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He drank most on Fridays; he was violent most on Fridays. Granted, my father drank every day, but Fridays were the worst.
His empty bottle broke against the wall and I flinched involuntarily at the crash. Guess I would be cleaning that up later.
"You scared? Huh? You fuckin' scared, Y/N?" He laughed.
That was a loaded question. Say yes and he'd be angry. Say no and he'd be angry. Say nothing and he'd be angry.
"No," I decided, but the shake in my voice betrayed me.
He cackled again, grabbing a half-empty bottle of gin off the counter to take a swing. Yeah, I'm a glass-half-empty kind of person. Sue me.
"Good. Maybe you've finally got some sense in you."
I didn't answer as he set the bottle back down. There was no point.
"Let's test that sense. You done actin' like a faggot?"
The words should have hurt. But I'd heard them enough that I was numb to them.
"Answer me!"
Safety or honesty? Avoid some of my beating or stay true to myself? It was a question I was faced with every day. I wish I had never been outed to my father, but my ex-boyfriend had shown up at the house and my dad answered the door, asking who he was, which he answered, not knowing about the violence behind closed doors.
After that, he'd been sent away and everything got worse.
"No."
"Dammit, Y/N!" He swung a punch at me, knocking me in the face and sending me tumbling to the ground. His foot came down on my stomach hard, knocking the wind out of me as I struggled to breathe. "You fucking queer! You're sick, hear me? Sick!"
I struggled under his weight, but that just angered him and he partially lifted me just to slam me back into the floor. "Stop! Please, please stop, dad... Please..."
"Trying to tell me what to do? I'm the man of this house, understand? And no homo is going to tell me what to do."
"D- Dad, please!"
"You'll burn for this, you know? You're gonna rot in hell and I'll look down from heaven and laugh."
My head spun as it was slammed into the floor again. I heard him say something else, but then I heard a new voice, a voice I didn't recognize.
My vision was blurred, but I saw a figure pick me up before I faded away.
~+~
When I woke up, I puked all over the floor before realizing I had no idea where I was. A treehouse of some sort.
Weakly, I tried to get to my feet just as the trapdoor opened and a boy entered. My knees gave out, but he ran forward, catching me and helping me back onto the bed just in time.
"Whoa, careful. You've got a concussion."
I scooted away from him. "Who are you?"
"My name is Peter. Peter Pan. I have scouts to look for boys that need a better home. One of them suggested you, and I'm glad he did because your father probably would have killed you if I didn't show up when I did."
"W- What? Peter Pan? That's a children's story."
He shrugged. "So is Rumplestilskin. Your point?"
"But- that's not real, either."
He rolled his eyes and waved his hand, producing a ball of flames that he extinguished almost as soon as he had created it. "Fire hazard."
My eyes were wide. "Holy shit."
Peter flicked his hand in the same direction as the vomit and it disappeared, then he sat down at the foot of the bed, looking at me with concern. "How are you feeling?"
It took me a moment to respond. He was very attractive. And when I say very, I mean VERY. With dazzling green eyes and a perfect face, how could I not be distracted?
"Oh, um, fine, I guess."
"You don't have to lie. You can tell me if you're in pain, Y/N."
The gentle tone he used when he said my name almost made me melt right then and there. "In that case, not very fine."
"Is there anything you need?"
"Some answers, if you don't mind."
He shrugged. "Go ahead."
"First of all, where am I?"
"Neverland. Second star to the right."
I nodded. "Okay, fine. Where specifically am I?"
"My treehouse and my bed."
His bed.
"Oh," I squeaked. "Alright. Um, what... what exactly do you intend to do? What's going to happen, moving forward?"
He smiled softly. "Well, if you want, I'd like you to stay on Neverland after you get healed up. You won't age. You'll never see your father again. You'd be accepted here. It could be nice."
Peter was right- that did sound nice. "You'd let me stay? Really?"
"Of course, Y/N. That's why I brought you here. So what do you say?"
I broke into an uncontrollable smile. "I'd love to!"
~+~
In the time following my arrival on Neverland, I healed quickly and got to know Peter better. He was great: confident, ambitious, smart, the whole nine yards. Falling for him was inevitable.
He put his hand on mine, guiding my bow to the right just a bit. "There you go. Now relax your shoulders."
I did as he said and let the arrow fly, hitting the target. "I did it!"
"Yep." He looked at me with pride and I felt my heart swell. "You're getting better."
"Thanks."
"Anytime. Okay, try it again."
I drew back the bowstring and aimed again. He watched with a critical eye that made me uneasy, but he didn't comment, so I let the arrow go. It thunked into a middle-ish ring, not as good as last time, but better than last week.
Peter stepped forward, carefully taking the bow from me, hanging it up and breathing deeply. "Y/N, I need to talk to you about something."
Oh god. He was going to send me back. I wasn't as skilled as most of the lost boys, so I wasn't a valuable asset. I'd have to go back to my father, to traumatic days, and all the other horrors of the Land Without Magic.
"What is it?" I asked, voice trembling. "Are you sending me back?"
He looked alarmed. "No, no, never. It's not like that at all."
Relief flooded me before I realized I still didn't know what the conversation was supposed to be about. "Is something wrong?"
He laughed lightly, but it almost sounded nervous. "Sort of."
"What is it?"
"The fact that you're not my boyfriend."
I froze. Boyfriend? "I- um, what...? Uh-"
What a smooth answer, Y/N, I thought to myself.
It was followed by, Shut up, Y/N and Oh shit he's waiting. What do we say?
I don't know! You figure it out!
We're the same person, dumbass
Oh god, he's still waiting
Then say something!
SAY WHAT???
Peter spoke instead. "It's okay if you don't feel the same way. I hope that we can still be friends and-"
"I like you, too!" I interrupted, cheeks flushing.
He blinked uncertainly. "Wait, really?"
"Yeah. I mean, yes."
He broke into a smile and stepped close, taking my chin in one hand. "Can I kiss you?"
I nodded. With the confirmation, he pressed his lips to mine and holy shit it was amazing. His hands moved to rest on my hips, pulling me into him and deepening the kiss while I lace my fingers around the back of his neck.
Peter pulled back, still smiling. "Wow."
"I'm glad that was what you wanted to talk about," I said, laughing.
"Me too. And Y/N?"
"Yes?"
"You're never going back as long as you want to be here. I'll never let him get you. He can't hurt you here. So long as you're on Neverland, you're untouchable."
I couldn't help the goofy grin that crossed my face. "Thank you."
"I'm all yours, Y/N. And, I think you'd like to be mine, too, right?"
"What gave it away?"
He laughed and pulled me in for another kiss. It was us: magical, beautiful, untouchable us.