Fandom The Lost Kids

AnimeGenork
avira
. D O V E

Pete;
That weekend with Wendy had been amazing.

Friday night had started off like any other night for Pete: at a party. He and his boys were performing at a buddy's 21st birthday bash at a hotel called the Lagoon. Up on the rooftop, crowds of young people danced and flirted the night away with the Lost Boys' as their soundtrack.

Pete had expected to flirt with some cute girls himself. He always did, which is one of the reasons why he and his ex Lily were always breaking up. Pete loved Lily, he really did, but it was so damn hard to be a musician and not notice all the hot girls that wanted to be with him; but the thing he never expected was to do that night was meet the love of his life.

As soon as the band's set was over, Pete jumped off stage and made his way to the swimming pool where all the cutest girls were hanging out. Taking off his shirt, he asked the group of beautiful young women, "Mind if I join you, ladies?" to which they replied with a cry of joy as they pulled him into the pool with them. After taking a fun swim with a couple of gorgeous brunettes and flirting with a cute redhead, Pete jumped out to grab some drinks.

"You better come back, Pete!" the redhead said.

"Yeah, don't forget us!" a brunette added.

"Don't worry, ladies," Pete told them with that crooked grin of his. "I'll be back in no time."

He did never did return, because that's when he saw Wendy.

Wendy was beautiful, but not only that; she was fun and always up for an adventure. She, like Pete, was also creative and lived an artist's lifestyle, choosing to pursue an acting career much like Pete was following his own dreams of being a rockstar. But where they really bonded was over their childhoods; like Pete, Wendy had also grown up with an abusive father and wanted to get away from that toxic environment.

When Pete discovered that Wendy was having money problems, that she was considering giving up her dreams of becoming an actress and moving back in with her folks, Pete was quick to try to convince her not to.

"You can't move back in with your parents," he told Wendy. "No, I won't allow it."

But because Wendy was desperate and close to becoming homeless, Pete knew he had to do something to help.

"You can come stay with me," he told her. "For as long as you need. Hell, forever if you want to."

And that's why, at eight am on a Monday, he arrived back at the home he shared with his roommates with Wendy by his side.

"Hey, guys!" Pete called out into the seemingly empty home. "I got a surprise for you!"

He grabbed Wendy's hand, leading her to the kitchen. "Come on, they're gonna love you."

Natalie;

Living with a bunch of teenagers was a lot to get used to for the twenty nine year old, but Natalie was a natural caretaker, so in the eleven months she had lived here, she'd learned to find her sense of belonging in the home as the mother figure.

"Honey, are you sure this is a good idea?" Natalie's mother had asked her when Natalie called back home to let her parents know about her new band.

"Mom, they're my hugest clients yet," Natalie had told her. "If you only knew how huge they already are out here, and how even huger they're gonna get! Trust me, these guys are the real deal."

"That's just the thing, sweetheart," her father said. "They're guys, and I don't trust guys, especially the young kind."

Natalie laughed. "Mom, Dad," she said, "I'll be fine. They're just kids."

"Your father is right, Natty," Mom replied. "Working with teenagers can be a lot of trouble. Take it from a retired high school teacher."

"Well, it's not like anything bad could happen?" Natalie responded, being the naive small town girl she was.

Except it could. Her first night here was a sleepless one thanks to the fact that Pete decided to throw a huge party that ended up almost getting their house burned down. In fact, there was a party in this house almost every other night and the ambulance or the cops would show up at least once or twice a month. There was also drama between Pete and Lily, as well as Belle and Lily. Pete and his girlfriend could be broken up one day and back together the next, only to be "done with each other for good, no, we really mean it this time" the day after. Belle and Lily didn't really seem to get along that much either.

However, not everything was totally horrible. They were mostly great. Pete, Cody, and Caleb were awesome guys to work with, and even if Lily and Belle weren't exactly best friends, Natalie had become good friends with the both of them. With time, she was able to gain control of her situation and keep everything and everyone in order. If the parties got too crazy, she was there to make sure it didn't; if her roommates were fighting, Natalie was the one to break it up. Natalie became part of the family in no time.

It was nineteen year old Cody in particular, though, who made things just that sweeter for Natalie. The young woman had given up her whole life, even her love life, in order to give her all for these boys; but after five months of repressed feelings, she and Cody finally ended up becoming something more. It was just supposed to be one night together, but it turned into more nights together, and finally an actual relationship.

A relationship that nobody else knew about because, depite how much Cody wanted the world to know, how messed up would that news be? Natalie was his manager. He was her client. He was a teenager. She was a grown woman.

But Natalie loved him, and she couldn't hide it for much longer.

Like usual, Natalie was the first one in the household to be up. After showering and putting on a pair of black leggings and a flannel, the young woman headed down into the kitchen to make everyone breakfast. As she prepared to make pancakes, she sent a quick text to Pete.

Dude, where R U? R U even coming home 2day?

Pete had been gone for the whole weekend, which was honestly kind of normal for Pete since the kid could party for days. But usually, wherever he went, Cody and Caleb were close behind or stayed in contact with Pete at least and yet even they didn't know where the hell he was.

avira . D O V E AnimeGenork

It took her years to finally muster up enough courage to pack her things and head off to the city. After years and years of withstanding her father's abusive nature, the perfect opportunity finally knocked on Wendy's waiting door and she welcomed it with open arms. Of course the young lass felt bad for leaving her brothers behind with him but they weren't treated as badly as she was inside that cage. She knew better than to drag her siblings with her to a life without certainty. She was better off leaving alone.

That said, Wendy wasn't stupid to just run away so suddenly without any plan. A few weeks ago, she met a man through a social networking site, he was apparently a part of the new rising band called Jolly Rogers. From what she remembers, it all started with a simple chat until she mentioned the stage and her dream of being a part of it. One thing leads to another and the man offered her a chance to grab a ticket straight to stardom. Perhaps it was desperate, but she wanted to be an actress for so long and mix that up with her desire to escape her father's claws and you'd get a Wendy packing her things up and sneaking out of their house in the middle of the night.

She arrived at the city the next night. The way people seemed to buzz like bees and the tallest of buildings surrounded her was simply overwhelming. With the money she brought with her, she rented a room at a low-class hotel and quickly contacted the man about their deal. Two days had gone and there was no sign of him, Wendy was a sobbing wreck by then until she finally received a call from him telling her to come and meet him at the higher class hotel a few rides away from the one she's at. The money she had with her was scarce so she spent the last of it for the first ride and she walked the remaining distance.

When she reached the place, the man was right over the entrance waiting for her. The hotel's large billboard sign was almost blinding and the way the neon color changed amazed the sheltered girl, it said The Lagoon Hotel. The man on the other hand was alright at first. He was a gentleman and he lead her to the rooftop where people gathered for what she heard was a birthday party. Her ears were filled with the loud rocking music of the performing band, the lead singer's voice filling the air accompanied by the different instruments.

The man who promised her fame and the stairs to her dream approached her with a drink in hand. Wendy refused but the man was persistent and was saying something about her getting used to alcohols since it would be a part of her life from now on. It was definitely foolish of hers to agree but she reluctantly took the drink and drank it.

That was the part where everything started to get blurry. Like their chats, one thing lead to another. She must've drank her second drink by then when the man suddenly pushed her against the wall and tried to get his way with her. It might have been Wendy's first time drinking alcohol but it was never her first to encounter a pervert. The young lass delivered a knee under his belt and thankfully the loud music drowned his screams and threats. When he recovered, he advanced towards the poor girl who in return threw a glass towards him, it's content spilling unto him. The sound of glass breaking must've caught the attention of the guard who approached the two of them. The guard was no fool and it was clear as the broken glasses that the man was wrong. In the end he got dragged away to who knows where and Wendy was left sobbing and literally and figuratively broke.

With blurred vision, she managed to sit down in front of the bartender's counter. She never knew why but the bartender silently put a drink in front of her, maybe it was because of the way tears never stopped streaming down her face. Nonetheless, the alcohol was already in her system and she decided to drown her sorrows with it. The thought of coming back to her family lingered inside her mind which made various emotions run wild within her. She felt scared with every sip, what if her father decided that he doesn't need her? Her father would definitely be more than furious if ever she goes back to him. How would she even go back? She can't afford to buy a ticket back home nor any food to keep her going for tomorrow. She was broke.

Wendy has no idea what she did in her past life to deserve what happened next.

What happened next was she met the love of her life, her savior. Wendy figured he must've thought that it was horrible to let a sobbing wreck such as she to be left alone. Perhaps it was the alcohol talking but whatever it was, she somehow found herself opening up to the man who revealed himself to be Pete. Pete manged to make her laugh and cry at the same time, their topics dancing around their shared passion for the stage and their fathers. It lead to her mentioning about her thoughts from earlier to go back home in which Pete discouraged. The way his eyes gleamed when he offered her a place to stay made her fall for him.

Monday morning came and and now as she stands inside the place he offered, hand in hand, she couldn't help but feel thankful for the presence of Pete. Although a part of her suddenly got nervous when he mentioned that he was living with a few friends of his. "Are you sure about this?" she couldn't help but ask even though if he did say he wasn't then she'd have no other place to go. Then she saw the look on his face. He seemed very upbeat and sure of it. If he felt that way then who was she to continue the negativity growing within her? She readied a warm smile while she squeezed Pete's hand while the two of them waited for a response.

D DisneyGirl


The monday morning rays warmed his tan skin, brown eyes squinting as the warmth of the sun brushed his face and almost blinded him. Hunter stared down at the city, brushing the curtains away to provide him a good view of the busy streets a few floors below him. He's high up here that the people below almost seemed like ants.

He inhaled, the air wasn't fresh at all even though he was way up away from them or maybe it was because his nose just got used to the smell of being down there that the old suffocating stench of smoke continued to linger.

The young man dropped the curtains as he turned to his heel and approached the grand piano sitting prettily on the middle of the room, tall and green indoor plants and the red carpet adorned it and made it look more elegant and appealing. He ran a hand through his long dark locks and sat down, his dark brown eyes resting on the musical piece on the piano's music rack. It was his newest composition which is still in need of keys and tone. But it could wait, he's currently not in the mood to continue his work.

Instead, his fingers pressed familiar keys and he unconsciously played a melody he grew accustomed to. The soft and gentle sound of the piano urged him to close his eyes and not long after, he felt his voice synchronized with the melody. The piano and his voice blending and creating a wonderful sound.

Away from reality

Neverland is home for lost boys like m-

His eyes snapped open and he pressed the wrong key when he heard the door creaked open. It's sudden sound pulled him back to reality. He turned to look through his own shoulders, a man with hair dyed white, glasses loosely placed on his big nose and a little round stature entered and smiled at Hunter. The lad on the other hand simply frowned, "Have you ever heard of knocking, dumbass?" he said with a glare. The intruder sweated and perhaps a bit intimidated, nonetheless he skipped over to approach the long-haired male, two cups of coffee on his hands and a plastic bag probably filled with take-outs hanged on his arm.

"S-Sorry, it's just hard to knock with all these things I'm carrying." the older man reasoned and settled the drinks on top of the piano before taking out the said take-outs from the plastic bags, he offered one to the still frowning boy. "Shut up. I thought we had a gig last Friday, what the hell happened?" the younger male sharply questioned before snatching a coffee and popping it open.

"Well, see, Damien somehow found himself locked inside the prison. From the looks of it he harassed a girl or something." Hunter raised an eyebrow at this while he continued to take a long sip from his coffee, it tasted bitter but that was the way he wants his coffee. Bitter.

Hunter put the coffee down, his full attention on the rounder man, "That's pretty bad for the band's image. You should kick him out." his tone was uncaring as he accompanied his words with a shooing gesture. "What? But what would the fans say-" the white-haired man seemed bewildered by the idea as he tried to reason out but he quickly zipped his mouth when Hunter once again looked at him sharply.

"Smee, kick him out. The fans barely recognizes him anyway. It's good to get rid of trash while we're still starting out. Trashes attracts flies so they're basically useless." his fingers hovered above keys as he finally decided to continue tweaking the composition he left on the musical rack. Smee almost whispered when he asked who would handle the rhythm guitar instead. It didn't even take a second for Hunter to volunteer himself, "Me. Now go and settle things up since that's the manager's dumb job." he didn't even spared a glance towards the troubled manager's way.

Smee must've thought that changing the topic would relieve the tight tension in the atmosphere, "I heard you were singing something before I came in. Was it a new composition of yours? It was brilliant!" in response, the older man received an even sharper glare. It was his warning not to ask any questions any longer and go do his job like he was asked to do.

Hunter let out a frustrated groan when he finally heard the door shut behind him, signalling that his bubbly manager was finally out. The question almost caught him off-guard, how could he even confess that he was singing a song his ex-band members and him used to sing together? It would always be a good jam when he was with them but he can't see himself ever playing that same song with them ever again especially after everything that happened.

Natalie;

Deciding that she wouldn't bother waiting for his text because there would soon be a house full of hungry people to feed---with the exception of Lily who was already at school---Natalie connected her iPhone to the mini stereo in the kitchen and selected an acoustic playlist of pop songs perfect for a calm morning. She took her thick rimmed black glasses out of her flannel shirt pocket and put them on, before getting back to work and humming along to the music.

Natalie wasn't alone for long, though.

Soon after she began fixing up breakfast, somebody headed down the stairs and entered the kitchen. Being so focused on the pancakes, Natalie didn't have enough time to look up and find out who it was; but she could tell by the arm on her waist and the soft kiss on her cheek who it had been.

"Good morning, beautiful,"

"Cody!" The brunette replied with a huge grin. He lightly brushed the side of her neck with his nose, making her forget for a moment about the pancakes and that at any time, anyone could walk in and catch them in such an awkward position.

"Pancakes? Do you need any help with them?"

Natalie giggled. "You're so sweet, thank you.." she replied, before giving him a peck on the cheek. Natalie may have been twenty nine, but with Cody, she felt so much younger. Living with all these kids made her sometimes feel like a kid again; and being with Cody was like being a teenage girl falling in love for the first time ever. He was just what she needed after the biggest heartbreak of her life. Natalie had been with her ex boyfriend William since the first year of college and engaged to him for almost two years until last year when they broke up due to differences they just couldn't overcome. It wasn't much of a surprise; they'd both seen it coming, but had tried as hard as they could to make it work. The sad truth was that they were just too different.

She wanted kids. He hated kids.

She wanted to live in the city. He wanted to move back to his small hometown.

She loved music. He thought music was stupid.

Natalie thought for sure she'd never fall in love again, so she immersed herself into her work, promoting and helping shape musical artists and their careers. Once she met the Lost Boys, however, she didn't have a life outside of them. Every minute of every day was spent with them, with Cody, and soon Natalie found herself falling in love with him.

And Cody was falling in love with her, too.

Natalie was about to kiss the boy when she heard footsteps. Quickly pulling away just in time before Caleb and Belle came in, Natalie cleared her throat and tried to look busy and not like she was about to make out with someone who was technically her boss. She tried to remember that simple fact as she watched the boys perform at the Lagoon Hotel rooftop. She was his manager first, girlfriend second. She had a duty to all three boys to not let her feelings get in the way and remain as professional as possible. Mixing business with pleasure was bad enough, so Natalie had to make sure she focused more on the business part.

"Morning guys," Natalie greeted the two, desperately doing her best to seem casual and chill as possible. She thought about making coffee. Coffee sounded really good right now.

And then there he was: Pete.

And there was a girl, too.

"Oh, boy," Natalie sighed. This did not look good.

"Another one, Pete? Don't you know how full this house already?" Belle asked.

Yup, not good. Not good at all.

"Belle, that's no way to treat the newest member of our humble little family," Pete replied in a stern but playful tone. Putting his arm around the girl next to him, Pete announced, "Everybody, this is Wendy. And Wendy," the boy continued, "meet the twins, Cody and Caleb. You probably saw them at the party. They're my bandmates and partners in crime."

Of course, Cody was sweet and welcoming, like always, welcoming the girl.

Nodding towards Natalie, Pete said, "And the girl making pancakes? That's our band manager, Natalie. She's the reason we don't all starve to death."

Natalie gave an awkward but friendly wave. The kind of wave that said, "This is so freaking embarrassing, but let's all try to act normal and civil here, shall we?"

"Oh, and the fiesty one with no manners?" Pete added, with a smirk. "That's my best friend, Belle. Don't touch her pudding cups or she'll kick your ass."

"Pete!" Natalie cried, not appreciating his sense of humor right now.

"No, really," Pete told Wendy, "you think she's mean now? Just wait 'till you take her pudding."

"Okay, enough," Natalie said, shaking her head as she tried to concentrate on finishing up everybody's pancakes. "Wendy, feel free to grab a seat. There's plenty of breakfast for everyone." Turning to Cody, she said with a hopeful smile, "Cody, would you get the milk and orange juice, please?"

AnimeGenork . D O V E

Pete;

Pete raised an eyebrow. Was Natalie giving Cody breakfast orders? That was such a…grownupy thing to do. It was one thing when she coached the boys with the music stuff, but another when she was asking for them to help to set the table. She really was the mother of the house. After Natalie served up the pancakes, she looked up at Pete and asked in a hushed but serious tone, "Can I talk to you in private for a second?"

"Is that a question or a demand?" Pete asked, with a crooked grin.

Natalie rolled her eyes and grabbed the young man by the arm and lead him to another corner of the house, like a disobient and annoying little brother which is exactly what he acted like a lot of the time.
"Ow, what was that for?" Pete said, rubbing his arm.

"Pete, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Natalie whispered loudly.

"How much time do you have, 'cause listing out everything could take all day…"

Natalie punched him in the arm.

"Ow!"

"You and Lily just broke up, again, and now this?" Natalie continued. "It's bad enough when you bring girls home to sleep with while I'm trying to help Lily make it through another one of your fights, but now you're having one move in with us?"

"Hey, Wendy's a really nice girl," Pete said, getting a bit defensive. "She's different. She's…special."

And Pete meant it, too. Fooling around with cute strangers was fun, but he never took them seriously or cared about them the way he cared about Wendy. He had never connected with anyone like that before, not even Lily.

"She's also your rebound," Natalie reminded him. "I don't want to see you break another girl's heart."

"I'd never break Wendy's heart," he replied, serious, which was so unusual for Pete. Then he actually said, "…and she's not a rebound. I love her."

"Pete, you don't even know her," Natalie said, with an exhausted sigh. "None of us do. But you have Lily---"

"Lily and I are over now," Pete snapped, but then he, too, gave an exhausted sigh. Arguing with Natalie always sucked, usually because she was right most of the time. Maybe Pete was moving too fast and maybe this was cruel to do to Lily, but he didn't like all these rules being forced upon him either. He still loved Lily, too, but not in the way he loved Wendy. Wendy just understood him in ways that Lily never did; he didn't have to try to be something he wasn't, like being more responsible or more of an adult. He didn't have to feel guilty for not giving up his party lifestyle in order to do something stupid and boring like go to college and be realistic about the odds of making it to the top. Things felt easier with Wendy, who was a crazy dreamer just like him.

"Lily's been with you through the good times and the bad. This new girl hasn't. You're seriously going to choose some stranger over Lily?" Natalie replied. "I mean, if it was Belle you were in love with, I could understand---"

"Belle?" Pete asked, laughing. What the hell? Was that supposed to be a joke? "God, no. That's like being in love with my sister."

Natalie shook her head. "How are you planning to break the news to Lily?" she asked, biting her lip nervously.

Pete frowned, confused.

"Oh my God," Natalie replied, rolling her eyes back. "You're hopeless. Never mind, we'll figure it out later. C'mon, let's go back to the kitchen before Belle bites Wendy's head off."

When the two got back to the kitchen, Natalie served herself some pancakes and put a tiny amount of maple syrup on them before Pete grabbed the syrup from her and basically drowned his pancakes in the sticky and sugary liquid.

Chewing on her food, Natalie squinted her eyes at her new roommate. "Wait a second," Natalie said, after she shallowed a bite. "Wendy, have we met before?"

"She was at the party at Lagoon the other night," Pete explained, with a full mouth.

"That's not where I remember you from," Natalie said to the girl, still studying her. "Wait, oh my God. You wouldn't happen to have any brothers do you? Michael and John? And your parents, are they George and Mary Darling?"

"Whoa," Pete said. "What are you, a psychic? How did you know all that?"

Natalie laughed with surprise. "Because I used to babysit her and her brothers when they were little."

. D O V E avira AnimeGenork

wendy

The way her heart beat quickened it's pace as Pete's roommates showed up one by one reminded her of that time in first grade when she entered and laid down on the dentist's bed for the first time. She was nervous and excited at the same time. Well, mostly nervous and just a tiny bit excited. But Wendy kept on holding on to Pete's firm hand, finding comfort from it's warmth. The nervous lass gulped when an older and mature looking woman muttered a short but audible, "Oh boy." and the other blonde in the room had this annoyed and sharp look on her. She sweated even more when the said other blonde spoke up.

Of course! Wendy was a fool for thinking that showing up with Pete after he didn't come home for days and when he did show up he found a new roommate and from the other girl's tone it's safe to add an again. Does Pete always do this? Does he always bring girls he spend some time with and appoint them as his new roommate? If that's the case then perhaps the annoyed girl is also just like her. What if he kicks her out after a week, a day or even an hour!? Wendy internally cursed herself for thinking of such things. She loves Pete and that's what matters. She needs to trust Pete. He's the only one who's there for her after all.

All her negative thoughts evaporated the moment Pete spoke up. It was magical. How he could take away and make her forget of all her insecurities, anxieties and worries in a blink of an eye takes her breathe away. Wendy listened carefully and took notes of all the people he was introducing, etching their names on her mind since she'd dislike to address them with the wrong name later on. So there was Natalie, the grown-up of the house, the twin boys who were apparently part of the Pete's band (although she failed to recognize them in the hotel since she was drunk and was bawling currently) while the feisty blonde was named Belle.

Wendy flashed a warm and kind smile towards the occupants of the house ang giggled at the pudding part, "Good morning. My name is Wendy." she bobbed her head in a bowing manner. She couldn't blame Belle for reacting that way, maybe they already have enough heads inside their home. Wendy promised herself that she's gonna find a way to repay them somehow. When Natalie offered her some pancakes, she got flustered and shook her head slowly. "Oh no, no. It's fine, I'm not really that hungr-" but her stomach was a backstabbing snake, it growled on cue and her face grew even redder.

She reluctantly trudged towards the seat offered to her and Natalie served pancakes. It smelled so sweet and looked so fluffy! It reminded her of the pancakes she'd eat with her brothers. She smiled at herself while reminiscing her adorable siblings. "Thank you." she whispered right before Natalie requested to talk with Pete. She stared at the direction they headed. Wendy wondered what they were going to talk about, maybe it was about the band or her.

She reverted her attention to the people who was left with her. "Um, I'm sorry for suddenly showing up." she fidgeted with the fork in her hand, "Pete has told me some things about you guys. All good things but a bit silly." she let out a good-nature giggle. She wanted to be their friend and get along with them. But in order to do that she need to warm up to them so they could do the same thing to her later on.

Later on, Natalie and Pete returned to the scene. Wendy looked at Pete and showed him a soft smile, as if she was telling him that his- their roommates are wonderful just like he told her. She figured it might come out as rude if Wendy won't touch the pancakes Natalie offered kindly so she took some and ate it. The taste filled her tongue and nostalgia once more hit her. The taste was exactly the same as the one she would eat back then with her favorite babysitter and brothers.

Something grabbed her attention away from her pleasant memories, it was Natalie mentioning something about seeing Wendy before. Wendy blinked at this as she continued to munch on some soft pancakes. Her mind searched something that would remind her whether the older woman and her met before or something. Pete suggested it was during the party at the hotel but the latter disagreed. Wendy continued staring and munching before a light bulb suddenly lit up in her mind.

The confused girl's mind internally showed her a picture of her babysitter from years ago while Natalie mentioned her family perfectly. Wendy choked on the pancakes she was eating and quickly grabbed the cold water right beside her plate. She totally missed Pete's psychic joke. When she finally recovered from her shock, she started stuttering before she burst into happy tears. "I can't believe it! It's you, NatNat!" she brought back the old nickname she had for Natalie when she was still working for them. She bolted and quickly hugged the older woman while she sobbed softly, "This is wonderful! My brothers and I missed you terribly." happiness filled her voice. She remembered that she never had the chance to say goodbye to her when she left their home, it was probably because her father locked her in her room since she was whining about Natalie leaving.

Wendy withdrew before chuckling, "I'm sorry, it's just that I'm very bad with surprised reunions." she wiped the tears streaming down her face as she felt embarrassed once more. She forgot that people she just met were around her. It's just that she missed Natalie terribly! Maybe a part of it is because she remembers her brothers through her.

hunter

It seemed like Smee finished his task quickly just like he was suggested to. It must've been roughly less than twenty minutes or so when a furious Damien kicked Hunter's door open, once again interrupting Hunter's solemn work for a brief amount of time. The long haired man turned and looked at the angry kicked-out member with a dead-pan expression, "Learn how to knock, will you?" he returned his eyes on the musical instrument right before him.

"Hunter you jerk! You can't just kick me out like that!" Damien snarled while approaching the said man. He roughly banged a hand on the piano's side and it instantly earned a sharp glare from Hunter.

"I can and I already did." Hunter countered before a low chuckle followed afterwards, "Now get out." he used his thumb to point at the door. Damien cursed him and stormed off, shutting the door roughly like an immature dolt. The man left on the room sighed and ran a hand through his dark locks, while he on the other hand simply shook his head. Just then, he felt a cool wind coming from the open window and he found himself staring at the busy streets down there once more. He badly needed to take a walk- or even better- a quick joy ride.

He waltzed out of the room and took the elevator to take him to the ground floor. Ever since Hunter became the front man of T.J.R (The Jolly Rogers), he couldn't even step a foot outside without some strangers pointing or asking him for a picture. He shoved his ever-ready dark-tinted glasses on his pant's pocket and wore his infamous leather jacket over his shirt. After all is said and done, he ventured towards the parking lot and easily spotted his black and red sports motorcycle. While testing the engine, he used his left hand to equip the helmet that would conceal his face to the public.

With his ride, he bolted out the parking lot and hit the road. He avoided vehicles as if he was in some sort of video game. At times like these, Hunter felt that he was free from the stress of the world and everything else. He's no poet but he felt like a bird soaring through the wide and open sky.

But suddenly, his eyes found a familiar girl's figure. He slowed down and stared at her back. A smirk found it's way into his hidden face when he figured out that it was none other than Pete's ex-girlfriend or girlfriend. The two had always been confusing, always on or off. It was always annoying for him. On the other hand, Hunter had always admired the lass from afar. She's beautiful and classy and if not for Pete he would have made his move a long time ago. Honestly, that guy doesn't know what's in front of him.

Hunter stopped his vehicle beside Lily, pressing the motor's horn on the process which is an attempt to catch her attention. His firm hands took his helmet off while a smirk never left his face. Hunter knows about what good Pete has been saying behind his back. The Legend of Pete and His Stolen Musical Composition, that was the name Hunter has given to the story Pete wrote and happily shared to the Lost Boys and company.

"Sup, Lily." his smirk grew even wider, "Need a ride?" he patted the seat behind him. It was very obvious that the lads believed Pete and hates him but he wondered if Natalie, Belle and Lily feels the same way. Either way, it doesn't hurt to try and find out the truth.

D DisneyGirl AnimeGenork avira

NATALIE;

"I can't believe it! It's you, NatNat!"

She hadn't been called NatNat in forever, but that was what Wendy and the children called their beloved nanny. When Wendy bolted from her seat and hugged her former caretaker, Natalie was quick to run to her and return the hug. As the girls sobbed together, Wendy said, "This is wonderful! My brothers and I missed you terribly."

"And I missed you all as well!" Natalie replied, laughing with joy. If it were up to her, she would have never left the Darling family; but it was their father who had fired the young Natalie out of no where. She had just finished putting the children to sleep with their bedtime story when Mr. Darling broke the news to her.

"I'm afraid we are not going to be needing your services anymore, Natalie," Mr. Darling said, on the ride back to her parents' home.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Darling, but what?" Natalie asked, worried.

"This will be your last week with the children."

"Did I do something wrong? Is this because Michael ate the dog's food yesterday when I wasn't watching?"

"No, no, dear," Mr. Darling sweetly said to the twenty three year old. "It's just that Wendy is twelve now, and John is eleven, and---well Michael is still quite young but he'll be starting kindergarten soon. I suppose what I'm trying to say is, it's not necessary for the children to have a nanny anymore."

The next few days were hard for Natalie, knowing that she'd be saying goodbye forever to the children. Maybe not forever. She could write letters and what not, but it just wouldn't be the same as seeing them everyday. The last day was the most heartbreaking with Wendy locked up in her room, not allowed to come out because her parents were afraid that she wouldn't be able to handle saying goodbye and would try to run away with the young woman.

Life after the Darling children never felt the same. No more lunches to pack. No fights to break up. No lullaby songs to sing. Natalie felt like a part of her was missing, that part of her had even died. Maybe that was why she enjoyed taking care of her roommates no matter how much drama was thrown her way.

Pulling away for a moment Wendy said, "I'm sorry, it's just that I'm very bad with surprised reunions," She was crying and Natalie helped wipe away the girl's tears as she cried herself. While Natalie loved her parents dearly and had a great relationship with them, she did wish she had siblings. Being an only child got lonely at times, and the Darlings kids were the closest Natalie had to a sister and brothers.

"Aw, sweetie," Natalie said, wiping away her own tears with one of her hands. "Don't be sorry. I'm freaking out, too.."

The beautiful moment was interrupted by a slamming sound.

Belle had put her pudding cup down on the table and was now getting up to leave, obviously not interested in even pretending like she cared about this cute little reunion.

"I'm tired," she said, but Natalie knew there was more to it. "I'm going back to bed."

"Belle---"

But she had already left.

Natalie's first instinct was to go after her, but Caleb beat her to it.

Pete, being the oblivious idiot he could be at times, asked, "What's her problem?"

You are, Wendy thought, but instead she said, "I guess it just feels too overcrowded in here for her…"

Turning to Wendy, she added, "I'm so sorry about that---"

Pete shook his head. "If Belle wants to be like that, then fine. I'm not gonna let her ruin our fun."

Putting his arm around Wendy, he grinned at her and said, "Let's go to my room to unpack your things,"

Natalie almost cringed. She hadn't really thought about where Wendy was going to sleep, but in Pete's bedroom didn't seem like a good idea considering the fact that they'd be sharing the same bed Pete and Lily share. And weren't her things still in there?

Pete scooped up his new girlfriend and with a careless laugh, led her up the stairs.

And Natalie was once again alone with Cody. With an exhausted sigh, she rested her forehead on his chest.

"How am I going to make this better for Belle?" she asked her boyfriend. "How am I going to help Lily get through this? And how am I supposed to protect Wendy all at the same time?"

Supporting Wendy's relationship with Peter felt like she was betraying Lily, but then not supporting Wendy felt unfair because this wasn't her fault. And then there was poor Belle who had to watch Pete pass her up all over again. Not only that but he friendzoned her, and Natalie was pretty sure that Belle had heard that part of their conversation. This seemed to be a mess she just couldn't fix.

"Please just kiss me," Natalie said softly. "I swear, Cody, you're like the only one who keeps me sane in this house."

. D O V E AnimeGenork avira

---

PETE;

Kicking his bedroom door open, Pete walked into his bedroom with Wendy in his arms like a bride and groom arriving at their new home. He dropped her stuff on the floor before gently dropping her on his bed. Hovering over her, Pete nibbled at and kissed her neck then moved onto kissing her lips. It hadn't even been a few weeks since he last kissed Lily on this very bed, and his conscious wouldn't let him forget it.

Nor would the enviroment they occupied.

Pete could see Lily's red hoodie sticking out from underneath the pillow he rested Wendy's head on. Trying to ignore it, he took his shirt off and continued to kiss her, but he could still smell Lily's perfume on his blanket and the guilt was really starting to get to him.

It's fine, Pete, He told himself. You're not with Lily anymore. Besides, you've brought other girls over with Lily living here. What's so different about this?

The difference was, Pete always knew he'd go back to Lily. Didn't matter how many gorgeous girls he slept with, Pete never got attached to any of them and he went back to Lily right after, sometimes even the very morning after. And Lily would forgive him and take him back. Everything would be great until the next fight and breakup and then, repeat.

This time, though, there might not be a repeat. This might have been the last time, because unlike with all those other girls, Pete was actually falling in love with this one.

And he didn't have the guts to face Lily and tell her that.

He needed a distraction.

Pete pulled away suddenly and announced, "You know what, I'm gonna throw a party for you tonight. Since you're part of the family now, we gotta celebrate."

Hopping out of bed, Pete grabbed Wendy's bags and then got to work at making her home. The idea of having Wendy move in with him was exciting. He was so happy, so in love with her. He didn't want anything to ruin that, not even Lily. Sure, she'd been there from the start and he might end up breaking her heart, but that wasn't his fault. That's just what happens sometimes. Pete figured he didn't owe her forever just because they had been together for so long. Lily might not even care! They were constantly fighting anyway. It was better this way. He was giving her a chance to find someone else who could make her happier since he apparently couldn't be what she wanted. Lily was a strong girl; she would get over it.

What Pete did next was pretty stupid. He opened the drawers for Wendy so she could put her clothes inside but was met with some of Lily's clothing. "Um," he said, blushing. "The closet's probably better." But when he opened the sliding mirror door, the closet had a ton of Lily's clothes in there as well.

What could possibly be more awkward than having your new girlfriend move into your room while your ex girlfriend's things were still in there? Not much.

Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, Pete said, "Uh, we're still in the moving process. Moving Lily's stuff out of my room, I mean. Don't worry about it. Just put your stuff wherever you like, okay?"

Busying himself, Pete grabbed any toiletries Wendy had and went to the bathroom to place them; but he couldn't escape Lily for anything.
Her brand of shampoo was still in the shower, as well as one of her hairbrushes with some of her hair still in it. Her toothpaste and deodorant were next to the bathroom sink, and Pete found some nail polish in the medicine cabinet.

Shit. Was all this going to be too much for Wendy? Was she gonna get uncomfortable, have second thoughts and bail out?

Pete chuckled and shook his head. This was so unlike him. He was starting to become like Natalie, over-worrying about everyone and their feelings. Other girls may have issues with it, but his Wendy wasn't like other girls. Wendy was cool. She'd understand.

"I put your toothbrush and all that in the bathroom, feel free to rearrange it if ya need to," he said. He hadn't helped her unpack for more than five minutes and already he was tired. He grabbed his iPhone from the nightstand and sat back on the bed.

"I'm gonna text a few of my buddies about our party tonight," Pete explained as his fingers typed away. And by a few buddies, he meant just about everyone he knew and their buddies.

"Hmm," he said, "I think we ran out of beer. I'm gonna have to get Nat to get some for us since she's the only legal one in this house."

Pete dialed her number.

"You had to call me? You couldn't come downstairs to tell me whatever it is you need to say?"

"We're having a party for Wendy tonight, so I'm gonna need you to go get us some alcohol,"

"What? Hell no. You want to get me arrested? You know I don't do that, Pete."

Pete rolled his eyes. It was true. She never did. All about that "responsibly" shit.

Then in a lower voice, she added, "It's bad enough I let you guys drink in the house."

"What are you? Our mother?" Pete said, laughing. "Fine, I'll use my fake ID."

"Pete, you're supposed to be job hunting today! Rent is coming up and---"

"Alright, love you too, mom. Bye!" Pete said, before hitting that end button.

Getting up from the bed, he asked Wendy, "She seriously used to take care of you as a little kid?" then putting his arms around her waist, he kissed her and continued, "Well, no worries. Because there are going to be no nannies at this party. So put on something nice because tonight? Tonight, Wendy, is your night."

. D O V E avira AnimeGenork

{ hunter }

Hunter raised a single brow at her positive yet somehow reluctant reply, nonetheless it was way better than her wringing his neck off for his supposed betrayal. He laughed internally as his sharp gaze followed Lily while she put his spare helmet on. Honestly, he had never saw anyone look so badass and pretty while putting a helmet on. It was one of Lily's appeal though.

When she was finally settled (hopefully) comfortably right behind him, he couldn't help but smirk. "Grab on." he muttered just as he started the engine and Lily wrapped her arms around him. He wondered whether the hesitation was because of her dislike of his chosen vehicle or was it because of her dislike of him? It wasn't the first time he had offered her a ride but it was the first ever since he left the boys.

After what felt like hours of soaring the streets and drowning in the feeling of having the woman you were interested in for long wrapping her hands around you, they finally arrived at the ever nostalgic home of the Lost Kids. He managed to park his motor smoothly yet it still made a noisy engine-like sound, he's pretty sure that the whole occupant of the house managed to hear their arrival.

He got off the vehicle right after Lily did, then he freed his face from his helmet and hanged it on one of the side mirrors.

"I guess you're home, huh?" Hunter gently took the helm from her before doing hanging it on the opposite side from where he hanged his.

He let his eyes examine the familiar structure of what used to be his home once too. His mind drowned with the memories he spent with the lads. He remembered when Pete and he would come up with random ideas for a song and then they'd call the twins for a gig. He remembered when Natalie would scold them grumpily because it was 2 in the morning and she couldn't sleep. Then when Belle threw a fit because somebody stole her pudding although it was him who ate it. He remembered the small talks he had with Lily and how they'd jump at one topic to another.

Those were some fun times but he knew that fun isn't enough to get you anywhere. It wasn't just enough and Hunter can't blame himself that he chose his career over the boys.

Times with the Roger boys are cool too if they're not being shitheads and if Hunter's not being a jerk.

He dusted himself off of those memories as he stared at Lily, waiting for her to enter the house.

The man couldn't help but wonder what Pete would think if ever he decided to stick his head out of the window and see his ex-best friend dropping his ex and potential current girlfriend at their ex-shared house. Now that's a lot of ex.

It once more made him aware of all the things that had changed ever since he gripped success.

avira


{ wendy }

The way Belle walked out of them like that made Wendy feel uncomfortable and the growing feeling that she was unwelcome arose. She tried to say something but Pete beat her into it. So she just chewed her lips nervously, she wondered if she could really stay after all?

But the feeling of getting scooped up by none other than Pete briefly distracted her from everything. The sudden action made Wendy flush a deep shade of red.

The way he carried her made her feel like a newly wed and the way he proclaimed that she was staying on his room deepened that feeling.

Wendy giggled as Pete continued carrying her throughout the way. He was sweet and the feeling she had while scooped up in his arms was bliss.

Wendy never knew that you could feel this safe and comfortable with anyone. It was like, she and Pete, they just made sense.

When she looked at his eyes everything just clicked. Just like how the door behind Pete clicked as well as they entered the room.

In a blink of an eye, she was on Pete's bed and he was on her. His lips did wonders and Wendy softly gripped at the sleeves of his shirt. But as he took his shirt off, Wendy smelled something faint but lingering.

It wasn't Pete's.

It was a woman's scent.

Then he was back on her, continuing where he left off but Wendy's mind wandered somewhere filled with doubts, hurt and confusion.

All of a sudden, he sat up and said something about throwing a party and celebrating. But Wendy doesn't care about that right now. She sat up and turned to look at where her head was on just a few seconds ago. There was an obnoxious red hoodie sticking out like a sore thumb.

She slowly pulled it out underneath the pillows just as Pete carried Wendy's stuff and opened the drawers. There were some feminine stuff poking out of it so he quickly changed his mind and went to the closet, suggesting that they put her stuff in there instead.

Then they were met with a few more items that clearly doesn't belong to Pete.

Wendy remained quiet as she stared at the ground. She wondered whether Pete was thinking about Wendy and Wendy alone when he was kissing her. She wondered if Pete would kick her out once he was done with her. Doubts filled her mind as the man she was falling in love with scurried and said something.

She did catch the name Lily.

Wendy fidgeted, wasn't she one of the roommates he had mentioned before? But he failed to mention that they used to be lovers. She slowly put the hoodie on the bed before she got up and listened to Pete make a phone call which sounded to be with Natalie.

Doubts were clouding her mind and she doesn't know whether she could still carry on with such thoughts.

What if this was only a one-week thing? What if he got rid of her after he grew bored? Would Pete even do that? She'd be heartbroken and devastated.

She glanced at the the red-headed male before she bit on her lips. Then he turned around after his call and made a joke.

Their eyes met and Wendy couldn't help it anymore, tears rolled down her cheeks. Was she being dramatic about this again? She disliked herself for being this way. For being a crybaby. For not handling a situation such as this composedly.

"Pete, can we have a serious talk?" she requested as she used the back of her hands to wipe her tears away.

"Are you sure about this? A-about us?" her voice cracked but she kept everything a soft whisper, this was something that only the two of them should hear. "Can you look me in the eyes and say that you love me? That you're over Lily nor any other people but me?" tears continued streaming down her face.

Because if what's going on between Pete and her is real then she'd be gladly willing to let go of all his pasts as long as he as well is willing to let go.

She reached out to hold his hand before smiling softly and sweetly at him, "Because I'm here and I really love you."

Over the weekend's course, the two had already confessed their love for each other almost a hundred of times. But this time, Wend'y was different. It was genuine and truthful.

D DisneyGirl AnimeGenork

Hugs from Cody were always the best. Natalie could start to feel herself calm down as the boy held her and kissed her hair, speaking words of reason and comfort. If anyone knew how to be one hundred percent honest with her while still being kind and loving, it was her Cody. No one had had this much affect on her, knowing just the right thing to say or do in the perfect moment. It was the kind of thing women dreamed of in a man, Natalie included, but so seldom found it seemed. Who would have known that she would find it in a nineteen year old kid. Cody was so mature, though, that she sometimes forgot his age.

“Besides, Belle’s got Caleb. If there’s anyone who’s great at helping her out, it’s him.”

Natalie smiled and chuckled at that. It was pretty obvious to her that, even though Caleb was a natural sweetheart and good friend just like his twin brother, he had his own motives. Like a mother with that special sense of knowing things, Natalie could see Caleb's fondness for Belle just by the way he looked and acted around her. The shy but still somewhat flirtatious smiles, the awkwardness. It was probably the most adorable thing she had witnessed since first realizing Cody had a crush on her.

Natalie remembered being both embarrassed and excited when she found out. Excited because she liked him too, but embarrassed since he was so much younger than she was and on top of that, she still liked him anyway.

Responding to her request for a kiss, Cody grinned and lifted Natalie's chin.

“As you wish,” he whispered softly, and she laughed, recognizing the movie quote. They started off by kissing softly but then Cody started kissing her harder. Nothing too crazy, however. They weren't entirely safe considering any one of their friends could walk in and catch them. It frustrated Natalie, so much so that she actually started to wonder if maybe it wouldn't be a big deal at all if Belle or Pete or whoever walked in on the couple. Maybe Cody was feeling the same way, because the next thing Natalie knew, he was pulling back slightly to gently kiss her neck. She gasped but she didn't dare try to stop him. Simple and subtle, but as he trailed those kisses down her neck and to her shoulder, with his arms tightening around her, Natalie started to feel herself lose herself in it. She let out a sigh, butterflies in her stomach.

And then Pete called.

Natalie argued with him for a few good minutes about how she was not going to go get him alcohol and they were not going to have a freaking party especially when Pete was broke and needed to find a job asap. But Pete hung up on her once he realized he wasn't gonna get his way, and all the stress and headaches came rushing back to Natalie.

Then Cody started kissing her again, saying, “Maybe a party’s just what we all need. Something to take our minds off of things.” He leaned his forehead against hers and whispered,“And maybe…we can have some more alone time then?”

Natalie pulled away for a moment to get a better look at him, trying to discern the exact meaning behind his words.

The flirtatious smirk and longing look in his eyes made her blush.

She buried her head into his shoulder and giggled. Natalie and Cody had been sleeping together for a while now, but that didn't mean it was easy. From having to kick Cody out of her room in the early morning before everyone woke up to having to hide in his closet whenever Caleb walked into the room the brothers shared, Natalie and Cody pretty much had to strategize their alone time together like their lives depended on it. Keeping a secret relationship was a lot of hard work.

But with a party to keep everyone distracted? Things suddenly got a lot easier.

"I see," Natalie responded, grinning and leaning in to kiss him. In between kisses, she suggested, "Maybe during this party…we can sneak off…you know…for the night. We can claim that we're… sick and tired…of dealing with all the crazy parties…and we won't return…until sometime in the morning. Or afternoon..."

It was the perfect excuse for the two of them to get away for the night.

Thank you, Pete.

The kissing continued, with Natalie accidentally knocking over a glass of milk.

"I'll pick it up later," she told Cody, pausing only momentary to get a look at the shattered glass on the kitchen floor before getting back to their makeout session. After a few minutes, she said, "Damn, we should be getting back to work.."

Work as in him making music and her promoting his music, because they were Artist and Manager after all; but the only thing that could get Natalie to temporarily seperate herself from the young man was the sound of a familar voice.

"Shit, it's Lily," she said, quickly pulling away from Cody before fixing her hair and lip gloss.

AnimeGenork avira



There was nothing more that Pete wanted in life than for his friends to be happy and having fun. Life was too short to be depressed or worried. Students who go to fancy universities and grown folks working at boring corporate jobs were depressed and worried; but people like Pete's friends, people like Wendy, deserved better than that.

That's why it was so confusing and frustrating but mostly heartbreaking for Pete to see his girl crying like this. He was never good with handling these types of emotions, whether they were his own or others'. It wasn't that he wasn't empathetic. No, Pete was extremely sensitive and felt pain deeply. That's precisely the reason he was uncomfortable confronting and accepting feelings like sadness because once he allowed himself to feel it, it was hard for him to get out of that negative headspace.

Pain was not a place he wanted to visit.

He had already had lots of it during his childhood. He'd experienced enough to last a lifetime, and he didn't want any more of it. So he learned to block all negative feelings out, whether his or not, and ended up coming across as oblivious or insensitive. And he was, to a certain point, but not because he didn't care about people. It was just a survival strategy that also was one of his biggest flaws.

"Hey," Pete said, softly, still grinning. "Hey, hey, hey. Wendy. Come on now, what's the matter? Huh?"

"Pete, can we have a serious talk?" she said, using the back of her hands to wipe her tears away.

The young man's face fell at the word "serious". Pete did not like serious, but he listened to her nonetheless.

"Are you sure about this? A-about us?" Wendy whispered, but her voice cracked, which made all of this even harder for Pete to deal with. "Can you look me in the eyes and say that you love me? That you're over Lily nor any other people but me?"

She reached out to hold his hand before smiling softly and sweetly at him, "Because I'm here and I really love you."

Wendy's tears were like waterfalls at this point. Natalie was so much better at these sort of things than he was. Cody and Caleb, too. He wanted to go get one of the three to fix this situation but by the tone of Wendy's voice and topic of their discussion, Pete was smart enough to guess that this conversation was meant to be between the two of them and only the two of them. She was pouring her heart out to him.

"Wendy," he said, trying to bring that careless attitude and huge grin back. "Well, of course I'm sure about us!"

Why wouldn't he be? Yes, Pete had a reputation for playing with girls' hearts without even knowing he was, but again, this was different. Being with Wendy was a new kind of relationship altogether. He had never been more sure of anything in his life than he was sure that he wanted Wendy for as long as possible, which was probably crazy since he hardly knew the girl, but Pete wasn't too logical and apparently neither was love.

"Wendy Darling, there is no other girl in this world that could even possibly begin to compare to you," Pete said, pulling her closer to his chest. "Listen, Lily and I are over. I don't care about her anymore. I mean, yeah, I care about her in the sense that she's one of my best friends, in the same way that I care about Belle and Natalie."

Continuing the next part by looking into her gorgeous eyes, "But, Wendy, I love you more than I have loved anyone else in the whole world. Before you, I was just another lost guy, a lost boy if you will…" he said, chuckling at his ironic band name. "And then you found me. And I found you. And I took you away from the shitty life that was awaiting you back home because I wanted to save you. I wanted you to have this grand adventure with me."

Bringing her hands up to his chest, he finished with, "It's up to you, though, whether you want to stay or go. But I hope you do stay here, in our little home called Neverland. If you do, I promise you that you will never have to worry about losing sight of your dreams or getting your heart broken ever again."

With a laugh, he said, "The worst that'll happen is dealing with Belle and Lily's fighting. Yet, not even that will ever ruin what we have, okay?"

His phone buzzed, interrupting the sweet moment.

"Alright!" Pete said, his grin back on his face. "My buddy Vince has already got the alcohol!"

. D O V E

AnimeGenork avira . D O V E

N a t a l i e;

What do I do? What do I do? How can I fix this? Come on, Nat, you can fix this! You have to.

All of this fighting and tension was stressing her the hell out. Overwhelmed, she sat down, rubbed her forehead and started to cry. This isn't what she wanted; she wanted her friends to stay united together but they had been slowly falling apart since Hunter left. It hurt to witness such a thing. She'd gotten up and abandoned her old life in London to come out to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the music industry and these kids were the closest thing she had to a family besides her parents who were miles and miles away. In this crazy and unpredictable big city, they were her only constant. She already lost Hunter. She couldn't bare losing the others just because of bad blood and taking sides. Thinking of Hunter only made her cry even more. She hadn't spoken to him all that much since he left the band and Natalie always wondered if he thought that she and the rest of the gang had taken Pete's side in all of this. Pete had one simple rule: anyone who associates with an enemy of the family is an enemy of the family themselves.

"But that's insane, Pete!" Natalie had argued with him when he announced to everyone that they were no longer able to be friends with Hunter if they wanted to be friends with him. "We can't just shut him out like that---"

"He's the one who chose this, Natalie," Pete reminded her.

"Do you think he really stole those songs? I mean, how do you even know?"

"Are you saying I'm lying?"

"No, I'm just saying, well, maybe---"

But Pete had had enough. It was either you stuck with Pete or you went with Hunter. That was the end of the conversation.

Honestly, she wasn't sure if she would have stuck by Pete if not for the others. It was so unfair and so cruel what Pete was doing to his ex best friend and Hunter had always been like a little brother to her much in the same way that the other boys were.

Well, with the exception of Cody, considering he was her boyfriend.

Natalie missed the times they spent jamming to their favorite records and geeking out over their favorite bands. She missed having him in the house, working on another new song. Like a loving mother, she'd set a plate of a home-cooked meal in front of him as he got lost in perfecting a melody or a certain lyric.

Honestly, he was the secret weapon in this band. The Lost Kids were a really good band, but with Hunter around, they were great and had the potential to be legendary. He was pretty much the main reason Natalie had signed on to be their manager. Pete wasn't all that much of a talented musician. He was a decent singer and he had the good looks, which made it easy to "sell" the band. Natalie hated thinking like a shallow music exec but she was a business woman and she knew that a band with catchy songs and cute guys sold records. But while Pete was the looks, Hunter was the brains. He was the one who was gonna take the Lost Boys from boy band fame to rock and roll royalty.

He was more than that, though. Hunter was their family, their brother. There was no way he could have betrayed Pete like that. Could there?

The guilt that came from taking sides with Pete and Hunter killed her and now she was probably gonna have to do the same thing with Lily and Wendy.

Snapping her back to reality, Natalie felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. It was Cody, holding pudding in his hand and offering it to her. “Here, Nat. Eat it and calm down a bit.” His hand slid down her arm to squeeze her hand and the simple movement soothed her. “You know Pete’s not normally like that. He’s just all up in arms because Hunter showed up suddenly.”

He made sure that no eyes were on them before he quickly kissed her cheek. “Can you smile for me? Please?” And Cody gave Natalie that adorable and totally irresistible pleading look of his and she couldn't help but laugh and cry even more because of how lucky she was to have him.

"Thank you," she said, squeezing his hand.

He wasn't so sweet with Peter.

“What did Hunter mean by ‘different versions’ of the story? Is there something you’re not telling us?”

Yet as lucky would have it, Pete was spared with a little help from his friends.

"PARTY!!"

Out of nowhere, a bunch of people ran into the house like shoppers at a Best Buy on Black Friday morning and it didn't take long for the chaos to ensue.

AN HOUR LATER;

Their humble little home had transformed into a sardine can of frat boys, hipsters, and babes. For crying out loud there was even a DJ playing "Cake By The Ocean" by DNCE as kids danced in the living room like their house was a damn nightclub. At least the alcohol was good. She needed a drink after the day she had today.

All Natalie wanted to do was find Cody and get the hell outta this place. She searched around, trying to find him but it was nearly impossible so she made her way to her room to get her phone to text to him. Opening her bedroom door, she was greeted with a couple making out on her bed.

"Okay, no," Natalie said, setting her red cup down and pulling the two of them off her bed; gently shoving them out of her room, as they protested.

She retrieved her iPhone from her drawer and sent Cody a message:

Do you want to run away with me for the night like we planned? I'm packing my things. Meet me in the garage xoxoxo.

A night away with together was just what the couple needed. Desperately.


----


P e t e;

As if getting his ass whooped in front of everyone by a girl wasn't bad enough, Hunter just had to drag him, too.

"Pete, always the feisty one. You never change do you? Always so immature.."

The boy grit his teeth, wanting so badly to fuck up Hunter's face. Pete would have liked to have seen how smug Hunter would be after he break that nose of his.

The worst part about all of this was that Wendy was witnessing it. Now she was seeing that Pete wasn't the dreamy and charismatic rocker with no care in the world. He had his own demons and ghosts haunting him. His own sins to pay for. Wendy loved him dearly, and he was absolutely terrified of losing that love. Hunter didn't waste one second when it came to exposing Pete's facade.

And then came the questions. What did Pete have to tell Lily? What did Hunter mean by 'different versions of the story'?

He sighed. How could he tell Lily that Wendy was truly here for good? That he and Lily were officially done this time and Wendy would be sleeping next to him at night from now on? How could he even begin to explain the fact that he lied about Hunter stealing those songs? That Hunter was not a thief but that Pete was a liar? He couldn't even believe that the others actually believed him when he said that those songs belonged to him, not Hunter. But they did, and he had to make sure they kept believing that.

How long could he keep doing this, though? He didn't want to pretend that everything with Lily was fine and he definitely did not want to expose himself as a liar because then what if everyone hated him? What if they left him? Even Pete himself knew he could be an insensitive jerk, a total asshole…

"I---"

Luckily, Pete didn't have time to answer because the party had already arrived. Breaking into a big grin, he said, "I…don't have anything to say other than I have a party to host, so excuse me."

Pete wrapped his arm around Wendy and ever so casually shoved past the pirate to get to his guests. As much as he tried to convince himself that it didn't bother him, Pete was hurt by Hunter's comment about Pete not being good enough for Wendy; because, underneath the confidence and charm, he was afraid that that was true. Underneath everything, Pete was insecure and terried of being alone.

You ain't ever gonna be nothing, kid, his dad would always tell him. You're just another piece of shit like everyone else in this damn family.

But Pete was not a jail bird like his father or an addict like his mom. He wasn't going to be considered a loser, so he did everything he could to make himself look better than the next guy. He wasn't the best singer in the world, and he also was not the most handsome guy in the room, but he used whatever he had to get himself friends and girls in bed when he was on a break from his relationship with Lily. He made sure that he was somebody. Somebody great. The leader of the pack.

Maybe that's one of the reasons he had issues with Hunter. The guy had always been better than Pete. Better looking, better at making friends and definitely a better musician. Then just like that, he got offered a record deal and achieved the life that Pete had worked his whole life to get. He got to perform all around the world and hear his music play on the radio everyday while Pete, Cody and Caleb were still stuck playing in shitty bars and struggling to pay the rent.

"So when are you boys going to get a real job?" Cody and Caleb's mom would innocently ask her boys in a way only a concerned mother could ask her sons; and Pete often worried that Cody and Caleb would end up reevaluating their lives and decide to move back home to be accountants or something. Then what? Where would Pete be? He could always go solo, and he still would have Natalie as a friend and manager but he knew he wasn't talented nor strong enough to do this on his own. And the hell if Lily would probably care and he couldn't blame her at this point.

The only one he was sure of---the only person he could hope to stick by his side---was Wendy which was crazy considering he hardly knew her. Yet Pete just had that feeling like he did when he met Lily, Belle, Cody, Caleb and Natalie.

And Hunter.

Okay, so maybe this relationship might end up crashing and burning but he was going to be optimistic about it and do everything in his power to make it work.

"Come on, Wendy, I have some more people I want you to meet."

AN HOUR LATER;

His day hadn't exactly started off well but there wasn't anything that a little bit of good music and beer couldn't fix.

"So you're an actress?" The Mermaids asked Wendy. Well, they weren't mermaids of course. That's just what Pete called them because they were the beauties he had known from the beach bars nearby. They usually all met up at the Lagoon for pool parties, though.

"Have we seen you in anything?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, what movies have you been in?" Ashlee added.

"You're so pretty. Do you model? You should model, too." Brie suggested, playing with Wendy's hair.

Dozens of the girls continued to ask questions nonstop which amused Pete, but enough was enough. He and Wendy had other things to do and other people to see.

"All right ladies, if you don't mind, Wendy and I are gonna go dance a bit," Pete announced, taking his new girlfriend's hand and leading her to the middle of the dance floor like a princess at her own ball. The girls gave a disappointed "aww" but were quick to get over it and go looking for Cody and Caleb. The mermaids loved the twins.


It's no big deal, it's no big deal, it's no big deal
This is no big deal

This is how we do, yeah, chilling, laid back
Straight stuntin’ ya we do it like that
This is how we do, do do, this is how we do
This is how we do, yeah, chilling, laid back
Straight stuntin’ ya we do it like that
This is how we do, do do, this is how we do

Wanting to make Wendy laugh, Pete gave her his best dance moves---which were actually horrible and he knew it---as the DJ played "This Is How We Do" by Katy Perry. Then he put his arms around her waist, and asked her, "How are you enjoying yourself so far?"

Unlike most of his roommates, his other friends were excited about meeting Wendy and welcomed her to town. Most of the people Pete hung out with were creatives and artists like him, so they were naturally very supportive of the thespian as well. Gossip, however, was starting to spread. Now that Lily and Pete were over, it was all anyone could talk about. Pete would often catch his guests whispering and staring at him, Wendy and Lily. Most people tried to get the scoop from Belle. Some were brave enough to ask Lily. None asked Pete about it.

"Eat, eat, eat!"

"What the hell is going on---?" Pete said with a frown. When he turned around, he saw a group of guys eating cups and cups of pudding in the kitchen----

"Oh my God."

Pete ran into the kitchen to witness a bunch of his buddies having an eating contest with Belle's pudding. They went through it like their lives depended on it, leaving the floor with empty cups.

"Pete! Where'd you get all this pudding from? This is great!" Pete's friend, Jason, said, having a cup himself. One of the guys in the contest passed out from too much of the sweet stuff.

Fuck. Belle was gonna freak.

"And we have a winner!" Jason cried, congratulating the guy who had eaten the most cups.

Pete fought his way through the crowd to get back to Wendy to explain to her what happened but before he could find her, a crocodile made its way into the house.

"Everybody give a warm welcome to Tick-Tock!"

Tick-Tock aka the local University's mascot ran through the crowd, high fiving people with one hand and holding a ticking clock with the other.

"Hey, Tick-Tock," the DJ said, "you wouldn't happen to have the time would ya? What's that, boy? You say it's time to party? Well, alright then!"

Harlem Shake started playing instantly, making the crowd go wild. Tick-Tock, meanwhile, was busy dancing with the ladies. If this had happened five minutes earlier, Pete would be laughing his head off, but he was too concerned about Belle. It may have just been pudding but he didn't care. She was his best friend and he felt horrible about what just happened. Maybe he could make it back to her by paying for the---

Pete found Wendy, with the crocodile dancing right next to her.

"Wendy!"

But no one would let him pass through, because right now, the freaking crocodile was doing the worm dance and everyone wanted a good view of the show.

"What. The. Hell." he heard a voice say.

"Nat," Pete said, relieved to see her. She'd know what to do. "Listen, some of my friends went through the fridge and got Belle's---wait, why are you carrying a backpack? Where are you going?"


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. D O V E

WENDY & HUNTER

The party was..overwhelming. As if the scenario before wasn't already overwhelming, this is taking overwhelming into a different level. She hated to see Natalie cry. For Wendy, the woman doesn't deserve to shed a single tear. And of course she also cried when Natalie cried because she's Wendy.

But what's happening right now almost made her forgot about what just happened. It was like..the house was a set in an angsty drama and now it was from a teenager's movie. Mixtures of different people swarmed the humble house and they somehow managed to bring sound systems in.

Currently, Wendy was trapped with some good-looking girls. They were bombarding her with questions surrounding her career. Her non-existing career. She couldn't even say a single word since their questions would come and go. The blonde has no idea whether she should say something or just let them be.

Fortunately, Pete entered the scene and swept her away to the dance floor. Wendy would erupt into a series of cute giggles every time Pete would do his cute albeit ridiculous dance moves. Wendy's lips formed a soft smile when he rested his hands on her waist and asked how she's doing. She's no party girl but Pete sweetly threw this party for her and she absolutely feels thankful for that.

"Thank you for this, Pete." she paused to grab him by his cheeks and plant a quick peck on his lips, "Don't worry about me, I'm do-"

"Eat, eat, eat!"

Wendy turned to look at the direction of where the sound was coming from: the kitchen.

She realized that Pete had already went over there and she was supposed to go after him if only her path wasn't blocked out by a series of party goers. Now that she's alone again, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. There were people making out everywhere, there were boys hitting on her despite the fact that she's taken and she tells them over and over but most of all there were whispers. Now Wendy was a polite lady and she's not one to intentionally overhear a conversation, but from time to time, she'd hear some hushed whisper and it contains her name, Pete's and Lily's.

"Everybody give a warm welcome to Tick-Tock!"

The amount of surprises seems endless as someone shouted and in came a crocodile. Yes, a crocodile. Not exactly an accurate crocodile but a mascot crocodile. Wendy furrowed her brows in confusion, hoping that this was some kind of a prank. But no, no, no, no. The crocodile swam through the crowd, high-fiving everyone the mascot comes across with. That said everyone included Wendy and somehow, the mascot took interest on her.

Wendy flashed a forced smile (yet you can see that she's not doing so well) when the DJ showered a beat to the crocodile and it erupted into a break-dancing machine. Then the crocodile would grab Wendy by her hands and twirl her around before changing it's dancing style again. It was so confusing and Wendy just went along with it despite the fact that she really wanna know what's happening int he kitchen.

She heard Pete's voice when he called out her name just right before the crocodile dropped to the floor and did the worm dance. Everybody was cheering on Tick-tock and Wendy lost any sign of Pete again. The girl saw no possible way out of the buzzing crowd without suffocating herself so she just stood still and waited for someone to do something.

That was when the door flew open and came the Jolly Rogers. Their entrance certainly wasn't enough to be a show stopper but with their captain Hunter entering the fray first and the other band members following closely after with the manager were enough to elicit a reaction from the crowd. All members seemed to sport a matching leather jacket with their band's symbol engraved on the back and bags of puddings on Smee's hands.

"Woohoo! Just in time!"

"More puddings!"

"Who's ready for round 5???!"

Guys popped out from the kitchen and snatched the puddings from Smee who in return simply gawked.

Hunter grinned at the scene unfolding before him though. He turned to his band members and told them to go and do whatever they want and they all proceeded to hit on The Mermaids. Now that it was only him and Smee, he returned his vision to the sight of a crowd gathering around Pete's latest girlfriend, Wendy.

And so the long-haired man went over to the crowd and smoothly found a way to take a good glimpse at the first seat. That was when he saw a nightmare. There was a crocodile busting some moves in the middle of the crowd and it wasn't Wendy who they were gathering for.

"Oh, SHIT!!" the normally calm and collected Hunter scurried away from Tick-Tock, pushing everyone out of his way before getting lost further into the sea of people. This made Wendy and possibly other party people look at his way, "Mister Hunter?" Wendy called out unsurely. He did say he would return so it might be him after all. But she wondered why he suddenly ran away.

Everyone in the Neverland household would know that Hunter's deeply terrified of crocodiles.

The reason behind it would involve Pete and their younger days. Hunter is known for his brains and his cool bad boy appearance but whenever he sees a moving crocodile, whether it's a mascot or nor, he loses his collected mind. Before he left the Lost Boy's he would run to Natalie and Lily for his supposed-protection against reptiles (since he thinks that Pete, Belle and the twins would simply laugh at his reaction) but now that he's in a band of his own, he scurries away to Smee.

But there was no Smee in sight right now.

Thankfully, he did see Lily.

He instinctively reached out towards her, temporarily forgetting that things had changed now, "C-crocodile.." he whispered with pale face and voice shaking.

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Natalie;

Busted. They were busted. Despite their home turning into a nightmare of a frat house, Natalie and Cody had somehow been found out by Pete.

Well. Almost.

Clearing her throat, the young woman put herself together and echoed Cody's words. "Cody and I are leaving. Together." Realizing how that came out in a way she didn't want to and was giving herself away, she quickly recovered by adding, "Not like that, but, you know. This…this is too much, Pete. Okay? It's insane. And I don't know about you, but Cody and I would like to get a night full of uninterrupted sleep if that's alright with you." Not like Natalie and Cody would be getting much of any sleep while they were finally alone together in some motel far far away from here, but whatever.

"Adios," Nat said, ready to get out of here and that's when she heard the screaming.

It was Belle.

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? HOW DARE YOU EAT MY PUDDING?”

Natalie sighed and closed her eyes. No. No, no, no. She was leaving. She was not going to get involved. She was going to leave with Cody to a motel where they were free to make out in peace. She was not going to clean up whatever mess somebody had left his time, figuratively or literally. But things turned ugly, with Belle getting violent with the assholes who ate all of her beloved pudding snacks. And like that, Natalie instantly dropped her bags and rushed to her friend's side to calm her down.

"Get out of my fucking way, dammit!" Nat cried, pushing through the crowds. Belle stumbled out of the kitchen, tears in her eyes. She didn't look good and Natalie got a sick feeling in her stomach. Something was very, very wrong. “Caleb… I don’t feel so good…” Belle whispered and she reached out a hand to him, but before she could reach him and before Natalie could reach her, she collapsed.

"Belle!" Natalie screamed, falling on her knees and trying to shake the blonde awake with no luck. Nat wanted so badly to cry, feeling such unbearable pain in her throat as she held back those tears. But she was the strong one here, she had to be. Looking up at the shocked faces, she said, "Somebody get her an ambulance! Now!" Luckily, she didn't need to worry too much because Cody was on it. Natalie found Pete's face in the crowd and she couldn't help but notice the look of guilt on Pete's face. She felt bad for him and wanted to assure him that this wasn't totally his fault. Except, it probably was and she didn't have time to deal with Pete; she had to take care of Belle.

Caleb;

Caleb, not being too much for parties, hung out on the stairs and watched the scene like a typical wallflower. Beer in hand, he watched as everyone danced and debated about whether or not he should join the crowd. Like she was reading his mind, a redhead with a devilish smile and little black dress sat down next to him. "Crazy party, huh?" She said. Caleb nodded. It was the kind of awkward conversation you wished you could escape but couldn't make too obvious that you wanted to because that would be rude.

After waiting for a response that never came, the girl took a sip of her beer and said, "I'm Alison," still smiling. Caleb nodded, knowing that she wanted his name but also knowing that she probably already knew it because, like most of the girls who came around this house for Pete's insane "get-togethers", she was another Lost Boys fan who wanted to be able to say she hooked up with one of the members when all she really did was talk to them while sitting on some stairs.

He wasn't interested. Getting up from his seat, Caleb excused himself and went looking for the only girl, the only person he wanted to be with right now: Belle. He'd lost her in the crowd and wanted to text her to see where she was, but his phone had died and if he wanted to get his charger upstairs then he'd have turn back and fight through half the crowd he had already passed through and possibly face Alison again. He saw Wendy and Pete acting all lovey dovey together and he witnessed a freaking crocodile mascot dancing in their living room, but no Belle. Just as he was about to give up and head back to his room to get his phone charged up, he heard Belle screaming; and then she was stumbling out of the kitchen.

"Belle? Belle! What's wrong? Are you okay?" Caleb said, but he sensed right away that she wasn't okay. Not at all. She told him that she wasn't feeling so good and before he could find the words to reply with, she was on the ground unconscious. Natalie was there in a second, always there to help. The mother figure of their family. Cody called 911 and the ambulence was there, causing everyone to ditch the party and go find another place to continue their wild night. As the ambulance put Belle into the back of their truck, Natalie climbed in with her but Caleb stopped her. He was supposed to go with the rest of everyone else, in Natalie's car but he didn't want to leave Belle's side even for a moment. "I'll go with her," Caleb said, grabbing onto Nat's arm. She paused, hesitant, but let him into the vehicle. While they rode to the hospital, Caleb held Belle's hand. "I'm here for you, Belle. Always have been. Always will be. Okay? I'm here."

He wondered if she could hear him.

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