Caged • Robbie Kay/Peter Pan •

Chapter Twenty-Six

•Meadow•

As I sat in the dirt, the thick black painted bars separated my vision into slivers of green forest and bewildered faces.

James sat in the corner, sulking over the punches he had received, and the rest of boys just watched as Peter walked away.

Nolan approached the cell, wrapping his fingers around the wooden rods and staring at me with sympathetic eyes. "Why'd you do that? Peter wasn't going to cage you too until you said something about it." he asked.

I stood up, trying my best to maneuver with my arms tied together. "I don't know. I guess I figured that if I submitted, he'd back down and let it slide. Even so, I'm not going back down on what I said. We both tried to escape, we should both be punished." I stated.

Nolan sighed and looked down his feet, kicking at the dirt. "You're brave, Meadow. You're the only one that's been able to stand up to him." he paused, then chuckled. "Well, except for James, but between you and me, he deserved to get punched in the face."

My brows knitted together. "What do you mean? What did he say that made Peter punch him?"

Nolan's eyes looked away from mine. "Uh.. you didn't hear him?" he asked, even though he clearly knew the answer.

"Nolan, tell me what James said."

Nolan shook his head and dropped his arms. "I think it's best I didn't."

"Why? Did he say something about me?" I questioned.

Nolan simply shrugged. "I should go. I'll bring you some breakfast." he said, before walking off in the same direction Peter had.

Liam rushed up to me, grabbing my hands through the bars. "Why'd you let him tie you up, Meadow? You can't stay in there!" Liam looked as if he would cry, but I could tell he was trying not to.

Caspar pulled Liam away, looking up at me and then back down at Liam. "Come on, Liam. Let's go get breakfast.

Liam let go of my hands. "I'll come visit you when I can!" Liam shouted as Caspar practically dragged him away, Roux following close behind them.

Owen stood for a moment, completely silent with his hand against his mouth and his other arm across his stomach, holding his other bicep. "Well you certainly got yourself into one hell of a mess, didn't you?"

"Thanks for being so optimistic and helpful. Thank you." I said sarcastically.

"Come here. Give me your hands." he said, gesturing toward him with two fingers.

I hesitantly gave him my hands and immediately he began to untie my binds. He worked silently to unravel the cord and relief flooded back into my hands. "There." he said, looking down at my hands and massaging them to bring back the blood flow. "You're a stubborn ass, Meadow Drew." he said, glancing up at me with a smirk.

"I know." I said. "Thank you, by the way."

"Don't worry about it." he patted my shoulder then squeezed my hand once more. "You hang in there, alright?"

I nodded and he smiled before walking back down the path, leaving me alone with James.

I turned back around to face James and he just stared at me, a black eye starting to form as well as a bruise on his left cheek bone.

"Does it hurt?" I asked, crossing my arms.

He chuckled. "What do you think?"

"Let me see." I said, stooping down to where he sat and brushing his hair away from his face. I touched his cheek lightly and he winced. "He hit you pretty good, huh?"

He glared at me and I chuckled. "I think your pride is more damaged than your face."

He laughed mockingly. "Oh, you're so wise." he crossed his arms like a bratty toddler, but a small smirk was evident on his pitifully bruised face.

"I don't think they have ice in Neverland, unfortunately." I stated. "Why did he hit you?" I asked.

He looked down shamefully, then back up to me with sincerity. "I told him to let you go and just take me." he paused, looking between my eyes. "You don't have to be in here, you know."

"I've never seen him so violent. I thought maybe.." I started, but then caught myself and shut my mouth.

"Maybe what?"

"I thought maybe he had changed." I admitted.

James scoffed. "Why would you think that? I know guys like him. They don't change, at least not for the better. It's their nature to be assholes." he shook his head. "He's not safe to be around, Meadow."

I remembered the monstrous look on his face when he had hit James. Chills ran down my spine at the thought of the venomous glint in his eye. Perhaps if I hadn't ran to James' side, Peter would have killed him. That was the only time I have ever felt truly scared of Peter Pan.

"I just wish we could leave." I said, pulling my knees to my chest and resting my chin on my folded arms.

•••

Night had fallen over Neverland. The day had been passed in captivity and James rested his head against one of the bars, his eyes closing slowly.

Three meals had been brought to us, but other than that, not a soul came to visit us. Perhaps Peter hadn't let them.

"Are you tired?" James asked groggily, his eyes remaining closed.

"Not very."

He unfolded his arms and gestured for me to move closer to him. "Come here. You should get some sleep."

I was hesitant. An uneasy feeling filled my stomach and I remembered the multiple failed attempts that he had tried to sleep with me.

I figured that lying next to him was better than lying on the forest floor, so I slowly shifted toward him and lie my head on his chest.

He wrapped his arm around me and the feeling was familar, but not pleasant. Slowly, I eased into him, closing my eyes and listening to his heartbeat. Though I was still uneasy, I managed to fall asleep for what seemed like only a few minutes before a noise woke me up.

I opened my eyes and a dark figured stood on the other side of the cage. A gasp escaped my lips and I got as far away as I could. "Peter?" I questioned.

"Meadow, is that you?" it wasn't Peter's voice, but a voice that I had heard before. My blood ran cold and my heart stopped.

"Chase?"

•••

A/N

WOW! So there ya go! I bet you probably just died because I just did.

So that was unexpected and I'm really excited for what's about to come!

So I'm thinking I'm going to make this story 40 chapters maybe? We'll see what happens but I already have my ending in mind and I'm trying to lead up to that.

I hope you guys really liked this!

Love love love