Me and Thomas quickly begin a conversation that lasts most of the night. He seemed so different to most of the lost boys here, not really malicious or violent.

But I'm sure he's not the only me like that here, there must be more boys like him. He was kind to me, something I had not experienced since arriving on this island.

But I can't help but wonder was this put in place by Pan himself. It just seemed so unreal but it couldn't be because why would Pan want someone to be nice to me.

I don't know I guess I was just wondering why he was doing this. I stopped my thoughts and just asked.

"Why are you doing this?", I question.

"What do you mean?", he asks, chuckling in confusion.

"Being so nice, you don't even know me. Especially when you let me go in the woods earlier. You're so different from the others boys here, why is that?", I question.

"I feel bad I guess. It's not fair to be taken and put on this island without wanting it. Even worse when a bunch of strange boys are chasing you around, I didn't want to be a part of that. When I saw you're face, you looked so scared I just, I didn't have it in me to bring you in", he explains.

"I don't understand, aren't you a lost boy? Like loyal to Pan or whatever", I ask.

"I am", he confirms.

"Then why are you so different? The other boys looked so glad to be doing that, they looked excited to be able to hurt me. It's psychopathic.", I state.

"We're not all the same. I don't like doing those kinds of games", he explains.

"What makes them like that?", I ask.

"I think they've always been that way. Pan likes lost boys fierce, he makes sure that the shadow goes out to find boys like that for Neverland", he reveals

"Shadow?", I ask, interrupting his explanation.

"The shadow is Pans. It that can fly and cross realms. It takes boys to the Neverland for him. That is if he doesn't go out and find them himself, like he did today", he explains.

"You know I would find all this strange normally but after the things I've seen and experienced today, I'm not going to question is", I chuckle.

Caught in the moment, we catch each other's eyes for a brief second and smile at one another. Before I remember the harsh reality and it disappears.

"I know this place seems horrid at the moment, but you will warm up to it", he says, trying to lighten the mood.

"That's the problem though, I don't want to get use to it. I want to leave, especially if there are psycho boys who want to kill me", I explain.

"I promise they're not all like that. There are others like us, who are actually sane. Even Pan isn't that bad, you've got to give him a chance", he carries on.

"Give him a chance?", I say in disbelief.

"I bet I sound crazy, but trust me", he smiles.

"It's going to take a lot more for me to trust you now that you've said that", I state.

"Hey Tom", someone shouts.

I look up to see a dark skinned boy approaching us with a smile on his face. He holds a glass jar full of orangey liquid and hands it over to Thomas.

"Here you go", he says.

"Thanks man", Thomas replies.

The boy smiles again and as he is about to walk away he stops as the other boys shouts at him. I try to look around him to see what they're saying. The only thing I see is them pass over another glass jar to the boy.

He turns back to us and hands it to Thomas. It has exactly the same orangey type liquid in it as the first one does.

"Give one to the girl too", he says.

"Are you sure she's ready for that?", Thomas chuckles as he raises one eyebrow at him.

"It's her first day, she has to", he grins and then walks away to the others.

"Why? What is that?", I ask curiously.

"Oh it's just juice", he laughs.

He hands it to me and I eye him suspiciously, it most certainly isn't 'just juice'. Especially with the conversation I just witnessed and them all laughing about it. He clearly notices my cautious expression as he starts talking again.

"Well, it's Alex's special juice", he confirms.

"Special juice?", I question.

Who the hell is Alex? What the hell is special juice? And why was everyone grinning about it? Was it poisoned? Drugged? I don't trust these people one bit.

"Oh no it's not like that kind of special", Thomas chuckles, catching what I'm thinking.

"Yeah no thanks", I say, handing it back him.

"Ahh come on. It's just a special recipe, I promise. It's not poisonous", he confirms.

"Or drugged?", I question.

"It's not. I'll prove it", he insists.

He brings the glass jar I just gave him up to his lips and drinks it. He brings it back down after he's taken a sip and hands it back to me, showing off that he's fine.

"See, now drink some", he chuckles.

I cautiously take the drink back and have some. It's tastes so weird. It tastes sweet but also not as it burns the back of my throat. It must be alcohol of some kind. My face immediately winces in disgust.

"I hate it", I cough but smile at him as he laughs.

I then caught a glimpse of Pan sitting near the fire, observing me but I quickly look away and back to Thomas.

"Knew you would, almost everyone does but it's a tradition", he smiles.

"Who the hell would make such a thing?", I ask.

He smiles at me again and looks to the side, over at one of the many group of boys in the camp. They were the ones sharpening their weapons with stern looks on the faces.

I recognised a few of them from earlier, they were the rougher of the boys. The violent ones who looked like they would give anything to have the chance to murder someone or more specially me.

"See that boy in the middle", he says, pointing at them.

"That's Alex. He's kind of the leader of that group of boys. Strong, tough and violent. I'd definitely advice you to keep away from them. Anyway, he made the tradition long ago, being one of Pans first boys and one of the most loyal, a part from Felix of course", he explains.

"Who's Felix?", a question.

"He's the second in command here. He's always in charge when Pans not around. I stay clear of him too, if you don't want to get on Pans bad side it's best not to get in his way", he reveals.

"What about the rest of the boys then?", I ask, more intrigued and frightened. It seems like every single boy mentioned so far is extremely dangerous.

"The rest of the boys probably won't kill you, unless they're asked to by Pan", he replies.

"Wow, that's comforting", I say with complete sarcasm.

"I wouldn't worry. Pan decides very quickly on decisions like that and if he were to do it, he would have already done so", he says quickly, not fully realising the severity of his last statement but then he looks away from my eyes.

Why would he look away from me like that?

"So, do you ever miss home?", I ask suddenly, mumbling slightly as I try to change the subject.

"Not really. Life wasn't all that great in the Enchanted Forest", he replies.

"Enchanted Forest?", I question.

"You must be from the mainland then I'm guessing", he realises.

"You mean there's more realms?", I ask.

"There are many", he chuckles.

"I should have known. I am in Neverland after all", I state.

"How do you get to other realms?", I continues. He looks at me confused but then realised what I'm saying.

"Looking for a way of the island?", he questions.

"Brave of you to ask that", he adds.

"I want to know how this magic stuff works", I insist.

"To get to other realms, you need a portal and the only person who has access to them is Pan", he explains.

"But you wouldn't be able to get one without his say. Trust me, many people have tried but you can only get off this island with Pans permission", he continues.

Not what I wanted to hear but now I knew for definite that there was a way. A way I couldn't get access to, but still a way.

We were suddenly interpreted by the same dark skinned boy from earlier approaching us. He actually looked quite friendly, just like Thomas.

"Looks like you two are getting quite close", the boy chuckles and joins us.

"Alice, this is Frypan", Thomas introduces the boy.

"Frypan? Interesting name", I state.

"I'm in charge of kitchen duties here, it's my nickname. In fact, I'm the one who provided Thomas with that bread you ate earlier", Frypan reveals.

"Oh, thank you", I smile.

"We figured you were starving after being chased by us nasty boys", he chuckles.

Wow. I guess they're not all insane.

"Most definitely", I confirm.

"Looks like the whole gang has arrived", Thomas announces, looking up at more boys walking over. Three to be exact.

One tall, with fair skin and brown hair which matched his eyes. Another, quite muscular with a tanned skin tone, dark hair and Asian features. And the other much shorter with dark skin, brown eyes and afro black hair.

"Alice this is Mason, Minho and Hunter", Thomas states, saying their names in the order they approached me.

"Got to say Alice, I'm impressed", Mason says with a grin.

"Why?", I ask in confusion.

"First day on the island and you have managed to escape several lost boys and avoid being put in a cage by Pan. Impressive, not many people can do that skill", he explains.

A cage? Did he just say a cage?! Pan puts people in cages? I don't even want to question it, I'm afraid of the respond. Must be a type of punishment I suppose. One that I'll be sure to avoid.

"Clearly just very talented I suppose", I say, half jokingly. I still wasn't pleased with this situation, even if some boys weren't as bad as others.

"You know we haven't had a girl here in quite a while", Minho mentions.

"How come it's just boys here?", I question.

"It's just the way Pan prefers it I suppose", he replies.

"I guess so", Hunter adds.

All the boys seem quite confident and friendly, a part from Hunter being a little shy. I wanted to like them but I didn't want to get attached to a place I was intending on leaving as soon as I could.

And, all of them were ultimately loyal to Pan in the end. I saw what that did to Jacob, I didn't know what they were truly like. I just needed to be careful.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Pan staring at me again but this time, he was stood up and next to his tent. He stays still and gestures for me to come to him. I tense up immediately.

Can he not leave me alone? I nudge Thomas to tell him about what Pan wants me to do and he gets the hint. Pan then walks back into his tent before giving me a look to hurry up.

"We better go", he insists.

"I should go too", I respond

They say their farewells and start to walk back to the other side of the camp where it is most busy. In comparison to the part of the camp I'm in which becomes quiet as they leave. I'm guessing it's because Pans tent is close by and they don't want to disturb him.

I stay still for a second preparing myself to see him again. I eventually get the courage to make my way over to his tent but before I can, a hand on my shoulder suddenly stops me.

I turn around to see a boy with brown fluffy hair and bright blue eyes. I quickly realise it's that Alex guy that Thomas told me about, the one I should stay away from. This could only mean bad news.

"Alice.....right?", he asks, smirking slightly as he lets go of the grip on my shoulder.

I don't respond.

"We don't get many girls on the island", he announces.

Despite everything I've heard already, I knew I didn't like this guy. He had an attitude and I was too exhausted to deal with it.

"So I've heard", I reply.

"Then why are you here? You're not supposed to be here", he says in an aggressive tone.

"I don't know but if you're so interested, why don't you ask Pan yourself?", I reply sarcastically.

"Don't use that sarcastic tone with me girl", he spits.

"Don't tell me what to do boy", I argue.

"That attitude's going to get you in trouble", he states.

"I'm not just going to let people order me around", I express.

"Good luck with that", he scoffs.

He backs away slightly, looking me up and down and begins to chuckle, "you won't be here long".

He turns around and walks off. Even though I didn't show it, that conversation made me extremely uneasy. To the point where I actually would rather be with Pan.

Speaking of that, I had to make my way to his tent before he gets huffy. So I quickly walk over and enter it. He leans against his wooden desk and looks at me like he's been waiting for hours.

How very dramatic.

"You took you're time", he states coldly.

"But I see you made friends", he changes to a sly tone. I roll my eyes in response.

"Why did you call me here", I ask impatiently.

"It's bedtime", he smirks.

"Excuse me?", I scoff.

"Well we need to find you a place to sleep, don't we? Unless you want to sleep with me that is", he grins, raising a brow.

"Of course not", I say firmly.

"All the tents are full so I suppose you'll have to sleep outside?", he explains.

"Outside?", I ask in disbelief.

"That's what I said, isn't it", he says sarcastically.

"Pan I don't want to", I state.

"Outside it is then", he responds.

"Please, are you sure there is no where else?", I beg.

"Well...", he grins, fake thinking.

"I'll stop complaining", I plead.

"But I like it when you beg me", he teases.

"Pan", I warn.

"Fine, fine", he sighs.

He immediately waves his hands and we suddenly flash to a different location. I look around me to see a room of some sorts, it definitely wasn't a tent though.

"What is this place?", I question.

"My treehouse", he reveals

I looked around me more to see matching sets of wooden furniture including; a bed and drawers. There wasn't much but it a lot nicer than being in a tent.

"Why don't you use it?", I ask curiously.

"A tent is more practical", he explains.

I beg to differ...

"What do you say?", he looks at me with a smirk.

"Really?", I ask as he gives me a more threatening look.

"Okay. Thank you", I sigh.

He looks satisfied with my response and begins to walk towards the door. He turns the handle and opens the door but turns back before he leaves.

"If you try to run again, I'll make you sleep in a cage. Got it?", he commands. I nod my head immediately. There was no way that was going to happen.

"Get some sleep, you need to be prepared for tomorrow", he continues.

"Prepared for what?", I ask.

"Training", he smirks, leaving the room and closing the door.

I am extremely tempted to leave but instead I try to settle down and go to sleep. I need to be prepared for whatever this 'training' is going to be. One thing was sure, I was not looking forward to it.

A.N: Let me know your opinions on the story and any ideas that you have. There will be regular updates, so stay around if you like the story so far. Vote if you really enjoy the story it will be very much appreciated.

Stay safe and well everyone ❤️

Thanks for reading :)

Written - 14.08.19

~A.M