I abruptly sat up in the furs; scaring several of the boys away from me.

"Sorry. You must be the Lost Boys? Right? Lost Boys?"

They nodded with eagerness.

"Are you our new mother?" Said one.

"Yes! Are you?" Asked another.

"Have you come to tell us stories!"

I put my hands up, "Wait…wait. Mother? Stories? Where's Peter? I want to talk to him."

The boys looked to each other. "Peter is not here."

"Nope, he's out scouting for the Captain."

"The Captain?" I asked as if this could get any weirder.

"Yes! Father's mortal enemy!" They all shouted.

"Father?"

A smaller boy wearing a raccoon pelt approached me. "Peter is our father. And now you are our mother!"

I bugged my eyes I couldn't believe what they were saying to me.

"You guys say he's out looking for the Capitan? Who is this Captain?"

"Hook of course!" They all shouted.

They all nodded their bushy heads. Oh, yea. That's right. Peter Pan's enemy. Pursing my lips, I too nodded my head and rose. I was determined to find the one who dumped me here alone with these kids and get the Hell out of here. The cave/hideout I was in resembled a hut from the Arthurian legends. A huge heart fire-place roared cooking delicious smelling soup. Cracking my back, I walked over to the many weapons arraigned along the southern wall. They ranged from ancient all the way to modern. I think I even spotted an AK-47.

"Damn. What are all these for? You guys preparing for a war?"

"You never know when you might need to attack."

I whirled around to face that lovely voice. Peter stood in the doorway, clutching two sacks of what appeared to be full of food and…clothes?

"Eat up boys! I've hit the mother-load! Hook didn't know what hit him! Hahahaha!"

A rush of whoops and cheers filled the hideout. Boys ran to grab at the sack containing the food, tearing it to shreds and fighting over the contents. Peter looked at them endearingly, like a doting parent, then set those haunting green eyes on mine. In the firelight, the shadows danced ethereally across his face. Those high cheekbones, perfect lips, they took the appearance of the creature he was. His eyes glittered with whirling emotion as he neared. It's difficult to describe something that is not human, yet shares it's façade. Peter was beautiful. My heart sped up as I watched his auburn hair absorb the light, turning into flames.

"You look well. I brought you something." He said with a child's insinuation.

He tossed the heavy sack over to me, its weight taking me down with it.

"Jebus! What's in here?" I asked winded.

Peter smirked down at me. He looked like an adult then, rather than a 15-16 year old. I had deduced to not succumb to his ways for he was clearly much, much older. If I had to guess, after what I had been through and since he wasn't just some character in a book you found on the required reading lists, Peter must be several hundreds of years old. His eyes showed everything to me. Peter had seen years of death, loss, loneliness, and sadness. How could you not, being forced to stay young for eternity.

"Stuff... Girl stuff."

I snorted and opened the sack.

"Oh, wow!" I was welcomed by beautiful silks, satins, and chiffon.

I pulled out a cute little blue number. It was the perfect size for me! Which would be nice. I was still in my pj's. The light pink tank-top and baggy pants were dirty and smelled like musty fur. I loved how the fabric shone in my hands. Peter came over to me and knelt beside me, taking the hem of the blue dress between his long fingers.

"It's nice isn't it? Such a pretty color right?"

"Yes it is. I can't wait to try it on."

I smiled and looked over at him. I immediately felt the heat rise in my cheeks. He was so close to me. I saw his sharp jaw clench as he swallowed.

"You might need help with the lacings."

His breath came is warm gusts on my lips. I clenched the dress, wrinkling the fabric. His hand covered mine, squeezing my fingers.

"Stop, you'll ruin the dress. It took much for me to snatch it from Hook."

"Why would Hook have a dress?"

Peter chuckled, "it was his mothers. A long time ago."

I blinked. "You stole his mother's clothes?"

The green eyed imp flashed me his customary grin.

"Wow! You look lovely mother!" The boys said.

I did look good in the colonial-esque blue gown. It clung to my waist and shifted over my feet.

"Thank you!" I said tugging one of the sleeves.

The boys rallied around me asking me for stories and hugs. I wasn't a huge fan of kids, but these boys were too cute! So, we settled by the fire, our stomachs full of hot soup, and I told them adventure stories. I told them the SparkNote version of Gone With the Wind. They loved it. Some even got up to reenact the scenes between Rhett and Scarlet, as a joke of course. I laughed, they were too funny. Peter lounged a bit away in a chair that resembled a make-shift throne. It was built out of antlers and fur. And he just stared at me. Resting his chin in his hand, his lean leg casually thrown of the arm, the auburn haired boy watched me like an animal. It sent cold chills to slither up my spine. I tried to glance at him. I couldn't deny that he was handsome sitting there watching me so intensely. That grin, that sly pseudointellectual grin adorned his elvish face yet again. Then, as quickly as the smile came, it faded and Peter clapped his hands twice.

"Ok guys. Time for bed. Mother is tired."

"Awwwwwwww, c'mon Peter!"

"Yeah. Please father?"

My eyebrow twitched. I'm not gonna get used to this mother/father crap. But it was true, I was tired. Hey so would you after being hijacked from your comfy home and taken to this dump, prolly in another universe.

"Peter is right. Time for bed. I will finish it tomorrow ok?"

The boys groaned, but retired nonetheless. I gave each of them a kiss on the forehead and tucked them into their furs. I made sure the last one was sound asleep before I questioned Peter.

"My room? I have a room? What happened to taking me home after I tried Neverland?"

Peter shrugged, "Do you not like Neverland? You haven't even seen half of it yet."

I growled, clenching my teeth. "I never said that I didn't like it!"

"Then you don't have to go home yet!" He smiled.

I deadpanned. The little squid totally used my words against me!

Peter reached up and clasped his hands behind his head. "You can sleep there by the fireplace if you want. The only thing with that is you'll have to keep stoking it, it's a dirty job. Not a good one for a girl. I was going to offer you a room. With a bed, and a quilt, and a roof open to the sky…"

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Oh good Lord. Just the way you said that you reminded me of my ex-boyfriend. Fine I'll take the room. I could use a good night's sleep anyway. Lead on Father."

I bowed at the waist, sweeping out my arm in a mocking gesture. Peter laughed and walked by me. I followed behind him, taking note of how much smoother his gate was than mine. I felt like an elephant and he a gazelle. I have to admit, and I'm not trying to be cougar-ish or anything, but he had such a cute butt.

We reached the room. It was a regular bachelor pad! There were dishes, clothes, and bits of food strewn all over the place. I wouldn't be surprised if the bed had mites in it.

"You've got to be kidding me?"

Peter slapped my back in a very guy way. "I knew you would like it."

"This place is disgusting! Look, there's food everywhere, there's weapons- is that a dead bird?"

The red-haired boy guffawed, "No! That's a fan I stole from the Jolly Rodger."

I went over to the bed and swiped away bread crumbs. Cringing as I sat, I was mildly surprised to find that the mattress was in fact a mattress.

"Huh, and here I half expected it to be straw and twine."

"Nope. Got rid of that stuff years ago. I …"

"What, let me guess. You came to my world and stole it from someone's house. Was that what you were looking for in my house? A mattress?"

Peter clucked his tongue, "You're half right. I took it from a mattress store."

I rolled my eyes at him. I sighed and flopped back onto clean pillows. The bed was comfortable, and the pillows cradled my head perfectly.

"Why am I here in the first place?" I said more to myself then my company.

"I told you. Because you still have your magic."

"If I had magical powers, trust me I'd be far away from my home. Like, I'd be in the tropics drinking a Mai-Tai, and being waited on by handsome men."

Peter chuckled lightly, "Not that kind of magic. You are a mere human. I mean your inner magic; a child's magic."

I closed my eyes. "I'm not following."

"You still believe in the Fae. There is a spark in you that still burns with belief in the impossible."

"Humpf! Yea, I guess. I loved to read about the fairy courts and Celtic and Welsh myths."

"But they aren't myths…and you know it."

I didn't respond because he was right. I stopped telling my friends I thought the Fae were real when they told me I needed to grow up. I figured that if the stories and legends were there, some truth must have been behind it. After years of not talking about it though, I felt that light in me go out, but Peter, a creature of magic and myth, saw that light.

"We will talk more in the days to come. Get some sleep now."

A good night's sleep. That was all I wanted. My eyes got heavy as sleep invaded me. Snuggling into the pillow, I curled onto my side. I was too tired to take the dress off, too tired to care that Peter hovered over me. The boy made not a sound, but I felt those eyes on me. I felt the heat of his breath in my ear, the faintest touch of his fingers on my cheek.

"I'm glad you came to Neverland. Sleep well, tomorrow your adventure begins."