The next morning, when the Lost Boys were all gathered around the camp, Peter told them that they all had free time for the day.
"No going into forbidden areas and be responsible," he added, and murmurs broke out between them all. Felix had a slight frown on his face, and I approached him, puzzled.
"What's the big deal?"
"Pan doesn't just let the Lost Boys have free time for a day," Felix responded quietly, "maybe he needs something..."
Devin nudged me expectantly.
"You coming, Celeste?"
"No, she isn't," Peter said, nodding at me. "You stay behind."
I frowned but obeyed, and Felix, Devin and the others disappeared into the forest. I looked up at Pan in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you believe that boy?" he asked me after a few moments, an unreadable expression on his face.
"What boy?"
"Last night," he answered impatiently, "Bobbi, he told you that he wanted a proper family. Parents. Do you believe him?"
"I don't know," I said, thinking about it with a slight frown, "every child wants a family, don't they? Maybe he's just getting used to all of this."
"I took him in because he was in a form of child labour," Peter responded, seemingly puzzled and annoyed, "the Lost Boys have each other for family."
"Yeah, of course they do," I agreed, "but you can't deny that children naturally want parents and a proper family family. I wouldn't let it worry you."
"I'm not worried," Pan insisted, "it just doesn't make sense for them to be unhappy here. You yourself admitted that Neverland is an amazing place, full of everything a child could want - and magic."
"Yeah, I did. Neverland's wonderful, but it's not the land they're unhappy with. It's just... circumstances - like, thinking about the reason they could hear your pipes and their situation in life before they came here. It's not your fault or anything."
"But he talked to you instead of me," Peter continued, "and he's known me longer."
"Well, there's a knack to that," I started with a slight smile, "I've worked with young kids for most of my life. You have to show a true interest in them individually, and after you gain their trust, they'll tell you when you ask. Okay, so, I could see Bobbi was upset, and he didn't admit to it right away. But when I showed him that he could trust me and I was being genuine, he let me know."
Pan nodded slowly, his arms folded.
"Which will stop them from being unhappy?"
I shrugged and nodded. "It'd definitely help."
"You know a lot about children," Peter told me with his signature smirk, more at ease now.
"Yeah, well-"
My eyes widened as I came to a realisation, and I crossed my arms and looked straight at him in shock.
"You were watching me!"
Pan stared at me in surprise, then burst out laughing.
"What?! No, I wasn't!"
"How else could you've heard us talking then?"
"Maybe because I was busy doing something nearby? Don't take everything so personally, Celeste," he joked, "although you are the only girl on this island and I'm showing you the ropes, don't get to carried away."
BINABASA MO ANG
ℂeleste || OUAT Peter Pan x OC
Fanfiction(SINGLE BOOK) "You have to be a lost boy to lead a lost boy. And you've got a camp full of them. So that tells me more about you," Celeste shot back, "than it does about them." Peter was spellbound as he eyed her angrily. But his expression soon tur...
