Neverland [✓]

[ Hide & Peek-a-Boo ]

"I want to propose a game, Irene. Would you be up for the challenge?" Taehyung twirled the leaf between his fingers and without knowing, Irene nodded. She is too paralysed with awe to even comprehend what challenge awaits for her. Taehyung stood up and she snapped out. 

The leaf dropped to the ground, swaying left and right without a certain ending. 

Irene stood up as well and followed him through the forest. She had no idea what time it was and how long she has spent in Neverland.

Taehyung stopped and briskly turned around.

"This may sound childish to you, but Peter and I have been playing this ever since we could remember." 

Irene nodded and sat on the large round rock. She did not comment about anything further and waited. 

"We are going to play hide and peek-a-boo."

She tilted her head once more at the strange title of the game. She had played hide and seek with Wendy before. She had never heard of such games. 

Time simply passed as Irene continued her search for Taehyung. It was almost impossible to find him in such vast land in a limited time. Time, however, she recalled did not exist in Neverland. Therefore, she took her time and caution to step over paths. 

Passing by through familiar tall tress, she thought Taehyung might be behind one. She got excited for nothing and continued her search. It was quite difficult walking through rocky and sandy paths during the night. The moonlight was her only support, yet it was barely enough. 

She whisked through more trees and brushed the pines away, only to caress a different texture. She stopped and felt for the familiar object again, noticing that it was a square shape. Irene snatched the hard paper from the hanging vines and with the bare moonlight, she flipped the paper open.

Irene squinted for a second, completely unaware of the fireflies hovering around her. 

FIND ME

The bold handwriting almost resembled to the style of her Father and she chuckled to herself - something that Irene hadn't done in a while. She spent a lot of time in Neverland, well, mostly in her slumber. 

She kept the note in her dress pocket before heading to a senseless right. She had no clue to where she was walking to and it would probably take her to the next dream. Irene also had no idea that Peter was observing from one of the trees. He could easily disappear and teleport into another tree as he waited for Irene to pass through.

Irene continue to saunter, jump, leap and hustle through the forest. It felt forever and all she could do is just sigh. The path was never-ending and who knew that the cheeky Taehyung would move.

She stopped after walking for a complete ten minutes on top of the huge rock. It looked familiar, but there were hundreds of other rocks in Neverland. 

She took out the note again and read it. Just by reading those two words made her remember the letters she would write to Wendy, but never got the ultimate chance to send them. Her lips twitched in melancholy and suddenly, a bush danced against the wind. She glanced up and noticed a shadow.

"Tae-?"

She stood up, her rest only lasted for thirty seconds before she began to walk again forwards. She sauntered around the bush and her eyes enlarged at the unexpected scenery. 

Lights, mostly fireflies, tucked themselves on the branches of the trees and bushes, igniting a warm welcome of the garden. She was left in awe, especially at the vibrant and colorful flowers on display. She stood there for a complete three seconds before inching forward. The bushes created a path for her as if they were meant to be.

Irene twirled around in utter fascination. Her fingers caress the flowers accompanied by the night creatures that hid behind the bushes. She suddenly forgot about the game and could not stop admiring her new surroundings. 

"Wow." 

She twirled around once more and headed to the left, only to be stopped by Taehyung's finger intertwining with hers.

Irene spun around with surprise, inducing a warm smile on his face. She wanted to burst out in laughter and shock, but was left completely stunned at his red gleaming eyes. 

"You're not Taehyung ... are you?" 

"Peek-a-boo." Taehyung quirked, extracting her memories away by the touch of her fingers. She stood there fazed, as if her life drained away in slow motion. 

Taehyung leaned in, kissing Irene's forehead before disappearing back into the bushes. The touch of his palm remained cold on her palm as if he had never held them. They were not physically there, yet she shivered back into sense. 

"Huh?"

She blinked her eyes numerous times and turned around, bumping into Taehyung as they fell on their bums. They both groaned in agony and Taehyung, whose eyes were not glistening red laughed it off. He shakes his head, laughing the clumsiness away with a smile. 

"Welp, you've found me already." He snickered, pulling himself up before helping Irene to stand up. She hesitated at first, but accepted his help.

"Thank you." She dusted her dress, hoping that it wasn't stained, although this was only just a dream. The dream felt too real that her manners followed from behind. 

He nodded with a smile and heaved out a sigh.

"I'm surprised that you didn't scream under layers of darkness around you. Aren't you scared of the dark?" Taehyung inquired, shoving both hands inside his pocket jeans. They proceeded to walk back to the campfire, where Peter was waiting for the game to finish. 

Peter simply smiled, holding the glass orb of Irene's vital memory in his palms.

"Good work Taehyung."

Irene shrugged her shoulders and smiled more to herself than at Taehyung.

"I guess I am already used to it." 

Her answer was short and Taehyung didn't ask for more. What else could he ask after his replica successfully extracted the nightmares from the fazed Irene? 

They shared more inquiries, more from Taehyung as Irene preferred the silence. She did not want to be rude. She was just shy all of a sudden. The beauty of the flower garden remained intact, but she could not recall what had happened after that. It felt as if time skipped a beat, which was abnormal and petrifying.

"Anyone up for some chicken soup with piping hot mashed potatoes?" Peter exclaimed in delight, alerting Irene to glance up from the reflection of the lake to him. She almost gasped, but resumed with a tacky smile. 

Why wasn't she afraid of the dark?