Louis shook his head violently as the chatter around the campfire grew impossibly louder. Here he was, in the middle of a spontaneous Lost Boy feast with a bunch of rowdy little boys talking at top volume and play-fighting, and he still couldn't get all of the questions to stop. Questions and thoughts about the new Hook absolutely filled his head to the point he was afraid it might burst.

It didn't help that Hook and his crew hadn't made any attacks in the past week and a half. Louis was on his toes, constantly wondering when they would choose to attack next and why they hadn't done so yet. Of course those thoughts led to more — was it perhaps because Harry just couldn't think of anything? He didn't seem to be very good at fighting or plotting, but maybe it was all part of his plan to appear that way. Did Harry know that Louis thought he was very much like many of the Lost Boys? Was he going to try and use that to his advantage?

The questions continued on and on, not even just specifically about Harry, sometimes they were about himself. He questioned why he was so intrigued by Harry in the first place, and why he always felt the need to help him. He thought himself in ridiculous circles, unable to break the chain.

Tink was, of course, persistent as ever. She and some of the older Lost Boys who had been in Neverland for quite a while asked Louis frequently about his sudden change of pace. What was he thinking about? Why did he suddenly go from carefree and loud to the one boy who was always stewing quietly in the corner or going off by himself? They never got answers though. Louis just insulted them until they left.

It was driving him insane that he couldn't just have his regular passing thoughts of no real importance. Usually his thoughts were varied and imaginative, but now he was stuck with a constant revolution of thousands of questions about the same things all the time. Louis needed it to go away. He couldn't concentrate on having fun.

~*~

Harry was stumped and upset. He didn't know how to plot against Pan. Quite honestly, the boy was quicker than him and better at fighting. He also couldn't really see the point of them being enemies to begin with. The whole situation was strange.

His crew could finally walk around, but they were in no condition to fight. None of them had had any ideas either. And there was nothing to do on this blasted ship!

Harry had taken to exploring the island a bit more, although he had been a little hesitant after the thing with the mermaids. He didn't want to accidentally fall prey to any other magical (or non-magical) creatures. Harry was also unsure of what he should do if he ran into Pan or one of the Lost Boys. Was he supposed to fight them?

Today he decided to go see what was past the lagoon. He walked past quickly to avoid the mermaids, and continued through the thick forest. He couldn't see anything except green for a very long time, and then, suddenly he began to see quick flashes of gold. At first he thought he was just imagining it, but no, the air was shimmering and bright sparks of gold were intermittently visible through the trees. Harry eagerly pushed forward and entered the most breathtaking clearing he could've imagined. There were larger, wizened trees bordering the clearing and one more ⁠— the largest ⁠— in the centre.

Harry walked forward very slowly, looking around in awe at the beauty. Multicoloured flowers coated the ground and on the far side of the clearing, it looked almost as if some of them formed a sort of waterfall as they swayed in the light breeze. The gold glowing he had seen through the trees were fairies ⁠— or pixies, he wasn't sure which ⁠— flitting about through the air. They were very tiny and each glowed brightly. He slowly continued walking around the clearing, entranced by the gorgeous scenery.

~*~

Night was falling and Louis was literally attempting to pull his hair out. He felt like crying ⁠— something he couldn't remember ever having done before. The thoughts, the ever circling thoughts that were crowding his head wouldn't give him any rest. Louis was pretty sure this was it: he was actually going to go over the edge, barmy, completely cuckoo.

He blamed Harry completely. If that fake pirate had never shown up with his big baby eyes and confused him this never would have happened. He could have just kept fighting the old Hook ⁠— the real Hook ⁠— forever. He could have been content with their constant battle and neither of them would ever win, but they would always fight and keep things interesting.

Tink was more concerned than ever and had refused to leave his side at all for the past several days. This time Louis was so absolutely desperate for any sort of respite that he actually listened to her pleading.

"You think they'll be able to help with this? I guess anything's worth a try. Alright, fine. Lead me to the pixie city."

They flew quickly across the island and Louis paused above, looking at the sparkling gold patterns created by the movement of the pixies.

"It's pretty, I suppose," he told Tink before they both flew down to land next the the large centre tree. A movement different from the flickering of the pixies caught Louis's eye and he turned and stared briefly in shock. Harry was standing right there, staring into the hollow of the tree in amazement. Louis didn't think, he just jumped and landed on Harry, pushing him to the ground.

Harry was stunned and it took him a moment to process what was happening. Louis punched him several times in the chest as they rolled around. Louis had started crying at some point, but had yet to notice as he screamed angrily at Harry.

"You! This is all your fault! I want my mind back, you fake pirate. You smelly little piece of squirrel shit, leave my bloody mind alone! I can't do anything, you've ruined everything."

Harry was beyond confused, and hesitant to punch the crying boy back, but he reluctantly pushed at him in hopes of stopping the blows.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Pan! What am I doing to your mind?"

"I! Can! Never concentrate! Anymore!" Louis straddled Harry's stomach and yelled angrily in his face between heavy breaths and weakening punches.

The pixies were sending calming magic down upon them that neither of them noticed, but eventually Louis collapsed onto Harry's chest, still crying and feeling oddly sleepy.

"I just can never think. All of those questions all the time," Louis whimpered quietly, muffled further by Harry's ruffled shirt.

Harry, for his part was still extremely confused about what exactly had happened in the last ten minutes of his life. His chest ached quite a bit from the number of punches and his shirt was quickly being soaked through by Louis's tears, but he reluctantly hugged the boy regardless. Clearly he was upset, and Harry believed that nobody deserved to feel alone when they were upset.

Louis thought about slapping away Harry's arms, but in the end he was just too exhausted and too tied up in his own head to do it. Plus, they were...comforting. Louis didn't think he'd experienced something comforting before, but Harry's arms were warm and heavy on his back, which eased something in his chest a little. Strange.

Eventually, Louis stopped crying and wiped his face, rolling off of Harry.

"It's very pretty here, what is this place?" Harry asked softly.

"The pixie city. Tink brought me here because I was going crazy. All those thoughts were just suffocating me. I've never had that before."

Both of them were unnaturally calm and relaxed, thanks to the pixies' magic. Harry pushed himself up off of the ground and held out a hand to Louis to help him up. Louis just looked up at him in confusion. The deep crease in the side of his face from the ruffles on Harry's shirt just made him look even more ridiculous and Harry struggled to keep from laughing at how silly the confused boy looked.

"Grab it. It's to help you up."

"Hmm, strange custom."

Louis took it anyway and Harry helped him to stand shakily.

"You're right. It is really beautiful here. I feel so calm, and⁠—and the thoughts. They're not in the way! I can process everything that's happening now again," Louis said in wonderment.

They walked a few steps over to the centre tree to look in the hollow. The inside glowed gold, but there were different tints. It was set up like a bustling, multi layered city inside, and certain parts were a beautiful rosy gold, whilst others were most definitely a blue-gold, and still others shimmering green-gold. A rainbow of colours and more shone in glimmering gold tints inside the tree, and Louis's breath caught at how⁠— how...there just weren't words for how enchanting it was. It made something ache deep inside him in a beautiful, longing way. He wanted to be a pixie, to live there in all that entrancing, glittering beauty.

He looked up and saw how absorbed Harry was by the tiny gorgeous city in the tree. Louis stared at how open and wondering his face was ⁠— it was fascinating. His hair reflected the gold, but his eyes, they seemed to capture it. Little multihued gold flecks danced inside them, making the green look like a bottle-glass sea, tossing around the little pinpoints of light in the waves. Harry finally looked up, making eye contact, and Louis got an idea.

"Do you trust me?" he whispered, unsure of why he felt the need to lower his volume. Perhaps it was that the majesty of the city below demanded awe and respect only communicated by silence.

"Yes," Harry whispered back, eyes still dancing distractingly.

"Take my arm and close your eyes."

Harry grabbed onto his upper arm and scrunched his eyes tightly shut. Louis reached into his pocket, scattering a small handful of pixie dust over them.

"Believe," he breathed softly in Harry's ear.

"What?"

"Believe, Harry. Just believe."

"O-okay." Harry was uncertain, but he tried anyway.

Louis smiled as they began to float above the trees. They had a lovely view of the flickering pixie lights glowing and shimmering down below.

"Open your eyes," Louis's voice stayed soft, not wanting to break the moment.

Harry opened them and looked down in confusion, gasping when he saw how high they were.

"But⁠— we're⁠— I'm flying."

Louis laughed.

"Yeah. Pretty neat, isn't it? I told you: all the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust. It's all you need."

"It's...magical up here," Harry said, looking around. He could see the pixies below them and the faintly glowing flowers in the clearing, but he could also see everything in the open night sky above them, and he could see out across the island, and the ocean in every direction. Everything was ten times as awe inspiring coated in the gentle silver moonlight.

Louis was still staring at Harry closely. Now that the pixie city was out of range, Louis had thought the tiny gold lights would be gone from Harry's eyes, but up here, the entire night sky was reflected. Miniature stars waltzed across his irises as galaxies slowly turned, and Louis swore he could see the whole universe in them, every part performing a slightly different routine. It was mesmerising.

With neither boy realising it, they began to mimic the stars, gently swaying in midair whilst revolving slowly. They locked eyes again and Louis noticed Harry looking at him with a look very similar to that which he had gazed at the pixie city with, full of awe and admiration. Louis felt his chest twinge again with that same feeling he had felt when looking into the tree himself. Very odd, that.

Harry's hair caught briefly in the updraft as they landed and Louis started. He hadn't even realised they had been slowly sinking back to the ground. The pixies quickly covered the clearing in more calming, sleepy magic. Louis briefly noticed Harry's small, peaceful smile before they both sank to the ground, asleep.