Red in the face from embarrassment, Jane peered at her window as she saw Alfie leave with a big smile on his face. When she could no longer see him, she turned around and sighed, the warm redness turned into a light pink hue that dusted her cheeks. She used to have a crush on him, ever since that fateful day when his grandmother had come in donating non-perishable foods to the group home. She was five back then and he had just turned six, and she had fallen for his boyish looks that she imagined princes would have when she read storybooks back then. Honey eyes and a blinding smile as if he had just won the horse race by placing his bets right.

Then they had grown up a little more and she had found out that he had a crush on Marie; the girl of his dreams with golden hair and freckles adorning her face as if they were painted on. Jane had decided that she wouldn't risk her friendship with him and convinced herself that day that she wasn't attracted to him. But that had been a lie.

When his grandmother died, that white lie haunted her and she realized that she could never stop liking him for he was depressed and Jane had been the one to comfort him. She had been there by his side through everything, and her crush had turned into something more.

That's the first time she had ever known the feeling of 'love'. She had truly loved him enough to never give in to her selfish desire...enough to keep her secret hidden forever. That's what she had learned love actually was; it wasn't a fairy tale where the couple lived happily ever after. It was about being able to give up your own needs for the sake of another even if it meant that they only stayed friends forever and nothing more. And after she realized that, she knew she had lost some of her childhood naivety.

"I hate you, heart," Jane mumbled, her appendage piercingly bumping into her rib cage.

"Jane? Is that you dear?" Her caregiver, Mrs.S, peered out from the kitchen in the far back of the building, "It's past sundown and no lady in her right mind should be wondering those streets alone not that I don't believe you can hold your own against a hooligan. Did Alfie at least walk you home dear?"

"Yes Mrs," Jane said ignoring her babbling concern like always and entered the room. She sat down in the lone chair of a long table that held one bowl of cold porridge. "He's enrolling in the war."

"He's such a fine young man he'll turn out into a respectable gentleman, shame his granny died before she could see him grow, god rest her sou- wait, he did what?" Mrs.S shockingly asked knowing the answer herself already. Her grip on the wooden spoon that was mixing tomorrow morning's oatmeal hardened, "Doesn't he know what'll happen to him out there in that godforsaken war? Are they enlisting boys now? What has the world come to?"

Jane didn't answer. She knew in her heart that was exactly what she thought of Alfie's actions too, but if she were to verbally agree, Mrs.S might try to persuade her to convince him to not go. That little push would drive her on the edge and trick her into doing such a thing; but she couldn't bear to do that to him, not when he was already so set on the idea.

"Let's get our minds out of this depressing topic," the caregiver's voice cut through her thoughts and back into reality. Jane really did have a bad habit of daydreaming. "We need some good news love, how was work?"

Jane proudly grinned at the new subject. She was glad that Mrs.S was so open-minded to allow her to take on such a task and help her bring in more financial income to help feed all the girls. The caregiver had even taken it upon herself to sew together her boy trousers.

"You won't believe it!" Jane excitedly spoke, her eyes lighting up like a child again – it only ever did at times like these now. "I sold all my stack again. That's twice this week now, and a man even gave me a penny on his own will."

"Careful, nothing good comes from strange men giving free money," the older woman said but couldn't quite hold back her joy as she tightly embraced Jane from the side and shouted, "Two dollars?! My oh my, you're such a headstrong girl."

"Careful Mrs, you'd wake the other girls," shushed Jane as she giggled from her caregiver's childish behavior. When she was released from her hold, Jane reached into her pocket to pull out the change that jingled with her every movement.

"Here's the money Mrs, now we have enough to buy more food," Jane deposited the coins onto the table as Mrs.S took out her rounded reading glasses and began counting the money. While she did so, the young girl reached into her other pocket to retrieve the thimble Alfie had given. When Jane felt her finger slip through hole, her heart began to frantically thump in her chest.

She couldn't have lost it so easily. It just wasn't an option. Coming up with an excuse to go look for it in outside, she told Mrs.S, "I think I dropped that penny outside, I'll go look for it really quick." The woman nodded, not looking up and continued with her task of counting the coins.

Jane made a dash toward the door, scanning the floor as she did so but the tiles were bare. Her shaky fingers madly turned the doorknob, cool air splashing her warm face from the drop in the temperature. Jane jumped off the steps and continued scanning the spot where she had previously occupied, but there was no kiss anywhere.

"Dammit!" She shouted in frustration as tears prickled her eyes. She would not cry over this, she would not cry from losing what could have possibly been her most precious thing ever. And then Jane's left eye betrayed her as a drop ran down her to her chin. She shouted again and wiped the tear away before stomping back inside the home.

"Jane dear, what was all that racket outside?" Mrs.S asked the young lady who had re-entered the kitchen with a frown on her face, "Don't be so upset dear, I found your penny right here!"

Jane glanced at what Mrs.S had been pointing to, there on the table next to perfectly stacked coin towers stood a lonely bronze penny. It wasn't even shiny.

"See, you didn't lose it, after all, must be a lucky penny!" The woman gleefully proclaimed as she placed it in her palm same way as the man had done too.

"Yeah…" Jane sarcastically mumbled as she stared death holed into the coin, "Must be my lucky day."

"Quiet you! Here she comes," a girl whispered among her peers. She was a year younger than Jane, and the youngest of her little group of four. All the other girls were either Jane's age or seventeen or about to become an adult within a few months. Jane herself would be turning seventeen in a few weeks' time.

Jane scowled at them as she held her head high despite her face being dirty and smudged. These were the girls she despised. The ones who merely accepted their fate in society and did nothing to help. They focused on keeping their hair soft and prim, their clothes wrinkle-free, and befriended the wealthy man's sons instead of helping Mrs.S keep the group-home running.

Jane had tried to convince the other girls her age to pretend to be a boy and work selling papers, but they all rejected the idea calling it preposterous. They were poor yet delicate. Sadly, in this world, one could die from such pride if they couldn't afford it.

The girls whispered, huddled over a single bunk bed while Jane undressed. The chestnut-haired girl completely ignoring their gossip as she undid the binds to her chest and released a sigh from being free of the constructing thing.

"You know I can still hear you and you might just wake up the others. Wouldn't want Mrs.S coming up here either," Jane said knocking some sense into the girls into a thick silence as they went to their own beds in a hurry. Uninterested in them, Jane slipped on her lavender nightgown that Mrs.S gifted her three years ago. Every time she would grow taller, her kind caregiver would sew in another inch or two of frills on the bottom.

She walked towards the giant windowsill and laid down on it as she looked out to the view of Bloomsbury. Her gown now held two layers of frilly lace on the bottom and was in desperate need of another later now that her shins were showing.

With another exhausting sigh, Jane brought her legs to her chest and leaned her head on them. This time, her mind focusing back onto the thimble she had lost somewhere outside. Her blue eyes raking the smog-filled streets in a false attempt to spot a shiny gleam under the moonlight that would signify that it was her thimble.

She mentally laughed at her idiotic hopeful wishes. Only a child would think like that and she was no child. She was a lady who tirelessly worked like a boy and didn't play in the sun all day.

"If you take care of your hair and quit that job of yours, you might actually get a nice boy with money to notice you," the oldest girl in the group spoke as she sat up on her bed, "Were not accepted in society and you can't always pretend to be a boy to make a living. I know how you think of us as, gold diggers, but we do what we must to survive. To get out of this hell-hole and live proper lives."

"I don't want to be a wife," Jane numbly responded, shocking even herself. Her words hadn't filtered through her mind yet this was her subconsciously automatic reply. "I will not seduce a young man and be a servant for him so I can play dress up and a tea party. Yes, we are looked down by society because were poor orphan girls, but that doesn't mean your only option is marriage."

The girl huffed in denial, staying silent, and rolled in her bed to sleep in. Jane was glad that the girl had chosen to remain quiet rather than continue to hold a pointless discussion with her and looked back out the window.

A small crack was left open and she could feel the cool breeze slip through and tickle her bare skin. The night was silent just like how Jane preferred until a chiming of a small bell filled her ears.

She had heard that similar tune before in the train station when that boy with the beautiful marble appeared. It was the exact same sound and Jane searched the scene with a new goal in her mind: to find the source of that exotically calm sound.

Without any luck, she failed to locate it as the music died down until it was silent once more. Frustrated for the third time that day, she decided that it was time to turn in for the night before another maddening incident occurred.

She would have to wake up early tomorrow at dawn before the sun rose to get ready and sell another stack of papers. It was a regular do and repeat cycle for her; one that she had gotten accustomed to so she could help feed her fellow girls – even the ones she didn't like. However, as the night droned on, Jane found herself twisting and turning unable to fall to sleep.

It was to say quite unusual for her, she never had trouble falling into a deep slumber. With a grunt, Jane rose from the bed and peeked out the window that now had the blinds closed, probably from Mrs.S's doing. She quietly pulled them open to not disturb the other girls who were already fast asleep.

An irresistible itch overtook Jane tempting her to open the windows wide. She hesitated and ran her fingers over the cool glass deciding against the idea, it was time for her to get ready anyways and she couldn't spare to waste another minute. She rubbed her temple and sighed before gathering her bindings to get ready for work.

She guessed that luck just wasn't on her side anymore and continued buttoning a white sleeveless dress shirt. She slipped on her light denim blue overalls that ended above her ankles due to it being a hand-me-down that didn't fit exactly. This was her favorite set of clothes, giving her the mobility to move freely.

Anything was better than a dress; except those soft flowy ones she'd see in the store windows, she wouldn't mind wearing one of those. Shaking her head to rid those silly thoughts out, she slipped her button-up shoes that were a bit beaten up from abuse. They were the only pair she had left that still fit beside some ugly buckle up ones; those reminded her of pirates for some odd reason.

She stretched, her balance weighing on the heels of her feet as her hands shot above her head and she noticed that the window was slightly ajar. Jane blinked, her brows creasing in confusion as she wondered if she had done that by accident without even realizing it.

Jane quickly closed it, puzzled and wanting to rid the evidence of doing such a silly thing after telling herself not to. She thought she had stronger willpower than that. She shook her head again, losing that bad train of thought that would lead her nowhere; she had to get going.

As Jane picked up her hat that sat on the foot of her bead, she felt a chill that rose the hairs on her arms from a trickling breeze. Standing up swiftly, she looked straight at the windowsill and noticed the pane was opened wide again.

"What the?" Jane mumbled walking towards it once more, hand outstretched and unbelieving that what she saw was real. Maybe she was dreaming, that would explain a lot. Jane rubbed her eyes and mumbled it out loud to confirm it, "I'm dreaming."

"You're not dreaming silly girl," a sweet-sounding voice spoke in the shell of her ear and Jane spun to look who had whispered that to her. But, there was no one behind her.

"Who said that?" Jane loudly asked, quickly covering her mouth from being too loud and whispered the last part, "Show yourself."

"I'm right here on your shoulder," the voice, clear as a bell said before adding a witty remark afterward, "Don't you have a brain silly girl?"

Jane tilted her head and when her eyes landed on a little flying woman, she jumped and brushed her shoulder in a panic causing the creature to rapidly fly off to a safer swat-free place in mid-air.

"W-What are you?" Jane asked in shock, no curiosity whatsoever in her voice. "Are you a figment of my imagination?"

"Of course, not! I'm a fairy!" The little woman angrily responded, "I'm starting to doubt that you're a Darling."

"Wait how do you know who I am?" Jane asked as she sat down on the foot of her bed, surely this was a delusion from not getting enough sleep.

"Everyone knows who you are," Tinkerbell said with a soft smile, "My name is Tinkerbell, I was born from your first laughter."

"My laughter?" Jane incredibly asked not believing a single thing, "How is that even possible? How are you even real?"

Tinkerbell faltered in her flight a little and her spark dimmed, but it quickly took on a red hue as anger covered her face, "Maybe I was wrong this time. You're not the Wendy Darling we're looking for because the real one would know that magic is real! She would remember me and believe in me!"

Jane's eyes widened. She hadn't heard or muttered that name in a long time. The last time she had voiced that name was when she stopped being a child wanting her mother to come back on the steps of the group home. All the older girls at that time had laughed at her causing her to vow to never cry that name again.

It was like a forbidden word for her. Until Alfie had changed her mind when she noticed how he spoke of his own mother. The respect and love burned in his eyes and that word had faded from cursed to a marvel of the small hope of love left for her if she spoke her name out loud. It's not like she remembered much of that woman anyways.

"You knew my mother?" She said above a whisper, "What was she like?"

"Your mother?" Tink confusingly repeated as she flew closer to inspect the young girl with those incredibly familiar eyes. Then it hit her, this girl was slightly tanner from working under the sun; very unlike the fairer skinned and cultured Wendy with her flowy blue dress.

The way this girl talked was rebellious, boyish, rough. Wendy was gentle, sympathetic, and too motherly. But this girl had no practical act whatsoever. Just standing right in front of her, this girl could light a fuse with her obvious stubbornness to not give up the fight. She was too prideful…too mature.

She was perfect. She was what Pixie Hollow, no what Neverland needed.

This new information had Tink's brain revolving in thought with more questions and solutions forming here and there. She was a tinker born with the talent to fix things and right now, Neverland needed fixing before it was too late.

Before it died out and faded into nothingness along with its inhabitants.