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“Hurry up, crew!” Jake called back. He was halfway up a hill, while his crew was lagging behind, “We don’t wanna miss it!”
“Jake, the moon just rose,” Izzy pointed out as she caught up to her captain. She took a moment to adjust the blanket in her arms, “We’re not gonna miss it.”
Cubby, who was carrying a picnic basket, took another few moments to catch up, “You two need to remember that my legs are a lot shorter than yours.”
Jake chuckled, “Just be faster, then.”
That earned him a playful shove from Cubby.
“You’re all slow, compared to me,” Skully flew down from the top of the hill, “Now get a move on so we can eat.”
“Sorry, Skully,” Jake switched the telescope he brought from one arm to the other.
With that, the crew made their way up the rest of the hill. This was their favorite star-gazing spot in all of Pirate Island. When they were up here, it was like they could almost reach out and touch the stars. This was a special place, and this was a special occasion.
The boys put their things down before helping Izzy spread out the blanket.
“I can’t wait to see what Peter’s surprise is,” Cubby said as he smoothed out one of the corners, “I bet it’s gonna be something huge!”
“I think it has to be,” Jake smiled, "Afterall, it’s the anniversary of when we became a crew. I can’t think of anything more special than that.”
“Wow, not the time you became an official captain?” Izzy asked playfully.
“Or the time you met and helped save your hero?” Skully added.
“Or the time you literally saved Neverland?” Cubby sat down on the blanket.
Jake couldn’t help but laugh a little as he stood up, “Nope! This one is way more special. You know why?”
“Why?” The crew asked, not quite simultaneously.
“Because that’s the day I knew I’d spend my days with my best friends in the entire world,” Jake smiled warmly.
“Aww,” Cubby and Izzy both cooed before Izzy mimed throwing up.
Jake rolled his eyes and got to work on setting up the telescope, “Call me a sap all you want, but it’s the truth.”
“You know what else is the truth?” Izzy smirked.
“Don’t say it-”
“That you got lost in the hideout today.”
Jake’s face went pink in embarrassment, “Only for like five minutes!”
“You’ve lived here for years!”
Cubby and Skully both started laughing. Jake shot them both dirty looks.
“Looks like today isn’t so special for him anymore,” Skully teased.
“Oh shut up,” Despite Jake’s words, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face, “Telescope’s set up. Now all we have to do is wait.”
“And eat,” Cubby added as he set the food out.
With a resounding agreement from everyone, the crew all sat on the blanket and started to eat.
“Cubby, I want you to know that you are not allowed to leave us without giving us your recipe book,” Izzy said as she grabbed a second muffin.
Cubby laughed, “I just use the one that’s in the kitchen.”
“I’m calling bilge water on that one,” Jake said after he swallowed a bit of his sandwich, “I tried to make the exact same muffin recipe last week and they turned out like mush! You’re either using a different cookbook or magic.”
“He is getting good at his magic lessons,” Izzy pointed out.
Cubby shrugged, “I don’t know what to tell you guys. I just followed the recipe on the page. Also, I’m learning stage magic, not cooking magic.”
“As far as we know,” Jake said.
Cubby was about to make a comment about that, until he thought about it, “You know, cooking magic might actually be fun to learn.”
“See?”
“No no, really,” Cubby said, “Like, if a cookie could give you good luck. Or a cake could make you float.”
“Heh, we could’ve used some of those on our first adventure,” Izzy said.
There was a collective wince as the crew remembered the event that, ironically, they were all celebrating tonight.
Jake shuddered, “Ugh, why would you say that!? Now I feel like I’m covered in mud again.”
“Oh my gosh, that took forever to clean up!” Cubby groaned, “I don’t know who had it worse, us or Bucky.”
“Us,” Izzy said without hesitation, “Bucky didn’t have to clean himself up. And the amount of mud that got in my hair!? I was tempted to just cut it all off. Well, more than Jake had already cut off.”
“Your pigtail was caught in the trap!” Jake said in defense, “It was going to break your neck, and I panicked!”
“In his defense, you looked good with a bob cut,” Cubby said as he grabbed his drink.
Izzy played with one of her pigtails, “Yeah. Sometimes I’m tempted to go back to it, but I just like having long hair, ya know? Plus, it takes me forever to grow it back.”
“That’s fair,” Jake said, “Honestly, with all the crazy things we’ve been through, I’m surprised that was the only time we had to cut your hair mid-adventure.”
Izzy shrugged with a grin, “What can I say? I’m Neverland’s favorite.”
That got everyone to chuckle.
“You know what?” Jake grabbed his cup of juice, “I’ll admit it, our first adventure was a complete and utter disaster. But, it sure was memorable.”
“We won’t ever forget it,” Izzy agreed, “Especially since it created the bottomless pit.”
“Okay, it didn’t make the bottomless pit. It just reopened it,” Cubby clarified.
“And made it actually bottomless,” Skully muttered.
“Yes, yes, all true,” Jake continued, “But it also led to so many more great adventures. Because of that day, all those years ago, we learned how to work together as a team. Through that, we were able to make new friends, protect our home, and do so many wonderful things,” Jake raised his cup, “So I’d like to raise a toast, to the day that brought us together, not just as a crew, but as a family. To us!”
“To us!” The crew cheered. They all raised their cups and took a drink.
Then, there was a woosh from overhead.
Cubby looked up and gasped, “It’s starting!” He pointed to the sky, “Peter’s surprise!”
Everyone turned around and looked up. Shooting stars of all different colors shot across the night sky in a dazzling display. It left the crew amazed and speechless. But words were no longer needed. They all just sat back and enjoyed the display of lights.
One star, which was a particular shade of green, wove past the others. It stopped for a moment and flew in a pattern. It drew a sword, map, and bag of pixie dust in the sky before flying off once more. As the pattern faded, the crew all had the exact same thought.
“I hope we can do this again next year.”