Peter Paine

“You can’t actually age faster unless you have some sort of condition and I’m assuming you don’t,” Phillip replied, “It’s just my dad and my brother but my dad is retired and I like making sure my brother has everything he needs when he needs it,” He explained, “And I am in my twenties.”

“I don’t know, man, it sure feels like I do.” Peter softly chuckled and then cleared his throat, become more sincere. “But in all honestly, it’s pretty nice that you take care of your brother like that. Seems like not many would do something like that, even if they are family.”

Taylor let out a small shrug to his comment. She herself didn’t know the answer to it either. Why did she always go rushing and finding guys she knew were just bad news? Was it really just because she wanted Peter’s attention for even that second of helping comfort the wounds? Taylor let out a small chuckle and slugged his shoulder, trying to bring light the dark topic. “A man, eh? Like you, Mr. Paine? I didn’t know you were ready to grow up just yet.”

“Me? A man? Never.” Peter assured with a smile, happy to just see her smile and laugh despite the gloomy circumstances. It was one of Taylor’s best qualities that Peter loved to see. And he was now determined to keep it that way. “But come on, how about we at least go do something to take your mind off all this? Whatever you want to do, name it. It’s yours.”

“It seems all quite inappropriate Mr Paine.” Willa raised an eyebrow at the other as she looked back down to her marking. “I Can’t force you from eating here with me, but only if you give me back my papers.” she snapped unimpressed by the others antics.

“Inappropriate? Ouch, I’m crushed.” He joked as he then listened to her next words. And there was the cold words followed after the raised eyebrow. Classic Willa, Peter thought. Something about Willa Drake always intrigued him, made him always want to get her attention. However he just didn’t know how. She wasn’t like everyone else. She didn’t think his pestering was cute or funny. He let out a small sigh, tossing her papers back on the desk, only to look down at them. “What are you doing anyway? School is out for the day. Once that bell rings for the day, you should be done too, right? It’s not like teachers enjoy being... you know... teachers.” He explained with a cocky smile.

“Please, that was anything but an honest mistake.” Flynn told the other rolling his eyes before they narrowed in his direction, “And what makes you think I’ve stolen anything before, do I have the look of thief written all over me?”

“I wasn’t going to take anymore than I needed, obviously.” Peter scoffed and then chuckled, starting to not see the guy as much as a threat as he had been a second ago. “And actually, it’s not really a look more so of an instinct. You see, most wouldn’t have even noticed me let alone catch me in the act as I’ve been taught pretty well from my mentor how to. So, either you have had experience noticing the ‘lost’ members of society or you just have a knack for catching ‘thieves’.”

Taylor softly smiled, despite the circumstances upon hearing Peter’s words. She loved the idea of him seeing her as strong. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed, still not wanting to give away the name of the guy… Because that was the thing; there wasn’t that guy necessarily. Not this time anyway. “No, Peter, just let it go… Just be there for me, alright? Please?”

“Always.” He assured her however Peter inhaled as despite most of him wanting nothing more than to make whoever hurt Taylor regret ever laying a finger on her... He still respected her wishes. He sighed, as he shook his head. “I don’t see what you see in guys like that, Tay. They’re not even men - to hit a girl like that...” He couldn’t even finish as he was still so upset with thinking of Taylor in harm’s way.

“Come on, man, you’ve never heard of a CEO before? It’s someone who is in charge of a business,” Phillip explained simply, “I don’t always enjoy it but it’s the way I earn money to support my family.”

“I’ve heard of it but I never wanted to believe it.” Peter shrugged with a smile. “Terms related to grown up companies and businesses I tend to avoid in my every day discussions. Kind of makes me feel like I’m aging faster the more I talk about it.” He listened to Phillip’s words though more so. “You have to support your whole family? I thought you were like only in your twenties!” He guessed that kind of made sense more now... Then again, Peter wouldn’t really know. He didn’t have a family, but he figured it was just like everything: expensive. 

Maia had learned to not let teenagers play the innocent act around her, she’d always had a thick skin against it other than with her own daughter. “No cops? Then the sponge and bucket it is. Should we go get one together? Or I trust you to remove it and I come back by nightfall? I could easily see if you’ve put any effort into removing your vandalism and decide to call the police then. This is for your own good, Peter. If you keep doing this after you hit 18, the cops won’t chalk up your behaviour to teenage rebellion.”

That was probably one of the reasons why Ms. Gothel was one of Peter’s least favorite teachers. She didn’t take it easy on him, always strict and uptight, kind of a buzzkill to him. He sighed, reminding himself this about her. “Nah... I’m going to be honest, if I don’t go with you, I’ll probably just forget about it.” He answered truthfully with a shrug. He listened more to her lecture and nodded. “They won’t?” He asked with a small smile. “But I’m so adorable. And besides: why is it a crime to spray paint? I’m just making the cruel world a bit more attractive with a splash of color.”

“Come on, man! It was an honest mistake!” Peter continued to try to defend himself from the man who had caught him in mid action right as his hand had pulled away from the lady’s pocket. “Like you haven’t stolen anything before!”

Peri glanced down at her charred patty, eyes wide. “ O-oh, it’s… alright. The burger just has…. character, ” she offered. Lifting it towards to take a bite, she forced herself to chew on it. “ I can honestly say I’ve never had another like it, ” she remarked with a smile. Spending time outdoors in the summer was not one of her main pastimes, unfortunately, but it didn’t leave Peri with a remarkable amount of experience when it came to barbecue food. “ It’s kind that you volunteered to assist with anything food-service related in the first place. What’s your favorite thing to cook ? ” Hopefully not this…

Peter let out a small smile, surprised that not only was this girl being kind about his burnt burger but actually taking a few bites off of it. He let out a chuckle as he sat down across from her at the picnic table, hopefully giving the angry supervisor some time to cool off. “Well, I guess you can that everything I do.” He replied with a smirk. “I often leave that kind of mark on people.” He listened to her next question and let out a nervous chuckle, as he shook his head. “Nah, I’m not much of a cooker. Truth is, it was either volunteering at this or big trouble cause some people can’t handle a harmless joke.”

“Phillip,” He said, shaking his hand, “And I’m not in a funk. I’m working,” He paused, “A CEO.”

Peter cocked his head, curious in the other’s words. “A C...E...O? And you enjoy it, huh? Even with all this... what did you call it... work?”

The boy’s story caused her heart to sink. Nobody deserved that. “Is there anything I can get you? Maybe I can buy you a burger without all those nasty toppings?”

Peter let out a small soft smile as he didn’t need people to feel bad about him, as he was sure plenty had it worse. However who was he to also deny actual food when it was offered? “Um, sure... Thank you.” He replied. “I liked that and a fresh start, if I could be so bold to ask after all this.” He offered his hand for her to shake. “Hi, I’m Peter Paine, nice to meet ya.”