The First Lost Boy (Wattys 2017) ON HOLD

e i g h t

Five times the sun rose over Neverland during the next few days and each time Gwenevieve had been awake to watch it. Sleep was hard to do with her mind running in all different directions, she found herself tossing and turning each night. It was as if her body was subconsciously aware of the body that slept on the floor just a few feet away and she felt her nerve endings tingling from the enclosed space of the small room that shielded them in from the outside world. She was aware of everything he did; whether it was to simply turn the lantern on or to shift in his sleep she could feel it. She was enticed by everything he did and she caught herself several times staring at him as he spoke with another lost boy, or watched as he caught their dinner.  

Which was probably the reason she had repeatedly failed at catching her own food. Harry assumed she just wasn't a quick learner and he showed her patience every time he had to re-teach her how to catch a fish or to repeat himself when telling her which berries were safe to eat and which would land her on a death bed. Little did he know it wasn't because of her inability to learn quickly but because she was too busy staring at him to grasp what he was saying. He was a distraction.

And he was one right then in that moment as they walked through the forest, bushes brushing against her arms as they threaded their way through. She knew Harry was saying something else important but she had been too busy staring at the muscles in his back contract as he moved and the way his curls bounced at the nape of his neck. She tried to remember it was what he had told her and almost asked one of the boys walking beside her but came up short when she saw the glare he sent her. Her, along with most of the lost boys were heading towards the sea where Harry agreed for them to have a swim. She wasn't so sure if she would be joining them this time but she agreed to at least attend with them when Tristan had begged her to.

Thinking of the boy, she glanced down beside her to see him still clutching her hand as he walked. His eyes were set on the view ahead of them and it was only when she saw his eyes light up with excitement, did she turn to take in what he was looking at.

The cheers of the boys around her flooded her ears just then and she jumped when they pushed and ran around her. She moved out of their way, taking Tristan with her and watching them run to the end of the forest and out into the open. Some tore the worn-out shirts they had on, while the others kept the leaves covering them intact. She could hear Harry's booming laughter bounce off the trees and she looked up to see him smiling widely, dodging the last of the boys that ran past him.

Harry turned around, green eyes meeting Gwen's hazel ones. Dimples punctured his cheeks as a slow grin split across his face and he waved Gwen over. "Come on."

Gwen followed behind Harry the rest of the way and Tristan released her hand, small legs jogging up to Harry. She watched as Harry looked down at him, a grin on his face as the two exchanged words before Harry ruffled Tristan's hair. She hurried to catch up to them and just then they walked past the end of the forest and out into the open, Gwen's feet sinking into warm sand. Tristan ran off in excitement but not before Harry told him to stay close to shore. Gwen walked further down the sand, stopping halfway with her hands resting on her hips. Harry walked up beside her and his arm brushed hers, sending a tingle up his skin that he tried his best to ignore.

"Are you going to swim?" Gwen asked when she watched the boys jump into the sea. They were laughing and splashing each other back and forth, diving beneath the clear water before coming back up. Tristan sat on the shore with his legs crisscrossed and fists keeping his chin up as he watched them. A feeling of guilt coursed through Gwen but she had to remind herself that he wasn't ready to go out there yet. She might have been giving him a few swimming lessons in the lake but he still had a lot to learn before he could be on his own.