Song:
Come Away to the Water ~ Maroon 5

The island hadn't changed much. It was dark, so it was probably nighttime. Or Peter wasn't there. I looked back at the thing that was carrying me, and wondered for a second if it was Peter's shadow. I knew that it often had a mind of its own, but I couldn't recall it ever doing anything this impressive.

Even though it was dark, I could still make things out. The mountains that made Dead Man's Peak; Skull Rock and Black Castle sitting in the water like an ominous welcome; Mermaid's Lagoon, Cannibal Cove, Crocodile Creek, the Indian Camps, Pixie Hollow... everything was there.

So where was everybody? It all looked abandoned. The next question was naturally why is Peter's Shadow flying me to an abandoned island?

The closer we got, the more I realized the forests had practically doubled, in height and size. We started descending, and about 10 feet above the ground, the stupid thing dropped me. At least sand can be kind of soft. Sort of. I stood up and brushed myself off, the jumped back in surprise.

Hello, mysterious and slightly creepy wall of boys slowly coming out of the dark forest towards me.

I took another step back, taking each boy in carefully. Some were tall, as if they had come in their late teen years. Others were tiny, like they were still young boys when they left home. All of them had a weapon of some sort. And I didn't recognize a single one. After a few minutes of all of us simply staring at each other, one stepped forward. I didn't need to recognize him. Only one boy would ever do that.

Peter stood a few yards away from me, surrounded by his new Lost Boys. I turned around, taking in the place again, before turning back to him, annoyed. "Why did you bring me here, Peter?" I asked, completely skipping any and all formalities. I looked around again, curious and a little worried.

"Well, hello to you too," he said, smirking. I rolled my eyes, not playing games. Not with him, not right now.

"And what happened to the island? Why's it so dark, and empty?"

Peter took a few measured steps towards me. "The island's changed, along with you, apparently." I looked back at him, and tilted my head slightly. He looked and sounded completely different than the last time I saw him. Almost like a…

I nodded towards him. "What about you?" I asked carefully. I stepped towards him, knowing I was stepping onto shaky ground with my next statement. "I thought you weren't allowed to grow up." I crossed my arms, just in case.

Surprisingly, he didn't have any sort of fit at the words. He took two more steps towards me and shrugged casually. "I changed with you as well."

I narrowed my eyes, completely confused. Peter had definitely changed, but I couldn't understand how or why. He had gotten taller – I used to be just half-inches taller, but now he was quite a few inches over me. His body looked more lean and muscular, though he was still twig-thin.

I tried hard to avoid his face, but couldn't resist for very long. His jaw line was more pronounced, though he still looked a little chubby, and a sadistic-looking smirk sat on his lips. His hair was shorter and browner. His eyes – impossibly – changed colors. The last time I saw him they were cinnamon brown. Now they were gray-green. I held back a smile at the familiar gleam of mischief in them.

Finally I shook my head and responded. "That's not possible. I'm not connected to the island anymore." I looked him up and down again. "Or you, for that matter. I haven't been in years."

"Yet we've all grown darker, as you have."

"I am not dark!" I fought back, simply because I didn't actually want to admit it out loud. Or to him.

"Look around you!" He yelled, throwing his arms out in a grand gesture towards the surrounding dark landscape. I took a step back, shocked. Peter didn't normally yell. "This is what the island has become because this is what you've changed it into!" His arms swung down and he stalked towards me, stopping a few feet away. "Your dreams have gotten darker over the years, and this has been the result."

Though Peter's eyes bore into mine with a dark heat, I continued denying him. "I haven't dreamt about Neverland in..." I stopped to think, my eyes going wide at the answer. "What seems like a lifetime..." I shoved my nostalgia away, bringing my anger back to the forefront of my mind. "Much less visited!"

"And how much can change in a lifetime, do you think?" Peter asked darkly, taking yet another step forwards. "Because it's been many lifetimes since I've last seen you. You've changed as much as we have."

I scoffed at his words. "Well, yeah, it's been about eight years since I've last come. On the mainland, you grow." I shouldn't have needed to explain the mechanics of the mainland to Peter Pan.

"And for me it's been much, much longer." Peter smirked again. He took one last step, finally putting us face to face.

I raised my eyebrows. "So you brought me here because you were lonely? Did you ever think of, I don't know, maybe, calling ahead first?" I yelled at him, even though he was right there. "Or the Neverland equivalent? Something more than just sending your stupid creepy shadow... thing to come collect me! When did your shadow even start doing that?"

"You've been gone a long time, love," Peter smiled. I supposed he was trying to be cute, but it came out much more menacing.

My face hardened. "Don't call me love," I snapped.

"Don't give me orders," he said dangerously, following my suit.

I rolled my eyes. "You're not king of the island."

"How do you know?"

"The island. Rules. Itself. Always has, always will."

"Always did."

"You're not in charge, Peter."

"Always have been. Always. Will be."

We had inched closer during our heated back and forth, until our faces were dangerously close together. It had been a long time since I'd been that close to someone's face, especially a guy's. I glanced down for a moment, then met his eyes again.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. I lowered my voice, so only Peter could hear me. "Why am I here?" I asked calmly.

"Because I need you here," he answered, almost just as calmly. Though his answer just opened up more questions.

I shook my head. "You never have before." No one really needs me places, not anymore.

"Things change."

"Neverland doesn't."

Peter closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face, clearly just as upset as I was. "Well," he started, faking cheeriness. "I would really like to have the entire argument over again, really, I would. But I've not more important matters to attend to."

"Like what?!" I snapped again. "Everyone else is gone, from what I could tell." As his shadow flew over the island, I couldn't see any signs of anyone else on Neverland. "It's just creepy you and your creepy shadow and your creepy new gang of Lost Boys on this creepy excuse of a dreamland!" I looked around at the Lost Boys. "Did I mention you're all really creepy?"

Peter nodded with a snarky smile. "I think I got that part of the message, love," he sneered.

I rolled my eyes, then glared at him. "I said—"

"Now," he cut me off firmly, "I'm sure it's been a very long, stressful day for you. Full of surprises." He put his hands on my shoulders.

"Peter, please!" I begged. "Just take me home!"

His face was very serious, and he had a dangerous gleam in his eyes. His hands slipped from my shoulders to above my elbows, holding tightly. "I think it's best if you get some rest now."

Peter's grip gradually got tighter, and painful. "Let me go!" I shouted. I tried pulling away, but to no avail. His hold just got tighter.

He pulled me closer and let one hand go. It started glowing an eerie purple. Before I could react, he waved his hand in front of my face. "Sleep," he commanded. I was about to retort back, but my eyes started closing and my mind went fuzzy. Peter's grip loosened.

"Peter..." I managed to shove out, quiet though it was. My eyes shut, and wouldn't open.

The last thing I felt was Peter's strong arms catching me as my body went limp.

The last thing I heard was Peter's soft, cruel voice whisper a single word in my ear.

"... Never!"

Thanks for reading! Review please!