Hi all! I am posting the beginnings of this story bc I am in the middle of finals week at school and I will have to wait until next Sunday to post in Envy is Green & Ocean is Blue! But I didn't want anyone to feel like I was ignoring them...so here is the start of a mini fanfiction! I KNOW it is a long shot...just bear with me and believe in the power of magic...or whateveah!

Chapter 1 : Scared

Peter could not help but to roll over laughing. He tumbled, head over heels, tickled pink. But when his head flipped up, Wendy was not smiling. Peter tried very hard to dampen his grin, but his sparkling black eyes kept the laughter effervescent.

"Aw come on, Wendy!" Flying easily to her side, Peter gently reached for the girl's little hands. Resolutely, Wendy hid both behind her back.

"Wendy," Peter smiled, "you don't have to be like this." Shifting in midair until their noses almost touched, Peter comically cocked his head. He crossed his eyes, hoping it would break her glare. It did not.

Tilting his head to the opposite side, Peter thought it would be better if he reassured her. "Don't worry, Wendy Lady," he said, smirking a little, "there are lots of things boys can do that girls can't. It's not your fault."

Wendy's cheeks flared like a pink sunset. "It was my idea to fly in the thunderstorm, Peter Pan. Not yours."

Smiling, Peter shook his head. "You have never ridden a storm, Silly! You would be too scared!"

"I would most certainly not—"

"Yes you would be too scared!" Peter pressed. His generous spirit was waning. Less jovial, he wished Wendy would just let him win the argument! He was Peter Pan (!) and, by extension, was always right and never wrong!

Wendy's eyes flickered down, noticing the boy's hands migrating to his hips; a sure sign of defiance. It satisfied her a little. After all, it had been she who sited the thunderstorm creeping over the horizon. And it had been she who suggested the children ride the storm. Wendy's excitement tingled; how exciting, she thought, would it be to let the storm winds whip them up and down, to and fro! As if on cue, the sky turned a shade darker and the cloud bellies rumbled quietly.

Wendy desperately wanted to try! Clasping her hands together, she implored Peter a second time. "I am a much better flier than I use to be, Peter. Furthermore, I am not scared. I…I am not scared of anything!"

It was a lie and Peter knew it. Wendy stiffened as Peter's eyebrows shot up into his messy red locks. His leer was criminal. "Not scared of anything! Ha! Wendy, oh my Wendy…I am not scared of anything. But you? You are too scared to do anything!"

"I am not!"

"Yes you are!" Peter screeched. Sticking thumbs in his ears, the boy flew around Wendy in circles, wiggling his fingers, "Scaredy! Scaredy! Scaredy! Wendy is a scaredy!"

"I am not scared!" Wendy protested.

"Yes you are!" Peter chanted.

"No!" Wendy rotated in half turns, trying to grab Peter's foot. She missed and Peter chanted louder.

Wendy spun around as Peter flew faster. "No I am not!" Lunging, Wendy caught the boy's ankle under her arm pit. Dizzy, she nonetheless smiled triumphantly and breathed, "Ha! You see? I am not scared of-oh!"

Wendy's feet left the earth as Peter jerked upward. Reflexively, she hugged Peter's leg.

"If you're not scared," Peter said, rising faster and faster, "then prove it!" And with a powerful vertical force, Peter charged into the blackening sky.

As Peter's foot ripped out of her grasp, Wendy twisted in midair. She sagged, waiting for her bearings to resettle. Then, straightening her nightgown and pushing up her sleeves Wendy focused on Peter, a black speck sticking his tongue at her.

"I'm not afraid of anything Peter Pan!" she whispered.

But as the thunder growled, Wendy was not so sure she believed herself.

Oh the cleverness of He! Peter outdid every stunt imaginable. One eye always on Wendy behind him, Peter threw every scary thrill at the girl he knew. It became, to the casual onlooker, a most dangerous game of tag. The children somersaulted in mid air, raced down the side of a jagged mountain, blazed threw thorn bushes, squeezed between a toothy shark mouth, and flew through every obstacle Peter could think of.

Desperately, Peter flew harder trying to compress the pride swelling in his chest as his wonderful Wendy met every one of his challenges with the bravery of a lion. Shaking his head, Peter tried to relish in his frustration; after all, she had disagreed with him! Again!

Pausing, Peter swerved. The ocean chopped angrily beneath him. He turned as Wendy approached, arms lowering. Peter stared. Wendy hovered, cheeks flushed, forehead shining, curls frazzled, bow askew, but smile beaming. Peter blinked; Wendy looked so pretty in her red cheeks and energized eyes, that he forgot to be annoyed with her persistence.

Inching closer, Wendy smiled. Lowering her head shyly, the girl said, "Oh…the cleverness of me."

"Ha!" Kicking off, Peter sprinted through the sky. He would show that Wendy who was the cleverest! "You are too afraid Wendy Lady!" The waves leapt up trying to nab the boy as he skimmed the surface. Peter lifted his head; through the cold, salty spray, he saw the Jolly Rodger.

Pumping his arms back, Peter yelled, "You are too afraid to follow me to the pirate ship!"

"Peter!" Wendy's voice was far away. "No! It's too dangerous!"

Heartened, Peter flew faster. The wind screamed through his ears. The hull and sails grew bigger. "Ha! I am braver! You are afraid!"

"Peter! Not so fast! Please! Wait! Don't!"

But it was too late. Skydiving right into the flabbergasted pirates, Peter plummeted into the Jolly Rodger.

Slamming into the deck, the boy tumbled across the planks. In a flash, he popped up, thrust both hands on his hips, and puffed out his chin and chest, "HA! Oh the clever—"

"PETER! Look—oh!" Knee catching on rigging, Wendy stumbled hard onto the deck. Immediately, the girl's head rose and she reached out. "Peter! Behind you!"

Peter slackened, surprised to see that Wendy was crying.

Then, he turned.

Pirates scattered. Hook was there. The pistol. The red barrel.

Click.

Wendy's heart beat once.

The barrel exploded.

"NO!"

The pirates never knew who screamed that day.

What they did remember was the little girl stumbling backwards into the boy's arms.

They remembered the captain, undaunted, swiping his hook at her limp and bleeding body.

They remembered the boy dragging her into the sky.

They also remembered that it had started to rain.