Metanoia - Peter Pan OUAT

Chapter Sixteen

Metanoia stirred in her bed, groaning softly as her skin brushed against the soft material of her bedsheets. She fluttered her eyes open, and the first thing she saw were five Lost Boys huddled close to her bed, watching her in anticipation.

"SHE'S AWAKE, BOYS!" Charlie screamed as the others cheered ecstatically, though Metanoia flinched at the shrill sounds emitted around her.

Sam laughed at her reaction and patted her foot under the covers gently.

Jeremy was sat beside him, offering her a relieved smile. "It's good to have you back, Metanoia."

"How ... what happened?" She asked groggily. "I remember going to bed, but then ..."

She trailed off, her eyes growing wide as they flashed in mortification. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she curled her legs, tucking them against her chest when she sunk further in the covers in an attempt to make herself seem less visible.

She could suddenly recall what Pan had done to her vividly.

Theodore sighed sympathetically as he reached for her hand and held it in his tender grip.

"It's okay." He whispered soothingly. "You're safe now, Em. You're okay."

He ran his other hand through her brown hair affectionately, and gave her a soft kiss to her forehead. The Lost Boys awkwardly looked away to give them any form of remote privacy.

"What was he doing to me?" She asked shakily, her skin paling when she realised she could still feel his rough touch on the sides of her head lingering tauntingly.

Nate sighed solemnly. "Pan has the power to see our past lives before he erases them entirely during our rituals into officially becoming Lost Boys. Keeping in mind that you have already lost yours, I'm betting he figured he could just test it out now to see if you've been lying."

"But why does it hurt so much?" She whispered.

"Because what he's doing is splitting your mind into fragmented pieces before gluing them back together. It's bound to hurt." Sam spoke up, shrugging his slender shoulders in the process.

Metanoia winced. "Did he ... did he see anything?"

They all shifted their gaze at Theodore, who - as second in command, has the best shot in knowing this, and he shifted in his seat awkwardly.

"Answer her question, mate." Charlie demanded, his eyes narrowing in disapproval of his deafening silence.

Theodore cleared his throat deliberately, before requesting, "Could you please give Metanoia and I a moment, guys?"

Charlie huffed in annoyance while Sam rolled his eyes, but Jeremy got up quietly. Nate dragged Charlie and Sam by an arm each as they groaned in unison, and together, they walked out of Metanoia's treehouse.

Metanoia was gazing at Theodore anxiously. "He saw something, didn't he?"

Theodore raised his eyebrows questionably. "Was there something you didn't want him to see, Metanoia?"

Metanoia pursed her lips. "Don't answer my question with a question of your own. I hate that."

Theodore sighed. "It's just ... you told us all that you didn't remember anything from your past life."

"Yeah, because I didn't!" She protested.

"I'm not accusing you of lying, Em - I just ... what if there's been something hidden very well in the back of your head and Pan was able to bring it to the surface for a brief second?" Theodore voiced his theory out loud, and Metanoia gaped at him.