I bury my feet in the warm sand with a beaming smile. It's only been a few days of life here in Neverland, and even the other lost boys seem to notice the change I feel. There's no more rigorous rules to worry about, no need to mask my emotions or personality, and no Refinement looming over me. I'm free.

"Aren't you going in?" Peter questions as he suddenly appears beside me, which makes me let out a startled cry. He tries—but fails—to hide his laughter, and I'm almost thankful since it means he doesn't notice my embarrassment at the realization he lacks a shirt like the rest of the boys in preparation for swimming. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to ask if you're swimming; I wasn't trying to scare you."

"Don't give yourself too much credit; you only startled me." I quip and look back to the others splashing and laughing in the water. "And I am. I just—it's been I while since I went swimming."

"Well, you have nothing to worry about. There's nothing dangerous in the water, and the mermaids never travel this far in—something about the water not being salty enough and us being too loud." He shrugs and scratches the back of his neck. "But, if you're still uncomfortable, I'll—um—I'll be there the whole time—if you need me that is."

I bite my lip and avoid looking at him to hide my blush. "I'd—um—I'd really like that."

Peter easily returns the smile, and I swear the air gets a little warmer in that moment. Except, I don't have much time to dwell on it as I'm lifted off my feet by unfamiliar arms. My heart pounds in my chest and limbs swing towards whoever's holding me. "Newbie incoming!" The voice I recognize as my least favorite lost boy, Flash, shouts as he swings me towards the water.

My body plunges beneath the surface, and I let out a gasp, not even realizing how little air is left for me to make it back up until the water is filling my mouth. I swing my limbs around frantically as I struggle to remember everything my brother, Kellan, taught me when we were little kids. Yet, I still feel miles away from the surface.

After another terrifying long second, my muscles finally remember the rhythm and propel me upward. I gasp and wipe my hair from my eyes. Peter surfaces right next me, clearly just as out of breath and thoroughly relieved as he says, "I thought you said you couldn't swim."

"No, I said it's been a long time." I reply and try to keep myself up. "My brother taught me when I was little, but I haven't done this since I was a kid."

"You're doing pretty well though, but Flash is still gonna get in trouble for doing that. You could have drowned." Peter whispers with a dark expression.

"Hey," I whisper and ignore the feeling of some of the lost boys watching as I swim closer, "I'm fine. Nothing happened to me that I can't handle. Plus, I have a feeling Flash will get his eventually."

"Do I even wanna know what you're planning?" He asks with a mischievous grin.

"Probably not." I tease and swim past him to the other lost boys, most of whom are trying to hide their giddy grins. The girls have all made it pretty clear at the fact that they think Peter and I would be cute together. So I'm sure this will be hard for them to let slide. I feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as I whisper to them, "Don't even start."

Shuri just grins deviously as she splashes me. "Fine, but you'll have to explain later."

"So, change of topic," MJ speaks as she swings her legs through the water and leans forward from her spot on the ledge, "Has anyone noticed that thing Peter has been wearing? The little silver one on a string that he wears like a necklace."

"Yeah," Harley chimes in, "I noticed it right around the time that—" His gaze turns to me as the connection is made. "Y/N?"

"It's something I gave him. Tink had said I should thank him with a kiss; so I did." I murmur and avoid looking anyone in the eye as a hush falls over the group. My heart hammers against my chest as the nerves settle since it's now obvious that I don't even know what a kiss is. "At least, I thought that's what a kiss was."

A few giggles and sad looks are the only reply I receive for a long moment. Only Shuri seems to be able to break the tension. "Oh, honey. That's not what a kiss is." She informs me before turning to Harley and grabs his cheeks as she says, "This is a kiss." Shuri immediately presses her lips to his, and I feel myself flush and turn away in embarrassment.

"I'm just going to go hide out in the woods for the rest of eternity now." I mutter as I push myself to my feet.

"No, you're not going anywhere." MJ laughs as she catches me and turns me around. "There's nothing to worry about. Trust me, we've all had moments like that—especially Ned."

"Hey!" He interjects before pausing and thinking it over. "Okay, that's valid."

"Anyway," MJ sighs, "the point is, there's nothing to feel bad about. I'm sure Peter found it adorable, and if he didn't, I'll kick his butt."

"Plus, I'm sure you'll get plenty more chances to give Peter a proper kiss." Shuri teases with a look that makes me wonder what she has planned in order to make it happen.

"I think we're making her uncomfortable; so why don't we just go back to swimming." Liz suggest, and I offer her a small smile in silent thanks.

We all laugh and splash each other in the cool blue water, and I can't stop smiling each time I remember this is my life now. A wave of water crashes over me from the collective splashing of Harley and Shuri, which sends the pair of them laughing when they see the way it moved my long hair in front of my face.

Something brushes against my leg, and I feel my body freeze at the action. "Guys, something just touched my—" The words are cut off as something yanks me below the surface, and I struggle against the force as I sink for the second time today.

I fight the stinging of the water on my eyes in an attempt to see what's doing this. All I catch sight of are vibrant colors mixed together, and my mind scrambles to find any sort of explanation. But, as quickly as it came, it disappears—only to be replaced by a pair of arms wrapping around my waist and lifting me back towards the surface.

"Hey, hey." Peter whispers as he swims us to shore, "you're okay."

"What? What was that?" I sputter as I cough up water.

"We just wanted to see what all the fuss is about." A voice calls out like a melody, and I nearly find myself heading back to the water at the sound of it. "Honest, Petey, we meant nothing by it."

"You know you're not allowed to do that." He shouts as stands between me and the mermaid lounging on the rocky ledge. "Why are you even this far inland? You guys hate coming here."

The mermaid flicks her vibrant blue hair over her shoulder and offers him a meek smile. "We couldn't help it. After all, it's not often we hear Hook fussing over a new arrival, and we certainly don't sense this much magic in one place very often. So, we came to see for ourselves."

"Wait," Peter's voice grows a cold edge as he steps toward her menacingly, "what do you mean 'Hook's fussing over a new arrival?'"

The girl's violet eyes dart to me as she speaks. "He knows what she is, even if you haven't figured out yet, and you know how he is, Hook only stops when he gets what he wants."

Peter turns to me, clearly upset by her words as he grabs my hand and drags me back to camp without a word. My eyes meet the other lost boys, who all look at me with a mix of confusion and worry.

We make it to the edge of camp, before I break the tense silence. "Peter, stop for a second and tell me what's going on." He stops but refuses to look at me or even meet my eye. My stomach drops to the floor as I decipher the look on his face. "No."

"No, what?"

"No, I'm not going back." I tell him with a stern look. "There's nothing that you can say or do to convince me. I'm staying here no matter what."

"You have no idea how dangerous it is for you here if he's after you, Y/N." Peter sighs and finally looks at me. "There's only so much I can do to protect you."

"Than show me how to protect myself." I counter as the anger boils in my veins. "Because I'd much rather face the dangers here with friends than the ones back there alone. I don't know if you understand this, but if I ever go back, they will toss me in an asylum and throw away the key. So, if you're worried, teach me how to protect myself if all else fails. I can handle it."

"I'm not saying you can't." He mumbles something else under his breath that I can't catch before letting out a long sigh. "Fine. Get some sleep then, you'll start training in the morning."

He moves to step away, but I reach out without thinking to grab his hand. "Hey, it'll be okay, but eventually you're going to have to explain what's going on. No matter what though, I trust you." I tell him the feeling that's settled in my bones since I got here. It's the one I forgot that I could feel after Kellan left me behind and broke all the promises he made. Although, here and now, I trust Peter whole-heartedly, and something tells me that might just be my undoing.

Yet, that doesn't scare me, not anymore.