Some Kind of Neverland {Remington Leith}

4

"Why did you shoo her away?" The small spec of light spoke to Remington, the tiny voice tired and irritated. "She seemed really sweet!"
Remington ignored the voice, strumming away on his guitar as if he were alone. The small spec let out a huff and tugged the sleeve of his sweater.

Remington finally turned his head to look at his small companion, raising an eyebrow. He was back at the secret place he had led Wendy to see earlier, the one she had been so excited to see. It almost brought a smile to his face to remember the look of awe that had dawned on her face. But he refused the urge, looking back out at the small pond that glittered in the light of the sunset

"Because she told her parents about me. You heard her, didn't you?" Remington sighed, fingers plucking at the sturdy strings of the guitar that was positioned in his lap. "And you can stop doing that glow-y thing. I'm the only one here."

The spec of light landed on Remington's raised knee and the yellowish glow subsided, leaving only a small human figure that stood as tall as Remington's hand. From her back grew two thin, glass like wings, delicate and small. She wore a blue dress fitted to her small size, and brown hair tied up into a tight bun. Her name was Penelope, but it's not like it mattered. The only person who knew of her was Remington.

"Right. Sorry. I'm so used to having to blend in as a lightning bug or something, I guess that I forget." She shrugged. "So. The girl told her parents. And the problem is?"
"Then they'll try to find and then find my parents and-"
"Remington!" The small fairy snapped. Remington stopped talking and looked at her. "She's the first person who's befriended you in a long time, and you're turning her away because she slipped up?"
Remington fell quiet and looked down at the ground below his perch in the tree.

"What if she finds out about everything, Penelope?" He sighed. The fairy smiled sadly at her friend, who to her was a giant of sorts, and shook her head.

"Then we'll just have to see. It'll be okay, Remi." She promised. Remington nodded and began to play his guitar again, staring out at the sky. Penelope smiled a little, listening for a while.
"Written for her?" She asked softly. Remington couldn't help but smile this time, unable to restrain it. He sighed.
"I suppose you could say that..." he murmured, looking down at his hands and the way the rings on his fingers glistened in the dimming sunlight.
"That's sweet..." Penelope hummed, and went quiet again as she listened to Remington toy with the song.

|  |  |

Wendy sat outside of her house for a while after getting back, staring at the door she had left through earlier. Right now she was sat on the patio, still even as the sky above became a thick grey the color of ash. The clouds seemingly melted together until the color hung like a never-ending blanket of dull, gloomy grey. From that blanket fell droplets of rain, a sprinkle turning into a light shower, and a light shower becoming a pour, and even still... she just sat. Her baseball cap was drenched, driving her nuts to the point she took it off and took her hair out of its pony tail. Her red hair was wet as well, but at least she didn't have a soggy hat on anymore. The wind blew, feeling almost angry as it sent a shiver through Wendy's bones. She felt lonely, and quite literally cold. It was in that moment that she realized how much she wanted to be with Remington.

She wanted to see him smile again... and to hear him talk, play the guitar as beautifully as he did, to see the way he would sometimes comb his fingers through his hair. She missed him.

Wendy stood and turned to look at the woods longingly in thought, almost wondering if he would want to see her again. She didn't understand what she had done to upset him, but she had clearly done something wrong. Reflecting on the words, or lack there of, Remington had spoken to her, she knew that he probably didn't want to see her for a while, if ever.

"Wendy!? Wendy, oh my goodness! Come inside!" Wendy heard the voice of her mother come from the house, and she turned to see her mother had opened a window on the top floor to yell down to her. She grimaced, lowered her head, and grabbed her baseball cap on her way back inside. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Her shoes, soaked and soggy as expected, squished with each step across the kitchen floor.

"Don't walk across my house in those shoes, young lady."

Wendy looked up and saw her mother standing at the bottom of the stairs now, hands on her hips and eyes narrowed. Wendy was too exhausted for a fight, so she nodded quietly and knelt down to slip the shoes off of her feet. Her socks were just as wet, so she took them off along with the shoes and balled them up to carry in the gross sneakers.

Her mother noticed the behavior and eased her gaze. "Oh, honey, you're absolutely drenched..." She sighed.

"That's kinda what happens when you're out in the rain, mom." Wendy replied dully, putting her socks and shoes over the vent that was by the front door and went upstairs to change into dry clothes. She shut her bedroom door behind her and peeled her wet clothes off, shivering as she pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a pull-over hoodie. She brushed out her hair and tied up into a bun, then sat down on her bed. There was a faint knock on the door, but she didn't answer.

The knock came again, and when she still refused to answer, the door opened anyways. Her mother popped her head in, before stepping into the room and approaching the bed. "May I?" She gestured.

Wendy shrugged silently, not looking at her.

Her mother sat beside her and sighed. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Fine." Wendy mumbled, pulling her sleeves over her hands, folding her arms, and then tucking her hands under. "Just tired."
"I see..." Her mother nodded slowly. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" She rubbed her back comfortingly. Wendy leaned into her, nodding and resting her head on her shoulder.

"Yeah...I know..." Wendy whispered, staring at the floor.

There were some moments of silence, before her mother spoke again.

"So about that boy. Remington..." She began. Wendy tensed and sat up.
"Mom, don't. Please, I don't want to talk about him right now."
Her mother gave her a sympathetic look, but continued anyways. "Your father and I went to speak with his parents this afternoon after you had run off-"

Wendy's eyes widened. "What? You- what!? Why!?"

"Well, we figured after you left you would maybe go back to his house with him. We wanted to get there before the two of you could, and we explained that you had met their son in the woods... And, well. Sweetheart, I'm not sure how to tell you this..." She seemed to cringe at herself, suddenly regretting the topic being brought up. Wendy sat forward a bit.

"What is it...?" She asked warily.
Her mother sighed and looked her in the eyes. "As far as they know, Remington's been... well... not with us for quite a while."
Wendy's blood ran cold. "Not- Not with us? As in-"
"He went missing a few years ago, and they never found him." Her mother interjected with a sad tone, lowering her gaze. "I don't know who you met out there but it isn't who you think. I don't want you to meet up with that boy. Please understand that it isn't to punish you, I don't want you to get hurt."

Wendy inhaled shakily, the information swimming around in her head, drowning her mentally. Dead? Remington was dead? That couldn't be.
"It- Yeah." Wendy closed her eyes. "I know, I understand. Can you go now, please? I need to go to sleep... My... My head kinda hurts."

Her mother smiled sadly and nodded, kissing her forehead. "Goodnight, dear." She murmured to her daughter, then left the bedroom, turning the light off as she left.

Except Wendy didn't sleep. She laid awake, silent as she waited for the house to go quiet, and until the neighborhood was asleep. Remington, or whoever the hell he was, had some explaining to do.