Disclaimer:

I, Aslansphoenix declare that I do not own 'Peter Pan', Neverland or anything that you find familiar. Technically some of the characters did come from my head ... but I think they belong to Neverland just as much as any canon characters.

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Author's Note

Thank-you for your patience.

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"All Children Grow up Except One"

Everyone Knows about Neverland,
About the home of Peter Pan.

Second to the Right, and Straight on till Morning.
To the place between dreaming and awakening.

There are rules in Neverland
Rules that must be obeyed.

Boys forget much easier than Girls.
"No Girl can resist Peter Pan,
When he uses a specific voice."
One more thing, which is True ...
In Neverland, You learn all about You.

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Chapter Fourteen

Interacting with the Indian Warrior, also gave George two other things he had never experienced before – jealousy over a friend, and the decision to do what others considered to be something … stupid.

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George sat near Eliza and both scowled impressively. Though if George had paid any attention to Eliza, then he would have noticed that she kept pretending not to. Peter Pan's crew had been invited to a party of sorts at the Indian Camp, to celebrate and relax before The Warrior Games; a grand event the following day. There was a delicious feast and engaging stories, and Margaret had even sung for them; blushing due to the size of her audience, but as with everything, she sang with grace and dignity. And now most people were dancing merrily.

George and Eliza did not. Not so unusual for Eliza who wasn't a fan of the wild, free-styled dancing that the Lost Boys and Indians usually favoured, but it was very odd for George. George was a terrible dancer (As Scruff kept teasing and pointing out), but in the past that had never stopped him from getting up and having fun. Tonight though; George was sulking.

During the feast, Peter had been sat opposite the Indian Chief, in-between the Tigerlily and Mother-Margaret. George had ignored the food fight that broke out and kept trying listen to Tigerlily's stories; he wanted to know everything about the fierce beauty. (Who cared if the other Lost Boys thought he had cracked?)

George had mixed feelings about Eliza throughout the night, she always seemed to have this strange need for Peter's attention. On the one hand – George was annoyed by her constantly interrupting Tigerlily's stories, but on the other hand … it stopped Tigerlily from speaking only to Peter.

Peter Pan. The current source of George's sulkiness. Peter was of course the life of the party, he spoke with the 'most important people', he had the best seat for the performances, and he danced with everyone. Because everyone wanted to dance with Peter … Including Tigerlily who seemed to only have eyes for Peter!

George feelings were in turmoil. He had never felt negative towards Peter Pan before, had always him, feared him slightly – but in a way that made Peter seem all the more admirable and awesome. But as he watched Tigerlily smile her proud grin at the immortal boy, George felt his stomach twist with anger. Why couldn't he make the Princess smile like that?!

At first sitting near Eliza had been comforting – misery loves company and all that – but then she scoffed and made a comment that George felt was rather rude. Tigerlily ha laughed at whatever Peter had said, and Eliza scoffed and muttered to herself.

"I don't know why she's even bothering, anyone can tell that Peter's not interested. She's not even that pretty."

On that point George disagreed completely, and he was tempted to lash out at Eliza for her mean words, but Mother-Margaret had specifically asked for no fighting at this celebration. True she probably meant between the Lost Boys who enjoyed a bit of rough-housing, but the order still stood. So instead of snapping an insult, George stood and angrily stomped away from Eliza, who looked very confused.

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George sat on a tree trunk and grumbled to himself. He wasn't too proud to admit that he was sulking.

"George! There you are! Are you sulking?"

"No!"

But he may have been too proud to admit it to anyone else. Especially nosy young Angela who had obviously followed him. She giggled at his response and sat next to George on the log he had claimed. George scowled at her, and she just grinned in return and gazed at her cousin. George glanced away, Angela's gazes always unnerved him – he always felt she could see right to his very being.

Angela wore Neverland well.

Behind his not-sulking, George couldn't help but ponder the differences in the girls of Neverland. Eliza, always crisp and clean and oh so elegant; she never looked like she belonged to the wilderness of the Neverland jungles, or the many adventures they partook in. Mother-Margaret was interesting in that, she behaved as though Neverland was her home, but she was also quite clearly separated from the Island in a way that the boys couldn't understand.

Angela, however seemed to be as much a part of Neverland as the fairies did. She was cleaner than the Lost Boys (no matter how hard Mother-Margaret tried, the boys always managed to get dirty again), but she was still in the game as much as any of them, and often flitted around the Island, with great imagination and enjoyment.

George's thoughts then went back to they constantly seemed to be going – to Tigerlily. How proud and tall she stood, how fierce she fought, how the sunlight glinted in her dark hair … How; if Eliza was separate from the adventures, if Margaret was like Never-Rainbow, and if Angela seemed to be as much a part of Neverland as the fairies, then Tigerlily was a part of Island in the same way the trees were. Strong, powerful, constant, and – in George's opinion, less 'showy-off-ee' than the fairies.

George betrayed himself by showing a soft smile at the thought. Angela of course caught it, and he knew by the gleam in her eyes that she would figure out the truth. He turned as she started babbling about … something. Obviously trying to get him to spill his secrets. Well it wouldn't work!

Then Angela just had to mention Peter Pan, and George's couldn't help but speak his mind. "Why do all you girls go so … gaga over Peter Pan?"

Angela was nice enough not laugh, instead she shrugged "Because he's Peter Pan." As if that explained everything. George scowled "That's not an answer. I just don't get it; why do girls want to … to give Peter thimbles?" He used peter's terminology for a kiss; all the Lost Boys did, it avoided confusion.

"Why not … others …?"

"Aww, George you want to give a girl a thimble! Please tell me who?"

"What - No! … Maybe … Shut up!" Angela giggled and George continued speaking "I just don't understand why … someone … Like, maybe, the Princess Tigerlily, why she would even want to give Peter a thimble. That's all."

"Tigerlily? Oh George, you do aim high."

"I don't know how else to aim!*"

George grumbled slightly, realising that he had been caught. "Fine, I think Tigerlily is pretty, and skilled and better than any of us! There are you happy? I just don't get why she seems to want to pay attention to only Peter."

"Because he's Peter Pan. He's the hero, the heart-of-Neverland … it's just part of what is." Angela shifted closer, her eyes seemed wiser than her years, but her smile was a cheeky as could be. "It's part of who Peter is, she probably is impressed by his bravery. But even if Tigerlily does want to 'give peter a thimble', it doesn't mean she won't ever want to give anyone one else one."

That got George's attention. "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean – Eliza wants to thimble Peter-"

"She does?"

"- But remember she also wanted to thimble your friend Jack -"

"Who?"

" – And that other guy, what-his-name. Plus; I'm pretty sure that Maggie is in love with that boy from the school play she was in. So I'm sure that even if Tigerlily does want to 'thimble' Peter, then she may be able to want to 'thimble' other guys."

George, honestly had no idea about most of what Angela was saying. Alas, George's memory of his home was more a dream than what he sometimes pretended (it made Mother-Margaret sad when George couldn't seem to remember), but the last part gave George a jolt of hope. Maybe there was a way he could get Tigerlily's attention.

Angela continued speaking, getting lost in her own thoughts. "Although I don't understand why any girl would want to give a thimble to a boy, boys are gross."

"Even Peter?"

"Even Peter. I love him, but I'm not in love with him. That would be gross, not just because he's a boy, but also because he's my grandfather."

That temporarily brought George's mind to a stop … and a memory surfaced.

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"Maggie and I are so lucky to have five grandparents."... "Granddad Jack, Grandma Kala, Grandpa, Granny and Peter." Margaret opened her mouth and managed to splutter out one word "… Pan?!"

"Yeah." Angela's affirmative was slow and she looked around the group as if they were the ones that were saying something unusual.

Eliza placed her cup on the table, looking quite confused. "As in, the flying immortal boy from the stories that your grandmother tells?"

"That's him."

"Angie … Peter Pan is not our Grandfather."

"Yes he is. Don't any of you know how babies are born?"

… See when two people are in love they have to do a special spell, it usually takes place at a wedding. They give each other a small object that represents their true love, often it's a ring, not always. They have to promise to love each other for ever, and they exchange a True Love Kiss and dance. Then whenever they are ready to have a child, their love magically combines to form a seed in the Mother's belly, which will with time, grow into a new born baby."

George was amazed at how Angela was both accurate and inaccurate, and how sure she seemed of herself when she was speaking. Angela glanced around at her speechless family, and shrugged – as if she knew everything.

"And that's exactly what happened with Peter and Wendy. They exchanged 'kisses' symbols of their true love, they promised to believe in each other forever, they shared a 'Thimble' and they danced the fairy dance together. Then when Wendy was all grown-up and ready to have her own child; their love turned into Mummy."

"But weren't your Grandpa and Granny Wendy married before Aunt Jane was born, so if they did the 'ceremony' and were in love …?"

"Granny and Grandpa weren't in love though.

They got married because of society expectations; their marriage was just for show. Don't get me wrong; they loved each other a lot, but not like Peter and Wendy. Granny and Grandpa were each other's best friends, and they loved each other, but they weren't in love. Like – I love you all, but I'm not in love with any of you. And, it meant that Mummy had a grown-up Daddy to love her, which is something we all need. So Mummy got to have Grandpa who was her Daddy AND she got to have Peter Pan as her other Daddy. That means we have five grandparents, who all love us very much."

… "What seems gross?" "George thinks kissing boys is gross." "I understand that, boys are gross. What about girls though?"

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George let out a laugh "I almost forgot you once told us how babies are made." He also remembered that 'exchanging a "kiss" and a "thimble" with someone you were in love with; was not the actual way (though the real way eluded George's mind for the time being.) It wasn't the truth George knew, but did perhaps explained why Peter remembered Margaret and Angela more than the other children.

"Didn't you ask if girls could kiss girls?"

"Girls are pretty, boys are gross. Isn't that why you want Tigerlily's attention?"

"Not just because she's pretty! She's also fierce and strong and capable and smart and in charge and …"

"George Darling. You are adorable."

"I am not!"

"Yes you are. It's nice to see you thinking with your heart, rather than your head for once. Not that thinking with your head is a bad thing, but you always think with your head, so it's nice to have small change."

George blinked in confusion at Angela's words, she just continued grinned at him. "So when are you going to tell her?"

"Tell her?!"

"Yeah, George … you seem to really like Tigerlily, so you should tell her, maybe she'll return your affections, or at least give you chance."

"I couldn't just tell her! I'm not worthy of even talking to her!"

"Of course you are, you're awesome. Oooh you should make her a present. You've been working with Tink right? Learning how to tinker and build stuff, and you do good work, if you make Tigerlily a present, it'll get her attention."

"Get Tigerlily's attention ... That's it; you said she likes Peter bravery. If I could show that I am brave and strong, she might think I'm worth talking to just as much as Peter is. I know - The Warrior Games! If I compete then Tigerlily will see how dedicated I am to her. Yes! Thank-you Angela."

With that George headed off to start his planning. The Warrior Games were the reason for the Indian Party; a night of celebration, and relaxation before a day full of a series of physical competitions. All the best fighters would compete for glory. The Lost Boys had been invited to attend and even participate in the less intense games, but George now wanted to partake in the most extreme game – the Obstacle Course.

It was a brilliant plan. Peter, the Indian Chief and Tigerlily were going to be the judges. It was a brilliant plan, though George.

Angela didn't think so. "Wait! No! George! That's not what I said!"

End of Chapter Fourteen.

Author's Note:

Here this chapter ends.

*'A Knight's Tale' reference – Boom. Also something I do not own.

This is trying to show that even sensible people can do/think stupid things when they have a crush. And I agree with Angela – George is adorable.

I thank you all for your patience.

Date - Friday 3rd May 2019