Hooked

“Now why don’t you come out of that closet and come have a chat with me,” Hook said, putting on an air of charm for his scared intruder. He watched as she stood from her crouching positioning, squeezing between him and the open closet door. He hadn’t felt the need to make much room for her. “You’re lucky. You know that, darling? Normally I’d treat a trespasser much worse than this.”

He saw her eyes flicker to the stairs and doorway that would lead her above deck. She’d have to go by Hook to get there though. She could feel herself shaking slightly. Why had she been so stupid? Why did she let her curiosity get the best of her?

“I think now would be the opportune moment to give me your name, seeing as you are on my ship, without any sort of invitation,” he said, stepping closer to her, wondering what had happened to the brave girl he had encountered on the beach. Here in front of him was a cowering young lady, her eyes on the ground, unable to meet his. It was silent as he waited for a reply, and then he saw her lips moving. “You’re gonna have to speak up, dear. Didn’t quite catch that.”

“Ariel,” she said, and he could hear a bit of annoyance laced within the one word. He couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle.

“Ariel,” he said. “Well, Ariel, since you found it necessary to climb aboard my ship this day of all days, you are most definitely in luck! You see, the charming people of this town seem to be catching on to where my ship is.”

Ariel’s head snapped up and she glared at Hook, having an idea of where this was going.

“Now, don’t look at me like that,” he said, feigning hurt. “The thing is, you seem like someone who isn’t well known around here, which is very useful to me. In exchange of me letting you go free from this ship, I’m going to have to ask that you accommodate my needs and allow me to hide out in your home. I think that’s only fair.”

“No,” she said. “No, that is absolutely not happening.”

“Good to know you’ve found your voice,” Hook said. “But I’d reconsider your position in this matter. Your life could depend on it.”

It was then that Ariel noticed that Hook no longer had his hook. Her eyes jumped to the stairs again. She knew he was injured… how much damage could he really do?

Without thinking much about any possible consequences, Ariel took off running towards her escape, but she should have known it would be a pointless effort. Hook wrapped his arm around her front, his hand pushing her away from her exit. She stumbled back, falling backward, her head hitting something hard, causing her to lose consciousness.

---

When Ariel woke up she was extremely confused as to where she was and how she had gotten here. But as she sat up, the memories flooded back and she looked around frantically, ignoring the ache in her head. Hook was sitting at his desk, watching her and it was then that she realized that she was in his bed.

“‘Bout time you woke up, lass,” Hook drawled. “I was worried I’d have to find a new place to hide out.”

She shot him a glare, moving to the edge of the bed and placing her feet on the floor. She felt around on the back of her head carefully, until she came across the spot on her head that she had hit. There was a large bump there and it was quite sore. She stood up carefully.

“I need to go to the hospital,” she said, taking a step forward, eyes carefully trained on Hook.

“Sorry, love,” he said. “I’m afraid you’ll have to do without. I can’t go with you and I can’t risk you getting away from me. You’ll be fine, really.”

“Well, then, can we at least get going to my apartment?” she snapped. She couldn’t believe she was actually going to let this happen… though she really couldn’t see any way of getting out of it. It was now that she wished she had been more social during her time here in Storybrooke.

“Ooh, you’re a feisty one aren’t you?” Hook said, sending her a smirk and a wink. “I like that.”

Ariel rolled her eyes and started to head for the stairs to bring her back up to the deck. She saw Hook from the corner of her eye picking up a bag of his belongings before following her out. She noticed that it was getting dark, which she supposed was good. It’d be a bit easier to sneak Hook into her apartment. Though she was sure no one would notice—no one ever noticed.

---

“A mermaid? You’re a mermaid?” She cringed at the disgust in his voice. How could someone she loved—who claimed to love her in return, be so sickened by what she was? She wasn’t different from these people. She wasn’t an animal, yet she felt like she was being treated like some sick, diseased wild thing that had wandered where it didn’t belong.

“Eric—” she whispered, reaching a hand out and placing it on his arm. He pulled away from her, turning his gaze from her.

“Don’t touch me,” he said. “You’ll leave the castle immediately. Pack your things.”

As the door slammed behind him, leaving her alone, she ran a trembling hand through her hair. Where would she go? Where could she go? There was no way her father would have her back. She didn’t even know if there was a chance of becoming a mermaid again. The tears began to fall in a storm down her face…

Ariel woke up, sitting up carefully as she tried to dry the real tears from her face. She was glad to note that her head didn’t hurt quite so much, thankful for things such as Advil and ice. She took in a shaky breath before climbing out of bed.

She opened the door to her bedroom quietly, peeking out at the couch where Hook was currently sleeping. The moonlight fell from the window across his face and Ariel thought he looked a lot less scary like this.

She wanted desperately to go out for a walk, to get some fresh air, but even though he was sleeping she didn’t trust Hook alone in her apartment. So instead, she went straight for the liquor. It probably wasn’t the best idea, but she needed to take the edge off after her dream.

Once her drink was mixed, she sat at her little kitchen table, and cracked open the window that was there. She took a deep breath as the cold air breezed across her skin. Feeling slightly better, she took a couple gulps of her drink. As always, she hoped that just once she could sleep through the night.

---

Hook wasn’t really sleeping. He had been thinking about his revenge, up until he heard Ariel crying softly in her room. When he heard movement, he had laid back, closing his eyes and listened as she wandered back into her kitchen. He had heard the sound of clinking glass and the sound of liquid being poured.

He opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling. He thought about getting up and talking to her, but even he knew when someone probably wanted to be left alone. It wasn’t long after that he heard her wandering around again. He closed his eyes as she entered the living room. He knew she was watching him, and then she was moving again.

When he opened his eyes again, she was at the large window in front of the couch, her back to him, and a glass in her hand. He could smell the liquor, lingering lightly in the air. He watched as she took a long sip, staring down at the street below her.

There was something about her that just looked sad. He couldn’t help but be curious about what made a pretty girl like her look so worn out. Though he was typically good at reading people, she herself was quite the mystery.