Full Sail Ahead [Harry Hook X Reader]

The Eventual Collapse

Your POV

He only looked at me for a few seconds, so I broke the silence. "You know Johnny, you're always okay. You're the most stable of any of us I'd say, and although that's great and all, you don't always have to be okay. It's okay to not be."

His face didn't change, as if he didn't hear me. "How could you, (y/n)?" My heart stopped as his expression was placid, staring at me with eyes of accusation.

"Wha-"

"You let it happen - all of this. Why do you... Why do you feel the need to take things that are fine by themselves and interfere, investigate? Everything is a story to you, isn't it? Find Johnny's missing parents, check. Solve one mystery and move on to the next, that's how it always works."

I was so paralyzed in wonder at what was happening, that I couldn't even think long enough to reply.

He's grieving, just let him. Even though he's wrong, even though he knows I was the one who cared for his well-being every step of the way, let him take it out. Better on you than his family, right?

"You were my best friend. I even... I considered you my little sister." This wasn't Johnny, no way. I kept telling myself. He can't really feel like this towards you... you can't have actually hurt him, right?

I could take everything else he said, but this last part cut deeper than any words had before in my life. Even when my parents snapped, even when Harry was spelled by Lydia, nothing caused an ache like this. Nothing else made me want to cry and never stop.

Biting on my lip in order to suppress any visual indication of this, I resolved on speaking. "Johnny, I always looked out for you before anything. That day at Hook's Bay, you didn't need to agree to visit the memory - you said you needed to know, and you did. Even yesterday, I was the one who asked you countless times if you really wished to meet your parents when everything is still so... raw."

"Fine, I agree - but you were eager on it from the start. If not that wretched day at Hook's Bay, then the next? Or in a week? You wouldn't have let me go. You always believed that the truth must come out and you force this on everyone around you. Now look - here's the "truth". My parents think I ran away from home and they didn't even look for me. They don't know that I was lost at Hook's Bay, that I never had any intention of leaving my home!" His voice was cracking more with each sentence. "It's worse than I could have ever feared. It's not that they didn't want me... they thought that I didn't want them."

My lips were dry and my eyes wet. I couldn't recognize him anymore - he seemed to have such a deep hatred for me, as if I was the one who orchestrated this whole thing from the start. As if, somehow, Hook's Bay was my fault.

He walked closer to me, doing the same thing he did to Ursula with his height.

I felt my figure shrink as he resumed his accusation, cheeks shining. "You should have left it alone. You shouldn't tamper with things that are done with. You don't know everything, (y/n), and you certainly shouldn't try fixing everything."

"I'm-I'm sorry. I don't know what you want, Johnny. My intentions were never-"

"I want you to go."

I looked up, fixing my eyes on his. After a second with his unwavering stare, I swiped the back of my hand across my face, futile in wiping the involuntary tears away. "Fine." I wouldn't stay where I wasn't wanted. I left Agrabah, and just as I did then, I will leave Corona.

Everyone shoots the damned messenger, don't they?

I pulled open the formerly slammed door to see Ruby subdued, and I wondered if they heard it all.

As I stepped to leave, a hand pulled me back to face its owner.

Johnny was smiling, looking crazed. "You know the irony of it all?" His voice was hushed, purposefully keeping the words only between us. "Mother Gothel was more of a parent to me than Rapunzel and Eugene. How's that for history repeating itself?"

I didn't know if I should laugh or cry, so I just pushed his hand off me, leaving his hold, and exited the hall.

With a look back, Rapunzel made eye contact with me, questioning, but it was quickly broken by Johnny's reentering the main area to sit beside his sister.

Shaking my head I grabbed Carpet from one of the guards and made to leave, unconscious to two approaching figures until they were too close to be avoided.

I continued walking with my head down, the frenzy of emotions nearly uncontrollable now that I was out of the castle. It's a miracle my bracelet didn't act up - is it possible it's given up too?

"Hey, (y/n), what's going on in there?" Harry waved, clearly having not caught on to the severity of it all yet. As I looked up, both his and Uma's faces fell flat. "(Y/N) what happened?" The tone in Harry's voice was unmaskably serious now.

"It's insanity. They don't remember it right, guys. They don't remember and somehow..."

"But why are you..?" Uma's look of concern masked Harry's.

"Because all of it's my fault apparently. I screwed Johnny over by caring - what a horrible, horrible friend I am." At this point, I couldn't even comprehend if I was being sarcastic or not. Nothing made sense.

"What are you saying? Johnny would never blame you." Uma reasoned.

"The Johnny I knew wouldn't, but whoever's in there... maybe he's right. I've been so blinded by my perspective that maybe I was hurting him all along."

"Not a word of that sounds like you, (y/n) - you've looked out for each of us impossibly more than you've cared for yourself. I swear, if Johnny's-"

"Don't. He is a friend, and he needs his friends. Just leave me alone." Throughout this, my childish crying never ceased.

"Absolutely not. Uma, you can go in there if you want, but I can't."

"You can and you will, Harry. I am dead serious when I say I don't want anyone around me."

"He's played with your mind. You can't feed into this self-deprecation, princess, please."

"I can't be here, that's all I know. And he wanted you two there, with him. We'll talk later, alright. It's not like I'm running away or anything."

"I won't leave you alone."

"Then I'll have to leave you." I jumped on Carpet and before they could try anything, I sped out of there faster than I knew was possible. They couldn't follow me if they tried. 

It was only a matter of time until a breakdown ensued... but it doesn't make it any easy to contend with. Do you think this is purely Johnny? Is he right about it all? Or is just being a jerk? 

Hey to all the new readers, I've noticed there are quite a few of you! It's so fun to read everyone's comments, thanks for all the engagement!!

Heads up, I may not have a part ready for next week with exams season in full swing, so it might be closer to 10 days or something before the next part. 

I hope everyone is doing well - and if you have exams like I do, good luck!