AN - I finished! It is a new chapter for all of you to enjoy! And I think it is the longest one I have written to date! Amazing! I thank you all for hanging in there with me during this tough time. I just started my HSPA testing, so I most likely will have no time to write at all for this week. I feel bad. Hopefully this chapter will tie you all over! Thank yous are at the bottom.
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Shadows Reminisce
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Wendy and the Lost Boys ran almost in full sprints to the ironic safety of the Black Castle. The old, rusty gate creaked as they hurried into the dwelling from the Cliffside entrance. They all but threw themselves down near the gate wheel, each panting to regain their breath. Outside the rain continued to fall steadily, the soft sound echoing throughout the chamber.
Tootles turned his large brown eyes towards the gate. "I remember the last time it rained," he spoke thoughtfully. The others turned at his soft statement.
"Don't you remember?" he asked all, turning his head to glance at each person. He then nodded at one twin, and laughed. "Peter played a trick on him, using the fluorescent leaves to make himself glow all over. He flew through the tree house that night and pretended he was a ghost." The others laughed, remembering. Wendy smiled as she listened, for she enjoyed hearing stories as much as she enjoyed telling them. Tootles continued.
"Hah, the only problem was, he believed Peter." He turned and spoke to the twin, "You ran off crying hysterically, and Peter could not make you realize that he was really alive and just playing a trick on you. Peter washed off in the lagoon, crying because of what he had done. And outside, it rained."
The laughs died down, and the voices stopped. Each became lost in their own thoughts and memories. Wendy produced a tiny smile at the few but lovely memories she had of Peter and the Lost Boys. Curly spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Hey do you guys remember the time when Nibbs tricked all of us?" he asked jovially. The others waited for him to continue. "Peter brought home our favorite berries for dinner that night, you know, the ones that only grow once a month down at the south side of the island. Hah, so right before dinner, Nibbs came bursting through the door, holding his stomach, and told us that Hook was in the area…"
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"We need to stop him before he finds our tree house!" Nibbs gasped excitedly. Peter and the others sprang up from their seats at the table.
"Another adventure boys come on!" Curly called. There was a frenzy to gather weapons. They all turned to Nibbs, who was just standing there.
"Aren't you coming Nibbs?" Curly asked. Nibbs glanced nervously at Peter, then Curly.
"Oh. . .well. . .I um, I don't feel that well. I think I need to lie down. . ." he responded, not making eye contact with anyone as he crossed over to his bed of leaves. "You go on without me this time."
They all glanced around nervously, unsure, before reluctantly leaving the tree house. Once they all disappeared, Nibbs smiled slyly to himself, and went over to the table. He picked up a handful of berries and shoved them in his mouth, closing his eyes in delight.
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Curly smiled reminiscently, shaking his head.
"Nibbs certainly did pay for his trick. I don't think any of us has ever had such a stomachache. He was up all night!" Slightly nodded.
"Peter was fuming. We all know how much he hates it when we play tricks on him, especially when they work! He was ranting and raving the entire way home from the lagoon. It almost scared me; Nibbs was done for, for sure!"
Tootles continued.
"He completely deflated though when he saw how much pain Nibbs was in! It was almost surprising! He almost took it upon himself too, claiming that it was his fault for not seeing through the trick, and stopping Nibbs."
"Haha yea. . ." Curly followed. "Ah yea," the laughter died down somewhat. Curly sat back against the gate wheel. "Peter never did have the heart to punish Nibbs for anything."
An uncomfortable silence permeated the air after this last statement. Wendy glanced at all the downcast faces. She chuckled lightly and patted the nearest twin's shoulder.
"Peter never really had the heart to punish any of you. It was all pretense, a game he played as the role of your father. But you all know that he cares too much about you all to ever punish any of you for anything, no matter how naughty you were."
They all nodded, realizing the truth in her words. Curly stared thoughtfully at the rock floor between his knees.
"So Nibbs really is Peter's weakness. We all are."
No one responded. Each sat in silence, processing this new statement. Wendy sat back and rested her head against the stone wall, arms on her knees. The rain was pounding much harder now, the sound almost deafening when it echoed through the large dreary chamber. She quickly became lost in her own memories of Neverland, staring across the chamber at the large gargoyle hand. The choppy waters entering the castle cast blue lights across the walls that flickered and danced wildly. Wendy's eyes became unfocused; they lazily scanned the blurred walls before returning to the hand of the gargoyle. She watched the light bounce off the stone figure; she watched the shadows create crazy shapes across the walls; she watched the form inside the hand convulse with a soft sob, barely audible to her ears; she watched the waters crash against the platform leading to the hand. Her eyes quickly focused as she did a double take.
What form inside the hand? It had been empty but a few moments ago! Quickly she rose, and made her way across the castle, swiftly yet quietly descending the steps leading to the hand. Relief flooded through her, recognizing the form as Peter. She knelt next to his sleeping form, careful not to disturb him. Peter was curled on his left side, facing Wendy, with his legs curled so much, his knees almost touched his chest. One hand was hidden under his cheek, and his left arm was the pillow cushioning his head.
Wendy sat quietly, and watched him sleep. He looked so calm, so peaceful, she mused. And yet… her hand instinctively moved a lock of Peter's hair to the side, noticing the drying tear trails glistening on his face. Her heart went out to him, "the forever boy.1" He is so young she realized, gazing at his face, and he would always be young. Yet, for being so young, he had endured so much.
Children are supposed to just have fun. They are not supposed to care about anything. She stroked his cheek lightly. And Peter, in all his eternal youth, had been through more than any child could imagine. He appeared to be around 13 or 14 years old, and already, he took care of his lost boys, protected them, from Hook, fought Hook, and now was going through pain no one could imagine, much less understand.
The lost boys continued to talk in the other corner of the castle. Their voices were further than the sound could travel coherently, and so she was unable to understand them. One look told her everything was alright though. Wendy turned back to Peter.
Peter let out a muffled sob, tossing a bit in his sleep. His head began to toss back and forth, and he cried out brokenly, the soft sound piercing through Wendy. She had heard the lost boys talk of these before: Peter's dreams. No one knew what he dreamt, for he never remembered anything upon waking up. He cried out again, and thunder echoed harshly through the castle. Lightning struck, and the area was lit up brightly. Wendy winced at the unexpected light.
Peter was tossing more rapidly now, and the rain came down harder outside. He uncurled, using the extra leverage of his freed limbs to escape his nightmare.
Wendy calmly grasped his hand. Inwardly however, she was terrified; terrified of the unknown, what was happening.
"Shh. . .it's alright Peter, you're safe. . ." she cooed, hoping he would hear her somehow. The soft British accent was a stark contrast to the harsh cries and thunder she battled against. Her other hand gently stroked his forehead, and Peter unconsciously leaned into the touch. She looked at him puzzled. Was Peter glowing? She shook her head, shutting and reopening her eyes. There is was, a faint blue outline that circled his form. What was going on? She closed her eyes once more, and the light was gone when she opened them. She banished the thoughts, believing it to be a hallucination, and returning to her current task.
Wendy sat there for a while soothing Peter. Gradually his cries lessened, then stopped, as did the rain outside. He no longer tossed about, and blue skies shown outside once he was sleeping peacefully. The lost boys had stopped talking, watching Wendy with awe. Peter came to rest with Wendy's arm as his pillow, so Wendy, even if she wished to, could not leave without waking him. He just looked so peaceful, and she knew he needed as much rest as he could get.
Wendy leaned back against a finger of the claw and stared up at the gargoyle's face.
"Strange…" she mused, "the gargoyle looks like the crocodile…" she smiled. Peter sighed and turned his head slightly. Wendy glanced down at him, then back up at the gargoyle, the smile never leaving her face. Her eyes traveled over the contours of the stone; it was weathered and faded after so long being exposed to the elements. Surprisingly, there were few cracks large enough that she could see in the stone.
"Well, there is one…" she once again mused, trying to focus on a crack near the base, traveling towards the mouth. "Now that is quite peculiar…" she squinted, trying to get a better look from her position. "What…"
Peter sat up suddenly, eyes wide. He startled Wendy so much that a small squeak issued from her mouth, which turned into his name. The lost boys stopped talking and turned their heads up to them at the unexpected sound. Upon seeing Peter awake, they cheered, waiting for Peter and Wendy to come back down and join them. Wendy smiled also, but it faded as she watched Peter. He glanced about rapidly, a wild light in his eyes. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and he turned toward her suddenly. She recoiled slightly.
"Peter, is there something wrong?" she asked quietly. His shoulders slumped, and he seemed to relax a little. He ran a hand distractedly through his ruffled blonde locks. He looked up at the ceiling, and sighed, before looking back at Wendy. The lost boys followed their movements as they slowly made their way down to ground level. They excitedly circled around Peter, happy that he was with them and alright, but they also knew that there was something on his mind, so they waited expectantly.
Peter looked at each one of them in turn, a disturbed gleam in his eyes. He ran his hand through his hair again, and almost silently, whispered,
"I remembered my dream."
There was an oxymoronic uproar of shocked silence that greeted his statement. The lost boys' jaws all dropped. Wendy spoke up.
"Please Peter, if you do not mind, do tell." He looked at her sadly.
"That's the thing, I just don't understand it!" his voice rose, "and I just don't know what to make of it, but I know that it must be important! I have never remembered any of my dreams! I-" he stopped, mouth open, eyes wide, and stared at the wall behind them. The others turned quickly, but saw nothing there, so they turned back puzzled. Peter cast his eyes from the wall to Wendy, the baby blues shining with fright.
"Oh no…" he whispered. Wendy cocked her head to the side slightly.
"What is it Peter?" they watched. He looked at the twins this time, he attempted to speak, but a small choke came out. He swallowed and spoke once more.
"Not again…" Wendy and the others were officially puzzled, but questions fled, as Peter's eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell towards the wet stone they stood on.
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Just a little note 1.) That phrase, the forever boy, I did not come up with. It is the title of a fanfic story posted on "Panslash" a livejournal community, Authored by two people, koneko41 and isilrandir. I do not take credit for that phrase.
Anyway, I finally was able to post! With the new semester and my chemistry class, I haven't had much time to do any writing. I risk a lot when I attempt to write in class, but I do it anyway, so bit by bit I was able to get this one written! I am sorry it took so long! I really am! Ok, here are the thank yous. There are only a couple.
Pottersweetie – yes we will definitely go to Great Adventure, and we will find a way to get to Jeremy even with the cops chasing us and the dogs and everything. We will do it! Yes I was yelling at you to stop writing a review, because you needed to update yours! That's more important! ;)
Kaos – Loving the name! Thank you so much for your review. It totally made my day when I received it, and it made me work harder so I could get it up faster! I will try and work as fast as I can, so that all the chapters are posted ASAP!
I only had two reviews this time, but that's ok, because they still made my day. Thank you you two!
MLA
Shauna