"But those with shattered souls find it very difficult to speak."

~ Elizabeth Smart, My Story

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Peter's P.O.V (In The Underworld)

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    I smile, watching as Alice falls asleep on the couch, a book in her hand. A beam of moonlight shines through the glass windows, the only source of light the living room. A gentle breeze makes its way into the house through one of the open windows, blowing the hair out of Alice's face. She scrunches up her nose as the cold air hits her. Yawning, Alice curls into a fetal position, clutching the book against her chest.

    The sound of shuffling nearby causes me to look across the room and I spot Cassie standing by the staircase, dressed in a light blue onesie.
    "Mummy?" he calls out, rubbing his eyes with his little fists.
    My heart breaks at the sight of my little boy. He's aged in the past two years. He's grown taller and his hair is longer now.

    He doesn't remember me either, meaning the only father figure in his life is Ray. The only thing hasn't changed is the innocence in his eyes. His childish spirit hasn't been broken down by the evils of the world yet, which is a relief, but he's still grown up a little. I can't belive missed two years of his childhood and my absence went unnoticed through those painful years. Those thoughts hit me like a blow to the chest.

    Shaking my head, I watch as Cassie makes his way over to the couch where Alice's sleeping form lies. "Mummy?"
    Alice remains unresponsive, clearly exhausted. I glance at the clock hanging on the wall, the time displayed is one in the morning. Cassie slowly makes his way back to his room before coming back down the stairs with a blanket in his little hands.

    My heart melts as Cassie throws the blanket over Alice, making sure that she stays warm.
    The toddler pecks her on the cheeks. "Goodnight, mummy."
    I don't realize that I'm crying until Malcolm places his hand on my shoulder, staring at me with a concerned look on his face. That's the only look I get from him nowadays. Looks of concern and sorrow.

    "Peter, please talk to me," he begs. "You haven't said a word since you started checking up on Alice again."
    "I was stupid to stop," I say, placing the crystal ball back on its stand.
    "Peter-" Malcolm begins.
    "Tonight is another night when I'll dream of her again," I say, cutting him off. "And I'll wake up tomorrow with the memory of the dream. The sight of her beautiful face etched in my mind, taunting me."

    "Peter, you-"
    "I'm a memory that she'll never remember." I cut him off yet again. "And I feel so lonely without her."
    "Peter, you can't keep doing this to yourself," Malcolm says. "Stop torturing yourself with the memories of the past and things you can't change. Maybe she'll remember you one day."

    "Would anything change if she knew?" I ask, tasting salt in my mouth. "I can't make her love me again. My heart belongs to her, but hers belongs to him." I wipe the tears from my face. "Her mind was a library and I wanted to read all its books until I realized that they were all about him and not of me."
    "If it's meant to be, it will be," Malcolm tells me.

    "Then, I guess I'm not meant to be loved," I say. "I guess I wasn't put on his earth to be someone's happy ending."
    "Don't say that," Malcolm scolds.
    "Why? It's true."
    "You don't know that," he argues. "The two of you went your separate ways, but that doesn't mean that your paths won't cross again. This isn't the end of your story, it's just a chapter. The next chapter of your story will be better, I promise."

    "How do you know?" I ask.
    "Because of Rumpelstiltskin."
    "He killed you," I state. "He's the reason why we're here in the first place."
    Malcolm shake a his head. "That's not what I meant."
    "Then what did you mean?"
    "Your father may have killed me and left me trapped on that island, but it wasn't so bad because he banished you on Neverland soon afterwards."

    "He may have killed your mother in the process but through that unfortunate incident we came to know about each other," Malcolm continues. "When I found you I finally had a purpose to live, even if I wasn't in a physical body. I found happiness in teaching you the ways of magic, in seeing you thrive. My point is, just when you think things can't get any worse, it finally gets better."

    "I'm- I'm just so... Afraid. I've only ever cared about four people in my life. My mother, Felix, Alice and you. The four of you were what kept me going. But now I've lost both my mother, Felix and Alice. You're all I have left. I'm scared I'd lose you, too."
    Malcolm cups my face with his calloused hands. "You haven't lost Alice just yet, and don't you worry about me, laddie. I won't leave you."

    "You'd better not," I say, hugging him.
    He places his hand on my head, gently rubbing my back as I choke back a sob. "I'll never leave you, I swear on my life I won't."

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Alice's P.O.V

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    "So, what's the plan for today?" I ask, sitting on the couch in between Lewis and Will.
    "Mmm." Will shakes his head as he takes a sip of his hot drink. "Coffee first. Talk later."
    I turn my body to the left to face my other friend. "Lewis?"
    "Yeah?" he asks, not looking up from his phone.
    "Okay, that's it," I say.

    "Hey!" Lewis exclaims as I take his phone from him.
    "What- Alice! Give it back," Will protests when I steal his coffee mug.
    I shake my head. "You guys brought me here to get me away from the city and modern technology, but here you are heavily relying on your phones and coffee to keep you going."
    "What's your point?" Lewis asks.

    "My point is, I'm confiscating them," I say, walking off.
    "Wha- you can't just do that!" Lewis protests, jumping over the couch and following me as I make my way into the kitchen.
    "Alice, one does not simply take coffee away from a Ranger," Will says. "It's unheard of."

    Will trails off, yawning. "See! A yawn is a silent scream for coffee and I'm screaming bloody murder."
    I roll my eyes, placing the cup of coffee in the fridge. "You're being melodramatic."
    "Am I?" Will asks.
    "What's melodramatic about wanting to talk to my girlfriend?" Lewis questions. "It's perfectly normal."

    I sigh, making my way over to the mini safe that for some reason was installed in the house.
    "You can't take away my only source of communication with Jo," Lewis says.
    The door to the safe closes shut with one last click of a button. "I just did," I say, placing my hands on my hips.

    "You can't be serious," Will says, staring at the fridge longingly.
    "Oh, I'm dead serious. It's just twenty-four hours. If you guys can last for that long, I'll give them back to you."
    "Only twenty-four hours? How can you be so heartless? This is torture," Lewis whines.
    I give him a look. "It's been less than two minutes."

     "What are we supposed to do instead?" Lewis asks.
    "I don't know?" I shrug. "Go to the park?"
    "Let me get this straight," Lewis says, holding his hand up. "You're confiscating our necessities to make us go outside...?"
    "What kind of sick sadist are you?" Will asks, terrified.
    "I'm the worst one there is," I reply.

    "I'm gonna get Ray, maybe he'll change your mind," Lewis says, proceeding to make his way towards the staircase.
    "I wouldn't bother," I say. "Ray's still in the library with the kids."
    "Andrew!" Will yells. "Jerome! Someone help us, Alice's gone over the bend!"
    "They're not home," I say, pretending to check my fingernails.

    "Hunter'll deny it, but he dragged them out for a run this morning and they haven't came back yet."
    Lewis glances at Will nervously. "So, we're stuck with this sadist until they get back?"
    "I'm right here," I say. "And I'm not a sadist, I'm a high-functioning fangirl, do your research!"
    "Just play along, maybe she'll let us live," I hear Will whisper to his parabatai.

    "Good idea, maybe she'll give us back our things if we do," Lewis responds.
    "Not a chance."
    The both of them simulationsly groan. "We're gonna die."
    I chuckle. "It's just twenty-four hours, what's the worst that could happen?"

****

    "So I'm gonna order an ice cream sundae for dessert, what do you guys want?" I ask, looking up from the menu.
    They remain unresponsive, their gaze locked on something -or someone- behind me.
    "Guys?" I repeat, waving my hand in front of their faces.
    I turn my body around to see what's caught their undivided attention.

    Standing by the door is a woman in her early twenties. Her sandy blonde hair tied up in a overly-complicated hairdo and she was dressed in a black, strapless dress. To call her beautiful would be an understatement as she looked like someone who should be in a Victoria Secret runway.
    I turn back to face the boys. "Listen, I know you guys can't control your hormones and all, but seriously? Lewis, you have a freaking girlfriend!"

    Lewis ignores me, shaking Will's forearm. "Quick! Take a picture of her before she leaves!" he whisper-yells to his parabatai.
    I roll my eyes, taking a sip of my drink as Will grabs his phone from the table, clicking on the camera app with shaky hands. He then pretends to look away in the distance as he casually raises his phone up, proceeding to take a picture of the woman.

    I think Will must've been cursed with bad luck and awkwardness at that time because the next few seconds were the most embarrassing ones I've ever witnessed in my eighteen years of life. The Victoria Secret woman suddenly walks out the door, having finished rummaging through her bag for her expensive-looking phone, and Ares enters the diner just as she walks out the door.

    Unfortunately for Will, his camera went off with a flash, causing Ares to look over in our direction. I cover my mouth with both hands, trying my best not to spit the water out at their faces. Lewis and I fight the urge to laugh as Will became a mess of cringyness and awkwardness when Ares approaches us. He drops his phone onto the table in shock and chuckles nervously, scratching his neck.

    "Um, hi," he greets Ares, forcing himself to smile. "Umm..." he trails off, picking his phone up and pretending to look at it. "Is my camera broken or, um..." He puts the phone back down on the table. "It- It just went off by itself," Will assures him.
    He swallows. "Hi, Ares."
    I bite my tounge to keep myself from screaming (and from spitting the water out) as Ares smiles at Will. "Good afternoon, Will. How are you?"

    "I'm- I'm good," Will stutters, clearly embarrassed.
    "What about you Alice?" Ares asks, his smile broadening when he sees my face.
    "She's fine," Lewis answers for me.
    Ares turns his attention to Lewis, having temporarily forgotten about me. "I don't believe I've met you before."

    "Um, Ares, this is Lewis, my parabatai," Will awkwardly introduces them. "Will, Ares. Ares, Will."
    "Nice to meet you, Lewis," Ares greets.
    "You too," Lewis replies, pinching himself in the arm so that he won't laugh.
    "Well, I gotta go," Ares says as one of the waitresses hands him a brown paper bag.

    "It was nice seeing you guys," he says, waving at us as he walks out the diner.
    "Yeah," Will replies. "You too."
    I quickly swallow the rest of my drink in record timing as Lewis and I burst out laughing like hyenas. Lewis bangs his fists on the table like a madman while I cover my mouth with my hand, trying (but failing miserably) at keeping my volume down.

    Lewis and I manage to draw the attention of everyone in the diner at our table, and they stare at us like we're mad. Which we probably are.
    Will covers his face with his left hand, shaking his head. "You guys saw nothing."
    "I beg to differ," Lewis says, still laughing uncontrollably.
    Will sighs, pointing his index finger at us. "Not one word about this to anyone. Especially to Jerome."

    "Don't worry, Will," I say, patting him on the shoulder. "Your awkward moment is safe with us."
    "What happens in Granny's Diner stays in Granny's Diner," Lewis agrees, nodding his head.
    "I hate you guys," Will mutters under his breath.
    I flash him a smile. "Aw, thanks. We love you, too."

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I'm strangely in a very good mood right now so I've decided to share that with you guys by updating this chapter a day early. I hope this chapter make you guys smile like my friends made me smile yesterday 😄

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Skip this part if you wanna continue reading the A/N 👇

So basically I had a phototaking sesson at school yesterday but I wasn't prepared so I freaked out, so long story short I borrow a uniform shirt from the general office (thank God I left my tie in my bag) the actual phototaking sesson was hilarious my friend pointed out that there was a lightsaber lying on the floor with the other props so I picked it up and held it during the photoshoot with my squad. I then kept saying, "I'm a sith lord, bish!" over and over again. The photographer probably thought I was crazy 😂 oh, whale 🐳 all the best people are crazy, aren't they? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Not gonna lie, I had so much fun writing this chapter. Not the first bit, the awkward part (I'm not that sadistic people) I'm not sure if you guys noticed but I like to balance things out, if the chapter starts of happy, I'll end it with a sad/depressing edit of Peter and if it's sad at the start then I'll end it off funny/happy that way you guys don't have a reason to kill me. Right?

*chuckles nervously* *runs out of the room like Robbie Kay is outside* *trips and smacks my head into the doorframe* *stands up with a bloody nose*  Ya see, this is why I don't do sports. The only thing I do is run... A fan account xD That's all of this A/N, I hope you guys were amused or at least cracked a smile, bye ;)

~ Alice xx

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What are you theories on how this book is gonna end? Ik it's a bit -okay, very- early but I wanna hear them bc I desperately need a good laugh rn ( I'm a horrible person Ik)

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

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