Peter Pan and Wendy

Chapter 1

Her parents are fighting again. Their voices rise as she sits on the floor of her bedroom, clutching the blade. After the pain in her heart from a day at school, this would be like a simple paper cut. Her bruises from stepping in front of her mother last night would make this seem painless. Her classmates had hurt her, her father had hurt her, and this...this would be relief. Wendy pushes up her long sleeves, revealing scars on her wrists. The blade gleams in the moonlight streaming in through the open window. Bringing the blade to her wrist, her body trembles. A single tear slides down her cheek, landing on her shaking hand. Just as she touches the cool blade to her skin, a familiar tinkling of bells fills the silence and a shadow falls over her.

"Don't do it Wendy," Peter Pan's voice pleads in the darkness. He goes to her side and takes her trembling hands in his own calloused ones.

"Oh Wendy...Wendy, you were doing so well!" He says, taking the blade from her hand. "Tink, will you take care of this?" he asks the softly shimmering glow. The small pixie takes the blade from Peter and disposes of it.

"Peter, you were gone for so long, and I just couldn't handle it. It hurt too much! My parents, people at school...It was the only way to ease the pain," Wendy rambles on hysterically, "Peter, I missed you so much! I needed you!" She cries, collapsing in his arms.

"Shhh it's okay now," he whispers, holding her close, "I'm right here. I won't leave you."

Peter sits on the floor of Wendy's bedroom, holding her tight and letting her tears soak his shoulder. He occasionally whispers words of comfort to her while she buries her face in his chest, trying to block out the screams of her parents downstairs. When her tears are gone, she falls asleep in his arms. Tinkerbell tugs at Peter's clothing.

"Peter, she's asleep. We have to go now," she says to him.

"I can't just leave her. What if she wakes up and I'm not there?" he reasons, "I can't let her hurt herself anymore." Looking down at her beautiful face, there is no way he could leave her tonight. No, he has to do something. A solution comes to him instantly. Peter could take her away from all this! If he took her to Neverland, she wouldn't have to stay in this terrible place that caused her such agony. At least for a couple days, Wendy could be there with him and the Lost Boys.

"Tink, come here," Peter says to the impatient pixie. Grabbing hold of her, he shakes some pixie dust on Wendy. Her sleeping body begins to float in the air. She must be dreaming of happy things.

"What are you doing?" Tinkerbell protests, "she can't come with us!"

"Of course she can, Tink! Don't be silly," Peter quips. Before Tinkerbell can argue any more, he scoops up Wendy in his arms and flies out the window. The not-so-happy pixie speeds after him, muttering along the way. When Peter Pan makes up his mind, there is little a person can do to change it.

When they reach Hangman's Tree in Neverland, Peter places Wendy in his hammock. Tucking her in, he gently kisses her forehead. He blows out the candle on the night stand and heads to the door. He would be bunking with Tootles tonight. As he pulls back the vines that serve as a door, a soft voice stops him.

"Goodnight, Peter Pan," Wendy whispers through the darkness.

"Goodnight, Wendy Darling," he replies.

It is a peaceful night for the two of them. Wendy is safe away from her classmates and abusive father. Instead of her mother's sobs from the room next to hers, a gentle breeze and the soft snores of Lost Boys lull her to sleep. As for Peter, he lies next to Tootles who is fast asleep. Peering up at the night sky through the tree's branches, he can't help but think of Wendy. The stars twinkle just like her eyes. He smiles at the thought of her and drifts off to sleep. All through the night, she fills his dreams.