Angel (Peter Pan Fanfic)

Caught

Lyla bolted upright, heart racing as though she had just sprinted a marathon. The girl was trembling uncontrollably from the aftermath of her nightmare. Hot tears were streaming down her face and she was sputtering for breath as her dark mahogany eyes darted back forth across the dark room. Scared that something, no someone, would attack her. Lyla experienced nightmares frequently, but none as vivid and horrible as the one she just had. She suspected that this horrid island had something to do with it.

Lyla had been on Neverland for 4 days now and her nightmares had been steadily getting worse every night. She'd gone to Apollo last night for comfort. They'd gotten pretty close over the course of her first week in Neverland. However, Lyla didn't want to disturb him too often with her issues.

Her nightmare was fading from her memory, but the overwhelming fear and anxiety remained. Lyla sat up in bed and hugged her knees close to her body, shaking, hyperventilating. The little Lost girl was still not used to the nightmares that plagued her subconscious every single night.

She couldn't stay in this room any longer. She couldn't stay in Neverland any longer. She had to get out. The four walls were closing in on her and the oxygen was being sucked right of the room. Lyla couldn't stand it anymore and sprang out of the comfortable bed, tripping over the fur blankets and silk sheets she had thrown to the floor. She ran out of the room and through the treehouse to the front door. Yanking it open, the cool night air helped to ease her claustrophobia, but did nothing to ease her fear.

Lyla clamored down the rope ladder nimbly and took off in a sprint away from Pan's camp. She didn't care where she was going or the consequences of her leaving, she just couldn't stand to be there any longer, not after the nightmare she'd had. She didn't pay any thought to Apollo's warnings. She'd escaped from everything in her life so far, why should Neverland be any different? So she ran. She ran away from the things that scared her, like she always did.

Lyla couldn't handle the stress of this new realm called Neverland. Not with the ruthless Lost Boys. Not with the cruel games. Not with Pan bright charming one minute, and letting her almost die the next. But most of all she couldn't stand living while being terrified all the time-- terrified of being attacked by a boy, terrified of Pan, terrified of Rumplestilskin exacting his revenge on her, terrified of her nightmares, terrified she'll never belong, terrified of herself. Lyla's mind was reeling from her thoughts and fear that she wasn't even paying attention to the forest around her. She vaguely felt sticks and rocks puncturing the bottom of her feet, and the trees dragging harshly across her skin. Unaware, the teenage girl crashed right into a hard chest.

The power of the collision sent her staggering to the ground, straight on her ass. She froze in panic, praying she ran into a kind lost boy. She held her breath and slowly raised her head to meet the dark, stormy eyes of the furious ruler of Neverland. The girl curled in on herself, becoming even smaller as she felt a harsh spike of fear stabbing her heart. The boy she stared up at with wide, unblinking eyes, looked crazed. His prior perfectly swept hair was now in disarray, his jaw was locked and taut, and his fists were clenching and unclenching.

Quick as lightning he snatched her wrists and cruelly hauled Lyla to her feet. Leaning painfully close to her, Peter Pan rumbled, "Did you really think that you could escape from this island? Escape from me?" He looked like he'd gone mad with rage.

Lyla, petrified with fear, managed to feebly protest," I-I w-wasn't tryi-ing t-to, I-I..."

The enraged king of Neverland was not at all convinced. He tightened his bruising grip on the brunette's wrists and swung her around, pressing her back into the rough bark of a nearby tree. Lyla squeaked at the sudden action, unable to hide her fear and pain. She quaked in Pan's tight grip, her gasps of breath increasing as the demon leaned in so close she could feel his breath tickle her face.