After being knocked out, I had one of the best sleeps I've ever experienced. Every single moment was filled with some form of a dream or another. They were very, very bizarre dreams, but dreams nonetheless. For once, I even woke up feeling mildly refreshed, despite the monstrous headache that I'd received. It was fantastic, actually. Perhaps I should have taken sleeping pills when my mother offered to get me a prescription for some.
Unfortunately, not 5 minutes after waking up, I remembered the situation I'd dug myself into. I was still in Neverland, I was still not even close to finding Georgie or Cole, and I was tied to a tree trunk. This information successfully slaughtered my good mood. "God dammit," I groaned, wiggling uselessly in my bindings. Whoever tied them had been stupid enough to tie knots over my sleeves, leaving my wrists unmarred, thank the lord.
"You look like hell," croaked a familiar voice, and I glanced up to see Jacky bound to a tree several yards in front of me. If I looked like hell, she looked worse. Leaves were stuck into her dark hair, dirt coating her brown skin and off-white shirt. To top it all off, she was shivering like she'd just encountered a ghost. She'd clearly put up a fight, though – God knows I couldn't lift a finger to do anything.
I gave her another once-over, scrunching up my face, "You look worse, trust me."
Jacky nodded half-heartedly, "You're fucking lucky they knocked you out…" She spit off to the side, careful to get her saliva as close to the lost boy's tents as possible. "It was horrible." Her vague description seemed to be enough to send a violent shiver down her own back, but I was still in the dark.
"What was horrible?" I questioned after a moment, my voice laced with exasperation.
"The crying. The lost boys – they were crying, no, screaming all goddamn night," Jacky spat out, shriveling deeper into her bindings. I could see the angry red marks circling her thin wrists. She was definitely not as lucky as I was.
It didn't quite add up in my head, though. These lost boys seemed pretty hard-hearted to me. If this island was anything like I thought it was, though, then it was perfectly reasonable to cry yourself to sleep every night. I left the thought alone for the moment, a shadowy figure entering the corner of my vision. Neither Jacky, nor I turned to look at him, preferring to be stubborn little shits. It clearly didn't faze whoever this was, though.
"Ah, that's good news. Pan will be pleased to know you've finally woken up, girl," the boy halfway taunted, leaving just as quickly as he'd come. If he was off to get the freaky demon child, then I was going to try to knock myself out again.
As soon as he was out of hearing range, I turned my face skywards, "Please, lord, end my life. What did I do to deserve this?" Jacky snickered to herself at this, and I blatantly ignored the incessant little noise. We were going to die here, probably tied to trees, and neither of us had ever done anything momentous with our lives. Yeah – we went to Neverland. So what? Now we have to lie in the bed we've made.
"Glad that you could make it this time," a voice crowed in my ear, very nearly sending me into cardiac arrest. I wormed away from the voice, getting barely an inch or two from its source. Of course, it was our friendly neighborhood kidnapper, Peter Pan. He laughed – a surprisingly smooth laugh from such a wretched boy. "I'm offended that you don't want to be near me. How rude."
I silently cursed my dumb luck as he plopped himself directly next to me, once again invading my personal space. His chilling presence did nothing to help my headstrong façade, as a shiver wracked its way through my body involuntarily. It was suffocating just being around him.
I glanced Jacky's way, finding one of the most hate-filled glares I'd ever seen her give anyone. She was pissed. Let me reiterate – an angry Jacky was the worst kind of Jacky. Unfortunately for her, any kind of Peter Pan was significantly worse than Satan himself. The malicious boy was not affected by her rage in the least.
"I don't believe we've been properly introduced, girls," he remarked, his tone as conversational and welcoming as your sweet old grandma's, "I'm Peter Pan – though I'm sure you already knew that." The hint of malice in his voice did not go amiss, not for a second. He turned his head towards me, still not getting any of my attention in return, and chided, "You know, it's polite to give your name when others introduce themselves to you."
Bile rose in my throat, and I swallowed deeply, trying my best to ignore the aftertaste. Should I give him my name? Should I even bother hiding things from him?
Thankfully, Jacky spoke before I could manage a sentence, let alone look Pan in the eye, "Pick on someone your own size, Pan. I'm Jacky."
He turned his attention towards her, looking like he'd just been slapped. Clearly Peter didn't appreciate my poor friend's sass. "You'd do well to keep your mouth shut, girl. Wait your turn."
Don't get me wrong, this boy scared me to the core, but just listening to him belittle my friend made my blood boil. I directed my gaze to him, grinding out my name, "Its Melinda. My name is Melinda."
His expression went thoughtful for a moment, and then a malicious grin crossed his features, "Was that so hard, though?" Peter rose from my side, calling for a couple of his lost boys. He cast one more glance back towards Jacky and I, scoffing to himself. "These girls would do better if they were farther apart. Put that one somewhere else," he commanded, pointing flippantly towards my darker friend.
"It's not nice to point," I mumbled, too quietly for anyone else to hear, or at least I hoped it was too quiet for anyone else to hear.
The two boys unbound Jacky and began dragging her away, my partner in crime still kicking and screaming like her life depended on it – which, let's be fair, it probably did. In retrospect, though, Peter probably had it all figured out. In just the couple of minutes he'd spent with the two of us, he managed to work out our entire friendship. Jacky was my crutch. She balanced out all the negativity in my life. Likewise, I tried my best to keep her grounded. We were best friends – now that she was gone, I'd surely crumble.
"If the sun was God, I'd be covered in faith. If the ocean was the devil, I'd be covered in hate. I'm so west coast, it's a goddamn shame." – The Neighborhood: West Coast
AN: Yeahhhh, watch how the cookie crumbles. God, I hate all my characters apparently. I'm so sorry Jacky, Mel – forgive me. Everyone praise my longest-running fanfiction to date! I never manage to get past chapter two in a lot of things, actually. Thanks to Msballetdiva, my-beloved-monster, and theshadowwithinyoursoul for reviewing! Also, Jalix sounds better than Facky. Facky sounds like fake meat and Jalix sounds like a hybrid car. Much cooler. I feel fuckin' bad for whoever ends up with Peter. They must be made of iron or something… Hope you liked the chapter, guys! See you all tomorrow.