Well, Zelia came over yesterday evening.
She hauled me wordlessly off of the table to stand underneath it, so nobody would hear us.
"You are losing your chance, idiot!"
"Wait a second, what are you--" I asked, confused.
"You know FULL well! That girl has been sulking in the corner since the last time you spoke with her. You are losing your chance! You should be there for her...get her to realize you're everything Flynn WASN'T -- that's not too hard of a thing to do! And if you're upset cause she talks so much about Flynn, well, I think you're pretty darn selfish!"
My eyes widened. "I thought she was busy making friends with Elsa or Anna, or getting to know you...And Zelia, I just don't know how to act or what to do. It's not that she talks about Flynn. I'd actually like to learn a little more about her past, and I already have! She just gets so upset when she talks about him. She really just can't believe he used her."
"Yeah, well, guess what? She's hardly even spoken since the last time she saw you. Get your backside over there and be there for her! If you don't, you're ruining your chances of getting your wife back. Much as I hate to say it, because you two were so lovey-dovey and disgusting, I want you guys to live your happily ever after! I want those girls to...to have their parents back! I can't do this by myself; I'm taking this second chance at sisterhood and running with it...so why don't YOU?!"
That was the first time I have ever seen tough-girl Zelia tear up.
"I-I...I know. Another thing is that I'm afraid I'll rush her."
"Well, you're not rushin' her right now! Eesh." She quickly recovered from her teary-eyed-ness.
"It's not like there are a dozen guys milling around, vying for her hand in marriage. It's okay to take things slow." I threw back.
Let me rephrase that: She recovered from her teary-eyed-ness with a vengeance.
She got in my face, holding her hand up to my nose, holding her fingers up stiffly.
"There's Emma, Punzie, Piper, me, and Rapunzel. We're alllll single. Well, everyone but Rapunzel is. None of us ever bothered with you, now have we? It doesn't matter if you're the only single guy on EARTH. If she doesn't like you, she won't! So quit being so sure of yourself, and actually start ACTING!"
I stumbled backwards to avoid her hand, and as I did so, I pushed her arm down. "Okay, okay...point made. When do you think I should try to talk to her again?"
"Tomorrow. Anna, Elsa, Rapunzel, and I are going to go for a walk. I'm MAKING her go, by the way...but anyway, we're leaving at around seven, so come with."
"Okay...thanks. And thanks for the talk, I suppose. Now I just feel horrible that I haven't been there for her....she hasn't said ANYTHING?"
"Hardly anything. Nobody bothers with her, so she doesn't bother with them. She sits there with her stupid chameleon and plays with him all day. She hasn't been sleeping well at night, though, I don't think. She wakes me up by pacing quite a bit."
"Okay." I fell silent as I thought...at least, until Zelia sighed and asked if I knew how the girls were.
I told her about Sunday's visit, and she brightened as she considered the idea of going to see them. After that, we parted ways.
The next day, I woke up fifteen minutes after seven. I bolted out of bed and raced for the floor as soon as I remembered Zelia's idea.
I caught up to them, and sure enough, Rapunzel was hanging back by herself. Zelia kept looking over her shoulder, but she didn't talk to her sister, from what I could tell.
I slowed as I came up behind them, and Zelia caught sight of me, giving me a slight nod and a relieved expression.
She jumped, whirling around to give me an alarmed expression. She stomped on her hair, and almost fell down before I grabbed her arms and kept her upright.
"Whoa. You scared me...thanks for catching me, though. And, well...right back at'cha, stranger," she gave me a beautiful smile, which just made my entire day, so I had to grin in return. "Do you want to come along? If...if it's okay? And if you're not busy."
"I'm not busy...I've got nothing but time." I told her. "I'm sorry I haven't talked to you until now."
"Oh, that's fine. I've been kinda...wanting to be alone anyway. I'm just trying to make sense of...Flynn...and I'm trying to settle in."
"I see. Well, whenever you want company, let me know, okay? I'll be more than happy to oblige."
"Okay," she sneaked a glance towards me, her face reddening when she realized I had seen her.
We walked....and we talked....and it was a great day. I honestly didn't think I could love that girl more than I already did, but it turns out...yeah, I can. I learned a little bit more about the past she had been too uncomfortable to talk about before: Flynn apparently hated her clumsiness, and had always been a little perturbed if she wouldn't dress up or do something with her hair when they'd go for walks or anything. On top of what we already know about him...wow. She also made mention about how differently she was treated here.
When we all headed for our respective sides of the table, she followed me to my side.
"So, um...thanks for tagging along today...I'm sure you could've done much more productive things--"
"Oh, that's fine. I enjoyed it! And really, no...I didn't have anything to do today." I gave her a grin, but she sighed. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just can't stop thinking about--never mind," she shrugged her shoulders up to her ears.
"Flynn?"
"Y-yeah. I know it's dumb, and I'm starting to realize how he really didn't treat me the best, but...I guess love's blind and I don't know what I'm doing."
"I'm sorry he did what he did," I said, and she shook her head.
"No, I'm sorry--I suppose you have your own problems and don't need to hear my own."
"It's fine. It's good to vent," I countered.
She gave a surprised look, adding a laugh. "You're something else, I'll give you that. Um....do you want to go for a walk again tomorrow?"
It was my turn to give a surprised look. "Oh...sure! Yeah, I'd love...yeah," I tried to not be so enthusiastic, and she laughed again.
"And you know...I don't think I've laughed this much since...forever."
"Well, thank you...I'm a pretty funny guy," I threw back, and she started to giggle.
"Yyyeah," she grinned. "Thanks...I needed to laugh. So, um...I'll see you tomorrow sometime?"
"Yup," I couldn't help but smile, purely pleased at being able to see her, and getting to hear her laugh and see that sweet smile only she could pull off. I suppose I was distracted by that, because just before she stepped over to her side of the table, I remembered to ask exactly WHEN we were going for a walk tomorrow. I snagged her hand without thinking. "Wait--when tomorrow?"
"Oh! Um...guess we forgot to figure that out. Is ten AM good for you?"
"Okay," I nodded, and then awkwardly remembered I still held her hand. I dropped it quickly and awkwardly, and I don't even know why my face got so warm. Her face was blazing red, too, and she quickly left for her side of the table.
So...we'll see how tomorrow goes.
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