Penny Pan the heir to neverland // Peter Pan

and counting...

                                                *************

Just over 3 months that's how long. 71 days, 5 hours, 2 minutes and counting. From the moment they met until now. Although that seemed like a short amount of time, they spent almost every moment together. Those 71 days were the best days of each of their lives. Darla found her person, the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

Darla and Peter were both young but they knew what they wanted. Darla could picture it in her mind. They would live a long life due to coming and going from Neverland, they would travel the world, they would have a family, Darla always wanted kids of her own even though the lost kids were a handful. Peter on the other hand didn't have a plan. He wanted to stay with Darla and make her happy. He wanted to have fun, because she showed him that fun was possible, that growing up and still having fun was an option. Leaving was something neither of them discussed. School had approached too fast and they still had so much they wanted to do, to discuss.

"When will you be back?" Her voice stayed soft and she couldn't look Peter in the eyes.

"I'll be back."

"When?" His vague answer irritated Darla.

"Look at me." She flickered her eyes up then back down. "Look at me," Peter said holding her face in his hands bringing her eyes to him.

"Don't go," she whimpered.

"I'll be back, I promise" Peter placed a soft kiss on her lips and turned her around nudging her to her classroom, she turned once to look at Peter her eyes watered with tears. Don't cry Peter thought, he wouldn't be able to leave if she cried. She turned back to the classroom door as people pushed past her and Peter, bags hitting him, hair whipping past him in high ponytails, and shoes clacking on the summer sidewalks. Darla was covered by people and Peter thought she had gone into her class.

"Bye Darla." Peter said quietly to the sky and turned to leave but arms wrapped around him and he twisted around, the arms belonged to Darla who was holding him tightly.

"Please-" Peter kissed her again because if she asked him to stay once more he would and he couldn't watch her grow up and move on with her life without Neverland, without him.

"I'll be back," he repeated in her ear, "now hurry up because you're going to be late." This time Peter walked away and didn't turn back. He couldn't turn back he couldn't see her face break as he left for who knows how long. Peter fought the urge to turn around as he made his way off the campus.

***********

"Well what happened Peter?"

"Where is she?"

"Is she coming back?"

"I made her a necklace out of rocks!"

"No, I made it, you took it from me!" They were already arguing, Darla would know what to say and how to say it.

The lost kids flooded him with questions which only made Peter feel more like a grownup. And he wanted more than anything to just be a kid again.

"How did it go Tink?" Peter moved to her and she fluttered up against his nose leaving specks of fairy dust twinkled over his face. "That good?" Peter tried to smile but he didn't feel like smiling, so he moved to the exile of his room.

"I'm tired from the journey," Peter said faking a yawn to them, "can I tell you of

Darla tomorrow?" They all complained and agreed "thanks" Peter said as he closed the door slumping back to the bed.

Peter lay in his bed starring up at the clouds as they passed. He really needed to fix that hole, another adult thing.

"Gah," Peter let out an exaggerated sigh and took out a notebook and pen. Darla used to write lists of things that needed to be done and how fast or important they were to get done. Peter started writing down things he needed to do in Neverland. He needed to do a lot of things he found as he started to write.

1. Fix the hole in his roof

2. Visit Darla

3. Make the fire pit deeper

4. Talk to Hook about land/ocean privileges.

5. Visit Darla

6. Make new treehouse

7. Get better beds

8. Figure out how to make lost kids stop arguing

9. Get Darla to come back

"PETER!" A gruff voice called and Peter threw his notes under the bed and tried to pretend he was sleeping. "PETER!" the voice called again and the small boy ran through the door. "PETER!" He screamed again and Peter peeled an eye open.

"Yes?" Peter questioned dully as he sat up and ran a hand through his short blonde hair.

"Didn't you hear me?" Max asked as he skipped up to Peter.

"I think all of Neverland heard you kid. What do you want?"

"Maddie wants Darla."

"So do I," Peter said quietly as he moved off his thin, hard bed, he missed her comfy pillow filled room as well.

"What?" Peter just shook his head, "She has been having nightmares and she misses Darla. I told her that Darla would come back and everything would be fine but..." Max looked to Peter for reassurance but Peter gave him no such look. "She is coming back, right Peter?"

What was Peter to say? He really, really liked Darla but she lived in the 'real world' and he well, he belonged in Neverland. Peter wanted her here with him and obviously the lost kids wanted her here as well but...

"She is in school, and I don't know when she will be able to come back."

"What?!" Maddie came running in and lunged against Peter "No," she bellowed holding onto his legs. "You have to get her back! I love her, Peter I love Darla, she was going to be my mother." Peter patted the little girls head trying to think of something that would comfort her, he really hated being a grownup.

"She is studying so she can be really smart and she can-"

"She already is really smart Peter," she moaned releasing him. "She is super smart and she should just come back!" She put her little hands on her little hips as Max pulled at the leaves in her hair and rubbed at the dirt on her face. "Please Peter," her round face starred up at him and he felt useless. He wanted to make her happy, he wanted to make all these kids happy but he couldn't give them what they wanted.

"She will be back, we just have to wait." Peter wanted them all to forget about Darla, she was just another Wendy. She had to grow up. She had to grow up.

"How long?"

"Yeah, how long do we have to wait?" Maddie said pushing Max's hand away from her.

"I don't know." Peter said truthfully and ushered them out the door.