Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update, being a college student, unfortunately, my studies come before fanfiction. Thanks so much for the pleasant reviews :) and even asking for an update actually does motivate me to write more :) Reviews are always welcome! Thanks for reading! Enjoy the next chapter!
Peter Pan, bored to tears by school, had the brilliant idea to leave in the middle of the day. It was right after lunch, he should have been attending his science class, but he had no motivation. He had excused himself to the restroom right before class and stayed until he heard the bell ring. He carefully exited the restroom, making sure no teachers or hall monitors were out and about.
As soon as he turned the corner he ran into Trish Lounger.
"Trish," said Peter, slightly annoyed.
Before Trish could say anything, Peter grabbed her wrist and pulled her down the hallway.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, not appreciating the gesture.
"If we stand around for too long, we'll get caught," explained Peter.
Despite her protests, Peter dragged her out one the back doors, knowing full well it would lock behind them. Trish finally escaped his grasp and tried to go back in the building, but in vain.
"Peter Pan!" she growled.
"You'll get in trouble if you try to get back in now, they'll catch you," said Peter to Trish, almost smugly.
"Why would you even do something like that?" demanded Trish, now nervous about breaking the rules.
"Because I have better things to be doing," said Peter mysteriously.
He turned and began to walk away from the school. Trish quickly followed, not wanting to be left alone.
"Peter, this is ridiculous. Maybe we should go back, we can't get into that much trouble," complained Trish.
"Oh, you sound like Jane in Neverland," retorted Peter.
Trish stopped for a moment.
"Neverland?" she echoed.
"That's right. My home. My paradise," described Peter.
His eyes lit up at the sound of the word.
"You-you've never been there," stated Trish uncertainly.
Peter's eyes danced and he smiled, but continued on his way. Trish, now curious, followed.
"I want to show you something," said Peter as he entered the streets of London.
"What is it?" asked Trish.
"It's a surprise."
"Peter, this is silly, we shouldn't be out in the middle of the day like this, people will know we're supposed to be in school."
"Trish, if you're so worried about leaving school, then why'd you follow me?"
"Don't be ridiculous," said Trish, as her cheeks colored, "You dragged me out."
"But you were waiting for me to come out of the bathroom, before, weren't you?" inquired Peter, knowing he was winning.
Trish said nothing, not trusting herself. Instead, she decided to focus her mind on the situation. Where was Peter taking her? Neverland? Could she really trust him?
"My father… he would not approve of me being here," said Trish finally.
"Cubby?" asked Peter slowly.
"He would be Mr. Lounger to you."
"I knew him as a child. You know a while back, before your father's time, I knew a boy named Tubby Ted, Cubby began to remind me more and more of Tubby as the years in Neverland went on," spoke Peter.
Trish shivered. Hearing Peter talk about her father, or even somebody he knew before her father, was very spooky indeed. But there was no way this was all true…
"Peter?"
"What is it?"
"You… you don't really believe you were in Neverland. I mean, really, it's quite implausible," rambled Trish.
"You don't believe me?"
Peter looked directly into Trish's eyes and she found she could not hold his gaze. She looked to the ground and formed fists with her hands, only to release them. Peter looked almost hurt, but in an instant he was back to normal.
"You'll believe me when I show you the surprise," said Peter.
"I'm not entirely sure I should continue to go with you anymore," replied Trish uneasily, "Like I said, my father, he wouldn't approve."
"What happened to Cubby? He loved going on adventures when he was younger, why would he stop you from having them?"
"Peter, I am supposed to be in school right now. I'm disobeying my parents by not being there, I'll get into huge trouble…"
"Trish, you're already out of there. You're going to be getting in trouble anyway… why not let it be worth the punishment?" reasoned Peter.
"Can we at least not attract attention to ourselves?" asked Trish, finally.
"Alright, fair enough. But follow me," replied Peter.
The two quickly made their way out of the busy section of their neighborhood and trotted towards the river. Trish nervously noticed a few adults looking at the kids suspiciously, but saying nothing. Peter at age 15 was the height of a full-grown man, and she herself was becoming a charming young lady. They weren't children anymore.
Finally, they arrived at the river and Peter led her downstream to an abandoned dock. To Trish's shock, an old-style ship was docked there, unattended. It looked as if it hadn't been touched in a few years, but otherwise not in bad condition.
"This is the Jolly Roger," said Peter triumphantly.
"Captain Hook's ship?" asked Trish automatically. She winced, realizing she shouldn't have let on that she understood his allusion.
"You-you know the stories of Neverland. I know you've mentioned it before, but you heard my stories. The ones about Peter Pan and Captain Hook," said Peter.
"Yes, my father told them to me as a child," replied Trish, "but they were about Peter Pan, not Peter Price."
"My real name is Peter Pan, you know that," defended Peter.
"You couldn't possibly be. I mean, really, you don't really believe that, do you?" she asked him.
Peter shrugged, but didn't say anything. Instead he went aboard the ship and expected Trish to follow. Trish, despite her better judgment, did.
Peter couldn't really believe he was Peter Pan. Did she believe it? Trish shook her head instantly. Her father disapproved of Peter anyway, perhaps he knew the boy was insane, believing he was part of some childhood story. But there was something about Peter, something Trish just couldn't stay away from. She hadn't been acting like herself all day, really. Peter must be a bad influence. Despite all this, Trish felt comfortable with him. She trusted him, perhaps more than anybody she had ever met. He was mysterious and fascinating, even if his imagination was a little overly active. She wished she knew him much better.
"This is where I had a sword-fight with Captain Hook," said Peter, showing Trish around the ship. Peter sounded extremely joyful to be showing somebody around this ship.
Trish simply nodded, lost in thought. This ship, admittedly, did seem an awful lot like what her father had described to her as a child.
"What happened to Captain Hook?" asked Trish suddenly.
Peter looked surprised at the question, but answered anyway.
"Captain Hook's crew abandoned him. I escaped from him and Mr. Smee. I'm not sure where they are now, but they're not in Neverland. Maybe they're working in London somewhere, I have no idea," admitted Peter.
"But Peter, don't you ever worry you'll encounter Hook again?"
"I could handle him. I haven't seen him in two years, I doubt I'll ever see him again," muttered Peter.
Trish nodded, and looked at the beautiful ship again. She could almost imagine Hook yelling orders to his bumbling first-mate as the pirate crew rolled their eyes and complained at the man's insanity. Was he really in London somewhere? The thought made Trish shiver.
"Well Peter, this is nice," began Trish, "but I really must be heading back. I can't miss school, even if I get in trouble for leaving for a bit, I have to go back."
"No, Trish, I still have one more thing to show you!" exclaimed Peter.
She looked him in the eyes and realized he desperately wanted her to stay. How could she possibly refuse?
"Oh, alright, what is it?" she asked.
Peter's eyes lit up and he climbed up one of the masts, despite Trish's gasps.
"I can still fly," yelled Peter.
"Peter… no! You can't possibly. Please come back down," said Trish, completely terrified.
Peter ignored her calls. He hadn't flown in a long time, but he just had to do it. He couldn't lose that ability, it reminded him so much of Neverland and of his childhood. He would never let it go. Trish was still yelling at him, but he ignored her. He was now near the top of the mast on a long piece of wood. He walked to the end of the wood, seeing water below him. Peter closed his eyes, thinking of his time in Neverland and trusting himself. He jumped.
For a moment, Peter felt as if he were flying, but as soon as he opened his eyes he began to plummet. To Trish's horror, Peter fell straight into the river and disappearing beneath the dark waters.
"Peter!" she yelled, terrified.
How could he be so stupid? Peter Pan was just a children's story, not who he was. After a moment of Peter not emerging from the water Trish, not knowing what else to do, jumped in after him. She dived down, but saw Peter had begun to swim to the surface. She followed him and the two emerged above the water.
"Peter, are you okay?" asked Trish, worried.
Peter didn't reply, but looked at her blankly. Although Peter was physically okay, his heart had broken. Being here in London, busy growing up, he had forgotten how to fly. Peter had forgotten his childhood. He was fighting tears.
"I'm fine," he finally managed, and swam to the shore.
The water was freezing and Trish quickly got out of the water and looked over Peter, now soaked, making sure there were no injuries. He sat, dejected, not paying any attention to her anymore. Trish shivered, now her dress plastered to her, and sat next to him.
"Peter, thank you for showing me the pirate ship," Trish said after a long silence.
Peter didn't look at her. He stood up and began to walk away. Trish frowned.
"My pleasure," called Peter over his shoulder.
Trish frowned, realizing she should go home. What would her father say about this? But she didn't care, or at least not really. She had had an adventure, something she'd wanted to have since she was a little girl. Something her father himself had inspired her to do after telling her of the adventures he himself had had with Peter Pan.
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"Peter Pan, what on earth happened to you?" asked Edmund Price as Peter walked in the front door.
School had let out only a few minutes ago, and Peter had mysteriously returned early, completely soaked.
"Nothing," said Peter darkly.
Edmund shrugged and Peter ran up to his room and quickly changed before Jane noticed. Alone in his room, Peter finally cried. Everything had been taken away from him as he lived in London. His voice had changed, the Lost Boys had grown up, he lost Tinker Bell… and now he couldn't fly. His memories from Neverland drifted through his mind and Peter felt he couldn't breathe. If he couldn't fly, then there was no way he would be able to go back to Neverland. For the first time in two years, Peter admitted defeat. And it hurt.
"Peter?" asked Jane, knocking on his door. Peter quickly wiped away his tears.
"Come in," he said.
"What happened? Edmund said you were soaked," said Jane, concerned.
"Oh, yeah, I fell in the river," said Peter. He didn't care that he was admitting he had skipped school.
"How?" asked Jane, befuddled by the boy's behavior.
"I don't want to talk about it," said Peter, standing up.
"Peter, is everything okay?" asked his adopted mother quietly.
Peter nodded quickly and exited his room, went downstairs and sat in the sitting room. Edmund, sitting reading a book, looked up and raised an eyebrow at the boy.
"Long day?" asked the older boy.
"Yeah."
"You know, considering the weather, I thought today would be an awful day to go for a swim," remarked Edmund.
Peter gave a half smile, but didn't respond. Although he trusted Edmund with everything, he knew it would hurt too much to admit what had happened.
Jane walked into the room and looked at the two boys skeptically.
"Do you boys want anything to eat?" she questioned.
"Oh yeah, definitely," said Edmund instantly.
Peter nodded.
"What do you want me to cook?" asked Jane.
"Something we've never had before," said Peter, suddenly.
"Yeah, something edible," muttered Edmund drily. He smiled at Jane's glare.
"No, I just, I want to try something new," explained Peter.
"Alright, then," said Jane, "I'll have to run to the grocery store, first, though."
Jane hurriedly through on her coat and left her boys alone in the house. Edmund looked at Peter as if he expected him to say something or other. Peter avoided his gaze, not really wanting to talk.
"I love you," said Edmund, suddenly, to his brother.
"Oh, I love you too," replied Peter, shocked at Edmund's remark.
Edmund and Peter looked at each other, unsure of what to say. At about the same instant they smiled, and began to laugh. Their laughter was short-lived, as there was a knock on the door.
"Answer it," ordered Edmund, not wanting to get up himself.
Peter scowled, but did as he was told. The boy didn't really listen much to anybody, but he usually listened to Edmund since Edmund rarely asked anything of him.
Peter opened the door, and to his shock Greg Hurle was staring at him, glaring.
"What do you want?" asked Peter, annoyed.
"Where were you and Trish during the afternoon?" demanded Greg.
"None of your business," said Peter, beginning to shut the door.
"Peter, if her father ever finds out that you were with her…" threatened Greg.
"Who's there?" asked Edmund from the living room.
"Nobody," said Peter, shutting the door and standing on the porch with Greg, "Look, Greg, you can't prove I was with her. If she wasn't in school it's her fault, not mine."
"She would never, ever skip school! She's a good girl, Peter," said Greg angrily.
"Yeah, she is a good girl," said Peter, suddenly smiling.
Greg's eyes widened and his jaw clenched.
"Stay away from her, or I will make sure you stay away from her," threatened Greg.
Peter rolled his eyes, but was irritated by Greg's request.
"Trish is her own person, Greg, she can spend her time how she pleases," retorted Peter.
"Watch it, Price."
"It's Pan. Peter Pan," argued Peter.
"Stay away," said Greg finally, leaving.
"Tell your father I said hi!" said Peter.
Greg turned around and punched Peter in the nose. Peter, immediately angered, struck back. Before they knew it, they were in a fist-fight. After a few moments, Edmund ran out from the house and broke them up.
"Alright fellas, take it easy. Violence doesn't solve anything. Go home, Greg," ordered Edmund.
Greg glared at Peter, but walked away, mostly because if he fought back Edmund and Peter would surely win.
"Thanks," muttered Peter, walking back inside.
"Peter, really, you shouldn't fight like that," said Edmund, dead serious.
"I don't want to talk about it, alright?"
"Very well," said Edmund, puzzled.
Peter ran back upstairs, away from his brother. Edmund scratched his head, confused. His work day was typically confusing enough without coming home to his brother suddenly getting into fights. Of course, Peter was only 15. Even if Peter believed he had grown up, he was really still just a boy.