, leaving Laura and her first moth friend. Finally, the other moths appeared again, carrying something which they placed in front of Laura.

"Berries?" Her stomach growled again and she snatched up the berries, throwing them in her mouth and swallowing. "Thank you, moths."

The moths flew in for a hug and Laura returned the gesture as best as she could.

"Aww, isn't that just adorable?"

Laura and her moths spun around to see a boy about her age looking through the window. Immediately Laura was alert and ready to run for it. But the boy seemed to sense this, for he said," It's okay. I'm nobody scary."

Laura still eyed him suspiciously. "Who are you?"

"Neil. And you?"

She was about to reply with her real name, then thought twice about it. If her parents are still looking for her, she couldn't risk putting her identity out there. She searched her thoughts for a suitable name.

The boy was looking impatient. "Come on, it's not a hard question. What is your name?" he repeated slowly like she was dumb.

Finally, it came to her. Ever since she was a tiny baby, she's been fascinated with the moon and everything about the night, and just recently her dad taught her a new word. "Luna," she said.

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