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The call went straight to Peter's voicemail for the sixth time in a row. I shoved my phone in my back pocket as I groaned aloud.
With a fury loose in town, my mind raced with the worst possible scenarios Peter could've ran into. I'd done some reading on furies back in the library. They were literal creatures from hell that had the sole job of collecting souls who haven't paid the price for magic. The fury could be dragging Peter back to the Underworld at this very moment.
Text messages, phone calls weren't doing anything, I needed to go after him myself, but it would be risky. Before he left to tend to his shop, Gideon warned me he had no doubt in his mind that the fury was after Peter. However, he strongly believes I was in danger as well. I also took a dip in the River of Lost Souls, so technically I could very well be in the same boat as Peter.
All these problems, first Adellia, the nightmares, now the fury, were becoming too overwhelming. Things were supposed to be getting better after we got back from the Underworld, not worse.
Emma left to investigate a lead on the fury while Killian went to pick up Hope from her grandparents'. Though Emma cautioned me to stay inside, I refused to just sit there and do nothing.
I slipped on my jacket as I slammed the door behind me and headed to my car. If I was an egoistical yet emotionally unstable, four-hundred year old man stuck in a roughly twenty-one year old body, where would I go to vent? I sat in my car, hands ready on the wheel, but I had no idea where to go.
Suddenly, the chime of the clock tower made me jump out of my seat. Though Emma's house was a couple miles away from the town square, you could still here the clock tower go off at every hour. Then it hit me. Time was always a touchy subject for Peter. I remembered seeing an elevator in the library, which was right below the clock. It was definitely a long shot, but it wasn't a bad idea.
After I got off the elevator, which only took me half-way, I begun my trek up the stairs and noticed a shadow on the face of the clock. I smiled softly when I reached the top and found Peter sitting on the ground. His knees were up to his chest as he mindlessly traced shapes on the wall.
"Hey," I quietly sat across from him. Peter glanced up at me then tightly shut his eyes. I placed a hand on his knee, "Please don't go."
He opened his eyes to reveal his overly bright green eyes. I released a shaky breath; I hadn't seen Peter so vulnerable since I found out about Brandon's death. "I shouldn't have put so much on you all at once. I'm sorry-"
"Why are you apologizing?" he cut me off. "I was the one who became obsessed with power. I was the one who got sent to the Underworld. I was the one who got myself into this mess. I was the one who hurt you. It should be me apologizing."
His voice cracked when he said the last part. Peter held his face in his hand, refusing to look at me. "You didn't hurt me intentionally. It was in the nightmare, you didn't have control over yourself. Please, Peter, don't blame yourself."
Peter remained quiet, the ticking of the clock echoed in the silence. Normally during moments like this, I try to start a more lighthearted conversion to ease the tension. But maybe tranquility was what we need right now. I positioned myself next to him and gently laid my forehead on his shoulder. The marks on my neck might tell a different story, but I knew in my heart Peter could never hurt me.
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I couldn't sleep last night. The truth about Daniel and Pan kept me up. He could've easily kept Daniel's past to himself, let our 'love' story run. But Pan 'strongly advised' him to tell me or he would've told me himself. Why? Why was he so invested in me and Daniel? Why was he so concerned about the truth?
I remembered when I first arrived in Neverland, I was so intrigued by Pan. It was his mysterious presence that drew me close to him. My imagination always got the better of me, always picturing alternate situations of me and him together. But then he said those awful things about Brandon that made my blood boil. I was so convinced he was the villain and Daniel was the hero. Maybe I had it wrong this whole time.
With one clean shot, the arrow hit the bullseye. It had been awhile since I'd hit the target so easily; it felt empowering.
"Nice shot."
I rolled my eyes at Daniel's compliment and continued to ignore him. He'd been attempting to start a conversation with me all morning, but I'd managed to dodge his shots. I picked up another arrow and secured it in the crossbow.
"Can we please talk about this?" Daniel pleaded silently, trying not to raise any attention.
I released the trigger, and it hit the bullseye again. I tried to reach for another arrow, but Daniel grabbed my hand. "We need to talk," he commanded.
"Daniel, let go of my hand," I asked him calmly. I could sense his anger beginning to get the best of him. His grip only got tighter as he pulled me toward him.
"There's nothing left to discuss," I attempted to remain calm, but pain begun to soar through my arm. "Now, let go."
His jaw clenched as his eyes glared daggers into mine. This wasn't the same Daniel that I almost kissed on the cliff side or laid under the stars with. This Daniel was broken in more ways than one.
I tried to free myself from his grasp, but his hand was locked around mine, "Daniel, please let go." I could feel my lip begin to tremble, "You're hurting me, Daniel, please stop."
By now, we caught the attention of some of the other boys. His finger nails dug deeper into my skin as Corbyn and Jack approached us, but they kept their distance. They were cautious with their words, trying not to anger him any further. He ignored them as he continued to force me to leave with him. Zach and Jonah finally made their appearance, however Zach was the only one who had the courage to confront him.
"C'mon, Daniel, be rational. It's not worth it," he attempted to pry his hand off of me. "She wouldn't have wanted this."
"Fuck off, Zach!" he yelled, taking both of us aback. There was something definitely wrong with Daniel, like something inside of him snapped.
Suddenly, Daniel finally let go of my wrist as he buckled down in pain. I took back my hand as I watched small red patches develop on my skin. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an arrow sticking out of Daniel's calf and looked up to see Pan with a crossbow in his hands. When he spotted Pan, his eyes filled with burning rage.
"You missed, big mistake," he extracted the arrow and stormed up to Pan. He dropped the crossbow and put his hands up in surrender as Daniel pointed the arrow dangerously close to his chest. "You should've killed me when you had the chance, Peter."
"I wasn't aiming for your heart."
At that moment, a hazy glow ran up Daniel's body as he lost consciousness and collapses on the ground. Silence striked the camp.
"He's not dead, right," Jack asked quietly.
"Daniel needs to cool off," Pan shook his head, "Now, he can do just that."
Zach scoffed, "Funny, you said the exact same thing after you got into that fight with Brandon."
I winced at his words and glimpsed up at Pan. There was a slightly hurt expression on his face, but he changed his focus to my wrist. Pan stepped toward me and reached for my arm.
"I'll be fine, but I think it's time you tell them the truth," I advised as he examined the faint bruising.
"They would never believe me," he whispered back, his eyes still never leaving the small bruises.
I shrugged and gently pulled myself away, "But either way, they deserve to know, right?" He stared at the ground as he stuffed his hands under his arms.
"If you don't tell them, I will."