Friends Apart

Chapter 1

Eight years later...

Wendy stood at the entrance to her old bedroom, surreptitiously scanning to make sure she was alone. Not that it mattered with her parents and brothers gone. Still, the last thing the twenty year old woman needed was to get captured by a human viewing the house on one of her morning trips. Neither of her adopted parents approved of her choice to explore her old room during the day. But she'd found that when she looked at all her old possessions, the more she wanted to turn back the clock. So, she kept an eye out to be safe, but always did her run through of her room during the day. It made her stand out in the family, of course. Everyone else stuck to nighttime runs for supplies unless they were really desperate. But she would stand out no matter what, simply because of where she came from. She darted in, keeping close to the wall and hugging the shadows the whole way. With any luck, she would have the good fortune to stumble on a forgotten book. It was so long now that she'd been able to hold a book in her hands, feel the soft paper and delve into the knowledge contained within, that she was starting to forget what it even felt like. The hunger in her for more knowledge was always there, searching out more information than her adopted parents could possibly give her to satisfy that need. The first place she focused on was along the wall the dresser was pushed against. There was enough room between it and the wall that Wendy was able to easily walk through, keeping a careful eye out for any lost or discarded trinkets in the smattering dust bunnies back in dark corners. What humans considered rubbish often ended up being some of the most useful items you could find for someone her size.  For instance, she had fishing line attached to her satchel, and a small fishhook hanging down from it - both kept in case she needed to climb down from any unforgiving heights. And considering she was only four inches tall, almost everything towered over her like tall cliffs, monuments of humanity. Even a simple nightstand became a harrowing climb. Though it had not been so odd to consider it from a certain fairy's point of view. Not finding anything against that wall, she slowly edged along the bed frame. It was the only the center of the room that she ever felt in danger, being too small to reach any hiding spaces if any humans came into the room. Four inches tall meant her legs were too small to outdistance any of the giant humans. She'd had some close calls in the past, and she wasn't planning on repeating those today. Or ever, if she could avoid it. She felt a weight off her shoulders when she finally reached the edge of the bed. At least here she had some cover. Spotting a small glitter on the ground underneath the bed ahead of her, she sped up into a jog. She smiled when she reached it... Her forgotten music box. She brushed off the dust that accumulated on it. Oh, the songs she sung with it. It was one of her fondest childhood memories... Suddenly she heard footsteps, and they were coming her way. Standing quickly, she glanced around, making sure she hadn't left anything behind that would point to her presence. A dark shadow fell across the entrance. Hearing the door start to open, she grabbed a tuft of bed curtain, swinging herself under the bed fast to get out of sight. Once out of sight, she froze seeing black shoes and the ends of brown pants. No need to alert the human that anyone was there. If she was careful she could still get away  completely undetected. She'd just have to lay low under her old bed until the human left. It wouldn't be the first time she'd done that, and it probably wouldn't be her last. Still, she prayed she would make it through today. The human walked around the room when he came in, at least Wendy assumed it was a 'he'. "Wow, this room hasn't changed at all. I still can't believe he gave me full ownership of the house." Hearing a male voice speaking, Wendy's brows furrowed. That voice sounded familiar to her, but why? She screamed when a shoe came down mere inches away from her. "Who's there?" Wendy froze. human that knew she was there. A chill ran up her spine at the hopelessness of her situation. "Hello?" Came the voice again, softer but closer to Wendy's hiding spot this time. Wendy tried to silence her footsteps, slowly distancing herself from where the voice was coming from. Maybe the human would think he'd imagined it.... Her train of thought was cut off when something massive grabbed her from behind unexpectedly. The human must have reached around  under the bed while she was so completely lost in her thoughts! Not to mention that she'd heard the human on the other side seconds before... 'Smart, very smart... that way I wouldn't see him coming.' Her satchel and the items inside dug into her back, compressed into her by fingers longer than her entire body was tall as they clenched shut around her, and far more powerful. A wave of helplessness and fear hit Wendy hard, when she felt the sheer power in the fingers closed around her... this was far worse than her last close call. She had only been spotted that time, by a kid no one believed, thankfully. Wendy gasped in pain as the pressure increased, writhing to try and free her arms before the human could see what he'd caught. Her arms were shoved harshly against her ribs. She'd already failed one of the first and most important lessons her adopted father had taught her growing up... 'Never let a human get their hands on you.' Once they did, it was almost impossible to escape, simply because of the sheer size difference. And this human was larger than most, making Wendy's chances of escape plummet even further... If only she could get her knife out, she might at least have a fighting chance to escape... And then it was too late. The grip solidified around her and she was yanked backwards, out from under the bed and into open air. Blinking as the bright, unfiltered light of the room hit her, Wendy realized her eyes had to adjust to the new light. A huge voice echoed around her, deeper than she thought possible. "Woah... what on Earth are you?" Still struggling to free either of her arms, Wendy finally brought her eyes into focus in the light. Two huge dark chocolate brown eyes were only inches away from her, sharp eyes that would seem fully dangerous to anyone else. But Wendy saw some sort of gentleness in those eyes, and they almost seemed to be able to see right through her. Wendy tried to jerk away with a shocked gasp at how close he was, but was held motionless by the powerful fist. The human was crouched on the floor, one hand on the ground, supporting his weight, while the other hand was wrapped around Wendy. Wendy was only suspended a few inches in the air at most, thankfully. The floor wasn't far under her trapped feet. At least she'd survive if she managed to get out of the grip of the fingers from this height. She still held out some hope of escape. Her entire line of sight was taken up by the human... he was so big it was unreal, like staring up at a living wall. Since being mysteriously shrunk, Wendy had never been this close to a human to fully appreciate how much height she'd lost and exactly how small she really was in comparison. Complete avoidance was the best way to survive in this world when you're so small. Her heart dropped at the knowledge that her fate was out of her own hands. Wendy took in the shock on the humans face briefly. Not many humans had ever seen people as small as Wendy, and it didn't seem like this young man was any exception. And truthfully, Wendy's face probably had the same shock painted all over it. She'd never gotten caught like this... completely helpless and with no way out, no hope of escape. The biggest problem she'd run into before today was being spotted from afar. She'd gotten out of that room long before the child was able to convince anyone of what he'd seen and had stayed away from that room until long after they were gone, just to be safe. This time, she'd been overconfident, assured of her escape if anyone came into the room. Stupid, stupid, stupid. If her arms were free, she'd slap herself in the face for being so overconfident and letting her guard down like that. For a long moment, Wendy and the human stared at each other in silence, faces unconsciously echoing the same expression of disbelief. Between the two of them, the human was the first to get his voice back. "Where did you come from?" The huge eyes darted up and down Wendy's small frame, some of the shock fading with surprise at the unusual find. Wendy's fear didn't go down at all. She knew a human, angry or not, was incredibly dangerous to her. Some of the pressure on her back released as the human loosened his grip. Wendy gasped in a breath of fresh air with the pressure gone from her lungs, renewing her struggles. The fingers still kept her arms and legs in a solid hold, though. The grip was so strong that every effort, every move that Wendy made seemed so small and inconsequential the human barely noticed them.  "Struggling’s not gonna do you any good there, little one." A half-smile quirked at the human’s mouth. So close to the human, the huge voice drowned out Wendy's train of thought, reinforcing her fears. Hesitantly, she met the huge dark chocolate brown eyes that were far too close for comfort, her struggles dying down in resignation. The intense glare in them almost made her look away again, fearful of what was going to become of her now. The human shifted position, allowing Wendy to get one arm free. Before she could try anything else, the other hand reached for her, dwarfing Wendy's tiny body with it's shadow. Fingers closed curiously around her free hand and arm. A callused thumb brushed against her blouse sleeve, surprisingly gentle. It stretched out her arm to it's full extent, careful to not push too hard. Wendy held her breath, feeling the ridges on the human's skin rub against her far more delicate arm with surprising accuracy. It was surreal. "No way," the human muttered softly, eyes wide and full of curiosity as he held the tiny arm, carefully examining Wendy's almost microscopic fingers. Wendy stopped struggling completely, heart in her throat. She realized there was nothing she could do to free herself while she was trapped like this. For the moment she was completely at this stranger’s mercy, unable to do anything to save herself. The fingers that were closed around her arm were massive and unyielding, far stronger than Wendy could ever hope to fight against, never mind the fist that was still clenched around the rest of her. She fought against any desire to flinch away, not wanting to injure her arm with pointless gestures. Who knew how the human might react, and her arm was so much smaller than the finger and thumb restraining it, the human could snap it purely by accident. She hated the feeling of helplessness that overcame her with this realization. So far at least, the human simply seemed curious. And slightly awed at Wendy's size. After all, the hands weren't crushing her yet. It was a start. A moment later Wendy found herself being lowered a bit more to the floor while the human shifted into a more comfortable position. The brown eyes squinted at Wendy. "Where on earth did you come from? And what are you? Can you talk?" Wendy still hadn't managed to get her voice back from the shock of being grabbed. While the huge man shifted in place, still crouched on the floor, Wendy was distracted by a small sewing thimble that slipped out of his shirt. Wendy's mouth went dry. It was far larger than the last time she'd seen it, half the length of her body now, easily, whereas she'd once held it in the palm of her hand, a lifetime ago, but she'd recognize it anywhere... Looking up into those intense and gentle brown eyes that were suddenly so familiar, Wendy could feel her heart stop. 'It can't be... It's just not possible... how can he be so big now...'  She blinked her small blue eyes up at the human in disbelief. Unable to manage more than a shocked whisper, she stuttered out "P-P-Peter?" The human's eyes widened at her utterance. The massive fingers went slack around her as the human’s mouth dropped open in surprise. "What?" He gasped, blinking rapidly. Wendy slammed into the ground, unable to catch her balance in time. She groaned with pain as she hit the floor. Rocketing to her feet, she slowly backed away, keeping an eye on the human’s free hand. The human seemed too shell-shocked to respond to Wendy's sudden freedom, lowering his hands to the ground. As soon as she had recovered, Wendy wasted no time. No matter who this human was, she wouldn't be safe until she was out of sight, out of reach. That had been drilled into her head for over eight years now, and she knew how true it was. Back in control of her own destiny, away from giant, crushing hands and dangerous humans.  Turning fast, she ran for the bed, intending to reach a small hideaway her parents had made years ago. There was a deep exclamation of surprise behind her at her dash, shaking the air itself. She didn't look back, afraid of what she'd see. Hands reaching for her, fingers grabbing at her... she didn't want to know. There was a small escape path behind the bed if she could just get there. "Wait! Come back!" She heard the human shout. But Wendy didn't slow down until she was out of the room, using a small crawlway to escape.