Greatest challenge/Peter Pan (Completed)

Chapter 27: Stolen Kiss

I knew tonight would be a long night. I only wanted to provide a distraction, but Peter Pan obviously wanted something more. As I stared into his dark green eyes, I took a step closer. I brushed my lips over his softly. "Why did you save me again?" I asked.

I heard Peter Pan take a deep breath. "Because you stood out," This time it was Pan's turn to take a step back. "Like a candle...I just couldn't kill you, after all, I thought you'd do that perfectly well yourself when you nearly fell into a bush of Dream shade right as you came."

I laughed and bitterly shook my head. "Yeah, that would have just been my rotten luck."

"And then, I got curious, started playing games, and each time, you took me by surprise," Peter Pan lifted a large stick and pointed it at me. "You showed me a passion, unlike any other girl I've met...considering your history..."

I looked down on the ground. "I assume Gus told you everything."

"But not the things that mattered," Peter Pan said with a smile. "You proved it yourself. What was one prisoner's life compared to one girl who doesn't let it define her? Besides, you proved too much entertainment after you recklessly made a deal with me for Quinton's life."

"I was being reckless?" I asked crossing my arms.

"You and I both know what would have happened if that fight actually occurred," Peter Pan said.

"It might work out differently than our last fight," I said and raised my brow. "At Skull-rock I was fighting you because I was angry, not for my freedom and Quinton's life."

"So you do believe you are free, whether you stay in Neverland, or whether you're free to leave?" Peter Pan asked and I gaped, shell-shocked. He got me there. Truth be told, things did change a little for me here. I wasn't so scared anymore. I was still mad at him. He still abandoned his son, but after his promise...it made things different. Hook's threats of Peter Pan's dark side became harder and harder for me to see.

"Maybe..." I answered. "Maybe I have more hope of freedom than I've ever had since I've been enslaved, imprisoned and abused...and I don't understand how you did it, but you gave me that hope...in all your mind games, you somehow helped me find a way out...you did save my life when Gus decided to take it...you didn't follow his rules...and for once, I am actually very glad because of that." I laughed and shook my head. "I got so mad at you for so many right reasons...but yet I just can't find myself staying mad at you..."

Peter Pan grinned. "Stay with me a little longer, and I can show you all there is to Neverland...it's a world run on belief, and imagination...you're still a little girl, Finley...in your heart...let me show you." Peter Pan wrapped his two hands together and it started glowing. He then moved his one hand, revealing a stunning glowing necklace in the other. I gasped. It had the outline of a heart with a red crystal in the center. It was the most beautiful piece of jewelry I had ever set my eyes on.

He teleported behind me all of a sudden. I felt Pan's fingers gently brush the hair off my neck as he clipped the necklace on me. It sent shivers down my spine. I looked up at him. "It's beautiful...what is kind of a necklace is it?"

"I call it a stolen kiss," Peter Pan said, right before he kissed me again, and this time, I let him...

                                                                                                ***

I tucked my new necklace into my clothing as I saw Quinton approach me. It was early morning, just as the sun began to rise. I was sitting near the fireplace, which was still smoking. I didn't get much sleep last night. After the kiss, Peter and I parted ways. Felix had arrived to inform Pan off a Native's issue, and he left to sort it out. I joined the Lost Boys again at the fireplace. And it was a long celebration. I continued dancing and laughing, and ever so now and then sang a song for the eager Lost Boys. I spotted Peter Pan arriving ever so now and then, watching from a distance, then vanishing. I really hoped that he wasn't discovering what Quinton was up to, but what else could I do? He knew me, and my feisty character. If I acted too desperate for his attention, he'd know that something was up.

"I see your lip is all healed up," Quinton said brushing my cheek and I smiled.

"So, any news?" I asked.

Quinton nodded. " I'm all for it...you are by far the most clever of girls on this island."

"I am the only Lost Girl on this island..."

"Fair point, so you don't have much competition to go on...so how was last night?" Quinton asked. "I was a little jealous leaving you there alone under Pan's watchful eye."

I opened my mouth to speak then closed it. I felt the blood rising on my cheeks. "It was certainly a party to remember...I sang."

"You can sing?" Quinton asked, astounded. "I need to hear that sometime."

I laughed. "I bet you will..."

We exchanged a moment of silence before I broke it again. "How are you going to get the World Warpers where they need to be?"

Quinton nodded and rubbed his nose a little. "I met up with Axel...he is a trusted friend, he and I served together in the army."

"Oh," I said with peaked interest. "And?"

"He's...a persuasive kind of person..."

"So you're saying he's not human?"

"Not 100% no...let's just say, he has slightly more peaked interest in blood and ability to compel someone to do whatever he wants them to."

"Bloody hell, he's a vampire?" I spoke, then turned left and right.

"You picked up my hints awfully fast," Quinton said.

"Does he come from..."

"Mystic Falls? Well, he lived close by," Quinton said. "Let's just say by dusk tonight...we will be free."

"Oh..."

"Oh...that doesn't sound very excited?" Quinton frowned. "You're not having second thoughts are you?"

"And if I am?" I asked. "Here I can be a child again, make up for the childhood that I lost..."

"Peter Pan is the villain...."

"Yes, but so?" I said and shrugged. "We are all villains in certain people's eyes."

"I can't believe it...so he won," Quinton turned to face the horizon, and it was my turn to frown.

"What do you mean he won?"

"Finley, I care about you..."

"Yes, I know that..." I said. "And I care about you too Quinton..."

"But I care about you...a lot more than a friend...you get me?"

"Oh..." The truth settled in and my heart sank into my boots.

"I guess you haven't noticed the competition between me and him...how he's been trying to force us apart from the very beginning..."

I stayed quiet, allowing Quinton to rant.

"And how he managed to save your life while I couldn't and protect you in ways that I can't even begin to do...I failed you in every single way...I guess I should have assumed this was how it would end..." Quinton stood up. "I'm not going to try and change your mind...You know where I stand, Finley. You are free to do as you wish...just make sure it's what you really want...and that he won't ruin you in the end. Meet me at the final point...you know where..."

I watched the honorable soldier walk away from me, and a wave of sadness crashed over me. If I left Neverland, I would lose Peter Pan, but if I stayed, I would lose Quinton. Either way was a terrible sacrifice, and I had only twelve hours to make my mind up about it. Yes, Quinton did not kiss me...he did not save my life as Pan did, but he believed in me. He tried his best to do what was right, not just for me but for his friends as well. He cared about me, and he had a heart of gold. He was the hero of this story... I should choose him without a doubt.

Then why on earth, was I falling for the villain?