Anna and Elsa were up, as were Emma and Punzie, when I woke up at eight.
"Morning," Elsa told me as soon as she saw me sitting up.
"Good morning," I said, surprised she actually spoke to me!
"What're your plans for the day?" Anna asked.
I went over to sit by Elsa and Anna, so as not to be overheard by Punzie. "I'm going for a walk with Eugene. Tell no one."
"I won't," Elsa laughed. "Is this...a date?"
I blushed. "No....we're just friends. He must really want to talk, since he invited me. I usually ask him."
"Oohh...I dunno, then..." Elsa winked, and I laughed quietly, my face getting warmer.
"Trust me. He wouldn't want me - I'm too awkward."
Anna, who had seen me trip yesterday - over my own feet - suppressed a giggle, nodding. "You are pretty awkward. But you're cool."
"Cool isn't a word I'd use to describe myself, but thanks," I grinned.
"What time are you going?"
"I'm supposed to meet him at nine, at the deck."
"Come on, then! Let's braid your hair all up nice and pretty!" Elsa said excitedly, standing. Anna stood as well, and held her hand out to me.
"No...it's fine...It's not-"
"Come on." Anna reached down and pulled me up to my feet, and then they whisked me off to a corner of the shelf so they could work on my hair.
Zelia soon caught on to us. "What are you girls doing?" She asked, not sounding very pleased.
"Braiding Rapunzel's hair," Elsa said, not pausing her braiding.
"Why?"
"She's going for a walk with-" Anna froze. "With all that hair...and it must be hard...so we were braiding it for her."
"Hm." Zelia said, givng us a critical glare that send a shiver down my spine. "Just remember what I said about Eugene."
"I will."
Of course I'd remember what she said. But I wouldn't LISTEN to it.
When the girls were done braiding my hair, I tossed it over my shoulder so I could see it. It was braided like in Tangled!
"Thank you so, so much!" I exclaimed, grinning.
"Oh, any time!" Elsa exclaimed. "Now...go have fun. It's 8:59."
I gasped and whirled around, hurring to the shelf. "I'll see you guys later!" I called over my shoulder, hurrying to the deck.
I was met by the alarm clock by Eugene. Only I didn't see him.
I rammed into him.
"Oof!" I exclaimed, running right into his chest. I started to backpedal, but tripped over the alarm clock cord.
He grabbed me and kept ahold of me until I got my balance -and my brain...what little amount I had - back.
When he let go of me, I looked up at him, horrified at my recent awkward endeavor. "I am so sorry - are you okay?"
"Yeah," he laughed. "I'm fine. Are you?"
"Y-yeah. Just...embarrassed." I buried my face in my hands for a moment, and then I realized how close we were still standing. I stepped away, and one of my feet went half-over the deck's edge. He grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him again.
"I think you should stop trying to undo awkward moments...it doesn't seem to be helping," he chuckled, and I didn't move away this time.
"Thanks...times two." I laughed, recovering from my embarrassment. He gave me that grin of his and studied me.
"Wow...you look - ah...your hair....?"
"Elsa and Anna did it for me. They think we're...you know...together." I explained. "Don't worry. I told them we were just friends, though - you probably don't want your name to even be used in the same sentence as mine, in that way!" I laughed.
"Actually, that's fine." He cleared his throat. "But, um...shall we go?"
"Yup...before I do anything else stupid," I giggled.
"Oh, you just tripped."
"Twice."
He shook his head, leading me to the floor. "You're a very intriguing individual, Rapunzel."
"Am I?" I asked. "I don't think so.."
"I'd really like to know more about your past....if you're ready to talk, though."
"Then I won't be intriguing anymore," I told him jokingly. "But if you tell me about your past first, I'll tell you about mine." I really hoped he wouldn't want to reveal his past, so then I wouldn't have to talk about my past.
Silly me.
"My past isn't very interesting. I just lived in the Disney Store for a long time, and then tossed in a box, sent over here, spent literally three days on the shelf with Zelia, Punzie, Piper, and Emma, and then I had to go to my current shelf, because certain dolls - by the name of Zelia - didn't deal well with not being the boss over me!"
"Hm." I said, looking up at him.
"Now...what's your story?"
I sighed and sat down. "I guess I'm not gonna get out of this, right?"
"If you don't want to, you don't have to." He sat down beside me and gave me a concerned look.
"No...it's fine. Well, three years ago, I went from the Disney Store warehouse to my first home. There was a Flynn there. We were displayed together, but never spoke or anything. I basically spent my year there reading. And then I was sent to another house. There were TONS of dolls, of all brands and sizes. There were several Rapunzels there, too, and a Flynn. Well, no one liked me there, either. I'm too clumsy and awkward. A few weeks before I left, Flynn and I started to so-called 'date'. Basically just talking and walking together. Small talk, at that. I, um...it turns out that he was using me, just so he could get the attention of a 2012 Rapunzel. I can't blame him, I guess...she was perfect and I...well, you know." I gave a short, dry laugh.
"I should have known something was up when he wouldn't even hold my hand, or brush the hair out of my face, even give me a sweet smile or a gentle gaze...and good grief, you and I have had deeper conversations than what Flynn and I ever did in the two years I lived there! Anyway, they got married a few days after he dumped me - yeah, they kinda rushed - and then, the week after, I came here. Annd that's my backstory."
"Wow. I'm so sorry that you went through that. How could he not like you? I mean...really..." He broke off and cleared his throat.
"How could anyone like me?" I threw back. "You're the only one who really talks to me. Anna and Elsa are nice, but I'm not sure if we'll be great friends or not. And regardless, I'm the odd girl out in every aspect."
"I like you. And you know that anytime you feel like you're the odd girl out, get me. I'm the odd man out, so we might as well hang out together." He gave me a gentle stare that made my heart pound.
"Really?" I asked.
"Mmm-hmm." he said, his face growing red. He stood up and held a hand out to me.
I took it and stood, and he didn't let go of my hand.
"So...ah...how long do you think it'll be, before I'm banished from the shelf, too?" I asked, trying to make up small talk.
"Hopefully, you won't. I'd feel bad if it was because of me-"
"Why? I'm the one being rebellious," I laughed.
"Because..." He told me, and I looked up at him with a small smile.
We walked in silence for a few minutes, but then he started humming a familiar song. I was taken aback by his deep, rich voice.
"What song is that?" I asked, glancing back up at him...and I caught him giving me a strange gaze. He immediately looked away from me and stared straight ahead for a few seconds before he responded, looking at me. "Um...'I See the Light' from Tangled."
I grinned. "I love that song. And you have an amazing voice, I bet. You have a good humming voice," I laughed.
"Oh, I dunno," he said bashfully.
"I do," I said, squeezing his hand almost without thinking. He looked down and gave me that grin.
"So...everyone's got dreams. I have a couple of my own, actually. Do you care to share? Sorry if I'm prying."
"Oh, it's fine." I said, almost surprising myself. I normally wasn't this open, but gosh, I'd never had anyone to talk to before! "I have a lot of dreams...they're kind of weird, little ones, though."
"Oh?"
"Yeah...like...I don't want to get kissed on...you know, on the lips...until I'm engaged. Which, that will never happen, but yeah. And I want to go stargazing. That sounds stupid, I'm sure, but I've never done it, and it sounds like so much fun. I want to get married, which, that goes along with getting engaged. And...I want to be accepted...again, not likely to happen. That's...pretty much it. Now that I've told someone else about my dreams, they sound pretty dumb, right?" I hadn't told him my newest dream - to be with him. It was as dumb as the rest of them, and just as unlikely to happen.
"Not at all..." He told me. "Not at all. I think they're very interesting. Unique. You keep your dreams closer to reach than most people."
"Not really, didn't you listen to half of them?" I laughed. "The only one really in reach is stargazing, if I ever remember to go some night."
He stayed quiet for the rest of the walk back to the deck, and I wondered what I'd said.
When we got to the deck, I realized we were still holding hands. He looked down at our hands, and then gave me a smile before he pulled on my arm, and brought me into my first hug.
My heart thundered, and I went stiff...for a few moments, anyway. Then, I melted and hugged him back.
He pulled away, but he left his hands on my shoulders, giving me that grin of his.
"Th-thanks for giving me my first...hug..." I trailed off as I met his eyes.
"I might've fibbed a bit when I said I liked you."
I took a deep breath, trying to organize my thoughts enough to process what he meant. Why had he hugged me, if he didn't like-
"And those dreams might not be as far away as what you thought...maybe. I mean...if you feel the same way....um....I love you."
I gasped, and he pulled me into another hug before I could back away, start crying, or even...anything. I put my arms around him and hugged him as tightly as I possibly could.
If my heart had been pounding before, it was going twice as fast now. I buried my face in his shoulder and hoped the hug would never end. Of course, it did, though. I gave him a silent, wide-eyed stare.
"You...oh my gosh." I gasped. "I-I...wow."
He gave me that grin of his and sighed. "Whew. That felt good to get off my chest."
I studied his face and gulped. I couldn't construct a sentence.
"W-was that the wrong thing to...to say?" He finally asked me.
"No!" I exclaimed. "I'm just...really surprised...and...just...surprised." I laughed at my loss of words.
He chuckled. "Well..on that note, see you tomorrow?"
"For sure," I managed a smile.
"See you," he told me.
"Yup! See ya. Thanks for today," I added.
"Anytime," he winked, and I turned and hurried up onto my shelf.
I was promptly greeted by Zelia. "What did I hear down there?"
My breath caught in my throat. "I just...went on a walk."
"With him." She said venemously. "I honestly don't see what you see in him. I mean, seriously! He's a backwards creep who won't listen to anything. And he's such a-"
I bristled and my hands fisted. Sometime during that, Anna and Elsa had come to stand by me. "Enough, Zelia. He's not a backwards creep, and I-I...I can't blame him for not listening to you!" I was surprised that it all came out of my mouth.
Emma gave me a surprised look from across the room. Anna put a hand on my shoulder.
"I'll side with her any day. Your rules are stupid," Anna added, and I gave her a surprised look.
"Both of you are idiots, then! And I'll make your life miserable, Rapunzel. Purely miserable."
"Bring it." I said through clenched teeth. "You don't scare me."
Even though...she really did.
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