Song:
Friends ~ Band of Skulls

Wake up. Lay in bed, trying to decide if getting up is worth it. Look at the clock. Decide it's worth it. Get up. Have breakfast while trying to bear the antics of family. Retreat back to room. Star at closet, debating between dressing to impress or being lazy. Look at the clock again. Have mild panic set in. Grab a shirt and pair of jeans. Go to the bathroom. Stare at the mirror, debating if putting on makeup is worth it. Decide on eyeliner and mascara. Grab backpack. Run out the door. Run down street to corner. Catch breath. Wait for friends to arrive.

Always wait for friends to arrive. Always try hard to get there before friends do.

If I had to describe this in two words, they'd be "every morning". Every. Stinking. Morning. Of. My. Life. Honestly, it just gets so boring sometimes. What's that saying, 'stuck in a rut' or something? That's what it is. Just the same routine every day. But wait, there's more!

Friends arrive. Pretend to be happy. Smile, and start laughing with them, even though what they're talking about doesn't really matter. Walk to school together. Try to not focus on crush, who's the ex, who's dating one of the friends. Arrive at school. Be grateful to be shuffled into the crowds. It's harder to see them now. It's easier to shove them out, forget them. Find locker. Trudge off to class. Repeat for the next six hours. Final bell rings. Rush to locker, trying to stay ahead of crowds. Grab things. Run to front doors. Catch breath. Wait for friends to arrive.

Always wait for friends to arrive. Always try hard to get there before friends do.

My friends aren't really my friends. They're just acquaintances who I like slightly more than everyone else at this dump. There's my first friend from when I first moved here, her next-door neighbor, their neighbor from across the street, the neighbor from down my street (very far down the street), her best friend, and my ex/my crush/the only boy in the group. But we won't talk about that now. Why do I think they aren't really my friends? Well, I think I'm their friend, but I don't think they actually really care about me the way a friend should. And then there's my ex/crush. They all kinda hate me for that.

So why do I hang out with them? Well, that is an excellent question. That I don't have the answer to. I guess, really, if I have to waste time, I'd rather do it with people who at least somewhat like me.

So I have friends, but I don't. Make sense? No? Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up*.

So start paying attention.

Now, that past two years of my life have pretty much sucked. And it's mostly because of the twisted relationship I had with my ex, before he started dating one of my friends. Things in my life have been really dark. Like, really dark. (Don't tell anyone, but I've thought about suicide, like, four times, and that's just in the past few months alone). Don't get me wrong, I'm getting better now, really. At least, I think I'm getting better. I haven't had a major breakdown since the beginning of February. There was a mini one about two weeks ago, but I'm mostly improving. Really.

Anyway, enough background. You're not sticking around for that. So there the seven of us were, walking home from school like we do every day, laughing at teachers' quirks and the stupidity of the student body. One of us said goodbye, then broke off from the group, heading towards her house. I was the next to depart. I waved goodbye to my friends, then started crossing the street. I was about halfway across when, out of the corner of my eye, something black against the blue sky caught my eye.

It was never a particularly busy road. Every now and again a car would pass, but really, it didn't happen often. So it didn't occur to me that stopping in the middle of the road was a bad idea. But really, it was weird. At first I thought it might have been a bird, a raven or crow or something, but its shape was off, and it was too big for as far away as it was. So I turned and looked up, squinting to try to get a better look at it. It was flying too fast for a bird as well.

I was so entranced by the bird, I didn't notice that my friends hadn't gotten very far, and that they were screaming my name. I finally turned back towards them, then heard what they were screaming. "Move! Move!" What? "Get out of the way! It's coming!"

Then I saw something else out of the corner of my eye, but not from the direction of the bird-thing. I looked behind me, and then fully turned.

A car was coming down the street, driving far above the speed limit, barreling towards me.

Did you know that inside each of our bodies is a 'fight-or-flight' instinct, activated with lots of adrenaline? Yeah, you probably did. But did you know that the adrenaline reacts differently in males and females? For example, when a car comes hurtling at a guy, adrenaline actives and rushes through his bloodstream, and 'fight-or-flight' is initiated. Because men are built with a slightly larger stature than girls, (which just means they're more muscly than we are), the reaction they get is fight. So they move out of the way of the car.

Girls, on the other hand, get frozen. So, no, I didn't move away when the car tried to stop, but couldn't. It was too close. And I stood there like a frozen idiot, just waiting to get hit.

(Although, just between you and me, I really wouldn't have minded if I got hit by a car. Really. It would've been a mercy.)

I was able to look away as the car slammed into me. And man, did I feel that impact. I also heard my friends call out to me, just yelling my name over and over again. But I didn't feel the ground as soon as I should have, and wind was still blowing. I slowly peeked one eye opened.

So, remember that black thing from earlier? The one that distracted me long enough to get hit with a car? Yeah. It was carrying me. I opened both my eyes, and looked down at my friends. They had stopped shouting my name, just stared up in awe. I looked at the black thing, trying to understand what it actually was, as it flew me up and up.

I was human shaped, and black, but kind of see-through, like a shadow. And it's eyes - because it totally had eyes - were just bright purple glowing circles. Yes, it is as creepy as it sounds. The strangest thing, though, is that the thing looked so familiar to me. I thought back in my memory, went back a long, long time, to the last time I had encountered something like this.

While up and up we flew. Part of me wondered why I was still able to breathe. Seriously, isn't the atmosphere really thin way up there? There's not enough oxygen for me, right? How was I breathing? And then we were in space, and I was still breathing just fine. Personally, I blame the shadow. I think it had something to do with it. But this all seemed so familiar; I kept trying to think back, when did this happen last? Space, stars, shadows...

Then it hit me.

I thought - but - no - it couldn't be - could it?

I looked over my shoulder, and found a star. Not just any star, a very specific star. A star with a hidden island inside.

Neverland.

* Doctor Who quote/reference. Who got it? ;)

Also, it's not required, but highly recommended that you listen to the songs at the beginning of the chapter while you read through the chapter.

Thanks for reading! Review please!