Author's Note: First off, thank you to sarah0406, MusicLover500, Hildebrant, and Dreamer-Girl96 for their reviews! I greatly appreciate it!

Secondly, in one part of this chapter Wendy is addressed by Grace as "Gwen." Consequently, when Grace's thoughts regarding Wendy are mentioned, she refers to her as "Gwen." So that's why there was a switch in the narration there (otherwise there would have been too many "she" and "her" pronouns that were ambiguous).

Enjoy!

~ladykikyo1792

Chapter 7: Neverland's

Wendy ran down the hallway as fast as she could. Rounding a corner, she spotted something next to the wall she thought could help- or at least save any of the other boys in the school: the fire alarm. Grimacing, she pulled her fist back, then smashed it through the glass. A few shards were stuck in her hand, but she ignored them and yanked the lever. At once, the whine of the alarm rang throughout the school. Sprinklers turned on, covering the halls with water. She could hear people in the cafeteria yelling and complaining about their books getting soaked. Still, slowly, they trickled out of the building and onto the grass, awaiting the Fire Department's arrival to investigate.

Struggling to catch her breath, Wendy followed. Numbly, she cradled one hand in the other. She stood on her tiptoes, gazing over the crowd, hoping against hope to spot Tootles. She found almost all of the others- Nibs, Slightly, and Curly among them -but not Tootles. Biting back a cry of frustration, she struggled not to scream.

"Gwen!"

Grace ran to catch up with her, "Oh my God, Gwen. What happened?" The stunned teenager looked at Wendy from her head to her toes. Her friend was drenched, brown hair laying flat across her shoulders. The blue blouse she'd worn was torn. Her eyes were red, and one hand was bleeding badly.

"Grace," Wendy said sadly, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Besides, if she told Grace, she had no doubt it would put her in danger. She figured Grace and Gretel were safe for now- they'd never played a game with Pan, unlike herself, the Lost Boys, and Tink -nor had they crossed him. They were neutrals, background figures who happened to surround her. So long as they didn't fight him, he'd most likely leave them alone.

"Try me," Grace folded her arms. She stared her down. While Grace looked angry, in reality, she was more concerned for her friend. The past week had put a huge strain on her. While dealing with murder had never been easy- let alone the murder of people you'd known for years -there was something more critical that had been affecting Gwen. It had changed her entirely, and she was breaking down right in front of Grace. Grace didn't understand why Gwen wouldn't tell her- perhaps she could help.

"Not if you want to stay alive," someone hissed. Wendy looked up in shock to see a livid Tink. The fairy grabbed Wendy's good arm and started tugging her away from the students, who gave them curious glances.

"Hey!" Grace yelled, "What do you think you're doing? Gwen's my friend, and you dropped out!" She strode after the two Neverlanders, face growing red. She was irate that Tinkerbell had just walked in, threatened her, and dragged Gwen away from the one person who- in Grace's mind -could help her.

"One," Tink said, "Her name is Wendy. Two, she had a life before she became your friend, and that life was far more dangerous than anything you ever had to deal with. Three, in that life, everyone who knew her- everyone who knew us -lived with death every day. You know nothing about her. And four, the only reason I dropped out was because I didn't want to deal with immature twits like you!" Then she spun around and left an open-mouthed Grace behind. As if pulled along by the tide, Wendy couldn't help but go with her.

"That was cruel," Wendy muttered. She meant to berate Tink, though the fairy didn't care.

"But necessary," Tink handed Wendy a handkerchief. The girl grimaced and accepted it, stemming the flow of blood from her wounds. The two walked for a while, pushing through confused students. Eventually, they were on the outskirts of the crowd, unnoticed by the teachers. While the students paid them a little attention- Tink hadn't been seen on the grounds in a while -they were still more concerned with their books. Tink stared at Wendy expectantly, as if waiting for a reaction. The girl was silent, and frustrated, the fairy commanded, "You have to stop pretending you're someone you're not! You aren't Gwen Carissima, ordinary, careless, girl-"

"Tink, stop-" Wendy pleaded, but Tink ignored her:

"-you are Wendy Darling, and you and I both know that anyone who tries to keep Wendy Darling away from Peter Pan dies." The words hung heavy between them, a truth neither could ignore.

Wendy sat on the edge of the lagoon. Giggling, she dipped her toes in the crystalline water, and splashed the boy who swam around in front of her. His eyes were a warm, chocolate brown. In the real world, his name had been Andrew, but like many Lost Boys who wanted to forget their pasts, he'd gained a nickname from Peter: Del. Peter hadn't wanted to call him that at first, but when Wendy had remarked his eyes looked like chocolate and suggested he be called "Delicious" (much to the other Boys' laughter), Peter had both humored her and made Del a joke to the other boys. Still, Del had quickly gained a camaraderie with the Boys, and most had forgotten his silly full name. Wendy only remembered it sometimes, when he did sweet things for her.

She couldn't remember when it had started, exactly. One day he'd brought her blue flowers from a treetop she'd never been able to scale. She'd often mentioned how pretty she'd found the flowers, and as she hadn't been taught to fly yet, couldn't reach them herself. Another day Del had found tiny jewels left behind in a clearing where fairies had danced the night before. When Wendy asked why fairies had left jewels behind, Del had mentioned that they'd probably had such fun dancing they hadn't even noticed jewels fall off their dresses. A dubious Wendy had asked Tink later, and the fairy grudgingly confirmed it. Del took the jewels and made them into a tiny brooch, which she wore often. He'd also taught her to swim in this lagoon- which was the safest on the island (mermaids didn't like it because it was so shallow).

All that Wendy knew was suddenly, she'd started to blush when he was in her presence. Del grinned more broadly every time he spotted her. When Peter played his pipes, and the boys danced around the fires at night, Del began to dance with her instead of the other boys.

Neither noticed how angry Peter's eyes grew whenever he saw them together.

Today was a particularly warm day on the island. Most of the boys had begun a game of chase. A few others had hoped to run into the Indians who lived on the opposite side of the island. Peter had disappeared, as he sometimes did, and Del had suggested Wendy and he take advantage of the nice weather and the lagoon for her to practice swimming.

Wendy had yet to go in, but she was greatly enjoying splashing Del with the water.

"Wendy!" he yelled at her, "You need to practice!"

"I am," she laughed, the sound like tinkling bells.

"That," Del swam toward her, "does not look like practicing to me." His face was full of mischief.

"Of course it is," Wendy replied innocently, "I'm practicing splashing you!" Then she went at it again.

Del responded by wrapping his hands around her ankles and throwing her into the water. Wendy shrieked as she came up for air. Rubbing her eyes, she tried to clear her vision.

"Del!" she shouted, "Del! You are going to pay for that!" Even though she was "mad," she was still giggling. The water was a perfect temperature, as always, and the sand was warm and squishy beneath her feet. Her white nightgown billowed around her.

Abruptly, Wendy noticed he Del was nowhere to be found, "Del?" she called, hesitant at first. She whipped her head around, searching for his form. This wasn't like him. Even if he were planning to surprise her, he would have done it by now. Del, while an excellent swimmer, had never been able to hold his breath for very long.

Suddenly, she felt something grab her leg. She had only a moment to look down at the smiling face of a mermaid as the creature pulled her beneath the water. Wendy fought, clawing and scratching at the mermaid, but it was no use. The mermaid merely tightened her hold on the frightened girl and began to swim towards the darker waters of the ocean, her amethyst tail twinkling in the sunlight.

Wendy was certain she would die until she heard the mermaid screech underwater. A bit of blood floated before Wendy's eyes, and she found herself released. She floated aimlessly for a few seconds. Then strong arms fastened around her and carried her out of the lagoon's waters. There was a brief, dizzying, sensation of flying, and she fought to recover her senses.

"Wendy!" Peter smoothed the wet hair out of her face. His green eyes roved over hers, and he gently laid her beneath a palm tree. Dimly, Wendy could see the fronds waving above her.

"Wendy, are you all right?" Peter queried, checking her for injuries. His fingers danced over her, reassuring himself that she was unharmed. There were two blue bruises where the mermaid had clutched her, but nothing else.

"I'm- I'm okay," Wendy gasped, "but Del- he's still in there!" She coughed up water, and before she could say another word, Peter flew upwards and dove straight back into the lagoon. He didn't surface for a long time.

Just when Wendy thought that the mermaids had somehow, impossibly, tried to drown him too, Peter emerged. He held a mermaid by the hair, and was speaking furiously to her in their strange, clicking language. She hissed at him, but must have given him an answer, because he let her go. Quickly, she swam away, and Peter returned to the shore. He approached Wendy, a grave look on his face, and she immediately knew what he was going to say.

"No," she whispered, eyes filling with tears, "No!"

"I'm sorry, Wendy," the boy said. He knelt next to her, and wiped one stray tear off her cheek

"Why, Peter?" she demanded, "Why did they do it? They never swim here! They don't like it here! Why were they here? Why-"

"She said that he was stealing something," the boy replied simply. Then Wendy threw he arms around him, and he held her as she cried.

"Why, Tink?" Wendy demanded, "Why can't I be Gwen? What is so bad about that?" She didn't mean to sound as petulant as she did. It was just that she had thought for once, she could be happy, and there were no strings attached to her happiness. There were no tricks or traps left by a handsome boy. Affection came independent of pain. She could spend days with her heart whole, instead of it being cracked and pieced together with glimpses of love, and then having parts slip away no matter how hard she tried. She had seen that. She wanted that. Finally, she wanted to let go, because if she only tried, then Storybrooke had things to give her Neverland never could.

"Because you aren't Gwen," Tink insisted, "Neverland touched you, and just like the rest of us, you became Neverland's. The island claimed you. Peter claimed you. And we are the only ones who recognize him for the danger he is. If no one else will believe in him, we have to," the fairy said grimly, "and we have to fight back."

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear what you think!

~ladykikyo1792