Meet Me In Neverland?
Chapter 1: Bullies and Broken Crayons
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!" One fiery little red head screeched.
"It means that you're stupid! Your red hair, your cat shirt, your 64 pack of crayons! YOU'RE STUPID! Seriously! How old ARE you, you little baby!"
Poor Caterina Valentine watched helplessly as Brady, the school's bully, broke every single one of her crayons. She just wanted to color… Is that so bad?
Snap. Crack. Snap. Crack.
He then proceeded to throw them at her.
One by one.
Pick up. Aim. Throw. Hit. Bounce. Land. Repeat.
Finally, she got up and ran away.
She ran off the school's campus, past her house, past her favorite bakery. She ran all of the way to the park, and didn't stop until she reached the swings.
She slammed her little butt down on one and numbly started pumping her legs out of habit.
"Why are they so mean to me, God?" She practically wails at the sky.
"I just want to be liked!"
She lowers her head in her hands and begins crying, just crying.
Tears seep through the cracks in between her fingers and splatter the woodchips below.
Caterina was convinced she was alone, her only company her heartbreak and her broken "Razzmatazz Red" crayon, until she heard footsteps.
"Who goes there!" She snapped, failing at sounding brave.
"I know karate! I'll beat you up! Stay away from me!"
"Calm down karate girl, I'm not going to hurt you." One 14 year old Beckett Oliver said. You could practically feel the smirk dripping from his words.
"Who are you! My mommy said not to talk to strangers!" She screeched out.
Finally, "mystery boy" came into view.
"I'm Beckett. Beckett Oliver. I just moved here from Canada. I saw you running and I decided to follow you. I liked your red hair, and I need cool friends."
She giggled, her tears and fears seeming to vanish instantly.
To Beckett, her giggle was the equivalent of birds singing in the morning, unlimited coffee, and a freshly tuned guitar; all smashed into one. Not that he'd ever tell her that, of course.
"I'm Caterina Valentine. I like kitties and Red Velvet Cupcakes!" She giggled again, quickly grabbing a strand of her Magenta hair and nibbling on the ends.
"I like your name. I can tell you like kitties, given your shirt. Is your hair the same color as those cupcakes? That's pretty rad."
"Hehe, thank you Beckettttt!" Caterina giggled again, thinking the way she dragged out the "T" in his name was silly.
"You're welcome Cattttttttterina!" He retorted, chuckling slightly himself.
"Hey, I like the sound of that… Catttttterina. Cattttttterina. Catttt. Cat." He paused for a second. "I'll call you Cat."
"Teehee, yay! Meow!" She giggled again, swatting the air with her "paw". "I like cats!"
"Yeah, I like them too…" He thought to himself.
He plopped down on the swing next to her.
"So, Cat, what brings you to this park alone in the middle of a school day?"
"Well…" She begins, bursting into tears again instantly.
"Hey, hey, er, it's okay.. Uh, don't cry.. I'm sorry.." He attempted comforting her, feeling incredibly awkward at her sudden outburst of emotions. He's not used to this kind of thing.
"It was Brady! He broke all of my crayons and called me stupid!
"I'm.. Sorry? I'm sorry.."
Beckett attempted comforting her again.
"I just want people to like me! I try so hard! It's bad enough what my daddy does! I don't like it coming from Brady too!"
Beckett was stunned.
"Wh..What does your dad do Cat?" He hesitantly asked, terrified of what her answer might possibly be.
"He.." She begins to tell him, but then stops.
"I HAVE TO GO!"
She screeches.
She practically flies out of her swing and starts running, not even bothering to say goodbye.
"Uh, bye?" Poor, confused Beckett says to no one but the trees.