"You can kill a man with those words. No gun. No bullets. Just words and a girl."

~ Markus Zuack, I Am the Messenger

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Two years later...

    I'm in a red room. Why am I always in a red room? I turn around, taking in my surroundings. I'm in a shop. An abandoned pawnshop to be exact. I can tell by the rows of the shelves around me as they're filled with antiques. I jerk my head to the left at the sound of a bell chiming as the front door opens. I take a step back, inching away from the door as a boy -no, I can hardly call him a boy as he looks to be in his early twenties- walks inside.

    He's dressed in a black tux, paired with a blood red tie and shiny black dress shoes. His face softens when he sees me.
    "Alice," he greets as he always does everytime I'm here.
    I don't bother asking him how he knows my name, as he always gives me the same answer. It's because we're soul mates and that we love each other, et cetera, et cetera.

    "What am I doing here, Peter?" I ask, crossing my arms.
    Before you ask. Yes, I do know his name. He told me the first time we met and it's the name that is always on my mind.
    "I told you before," he says. "It's because you're my-"
    "Because I'm your soul mate." I roll my eyes. "Honestly this is getting old, can you please stop bothering me?"

    "You really don't remember me?" Peter asks, crestfallen.
    "For the thousandth time, no." I sigh. "When is this going to stop? Will I never be able to close my eyes again without seeing your face? When will you stop haunting me?!"
    Peter recoils back as if I'd slapped him. "I didn't think that my presence irked you so much."

    "Of course it irks me! You've been haunting me for over a year!" I exclaim.
    "You didn't use to think that when I was still alive," he replies.
    I pinch the bridge of my nose, exhaling exasperatedly. "For the last time, I'm not the Alice you're talking about. I'm not your soul mate. I'm not your "unfinished business" whatever that means. I'm just Alice. So stop please bothering me and leave me alone!"

     I rub my temples as the room starts spinning.
    "The spell is wearing off," Peter announces sadly.
    "Well, it's about time," I say impatiently.
    "I won't give up on you, Alice!" he cries out as the room around me starts to fade.
    "I made a promise and I don't intend on breaking it anytime soon!"

    I open my eyes at the sound of my alarm going off. The beat of Zendaya's song hypes me up as I get out of bed. I turn the alarm off, grabbing the first pair of clothes I see from my closet. I then make my way to the bathroom to wash up, humming the lyrics to Dracula by Bea Miller.
    "If you were Dracula, I'd be lettin' you take that bite," I sing, striping out of my clothes. "Hot and hazardous, like playin' with dynamite."

    I step into the shower, turning the tap on. "I want Dracula. Forever be young and wild. Dark and dangerous. I love, I love, the tragically beautiful..."

****

  I step out of my room, dressed in a black FOB crop top and ripped jeans. Wringing the water out of my hair, I make my way down the hallway, passing the boys' rooms as I go. I pass Will's room last, hearing "New Perspective" by Panic At The Disco blast through the walls. I rap my knuckles on his blue door. "Will?"
    "Yeah?" he replies, not opening the door.

    "Could you please lower the volume of your music? You're gonna wake up the entire neighborhood." I say.
    "Sure!" he shouts, his voice muffled by the thick door.
    I make my way down the winding stairs, noticing as the volume of Will's music gets noticeably softer. I don't have anything against P!ATD, I love all of Brendon's songs, especially The Emperor's New Clothes.

    I just prefer not to attract any unwanted attention to our penthouse. The size of our home draws enough attention as it is. It was Ray's idea to buy the penthouse. He said that we needed the room. In my opinion the apartment is way too big for eight people, but Andrew pointed out that we needed a lot of room for Cassie and twins. And that basically sums up the story of why we bought the biggest apartment in the neighborhood.

    I side down the railing of the staircase, jumpping off when I reach the end. I turn a corner, almost knocking into Lewis.
    "Woah!" I cry out, swerving to the side to avoid bumping into him. "What's the rush, Lewis?"
    "I'm late," he replies, rushing past me.
    My eyes dart back and forth as I watch Lewis run up the stairs.

    "Oh, yeah, I forgot that you were going out with Jo for your six mouth anniversary."
    "Yup, and she's gonna kill me if I'm late," he replies, not looking back.
    I cup my hands over my mouth. "Tell her I said, hi and congrats on sticking with that doufus for six months."
    "Will do," he replies. "Wait- what did you call me?"

    I laugh out loud as I make my way down the corridor. Jo's real name is Joyce, but she goes by Jo because she thinks that her name is too feminine. I don't blame her, she's a major tomboy with her black motorcycle and combat skills. Will was the one who introduced her to us. They became friends due to the fact that they both worked in the same training center, teaching archery and fencing.

    Joyce teaches archery while Will teaches fencing. So it's no surprise that they became close friends in such a short period of time. What came as a surprise to me was that Lewis fancied her. In all my years of knowing him, I didn't expect him to be the type of person who was attracted to girls like Jo. But I guess I should've seen it coming, seeing as they are almost polar opposites.

    "Good morning, Alice," I hear someone greet as I enter the living room.
    "Mornin' Alice," Hunter and Jerome chorus, not taking their eyes off the flat screen TV attached to the wall.
    I glance at the digital clock on top of the wall and scoff. Trust the two of them to play Mario Cart at nine in the morning. They're like the less attractive versions of Dan and Phil.

    "Good morning, guys," I reply, leaning against the grand piano that Andrew is seated in front of. "Have you seen Cassie and the twins?"
    "They're on the roof," Hunter answers.
    "What about Cas?" I ask.
    "You just missed him. He ran out of his room five minutes ago," Andrew replies, briefly taking his eyes off the TV to look at me.

    I shake my head, sighing. "Have you guys seen Ray?"
    Jerome smirks as his avatar knocks his brother's avatar off the track. "Why? What do you need him for?"
    "We still haven't decided on where to go to celebrate Cassie's birthday, remember?"
    "I haven't seen Ray since we had that Sherlock marathon last night," Andrew tells me. "But I'm sure he'll turn up soon."

    "He must still be sleeping," Jerome says. "I still can't believe you guys watch that crap."

    Hunter laughs at his brother's comment. "Says the guy who kept requesting for us to watch another episode."
    "That was because they ended the episode with Sherlock jumping off the building, how could you possibly expect me to sleep after watching that cliffhanger?" Jerome asks, defending his pride.

    I laugh as their petty argument as I exit the living room. My stomach rumbling as I enter the kitchen, the smell of food filling my nostrils. I make my way over to the fridge, opening the huge door. Sticking my hand into the fridge, I pull out a container with last night's dinner. Grabbing a plate from the shelf, I line it with a paper towel then place the pizza slice on it.

    I walk over to the microwave, placing the plate inside to heat my breakfast up. I yawn as I adjust the settings to heat my food up. I smile, feeling a pair of arms snake around my waist as I feel someone rest his chin on top of my head. "Guess who?"
    "Hmmm," I hum, pretending to think about it.
    "My dorky boyfriend?" I say, looking over my shoulder to see Ray's smiling face.

    "Good morning, beautiful," he greets, pecking me on the lips.
    I smile. "Where were you just now?"
    "In the library," he tells me. "I was making a list of the locations we could go to for Cassie's birthday this weekend."
    "How long is the list?" I ask.

    "I narrowed it down to three locations because I know how hard it is for you to make decisions," Ray tells me.

    I kiss him on the cheek. "Aw, thanks, Ray."
    "When do you wanna choose the location?" Ray asks me.
    "Um, is it possible to do it now?"
    "Yup, I'll grab my computer," he says.
    I nod. "Great, I'll meet you in my room."

****

    "Alrighty, so what watcha got for me?" I ask, plopping down on my bed.

    Ray sits down beside me, careful not to touch the wall of photos behind us. "I went online and researched on small towns like you asked and found three towns which seem like a great place for us to celebrate Cassie's birthday."

    "Okay, so what are the three places you've deemed worthy for us to visit?" I ask mockingly.

    "The first place is Nebraska City, NE-" Ray points at a picture of the town on his computer screen. "-And the second is Spring Green, WI and lastly Storybrooke, Maine." He then points at a photograph of the two towns respectively.

    "Storybrooke," I say, testing out the name. "That's an interesting name for a town."

    "So Storybrooke?" Ray asks.
    I nod. "Yup."
    "I knew you'd choose that," Ray says. "You're probably the only person I know who'd choose the location for your vacation based on its name."
    "It's called Storybrooke of course we're going there. I mean, what could possibly happen in a town named Storybrooke?"

    "They might not have a library there," Ray points out.
    I gasp dramatically. "Then I'll bring my own library there. Does the Mortal Instruments sound good to you?"
    "I was just kidding, Alice. Of course they'd have a library there," he tells me. "I wouldn't choose a place which didn't have one."
    "You know me so well," I say, pecking him on the lips.

    "Well, I am your boyfriend," he replies, kissing me.
    "Like I'll ever forget that," I say, kissing him back.
    I cup my hands on Ray's nape, pulling him closer towards me as he tangles his hands in my hair.

    "Wo ai ni, Alice," he says cupping my cheek.
    I smile. "I love you, too."

-

Peter's P.O.V

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    A tear trickles down my face as I watch the two of the kiss through my crystal ball. I wanted her to move on but not like this. I never imagined that I'd be wiped from her memory entirely, that I'd be reduced to a creep who bothers her in her sleep. I was confused when Alice didn't recognize me when I first visited her in her dreams.

    I remember how devastated I was to find out that she had no idea who I was or what I was to her in the past. It didn't take me long to discover that she was courting Ray. She told me not to give up on her, but how can I do that if I'm all alone? I want to move on but I can't. And even if I could, I need her to remember me in order for me to do so, but I can't now that she has no idea who I am.

    It's lonely here in the underworld now that I helped Felix move on. It was the least I could do seeing that I was the reason why he was down here. It turns out that his unfinished business was his babay sister, who stayed behind to wait for him while his parents moved on so many years ago. I smile, remembering how Emily hugged me and thanked me for taking care of her big brother.

    I stifle a sob as I look down at the feather pin in my palm...

    "Here," Felix says, placing something in my palm.
    I look at the object in my hand, then look up at him in surprise. "Your feather pin? But Emily gave it to you. It's your most precious possession."
    "I know. That's why I'm giving it to you," Felix says.
    "I can't accept this," I say, giving it back to him.

    Felix shakes his head, clasping my hands with his. "Keep it. It's yours."          "But I'm the reason why you're here," I say, confused. "I betrayed your trust. I killed you."

    "No, you did what you thought was best for Alice. You may be the reason why I'm here, but you're also the reason why I'm reunited with my baby sister," Felix says, ruffling us Emily's hair. "I forgive you, Peter."

    "But I didn't do anything to earn your forgiveness," I state.
    "You don't need to," he tells me. "I forgave you long before you reunited me with Emily. I forgave you when you ripped my heart out."
    "But why?" I ask.

    Felix engulfs me in a hug. "Because that's what you do for family. It's what you do for those who you love, you forgive them, whether or not they deserve it."

    "I'll miss you," I tell him, not pulling back just yet.
    "I know, I'll miss you, too."
    "Take care, old friend," I say as the two of us pull back.
    Felix nods. "You too. Goodbye, Peter."

    I lean against a wall, crying as a wave of torment washes over me. I clutch my chest, gasping for air as I try to get rid of the sobs that are racking my body. Letting go of the crystal ball, I watch as it rolls on the floor, stilling showing an imagine of Alice kissing Ray.
    I close my eyes. "You promised you'd never forget me..."

-

Happy 4th of July to all my American readers 🎊🇺🇸🎉 I have a small confession to make... I may have wrote this chapter on the 31th of May and waited until July to update it. Yeah, that's when I wrote this chapter 😅 Sorry, I had to make sure that this was how I wanted my story to start and that I was sure with what I wanted this book to be about  *hides behind a bookshelf*  Please don't hurt me.

I hope you guys are looking forward for plotline of this book because I'm definitely looking forward to writing it. And side note, I think I'm gonna stop adding gifs to my chapters for awhile. I'll only add them if I have time to make them or if I see a gif on instagram that fits.

That's all for this A/N, bye, guys and I hope you'll like the gif I added below 😏

~ Alice xx

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"Did you think you could get rid of me that easily?"

~ Peter Pan

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Vote, comment, rate, do whatever you want <3

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