────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄

────── ★★★ ──────

A few days had passed since they met Pierce and he seemed like a pretty decent person. He had been hanging out with them almost every day, even though none of them really ever invited him to. But none of them had anything against Pierce hanging out with them. To their surprise, they never really questioned it. Mainly because he wasn't talking to anyone else in Storybrooke. Which should've been a red flag to Everly, Sam, and Katherine, but they chose to ignore it. The only thing that drove the Jones girl crazy was Pierce's constant flirting, but like everything else, she chose to ignore it.

Just like every other day, the group of teens decided to take a walk around Storybrooke since there wasn't much else to do. They were determined to find places in the town that they had never been to yet. After about an hour of exploring Storybrooke, the four of them decided to head back to Granny's to get something to eat. They just sat in silence as they ate their food, none of them knowing what to say. At least that was until Sam finally broke the silence surrounding them. "So, Pierce, why don't you tell us more about yourself. All we know is your name."

If Everly wasn't paying attention, she would've missed Pierce's body tense. However, he quickly shook off his emotions before looking away from his sandwich to meet the Jones boy's gaze. "There isn't much to tell you. I never had a permanent home in Storybrooke. I would always wander around town but never had a permanent place to stay. I had to rely on people kind enough to let me stay with them."

"So, no family?" Katherine questioned while the Jones siblings continued to watch Pierce with unreadable looks on their faces.

"Nope."

Everly tuned out the rest of Sam's interrogation as she and her redheaded friend continued eating her food. The Jones girl tried her best to hide the smile threatening to form on her lips, amused by how her brother's questions aren't getting him anywhere with Pierce. Everly couldn't help but admit how much the Kai boy was like the rest of them, and yet still so different. And ever since they met him, the Purest Heart sensed something off about Pierce, but she could never figure out what it was.

"So, Everly, do you have any plans for tonight?" Pierce asked with a giant smirk on his face, causing the Jones girl to look up at him while taking another bite of her burger. When Everly didn't answer and continued to stare at him with no emotion in his eyes, the Kai boy's smirk grew even larger. "I'll take that as a no. So, since you're free, how about you and I go out tonight?"

Everly simply chewed her food for a moment longer before swallowing and opening her mouth to respond. "Not gonna happen."

"Please," Pierce said as a more sinister look appeared in his eyes, "for me, Sunshine."

The Jones girl's entire body tensed as soon as she heard his last word. She continued to stare at the smirking boy in front of her as anger began to mix with annoyance flowing through her veins. Everly tried her best to keep her emotions in check, but everyone saw through her walls thanks to her hands beginning to glow. Out of nowhere, the Jones girl slammed her hands on the table and got to her feet, making Sam and Katherine jump while Pierce continued to smile at her. The two of them just stared at each other before Everly broke the silence settling around them. "Never call me that again."

After watching the smile on Pierce's face grow again, Everly turned around and stormed out of the diner, ignoring all the eyes that were on her.

────── ★★★ ──────

A few weeks had passed since Pan's latest threat and Everly still couldn't figure out what he was planning against her. There was very little that she regretted since arriving on Neverland, if there was anything at all. Everything she had done up until then was for the benefit of others, not for herself. The Jones girl couldn't think of a single thing she regretted while being trapped on the nightmare of an island.

"Everly," Sam called out, making the girl in question jump before she turned around to face the blonde boy. The Saved boy just stared at his best friend, not liking the worried look plastered on her face. That lasted for a moment longer before Sam let out a sigh and continued speaking. "If you keep pacing like that, your feet are gonna fall off."

"Can that really happen?" a voice questioned from the other side of the cove, making Everly and Sam look over at a nervous-looking Bobby.

Robby instantly scoffed at his brother before smacking him in the back of the head. "Don't be ridiculous!"

Despite all the emotions she was feeling, Everly couldn't help but smile at the ten-year-olds before a laugh passed over her lips. Bobby and Robby were twin brothers that they rescued about a week ago. It was extremely difficult and they almost lost J.P. but they managed. Throughout all their time together, they discovered that J.P. was a great fisherman and that Bobby and Robby were amazing at hand-to-hand combat thanks to something called "karate." Even though he tended to keep to himself most of the time, Adam showed them just how intelligent he truly was. He was able to develop new archery techniques that no one had ever thought of and created new arrows for everyone to use.

But despite all the happiness in their lives, Everly couldn't get Pan's threat out of her head.

────── ★★★ ──────

Everly found herself sitting on the beach near the docks alone with her thoughts. The sounds of the sea surrounded her as she pulled Roland's arrowhead out of her pocket. The Jones girl just stared at it with sadness in her eyes, longing for the moments she spent with the Hood boy. Roland reminded her that there was still happiness and innocence in the world, which is what Everly needed at that moment. Despite having her friends and family in Storybrooke with her, the Purest Heart had never felt more alone. Everyone else was able to go about their day and continue on with their lives while Everly felt stuck. She desperately wanted that feeling to go away, but knew it wouldn't happen anytime soon.

As she continued to study the arrowhead in her hands, a thought popped into Everly's head, making her eyebrows scrunch together. Her attention returned to the ocean in front of her as the Jones girl tried to figure out how Pierce possibly knew Felix's nickname for her. Sure, she told him about who Felix was after the Kai boy insisted on following them to the cemetery one day. But Everly was entirely certain she never told him about what Felix used to call her. So how on earth would he know about that name?

Everly's thoughts were soon interrupted by a hand being placed on her shoulder, making the Jones girl jump out of her skin before turning around to find Katherine sitting next to her. The two girls just stared at each other for a long moment before Everly let out a sigh and broke the silence surrounding them. "You don't need to tell me I overreacted. I already know I did."

"No one thinks you overreacted. Pierce was out of line and pushed you too far," the Scott girl responded, only to find Everly staring back out at the ocean again with a blank look in her eyes, "is there something else bothering you?"

"It's just...how did he know to call me Sunshine?"

"He probably just came up with it."

The Jones girl hesitated, unsure if she was going crazy or if she had the right to be suspicious of Pierce. But then she remembered the smirk on the Kai boy's face and how it grew the moment Felix's nickname for her passed over his lips. Everly let that moment play over and over in her head a few times before finally opening her mouth to respond. "He didn't just come up with it, Katherine. He knew it would bother me. I could tell by the look in his eyes. But what I don't understand is how he knew. The only people who I told about that nickname are you, Sam, and Killian. So how did he know to call me Sunshine?"

────── ★★★ ──────

Hours passed of Everly and Sam trying to figure out what Pan was planning, but they came up empty-handed. So instead of sitting around the cove with her thoughts, the Jones girl left to meet up with Felix. While she waited for the Lost Boy to arrive, Everly continued to think about Pan's threat. Because she was so lost in her own head, the former Lost Girl failed to realize someone was climbing up the tree until Felix was sitting next to her.

"You know your face can freeze like that," the Thorne boy teased with a childish smirk after seeing the scrunched-up look on Everly's face, only for his smile to fade when she didn't respond, "what's wrong? Does this have something to do with your run-in with Pan?"

Everly's entire body tensed as she looked over at the boy sitting next to her. "He told you about that?"

"Of course, he did. But he didn't make a big deal about it so why is it bothering you so much?" Felix responded, earning a sigh from the Jones girl as she moved closer to his side.

"He threatened to use my biggest regret against me and I can't figure out what he means," Everly explained while the Thorne boy continued to stare down at her with a blank expression on his face, "the only things that Sam and I have been able to think of are Ollie and Al, but I don't see how he can them other than making me feel guilty. Which I already do and have been since they died."

"Well, is there anything you wish never happened?" Felix asked, only to receive a small shake of the head from Everly in response to his question, "is there anything you wish happened but didn't?"

The moment the question finished leaving the Thorne boy's mouth Everly froze. Her mouth was open but she was unable to respond as a million thoughts bounced around in her head. She was angry with herself for being so blind. She knew she should've thought of it sooner. It was the only thing on the island that Pan could use against her and come out on top.

"What is it?" Felix questioned, drawing Everly's attention to him before she swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

"I wasn't able to save a boy. Pan cornered me and I was barely able to get away."

"Who was it?"

"Vincent."

────── ★★★ ──────

Everly and Katherine spent another hour just sitting on the beach before making their way back to Granny's. They were surprised to find a party happening, only to find out it was to celebrate the release of the fairies from the Sorcerer's hat. It wasn't long after they arrived when they found Sam and Pierce sitting in the same booth they left them in before the girls joined them once again.

"Everything okay?" Sam questioned as soon as Everly was sitting down in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. There's just one thing that's still bothering me," the Jones girl told them before turning to face Pierce, who still had a smirk plastered to his lips, "how did you know to call me Sunshine?"

Once again, the Kai boy's smirk grew in response to Everly's question. "I made it up."

"No, you didn't. You know it would bother me," the Purest Heart declared with determination in her voice while Sam and Katherine watched their conversation unfold, "who told you about it?"

The sinister look in Pierce's eyes soon returned as he leaned closer to the Jones girl until he was right next to her ear. It wasn't long after that when the Kai boy whispered a name that Everly hadn't heard in years.

"Vincent."

Everly's blood instantly ran cold as she stared at Pierce. Her brain was unable to form a response, causing her to look over at Sam, only to find him looking as though he just saw a ghost. However, the Jones boy snapped out of his shocked state before his sister was able to and asked the question that was going through both of their minds. "How do you know Vincent?"

"Family friend," Pierce told them before a sinister smile appeared on his face, "but I know he's not your friend."

"I thought you said you didn't have a family," Katherine said, still unsure of what was going on around her.

"I did have a family...but that was a long time ago."

It wasn't long after that when Everly finally snapped out of her daze and focused all of her attention on Pierce. "Where is Vincent?"

"He's looking for you actually," the Kai boy responded after moving his gaze back to the Purest Heart, "he's currently at your favorite spot in town to visit your favorite person. He's looking to settle old scores, Little Lost Girl."

────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────