Caged • Robbie Kay/Peter Pan •

Chapter Thirty-Two

•Peter•

The tangled mess of blonde hair trailed down her back; her laugh muffled by the forest wall. She turned her head around and smiled at me, but quickly pulled it back to face the trail when she noticed I had been staring.

This was new. This feeling was such a foreign and delicate feeling. So fragile, that I was afraid to embrace it for fear of breaking it.

She was the embodiment of autumn, the serenity in which yellow leaves fall to the forest floor. The colors of the woods brought out the warmth in her eyes, much like flames did when she'd sit in front of a fire.

"You're quiet." she spoke, breaking through my vast thoughts with her small voice.

"And what's wrong with that? Some of the greatest thoughts are born in silence." I stated, and in return she said nothing, almost as if speaking again would be a sin.

But suddenly, there was a separate crackling of leaves behind us, off rhythm from our own feet. "Meadow, wait. Stop walking."

We both halted; but a few more steps, much like an echo, were taken. "What's wrong?" she asked, but I put a finger to my lips.

"I heard someone behind us."

"It was probably a bird or squirrel. Come on, Peter, the boys are going to wonder what's going on between us." Meadow continued walking, but I sensed it; a presence behind me. I paced back a few steps and a twig snapped to my right. One of the boys must've been back at the camp after we left, but why hide?

"There's someone behind the tree."

"Peter, please." Meadow seemed unexplainably agitated by my curiosity as her eyes grew wide with fear. She didn't want me to find whoever or whatever was following us.

I took a few steps forward, listening for any other movement other than my own and noticed the corner of a tattered cloak, peaking out from behind the large rotting tree. I reached for it, but it disappeared. Quickly, I stepped around to the other side of the tree, only to be met with a pair of blue eyes.

For second, my heart stopped beating. The silence left a ringing in my ears so powerful I was sure I'd lost my hearing.

I knew it was him, unmistakably. Meadow had seen him.

"Chase, you-"

"Peter, let me explain." he came forward, holding his hands as if approaching an untamed animal. Perhaps, I was.

"What is there to explain?" I stepped back, dumbfounded with disbelief. My breath quickened. He hadn't drowned as he'd all made us believe. "You made all of us believe you'd been killed." uncontrollable anger stirred up inside me and my fists clenched so tightly, my fingernails left marks in m palm and my knuckles turned white

I felt Meadow's hand on my shoulder. "Don't hurt him, Peter. He had good reason." she attempted to pull me out of my state, but her calm demeanor showed that she was not surprised by Chase's sudden appearance.

"You knew he was alive?" I asked her, turning to her and almost not recognizing her by the fearful expression she held on her face. I knew I had caused it. She feared me.

"Yes, I knew but I couldn't tell you. I knew you'd hurt him if you found out." she said, glancing at my balled fists.

"How dare you make a fool of me, as you did. Was it all a game? A trick you could play on me?!" I shouted, I could feel the lump rising in my throat and my eyes started to sting. I was overwhelmed with anger and humiliation.

Caspar and Nolan ran down the path from the opposite side of the forest to see what had occurred and they too, could not believe what they saw.

"Peter, I was afraid of you! I was afraid of what you might do to me so I had no other choice." Chase breathed heavily. "I was a coward."

"Damn right, you were." I spat. I felt pain for him, regret and anguish and here he stood before me, beckoning my anger further.

Caspar grasped my arm, as if I could not control my own actions, but I pulled from him. "Had you known about him too?" I asked Caspar.

"None of us knew, Peter." Caspar said, staring at Chase, but she had known. She kept it from me.

She stayed silent, her eyes shamefully begging for forgiveness. I surveyed my surroundings, the other boys had joined the array of chaos and wondered what was happening. I felt betrayed, though I don't know why it surprised me.

I swallowed before closing my eyes and releasing the grip I had on my palm. I stared deeply into her eyes. "It seems I have placed my trust where it doesn't belong."

•Meadow•

And with those simple words, he just left.

"You did it on purpose. You wanted me to lose his trust, didn't you?" I half whispered, turning to Chase.

"How could I have known that he would find me? Don't be foolish." Chase stated.

"If you didn't want to be found, why were you following us?"

Owen jogged up beside me. "What's going on here?"

"Peter found Chase." I told him.

"Well, I can see that. How did it happen? You two stayed behind and then suddenly you're here with him?" he questioned, his grows knitting together in confusion.

"Maybe I should talk to him." I said, squeezing my eyes shut for a second before opening them. I knew he wouldn't speak to me and the truth pained me. Less than an hour ago, we had been together in his tent, but not all good things last forever. Especially in Neverland, it seemed.

"We both know that's a very bad idea." Owen said, peering at me almost empathetically.

The other boys had surrounded Chase, not upset nor angry, but curious and welcoming him as if he had been away from home for a very long time. "Are you hungry, Chase?" Nolan asked the boy.

"I haven't eaten since yesterday, truthfully." Chase scoffed.

"Come on then, gents. Lets get a bit of lunch for the lost boy." Caspar said smiling as he lead us back to the camp.

And all at once, one had been found, but the true lost boy surrounded himself in solitude and tried to rebuild the shell that he had started to peak out of. And it was all because I had not been honest with him, when he had been very much honest with me..

•••

A/N

So wow I wrote you guys a short lil chapter and I'll try and get back into regular updates but no promises. It was so hard for me to get inspired to write this one which is why it's short and probably a big smack in the face and you're probably wondering 'what the heck just happened'

ANYWAYS so I have included a fan made video for PANDOW!! We finally have decided on a ship name so YAY!!!

You guys are amazing and I love you so much

THANK YOU

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