{Too bad, Elizabeth. You're stuck with me. Not for a few decades, not for centuries. You're tied to me forever- Kresley Cole, Lothaire}
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Third POV:
Clara has been here for a couple months. She wasn't certain for how long till she visited earth and everyone told her she was gone for three months. Time on Neverland was distinctive, she doesn't know whether it's Monday or Thursday, hell she doesn't know whether it's early morning or noon.
She's over attempting to escape Neverland. Pan made it clear to her that she has nothing to do with what she does on this island. It's as though he's both her heart and brain; he tells her what to do and when.
Taking a trip to earth to gather her things helped Clara a lot; however, it likewise helped her remember the terrible land she's stuck in.
Pan on the other hand was basically carrying on with his life happily knowing Clara is on his land. He didn't let her occupy his days.
The day had just started on Neverland. All the lost boys wake up in the morning while Clara wakes up minimum in the afternoon.
With a wide yawn and stretched out hands, Clara opened her eyes and welcomed the morning, feeling the hot sun rays warm up her body.
Great, another day in hell.
She rubbed her eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight beaming throw the window. It was then last night's incidents replayed in her head.
New York City
Callie
Dance academy
Ian
Fight
Wounded cheek
In that moment Clara hesitantly placed the fingertip of her index finger on her left cheekbone, expecting to feel the nasty wound Pan had caused. She traced her finger across her skin only to find nothing but soft skin.
What the hell?
Clara immediately jumped off the bed only to end up falling off it with the blanket that was wrapped around her.
"Ow" she released as she rubbed her head. She got off the ground looking like she did a quick push-up before pacing towards the dusty mirror, leaving the blanket on the ground.
She was stunned at the sight of her reflection. She traced her index finger over her cheek once more in confusion.
Her cheek looked normal like nothing had happened to it. She went to sleep last night with a throbbing purple bruise and dry blood covering the wound only to wake up and find her face wound-free.
Pan healed her when she was asleep.
"Not creepy at all" she sarcastically murmured to herself at the thought of Pan being in her room while she was asleep. Completely wiping out the thought from her head, Clara walked up to her dresser and took out the pants she was wearing yesterday. She placed her hands inside the front and back pockets to find them completely empty.
Where has it gone to?
Meanwhile, at that time Pan was sitting by the open camp fire carving a piece of wood to entertain himself.
"Pan"
He immediately looked up to find Felix approaching him.
"We need to talk" Felix spoke as he sat alongside Pan.
"What? What is it?" Pan asked as he carelessly dropped the piece of wood in his hand and placed all his concentration on Felix. "What is it? Did something happen to Clara? Is she hurt?" Pan spoke quickly.
Felix was immediately stunned as he stared at Pan with furrowed eyebrows. He was taken back by Pan's sudden concern over Clara.
"No" he simply said as he continued examining Pan, "We just need to plan the next hunting trip" he stated.
"Ok" Pan said as he cleared his throat and calmed down a bit. Felix turned his gaze to the group of lost boys at the far left and gave them a single nod as a signal to come.
The lost boys began approaching the two till they eventually joined them around the campfire.
"Alright, let's get this over with" Pan sighed as he seemed not in the mood, "What are we missing?" He asked.
"We need fresh water" one of the lost boys said.
"Alright, bring back as many buckets of water as possible" Pan ordered, "What else?" He asked.
"We are running low on white meat" Felix stated.
"Leave that to me" Pan stated, "I will make a trip to earth and bring back more live chickens to never land" he stated. "What are we missing as well-oh right! Before I forget, I need five lost boys to go east, we need dreamshade" he said with a focused look.
Even though he was planning the next supply trip, his full focus was on something entirely different: Clara.
He could not get her out of his mind. When she isn't around, the only intention Pan develops is killing her but when she is in his sight, those intentions vanish. As if he is two different people; both Peter and Pan.
He had hurt Clara before and made her suffer, yet a simple punch that caused her cheek to bruise made Pan flinch like he had just hurt his own self. Why didn't that happen before? Because the magic that prevents Pan from killing Clara was getting stronger; he himself knew it.
"What about weapons?" A lost boy inquired, interrupting Pan's thoughts.
"We have enough wood" Pan stated, not removing his gaze from the fire.
"What about ropes?" Felix asked.
"Yes, ropes. Have three lost boys travel west and snatch us a few vines-"
In a sudden Pan was hit in the head by a hard-covered book. He promptly stood up in confusion and started glancing around for the source. Where did it come from?
More things were being tossed at him and the lost boys. What was going on? Where they under attack by soap bars and books?
Pan quickly looked upward and saw various things being tossed out of Clara's window.
"What is it now?" he groaned in annoyance. He quickly teleported to her room to find it a complete mess. The sheets were off the bed, the drawers and dressers were totally opened, and all that she owned was basically on the floor.
"You're making a mess" Pan stated. Clara promptly gasped for she was surprised at his sudden appearance.
"Ok" she said, not caring about what he said. She turned around once more and continued rummaging through the drawers.
"What's going on with you?" Pan asked inquisitively.
"I lost something I got from earth" Clara stated while continuing her search.
"What is it?" he asked.
"A necklace. It's a stone and it is blue and it has a long-"
"I didn't ask what it looked like, I honestly couldn't care less" Pan expressed. Clara groaned in annoyance. "It's only a necklace, no big deal" he expressed.
"Major deal" Clara said, "It belonged to my mother. I have had it ever since I lost her"
"Boohoo, very tragic. Get over it" Pan said with annoyance at her chick-flick moment.
"No, I have to find it" Clara said ignoring his rude remarks.
"Well find it without annoying me" he said just before he teleported out.
"Jerk" Clara whispered as she continued searching. While she proceeded with her quest for the necklace, Pan teleported back to Felix and the other lost boys.
"What's going on?" Felix asked with curiosity and annoyance.
"Clara issues" Pan said with disturbance. Felix and the other lost boys sighed in annoyance. "Now back to business, where were we?" Pan said.
"Ropes" a lost boy said.
"Right, ropes. Ask three lost boys to get us a few vines. I also need you to ask two more to bring multiple rocks for sling-shot practice later this week" Pan said.
"Yes sir, anything else?" one of the lost boys asked.
"Yes. I need one of the lost boys to-"
Pan was quickly distracted by Clara who was leaving her tree house. She appeared as though she was in a rush. She took off to the left ignoring the lost boys around. Where was she going now? Completely ignoring the lost boys, Pan began approaching her.
"What is it now?" He asked with annoyance as he continued approaching her. At the sound of Pan's voice, Clara stopped in her tracks and turned around to meet his gaze.
"I am going to search for my necklace in the same spot we teleported into yesterday" she stated.
"Do you know where that place is?" Pan asked testing her.
"Not exactly but how hard would it be to find it?" Clara said with confidence.
Pan immediately sighed with complete irritation as he rubbed his forehead. In a second he used magic to teleport both him and Clara into the woods.
"Start your search" he said as he rubbed his temples. Clara looked around and examined the area she was in. It was the place both Pan and Clara teleported into last night. What she also noticed was the continuous sighs of annoyance Pan kept on releasing.
"Since you're so annoyed then simply leave" Clara said as she started searching for the locket.
"And leave you here all alone in a place you can harm yourself in? No. If you hurt yourself again I won't save you so it's best we don't risk it" he stated as he leaned onto a tree with crossed arms and watched Clara search for her necklace.
"Whatever" Clara said to herself as she continued searching.
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Following an hour of Pan grumbling and Clara looking for her necklace, she effectively found it under a bunch of leaves.
"Okay, let's go back" Pan said as he grabbed Clara by her elbow ready to teleport back to camp. In a second his once annoyed face expression had turned blank. He had a shocked look as he found himself still in the woods. He tried teleporting once more however, no enchantment was occurring.
"What?" Clara asked with confusion as she cupped the necklace in her hand in order to not lose it once more.
"Something isn't right, I can't teleport" Pan stated, looking down at his hands in confusion.
"What-"
"Follow me, looks like we are walking" he said as he turned around and began walking. Without second thought Clara quickly followed his pace.
On the way back to camp, Pan couldn't stop thinking about how his teleportation didn't work. This has never happened in the centuries he lived in. Something was stopping the magic field. In any case, what would it be? His magic worked perfectly earlier today. What was exactly different about now?
"Pan" Clara all of a sudden said as she froze in her place. She extended her hands mid-air and began slowly waving them around.
"What is it?" Pan said in annoyance as he turned around to face her.
"I can't see" she stated, her eyes searching the area.
"What do you mean you can't see?" Pan asked.
"I mean I can't see, don't you know English? Everything is pitch black" she said still extending her hands so she would know whether something was in front of her.
"Oh right, we are in the Dark Forest" Pan stated as a realization hit him.
"Ha?"
"It's the darkest spot on Neverland" he said casually.
"What? How can that even exist? Doesn't the sun lighten up the whole land?" she asked with confusion.
Where was this in physics class?
"This forest contains dark magic therefore, the darkness fights the light" Pan stated like it was a normal thing.
Lovely. We are in a forest full of evil.
"Ok great" she said sarcastically, "How are we going back to camp if we can't see?" Clara asked.
"We? Cupcake, I can see" Pan stated.
"How?" Clara said a little surprised.
"Magic" he stated.
"Right, but then how am I going to-"
Clara was immediately interrupted by Pan who all of a sudden grabbed her by the elbow and began dragging her with him. "I'll lead" he expressed, "Damn mortals" he cursed under his breath, not knowing Clara had heard him.
The walk through the Dark Forest was quite awkward. Neither one of them wanted to speak to each other leaving the two in complete silence. The only thing filling the air was the sounds of dark creatures echoing. Of course the sounds would frighten Clara while Pan simply listened to them like they were a casual song.
After a while of walking, Pan had suddenly let go of Clara's hand. Clara immediately stood in her place, not knowing where Pan went or where she was. As a reflex, she raised both her hands in the air to know if something or someone was in front of her.
"Pan?" She said with an unstable voice, worried something had happened and she was the next victim. She started walking slowly, hoping she wouldn't trip and fall yet in the blink of an eye she ended up hitting a tree, causing her head to throb.
"Ok, tree" she said as she rubbed her forehead.
Shouldn't have put my hands down.
She turned around and remained in her place, not knowing which direction to go. She immediately noticed how cold the weather was. In that moment shivers began running down her spine. Why wasn't the weather cold when she was with Pan?
"Pan?" She said once more, hoping he would be there.
I swear if he is pranking me, I will...err...I don't know, do something about it. Probably not cause he's Peter Pan.
In a moment a sudden wave of warmth hit Clara from directly in front her. She was worried even more. Where was all that heat coming from? Was there an open oven in front of her?
"Pan?" She said terrified as she extended her hands out even more. In a brief moment, her hand was set on an odd surface. She started moving it around, not comprehending what her hand was on; it was unquestionably rough.
"Don't go crazy" Pan all of a sudden said, breaking the silence in the process.
"Holy shit, Pan" she snapped as she quickly stepped back, making her head hit the tree again. Pan had taken her by surprise.
"Ok, tree once more" she said as she rubbed the back of her head. In that moment she felt utterly embarrassed as she understood what her hand was on earlier. The embarrassment was replaced with awkwardness as she knew her hand was placed on Pan's chest.
It was then she understood what that heat was. Whenever she's around Pan, she would not feel cold at all. As if he is a walking heater. It all made sense to her. All the magic and power Pan possess makes his body temperature warm therefore causing heat to radiate from him. And in that moment Clara was still feeling the heat hit her face gently; Pan was still standing in front of her.
"It's not fair to look at me when I can't look at you" she stated. Totally ignoring what she said, Pan took a hold of her once more and began leading the way. The difference was instead of grabbing her by the elbow, he led the way by holding her hand.
That was completely irrelevant and different she thought.
It wasn't too long till Clara's eyes welcomed the light and she found herself at the beginning of camp.
"I can see again" she said with a grin. After looking around and adjusting to the light, she realized Pan had not changed his position. She looked down to find him still holding her hand tightly in his. He followed her gaze and quickly let go as he noticed it too. He immediately ignored her and walked towards the lost boys, leaving Clara standing all alone.
Ok, rude.
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Evening had just begun drowning Neverland slowly. The bright blue sky was by now a dark purplish-bluish shade, a couple stars starting to appear.
Pan was still in confusion for why he had accompanied Clara when she searched for her amulet. It definitely wasn't because she couldn't get there on her own. In other relations, he was also confused to why he healed her in her sleep, or why he had odd feelings that seemed like doubt at the time he accidentally punched her.
The prophecy or curse as he sees it was getting stronger by the minute. He was told that death would not be an option around her; it's his own fault for not doing anything about it. Clara has been on Neverland for months and he hasn't done anything about it. He didn't worry at first since he despised the girl but now doubts are showering him at her sight, sound, or even thought.
He was weakening and he knew it. The idea of second thoughts when it came to murder disgusted him. He was the boy who would kill any living creature by snapping his fingers. He was determined to stay that monster. He was going to break the prophecy one way or another.
While Pan continued drowning himself with thoughts, Clara on the other hand, had just left the bathroom, drying her wet her with a towel in the process. The steam from the hot shower was escaping the bathroom and lightly filling her room making it slightly foggy. She was still in her undergarments for it was too hot to put on clothes at the moment.
With fully wet hair, Clara threw the towel carelessly onto the bed. She later on proceeded to her dresser as she took out a white shirt that she eventually out on. Then she took out grey pajama shorts that were made out of soft cotton. Once she put them on and raised them to her waist, she was immediately yanked back by her hair and pushed to the wooden wall.
With a throbbing head from the impact, Clara's eyes were shut to try and contain the pain. But that did not last long for she opened them as someone grabbed her by the waist and brought her to them. It was Pan.
The two were very close to each other, noses almost brushing. Pan was holding onto Clara's waist with one arm to guarantee she does not run away. His other arm was simply hidden behind his back. Clara was breathing heavily as she noticed the death glare in Pan's eyes. Her chest was rising and lowering rapidly while fear utterly showered her. What were his intentions?
It was in that moment she released a gasp as Pan took out a dagger sharp enough to hurt someone by a slight touch. The T-shaped weapon was rusty and had dry blood stains on it.
Clara body's began shaking as she feared the worse was going to come; death. Her gaze kept on moving between the dagger and Pan. She knew he would be the death of her, but she did not know it would happen this soon.
With a clutched jaw and fierce eyes, Pan brought the dagger closer to Clara and placed it horizontally on her neck. He wasn't even placing any pressure but due to the fact that the dagger was too sharp, a long thin cut had formed on Clara's neck. It looked like a chocker necklace had left a slight bloody mark.
Pan stared at Clara as his intention kept on repeating in his head:
I will defeat the prophecy. I will defeat the prophecy.
He pressed the dagger slightly more on her neck causing Clara to release a yelp. That soft sound she released was more than enough to make Pan doubt his actions.
I must do this. I have to. I will break this damn prophecy. I can kill this girl; I will.
He held onto the dagger tighter as he was ready to slit Clara's throat. His gaze was fixated on the weapon that would soon take Clara's life away.
Break the prophecy
Break the prophecy
Break the prophecy
Another yelp escaped from Clara causing Pan to immediately move his gaze from the rusty dagger to Clara. In that moment he locked eyes with her, his intentions completely changed. As if he had been reprogrammed.
No, these are just doubts. I will break the prophecy.
Pan tightened his hold on the dagger ready to take the girl's life away but he found himself unable to look away from her eyes.
Her brown eyes were filled with fear and sadness as he knew they were examining him. But he also noticed that odd spark in them. You know when a person tears and their eyes reflect the lights in the room making their eyes look shimmery? Well, that's how Clara's natural eyes always looked like. And curiosity always showered Pan to why the spark felt familiar to him.
It was in that moment Pan noticed he had unconsciously loosened his grip on the dagger. With full rage he threw the dagger across the room right before he pushed Clara to the wooden wall, eventually placing his hands on her neck. He began squeezing on her slim throat as Clara began suffering from the lack of air entering her body.
I will defy this prophecy. I will kill her.
Pan groaned more and more as he squeezed her neck tighter as if they were handcuffs that got tighter by the second. He was determined to choke her till she bites the dust.
Clara was releasing choking sounds as she tried taking Pan's hands off, but they were as stiff as metal. It was as if Hulk was somehow inside his body.
"Pa...n"
At the sound of Clara saying his name, Pan's intentions were immediately gone once more. He quickly let go of her as he backed away, watching her take in deep breaths. He turned around and walked to the other side of the room, his back turned to her.
"Fuck" he cursed under his breath.
Clara in that moment was coughing like she had just drowned in a salty ocean. She was too focused on her breathing in order to be stable once more; her body was lacking air.
Pan kept on cursing under his breath before taking a look at the hands he almost murdered Clara with. He looked down at his palms to notice slight blood on them from the cut the dagger left on Clara's neck.
Dagger.
With even more rage, Pan bent down and grabbed the dagger. He then turned around and basically launched himself towards Clara with anger.
I can do this. I will do this.
Clara released an echoing gasp as she backed herself to the wall even more from utter fear. Pan launched himself at her with the dagger raised ready to stab her. Clara immediately shut her eyes as she was ready for the impact; to her luck nothing happened.
She snapped her eyes opened to find Pan inches away, the dagger slightly touching the middle of her forehead.
He stopped right before he stabbed her.
Pan cursed under his breath once more before dropping the weapon to the ground and backing away two steps from Clara. He noticed the dagger had also formed a slight cut on her forehead. This caused slight blood to slide down till the tip of her nose. It was then Pan brought himself closer to Clara causing her to gasp once more from fear. Pan moved his gaze from her eyes to her chest, noticing how quickly it was rising and lowering. She was breathing heavily from fright. Pan was too close to Clara to the point where he managed to smell the shampoo scent stuck to her wet hair. He moved his gaze to the wooden ground beneath him as he focused on the smell. It was definitely not subtle. The shampoo scent resembled a floral, musky, perfumey smell. And somehow the scent itself calmed Pan down a little.
It was only then that he noticed he as well was breathing heavily. It was either from all the anger he was filled with or the panic that was showering him. It could be both.
Pan raised his head and locked eyes with Clara, noticing the fear increasing in her eyes. He brought himself closer to her as he rested his forehead on hers, a thousand thoughts running through his head. He shut his eyes to try to understand the confusion he was in while Clara's eyes were still opened. She was completely stunned by the bipolar actions taking a hold of Pan.
Pan was basically drowning in thoughts that did not make any sense to him. He felt like his whole life has been a lie and he was just discovering the truth behind this universe.
I can't kill her, I can't. I want to but I can't. How can I deal with this? How can I possibly change these urges? I hate her, I really do. But I can't kill her.
Pan opened his eyes as he unlocked foreheads with Clara. He was merely an inch away as he felt hypnotized by Clara's breath gently hitting his face. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he felt sudden warmth.
"I can't kill you" he admitted, locking eyes with Clara. His voice was stern and focused. He clenched his jaw as if he were trying to contain his anger.
Why did I just admit that? Why don't I have any control over my words?
Pan hesitantly extended his hand and softly cupped Clara's face. She immediately flinched at his touch for she thought he was going to hurt her once more. Pan's hand suddenly began getting warmer at the same time his eyes beamed a bright turquoise glow.
Clara immediately felt a tingling sensation spread though her neck and forehead. In that moment the slight cuts the dagger had left were slowly vanishing, alongside with the blood that slid down her nose. It didn't take a minute till Pan's eyes stopped glowing.
He just healed her.
He slowly removed his hand from Clara's cheek, as if he wanted to stay in touch with her longer. He then backed away from her as he moved a hand through his hair. His gaze was still fixated on her as he examined her up and down.
"I-I" he wanted to speak but it seemed like he couldn't find the right words to use. As if every word in his dictionary had vanished. Without bothering to complete what he wanted to say, Pan approached the wooden door and opened it, pacing towards the exit in the process.
Clara was left in the room all alone with confusion keeping her company. She began sliding herself down the wooden wall as she stared blankly at her bed.
What the hell just happened?
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It has become pretty late, around three or four in the morning. Clara couldn't sleep by any means. Two things were keeping her up: the fear that Pan might show up any second and end up killing her, and the confusion to the hesitation Pan went through.
She released a loud sigh as she sat on her bed, running a hand through her hair in the process. She looked out her window and noticed the thousand glowing stars filling the sky.
That's what I need.
She got off her bed not bothering to change her pajama as she put on shoes. She then walked out of her tree house only to be welcomed by a cold breeze.
Oh great, it's cold. Change of plans.
Instead of sitting by the ocean and looking at the stars, Clara simply walked up to the campfire and sat on a log in front of it to warm up.
Staying in my pajama shorts was such a bad idea she thought as a shiver went down her spine.
"Quite late, don't you think?"
Clara immediately turned around with a sudden racing heart only to find Felix approaching her. She turned around once more and watched the campfire burn the wood.
I don't need company. Please go away she prayed. But that did not happen for Felix ended up sitting next to her on the log.
"Why are you awake?" he asked.
Is he trying to make conversation? I really don't want to talk to Pan's sidekick.
Clara simply ignored his question as she kept her gaze on the hungry fire.
"Pan told me you were searching for something today" Felix spoke once more.
He's obviously not going away, might as well talk to him.
"Yes" she simply said.
"Did you find it?" He asked inquisitively.
"Yes" she sighed in relief.
"What was it?" He asked, clearly attempting to make the conversation flow.
"A necklace" she said refusing to meet his gaze.
"A necklace? Girls" he sighed with disturbance.
"It's not just any necklace" she immediately argued with the sexist comment he made, "It belonged to my mother. It's the most valuable thing I own" she said as she looked at him.
"Alright, that's understandable" he said as he was taken back by her sudden anger. "Where's your mother now?" he asked. He noticed the anger that was showering her face was being replaced by sadness.
"She passed away long ago" she stated.
"Apologies" Felix said with sincerity, "I know how that must feel"
"Really? You lost your mother as well?" she asked with curiosity.
"And my father" he stated.
"So did I" she expressed, "I lost my whole family"
"You had siblings?" he asked curiously.
"Just a brother. My mom was pregnant when she passed so I guess that doesn't count" she stated.
"And how did you lose your family?" he asked as he brought his full attention to the topic.
"Car accident" Clara simply said.
"Really? How odd" Felix said, looking focused.
"Why would that be?" Clara asked, confused at his words.
"Can I see the necklace?" He asked randomly.
"Sure" Clara said, removing the necklace from around her neck. She extended it and handed it to Felix.
Felix's breath instantly hitched in his throat. He was totally stunned by the beauty of the necklace. It was basically shimmering from the reflection of the stars.
Clara felt sudden awkwardness as Felix refused to remove his gaze from the necklace he was holding. She wanted to avoid any more awkwardness so she decided to make an escape for it.
"I am going to rest" she said standing up.
"Ya, you should" Felix said snapping out of his senses. He extended the necklace which Clara eventually took.
Without saying any other word, she turned around and began walking towards the tree house.
"Goodnight, Clara" Felix randomly said. Clara met his gaze for a quick second and gave him a quick smile before proceeding to her tree house.
Felix watched her as she walked away, the picture of the necklace meandering his head. He was completely puzzled.
Could it be? It can't. But what If? No, no way. But then it could be. But how-
"Leave Clara alone" somebody suddenly interrupted Felix from his thoughts. He turned around quickly to find Pan standing far, looking at him with utter hate. Before sending Felix a threatening glare, Pan turned around and walked away, eventually vanishing into the woods.
shit.