But October 4th, I goofed up.
Tangled Fan came in with two boxes, and set them on the bed.
"Let's go see what it is, guys," I told Emma and Piper.
"Why? If they're dolls, they can fend for themselves. I don't think our shelf can handle more dolls!" Zelia whined.
"If nobody goes, I'll go." I said, standing and retrieving Pascal from his napping spot.
Emma and Piper exchanged helpless glances, and then they followed me down to the deck.
I knocked on the side of the shelf and peeked in on Eugene.
"Hey!" He said, giving me a huge grin, walking over.
"Hi," I smiled. "We're going to see what's in the boxes Tangled Fan just put on her bed. Do you want to come?"
"Don't-" Emma broke off, glancing towards Piper.
"Why not?"
"You're going to get in trouble with Zelia,"
I glanced towards Eugene and he suppressed a grin. "It'll be okay." I said. "You coming, Eugene?"
"Only because you're go-er...only because you asked."
I laughed and the four of us went to the bed.
When we got there, a redhead was already helping her platinum-blonde sister out of her plastic box.
"Hello," Piper called.
I suddenly got stricken with shyness, and Eugene, who was lagging behind me, nearly rammed into me because of my sudden slow-down.
"Hey! Can you show us where we're supposed to go? I'm Anna, by the way..and this is my sis, Elsa." The redhead said, finally yanking her sister out of the box and helping her up.
"From the new movie, Frozen?" Emma asked.
"You nailed it!" Anna said, coming over. "Who are all of you? From Tangled?"
"Mm-hmm. I'm Piper,"
"And I'm Emma. We're sisters. That's Rapunzel, and Eugene."
"Hi," Anna said, and Elsa smiled warmly at us.
I took both the girls' appearances in. Anna looked like us - just redhead, with greenish eyes and freckles. But her sister had pale skin and bright blue eyes. They were both very pretty!
"Are you guys...?" Elsa trailed off, looking at Eugene and I.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Together. Cause you look adorable together and Emma introduced your names together...?"
I drew in a deep breath, surprised, and turned to glance at Eugene. He wore a surprised expression as well.
"Um...N-no," I stammered. "We're j-just,....friends."
"Oh, okay," she said.
We headed back for the shelf, and Eugene hung back, walking beside me.
"What's up?" I asked quietly.
"Um..just..." he trailed off, and I could tell he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Finally, he sighed. "Just wanted to walk back with you."
I gave him a small smile, but my breath caught when he brushed his hand against mine - I couldn't tell if it was by accident or not. I willed myself not to freak out too much. He'd likely done it by accident.
When we got back to the shelf, Zelia was waiting for us on the deck.
Oh, no.
"What are you doing with that?" She exclaimed, pointing at Eugene.
I bristled. "Leave Eugene be. I was the one that asked him to go along!"
"Exactly. Didn't you hear-"
"Zelia, leave her be. Okay? Let her be who she wants to be." Eugene spoke up.
"Stay out of this."
"I won't. I won't let you tear her down. She's too--...she doesn't deserve it."
Zelia narrowed her eyes at us both. Her lips twitched, but she quieted down.
"Thanks," I whispered, and he nodded before he turned to go into his shelf.
"Anyway. Who are you two?"
"Anna,"
"Elsa,"
They introduced themselves quietly, staring at Zelia with wide eyes.
"Okay; Frozen. Cool. Well, the middle - right shelf is ours. As long as you listen to me, you won't have any issues with me. Unlike that freak over there. Got it?" She flashed another venemous look towards me, and I shrank back.
"Yup." Anna said, glancing back towards me. I gulped.
We went up to the shelf, and I promptly went over to my corner with Pascal and sat down.
My head was spinning. Between my mess-up, the new girls, and Eugene touching my hand - accident or not - I didn't know what to think about first.
After awhile, Anna came over. "So...what's the deal with you and..what's his name?"
"Eugene," I sighed. "He's the only one who really talks to me. As you'll probably see, I'm clumsy and awkward, and nobody ever really liked me. He's my only friend, pretty much. But because, when he came here, he mouthed off at Zelia and wouldn't listen to her bossiness, she kinda banished him from the shelf and now she won't let me even speak with him. But we've been working around that. Don't tell her any of this, okay?"
"I won't. She seems like she's a real....jerk."
I coughed in surprise at her bluntness, but then I nodded. "Yeah, she is."
"So, umm..." she trailed off. "I guess I'll go see what my sis is up to."
"Okay," I said.
The next morning, I was back to being invisible. Even Pascal was totally content with sitting on Anna's lap and playing with her...so I asked if she'd watch him for a bit - and she gladly accepted. Then, I decided to see what Eugene was up to, but he wasn't on his shelf. I opened the top drawer of the dresser - which was part of the deck - and hauled Tangled Fan's iPod out of there. Eugene had clued me in on the iPod, so whenever I wanted to use it, I could. So I took it down to the floor and found some songs to play on it.
A good song, "Build you Up", by Kim Taylor, came on, and I couldn't help but think of Eugene. I put my hands behind my head and sighed, wondering how long he'd like me enough to be friends. And still wondering about yesterday.
I closed my eyes and continued listening to the song.
"Hey, what's up?"
My eyes flew open, and saw none other than Eugene was standing beside me.
I gasped in surprise, and sat up. "U-um..hi. Just thinking."
I patted the floor beside me, and he sat.
"You seemed like you were in very deep thought," he observed, and I blushed, reaching to turn the iPod off. He put a hand over mine. "You don't have to turn it off, if you don't want to."
"Okay," I said quietly. "I-I was actually thinking about you." I admitted, and after I said that, I cleared my throat, my face getting warmer.
"Hm...good thoughts, I hope?" He joked, and I laughed.
"Of course," I grinned.
"So, umm...how've things been up there?"
"Oh....good, I suppose. Nobody's been banned from the shelf. Yet."
"Making buddies?"
I shook my head. "Anna talked with me a tad yesterday, asking about you, but other than that...nope. I'm invisible...as always."
He gave me a sympathetic look. "You're not invisible."
"Yeah, I am." I said. "Not even the new-"
"You're not invisible to me, then." He reached to tuck some hair away from the side of my face, and butterflies erupted in my stomach. I turned to meet his eyes.
"Th-uh...thanks." His eyes were warm and gentle, and I almost forgot what I was trying to say. I tore my eyes away from his gaze and looked down into my lap.
"I was, um....wondering if you'd like to go for a walk tomorrow?" He cleared his throat and asked.
I was surprised. Normally, I asked him. "Oh, sure!" I exclaimed, grinning as I recovered from my surprise.
He gave me that grin, and I suddenly wanted to hug him...but I didn't, of course.
"So...um...what were you up to beforehand?" I asked.
"Just went for a walk," he told me. "Thinking... About you." He added, with a wink.
I laughed, and then glanced towards the iPod. "Any good song reccomendations?"
"Oh, that's a topic that could take years to go over," he told me with his little grin.
"We can start now! If you want," I said. "I have all the time in the world!"
His grin broadened. "Me too. Let's get started, shall we?"
I scooted closer when he set the iPod in his lap, and watched as he brought up some of his favorite songs. And that's how we spent the majority of the afternoon.
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