I
Rapunzel Gothel couldn't wait to move in to her first apartment. She was a junior at Corona Boarding School, and her mother had insisted on her living alone. A few run-ins with some mean popular girls had prompted the move, and a few well-placed threats to sue had sealed the deal. The headmaster of Corona had dutifully provided the Gothels with local accommodations, and so Rapunzel woke up ecstatically on moving day, starry-eyed as ever. Getting her mother to send her to far-away boarding school those years ago had been difficult enough- Mother Gothel was a helicopter parent to the tenth power, strict and relentless. But Corona was the number one fine arts school in the country, and Rapunzel, who longed to go into visual arts, had won a full ride scholarship. And so a reluctant Mother Gothel watched as Rapunzel entered the school for the first time, disaster scenarios ringing in her head. And so Rapunzel was thrilled to be on her own; it would give her some semblance of maturity, after all, and room to paint. "It's moving day!" Exclaimed Rapunzel to the empty room; she was temporarily in a local hotel as her lease was settled. With a happy jig, she got ready, throwing on a pastel off-the-shoulder dress and sandals. Her hair, golden and freakishly long, was braided as quickly as possible (i.e. Very slow), and Rapunzel tucked a fake flower in her braid before rushing out the door. She had school, and then she would enlist her friends Maximus and Pascal to assist with her luggage. With one last squeal of delight, Rapunzel boarded the city bus for Corona.
II.
When Rapunzel arrived at school for the first day, she rushed to her homeroom class. Max and Pascal, her only friends, were in a different grade, so Rapunzel hid in the back of classrooms, dutifully doing homework and taking complicated notes on art history. As much as she yearned to get to know her classmates, she was always held back; she could practically hear her mother chastising her for being vulnerable, for entering a scary and immoral world. And so she sat in the periphery, daydreaming of what it was like to talk to people with ease and confidence.
And then Flynn Rider walked in to Rapunzel's homeroom.
And chaos erupted.
After all, Flynn Rider was one of Corona's "top three" guys- he exuded charm; he was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome; he was the incomparable rebel in a sea of, well, dweebs. Almost every girl was enchanted by him and fawned over him extensively; yet he was too aloof to notice, a sweep of deep brown hair obscuring his amber eyes from obvious infatuation. That, or the cool, calculated, suave facade was a front-which Rapunzel deeply suspected. After all, she was one of the few girls unimpressed by Flynn's "Smolder" (patent pending). With a sigh, Rapunzel rolled her eyes and turned away from the spectacle as she tugged idly at her braid. "Flynn!" Exclaimed a particularly lovesick girl, clutching a paper in her hand. "I drew you!" The girl thrusted the paper at Flynn, who stared at the paper coolly. "You didn't get my nose right." He replied evenly, efficiently turning and sitting in the first open seat. The girl, who was mortified, (and, in Rapunzel's professional opinion, a very good artist, although a bit clueless in regards to proportion) practically fainted, falling into her seat with a strangled cry.
Rapunzel was confused by the pageantry going on around Flynn- after all, her mom had said that men were inherently evil. And so she sat lower in her seat, attempting to ignore the strange behavior around her and daydream about her apartment instead until it was time to move.
III.
After school, and after cramming into Max's tiny car, Rapunzel, Max, and Pascal headed eagerly to the blonde's hotel to grab her stuff, before driving to her new residence. The apartment complex was dubbed "The Towers", though it was a normal enough brick building. With a squeal, Rapunzel jumped out of the car and clasped her hands together as she stared dreamily up at the complex. Maximus, a tall, buff senior with a shock of white-blonde hair (and a staunch, stoic member of ROTC) grabbed one of Rapunzel's boxes and exhaled loudly. "Punz, which floor are you on? Because Pascal and I don't want to lug your stuff all over the place." Pascal, the slight, green-haired class clown, nodded slightly. "I know, guys. Sorry. And the third floor." Replied Rapunzel, still staring at the apartment. It all represented something strange and foreign to Rapunzel; she felt suddenly as if her life was truly beginning.
Later, after the trio of friends had exhausted themselves carrying box after box up three flights of stairs, they sat on the floor, eating pizza. The apartment was already furnished, which made things much easier; however, Rapunzel had tons of art supplies, which were already strewn haphazardly around the apartment. After scarfing down the pizza, both Max and Pascal left, as they had ROTC- and, in Pascal's case, video games.
And so Rapunzel was alone. She was delighted- the apartment was sure to be perfectly her, after fresh flowers, murals, and all of her knick knacks were placed out. Just as she began to unpack some of her art supplies, the front door creaked open. Rapunzel, who had her back to the door, sighed. "Pascal, please stop trying to scare me. I know there isn't a cursed spirit in my apartment." With that she turned, her arms crossed sternly. And gasped.
Flynn Rider stood in the doorway, one perfect eyebrow arched in question. "What are you doing here?" Rapunzel spluttered awkwardly, dropping the faux strict stance. "The better question is what you're doing here." He retorted, turning to the hallway outside of the apartment. Rapunzel gasped when she saw what he was looking for- a moving crew, laden down with countless boxes. "This is my apartment. My lease starts today." Stuttered Rapunzel as she watched the scene unfold. Flynn frowned. "No, this is my apartment. Are you sure you have the right floor?" He questioned. Wordlessly, Rapunzel lifted her key; the leather wristband said, in bold black, 310. And, when Flynn did the same, Rapunzel blinked in surprise at what she saw: once again, in black, 310.
IV.
"What happened," explained the creaky-voiced realtor, "is a typical realty scheme. The company signed both of you to the same lease and then closed their office; essentially, they duped both of you and split off with the cash. You definitely won't be able to get a refund. And, if I'm correct, the monthly rent is $1000; you two are both only paying $700 monthly." Rapunzel blinked. Once. Twice. And then she felt an incredible, emotional tornado of rage spiral in her petite body. "Well?" She exclaimed. "Who gets the apartment?" "Whoever comes up with the $1000 first" the realtor replied drily. Flynn and Rapunzel glanced at each other; neither had that much money to spend monthly, and they both knew it. As independent as they were both attempting to seem, they were high schoolers. And then an idea struck Rapunzel. "What if…we share the apartment? Neither of us have that type of money. It would just be temporary- until the boys' or girls' dorms open up, right? Then one of us will move. Plus, it would be cheaper than before if we split this rent." With a hopeful bite of her lip, Rapunzel clasped her hands together, studying Flynn. She didn't want to have to deal with his insufferable arrogance, but her desire to not be homeless overpowered that considerably. And she had scoured the area- this had been the only apartment she could find close enough to Corona.
With a long-suffering sigh that indicated resentment of his potential roommate, Flynn muttered "fine".
And so Rapunzel Gothel and Flynn Rider became unwitting roommates.
Author's Note:
Hi guys! This is inspired by the lovely manga/J drama "Good Morning Call". It's on Netflix, and I encourage you guys to watch it! It's super fun! Also, please review and check out my profile! I'd love to hear some feedback! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon!
xoxo, lostmerprincess
