Peter's POV
As the week progresses, I begin to get the feeling that Cat is gradually warming up to me. I can still feel her resentment towards me, and it's understandable that she feels this way considering I haven't exactly been the nicest to her. What I don't understand is why her feelings of resentment are so strong. She tries to hide it, but whenever I get close to her or touch her, she goes rigid as if she's preparing for an attack. There have only been a few moments when she has let her guard down enough that I got to see her smile. And not a fake one she has plastered on for other people's benefit. Its a genuine smile that goes all the way to her eyes, causing them to shine bright like sapphires in the dark of night.
I silently watch her as she performs the protection spell for what feels like the hundredth time today. We have come to this same little clearing multiple times over the past few days for her to practice, and each day she improves. She has excelled far faster than I originally thought she would have, and no longer needs to raise her hands to direct her magic. She does still have to close her eyes to envision her happy memory though, but will eventually be able to perform the spell without needing to concentrate so hard.
I begin to wonder what her happy memory is. According to Curly, Cat's life has been full of disappointments, which explains why she struggles recalling happy memories to fuel her magic. I wish she trusted me enough to share her own story with me, but I know I should just be patient and wait until she's ready to open up. Besides, its not like I've known her that long.
"How was that?" she asks, bringing me back out of my thoughts.
"Perfect," I say rewarding her with a smile. "I want you to do it one more time before we head back. This time though, I want you to try it without closing your eyes."
Her smile fades as she says, "I don't think I'm ready for that yet, Pan."
For a moment, I stand there in shocked silence. That was the first time she has ever been so honest about something with me without it coming out as sarcastic or overly blunt.
"Well, you'll never know if you never try. Besides, you're already able to do it without raising your hands. If you can do that already, you can surely do it without too much concentration," I say, and smirk at her with the hope that she missed my slight moment of silent shock.
She flashes me a little smirk of her own and I know she caught it. I sigh exasperatedly and after a moment, she follows suit. "Alright. I'll try," she concedes, albeit reluctantly.
She takes a deep breath and I can see her envisioning the wall again inside her head.
"Just look at me. Don't close your eyes," I direct.
Her eyes lock onto mine and before we both know it, a shimmering veil passes between us and her protection spell is in place. A wide grin spreads across her face as she realizes she has successfully pulled it off, and I smile back.
"I told you," I say.
"Yes, yes you did," she replies as the veil disappears. "So what are you going to teach me next?"
Her eagerness causes me to laugh. "Nothing else today. You look drained enough as it is."
She frowns at this and I chuckle. "Don't worry though. That only makes what's coming tomorrow even more special," I say. I then walk past her in the direction of camp and she hurries slightly to catch up with me.
After a moment of silence, she speaks. "I wanted to thank you. You know, for teaching me," she says, looking straight ahead of us.
"It is my pleasure, milady," I tease and she smiles thinly.
"I mean it, Peter," she says, glancing up at me. My breath catches when she calls me by my first name. Its rare when any one calls me that, and it always seems to knock me off guard. Even more so with her since she's normally so tense around me.
"My mom never saw any reason to teach me how to use my powers," she continues quietly. "I guess she thought I could potentially become a threat, so I never got a chance to learn. Sure I was able to teach myself the simpler, everyday things like levitation, summoning, and teleportation, but I have never really been able to have full control over my powers until now. So thank you."
"Its no trouble. You're actually pretty easy to teach," I say truthfully.
She smiles up at me, one of her rare, genuine ones this time, and then we fall into silence once again.
Most of our walks to and from the clearing are like this. Neither of us speak as we just enjoy each other's company. I smile when I think of how she shared a part of her story with me and I begin to feel more confident about her eventually opening up to me. Just telling a small part shows progress, and I feel relief knowing that she trusts me, even if it is just a little bit.
"I want you to know that if you ever needed someone to talk to, I'd be more than happy to listen to whatever it is you have to say," I tell her.
"I'll keep that in mind," she replies, a rather strained smile on her lips.
Without giving the action much thought, I reach out and grasp her fingers in mine. She stiffens immediately at my touch and swiftly pulls her hand away, clasping her hands together in front of her. To my dismay, I feel a twinge of pain in my chest and am suddenly repulsed by what I just did. What is wrong with me? Why the heck am I trying to sway this girls feelings in my favor? The Shift will occur in just a few weeks and then I will be through with her and will never have to see her again, so what does it matter if she likes me?
I look over at her and see that she's now twisting her hands where she clasped them in front of her just moments before. She looks very upset which only causes me to frown and instead of apologizing like I planned to, I look away from her and we continue our journey back to camp in silence.
At dinner that night, I find it infuriatingly difficult to keep my gaze from following Cat as she walks around and converses with many of the boys. She occasionally will glance towards me and when she does, I immediately turn my attention elsewhere. But to my frustration, my eyes still continue to seek her out despite my desperate efforts against it.
"Sight-seeing tonight, are we Pan?" Curly asks teasingly, plopping down next to me on the log I'm sitting on.
I jab him with my elbow and glare icily at him, but refuse to say anything that would egg him on.
This doesn't serve the purpose I'd hoped it would have, because it only leads him to laugh out, "The great and benevolent Peter Pan is speechless! What has the world come to?"
I glare at him, softer this time, and turn my attention back to the scene before me. Cat is now holding Michael in her lap as the boys all settle down around her to eat.
She has cooked dinner tonight; a very delicious stew, with all the game the boys had caught while out hunting today. It was kind of funny earlier, because when each boy brought her his offering, she praised them profusely for their hard work, no matter how scrawny or bloodied the game looked, and each boy reveled in her praise.
"Aw. Does Pan have a crush?" Curly teases again, leaning in and using a baby voice while batting his eyelashes and pursing his lips.
This time I actually shove him clean off the log we're sitting on. He lands on the ground practically roaring with laughter and I can't help but smirk slightly at his laughter.
He gets back up and repositions himself on the log, still slightly laughing. "I take it I guessed correctly then?"
I turn and glare at him at him before looking away again. I can tell that he caught the hint of a smile on my lips since he continues to chuckle, so I get up and move away from him, which only leads him to laugh more.
As I stroll around the camp, some of the boys come up to me asking if I would play my pipe tonight. I hadn't played since Cat got here and am so desperate for a distraction that I happily agree.
After everyone finishes eating, I call everyone's attention and tell them to get out their drums and other instruments. They cheer excitedly as they hurry about to get everything in place. I then go and situate myself on the log I usually occupy when I play. Once everyone else is ready, I begin.
The boys dance excitedly around the bonfire and at some point, are able to convince Cat to join in. She moves gracefully and once she starts dancing, it becomes hard for me to concentrate on my music.
I quickly close my eyes and turn my concentration to my pipe. It works for a while until I feel someone sit down next to me. I re-open my eyes and glance over to see who it is. It's Cat and she gives me a small smile when she catches my eye. She looks beautiful sitting there with the firelight dancing in her hair, her cheeks slightly flushed from the exercise, and I find that I can't tear my eyes away from her.
"You play beautifully," she comments quietly from where she sits.
I nod to her in thanks, hoping she gets how I can't stop playing to reply to her.
"They really enjoy this, don't they?" she asks.
I nod again and send her a look that I hope tells her that I am unable to converse with her at the moment. She seems to get the message and sheepishly says, "Oh! Sorry. Guess you really can't really talk right now can you?"
I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to the dancing group of boys. She sits silently next to me and after a while, leans in and places her head on my shoulder.
The action surprises me so much that I miss a note. She giggles and I grimace slightly at the effect she has on me, but don't push her away. She feels warm with her body pressed up against mine and I can't help but wonder what it would be like to fall asleep next to her. I nearly miss another note at the thought and firmly try to shake it from my mind. Where the heck did that come from?
I desperately want to push her away then, but when I look down at her, I see one of her rare, genuine smiles gracing her lips and just can't bring myself to do it.
So we sit there just like that, her head resting gently on my shoulder as I play, until eventually her breathing regulates in sleep. I can't help but smirk. Guess she trusts me more than I thought.
About an hour later, I stop playing and tell the boys to get to bed. I also ask them to be quiet so they won't wake up Cat, who is still sleeping peacefully beside me, and they all silently retreat into their tents for the night. I easily lift Cat into my arms and begin to carry her towards her and Curly's tent.
"I can take her if you want," Curly offers, but I shake him off.
"No, its alright. I got her," I say.
I see him smirk slightly as he opens the flap to their tent for me and I duck inside. I then gently place her on the palette Curly had made for her when she first got here. Before I get up however, I place a small kiss on her forehead and whisper, "Good night, Catherine."
I then stand up, nod to Curly, and exit their tent without another word.