Hello! This is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy! If you like it, please follow or review! I would love to hear your thoughts!
In this chapter, I wrote the same scene twice, first in Wendy's POV and then in Peter's.
Enjoy!
"What are you doing?" A voice came through my dreamless sleep.
"She can't sleep on the dirt," Another said.
"She did this to herself, Felix."
"Get over yourself, Pan." Felix grumbled back. He must have been fighting with Peter about me. I didn't want to open my eyes to see.
I felt someone lift me from the ground. One arm was beneath my knees and the other was cradling my shoulders. The person, I assume Felix, began walking.
"She came here. I didn't force her."
Felix stopped and gripped my knee harder. "She's just some girl that got dropped here. She did nothing to you and yet you punish her to sleep on the ground? She wouldn't even eat because you told her not to."
There was no regret in Peter's voice. "Why should she take away our food?"
"If she doesn't eat, she's going to die."
"And? It's the first night they're here she isn't going to die."
Felix sighed and continued walking. "She's not going to eat. She's going to play this little game of yours until you give her more respect or until she passes out or dies."
"Felix, you're very dramatic tonight."
"You better keep an eye on her. If she dies, it will be your fault."
I imaged Peter rolling his eyes. "Maybe she shouldn't be so stupid."
I wanted to 'wake up' and punch him right in the face. He didn't even know me and he was calling me stupid. Stupid for following his rules.
"Go to bed, Peter." Was all that Felix responded.
I felt air rush past me as Felix climbed a ladder into one of the houses. He lightly placed me onto a soft bed and I sank into the blankets. "He's an idiot, Wendy."
I opened my eyes and Felix was looking down at me. "How'd you know I woke up?"
He gave me a half smile. "Your breathing changed."
I exhaled and looked around. The room was bare except for a few woven blankets that covered parts of the walls. A few weapons, a club and various knives hung around the room and on a table pushed near the window. "Is this your room?"
He nodded and looked away. "You can't sleep on the floor."
I gave him a sad smile. "I'll sleep on the floor, you can have your bed."
He shook his head looking at me again. "Don't worry about it. I'll go find an empty bed."
"Are you sure?" I felt bad for taking his bed and his room. He could sleep on the mattress, I didn't mind the floor.
"I'll check on you tomorrow."
"Thank you, Felix."
"You're welcome, Wendy." He gave me a departing smile and walked out of the small house. I curled onto my side again, wrapping his cold blanket around me. I knew I would be grateful for Felix after this. He would be someone I could trust. I fell asleep again, going into the deepest parts of my mind where I could finally relax for the first time all night.
I awoke to the quiet noise of what sounded like rubbing rocks. I opened my eyes to Peter sitting in a chair near the window with his feet propped onto the table. He was sharpening a silver blade against a rock. He looked like he belonged in one of the catalogs my uncle used to get about camping where a guy would be sharpening his hunting tools except this scene was mixed with teenage rebellion.
I closed my eyes again and turned over, covering my ears with the pillow.
"I'll pretend you didn't do that." He said softly to himself.
I didn't move the pillow. "I'll pretend you don't exist."
He laughed and I rolled my eyes before removing the pillow from my head. He wasn't looking at me, instead, he was still focused on the blade before him. I sat up and moved my legs off the bed.
"Did you have a nice rest?" He asked me, putting down the rock and the knife. He looked at me expectantly like I was supposed to be grateful that I slept on the floor for half of it.
I nodded. "Wonderful."
He pulled his lips into a smirk. "I think we got off to a wrong start."
I shook my head and pursed my lips. "I don't believe we did." I saw his true nature and that's all I needed to see.
"We need to make amends before one of us gets hurt. That being you."
I stood up from the bed. "I'm not apologizing nor accepting your fake apology."
I gathered my hair into a ponytail as he watched me curiously from his chair. He moved his feet off the table and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "It's not fake."
I turned my body towards him as I pulled on my jacket. I kept my eyes on him. "I may be 'stupid' in your eyes but I hope you soon become fully aware that I'm not."
He raised an eyebrow and the smirk faded from his face into a hard line. "On the contrary, Gwendolyn. I don't believe you're stupid at all." He stood up from the chair. "You're vacuous, foolish, and insipid." He stepped closer to me, challenging me. "Not stupid."
I wasted no time between his insults and my response. "And you're insolent-" His eyes widened slightly before settling to slits again. They grew darker with every word I used. "-impudent, and disparaging."
He took another step forward so he was only inches away from me. I didn't look up to meet his eyes and I was staring at the base of his throat. I felt his breath near my ear as he leaned down. "Watch yourself," he warned. "Or you really are stupid."
I closed my eyes in frustration and anger. He had no right to insult me and retaliate if I give it back to him. I still felt his breath against me and if we were in other circumstances and he was another person, it might have made my heart skip but here it just made me ashamed to be here in his presence.
I opened my eyes and looked up at him. I couldn't help it but tears were glossing over my eyes and the color had drained from my face. His face was stone, no emotion played out, no anything. Just blank anger. He opened his mouth to speak, probably to add another nail to my coffin, but I turned on my heel without another word and walked out of Felix's house.
Peter's POV
She was sleeping when I walked into the Felix's home. During the night, I had hoped that he would have rethought his decision and brought her back outside where she wanted to be but as I watched her small frame rise and fall as she breathed, I was grateful for his stubbornness. If I would have checked on her during the night and she stayed outside, I would have no doubt brought her to my own room and let her sleep there. I didn't need her thinking I was here to help her but she was too fragile to be sleeping outside.
I walked towards the small table against the window. When my boot stepped on one of the boards, it creaked beneath my weight and I glanced at her sleeping body. She sighed softly and turned over to face me, her eyes still filled with dreams. If only I could see into her head, a part of my brain thought to itself. I shook it off. Wendy was stubborn and was destined to bring trouble to the island, I knew that much. Something about her rebellious demeanor scared me. She wasn't afraid to start a fight or conflict and that needed to stop.
She moved her hand to her head, pushing back the dark hair that had strewn itself over her face. As much as I didn't want to admit it, she was beautiful. She had a heart shaped face with large eyes, a light blue when they were opened, a small, straight nose, and full pink lips that bordered on a light red. Her eyebrows, rested in neutral curved lines, were thicker but brought out her eyes even more. I don't know if it was luck or not having her on the island but I know I wouldn't mind seeing her face every day, in fact I think I would look forward to it.
What was I doing? I was turning into a sap by just looking at her. Hopefully she would wake up soon and I could remember why I didn't want her here. She was a challenge when she talked. A walking, breathing challenge.
She sighed again and I forced my eyes away from her. If she were to wake up, she would most likely through a fit. I would too if I was her. I was practically drooling over her and it was frankly quite creepy of me.
I took a seat at the table, putting my feet on top of it, and pulled my dagger from my belt. I also reached over and grabbed the small rock off the table. I gave Wendy one more hour before waking up and I needed to kill time so I began sharpening the blade against the rock. Maybe it would scare her into obedience. I almost laughed at the thought. I didn't know her at all but I could imagine she didn't scare easily.
I sat in silence and the sound of the blade growing sharper for a while. Every so often, Wendy would stir in the bed and give me hope that she was waking but she would just settle and stay still until she did it again a while later. Maybe she had trouble sleeping? Maybe it was just Felix's bed? I wonder if she would be able to sleep in mine. I shook my head to remove the thought. I might need her to leave quicker than I intend to so I could have my thoughts back.
Finally, I saw her breathing stop and I knew she woke up. She was trying to act like she wasn't awake by slowing her breathing but it just made it more obvious. She groaned quietly and pulled a pillow over her head.
She wanted to be invisible so I figured I would point it out. "I'll pretend you didn't do that." I stated softly and focused on the blade in my hand.
She didn't remove the pillow. "I'll pretend you don't exist." Her voice was muffled by the cotton and I laughed. She didn't know how well I could hear. She would learn.
I didn't look up from the rock but I heard the bed squeak from her moving. "Did you have a nice rest?" I looked up at her and she was sitting on the edge of the bed, cautiously touching the wooden floor with her foot.
She nodded. "Wonderful."
I pulled my lips into a smirk. She was full of pride and sarcasm. "I think we got off to a wrong start."
She shook her head, her hair falling around her shoulders like a curtain. I wanted to run my fingers through it. "I don't believe we did." She glanced over at me. She was serious.
I licked my lips and put on my best apologetic smile. "We need to make amends before one of us gets hurt. That being you."
"I'm not apologizing nor accepting your fake apology." She stood up and pulled on her boots. Somehow she managed to see through my apology.
She gathered her hair into a ponytail as I watched in amusement. Just a few moments ago it was in a tangled mess and now it was tamed by an elastic. I don't remember the last time I've seen a girl do her hair, let alone put it up. "It's not fake." I removed my feet from the desk and leaned forward to rest my elbows on my knees.
She faced me as she pulled on her jacket, covering her loose shirt. "I may be 'stupid' in your eyes but I hope you soon become fully aware that I'm not." Her words had fire beneath them. How did she know I called her stupid? My face faded to a hard line. I knew Felix wouldn't dare say anything so she must have been listening. I had to commend her on her listening skills.
I raised an eyebrow before I spoke with an underlying tone of poison. "On the contrary, Gwendolyn. I don't believe you're stupid at all." I didn't. I thought her act of challenging me was stupid, just as it was now. I stood up from the chair and stepped towards her. "You're vacuous, foolish, and insipid." I chose my words carefully because they each held their own weight. They could have been used separately just fine but all together they created more of an effect. "Not stupid."
She almost cut me off with her quick response. "And you're insolent-" Her voice shook a little as she began her own list of things I was. Each lit a fire inside me that she did not want lit. "-impudent, and disparaging."
It wasn't the fact that she was challenging me like I did her. It was the fact that she was insulting me that bothered me so much. I had never been disrespected so much within twenty four hours than I did since she walked through the forest. This was my island and I would not take it. Sure, I had insulted her, but she needed to be put in her place.
I took another advancing step. She didn't move her eyes from my chest which made me feel a little victorious in this battle. I leaned down, her fading scent of vanilla caught in my nose, almost making me stop. She's just a girl. "Watch yourself," I ignored my inner debate as I added more poison to my voice. "Or you really are stupid."
Her breathing stopped and I instantly felt guilty. She was probably scared at my closeness. I was scared at my closeness. She looked even more fragile standing beneath me than she did lying in the bed. Before I could say anything, she looked up at me and I knew I made a mistake. Her eyes were glassy from newly formed tears and her face was pale from what I assume embarrassment. I wrung her out and even if it was just her and I, it was still humiliating.
I wanted to apologize for my rudeness and I'm not sure, comfort her? She was just a lost girl, just like a Felix warned. When I opened my mouth to say something, she turned on her heel and walked out the door. I was left angry, confused, and ashamed of myself.
Thank you for reading! Did you like the different POVs? I hope that it was conveyed well! When I was writing it, I kept thinking how it would be nice to hear Peter's take on it. I don't know if it works or not but I would love to hear your thoughts! Should I do it again? Maybe for another "significant" scene like this?
Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day! :)
