Adrenaline pulsed through my body, my hand rapidly quivering as I stuck the key in the ignition. As soon as Peter slammed the passenger door, my foot slammed on the pedal.

    "Did she say what happened?" Asked Peter in a deep-voiced whisper.

    "No, she was too worked up Peter," I unintentionally snapped. Sending him an apologetic look, his green eyes scanned my face. His jaw was tightly clenched and his face expressed a fearful emotion that I had never really seen on him before. Peter was always joking, alway cheerful and playful. To see him in such a serious manner really worried me.

    "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

    "It's okay. You're under stress."

    "And my dad saw me...saw us sneaking out," I confessed. "We were too noisy. Now on top of everything that's going on I'm going to have to explain why there was a boy in my room at midnight," I said, letting out a much needed sigh. "They don't even know that I have a boyfriend," I mumbled.

    "Well they're sure in for quite a surprise, aren't they?"

    Glaring at him, he cracked a slight smile and then instantaneously returned to his serious expression. "I just can't take this," I whispered as the road began to blur before me. "Why does everything have to happen all at once? It's like when life knocks you down, it wants to drown you at the same time. I feel like I'm drowning into this place where I won't be able to climb out of and it's just a really, really-"

    "Laney, pull over. You can't drive like this," he warned.

    Tears dripped down my cheeks, each individual drop representing an individual burden of mine.

    "I'll be fine Peter," I said, wiping away my tears. "I'm just scared is all. I've never seen Jenna act like that before. I'm just....scared."

    "And I'm not?" He asked, his voice rising to a higher octave. "I am here because of Thomas. He was my assignment. The one time I'm not with him is the single time that he ends up in the emergency room. Aren't I the one responsible for this?"

    "No, why would you even think that?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

    "Because it was my duty to protect him," he stated.

    "It was your duty to protect him from emotional harm. We don't even know what went down yet. None of this is your fault."

    Peter clenched his fist as his arm laid beside the car window. Glaring out into the empty streets, his expression reflected through the transparent glass. He was nothing but a beautiful silouhette that was breaking at the seams. Then was when I realized that Peter had finally met his match: his own humanity. In Neverland, he most likely didn't have to deal with the real stresses that humans had to experience. He was granted powers that enabled him to do everything. Now that he was stripped of them, he was the lost boy.

    "What's on your mind?" I asked. His ears perked up, but he didn't dare to look at me.

    "Thomas. I could've been there now if I could've just flown....but I can't anymore, can I?"

    Though I knew he didn't mean anything by it, I still couldn't help but feel like he was throwing a jab at me. I was the one who seduced his innocence, led him into my trap of candy coated kisses. He was just the mere fool who fell for it and now had to pay the price.

    My stomach twisted into the form of a knot. At that moment in time, there was nothing I could say. That was something I had no prior experience with- I was never granted the ability to fly. I would never be able to know what it felt to lose something I never had.

    "Peter, I-"

    "It's not you. I didn't mean it for you to take it like that. I'm just saying that in this particular instance, it would've been way more helpful."

    Nodding, I stayed focused on the road. My heart was ready to burst from all of the pressure building inside of my body. My entire being ached at the mere thought of what could've possibly happened to Thomas. Part of me wished that Jenna would've told me the whole story so I didn't have to keep guessing the scene I was going to walk into. However, both Peter and I knew it couldn't be anything good.

    Grabbing his hand, I squeezed his palm in mine. "We're gonna make it. Whatever life is throwing at us, we're gonna make it."

    Giving my hand a loving squeeze back, he let out a sigh from the depths of his soul. "I sure hope so."

    "Peter, I just don't know what I'd do without y-"

    "I love you."

    Taking a glance over at him, my heart skipped a beat. "What did you just say?"

    "Honestly, I do. I love you Laney Riverdale. And in this moment, I need you Laney Riverdale. Because honestly, I feel like I'm losing it. I've already lost who I am. I've lost my entire identity but honestly, you've helped me find my humanity. And I need you to promise me something," he said, tears building up in his eyes.

    At this point in time, the streetlight had turned red and he captured my undivided attention. "What is it?"

    A single tear dripped from his face. "Promise me that whatever happens, you'll be here to bring me back. Promise that you won't let me forget who I am. Once I step foot into that hospital, I'm not sure that I'll come out the same person. If I lose Thomas on top of everything else......Please," he begged, tears leaking from his eyes. Leaning over the middle console, I kissed a single teardrop away and he held my head closer to him as he wept. His chest rose and fell in a much different way than when he had been peacefully sleeping just an hour ago. Rapid, rigid breaths came from his body.

    As I held his face between my hands, I stared directly into his glossy, mystical green eyes. "I promise, Peter Pan."

© Lightning_Stryker 2017

And well....I have no idea how this chapter became so emotional, but it did. What did you guys think about this chapter?

Are you getting the #Later feels? I sort of feel like they're a married couple already XD

What do you think the future holds for Thomas? I'm really juggling all the options here....