Heaven is a fine emotion.
Hell is an even better comparison.
It seemed like the mystical blue of the lagoon faded into an ominous ruby stain, disturbingly similar to the colour of blood. The liveliness of the birds flying overhead drowned to a silent foreboding quake, like the tides before a tsunami hits.
But all of that was just from my imagination. The scene before me wasn't there physically, but mentally.
Peter was standing, his tension and anger boiling up. I could tell by the way his fists clench up and release in sync to my beating heart. He is trying to calm down, but Tink's cryptic way of expressing herself wasn't helping the situation.
In fact, if she continues at it, the lagoon would sure become the hell-house that I imagined it to be.
And Peter would be to blame.
At that moment, his face showed no other emotion than doubt. He scrunched his eyebrows, looking like he barely recognized her face. "Tinkerbell?"
She blinked. "The girl you forgot about," she answered in a mumble, getting her voice caught in her words. "The girl you stopped believing in."
"I forget a lot of girls," he replied back aimlessly, completely ignoring her obviously broken mental state. "And I never lost belief in you, you doomed yourself."
Now it was Tink's turn to stare back in disbelief.
"But you called me a useless waste of space," she shot back, tears threatening to make an appearance. "Y-you called me so... so many other things... just because I lost my magic."
From above, I watched as Peter's face chang. He tensed his jaw muscles and his eyes pierced straight through her heart, tearing out a few feelings along the way.
"Belief fuels imagination on this island. Without it, you're nothing." Before Tink could interject, Peter strengthened his hold on her, making her cringe. "You don't even need to have magic for god's sake. Hope is the ultimate equivalent to it."
She waited for another backlash.
But nothing happened.
In fact, the shock in her eyes were tremendous compared to the relativity of Peter's bad demeanor. He would usually have the seas bow down to him and the skies stand up with him, but after a few seconds, he showed that it wasn't his attitude that made 80% of what he was.
Because finally, his mercy emerged through.
His magic released from his fingertips and freed Tink from her invisible barrier, causing her to fall to the ground breathlessly.
She panted heavily in exhaustion as her eyes meandered up to meet his with a genuine gratefulness. It was also a look of bewilderment and confusion, but that wasn't too noticeable when she voiced her emotions in a subtle whisper.
"Thank you."
One by one, my negative thoughts about her disappeared.
She was just a confused girl. Her jealousy drove her mad and it took only a sliver of kindness to aid her.
That was what I admired.
Peter dismissed her gratefulness with a hint of timidness. "Someone once told me to put my morals before my actions."
"Who?" Tink questioned, standing up with some difficulty. She staggered a bit before catching her balance on a nearby rock, using it like a safety anchor.
A smile crept onto his lips as he ran his fingers through his auburn hair. "An angel," he said.
Without realizing it, his smile suddenly became contagious.
-Well... to me, at least.
Hook, on the other hand, peered down towards Tink and Peter with a special look. A look that I found so familiar back at home.
Defeat.
As a kid. I was the only girl in my little neighborhood, so I wasn't included in many games that the boys were. My childhood wasn't exactly lonely, but I made do with what I had.
I was excluded from hide-and-go-seek because they thought that with my feminine actions, I would be too afraid to look in muddy pits or in cobwebs for them.
Or when they didn't let me play charades, because they were in fear that I would always act out like a butterfly, unicorn, or fairy princess, like any of the other girls in the neighboring towns.
I was excluded for most of the first eight years of my life, I'll have to admit. But that was until I picked up my first blade, one selected specially from my father.
Since then, boys would line up my front door, wanting a chance to go at the undefeated neighborhood swordsman.
Me.
The look of defeat emitted from each boy I fought, most of which are the ones who had rejected me on games in the past. But now, Hook had that look.
He had the same frustrated scowl and the nearly extinguished look in his eyes, like as if he had almost just lost a battle. Hook's expression labeled him and made him look like he was on the losing team.
Which was quite true at the moment.
Now that Tink earned forgiveness from Peter, Hook's emotions flickered from confusion to bewilderment, then back to confusion.
But unfortunately, I knew that Plan A had failed for him. Now, there was only one more thing to do.
Use the hostage.
He forcefully snatched the hood of my cloak, pulling me to my feet. Before I could question anything or slip out of the rope, I felt the sharp edge of his hook gash into the side of my neck, leaving a deep enough wound to draw blood. The blistering pain seemed to be unbearable, so in response I gritted my teeth in agony.
Then, with one sudden jerk, he pushed me to the edge of the overhang.
It was Tink who was me first.
"Peter... Oh my god, Peter... Look!"
Just when his forest green eyes landed on me, Hook's strong arms slung around my shoulder, keeping me in place.
"Let her go." Pan ordered, his voice deep and gruff.
Hook smirked, "all in good time, laddy. All in good time."
His leather boot nudged me forwards, making me nearly topple over the edge. Just glancing down, I could see thirty feet of pure rock and water beneath me.
The chance of survival was about as low as my knowledge on ceratosaurs in the late Jurassic time period. (Aka, my chances are extinct.)
Yet still, I faked a chivalrous smile and curtsied slightly. "Good to see you again, Peter. I was hoping to meet you in less dangerous situations but I guess we'll have to settle for this."
My sarcastic vibe calmed him at the slightest, easing him back into his signature yet dream-worthy smirk. He sighed. "When I get you out of this, you so owe me an ostrich fight back in the treehouse."
"Don't bet on it, Pancake."
"Oh I'm not betting, I'm waiting," he responded with a subtle wink.
"Enough!" Hook bellowed, stopping Peter mid-flirt. He sent up a glare like as if Hook had just insulted his favorite fandom in the world.
That boy.
That was when Hook cleared his throat. "Let's make a deal, Pan. A deal you wouldn't want to break."
"And why wouldn't I?" He shot back furiously, "just in case if you haven't noticed, I'm not the most well-behaved boy on the island."
Hook waved it off negligently, not caring of the sincerity of Peter's warning. "Because I made a deal with the Dark One," Hook responded, silencing the entire lagoon with just the sound of his name.
Even Tink seemed to tense up.
Peter scoffed and jokingly made a boyish laugh, "is that a threat?"
That earned a meager chuckle from Hook. His arms flung open wide, making him appear like an easy target. A target that not even a greenie could miss. "Well why don't you try? Use your magic. Go ahead and try to kill me."
And that was exactly what Peter did.
Or at least, try to do.
His magic backlashed on him, hitting him square in the chest. It shot him back a couple of meters, making the ground feel like it was shaky to him.
He groaned in pain and struggled to get back up.
Depending on the level of magic Peter uses on Hook, the amount of pain he will inflict back upon himself.
All curtesy to the Dark One.
Breathless and nearly energy drained, he leaned himself up against a rock, eyeing Hook's every movement. The cat and mouse had just switched roles and one had a massive advantage over the other.
"What's," he coughed several times, "what is the deal you're willing to make?"
It was like as if the lagoon was a stage and Peter's last line was a cue, because Hook marvelously sauntered over to me and placed a hook near my collarbone. Peter's eyes widened in distaste, but yet, he couldn't do anything about it.
He was helpless.
"I'm looking for a trade," Hook decided, taking his hook away and cleaning it in the bottom of his jacket. "I take you as my new hostage, and your angel leaves."
He paused. "If not?"
"If not, then she will die, and you will have to live in regret every time you pass this lagoon."
Peter considered the decision, glancing often between me and Hook. His negatives outweigh his positives which isn't fair in his book.
And anything that isn't fair in his book, isn't acceptable on Neverland.
"So what shall it be?" Hook urged, "you need to choose now."
His sterling silver hook delicately traced along the side of my chin and down to my lips. Meanwhile, Hook's strikingly beautiful blue eyes bored deep into my courage, taking away the last bit of it.
Amazing how he could do that, really.
He then turned his head to glance over at Peter.
"What are you willing to give up, Pan? Her life? Or your freedom?"
Peter's broken face and exhausted body did nothing to alter his attitude. Even after his power drained out, he was still able to raise an eyebrow and shoot a mischievous smirk.
"Neither," he answered.
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It is 12:08 am and I apologize for any grammatical errors in this chapter.
I write the weirdest things at 12:08.
Anyways, thank you for 37k!!! I am super grateful!
Shout out to: AnastasiaTellStories for helping me with ideas for this chapter. She's a pretty cool fellow fangirl!
Check her out and cya later!
~Katie P.N.