NEVERLAND ✧ Louis Partridge

8 | The Lost Boys

Y/N

_

"LOUIS YOU NEVER told us she was pretty!" A boy screamed from on top of a tree branch, whipping out their finger towards me.

I had barely even made it into the forest clearing, before I felt the presence of five eyes staring at me from behind the forest leaves. If I didn't know who I was supposed to be meeting, I would have assumed I was about to die.

This was some horror movie stuff, honestly.

"Oh, stop complaining," Louis scolded, floating over towards the center of the space, "have a little respect, idiots."

"Who are you calling idiots?" A boy exclaimed, jumping onto the ground.

One by one, Millie and the other four came popping into view, all staring at me with blatant inquisition. I clearly didn't fit in, and I wasn't sure if they expected me to, but I couldn't really read the expressions on their faces.

Help.

"This is [y/n]," Louis said, nodding towards me, "be nice to her, or I'll make you sleep in the mud pool tonight."

The boy to his right, who had curly black hair and freckles, titled his head in acquisition, "are you trying to say we wouldn't be nice to her?"

Louis shook his head, "I never said that."

"But you implied it," the other boy scoffed, before turning towards me. He held out his hand in greetings, and I took it with confused hesitation. He didn't seem to notice, "I'm Finn, by the way."

I smiled nervously, "hello, Finn."

"Noah is the one behind me," he said, pointing at the brown haired boy a few paces away, "Gaten is to his left, and Caleb is the one who called you pretty."

Before I had a chance to fathom up a response, my new acquaintance cut in. He had a bandana tied sharply around his black hair, and was scowling at Finn.

"Mind your own business, Wolfie," Caleb hissed.

"Who's Wolfie?" I mumbled, furrowing a brow.

Gaten spoke up, "that's Finn's nickname."

"Why?"

There was a pause, where the five boys just looked at each other. Millie dusted some sparkles off her dress and flitted away towards a grouping of mushrooms a few paces away. She didn't seem interested in the conversation.

"Honestly, everyone sort of forgot," Noah added, scratching the top of his brown hair, "it's been a long while since someone asked that question."

"Really?" I laughed softly, "I suppose that makes sense."

Louis tilted his head, "how?"

"No one could ask you the question because you're the Lost Boys. It's in the name, isn't it?"

"Well, no one's really lost if they don't want to be found," Caleb nodded, waving his arm at the forest around us, "and we like to be secretive about ourselves here on the island."

It made me sad thinking about that.

While I couldn't assume what they were feeling, I knew enough about the story to know what might have been running through their minds. Maybe they were lost at first, a couple of boys who never had the chance to grow up, but eventually they forgot about it all and found a family on the island.

But just because they didn't say it, doesn't take away from the sad fact that they were lost in the first place.

I wondered if someone was still out there looking for them.