Chapter 12: A Valley Girl in Neverland

True to his promice, Peter Pan watched over Amy, taking care of the Lost Children's mother with surprising diligence. And if he had to be away for some reason, Petra and the boys would be charged with the task until their leader returned.

Today, the children were playing on the beach with Marzi, and Petra, Amy, and Tiger looking on. Tiger was curled on a rock, napping away in the afternoon sun. Peter was away on a trip to the "real world", to bring back another Lost Child.

A crow overhead alerted them to the return of their leader, and whoever it was that he was bringing back. A moment later, Peter landed right in front of them, along with Tinker Bell, and a strange girl. Even stranger, Amy seemed to recognize their newest recruit.

"Barbi?" Amy blinked in surprise.

"Amy?" the girl blinked back. "Like, do you know this rad dude in green?"

"You know her?" Peter asked Amy in surprise.

"She's my cousin, Barbi Dell," Amy answered. "You flew all the way to the San Fernando Valley?"

"'San Fernando Valley'? So that's where I was! I thought it looked different!"

"Where were you going, Peter?" Amy asked.

"Well, I was going to Los Angeles. I thought I could find someone there that believed in magic and fairies and Neverland. But I couldn't find anyone there, so I headed north, and came to this valley with lots of houses in it."

"You tried to find a believer in LA? In Hollywood?"

"You mean that place with that really big sign made of giant letters?" he asked.

"Yeah. That's Hollywood. The land of movie-magic. I'm not surprised that you didn't find anyone that believed in real magic."

"Ohmigod, like it's really him?" Barbi exclaimed. "He was telling, like, the truth when he said that he was 'Peter Pan'?"

"Sure!" Amy grinned at her cousin. "If you didn't believe him, why did you come with him?"

"I didn't say that I didn't believe him. But, like, what am I suppose to think when this totally tubular pre-car dude comes flying --flying-- into my window and offers to take me someplace called, 'Neverland'?"

"The fact that he was flying didn't clue you in to something?" Amy asked, giving her cousin a cocky smile that she, herself, had gotten from Peter.

"I thought I was, like, dreaming, or something."

Peter scratched his head. He understood Amy's answers, but not Barbi's part of the conversation. Why was she saying "like" so much? And what did "tubular" and "pre-car" mean? "Dude", he deduced, must mean the same as "guy", or "male". But the rest of it, he was not so sure.

"I gotta warn you, cousin," Amy was saying. "Life here isn't going be like going to the Galleria. There's no malls, no cars, no beauty shops --so, no fills for your nails-- or any of the things you are used to. There's no microwave ovens, either. There's not even a gas stove. It's a fireplace with a kettle over it. And I expect everyone to pitch in. There's no phones, either, so you won't be able to call anyone..." Barbi looked at her cousin in horror.

"Like, you mean, we're totally roughing it? Like camping, or something?" the girl asked.

"Yep!" Amy smiled. "But I've been doing it for five years, now."

"'Five years!'" Barbi repeated, looking at her cousin in wonder and horror. "And you don't mind?"

"Why should I mind?" aksed her. "Come on, I'll show you the underground house."

"'Underground house'? Ohmigod, like, what are we --moles?"

"She's going to take awhile to get used to life in Neverland," Peter commented to Petra and the Lost Boys. They nodded their agreement as Peter lifted Marzi into his arms and followed the two girls.

*~*~*

As Peter thought, it was taking a long time for Barbi to become ingrained into life in Neverland. She did not seem to want to do any work that even looked like it would spoil her nails, or ruin her hair. They managed to find some little something for her to do, mainly, looking after Marzi while Amy was tending to meals and her other tasks.

Barbi was a little stunned when she found out where Amy slept.

"You, like, sleep with him?"

"Well, in his room. Mostly with Marzi. Peter's usually in his hammock. But if something happens, and Marzi is frieghtened or something, Peter will sleep on the other side of her on the bed with us. But Marzi is always between us. We know our limits, Barbi."

"I should, like, hope so," the other girl commented. She shared Petra's room with the eternal girl.

If Barbi thought living with Peter Pan would be --interesting-- just wait until she met Captain Hook and the pirates!

*~*~*

They were at the beach again, pretending to dig for buried treasure. Of course, when they were finished, they would fill the hole back in, but for the moment, the boys were digging like crazy, attempting to find some kind of treasure that might be hidden beneath the sand. Usually, when they played this game, they would find nothing. On occation, however, they would find some trinket or some little something.

Barbi sat on a rock, filing her nails with a file from her "Emergency Nail Kit". She still wore her pink mini-skirt, pink and white tank top, white leotard, pink headband, and pink ballet flats. Peter had not told her that there was a beach (maybe she was suppose to assume that, since Neverland was an island...), so she had left her swimsuit behind.

"Actually," Amy was telling Peter, "the Valley Girl craze has pretty much gone the way of the vinyl record. It started in the 1980's, and has since lost favor. Apparently, Barbi loved the culture so much, she never let it go."

"It's not a culture that could survive here in Neverland," Peter replied, his arms crossed.

"Are you going to take her back?" Petra asked.

"If she asks to go back, yes. I won't make her leave, and I won't keep her here, either. I'll let her decide."

While they were talking, Captain Hook and his pirates were creeping through the underbrush of the woods surrounding the beach. He knew that Pan and his band liked to play treasure hunt, whether on the beach, or otherwise. And there they were, along with their "mother", and even a new girl. Capturing the lot would be as easy as walking the plank. SLowly, carefully, the pirates crept into position, ready to strike.

Back at the beach, the boys actually found something. It was a small, golden statue, and looked like it was Eqyptian in origin. The children gathered around, looking at the small statue.

"Looks like it's Isis, the Egyptian goddess of magic and motherhood," Amy said. "She was the wife of Osiris, the ruler of the Egyptian land of the dead, and mother to Horus, the falcon-headed god. A very important goddess in anchient Egypt."

"Wow!" Cubby let his mouth remain open as he gazed at the little doll-like golden form.

"What'll we do with it, Peter?" Nibs asked. He looked up at his leader, who stood between him and Amy.

"You could give it to us," a voice suggested. The children turned to look, only to find Captain Hook and the pirates surrounding them, their weapons drawn. Lightning fast, Peter drew his own dagger.

"Feeling a little bit of de-ja vu, Pan?" Hook asked. "Ah, but de-ja vu is the illusion that you've been somewhere before, or experienced a certain thing before, and if I recall, I have had you surrounded like this before. You and your little 'girlfriend'." He meant, of course, Amy. Both boy and girl blushed, feeling a little uncomfortable. Or maybe it was the way Hook was saying it that embarressed Peter and Amy.

S/he is my boy/girlfriend! they told themselves, unaware that they were thinking pretty much the same thought.

"Like, what kind of groady to the max skanky geek is this?" Barbi asked, staring at Captain Hook.

"Wwwhhaattt????" Hook's eyes widened as he shifted his attention to the pink and white-clad girl.

"Like, I'm shurr!" Barbi chomped on a wad of gum she was chewing on. "Like, bag the tude, dude! That look is like, soooo Joanie! I mean, like, check out the Galleria, why don'tcha?"

"What are you talking about?" Hook stared at the girl as if she was crazy. The pirates lowered their weapons in confusion.

"That's what I want to know," Peter added, just as confused as the pirates.

"Like, this jel is soooo lame."

Hook growled, getting the feeling that Barbi was insulting him. It did not help matters much that her language was totally out of his realm of understanding. He lifted his hook, ready to silence this odd-speaking female.

The hook was intercepted by Peter's dagger. By then, Petra had drawn her sword, and the Lost Boys had brought out their own weapons. Even Amy armed herself with one of the shovels the boys had been using to dig with. The bigger children formed a ring around Barbi and Marzi.

"What's the sitch with this slimeball?" Barbi asked.

"Barbi, meet Captain Hook of the pirate ship, Jolly Roger," Peter sighed. "Captain Hook, meet Barbi Dell from the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, United States of America."

"An American," sneered Hook. "I thought so."

"Excuse much, rude or anything?" Barbi responded.

Hook swung his sword at Peter, who blocked it easily with his dagger. The pirates closed in to attack the Lost Boys, who was ready with their weapons --wooden swords, slingshots, rubberband shooting toy guns, etc. Amy handed Barbi the shovel, and assumed a karate pose.

"What am I going to do with this?!" Barbi asked, holding the shovel at arm's length, as if it was something distainful.

"Fight with it," Amy answered. Without any weapons or martial arts skills, the shovel would be Barbi's best bet.

Barbi found that out when a pirate went for her. Still keeping the shovel at arm's length, she swung it at the pirate. The way she was holding it, there was little momentum. The pirate was knocked down, but not out. He was back up in a moment.

Barbi hit him again, this time with a little more force. The pirate was laid out flat on his stomach, his arms and legs spread out.

The fight only lasted several minutes, with the pirate retreating. Two pirates picked up the pirate Barbi had knocked out and dragged him back to the ship, leaving the children to celebrate their victory.

"Is everyone alright?" Dusty jingled. He was ready with a bag of Healing Dust, in case someone was injured.

"Looks like everyone is okay," Amy said, after checking the Lost Children.

"I'm not!" Barbi said. Dusty flew to her, only to see her looking at her nails.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, turning her attention to her cousin.

"I broke a nail!" Barbi huffed. The others just looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

After filling the hole back in, they returned home. The golden statue of Isis would be put among their treasures.

*~*~*

"Are you sure you want to go?" Amy asked Barbi. The Valley Girl was packing for the return trip home.

"I can't stay here!" Barbi insisted. "I don't belong in Neverland! My nails are broken --I think I may have one left-- and my hair looks like I stuck my finger in light socket! And I need new clothes, and a total trip to the Dermatologist. And I totally need a bikini wax. This just isn't the place for me."

"I said that I won't keep her here against her will," Peter said, leaning against the wall with crossed arms. "I never have."

"I'm going to miss having you here," Amy frowned. The Lost Boys were also wearing expressions of saddness. They begain sniffing, attempting to keep from crying.

"I'll miss everybody, too. But I belong back in the Valley. I'll be in high school this coming school year. Like it or not, I'm on the edge of growing up, and I need to keep going that way."

Peter's expression darknened when Barbi said the words, "growing up", but did not allow it to upset him. Deep inside his heart, he knew she was right. Amy would stay with him because she was still a good ways from the "edge of growing up", as Barbi put it. But Barbi was already using make-up, and worried about her nails, hair, clothes, etc. He would take her home.

"Ready?" he asked as she finished packing.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Barbi answered. She gave the Lost Children a final fairwell. Then, Tinker Bell sprinkled her with pixie dust, and she, Peter, and Tink flew out of the underground house.

*~*~*

It was hours later when Peter and Tink returned. The boys were already in bed, but some food had been left out for them on the table. They ate in silence, then when to their rooms to bed.

Amy and Marzi was already asleep. Peter smiled gently, then gave each a kiss good-night. Making sure they were still asleep, the eternal boy climbed into his hammock. Soon, he, too, was asleep.


Note: Yes, Barbi Dell is a play on Barbie Doll.

Next: Chapter 13: Snowbound! A strange snowstorm has hit Neverland. Where did all the snow come from? And how long will Neverland be covered in its blanket of white? It's up to Peter and the kids to find out.

Note: There really isn't any plot to this fic. Think of the whole thing like a T.V. show, and each chapter like one episode.