Neverland

In the seventeen years I'd been alive we'd lived in four different places. Silvercrest, where I lived out the last of my teenage years, would make it five. Silvercrest was quite a boring place. All of the houses were painted with drab beige or gray colors, the few businesses there were no better and didn't provide anything worth the price. The town was so small that a good majority of it could be seen from my second story window leading into my room. The only story worth telling from that tired, old place happens to be my favorite. It was the story of Peter Pan.

It had just turned nine o'clock and I was in my room getting ready for the night. It was July, and particularly hot that day, so all I had on was a pair of really short pajama shorts and a snug My Chemical Romance tee. Getting ready for bed I glanced out my window. I really should shut that, I thought to myself, referencing the fact that the window lacked a screen and someone could easily climb the broken bricked wall (I knew because I'd done it). I turned off my light but turned on my electric lamp that was supposed to look like a candle. It lit my room dimly with a slightly flickering light that, in all honesty, sort of did remind me of a candle.

I sat down on the soft seat in my window frame, gazing out my window. The moon lit the sky beautifully, stars accenting the view. I breathed in the smell of the town. It wasn't pleasant, but not particularly unpleasant either. Just a smell that wasn't really a smell. Before I had time to assess my day as I did every night upon that window seat with the flickering night behind me, my thought were cut short by a screech of an awfully close bird. I realized the bird was even closer than I though when I was a black figure racing straight at me from out side. I moved my head just in time and the bird flew psychotically through the open window and around my room.

I let out a small scream, but was careful not to wake my parents up. I tried to get the bird back out the window so I could shut it like I was so close to doing, but it perched itself on my wrist and was determined to stay on not matter how much I wriggled about. The feathered demon that now sat on my wrist was blacker than night and seemed almost tame the way it perched itself on me. It was like the bird had been trained to do so. Suddenly, a scratch outside my window stopped me in my tracks and rendered me immobile. A scuff . . . Another scratch . . . If I hadn't know better I would've said someone was climbing up to my room. And I would've been correct.

Sure enough the head of a auburn haired teenage boy popped up passed my window frame. He wore a band tee shirt and a grey st king cap that was not fully pulled down. I was startled and tried to scream but no sounds came out. He looked just as startled to see me, though it was my house. He jumped up, sitting side ways on the ledge of my window.

"Shadow," He whisper-called and the bird flew off my wrist and onto his shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" I managed to choke out.

"You must be new here." He said to me in a low voice. I looked down at my wrist where the bird was perched. Small drops of blood formed in the dents the bird had left on me, "Sorry about that, Shadow meant no harm. I've found that ravens have particularly sharp talons. May I come in?"

In shock, I shook my head yes. I'm sure other girls say yes to much crazier things at the hands of such a handsome boy like him, I thought to myself. He jumped through the window and sat on my seat in the window frame where I had been sitting just moments before. We looked at each other for a few moments before he spoke again.

"When did you move in?" The boy asked.

"About a week ago." I answered quietly.

"Well, how are you liking Silvercrest?"

"To be honest," I started, "It's rather boring for someone like me."

"Someone like you? Nah, you just need to know where to look. There's this place across town called Neverland. It's where the cool kids hang." His eyes lit up as he looked at me. "I could take you there! Tomorrow night, if you'd like!"

His excitement made me giggle. "Sure, I guess."

The boy smiled and got up from his seat to come closer to me. He took my hand and shook it. I felt my body tense, then soon relax. Something about this boy felt right. "Welcome to the town, Miss..."

"Wendy. Wendy Darling. And you are?" I asked.

"Peter Panacki, but my friends call me Peter Pan." And with that, shadow perched on his shoulder, he jumped out my window and disappeared into the dark of the night