Everything was new, and while Baelfire had always loved to explore new things, Neverland wasn’t exactly the positive kind of new. There were so many things here, so many habits that left him confused, that he honestly felt a little lost. Despite that, however, Bae was still firmly set on sticking to his principles; he’d seen how Peter Pan kept everyone in his grasp, how he manipulated the boys to do his every bidding, and he definitely didn’t want to end up to be like them. He wasn’t as lost as they were; even though he had been abandoned by his father and his mother had left them well before that, the Darlings had given him a new family to come home to. And that was exactly what he intended to do—he was planning to go home.
With Peter tending to his own business and most of the boys either playing around, dancing or planning and executing mischief of sorts, Baelfire was left to sit alone at the edge of the camp, his gaze idly pointed at the bonfire that had been lit right before the darkness of night had settled in. Every single one of these boys came from a broken family, or had at least been unhappy in one way or another, yet they seemed so carefree under Pan’s leadership. Still, he wouldn’t let illusions trick him into thinking life in Neverland was as good as these boys would make it out to be; it was a place filled with darkness. The same kind of darkness he’d left the Enchanted Forest for in the first place.
It took Baelfire the longest moment to notice that he wasn’t the only boy who hadn’t joined in on the festivities called for by Peter; through the flames of the bonfire, he could see the silhouette of a boy, taller than the rest of the Lost Boys, his position indicating that he was as deeply lost in thought as Baelfire had been.
Felix, Pan had called him. And from what Bae had seen, this was Peter Pan’s right hand—well, boy. He seemed like the pensive type, not as energetic as the rest of the boys, much calmer in interaction. And quite frankly, said behavior piqued Baelfire’s curiosity. Before he had even full and well become aware of it, he had already gotten up to make his way toward the taller boy. Not joining in on playtime made him feel a little awkward to sit idly at the sidelines, but perhaps his time here would be slightly more bearable if he engaged in conversation, of course keeping in mind that he couldn’t exactly make friends here. Not really.
“Hey…can I sit with you?”
The question came out more insecure than he had intended it to be, conveying exactly just how out of place he felt with the Lost Boys. Despite Pan’s best efforts to rope him in and convince him he would fit into the group just perfectly, Baelfire felt very differently about that.
