I sat back down on my stump as the boys got resettled around the camp. Looking at the nature around me reminded me of the second half of the episode I was telling Alex and Colin. Even though I knew Weeping Angels weren't real, I would still always be paranoid of them randomly showing up out of nowhere.
The sound of a body plopping down next to me brought me out of my thoughts with a slight yelp from me. I looked up to see Jack who was laughing lightly at me, naturally.
"How was your little expedition?" I asked him as my heart rate came down.
"Oh, you know," he responded as if that explained everything. "I'm more interested in learning how you coaxed that much excitement out of Alex. He's the shyest kid in the entire group and he was clinging to you for dear life."
"I was telling him a story from my world. The answer is no, by the way," I told him.
"What do you mean, 'No'?" he asked.
"I figured you'd ask me to repeat the story to you, and the answer is no. The two of them asked enough questions in the middle of my retelling, and it took me 45 minutes to get even a third of the way through. You're not special enough to make me repeat the process," I joked.
He chuckled and turned away to look into the fire, the two of us falling into a comfortable silence. I had really only been on the island for about a day, but it felt nice to know that I might be forming a friendship with someone here. Speaking of being here… I glanced up to see Peter watching us with a blank expression, not even trying to hide his stare.
"Hey, Jack. Is there any particular reason we're under watch right now?" I asked him nodding my head in Peter's direction.
"Hm? Oh, sometimes he does that," Jack said like it was the most obvious fact. "The question is, why were you looking at him?"
"Maybe because the feeling of someone watching you for an extended amount of time is not the most comforting thing," I said.
"If you say so," he said shrugging his shoulders.
"Would you like to explain your implication there?" I asked with a roll of my eyes.
Jack just laughed, refusing to take the bait of making a comeback. Looking back, Pan was still staring at me. Take a picture, it'll last longer, I thought. So many of my jokes are wasted on this island. His concentration was finally broken by a few of the boys walking over to him to talk about something I couldn't hear from my place. He nodded in approval of whatever it was, and then I saw the boys leave into the bushes to get something. Not even a minute later, the boys came back carrying what looked to be a wild boar between them.
"Oh my God, what is that?" I asked, eyes fixed on the boys laying down the creature.
"Dinner," a new voice said behind me.
I jumped, spinning around to see Peter standing behind me barely constraining a laugh. "Was that completely necessary?" I asked sitting back down.
"I was satisfied with the results," he said as he took a seat next to Jack. The firelight reflected off his eyes making the laughter in them seem alive.
Sighing loudly, I rubbed my face into my hands. Does no one understand a rhetorical question around here or does Pan just like annoying me? I didn't really need to answer that myself, knowing the answer was the latter.
That's when I heard it. The sound of a knife being drawn and stuck into something soft. Glancing back toward the boar, I saw that one of the boys, Seriously, learn their names, sticking a knife into the boar beginning to skin it. NOPE, absolutely not, I thought turning around in my seat to face the forest, ignoring both the boys chuckling at my discomfort.
"Come on, Kim, it's not that bad," Jack tried to convince me. "I thought you didn't mind the sight of blood," Peter added, clearly referencing the pin prick.
"Blood and the inside of an animal are two very different things," I said in defense. "If this is going to last a long time, just let me know when it's time to eat." Closing my eyes, I rested my head on my hands. After shutting my eyes, I realized how exhausted I was from the morning of running and trekking and storytelling.
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was being nudged gently on the shoulder. Opening my eyes slowly, I noticed the large piece of meat on a tick being extended to me. "Thanks," I said turning to look at the person who gave it to me. I was surprised to find it was Pan giving me my share of dinner. Realizing who gave it to me, I looked questioningly between the food and Peter a few times. Who knows what he's done to it.
"Would you relax, there's nothing wrong with it," he said annoyed at my distrust. I glanced at Jack, who gave a small nod showing that Peter was telling the truth. "Really? You needed confirmation? I don't lie all the time."
"Emphasis on 'all,'" I said. He looked like he was going to get mad at me again until I took a bite of the food and gave him a smirk indicating that I was joking. At least partially, I thought. He clearly had too many secrets.
Smirking in satisfaction, he walked away toward another group of boys who had already started playing with swords again after finishing their food. I looked back to the fire finishing off my food, not completely aware of the fact that I was becoming more comfortable in this place.
