#chat:peter

It wasn't often that Sam was let in on the higher-level pranks that the boys planned. Even when his brother was around, they were always left at the back, the age gap to be blamed for their roles as keeping watch instead of being the center of the action. It'd led him to try and come up with his own schemes every now and then, and with the opportunity of another engagement party around the corner to fuck with, combined with the desperate need for a morale boost, Sam came prepared to Peter's room where he'd been half hiding away, ready to pitch his idea.

"Peter, did you know that Pacifica's engaged?" he blurted from the doorway, before entering without warning and perching himself on the other side of his bed. "Because she's having a party. A party, Peter, at her house, which we already know the layout to, and Wendy knows every door code. She told me." Sam raised his brows, hoping his friend would catch onto just what he was suggesting. "We're totally crashing, right?"

The most important of interviews to conduct was with her muse himself, the original lost boy. Wendy loved hearing Peter's stories, though she was typically the one who had to tell them back to him. She knew most of his perspective on things, and most of these were being held to get the view of the rest of their friends, but she would always take a chance to listen to his tall tales of adventure. Spending time with him was an added bonus that happened to come unexpectedly, a shift coming in their dynamic once they'd admitted how they felt about each other. She knew that it wouldn't be the same once the words came out, which was precisely why she had held her feelings in for so long, but at least she wasn't alone. Peter was on the same page as her, and it was exactly where she'd wanted to be for years.

They sat on her bedroom floor, his arrival coming the same way it always had, in through her window. Though she had brought Slightly and Tink for coffee, she wanted to give Peter all the space to talk about his magic without fear of being overheard in public. Wendy turned on her recording like she had for the others before leaning back against her bed to simply listen. She hadn't told him what she'd asked him over for just yet, wanting to hear the reaction from him herself. "So, now that I've graduated and need to start working on my first manuscript, I was thinking of what I wanted to write about. Long story short, I've come up with the idea to write them about you and the lost boys, my most favorite stories to tell," she explained, giving him a smile as she waited for his reaction. "I know you've told me so much, but I was hoping you might be able to help me with some of the details, so that I do it all justice. You think you can help?" Wendy asked, her grin growing wider as it became impossible to contain her excitement.

The last time Wendy had seen Peter after the bonfire went pretty poorly. They’d barely spoken, despite her desire to ask him if he was going to explore the very town that they now stood in. Wendy wouldn’t have been all that surprised if he’d gone with some of the boys, but it still would’ve stung. All she’d ever wanted was to be considered one of them, to be asked on their adventures without second thought. Instead, she was here at the same time as everyone else, in the same civilized room over being out exploring. It was a start, she supposed, and that was all she could really ask for at this point.

It was tempting to ask him if he’d been here before when she saw him across the room with some of the other boys, but instead, Wendy made her way over with a more friendly greeting in mind. Part of her just wanted to put what had happened with the lying and Phil behind her and try to get back to being just friends, the way it had been. “Peter!” she shouted over the music, giving her hand a small. wave. “I’m sad to hear you guys aren’t performing tonight, but I guess the Hex Girls are pretty good, too,” she said with a grin, keeping it at the surface for now. “Have you gotten to, um, dance or anything yet?”

Nibs had been nervous around Peter ever since he’d developed feelings for Wendy. He was scared to admit these feelings to anyone in their friend group because he didn’t want to upset Peter. His anxiety was through the roof over it but for now he would try and enjoy himself. “Where the hell are the rest of our friends?” he asked, not wanting to be alone with him right now. “I mean, I thought we were all supposed to come together.”

Wendy had heard about what happened to Peter at the Isle festival not much longer after it had happened, but only because Terence had witnessed it with his own two eyes. Otherwise, apparently, no one would have known that he'd been struck, because this girl with golden hair had been able to heal him completely. She had no idea that there were people out there who could hold such powers like that, to heal with so much as a song. While it was a miracle that Peter had somehow been in the right place at the right time, exactly, to have caught the eye of someone who could save his life, things could have also gone much further south than anyone would have ever wanted them to. Had no one been there to help him, he could have been dead: while Wendy tried to shield this fact from the other boys as much as she could, it was true.

This was the first time she'd come over to visit. It was also the first time they'd had any semblance of alone time since they'd admitted to liking each other, as they'd been in a crowd while they were with the rest of the lost boys at the start of the festival. Now, as they sat in his room, Wendy couldn't decide which to ask about first: the fact that he was lucky to be alive, or that they could finally acknowledge that they were in mutual liking. Instead, she focused on what was playing on the laptop in front of them until the silence was too much to bear. "Are you feeling okay? I mean, generally, but also, I could get up and go to the kitchen, if you'd like. Whatever you need, Peter," she told him, blurting offers of help like she was accustomed to.

Though she hadn't expected him to understand, it still didn't sting any less that Wendy would have to explain to him why a kiss that hadn't even happened had made her so upset. The way he'd reacted had confirmed the fear she'd tried to push away and ignore from the day she met him, that he didn't share the same feelings for her that she held in her heart for him. Wendy supposed she knew all along, but had willed herself to hold on to the hope of something more than friendship. The longer she knew him, the smaller the hope became, but it hadn't fully extinguished until she had it in her grasp, just minutes ago. He still had no idea, and she feared he never would if he couldn't even tell why she was crying now. He sat beside her, and all Wendy wanted was to tell him to go, but something kept her from pushing him away. She shook her head, avoiding meeting his gaze after the last time she had his eye was when they were about to kiss. "The whole ... the dare thing, I don't know, it was stupid," she mumbled, bringing her knuckle to wipe the remaining tears that spilled over. "Thank you for cleaning the rug, but I'll do it again tomorrow. It needs to go to the laundromat, and you're going to have to mop, but there are too many people here." Going back to business was something she could handle, back to taking responsibility that any mess that the boys made. "You don't have to stay in here, you should ... I'm sure there are people looking for you."