The Mermaid-Cursed Pirate

Chapter 17

Recap:

He places his hands on her arms gently, "Rena, I would never use you. I-" He stops himself, then shakes his head and continues. "No, you need to know this: I love you, Sirena. And I will do everything I can to prove it to you."

Sirena stands still, shellshocked. Never in a million years could she have thought Pan would say those words to anyone, let alone her. If he really means it, this changes everything, the plan and everything else. "What do I do now?" she thinks to herself.

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Sirena's head was spinning. She has to get away from Pan and fast. She could faint, she could run out, she could scream at him and get him to leave. She was considering her options when Pan made a choice for her, one she wasn't even considering. Taking one hand off her arm, he places it on her cheek and kisses her. After a second of shock, she pushes him away as hard as she can. He falls onto his back on her bed.

"What the hell, Pan?" She takes one look at his ashamed face, then grabs her bag and runs. She sprints through camp, ignoring the Lost Boys' questions and Pan's pleading shouts. She doesn't stop running until she reaches the water. Diving into the sea, she immediately swims to her underwater sanctum. She flops onto the ground, not waiting for her legs to reappear to pull herself to her enchanted shell.

Grabbing the shell, she starts screaming, "Captain! Captain! We've got a problem! Are you there?" There's no response for a while. "Hook, please answer!"

After another silent moment, she hears him. "Sirena? What happened? Are you okay?"

"It's Pan. I don't think I'll be able to get anything from him anymore," her voice shakes.

Hooks voice is level and calming to Sirena, "Just tell me what happened, Sirena."

"I was going to stay in my old hut for the night and Pan came to ask why. We had an argument and-"

"Did he hurt you?" Hook interrupts.

"No. Far from it." She takes in a wavering breath, "He said that he loves me, and then he kissed me."

"But isn't that good news for us?" he inquires, his tone questioning.

"Maybe, but I freaked out and ran. All the Lost Boys saw me running away from Pan. I may have just blown it and now-" she gasps. "Now I'll never get anything from Pan. I can't even leave my cave now."

"Yes, you can. Just tell me the whole story, starting from what you told Pan to get me off Neverland. It'll all be okay, lass." She takes a deep breath and explains everything to him.  When she's done with the story, Hook lets out a chuckle. "You really didn't care about the damage to my reputation, do you?"

She lets out a dry laugh, "Is that seriously all you care about right now?"

"I was just trying to get a laugh out of you, lass!" he defends. "I know you're freaking out and I was trying to help with that. But you may not have messed everything up like you said. You've been acting like you're scared he'll hurt you, right?"

"Right. I was going to only do that for a while, then act like I was getting more com fortable with him. I'd get close to him, and then see if he'd tell me anything."

"Then you're still following your plan, lass. He kissed you and you ran. Right now, if the devil of Neverland actually loves you, he's probably beating himself up for moving too fast. You only woke up today, right?"

"Right again," she answers.

"So it's not been one day and he's already coming after you. If you play your cards right, he'll blame himself for you running away and nothing you did will seem out of the ordinary."

She sighs in relief. "You seem to have all the answers today, captain. Thank you for your help."

"That's why I'm the captain. And it's my pleasure, lass. A gentleman must always help a lady in need," he jests, causing a smile to grace Sirena's face.

"Ah yes, I keep forgetting I'm bound to the only gentleman pirate in existence." There's a comfortable silence and she hears the captain try to suppress a yawn. "Well, I best find somewhere else to hide for my new plan. And from the sound of it, you could use some rest, captain."

"You are the right one now, Sirena. It's been a long few days since we last spoke. Unfortunately, I have nothing new to tell you about my side. Best of luck to you, though. And be careful, lass."

"Goodbye, Hook. And I have a feeling I'll be fine." 

She places the shell back on her shelf and sighs. Grabbing her bag, she dives into the water and swims out of her cave. Once she reaches the entrance, she stops, considering her options. An idea pops into her head and she swims for the so-called Mermaid Lagoon.