Somewhere In Neverland || FIRST DRAFT

Sleeping Beauty (21)

The world crumpled around Riley, how could he be... she wasn't going to say it, he couldn't. In the amount of years that Hook and Peter had been warring against each other, he'd never come close to capturing him, let alone killing him. Everything seemed to be a blur of black and white, all colour had drained from the world, just like the colour had drained from his skin. She guessed it all had to come to an end somehow. She didn't even get to apologise to him, to tell him how she felt, what a tragic cause of events.

Throughout the scene devoid of colour around her, she could make out Jax, tears streaming down her face, staring at her best friend, she couldn't bear it, none of them could. All of the lost boys had burst into tears at their fallen leader, and were bucking against their restraints, trying to avenge Peter's death. Riley refused to cry, she wouldn't let Hook see her weep for her fallen lover. "Where's your king now?" Hook stalked around all of the lost boys, like a lion stalking it's prey, it was always this way with him, forever taunting, and playing with his food. If this is the end, she may as well go out on her own terms, she watched as Hook walked past each of the lost boys, circling them slowly before moving on to the next one "He seems pretty dead to me" Hook taunted some of the younger lost boys, who in turn hissed and spat at him, he then reached Jax, and stopped right in front of her.

"You were the last one to see him, before he died," Jax took a sharp intake of breath, her hazel eyes glistening with unshed tears. "He died, knowing that you betrayed him, that you lied to him" Hook used his words like knives, infecting deep wounds upon Jax "SHUT UP!" she screeched, "shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Her hands were now covering her ears as she chanted that mantra over and over again, clinging on to her sanity by a thin thread. Hook grinned maliciously and began striding over to Riley. "Well, if it isn't girly" he placed his hook under her chin, and tilted her head to face his, so she could look into those cold, dead eyes as he taunted her. "Pan died thinking you hated him. Don't you think that's tragic?" he paused for dramatic affect "He died, trying to apologise to you, as the affects of the poison kicked in, he was crawling to you, trying to apologise for your actions" Riley had to fight back the tears forming in her eyes, and now they were starting to fog her vision. "He died, not knowing how you felt"

Hook's grin made Riley want to throw up, how such a sick man could get joy out of killing a teenager, and then torturing his friends, it was sick. Riley swallowed hard, squared her shoulders and blinked back tears, looking Hook dead in the eye. "well, if you'd allow me this last moment with him, to clear things up, to make up for what couldn't have been done before. If you'd be so kind?" Hook looked taken aback for a second, before looking over his shoulder to his co captain Grace "I say let her clear her conscience, allow her to have a memorable final moment before we kill her" Hook grinned maliciously, and over his shoulder, Riley saw Grace trying to convey a message, which she thought was: I'm sorry, my plan failed, this is the best way you'll go. Boy was Riley wrong.

"Let the queen see her king" Hook swept down into an elegant bow, "We are in the presence of royalty after all" Smee brought Riley forward, and roughly tossed her forward, sending her tumbling towards the hard timber of the deck. She heard a loud, wood splintering, ear defining crack as her head made impact with the floor, and for a moment all she saw was stars, she lay there for a while, sprawled out next to Peter, a splitting pain raiding throughout her skull. Riley soaked up the pain, embraced it, this was going to make her braver in her final moments, she let the pain stew in her head for a little longer before finally healing it. She opened her eyes, to see his lifeless body next to her, she reached out a hand to touch his arm, and was surprised to be met with cold, no warmth radiated from his body, she crawled closer to him, and sat his head in her lap. This was the last time that Riley would be able to look upon his gorgeous face, the last time she'd be able to witness his youthfulness, his smugness, his childishness, his Peterness.

"Peter, I don't know whether you can hear me, But at this point I don't care. As long as somebody hears me, then that's all that matters" A single lone tear trailed down Riley's cheek before splashing onto Peter's cold, pale cheek, she brushed it away before continuing. "I'm sorry. Sorry for fighting with you, and I just want to thank you, for caring for me, for loving me, for showing me who I am. And I... I love you Peter. And I'm sorry that you're  hearing this now, and here" she paused to wipe another tear from her cheek. "I love you Peter Pan, and I want you to always know that, you stupid, arrogant boy" her heart shattered in to a million tiny shards of glass, glittering around her, which were then crushed again, into a fine silver dust that was scattering around her. She leant down and brought her lips gently to his, kissing his cold, unresponsive lips. Riley was so afraid, afraid of death, she had never feared it more in her life, but now she opened her arms willingly to it, she embraced it as if it were a close friend, because to die would be an awfully big adventure. Deep down in Riley she knew that she shouldn't give up so easily, but with Peter gone, there was no reason to keep on fighting, they'd lose the battle against the pirates, and if they somehow won, what would they do then, Peter was their king, their leader, they were lost without him. Before Riley knew it, the warmth returned to Peter, and the colour returned to his skin, she could feel a giant gust of wind pick up, and warmth radiate from her soul, the warmth seemed to grow bigger, and brighter until it filled the whole of the Jolly Roger. Despite her eyes being closed, she could tell that colour had returned to the world, it wasn't devoid of life anymore, in fact it was bustling with it.

None of the pirates could figure out what was different, they could feel it in the air, something was different, Grace was trying to hide her joy, Riley had understood her message, and now her plan was saved, they were all saved, Riley ran her fingers through Peter's fine golden hair as his lips responded with hers, their lips were in sync, parting for air when needed, and closing gently to close the kiss, Riley pulled away gently, as Peter opened his eyes slowly, his cheeks flushed a bright pink, and those blue eyes sparkling as bright as the ocean that surrounded them "and with true love's kiss, the king was awoken from his slumber, pulled away from the murky depths of the sleeping curse" Peter grinned his trademark grin up at Riley as he quoted her retelling of Sleeping Beauty to him. Happy tears welled in Riley's eyes as her heart glued itself back together right in her chest. He's alive. She crashed her lips against his again, and this time he wrapped his arms around her neck, deepening the kiss. Everyone gasped in shock, lost boys and pirates alike, all standing there in shock, gawking at the spectacle before them, they had all just witnessed true love's kiss. "I love you Peter" Riley breathed, touching their foreheads together, they were in their own little bubble there, almost forgetting that they were on the deck of the Jolly Roger in the middle of a heated war. "I love you too Riles" he reached out a hand to brush away a tear that had trailed down her cheek "no more tears Riles, I'm alive" he reached for her hand and put it up to his chest, where his heart beat steadily in his chest.

Their private moment ended quickly when Hook became enraged, he hadn't been told that true love's kiss could break through a sleeping curse, he had been told that he'd never bother him again. Enraged at how easily Riley had woken him up, he rushed at the couple, hook raised menacingly in the air, ready to strike Peter in the chest, he was defenceless, his small dagger, which was sheathed at his waist, was out of his reach, he had nothing to attack him with. When he was suddenly stopped, his hook mere inches away from Riley's nose, he was surprised to see that in the short seconds it took Hook to travel from one end of the ship to them, that Riley had put herself in front of Peter, risking her life over his , her eyes were closed, waiting for impact, but she quickly opened her eyes in shock when the cold metal never made contact with her chest. Peter stared at her in shock "That's never happened before" Riley said, not quite shocked to see magic involved. "What?" Peter asked frantically. "Uhhh," Riley fumbled with her words "I was waiting till after the fight, but I have magic" Riley spat her words out quickly "What?" Peter almost screamed, Riley quickly moved out from underneath the cold metal hook, bringing Peter up with her "I'll explain later, now's not exactly the time"

"GET THEM YOU IDIOTS" whilst the pirates stared in awe at Peter and Riley sharing true love's kiss, the lost boys were able to slither free of their grasp and now they were ducking into the fray, weapons at the ready. They had a chance at winning this thing, they were going to win the war. Riley was wrong about before dying wouldn't be an adventure, to live would be an awfully big adventure, and that's what she was doing now, living.