The Dark Days

Four.

"Storybrooke is a very small town," I tell Felix as we reach the bench overlooking the harbor. I sit on the bench and sigh as I finally get off my aching feet.

"It is, isn't it?" he replies, sitting down beside me. "I don't mind."

"Neither do I, it's just... not what I'm used to." Our conversations have been short and awkward ever since I spoke down to him a couple of hours ago.

It was quiet for a moment as we both just sat and watched the waves. Finally, I speak.

"What do you think Peter's doing?" I ask quietly, and for a moment I don't even think I said it out loud.

"Probably trying to sneak out of the Evil Queen's house," Felix says, crossing his arms and leaning back.

I shiver. "Wow, it's cold outside."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." I look at him and raise a brow.

"It's, like, negative twenty-five degrees out here," I say, shivering and curling up.

"I'm used to the cold," he muses, "and besides, I highly doubt it's that cold."

"You have no idea," I mumble, exhaling onto my palms and rubbing them together. Felix takes off his jacket and lays it over my shoulders, making me shiver at the sudden warmth. "Thanks," I mumble, bringing tighter around me.

"No problem," he mutters, and continues to watch the waves calmly lapping at each other.

I am about to ask if we can go back to the crypt when I hear footsteps coming toward us. I turn and see a short male figure walking toward us and immediately freeze. Felix tenses beside me. Then the figure steps into the light and I blow out a breath of air I hadn't realized I was holding. "Oh, Peter. It's just you."

The boy chuckles as he comes to stand beside me. "Well who would you expect it to me, darling?" he asks as he kisses my head. "One of the few people living here?" He chuckles again. He notices Felix's jacket rapped around me, keeping me warm. "Let's get you back to the room, yes?" he asks gently, shooting a glare at Felix. The boy pulls Felix's thick, warm jacket off my shoulders and hands it back to him, which he apologetically accepts. Henry takes my shaking hands and pulls me after him. I jerk my hands out of his, much to his confusion, and go back to stand by Felix.

"Th-thank you for h-h-helping me, F-Felix. I really appreciate i-it." I smile and give him a small and very quick kiss on the head. I ignore both boys' reactions and began to stomp back towards the cemetery. Henry's quick footsteps follow me, but his legs are too short to keep up with me.

I turn left and see the end of a string of buildings when I hear Peter calling my name. "Kasey! Kasey, slow down!"

"How about you come find me yourself this time?" I snap, and then begin to run. I run at full speed and don't stop, not even when I begin to cry. I get to the edge of the cemetery when a force slams into my back and sends me sprawling. I land on my chest and my breath flies out of my lungs, making me gasp. I even slide a few feet forward.

"Kasey!" Henry's voice reaches my ears as I begin to catch my breath. "Kasey?" Someone kneels down beside me, but I don't look up at them. "Kasey, are you okay?" I feel a hand on my back and jump, crawling away and still keeping my head down. I sniffle once and wipe my face. I try to wipe the moisture off my cheeks and fail since more tears keep coming. I feel a hand on my arm again, but this time I don't pull away. The person's hand moves up my arm, shoulder, and neck and to the bottom of my chin, pulling my head up so I came face-to-face with Henry's deep brown eyes. He smiles softly and wipes the tears off my cheeks. "Oh, Kasey," he says, chuckling. "Your face is all dirty. There, there now. It's okay, you can stop crying." Henry chuckles again and wraps his arms around me, pulling my face into his chest. I grip his coat and try as hard as I can to stop crying.

"Kasey," he cooed gently. "What's the matter? Why are you crying so much?"

"Because I'm mad at you," I whimper, clutching him tighter. He laughs.

"Yes, I can see that you are."

"I am!" I snap, sniffling and wiping my tears away. "You were very rude to Felix."

He laughs again, kissing my head. "And that's why you're crying? Because I was rude to Felix? Kasey, he's like my brother. He's used to it."

"But he saved me," I whimper, making him freeze.

"What do you mean? The woods?" His voice sounds hard. "He was following orders."

I push the boy away, surprising him. "Why couldn't you come?! You should've been the one to save me, not your minion! I was counting on you, I was praying to you! And you never came.

"I need you to be my hero, Peter," I say, putting my hands on his shoulders. "You want me to be here, to help you. And I will, I always will. But I need you to be there for me. Not someone who blindly follows you. I need you." I take his face in my hands, and the boy leans into my touch. "Peter, I love you. And I know you love me too. But, please, when I call, can it be you who answers next time?" I can't help smiling a little. The boy smiles back and hugs me tightly. I hug him as well, but begin shiver. "All right, we made up. Can we go inside now?"

The boys laughs and releases me, grabbing my hand and helping me stand on my tired legs. We walk back to the crypt and Peter's magic pushes the coffin aside. He leads me down the hall and into the room, sitting beside me on the couch. I sigh loudly and let my head fall back onto the couch.

"Are you tired?" Peter asks gently, touching my arm. "Yes, you've been walking around all day."

"No, really, I'm not," I insist, and yawn deeply.

He chuckles. "Yes, you are." He stands and goes behind the couch. I turn and watch his movements. "I know you're going to hate me forever," he says cautiously, slowly putting one hand up and putting the other in his pocket, "but I need to know for certain that you're safe at all times."

I slowly stand up on my sore feet and back away. "What do you mean?" I ask carefully, preparing for a fight.

Henry's hand takes a small wooden box out of his pocket and hides it behind his back. "You know I love you, don't you?"

"Peter Pan, what are you planning?" I ask as calm as I can force myself to be. Inside, my heart is about to bolt out of my chest.

"I'm keeping you safe," he insists. "You have to understand. I love you too much. And after today...."

"I got lost on my own," I snapped. "No one had any fault but me."

"And me as well," he says, taking a step closer. I take a step back. "I shouldn't have let you go outside alone. I should've sent Felix a long time ago."

"Shut up!" I yelled. "Just shut up for a minute!" My anger was making me shake. "You're putting me in a cage -"

"A safe place."

"A prison," I snap, making him freeze. "You're putting me into a prison. A dark, lonely prison, with no way out." I shake my head and look down. "I'm not going in there. I love you, I do. But if you love me as much as you claim to, you would never ask me to do something like this. You'd never ask me to willingly put my life in your hands. You'd never ask me to hide in a box."

"It's for your protection," he inturrupts. "So you'll always be safe."

"Bullshit. It's for you. So I'll be safe with you."

Henry's eyes are sad, and if I look hard enough I swear I can see Peter Pan's familiar green ones. He begins to mutter something and brings out the box. He holds it up in front of him and waves a hand over the big red jewel on the top.

"Peter, please," I beg, taking another step back. "Please, don't do this!"

"I'm sorry, Kasey. I love you."

I scream, "NO!", and then I'm surrounded by red smoke.