Magic ➙ Ethan Dolan

chapter twenty five

Jakob and Annie made their way back to camp, anger and confusion bubbling up inside of the teenage girl like a volcano ready to erupt. The new information that Jakob had just confessed was enough to make Annie's head spin. A dumb tattoo was the only proof Jakob needed to know that the Grayson that got buried might not have actually been Grayson.

Annie's pace quickened, her feet carrying her past Jakob. She needed to get back to camp and confront not only Pan, but Felix as well, who had been MIA for a few days. He wasn't even there when his best mate's brother died, and Annie couldn't help but think that was awfully suspicious.

"Annie, hang on. We can't just march into the camp and demand answers." Jakob called after the girl, wanting her to slow down.

"Why the hell not? The least Pan owes me are some answers." Annie replied, her pace not faltering as she neared the edge of the jungle.

"Fine, I'm just not sure you're gonna get any." Jakob told her. He noticed the hesitation in Annie's walk as she realized that he was right, but continued going. She was tired of getting treated like a child. A child that doesn't get told anything, and doesn't get to help with anything. It was like Annie was sitting on the sidelines of sports game, watching her own life unfold.

Annie broke through the trees into camp, immediately noticing the Lost boys as they sat around a fire. Pan was with them, and he rose to his feet as Annie marched over to him.

"Annie, what's going-" Before Pan could finish his sentence, Annie cut him off.

"I need to have a word with you." She snapped, feeling as though steam was coming out of her ears. The last thing she wanted to do was yell at Pan about Grayson in front of the boys, so she managed to control herself for the time being.

"Alright. I'll walk with you." Annie was suddenly at a lose for words at how calm Peter was being, but came back to reality and started walking behind the man as he headed towards the jungle.

"I'll stay here with the boys." Jakob stated, offering Annie a small smile of comfort as she walked past him.

The two teenagers headed into the jungle, Annie's eyes fixated on the back of Peter's head. Her mind was running a mile a minute as she tried to think about what exactly she wanted to say to him, her confidence slowly starting to diminish as she realized exactly what she was doing. Pissing off the leader of Neverland was not on her to-do list for today, but it was too late now. She already yelled at him and made him walk into the jungle.

     "So, Annie, what can I help you with?" Peter asked, seeming awfully casual about his current situation.

     "I know your secret, Pan." Annie spat out, her eyes narrowing as she watched the dark haired boy before her. He crossed his arms across his chest and let himself fall back slightly so he was leaning against a tree, a smirk toying on his lips.

     "And what's that?" He asked, his cocky and amused attitude shining brighter than the hot Neverland sun.

     "Grayson. He isn't actually dead, is he?" Annie couldn't help the words from tumbling past her lips. Grayson was a touchy subject and her heart clenched just by saying his name. She didn't want to believe he was dead, and was now confronting his brother based on a theory Jakob shared with her. It all sounded crazy inside Annie's head, but she was tired of being in the dark of all that occured on Neverland. If Grayson was alive, she wanted to know.

     Peter cleared his throat and looked down at the dirt ground as he pushed himself off of the tree. "No, Annie. He's gone. He's dead, and I hope you didn't drag me out here to try and convince me he's alive because that'd be some sort of sick joke. Grayson is dead." The boy's attitude had completely flipped, his last three words coming out slowly and venomous. Pan stared at Annie, his eyebrows furrowed in a sudden anger. His arms were still crossed, the muscles under the tanned skin were flexed as he tried to control his emotions.

     Annie, on the other hand, was suddenly filled with guilt. "No, Peter. I didn't come out here to convince you of anything but I have reasons to believe-." She mumbled, not able to meet Peter's eye.

     "Your reasons are nothing compared to the cold hard facts." He snapped back, cutting off Annie's sentence. The girl raised her head, unsure of what emotion to feel. Sadness and frustration were two that bubbled inside her.

     Annie didn't say anything as Peter stalked away from her, and she flinched as she heard the sound of a tree catching fire. Peter was pissed, and decided to take his anger out on the island's vast jungle. He used his magic to put the fire out so the entire jungle wouldn't burn down, before teleporting somewhere else on the island.

     The teenage girl looked over her shoulder to see a gap in the forest, where Peter had burned a tall tree into a pile of black ash. She sighed heavily, knowing she'd have to apologize for upsetting him so much. Annie was so concerned with wanting Grayson back alive that she didn't think about the fact that Peter was grieving the death of his brother.

     Annie turned back around, and nearly jumped out of her skin. She did jump back a bit, her heart nearly racing out of her chest. A person stood on the other side of the path in front of Annie.

     "Sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." A male voice said, and Annie managed to look at him once she got over the initial shock of seeing him. He had tidy brown hair, and eyes like ones Annie had never seen before. One was chocolate brown, while the other was a bright sky blue.

     "Who the hell are you?" Annie asked, not recognizing the stranger. She had never seen him before on the island, or in her life.

     "You're Annie, right?" The man asked. He only looked one or two years older than Annie, his face clean shaven with defined features. "My name is Victor, and I'm your brother."

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Wow another plot twist! Victor is played by Dominic Sherwood :)