Infinity and Beyond (Magcon/Cameron Dallas)

Chapter 33

"Ooh, let's go in here." Skylar says, pointing to a door we're happening to pass by on our quiet stroll through Sea World.

"What's in there?" I ask.

She shrugs, shoving her hand into her front pockets in search for something, "I don't know, I've never gone here during the day before."

I reach out and jiggle the knob, but as I expected, it's locked, "We should probably stick to illegally walking around. I don't think it'd be smart to put the cherry on top for the cops and break and enter. We'd get in a hell of a lot of trouble."

She rolls her eyes and pulls her hand out to reveal a black little bobby pin, "Ah," she grins and steps forward, sticking the hair clip into the lock and giving it a little shake, "You only get in trouble," she says and we both her an inconspicuous click and she smirks, "when you get caught." She turns the knob and the door swings open, "Ta-daaa!"

I raise my eyebrows and pull the bobby pin out of the knob, "Impressive. I didn't know you could do that... Then again," I shrug.

"Then again there's a lot you don't know." Skylar finishes for me softly. I lift my eyes to look at her and she offers me a smile, though it doesn't really reach her eyes. There's a pause before she speaks again, gesturing inside, "C'mon, let's go adventure." She steps into the darkness and I look after her before letting out a sigh. I stick the little bobby pin into my back pocket before following after her.

"I think this is a storage room or something. Maybe there's more in another room." I turn the flashlight on my iPhone on as we roam around the dim space and Skylar crosses the room to another door. I follow her absentmindedly as she opens it and walks through. She stops abruptly in her tracks and I slam into her back after I've turned around from closing the door behind me, "Whoa – "

She falters a bit in her stance before glancing back at me and grinning. I move over to stand next to her, the entire halves of our bodies brushing up against each other. I look up in awe and gape at the aquarium surrounding us. Above us and beyond the glass walls is the deep blue of water and sea animals crossing it the way birds move through the sky.

I turn to look at Skylar and she's wide-eyed; completely engulfed by the grandness of it all, "It's like a whole other world in here." She says softly. I've been in aquariums before, so my amazement isn't at its highest peak, though I can say there's beauty in being underwater at night and not surrounded by a bunch of loud tourists with flashing cameras. And even more beauty as well in the expression that's taken over Skylar's face.

For a moment I see an elementary Skylar, eyes wiser than any other 10 year old I knew; as if she's seen more than a child at that age should have, but still has hope that the world is better than those things. And as I watch her look up in wonder I'm able to forget the catastrophic things she did the past couple days.

"Hey Skylar," I say, holding my hand out to her. I don't know what's been going on with her lately, or what's going through her head, or what her intentions for tonight are, or what her plans for tomorrow are. But what I do know is that I am with Skylar now and it is just me and her and we will never be as young as we are in this moment. We are still kids and right now the world is our playground. "Will you give me the honor of accompanying me into tonight's adventure to Neverland?"

She grins, interlocking her fingers through mine, "As long as I get to play Peter."

***

"Slow down there, Wendy!"

My running slows into a walk and my breathing's hard and there's sweat running down my skin, but in spite of this there's a great grin spread across my face. I turn my head to the right and my nose brushes against Skylar's cheek. She pulls her head back so she can look at me too. Her eyes are filled with the most light I've seen in days; the tiny little flame dancing in the midst of the bright blue surrounding it.