Remy's POV:

The others were cheering and congratulating Alex for spotting the cave and slapping me on the back for spotting the sword. I, however, was not altogether happy. As we walked back to camp to share our news I clutched the sword hilt, wondering why it didn't bring me some sort of comfort or sanctuary. But I knew why. It was there, in that cave, where my blood was. And why was it there, anyways? Surely, someone would've spotted it before. To me, the hiding place seemed a little too reckless. To me, it looked as though it had been moved. By who, I didn't know.

I had put the dirty rag back on the blade, afraid of what might happen if I didn't. I studied the hilt carefully. It was silver, and the design was that of a birds wings. Feathers wrapped around the handle and spread out into two separate wings, the guard. The little ball on top was smooth and plain, but beautiful all the same. Raybha wasn't joking when she said these guys liked their birds.

I heard more cheers and laughter from the lads. For a second, I thought of the other groups joy of our finding, and it made me smile. But then the smile disappeared as quickly as it'd surfaced, because I didn't know what this meant for Peter. Not to mention everybody else in the tribe. This seemed to be the end of the dreaded mission. I could be home the next day.

But somehow I knew it wasn't going to be as simple as that.

"Hold up," Sean yelled. I hadn't noticed he was ahead of us. In front of him was a particularly huge tree – and it had fallen. This was the path we had taken only an hour or so before. I frowned.

"Talk about bad luck," Sean said as the lads and I caught up. He sighed. "Remy, know any shortcuts?"

The waves were crashing to my right, and I could see the sand behind the trees.

"We can circle it. Through the beach," I said, a little stiff. They knew what was on the waters.

"Sure. We'll follow you."

I handed him the sword, turned and stomped on plants and twigs, fighting my way through wayward branches to get to the beach. If he was there, I wanted to show him I wasn't afraid, even though I kinda was. We got onto the sand, and suddenly the sun opened up. I shaded my eyes and scoured the waters. They were bright blue and from what I could see unoccupied. I clutched the sword even tighter. Somehow it didn't feel like a good sign.

Curly and Sean were clearly happy with no ship and ran ahead, chasing each other and pelting each other with wet sand. Sean was dragging the sword along behind him. I couldn't help laughing and I was glad he had come here.

"Hi."

"Hey." Alex walked beside me.

"How're you?" I asked, my voice squeaking pathetically.

"I'm okay. You?"

"I'm good."

"Thanks," I said. "For finding the cave." I tried to sound more enthusiastic.

"No problem." He sighed. "Are we okay, Remy?"

My cheeks reddened. "Yeah!" I squeaked. "Sure we are. Why?"

He smiled and my cheeks got even warmer. "No reason. We haven't talked in forever! How are you, truly, Heroine of Neverland?"

I held back a giggle. God, I was such a girl.

"I am most well, common Irish boy," I said, laughing. "What are you smiling at, peasant?"

"Our last immensely hilarious conversation. It's been ages."

My heart skipped at the very mention of it.

"Yeah, I remember it all," I grinned. "Lucy."

"Jamie," he said immediately.

I meant to shove him playfully but I went a little too hard and he lost his balance. I cracked up laughing at his bewildered and surprised little face, hair dusted with sand. He sat up, looking at me. Then he looked at the water that was coming in further, wetting our shoes. Then he looked at me again.

I ran for it, laughing and squealing in fear when I heard him right behind me. I was never a very fast runner, and he was much faster than I was.

"Oi! You're not getting away!" he yelled, though he was just behind me. Amazingly, he was slower than I was and I was plenty happy with my success. Only when I turned around, he wasn't even breaking a sweat. Or trying.

"You absolutely cannot let me win!" I yelled, half – furious half – joking. "That is absolutely –"

"Letting you win?" he asked, grinning. "Who said I was doing that?"

Oh God. I had stopped for just the right amount of time for him. I legged it again with all my might, water splashing everywhere, my soaked shoes throwing soggy sand up behind me. When I turned, I practically screamed. He was right on my heels, sprinting faster than I'd ever seen anyone sprint before. I launched into survival mode, my arms moving back and forth, my hands straightened out, my elbows kicking back and forth. It was nowhere near enough, and there was a hand just at my back. Then another, and in a split second they were around my waist. I desperately tried to break free and attempted to slap them away, but it was like they were made out of bricks. Suddenly I was in the air.

"Hey! Put me down! I know my rights!"

I was trying to sound serious but I couldn't stop laughing. An arm broke away from my waist and I screamed, fearing I was going to fall. But I didn't. The arm caught my legs and suddenly I was being carried like a bride. My face flushed when I saw his face was so close to mine, and his walk slowed.

I was mentally swooning.

"I – eh – uh – you – I – um –" I stammered. Suddenly the giddiness seemed to sort of fall away from his face and his eyes were directly looking into mine. Ridiculously, I noticed they weren't really blue at all. They were more green, sort of a greeny blue. I was blushing like a fool, not sure if I knew where this was headed. I couldn't. I couldn't do it. If I knew what 'it' was. He seemed unsure too. I was clearly panicking, and he quickly set me down onto the sand beside him. I couldn't help being relieved, but disappointed at the same time. He looked nervous, and crossed his arms before uncrossing them again. I wasn't sure what to do either. We walked side by side, looking anywhere but each other. I had to say something.

"Al –"

"It's fine."

"It's not, though!" I said, almost stamping my foot in frustration. He looked at me, a little afraid.

"No, I'm not mad – well, I am mad, just not at you. I'm mad at me. I don't know what I'm doing, what I'm going to do, and I don't wanna hurt you or lie to you! Or anyone else!"

We both knew I was talking about Peter.

"It's fine. No bothers." He shrugged, but he wouldn't look at me.

"Hey! You two! Hurry up!" Sean yelled, holding the sword up in a mock threat. I sort of sighed with relief. He was standing at the very edge of the forest. Curly was beside him.

"Thought we lost you! Come on!"

They hadn't seen anything.

"We're coming!" I yelled.

He looked a bit suspicious but went ahead anyways, Curly tagging along. I sped up my pace. It was horribly awkward.

"If I tell you something," he suddenly said, "do you promise not to get mad?"

I was surprised he was even speaking to me. "Okay. What?"

He smiled a little. "My middle name is Alex."

I was confused. "I…oh. Wait, what? Okay. Howcome you use your middle name? And why would I be mad?"

"My great granddad's name was Alex. He was some sort of war hero, or something. So when I went to visit my granddad, he insisted on calling me Alex, 'cos he thought it was the honourable thing to do. I used to visit my granddad all the time, but when he died, the name still stuck. Everyone calls me Alex now. Even my parents still do." He looked out towards the sea, avoiding my eye. "I thought you'd be mad 'cos I technically never properly introduced myself."

I shook my head, knowing he was looking out of the corner of his eye. "Nah. Why would I be mad?"

We had just reached the trees, so I stopped and held out my hand to him. "How do you do. My first name is Remy, and my middle name is Maria. And you are?"

He smiled, taking my hand and shaking it. "Evening, Remy. My first name is Tadhg, and my middle name is Alex. Take your pick."

I smiled and he held on to my hand for a few seconds too long, before dropping it. He looked a bit mortified, pink spreading across his face.

"Still a little blusher," I laughed. "Tadhg."

We both laughed before mutually realising we were way behind the lads, and both took off in a sprint, challenging each other, even though he didn't know where he was going. It wasn't long before I spotted the backs of Sean and Curly, a little ahead of us. They were just at the camp. Alex - Tadhg suddenly grabbed my arm, putting a finger to his lips. I grinned and we both crept forward, hidden by bush, planning to scare the lives out of them.

"…you heard him that day," Curly whispered. "He still likes her. Loves her even. Haven't you seen the way he looks at her?"

We both froze, Tadhg's grip still strong on my arm. It didn't take a genius to know who they were talking about.

Sean sighed. Their walk slowed.

"I know," he said. "But…I don't want to talk about it. Remy's my best friend. She'd kill me if she knew I was talking about…her affairs."

He was damn right I would. I didn't want to hear anymore, and I didn't want Tadhg to hear anymore. I didn't want Peter to love me. I didn't. I didn't.

I stood up from the bush bringing Tadhg up with me. He released my arm and we joined them quietly, letting them believe we had only just caught up. But if we had really only just caught up, I still would've noticed the sneaky looks Sean was giving me. He handed me the sword too.

The group's mood was dampened. Rain started as we entered the camp. Lightly at first, then it crept into a downpour, drenching all of us. I didn't care, but I wasn't happy. Finding the sword had been an unusually easy accomplishment, and until I had Raybha check it over, I was staying skeptical. The boys all sat around the wet campfire, waiting as they always did. Peter looked up as we arrived. He looked at Sean, then Curly, then Tadhg, then me. And then the sword that was in my hand.

His eyes widened, rain drizzling down his face. He looked like a small homeless child. "Is that…is that…"

I gave a quick nod, trying to make my eyes happy.

"You, you, you found…you found it?"

"We. We found it," I said, my voice sounding odd. For some reason there was a lump in my throat.

"We found it!" I yelled, again and again, thrusting it up into the air. The lads practically screamed like little girls, jumping up, hugging each other, hugging me, hugging Peter, cheering until their voices strained. In that moment my skepticism faded away, because I so wanted to believe we had found it, and there was no catch. But I had to know. For certain.

I grabbed Peter's arm amidst the celebrations. "Come on. We need to show Raybha."

A/N: I'm not altogether happy with this chapter. I'm sick and I have a writer's block. Ugh. Please review, and thank you to strawberrymagic01 for the continued support and comments! xx