the lost boy

part 3

"is it somethin' i did?"

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5 years later

"peter do you hate me or something?" she asked, her chocolate brown eyes staring into his. it was the first day back from summer and their second year of high school. the summer had been great for most people but it was one of the worst times in the girl's life. peter had disappeared. technically he had left her a note saying, "i'll be back soon don't worry," but for a girl whose entire life was entangled with his, it was a harsh blow. most nights she had laid awake till morning, wondering where he had gone, why he had gone and if it was her fault. her mother had constantly reminded her that she had done nothing wrong, but that did nothing to calm her thoughts. peter wouldn't just leave. there had to be something that caused him to. and she believed she was that something. "peter?"

"sorry," peter mumbled, ruffling his hair. he still had the same impish look to him, something the girl had found attractive from the very beginning. he had seemed to not age at all from when she last saw him. she was taller than him now, by almost an inch. "i was away. my grandmother wasn't feeling too well so i had to go visit her." the girl raised one eyebrow, unsure of what to say. she knew he was lying. he always bit the inside of his cheek when he was. but why was he lying?

"oh, i'm sorry," she said. "is she feeling better?"

"yeah she's alright now," he mumbled, not making eye contact. "anyways i have to go to class, see you later."

"um, yeah, see you!" the girl brushed past him, walking away as fast as possible. she rushed into the bathroom and went into one of the stalls, locking the door. her breathing was shallow and tears had started to form in her eyes. he hated her, she was sure of it. he was lying, she was sure of that too. but the tears in her eyes were out of anger not sadness. how could he just leave? no call, no communication. didn't he understand how much he meant to her? didn't she mean anything to him? tears started rolling down her face much faster as all these thoughts came to her mind. it doesn't matter. he doesn't like me anymore and i have to live with that.

school was only 6 hours but it felt like 6 days. her friends chloe and sophia had invited her to go to the mall but the whole day had been exhausting so she had declined. as she was absentmindedly walking home, she unknowingly took a detour through the woods until she found herself at the treehouse. she gasped then groaned, angry at herself for bringing her here. or maybe she was angry at her heart. she hesitated for a moment but then decided not to go up. seeing peter had been too emotionally tiring. as she was walking away a voice called out, "i'm don't hate you." the girl whipped around and a shiver ran along her spine as her eyes locked with peter's. for a moment, pure joy filled her up and just as quickly it was replaced by anger.

"oh really? you don't hate me? well i hate you! i hate you peter. i hate you. i hate you!" she yelled. peter looked shocked which only fueled the girl's anger more. "you look surprised! of course you look surprised! you don't know how much you mean to me! so when you decided to not only leave me alone for the entire summer but on top of that lie to me about going to meet your 'sick' grandmother of course i'm going to think you hate me you asshole!" the girl breathed heavily, tears streaming down her cheek. she had never meant to tell all this to peter but after seeing him looked shocked, as if he didn't know how much this had affected her, she had lost it. after a couple minutes of silence, peter spoke.

"i mean a lot to you?" he whispered. the girl looked up shocked. his expression was a mix of surprise and curiosity.

"of course," she whispered, sniffling. peter climbed down the ladder and walked over to her tentatively.

"i'm sorry. that's not an excuse for just leaving you. i shouldn't have, i know," he said, reaching out to wipe the tears off of her cheek. "i just didn't know i meant as much to you as you did to me. which is definitely a lot." the girl locked eyes with him and let out a soft laugh.

"i mean a lot to you?" she said, mimicking him. peter laughed.

"of course," he said, mimicking her back. they both started laughing, and peter felt relieved to see the familiar dimple on her left cheek. "how about we pinky swear? i pinky swear not to leave you like that every again." the girl smiled and curled her own pinky around his. she smiled, the promise feeling real.

"wait, don't distract me," she said, crossing her arms. peter widened his eyes and held his hand up in mock defeat. "you still haven't told me where you really were. and don't tell me it was in this treehouse because i was here a lot during the summer."

"oh wow someone really missed me," peter teased. the girl blushed and rolled her eyes, pushing him playfully.

"yeah that's literally what i've been telling you, dummy," she smiled. "where were you?" peter furrowed his eyebrow and looked at the girl. he knew he couldn't keep this secret from her. but he couldn't tell her. he had to show her.

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hey chicos!! ok why do i feel like i ate that up but also not? also i was listening to ttpd while writing this and i was about to cry. taylor really is such a mastermind. did yall find the ttpd reference?

also i had my pupils dilated (its like a thing for eye exams) and im not supposed to look at a computer screen BUT THE INSPIRATION WAS INSPIRING so i did anyway 😋