Grow Up

Twenty-One

Gardenia ran off, quickly finding her little escape. It was far from camp and far from the cages. It was on the south side of the island. Sure enough, it wasn't some hidden cave or anything, but a tiny tree house. It was cute and quaint, full of wooden furniture. It was old, so old that leaves grew over most of it and kept it pretty hidden. The wood had also aged, but still was able to support a person standing inside.

The girl collapsed on the wooden couch that had dusty cushions on it. She coughed from the dust springing up into the air, but soon got used to it. Gardenia breathed out, leaning her head back. She knew Peter could be harsh and evil, but she never once expected that.

***

Peter ran, flew, and teleported throughout Neverland trying to find his Flower. She hadn't made a single sound, thus him not having any clue where she could have gone. He had been at this for nearly two hours now.

He tried so hard to make his magic work, but he came to no avail. It aggravated him. He couldn't hold in his anger anymore. He was worried, concerned, mad. How dare she run off. She may have learned her way around the island, but she didn't know everything.

"WHERE ARE YOU!" He screamed with all his might. It was such a loud outburst that it echoed. The island seemed to have froze, too scared to move.

At the same time of Peter's outburst, Gardenia let out a scream. Not a scream that meant she was in trouble, but one out of anger as well. She sounded upset, but it was enough for Peter to know where she was. He knew exactly where she was.

***

Gardenia paced around the little cabin, frustrated. She groaned and moaned, grabbing her face.

"Why does he bother me!" She mumbled loudly. "I hate him, I hate him! I can't let him get to me."

"Bad news, Flower, I got to you."

Gardenia whipped her head around, heart racing. Peter stood in front of the door, arms crossed. He didn't look pleased at all.

"How'd you find this place?" Peter demanded, taking a step closer.

Gardenia backed up, fear striking her. Her voice shook. "I-I... I just found it one day--Peter, please don't be mad--"

"Mad? I am far from mad. I am infuriated! How dare you run away, how dare you disappear, how dare you!" He was yelling. "I'm tired of my magic not working on you. What are you!"

Peter got closer and closer to the now shaking girl. He cornered her, towering above her. She was so small, and looked even smaller right now. Her eyes were squeezed shut, cowering.

"Don't ever run from me again." Peter grabbed her wrists, squeezing them tightly. A small wince escaped her throat.

"Peter, please! You're hurting me, let go!" She jerked her wrists downward, one hand slipping off. Gardenia shoved him as hard as possible, but he hardly moved.

Peter sent a chilling glare her way. How stupid she was for thinking she was stronger than him. He backed away from her, giving her space. He crossed his arms, pouting like a child. The two only stared at one another.

"Please don't put me in the cages," Gardenia squeaked out.

"Cages? You're lucky I'm thinking the cages as your only punishment! Do you know what I'm capable of, Gardenia?" The girl flinched at how angrily he said her actual name. "Answer me, goddammit!"

"N-No, I don't know what you can do, okay? Stop yelling! Just stop it!"

Peter was fuming. If possible, his face would be boiling red and smoke coming out of his ears like some cartoon. Instead his eyes went completely dark, turning black. Just like the mermaids' eyes. He was truly showing his demonic side right now and Gardenia never wanted to see it again.

"I could kill you, I could end your life with the snap of my fingers if I wanted to. I could send you off to the mermaids and not help you this time. I could kill you a thousand ways, Gardenia. Don't you dare put it past me that I won't because you're a girl. I don't care what you are, I will begin to treat you like the rest."

There was so much anger and so much fear. So much confusion as well. Gardenia was coming up with an abundance of questions inside her head. She was breathing heavily, trying to keep her own cool.

"Then why haven't you?" She asked. "Why haven't you treated me like the rest? Why am I different? You said it yourself, you don't care that I'm a girl, so why treat me different to begin with?"

Peter was stumped. He didn't have an answer to that. Why did he treat her different? Felix couldn't have been right about him liking her. How would Felix know and Peter not? It was Peter's own feelings after all. But he did feel strange around her, and couldn't actually think of hurting her. He also didn't like it when she called him Pan. He actually liked when she slept next to him during the thunderstorm... It was a new and foreign feeling.

It stayed silent. Gardenia rested her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows. She waited for him to answer, but he never did. It only stayed silent. Her fear and his anger dissipating.

"Calm down, Peter. Especially if you can't answer my damn questions."

"I don't want you in here anymore." Peter's voice was now at a regular volume, but still stern. "I forbid it."

A gasp left the girl's mouth. "What? No, Peter, this is my escape. What's the matter with this cabin? No one uses it."

"It used to be Tinker Bell's," Peter shot back, grunting. He looked down at the ground, anger mixed with sadness washing over his face.

Gardenia only stayed quiet, tilting her head.