Hase - Before Ever After

Chapter 23 - Tricky Tink

Ever since Tinker Bell heard Peter's request to keep Rose from going back to where she came from, she felt jealous of the girl. Peter had been her best friend since forever, and the idea of having to share him with someone else really bothered her. Besides, she was very protective of the boy, and being Rose the one who got him in trouble and almost got him killed by Hook, she developed strong feelings for the girl in no time, just as her friend did, but not in a good way.

That is why her just acquired knowledge brought a very hard choice to make. She knew Joy had seen Peter hiding the coin, and she saw the girl tell the others about it and this left her with two options: tell Peter about it and let him continue with his plan to keep Rose with him or let the heroes grab the coin without Peter's knowledge and let them get away with it.

She didn't have too much time to spare, the heroes could try and take it at any moment, she had to think fast. What could she do?

Finally, an idea came up. She didn't have to tell Peter about what they were about to do, nor did she have to let them get away with the coin. She would just switch the coin for a fake one. It was the perfect plan. Rose and her friends would tell Peter they chose to go without the coin, actually believing they had it, and Peter wouldn't have anything else to keep Rose here. Trick the girl and get rid of her at once, it's a win-win situation.

Sneakily opening the door to the lost boy's room, Tinker Bell got an ordinary coin from there and rushed silently towards the hiding place Peter had chosen for the coin of the wishing well. She watched her every step during the whole way there, afraid of being spotted by the heroes, who could be coming at any minute. So, once she got there, she made the switch and zipped out of there as fast as her wings could take her.

~~~

"So, it's settled. Ling-Ling and Joy are gonna sneak out and switch the coin for an ordinary one without raising any suspicion, and tomorrow we'll tell Peter that we chose to go without it. It is a win-win". Astoria reviewed the plan to make sure everyone understood.

The two girls left for their mission and the others stayed to make sure no one would discover what they were doing - little did they know someone already had.

Tense looks shared between Rose and Hawk told Travis and Astoria it was time to leave the room, and so they did, giving the couple an opportunity to talk about what had happened earlier, but none of them seemed to want to be the first to talk and an awkward silence filled the space.

They exchanged nervous looks while trying to figure out how to even start this conversation.

Finally, Hawk broke the silence. "Rose, I-I...". He started and she sighed in relief because the consuming awkwardness was becoming unbearable. Sure she wanted to talk to him, she had to understand what that kiss meant, but she couldn't muster the words to do it.

Once he said her name, chills ran down her body, expectations up to a high level that this was the moment when he said he liked her back.

"I-I just wanted to say...". As he talked, her eyes grew wide open with anticipation, sparkling hopefully.

"Look, I'm utterly sorry for what happened earlier". He finally said and Rose felt her heart drop as soon as those last words left his mouth.

"Rose, you're one of my best friends and I would never want anything to screw this up. Our friendship means the world to me, I didn't mean to make things awkward by kissing you, I just got caught up in the moment". He explained.

"I see". Rose said, coldly. "It's okay, you're forgiven. If that's all, I think I'll go with the others now, are you coming?". She asked him with a blank expression. Hawk had never seen that shade of blue in her eyes before. It was like her baby blue eyes were being shadowed by something... something that made them look empty and expressionless.

"I'll catch up later". He simply said, trying his best to sound fine.

As soon as she left the room, he crashed, all the emotions taking over his heart and mind. That look he saw on her face...

She must hate me.

It was hard enough to cover his affection for her just to preserve their friendship. As true as the things he said to her were, it wasn't the whole truth. He did mean to kiss her, it was all he could think about when they were that close, and by that moment, his body had a will of its own, it was like she was a magnet attracting him, he couldn't help it. But thanks to his lack of self control, she hated him. He made her uncomfortable, he crossed the line, she would never act the same around him, and the thought of it made him sick to the core.

Little did he know, in the room just beside him, a devastated Rose was crying her heart out. Soundless hurtful screams left her mouth in between sobs. It was just too painful. He had said loud and clear that he didn't mean it, that he would never do anything to jeopardize their friendship, and for her, it meant they would never try to be more than just friends.

Suddenly, sadness became anger, and the more she thought about what just happened, the more she got mad at him.

He got her hopes up by kissing her just to friendzone her right after? What kind of sick game was he playing? If she was such a dear friend to him, why would her feelings mean so little?

The thoughts were weighing on her head, she could feel her heart beating faster at the second, and yet, she had a void sensation on her chest, like someone opened a hole there.

She jumped to her feet as she heard the door opening, but when she looked at who it was, she ran towards the purple haired girl in front of her and melted into her embrace, longing for comfort as she felt her body trembling.

Astoria was completely confused, but she thought that wasn't the right moment to ask questions, so she hugged Rose back and caressed her back, soothingly. She knew the girl would tell her what had happened as soon as she calmed down, so comforting her was all she could do right now.

Once the sobs quieted down, Astoria felt Rose pulling out of the hug and looking at her. The blonde's eyes were puffy and red, like she had been crying for a while now. Astoria gave her a puzzled look, hoping her friend was ready to explain what was going on. Rose, of course, understood what the look meant, and so she started to talk. "I-It's Hawk...".

Author's note:

Hey, guys. I'm really sorry it took me so long to update, life's been pretty busy. But I promise you I'm not discontinuing this story. I have it pretty much figured out, just need to take the time to write the chapters down, and that's where I'm miserably failing :)

Also, let me know if I brought too much angst into this chapter and I'll fix it in the next one.

I'll try to update one week from now, so bye everyone and I'll be back at may 31th.