Silly Fantasies.

What had possessed him to go to the beach that day? In the back of his mind, Ari did not know an answer--only maybe he just desired the scent of the salt water to enrapture his senses. As a child, he and his siblings would reenact the silly fighting scenes from his younger sister's storybooks. She, of course, was always the damsel in distress, while he and Stanley had switched roles back and forth every now and then. But most often times, Ari portrayed the role of the villain. The red head didn't mind it since Stan, with all his dirty blonde locks and fiercely blue eyes (Looking as if he was made to be a hero in the first place), preferred being the hero as well. Ari sighed--it had been so long since then.

One of his favorite times, he must admit, though he would never say it aloud, would have been when him and Stan were acting out the famous fighting scene between the dastardly Captain Hook and boy wonder Peter Pan, where as little Wendy would sit on the sidelines and cheer on her 'beloved.'

Maybe that was the reason behind his traveling to the beach that day--he missed the simple times with his siblings. Ari glanced around, making sure no one was around watching him as he let out a low chuckle, as if getting himself into character. He turned his head and readied himself as if he was fighting someone else, but still he was fighting no one. "How noble of you to join me tonight." He spoke with just rich tone of voice, "Certainly it must be for I have taken from you, your darling Miss Wendy."

He leaped to the other side, as if becoming the other character, "Blackguard!" He shouted at himself. He leapt over again and made an expression as if accepting a compliment.

"Thank you, boy." He laughed, "How do you think you could take away from me what is rightfully mine, Pan?" He spat the name.

"She doesn't belong to you, you dirty old crook!" He barked again.

He hmphed, "Says the boy who tossed the poor girl away. I merely took her under my wing when she needed shelter. you are a boy who could never understand--merely an ignorant little child." He jumped back as if being attacked, he laughed again, "Oh! So you wish to challenge me, boy?!" He jabbed his arm out as if holding a cutlass, whirling it around a few times, then stopped in mid-air as if their swords clashed, "You won't win, boy." He mumbled, throwing himself back as like they both pushed each other way. The image of his older brother formed in front of himself, with the same smirk on his face as it always was.

"Try me, Hook."

Ari let out a growl as he charged forward with such a battle cry as he swung his arm around like he was in an actual fierce battle with his brother. He ran the image of his brother right through with his imaginary cutlass, with such an anger--the image disappeared as Ari yelled out, "And thus perished Peter Pan!"

He froze in his spot, his eyes wide open. He fell to his knees, touching the sand with his fingertips, "I'm sorry, Stan." He mumbled ever so quietly under his breath.

Dylan had stumbled on the beach to find Ari playing by himself. She never before had seen him act so carefree and it made her smile, but then things suddenly changed. He seemed frozen as he touched the sand gently with the tips of his fingers, it made her sad. Everything seemed weird to the girl as she observed the situation. The last thing she heard Ari yell was about Peter Pan dying, but that is not how the story went. Something was up. Dylan couldn't be more positive about it, she had to do something.

"Peter!" the girl yelled with fear. Her voice trembled and her eyes got all watery. Ever since she was a child she'd always cry during story parts like this. Nothing much had changed with her. She knew it was fake, but it still was so sad to her. "Peter you can't lose!"

He wasn't prepared to hear another voice in the area--his head quickly shot up as he stared towards the source of the sound with slightly glassy eyes. It was Dylan and she was calling out to Peter, though her voice sounded so shaky, as if she was crying. He slowly stood up from the sandy ground, not even bothering to brush the loose pieces of sand off of his clothing. He stood still in his spot, something made him bite his lower lip. "Wendy!" He shouted back to her, his voice softened slightly, "I didn't see you there." His face burned up in utter embarrassment, he quickly rubbed his eyes with his palm, "But Peter has, and what is left in his wake is the forgotten pirate captain." He spoke back to her. He turned away, "I must look so stupid." He mumbled to himself.

Dylan snapped back to reality when Ari cut the act himself and talked to her normally. He seemed embarrased by the way he was acting. She wasn't sure what to do, she never really was. When she guessed wrong things always seemed worse. "No," Dylan said. "I thought I told you that you can't possibly ever look stupid to me." She felt she was the stupid one afterall. This was her guilty pleasure herself, she loved acting out stories with her siblings and when she came to live in Mineral Town she'd do secretly while she cleaned her house. That was her 'evil stepmother's house' and she was Cinderella. "Besides, I'm not used to being Wendy," she whispered to him.

Ari didn't respond, not even a glance as she spoke to him--he only breathed the air around himself, as if an attempt to calm his embarrassment down, "I wish it were true." He mumbled ever so quietly. He only did that on occasion, but never had he ever had someone watching him as he acted like a child, aside from his two siblings. He paused a moment, repeating her statement through his mind several times, "You? Not used to being Wendy? But you must have once." He spoke in a soft tone before even daring to glance down towards Dylan, "You look very much like a Wendy to me, lass." His last word came out just as his bit his tongue for even saying it.

It was silent for awhile, perhaps Ari had been thinking about something. For an instant she swore she saw his lips move, but she couldn't hear anything. Ari was her closest friend so she couldn't help but be worried about his sudden gloomy behavior. When he started talking to her again she ended up smiling gently. "My youngest sister always got the part once she was old enough to play with the bigger kids," Dylan confessed. "Once I did though, but I was only seven at the time, so it's hard to remember." The girl looked at him as he had just looked at her, "I spent a lot of my time pretending to be different characters though."

Ari sighed, understanding where she was coming from. "My brother was always the hero." He merely responded to her, pushing his hands into his front pockets, "But he said I made a good foe for him." He shrugged his shoulder lightly. He furrowed his brows together as he listened, "Only once? That's a shame." He smiled weakly towards her as she continued to speak, "I wish I had more time to be able to do that." He admitted, glancing back out into the watery horizon.

"I know what you mean," Dylan agreed with him. If only there had been one more time to cherish those times as a little kid where it was expected of you to act like that. Her mother was right, you only notice it when it's gone. She sighed as she remember what it was like before the divorce. Just her two older brothers and her playing all day, doing whatever they could imagine. "I wish I was little again sometimes..."

Ari sighed softly, "So do I." He started, dropping his head for a moment, "So do I." He repeated, as if finalizing his thoughts. He missed times like those, just playing around with his siblings. They were quiet for a moment until he glanced over to her, possibly thinking up something. "I'm here if you feel like ever playing again." He mumbled to her, mindlessly thinking if she would ever really take him up on a stupid offer like that.

"I might need to take up on your offer," Dylan said smiling gently again. It did sound fun to her, since she was truly a little romantist girl at heart. She had never been good at academics, but she loved the arts and it took her longer than most kids to give up on fantasy. Part of her still believed though in things like that, somewhere in her heart she knew fantasies where real. "I'll be Wendy sometime if you'd like."

At the sound of her acceptance to his offer, Ari couldn't help but smile graciously. Dylan was really such a great friend to him. He had always been called a realist for most of his life, but he didn't mind having a moment on the opposite side--the romantic. "I would like that." He told her, "But who could I be?" He questioned her, as if completely unsure of who's role to take on. The boy wonder or the dastardly dashing pirate?

"Well," Dylan thought aloud. "I'd see you as Peter Pan personally, but being Hook would be so much fun." She knew this of course. When her two older brothers grew out of the play phase she often had to play with her step-siblings and pretend to be the guy character--this would be a secret she'd always keep though. It was very weird for a girl to pretend to be someone of the opposite gender to her.

Ari carefully listened to her, "Peter Pan?" He laughed weakly, "I'm not used to being him. The villains are always so much more fun to be." He spoke, "But being the hero for once could be a nice change." He continued, though it would take a lot of getting used to. He always told his sister than he had grown up for such play as they both grew up, she called him Hook so much for that reason--he saw a lot of the boy wonder in his sister, calling him a grown up and whatnot. It would be nice to act like a child, every now and then, again. "What do you say, lass?" He questioned her, putting on his best smirk as he glanced down at her.

Dylan was about to say something about Ari picking Hook, but then he got into character. Now all she had to do was play along and pretend to be Wendy. Should she act scared or make a bold statement though? Scared would propably be better, afterall Peter just was hit pretty hard. The girl gasped and she took a step back. "I, I said 'Peter,'" the girl stammered trying her best to act like a girl who needed a hero to save her.

Ari saw her expression change to fit that of a scared Wendy, the inner Hook let out a low chuckle, "Do you believe in your little Pan?" He questioned her, making an attempt to intimidate her, "Or would you rather join me crew?" He offered her, curving his finger into the shape of a hook, motioning it towards himself, still with a devious smirk on his face.

Dylan stumbled backwards secretly glad she could act well enough for Ari, he was really good at being Hook. "Y-yes, I mean yes!" the girl exlaimed portraying a Wendy that believed Peter could rise up against the evils of Captin Hook. The girl pretended to be backed against a wall or perhaps a corner. "I'd sooner walk the plank than join your crew," Dylan said hesantly. She wasn't one hundred percent positive that Wendy would say something like this, but it did make sense to her.

Ari let out a huff for Hook's sake as he glared towards the Wendy girl, sneering at her refusal of his offer. He replaced the sneer with a devious smirk once more, "Are you sure, girl? It truly is a wonderful, one time offer." He spoke, putting more articulation into his words as if trying to act as if he was losing his patience with the girl, knowing soon he would switch roles with himself soon and take over as Peter.

The devious smirk made Wendy or Dylan shiver a bit as any girl being threatened would. She nodded 'yes' firmly daring not to say a word and realizing what she just said to Hook or Ari. Now for sure she'd have to walk the plank into the deep deadly waters of the ocean, for pretend of course. The girl seemed to look around for her beloved Peter to come and save her from the grasp of the evil Hook.

The glare returned to Hook/Ari's eyes as he looked down to the Wendy girl, "Well then," He began calmly, "To the plank with ye!" He spoke loudly, throwing his arm out to the side to where he thought the plank was. He carefully took her arm in his hand, not too harshly or anything to actually bring harm to Dylan, and brought her to the plank. "Any last requests, little girl?" He spoke, smirking as he bent over to look her straight in the eye.

Dylan/Wendy imagined the wood of the ship to creak where she shifted her weight on the 'plank' to act like she was attempting to wiggle away from Ari/Hook. She obviously didn't escape though, it wouldn't have been any fun. The girl looked him straight in the eye and said, "I want nothing from you of all people." She closed her eyes ready to be told to walk across the plank and she wondered if her Peter Pan would save her from a certain death.

Ari's Hook made a huff of a sound, "Then walk, dear child." He told her, lightly nudging her backwards as she closed her eyes. Ari lightly smiled as she played along with this very well. He was surprised that she hadn't reprimanded him earlier for even suggesting it. He quietly moved behind her, he went into the character of Peter Pan, "I'll catch you Wendy, don't be afraid." He spoke in a whisper as if trying to hide his existence from the pirate captain.

Dylan/Wendy nodded a bit trying to not make Hook suspicious of her. Dylan knew that Wendy would have been too scared to actually say anything to Peter and to covince Hook she'd have to act like he didn't say anything to her. Each step she took was cautious and about seven or eight steps she acted like she steped out in the ocean and she shreiked as she pretended to fall into the vast ocean ready to be caught by Peter.

Ari/Peter waited behind her, still with a tiny smile on his face, ready to catch her when she did fall back. When she did, Ari caught her right under her arms, making sure she did not fall to the ground, like he would for his little sister when they were young. "I've gotcha'!" He grinned, "Don't worry Wendy!" He spoke as he lifted her to the ground, placing her back on her feet. He quickly moved in front of her, as if taking a protective stance over her away from Hook. He glared at the imaginary man. He glanced over his shoulder with such an innocent look in his eyes, "Would you like to do the honors of taking down the old man, or should I?" He offered her with a childish grin.

Dylan seemed to fall into Ari's arms with ease, like when she fell into the arms of one of her brothers. The girl could help but smile at his actions, he was a good actor and she was having a blast. It was like the troubles of the real world melted away and she was a little kid again. The girl was speechless at first but then said what she thought Wendy would, "I knew you'd catch me--I wasn't scared one bit." As she was set back on her feet and Ari was facing now the imaginary Hook she hid behind Peter and giggled at his question. They both knew Wendy wasn't much of a fighter and it was basically a witty taunt at the imaginary man. "Nah," the girl said. "I'll let you handle it."

Ari smiled as she giggled. At least the two of them were having a good time; something he wasn't too sure that really happened all too often. "And I said I would!" He beamed. My Goddess, he was so childish, but he was having almost too much fun. He smirked lightly as he comment and his nodded, "Have at ye, ya' old crook!" Ari exclaimed, jumping a good foot in front of Dylan, into some sort of battle stance. He swung his arm around a few several times, making sounds of clashing swords as he changed his footsteps and waved his arm.