I don't ask why I'm here, for many reasons. One, I could very well get magic-slapped in the face (which is the least likely of the two). Two, I would get the answer I already have. "Because I want you to live on Neverland with me." "Because I love you." That sort of stuff. I know it's true. I believe it. I'm just sort of afraid, you know?
It's a lot like online dating. You video chat with a guy and everything, you get to know him, then you decide to meet and he's everything you expected he would be, but you're still nervous. You hope that everything he said was as close to the truth as possible.
At least, that's how my relationship with Pan has been. I'm not afraid of him - I'm afraid for him. I don't want him to be a monster, and yet, there's nothing I can do to stop it. Like death, it is inevitable. But unlike death, I have a slim chance of stopping it. And when I say slim, I mean slim.
As we walk hand-in-hand down the street, I can't help feeling a bit creepy. I look a bit strange, the way I'm holding on to the boy's hand, who is no more than twelve (and I immediately recognize as Henry) like it's my life line and the way I keep glancing at him.
As if I expect him to do something. Something drastic. He notices. I know he does. But he doesn't say anything. Not yet.
We get to a bench and he offers to sit with me. I smile and nod, carefully sitting down. He sits next to me and asks how my day went. I shrug. "I guess it could have been better." I flinch at how bad my voice sounds. (If you must know, it sounds like nails on a chalkboard.)
"You sound terrible," he muses, and uses his hand to move the hair out of my face. "Are you thirsty?" I nod a bit and he offers me a bottle of water. I take about half the bottle and hand it back. He looks at it with a bit of shock and surprise, and then it disappears from his hand. "How much water have you drank today?" He cracks a grin halfway through the sentence.
I blush and smile, tilting my head down. "About two sips."
He shakes his head, chuckling, and slings his arm over my shoulder. We sit for a few more minutes and I try my best to stifle my yawns, but I can't really. I'm super tired and my eyes are droopy.
"Were you asleep when the portal appeared?" he asks gently, and I turn to him.
"Hmm?" I hum.
He strokes my cheek. "You look really tired. Do you want to sleep?"
I shake my head and sit up straighter. "I won't get much anyways."
"But you can still try," he insists. "Come on. Just an hour."
I stare at him for a moment and then reluctantly nod. "Fine." He smirks and grabs my hand again, pulling me off the bench and back down the street. After walking about ten feet an idea that makes me smile wickedly pops into my head. "Guess what," I whisper, releasing his hand and putting my own in my jacket pocket. He looks up at me.
"I'm taller," I sing out, and then start running, laughing as I do so. I hear him cursing behind me, but don't turn. It'll just slow me down.
Suddenly I only hear my footsteps and turn my head. I immediately regret it. Pan in Henry's form is flying right at me - and very quickly, too. I yelp and turn back, running faster - but my grin never leaves my face for a second. I feel arms around my waist and my feet are suddenly no longer touching the ground. I squeak and hold onto the arms like my life depends on it. I hear Pan chuckle and then grunt.
"Am I too heavy for you?" I ask, and can't help giggling.
He sighs. "Curse these weak child arms." That makes me laugh. "Have I ever told you how much I love your laugh?" he asks, making me blush.
He begins to fly higher and I hold onto him tighter, the butterflies in my stomach flapping harder the higher we go. He stops about one hundred yards up from the ground and turns, revealing a small town, little lights twinkling all over the place. I gasp at the pretty sight. Henry's little chin is resting on my left shoulder, watching me as I stare down at the town.
"Wow," I whisper. "It's... It's amazing."
He hums. "Just like you under the moon's pale light."
I turn to him and press a kiss to his cheek. His cheeks flush and I laugh again, putting my forehead against his temple and closing my eyes. "I didn't know you could be such a romantic."
I hear him smirk. "There's a lot of things about me that are different from the me you know."
"You are the you I know," I whisper, kissing his cheek again. "You're just inhabiting the body of a twelve-year-old kid with weak arms." His smirk widens as I laugh.
I yawn a bit. "So. Where's the secret hideout?" One of his arms releases my waist and I choke on a gasp, my hands flying up and gripping the arm still around me. "Don't," - I cough - "do that!" I cough again.
He laughs and points to two smaller lights a reasonable distance from the rest of them. "There."
"What is it?" I ask.
"Just a place for you to stay until the plan gets further along."
"For me to...." I pause. "You're not staying with me?"
He sighs, a bit sadly, and shakes his head, putting his arm back around me. "No, darling, I can't." My lip pokes out. One eyebrow goes up and he smirks evilly. "But I can sneak into your dreams again. Maybe then we can have some fun...." His gaze flickers down to my lips and then back to my eyes.
My cheeks heat up. "Okay."
He chuckles and we begin to fly towards a small building - in the center of a cemetery. "You're gonna make me sleep in there?" I ask as soon as we touch down. He grabs my hand and pulls me inside. The small building is made mostly out of stone and has a strange symbol over the doorway. Inside is a big marble coffin, the name of the owner I can't see due to the darkness.
"You wouldn't have a torch by any chance, would you, darling?" the boy asks me, and I roll my eyes.
"Can't you just make one appear?" I ask, pulling off my backpack, setting it on the ground and digging through it. My hand clasps around a cold circular tube and I pull it out, clicking the button on the end and flinching as it turns on and shines directly into my eyes.
I offer it to him and he shakes his head. "Not yet," he says simply, and turns back to the coffin. "Let's move this out of the way."
He holds up his hand and begins to move it to the right, the coffin moving with it. I stare in shock as it moves over as far as it can, revealing a dark staircase. I can barely see it so I point the beam of my torch (you Americans call it a flashlight, right?) onto the set and follow him as he leads me down. The hallway is a bit long, and on either side of us are small gold boxes that line the length of the walls. "What are these?" I ask as I look around at them and continue to follow.
"Hearts."
"No, seriously, what are these?" I ask, trying not to laugh too much.
He just keeps walking.
"Wait, you aren't kidding, are you?" I ask as I look back at him.
"They're the Evil Queens's unlucky victims' hearts."
I nearly trip over my own feet. "Watch your step," he says without looking back.
"Thanks," I say sarcastically. "I'll keep that in mind."
As we reach the end of the hallway my gaze falls upon a mirror. The boy walks right up to it and just stares at it for a second before holding up his hand as if telling me to wait. Then a section of the wall opens like a door. He steps inside the bright room and I follow, my mouth gaping. The room is white with black and gray decor.
Wait a minute.
"I've been here before," I whisper as I turn in a full circle and soak in my surroundings. "In a dream."
He nods. "When the Evil Queen feels like being a coward, she comes here. Hides for a while."
I nod, but I'm not really listening. "Where will I sleep?"
"Well, there's a couch and some chairs, and there's pillows; One of these cabinets has a quilt in it, too."
I take a second to soak this information in and nod. "Okay." I go to the couch and sit heavily. "This is actually quite comfortable."
"Or..." the boy says, coming to stand in front of me, "I could put an actual bed in here so that when I return to my normal body we can have some real fun." He smirks mischievously and I blush fiercely.
"The couch is fine, thanks," I squeak out, looking away.
His smirk doesn't go away, but he nods anyway. "All right. You can have your way - for now." I can't hold back the smile that grows on my face as he mocks a bow and kisses the back of my gloved hand.
When I blink, he's gone.
I sigh, taking my backpack off and standing up. I check all the cabinets and find a thick quilt in the last one. "Of course it just has to be the last one," I growl as I shake it out and go back to the couch. About an hour after I fall asleep I'm vaguely aware that there's someone else in the room, but I'm too sleepy to acknowledge whoever it is. I feel someone kiss my temple.
"Don't worry, my love," I hear Henry's voice say. "I'll get back to myself as soon as possible."
"I love you, Peter," I whisper, but he's already gone.
Here's your late update (sorry)!! XD