Pan Never Fails

Pirates

    After a long hike back they were all tired and hungry. They had spent the day playing hide and find me, to give Y/N the chance to practice with her new cloak. She learned Devin really wasn't very good at hiding, but he was spirited.
    The group ate ravenously that night, laughing and talking through full mouths. They sang rowdy songs and played at throwing sticks into the ground or small stones for distance as the sun went down. They built a fire and sat around it. There was a feeling of familiarity in the stories told and the same jests repeated.
    The mood in the camp quieted down to watching the flames dance and repeat themselves. Y/N felt restlessly safe and warm in that place, surrounded by the lost boys and wrapped in her cloak marking her as one of them. "Now what?" She whispered to Devin.
    "That depends on what Peter says," he whispered back. Then, hopefully, he asked Peter, "Would you play your pipe for us?"
    Everyone looked at the green clad boy, quiet on his stone, watching the fire. They were silent watching his face. He smiled and the silence was broken by a cheer.
    Peter began to play and the boys danced, whooping and flipping around the fire to the sound of the pipe. Their stomping feet were like the beat of a drum, insisting its rhythm into her heartbeat. Y/N cheered and danced along.
    She made her way around the fire twice, just one body in the throng before she caught sight of Devin. He was watching the group from a safe distance. He danced with a look of boyish delight on his face. She smiled and offered a hand to him, "Would you like to dance Devin?"
He looked surprised before his ears turned red. He looked down and traced circles in the dirt with his foot.
    She rolled her eyes, grabbing his arm and laughing, "C'mon"
    She pulled him back into the circle of lost boys. She held his hands and spun him around. He tried to repeat the action but his arms weren't long enough to go over her head. Another boy took her hand before she fell backwards. She looked up to see Owen, one of the boys she'd met during her rest day.
    "Allow me," he said, smiling down at Devin.
    Devin went back to spinning and bouncing to the beat of his own drum and Y/N danced with Owen for a moment.
    He smiled as another boy tapped her shoulder and bowed low. "Your majesty," he said to his toes. When he came up grinning, Y/N saw it was Rufio.
    She continued like this for a while switching between boys and surprising herself by remembering their names. She laughed and tumbled, twirled and skipped. They made a tunnel out of their arms, taking turns running through and adding themselves to the end.
    It was not the same as the dance on the boat. On the boat Y/N was a young lady dancing with grown men. Here she was just a lost girl, enjoying the music and having fun with her new friends.
    She learned all kinds of new things, even finding herself bold enough to attempt a flip, like the ones Felix and Ian did. She leapt from one of the logs they used as seating around the fire, tucked and flipped forward. Her feet hit the ground with a thud before the sand shifted and they slipped out from under her. She landed on her back laughing and gasping.
    Ian offered her a hand and pulled her back to her feet. Out of her peripheral vision she could see Peter, still seated and playing his pipe. He was watching her curiously, his eyes catching the firelight.
    She dusted herself off and walked to him, offering a hand the same way she had with Devin. "Come dance with me."
    "Can't," he shrugged," Who would play the music?"
    She put her hands on her hips, head tilted to one side. "You can fly Peter Pan. I'm sure you can find a way to play the music and dance for a bit."
    He shook his head, "I told you, I can't. I don't know how to dance."
    "And I can fix that. If I can fight you can dance." She offered her hand to him again. He eyed it like a nervous animal, "C'mon Pan, let's play."
    Dramatically, he sighed and took the hand. She laughed triumphantly and pulled him into the throng.
    The music started again, slower now, and he fought against a smile. Y/N was too focused to notice. She guided one of his hands to her lower back and held the other, just the way her dad had taught her. She felt her throat tighten at the memory with a feeling that meant she could cry if she wanted to. She shook her head and laughed to trick away the sensation of sadness.
    "It's easy. Just step to the beat. Follow me. Step two, three. Step two, three."
    He held her tightly, hardly moving and staring intently at his feet. She gently squeezed his shoulder, "Relax, lost boy."
    He looked up and smiled in earnest.
    The two danced around the fire. It wasn't smooth or graceful. They stepped on each other's toes more than once, but Y/N felt lighter than air.
    A few boys copied Peter, being as subtle as they could without partners. He was their idol. Anything he was doing, they would too.
    The music began to speed up and Peter became more adventurous. With a mischievous glint in his eye he led her more confidently, spinning her and moving faster. His brow creased with concentration as he spun her around, catching her in a dip. The song came to an end as he helped her back to her feet.
    He bowed low, looking rather proud of himself. She curtsied, smiling just as widely.
    Their energy that night died out with the fire. They were all dead tired after such a long day. Everyone went about setting up bed rolls and hammocks with big smiles and heavy breaths.
    Y/N noted, everyone except Peter.
    Y/N curled into her blanket and sighed, looking up at the stars. Neverland truly was beautiful. She glanced over to see Peter still sitting by the fire and fiddling with his pipe. "Aren't you tired Peter?"
    "No." He caught her questioning look. "I don't need sleep."
    She shot him an even more questioning look.
    He sat his pipes down and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "The magic of this island is more than enough to keep me healthy and awake. It's where I get all the power I need."
    "And that's how you fly?"
    "Yes."
    "Could you teach me? Please?" She sighed wistfully, "It looks amazing."
    "Maybe I will." He chuckled, she was half asleep already but she seemed so eager to learn. "Later. Get some sleep. I'll keep watch."
    She fell asleep to slow, quiet pipe music and dreamt of flying.