His Precious Bird (Peter Pan/Robbie Kay)

Forgiveness

I've already decided today that I'm not even going to try. I'm laying in my hammock the whole day. I'm not going to get up and go to camp for one reason and one reason only, I don't want to see Peter. Not only that, I also don't want the younger lost boys to see me when I'm angry. So this is my day today, laying in my hammock, mindlessly staring at the wall. I don't know how long I'm gonna stay angry at Peter, its like one half of me wants to ring his neck for what he did, but the other half still craves his kisses and sweet gestures to prove to me he's not a monster. Romantic feelings are confusing, I can see why some people avoid getting attached to others. If I had never come to Neverland, I wouldn't be feeling the way I do right now, but if I stayed where I was, I would have never found happiness anywhere or in anyone. My thoughts evacuated my head when I heard someone coming up my latter. I didn't bother looking to see who it was because I didn't want them to see me in this state, no matter who it is.

"Good morning Alaina" a smooth English accent voices. My eyes go big at the realization that its Peter.

"Go away" I utter silently, barring my face in the pillow under my head. I then felt my hammock dip under someones weight and realized Peter sat himself down at the end of my hammock.

"Alaina listen, I know I'm the last person you want to see right now" he says softly, placing a hand on my arm. "And I know your not at camp because you're avoiding me."

"Is there a reason you came or are you just here to point out the obvious?" I remark, speaking in the most attitude filled way possible.

"I came because I wanted to tell you something!" he says, raising his voice slightly after sensing my attitude. "Now sit up, look at me, and pay attention!"

Smirkig at his demands, I do as he says and sit up. A pout that he was sporting bends into a smirk when he sees my face. "You are so beautiful."

"Can we save the compliments for another time?" I say sarcastically, raising my eyebrows in frustration. "What did you want to tell me?"

He shifts uncomfortably in his spt on the hammock. "I'm going to tell you about my son."

"Peter, I already told you, I don't want to hear about your son" I remind him.

"Yes, you do" he utters angerly, flaring his nostrils. "I know you're still carious about it, whats my actual age?, where's my son now?, all these questions are still swirling in your pretty little head."

"Fine" I mumble grumpily, giving him approval.

He shifts again in his spot and focuses his attention on me. "You see Alaina, I may look your age, but I'm actually a lot older than I look. I was once an adult, and yes, I had a son. I had a bad reputation where we lived and nobody trusted me, which made it hard for me to get a job and provide for my son and I. One day, we both decided that we wanted a fresh start, so we came here to Neverland. At the time, Neverland was only a place for children to visit in their dreams. I would visit Neverland every night in my dreams as a boy, that's how I knew about it. Upon arrival with my son, I quickly realized I couldn't do the things that I was able to do as a child. Then, the shadow came to me and told me I didn't belong in Neverland because I wasn't a child anymore. Hearing that crushed me because I didn't want to leave, I wanted to stay and do the things I was once able to do. So I made a deal with the shadow, and I traded my son for youth, so I could stay in Neverland forever."

"Peter, why would you do that?" I whisper, completely bewilderd at his story. "Why would you do that to your own son?"

"It was a selfish decision" he admits, staring down at his hands. "But in the end, he's better off without me."

"Where is he now?" I blurt out suddenly, automatically regretting my outburst given that its a touchy subject.

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure" he says, staring out my window. "Its been years since it happened, and if I were to see him now, I'm sure he wouldn't forgive me for what I did."

"Can I ask another question?" I say suddenly. "What was his name?"

He chuckles and a smirk tugs at the corner of his lip. "Rumple, his name was Rumple."

"Rumple" I say to myself. "Its odd, but its not a bad name."

He smiles at my words and reaches out to touch my hand. I pull away from his affectionate gesture as a way of telling him that he's not yet forgiven. He frowns at my rejection and takes his hand back.

"So, why did you come here to tell me about your son?" I ask, curiosity still pulling at my brain.

"Well for one, that story is one of the many secrets I've been keeping" he says, reminding me of his many secrets that he hasn't told me. "It was also to tell you that I have experience in waiting for forgiveness, so take as long as you need to decide whether or not you want to forgive me."

A part of me wants to kiss him like there's no tomorrow, and another part is telling me to stay strong and not to listen to the other part. Peter rises to his feet and looks like he's about to leave. I go to lay back down in my original position when suddenly, Peter turns back around and looks like he's gonna say something. 

"I almost forgot, I have something for you" he says, a small smile sneaking up on his lips.

"If its another prized possession you stole from Hook, I don't want it" I tell him, reminding him of what happened last time he stole something from Hook to try and give to me.

"Oh hush up and close your eyes!" he says with his unforgettable attitude and sass.

I decide to amuse him and close my eyes. I felt him place something in my lap and heard his foot steps as he backed away. I take my tiny hands and feel the item on my lap. Its flat and rectangular shaped, its also slightly wet and dirty feeling.

"Alright, open your eyes!" he says, sounding excited for me to see the item. I start out by slowly opening one eye, but I quickly open both my eyes once I see what it is. Its my story book that I lost the night I came to Neverland, he found it. I hold the book with both hands and start to tremble as I let myself cry tears of joy. I thought it was gone forever, I thought id never see it again, but he found it. I look over at him and see he's smiling from ear to ear at my reaction.

"Where did you find it?" I whisper, opening up the book to see the soggy, sandy pages.

"It washed up on the beach a few days ago" he explains. "I was waiting for a special occasion to give it to you, but I figured you would want it now."

All I can do is stare at him like he's the man who created the universe. He really does want me to forgive him, but I'm still not sure if I'm ready to.

"Well, I better get back to camp before the lost boys do something they know their not supposed to" he announces as I chuckle, imagining all the things the lost boys could have done while Peter was gone. He starts to climb down the latter but suddenly pokes his head back up just to say a few last words.

"I love you, Alaina" he says lowly, yet loud enough for me to hear. He then finishes climbing down the latter and walks in the direction of the lost boys camp.