Lost and Found

Sore Loser

Peter found her in a lagoon, perched atop a rock, tail in the water, iridescent scales visible above the water line. He had appeared on the beach, and her back was turned to him. He didn't announce his arrival; he didn't need to.

"I despise you." Y/N said in a quiet tone sharp enough to pierce one's soul, without turning around.

Peter rolled his eyes before responding. "Don't feel so exclusive darling, because you're not the only one that does." He leaned against a tree, arms crossed, smirk playing on his lips.

Y/N swam beneath the surface to shore. She rose out of the water, eyes narrowed. "I'd be thoroughly surprised if I was." She replied with a scathing tone.

Unsurprisingly, it appeared as though Y/N and Peter were headed towards yet another heated argument. Despite the fact that there were no spectators, this disagreement promised to be just as heated, if not more so.

"I, for the life of me, can't understand why you're so upset. What could I have possibly done to make you so perturbed?" He was mocking her.

"Well, existing for one thing." She shot back hotly as she wrung water out of her hair.

"You're more snarky than usual today." He noted, ignoring the way her linen shirt clung to her wet body.

"As much as I appreciate your observations, there are things for us to discuss." She refused to let him talk his way out of this one.

Pan responded coldly. "Like what? I don't see anything of great importance pertaining to the two of us that needs discussing. Now, you and Devin on the other hand..."

"I would've thought that feigning ignorance was beneath you." She quipped. "I guess you learn something new every day."

"As I said before, I honestly have no idea what you're going on about." With that, he spun on his heel and began to walk away.

"I never would've taken you for such a coward." She scoffed, leaning on a boulder.

He stopped mid step and turned around slowly. "What did you just say?" The nerve of her to imply-!

Y/N crossed her arms. "So all it took to get you to listen was to bruise your overinflated ego?"

Pan ignored her assertion. "What makes you think you have the right to define me? Of all the derogatory statements, you chose to deem me a coward?" Peter Pan feared no man, nor beast. He hadn't come across even the remote idea of feeling cowardice in hundreds of years. God she was infuriating!

"Is that not what you are? You may be able to put on this act for everyone else, but I can see right through it. You hate the idea of feeling weak, so you derive pleasure from making others feel that way." She rattled off angrily.

"I only bring to light what existed previously. I, for one, have no weaknesses." He replied levelly.

"Oh, yes you do." She replied, gathering her clothes from the beach. "You're not as fearless as you appear to be." She walked past him, and Pan didn't even have to look to know she was smirking.

He was begrudgingly beginning to accept his feelings for the girl, and much to his dismay, it appeared that these feelings were not simply lust or a passing infatuation. He wanted so badly to solve the complex enigma that was Y/N. He had a strong desire to explore every facet of her mind, and leave no thought untouched. He wanted to know the thoughts that ran through her mind before every word she spoke.

He still hated her, exceedingly so. Yet still, his feelings for her prevailed through their conflicts. He loathed her existence, but could not deny his feelings. He despised dwelling on these feelings, despite the fact that he did so quite often. He liked to torment himself with the thought of her. She was driving him mad. How very masochistic. But even if these thoughts did torment him, it was a very good type of torment. A very good torment indeed.

However, there was still the small problem of Devin. It was evident to even the blind that she cared for him, and vice versa. But he knew more about Devin than she did. He could be manipulative, arrogant, and stubborn. She could very easily end up hurt and come crawling to him for help.

---

Days, (perhaps weeks, but who knew for sure) passed and not once did Pan speak to Y/N. She regarded him with the same icy silence, and spent most of her time with Devin, unsurprisingly. She had returned to the compound, with no comment to the lost boys about where she had been. All but Devin and Peter were oblivious to the fact that she was a mermaid.

Meanwhile, Felix was becoming quite tired of being made a into carrier pigeon. Since Pan and Y/N refused to speak to each other, he had to act as the go-between. This was especially exhausting when they stood on either side of the camp arguing about something and Felix was made to run back and forth to deliver snarky comments and equally snarky comebacks. At one point he considered changing their messages just to tick them off and get them to stop fighting. Something along the lines of a confession of undying love from either party.

Devin couldn't of been more pleased with himself, and took every opportunity possible to gloat when Y/N wasn't around. Because damn. All of the lost boys, even Felix, admitted that she was possibly the hottest thing God had ever created. Sure, they hadn't seen a lot of girls, but Y/N was beautiful in a quiet and reclusive way. Not stunning. She was simple, but perfect. They were after all, boys. Devin loved to touch her. Put his hands on her hips, run them through her hair, anything to boast that he was the only one who could actually touch her.

Pan refused to admit that he was jealous of Devin, and was even more pissed off that Felix was right. About everything. Pan practically seethed whenever Devin kissed her in front of him. It annoyed him even more that he seemed to have very little respect for her. When Y/N wasn't around, sure enough Devin could be heard making derogatory remarks about her. Not that Peter had done any different. Most of her time here he had spent putting her down, whether or not she was around. At least Devin had the decency not to talk about her like that to her face. Pan was slowly beginning to realize that he had set himself up for failure the moment that she had stepped foot on Neverland. He had been granted an unattainable prize that he would drive himself mad with trying to win. Because beneath all his spite, he loved her. But she held nothing but animosity for him, and he could hardly blame her.

However, Y/N was having mixed feelings about Neverland. She wanted to leave more than anything. She was a free spirit, and hated the feeling of being trapped. At first she wanted to go home. Back to her father's ship. However, it had been months. For a while she had believed that he would rescue her, but as time went on this proved untrue. That alone was enough to break her heart. She decided that she would settle for anywhere but Neverland. However, there was the issue of Devin. He had taken her under his wing, and protected her. She craved his soft touches and reassurance. But his heart had been claimed by the island years ago. He had no desire to leave, and wished for her to stay with him. But she couldn't. She had to leave. This place was draining her, encircling her mind and snaring her senses in a beautiful and intricate trap. Devin was simply one of the threads tying her down, no matter how much she loved him.