Never Land

Jodie could see the disappointed look on Evelyn’s face as Niall pulled her out of the pond, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. After all, it was partly the girl’s fault that she’d landed herself in that situation. One thing Jodie did care about, though, was that Louis seemed to be just as upset as Evelyn was.

It was obvious that with every moment the girl spent in Never Land Louis was becoming more and more attached, and that was bad news for all of them. Nothing good could come from attachments; they had all learned that when they’d first begun bringing children to Never Land. It just made the goodbyes harder.

Shaking her head, Jodie moved away from the pond, walking in the opposite direction and back towards their camp. She just needed a moment away from the others – most of all, Louis and his little girl.

Before she could get too far, she heard footsteps behind her and recognized them immediately as Liam’s. He caught up to her in no time, his footsteps matching hers, and they walked in silence until they had almost reached camp.

“I think it’s time for the two of them to go,” Liam said in his calm, reassuring voice. Jodie was more than happy that someone else felt the same way as her, but wondered what it was that made Liam come to the same conclusion that she did. “I’ve told Louis to use the last of our magic dust to get them out of here and we can collect more while he’s gone.”

Jodie simply nodded her head, attempting to keep up the visage that she wasn’t completely ecstatic about the prospect of them leaving. “When will they be gone?”

Liam shrugged. “Within the hour, I suppose.”

There was probably nothing Liam could have said at that moment that would make her happier than those words. Louis had messed up big time when he brought the Horan’s to Never Land and it was about time he finally clean up his mess and begin repairing their relationship with Tiger Lily’s tribe. The last thing they needed was to have her mad at them.

As if on cue, Louis and Harry came bursting through the trees and to their camp, with Niall and Evelyn following closely behind them. Harry had the most worried look on his face that Jodie had ever seen and she knew immediately that something was up.

Slowly and gently, Louis lifted a brown cloth bag into the air, which held their magic dust in it. His eyes blinked quickly, faltering between Liam and Jodie, until he held the bag upside down and revealed that it was empty.

“What did you do?” Liam asked immediately, an exasperated sigh leaving his lips.

Louis shrugged, his gentle face looking timid but guilty at the same time. “I dropped it.”

Simultaneously, Liam and Jodie let out deep sighs, causing Louis to flinch. He must’ve known that they’d know what he was up to, but none of them would say anything in front of Niall or Evelyn.

“Tiger Lily’s going to kill you, you know that, right?” Jodie said, after everyone had paused to scold at Louis for a moment. He didn’t look nearly as nervous as he should have, but he would after Tiger Lily was done with him.

“It won’t be that bad,” he said, letting out a small laugh. “I mean, she can always get us more.”

Liam groaned, shaking his head. “It’s not that simple, Louis.”

It was obvious that the conversation was making both Evelyn and Niall uncomfortable, and Liam noticed immediately. He shook his head and sucked in a deep breath, pushing all his feelings back.

“I’m not telling her,” Liam finished. “You can do that yourself.”

“But – ”

“You’re the one that dropped it,” Liam said, cutting him off. “You can deal with Tiger Lily’s wrath yourself.”