Amily was picked for hunting for dinner that night. A little nervous about shooting a living thing for the first time, she walked over to Pan for advice.
"Why don't we just 'wish up' our food?" she asked.
"Because that's no fun" well there's no arguing with that.
Amily had a few hours to kill before the hunting party left so she decided to get in some target practice in the shooting range away from the camp. It mostly consisted of straw targets and wooden dummies, but she needed all the practice that she could get.
Throughout the walk Amily decided to get some serious thought done on her current predicament. She knew she could never really let go of that part of her that over-thought anything. Just as much as she knew how she felt about a certain boy.
For days on end Pan haunted her dreams with that same charming smile and playful glint in his eyes. Thankfully, there was no burning villages or creepy voices in these dreams. Just the giddy feeling that followed. There was no denying it, she had fallen bad.
What would her mother say? Saying that she loved a boy she had just met less than two days ago! But, she supposed Pan was different. He had shown up in her dreams and directed her to this magical place. He was alluring and charismatic. And Amily couldn't help but love that dangerous side that he had, full of boyish mischief.
She giggled to herself as she imagined him holding her. Amily would happily die if those deep green eyes were the last thing she saw.
Reaching the shooting range she felt light. Neverland and Pan had the power to do that to her and she almost didn't doubt herself when it came to shooting. But when Amily noticed how uncoordinated she was when it came to nocking an arrow, that feeling faded.
She let the arrow fly and watched as it barely skimmed the edge of the target.
"Damn" Ma would swat her if she was caught using such language but with the next arrow she shot the thought vanished.
Amily loosed arrow after arrow but wasn't really paying attention. Her thoughts were running rampant. What would her family be doing right now? Had they given up searching or come to the conclusion that she had in fact run away? She thought about the earnest girl buying strawberries at the market for a father that she had already lost when he didn't get out of bed. For some foreign reason, the thought angered her yet amused her at the same time. That girl was gone, dead. In the short space of two days Amily had discovered who she really was.
With new-found fire she aggresively loosed another arrow. It was closer to the bullseye this time but not nearly as close as she wanted. If the target were an animal it'd be long gone by now.
"Would you like some help?" Amily whirled to find Pan leaning on a tree towards the edges of the shooting range. His arms were crossed.
"How long have you been standing there?" she asked curiosly.
"I've watched you shoot the last two arrows and noticed you might need some pointers" she looked over at the target for the last two arrows shot. She definitely could use some help. Amily nodded.
Pan stode over to her confidentally and she felt nervous. The last time the two of them had been together Amily's attempt at intimacy had failed miserably. Her cheeks felt hot and she was sure Pan noticed.
"First, you're standing wrong" he pointed to her feet which were right next to each other. Pan put his hands on Amily's shoulders and pushed.
"Relax everything. Breathe deeply" he ordered and she did.
"Now, move your feet so that they're as far apart as your shoulders" Amily did as told and turned to face the target.
She felt positive about Pan's advice and confident about the next shot...until Pan put his arms around her. Amily hoped that Pan wouldn't hear her give a little gasp. She could feel him breathe deeply against her.
"Hold your bow tightly with this hand" with one hand he directed her left hand to the handle and kept his on top of hers. It was surprisingly warm. Pan held her hand there firmly. His right hand was at her waist and Amily's heart was pounding.
"Nock your arrow" his voice was barely a whisper in her ear.
Trying to control her shaking hands and failing, Amily did so all with Pan's hand still at her waist and breath on her neck.
"Pull your drawstring back all while taking a deep breath" As she did, Pan took one too. Their torsos rose together. She held the bow steady, aiming for the bullseye.
"After you've shot, your hand should be near your ear" Pan took his hand from her waist and tucked an auburn lock behind her ear. Amily stifled a shiver.
"Release" it all happened in an instant but to Amily, time slowed. The arrow hit home and the breath that she had held the whole time escaped her. What an excellent feeling that followed! It was overwhelming.
"Oh! That felt wonderful!"she exclaimed and heard Pan chuckle.
Driven by excitement Amily slung her bow over her shoulder and jumped into Pan's arms. She could feel his hesitation but slowly he returned her embrace. She knew what she was doing was silly and out of character but she felt safe in Pan's arms. There was the oddest sense of security and she hugged him tighter.
"Thank you" she whispered. She broke the hug to look in Pan's eyes.
Amily wondered when the last time was when he had kissed a girl or had even been this close to one because he had the strangest look on his face, as if he was wondering why she had hugged him in the first place. She knew that then was the perfect moment. Her arms were wound around his neck and his hands were at her sides holding her gently but carefully. Amily could melt in his green-eyed gaze and knew that if she just leant in a bit further...
"We should go" Pan's mouth formed the words before Amily heard them.
There it was. The shove-off and it hit her hard. The quickly withdrew her hands and held her elbows. To anyone is would've looked like she was cold. What she really was, was embarassed.
"Right... okay then" Amily looked at the ground and closed her eyes. She would not cry, she couldn't!
She didn't know if it was her imagination when she felt a hand pull hers away from her elbow and interlace their fingers.
Amily looked up surprised and her heart gave a little jolt when she noticed that look of playful charm that Pan wore that she loved so much. Her hopes flew. Maybe all was not lost when it came to her and this Lost Boy.
"Come on. They don't need you in the hunting party. That was my idea anyway. Tonight you join me for a little surprise"
Amily grinned from ear to ear.
Nobody looked even suspicious as Amily returned on Pan's arm. It was almost like when she first arrived but only she knew how this moment was different. And she would never share why... not with anyone.
"Wait for me at your treehouse. Do you remember the way?" she struggled to speak as Pan looked down at her with that intense gaze. She mustered a nod.
Amily began to walk back but before she reached the outskirts of the camp she turned to get one last look at Pan. He was whispering something in Felix's ear and Amily couldn't help but be suspicious. But when both boys laughed like the brothers they were, she forgot about it. Pan was probably just getting someone to cover her shift on the hunt. She turned back to continue walking to the treehouse.
Thoughts of wishing up some better clothes for the evening plagued her and Amily reached the treehouse quicker than she expected.
She paced the room anxious about what this night could mean. Had she ever felt this way about someone before? Sure, there were boys back in her village but none of them had come even close to being as special as Pan was to her. In her mind, he really was the symbol of freedom.
Amily thought about what the night would involve and whether she should change clothes. If they were hiking she could stay as she was. But what if they were doing something else? Well, what else was there to do? All the questions made Amily's head ache. In her mind she thought up the perfect outfit. Knee-high boots, leather pants, brown belt and a loose white shirt.
Looking at herself in the mirror she could tell that this ensemble was what she imagined a pirate would look like and strangely enough it suited her. The belt made her waist look minuscule and the boots gave her a tough aura like she'd be quicker to pull a punch than a joke.
Minutes turned into hours and she fidgeted them by. She couldn't keep track of how many times she had switched from standing to sitting, from pacing to peering, from hoping to dreading and back again. But she didn't need to hear the creak of a ladder or the crunch of bark under foot to know that Pan was on the balcony. She just knew.
"Ready?" he asked before she could turn around.
"Where are we going?" Amily asked, eyeing him levelly.
"I told you, it's a surprise" Pan's eyebrow twitched as if he was challenging her. Amily walked confidently out onto the balcony.
With ease Pan floated into the air and hovered over the balcony railing to stare down at her.
"Go on. Climb up" it wasn't an order but a dare.
Amily didn't know what he wanted to do once she was on top of the railing but she would soon find out. Hauling herself up and onto it she stood up shakily and didn't dare look down.
"Very good. I didn't think you could do it" Pan was pushing her now, practically taunting her into doing something cowardly.
"Well I'm up here. Now what?" Amily hoped her nerves came across as cockiness.
"Jump" he said the word so plainly like he was ordering her to do something normal like speak or walk.
"You're insane" she said and knew how gutless she sounded. But there was no way she was going to jump from this height. She'd sink to the jungle floor faster than a rock in a pool.
Pan's voice turned sharp as though filled with adrenaline.
"Sanity is for the weak, Amily"
"Yes, that's what an insane person would say" she was aware that they were having an outrageous argument 30 feet off the ground but nothing would make her jump off this ledge. Nothing at all.
"Come on, I promise nothing bad will happen to you. Come on" He held out his hand for her to take and Amily grasped it tightly, mostly needing it for balance.
She dared a quick look at the ground and then at Pan. His face was a fierce wonder and Amily knew right then and there that this was the boy for her. A boy worth jumping for.
And that's exactly what she did.