(Untitled)

[nevergrowsup]

There was something seriously wrong with Peter Pan's mouth.

One of his teeth was loose. It felt like it was going to fall outHe didn't know when it had started getting loose, but he was almost positive that it wasn't his fault. Peter hadn't bumped into anything or got hit in the mouth or anything, but his front tooth was still wiggling and loose

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[helenhooverb]

Helen Hoover Boyle's clothes had begun to smell quite bad. She had refused to go to the Clothes Box unless she found someone that could alter whatever it had given her. She had washed her clothes in the ocean, after people were sleeping, but it wasn't the same. There was a sort of natural smell following her. Water, air, all that sort.

Helen entered the kitchen in hopes of finding some sort of food. Instead of finding a large meal left out by someone like she had hoped she found Peter Pan.

"Are you ever just still?" She asked as if she was making a serious inquiry. "Always wiggling and moving...."

[nevergrowsup]

Peter squirmed spitefully on his stool when he saw her, just for good measure. Of course, it's difficult to be spiteful when you've got a whole half an orange's worth of peel stuck in your mouth as a grotesque, fruity smile.

He popped it out of his mouth and wiped his hand. "I've got scurvy."

[helenhooverb]

Helen concealed a laugh with her hand. "Oh, really?" She asked quite seriously. "Well you had better have someone check that out. Scurvy is a very, very stubbourn disease."

Stubborn. Only Helen Hoover Boyle would use a word like 'stubborn' to describe a disease that she knew very little about. "Besides, I don't think it's scurvy, Pete, I think that's actually Cheadle's disease."

[nevergrowsup]

He sighed and reached for another orange. "What do you think I'm eating all these oranges for?"

Peter paused and looked at her, fingers still twisting over the fruit. He'd got so good he could almost get the whole rind off at once. "What's that?"

[helenhooverb]

Watching his small fingers navigate the peel of the orange, Helen thought quick on her feet. "It's a very, very rare disease, actually." Something inside of Helen loved to joke around with Peter. He was so carefree and innocent of the ugly things in the world. Helen found it precious. It was as if she was his mother, playing with him.

"Keep eating those oranges though, Peter." She walked in closer to him. "Wouldn't want you growing a beard and turning red...."

[nevergrowsup]

He tipped his head to the side slightly, looking inquisitive. "What happens after you turn red?"

[helenhooverb]

Helen brought the knuckle of her first finger into her mouth and bit down dramatically. "I don't know if I should tell you, Peter....." She shook her head. "I want you to be able to sleep tonight. No need for nightmares, Peter."

[nevergrowsup]

"Oh, don't worry, you can tell me. If I've got it, I'm gonna die anyway right?" He said in a reassuring sort of voice. As though that was the sort of news that would calm anyone down.

"so you can just tell me about it."

[helenhooverb]

Helen clicked her teeth against her cheek.

"Well, should I start before or after your fingers swell into plump, bulging lumps?" Helen looked up, 'thinking' about what to say next. "I think I'll start from the ears falling off...."

Helen looked at Peter. "Now, you're sure you want to hear this?"