"The Sound of My Heartbeat"
Rated K+
Pairing: Meeshell Mermaid X Hopper Croakington II (some Briar Beauty X Hopper Croakington II)
Summary: There was always something about him that made my heart skip a beat. It was way more than his looks and eyes combined. It was because he felt so real. As if this was some kind of dream I was caught in.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Ever After High and especially it's characters. Ever After High and its characters are owned by Mattel and the respective co-authors of the EAH books, Shannon Hale and Suzanne Selfors. Anyway, since I just had an unbelievable urge to write some Ever After High, I'd figured I write my favorite OTP for the franchise, Meeshell Mermaid and Hopper Croakington II (with a little dash of Briar Beauty). So if you love a sweet romance fic, this one's for you. So grab yourself a bag of delicious Nacho Cheese Doritos, some A&W Cream Soda and enjoy!
P.S.: Yes, if you're asking, this will also include Briar/Hopper as well, so rejoice Bropper fans! Anyway, on with the fic!
Meeshell's POV
Those eyes.
That smile.
That scent of cologne spreaded all around his neck like an unstoppable aura filling my heart out with the pure passionate aroma of everlasting aroma. Sure that kinda felt an extra corny for me to think or say, but it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that I was finally gonna be getting the chance to dance with him. Quite possibly one of the cutest guys of Ever After High despite his unability to charm the slightest princess standing before him. The way that he sorta asked me out wasn't when he had approached me for a favor or just by asking me by chance.
In fact, it just sorta happened by accident. I was walking around the hallways of Ever After High with my MirrorPhone, possibly gazing at the unbelievable dress that Lizzie Hearts had made for Apple White to wear to Thronecoming in order to charm the ever handsome Daring Charming. Now that Lizzie had mentioned it to me, Ever After High's annual Thronecoming was coming up soon and not also did I need a dress to wear (which luckily, Lizzie managed to get right to work on), but I needed a date so royally bad. To be honest, there weren't many guys around this school who I would ask out. In fact, most of the guys in this school already had either girlfriends or perhaps a date. For example, Daring Charming was going out with both Apple, Cerise and Lizzie one at a time, Hunter Huntsman was going out with Ashlynn Ella, Alistair Wonderland had Bunny Blanc, Dexter Charming had Raven Queen, Chase Redford had Daring and Dexter's sister, Darling, and surprisingly enough, Sparrow Hood had decided to take Blondie Lockes as his date (knowing that he didn't want to handle a naggy Duchess Swan). Apparently, there had to be somebody I could ask.
To my luck however, my date came in the form of a wooden classroom door heading straight for my face. Without any time to react, it hit me right through my body, knocking me down and forced the receipient to check up on me.
"Oh my godmother, I am so sorry I didn't see you there!" The voice, albeit male, said to me in a frantic panicked mood.
"It's okay, it didn't hurt me pretty much anyway." I said while dusting myself off.
"Here, let me help you up." He replied as he picked me up on my feet.
As soon as I looked up to my helper, I gasped at who picked me up. This guy pretty much looked quite the looker himself. Knowing that I already had mentioned his passionate green eyes and a carefree smile, he had very slicked back crimson hair, a bit of pale skin, a red-gold coat, frog-colored socks and some polished brown dress shoes. And not to mention the near shy exterior that he had whenever he would approach a pretty woman. And in this guy's case, he was standing right near me, getting quite the goosebumps he had all around his skin.
The guy who had picked me right up was the son of the Frog Prince, Hopper Croakington II! Seeing him, I couldn't help but hide my blush on how cute and adorable this guy was.
"Are you okay?" Hopper asked me out of concern.
Without trying to look back to his face, I managed to comply with a very shy "Yes".
"I really didn't mean to do that to you," he sighed. "I've just been feeling very stressed because I have whole lots of homework I gotta get done tonight."
"Oh, um... that's nice." I nodded, still trying to hide my blush the best that I could.
This was useless.
Here I am with a near broken nose from running into the door, and yet I act nervous in front of a really cute guy just to make me look bad. So much for trying to act like myself. While I figured out what the hex I really needed to say, Hopper stepped up and spoke for me. "So um, Meeshell...?"
"YES, I'LL GO WITH YOU TO THRONECOMING!" I shouted incoherently before I silenced my mouth with my own hands.
I couldn't believe I, Meeshell Mermaid, said those unbelievable words in front of him. Oh great, now I know it couldn't get any worse than this. It makes me realize why I should've stayed in the water instead of being on land. I swear, life on land was still getting complicated for me. I was thinking of getting away for a minute when Hopper stopped me and said:
"Um, I was gonna ask if you could have a pencil I could borrow," He added, "My pencil kinda broke on me while I was picking my books."
Feeling a little redfaced, I dug into the pocket of my dress and gave him a freshly sharped number 2 pencil.
"Here you go..." I told him in my shy demeanor.
"Thank you so much," He said right before he left.
But he soon changed his mind as he turned his way towards me, forcing myself to hide the blush beneath my cheeks once more.
"Oh, and if you're asking, yeah." Hopper replied with a nod.
"F-for what?" I gulped.
"I'll go with you to Thronecoming," He responded. "I don't have a date myself anyway. So, I'll see you around Saturday, okay?"
"Sure..." I nodded while trying to attempting to regain consciousness.
I couldn't believe it.
He actually said 'Yes'. And to think my clumsiness actually failed me on that one. It actually brought something good for me. And that was becoming Hopper Croakington II's Thronecoming date. When he left to go to class, I breathed a sigh of relief as if I was dodging bullet after bullet of anxiety. I had now got myself a dress and now a date. So far, so good.
The dress Lizzie had made for me was without a shadow of a doubt extravagant. It was a whole lot of bluish-teal with soft fish scales as fabric, therefore making my dress as soft, shiny and silky as I could ever see. Plus, the platinum seashells around the chest plates added quite a styling touch, might I add. I've even put my hair into an extravagant ponytail, nearly reaching my lower waist, which kinda felt ticklish being brushed back and forth across my dress. Next, I managed to apply some strawberry pink eye shadow with a little bit of glitter, making my face as flawless and beautiful as I can get. After all that was done, I added soft white frills around my shoulders, which now made my dress as breathtaking and breathless as ever. And then, I finally added my touch with pearl-encrusted high heels that Ashlynn had given me to wear. I looked as beautiful as ever. Even way more beautiful than Apple White was, and she was very supportive of me, hoping my date would go as perfect.
Now there I finally was at the Thronecoming dance.
Of course, it wasn't surprising since it was being lead by the crowning Thronecoming King and Queen, Daring Charming and Apple White. There was a whole lot of dancing and a whole lot of bedlam going around. I didn't know what really made me laugh a lot more, the fact that Humphrey Dumpty was the worst dancer ever (he wasn't that bad of a dancer to be honest) or having an enraged Ramona Badwolf chasing Sparrow Hood all across the dance floor. It was already madness as it is. At least not for me. I was busy hanging around the punch bowl table with Briar Beauty and Ashlynn Ella, who were busy taking taking a break from all the dancing so that both Hunter and Chase can prank Alistair to their amusement. So far, me, Briar and Ashlynn were busy talking about the usual girl stuff in private, such as the kind of new music we're listening to, what kind of clothes we bought and what kind of movies we were gonna check out at the multihex.
The girl talk between us continued for another thirty minutes before both Briar and Ashlynn noticed Hopper walking by the dance floor.
"Hey, turn around, your date's here." Briar informed me.
"Mmmm, he looks handsome, don't you think?" Ashlynn asked me in return.
As soon as I turned around to face Hopper, what Ashlynn said was indeed true.
Hopper was just that handsome.
Seeing him dressed up in formal green was the most dreamiest thing I had ever witnessed. Hard to believe this wasn't the shy, nervous Hopper I had run into around two days ago. No, in fact, that Hopper was replaced by something more than a kind romantic gentleman inside him. And this side of him was even more attractive than I had really thought.
He was so attractive that I just stood there like a blank canvas endlessly, forcing both Ashlynn and Briar to snap me from reality.
"What are you waiting for, Meeshell?" asked Ashlynn.
"Go for it!" Briar exclaimed as she pushed me over there.
I was now standing face to face with my date, who by the way, touched his hand between mine. I blushed as the heat of his hand delivered goosebumps all across my entire skin. The grip of his hand felt very nice, comforting and enticing, making the beats of my heart increase out of my chest. While I tried my best to hide the blush around my cheeks, Hopper spoke to me with perfect calmness:
"Hey, you wanna go upstairs?"
Somehow, I was unbelievably stunned by this response. Why would Hopper ask me to go upstairs through the school's auditorium? I only hope and wished that Hopper isn't some sort of freaky pervert who was busy trying to get his way with me, and hex, I was still thinking about that horrible idea. But who knows? Maybe he's not like that. Either way, I might as well accept his question just out of curiosity. I only hope those kung-fu lessons Briar had taught me comes into play.
After I responded with a nod, both me and Hopper had left the dance floor and the crowd of people altogether. It wasn't long before we were outside of the auditorium and right to the back of the stage. It looked a bit dark to be honest, but with me holding Hopper's hand as tightly as I could, we had finally proceeded upstairs. While at the same time, my mind started muttering 'Dont be a pervert' over and over again. I only hope that wasn't the case. As we finally got upstairs, we just happened to come across a very big basement with a big huge glow coming through the big window.
He soon let go of me and started heading towards the window.
"Hey Meeshell, check that out." He said.
I soon got out of his way and I saw past the big window, only to see the light of the moon shining all around my dress.
I looked down in amazement as my outfit had sparkled all around the entire room, as if I was some kind of disco ball lighting all around the place. It was the most beautiful sight that I had ever seen in my life. The moon had grew perhaps the size of a elm tree, which added twice the moonlight and quite the romantic atmosphere that I was now completely trapped in. It was safe to say that much to my relief, Hopper wasn't exactly the pervert that I thought he'd be.
"This looks wonderful," I gasped breathless. "I don't know how this could get any better."
"Well, I actually have thought of something that can top this." Hopper suggested.
"Which is?" I asked curiously.
All of a sudden, Hopper started to bow before me and even looked up to me with quite a smile, saying with pure calmness:
"May I have this dance?"
With a blush right through my cheeks, I giggled as I took the palm of Hopper's hand, leading me to the basement floor as if it was one of the electronic dance floors we had downstairs.
As the song had switched to a tune that fit well for an 80's power ballad, it didn't take too long for Hopper to lead his hands down my waist. With his hands attached to where they were, I soon wrapped my arms around Hopper's neck tenderly as we started to sway to the melody playing right over us. For me, this was the most surreal, yet most wonderful feeling that I had ever felt warm my entire body. It felt like a millisecond of bliss showering me with every part of his embrace. My pearly blue eyes soon caught his emerald gaze cornering me at every single second and every single minute. The way they blinked, the way they shone, the way they gazed through me with an breathtaking aura...
It was that perfect.
I was lost in those eyes for as long as I could remember. I felt so lost that I could feel my legs go weak against me. Luckily for me, Hopper's warm mesmerizing arms helped keep me on my feet. As long as I stared into those emerald eyes of his, that was all I needed. There was always something about him that made my heart skip a beat. It was way more than his looks and eyes combined.
It was because he felt so real. As if this some kind of dream I was caught in. I wished to that point that I would never want to wake up at all.
"You're so sweet, Hopper. I don't know how you managed to charm me like this..." I smiled, warming Hopper right through his heart.
"I don't know too, but it's the best I could do for somebody as beautiful like you." He whispered back.
I felt my insides melt like crazy when Hopper complimented me for the first time. I can't believe that a guy like Hopper Croakington II would think I'm so beautiful in his eyes. I felt the enduring emotion, understanding and complete love in his voice, and it gave me even bigger goosebumps than ever before. I always sorta wondered how this night between me and Hopper would end. But now that I thought about it, I really didn't want this to ever end. It was almost like my Happily Ever After was right here in front of me.
We then started to get closer to one another to the fact that our faces were nearing each other as it was. His gaze towards me was now growing strong as ever, forcing the rest of the butterflies to form inside my stomach. He then started to caress my entire back softly, leaving me with such a breathless gasp formed around my lovely singing voice. My smile began to get even more wide as he brushed part of my bangs, forcing me to gaze through his eyes closeup while he cocked his head to the side. I could now feel the loud heartbeats strengthening right now as he got closer to me.
THUMP-THUMP...
THUMP-THUMP...
THUMP-THUMP...
And then, before I knew it, I found my lips trapped around his in a very tender, loving, passionate kiss. The kind of kiss that forced the entire universe and time to stop all around me and Hopper himself.
I sighed dreamily as his mint-flavored lips drowned me out of my oxygen, not leaving me any room to breathe at all. But to be honest, I really didn't have a problem with it as long as I breathed in right through my nose. My arms around his neck tightened as ever as I cocked my head to the back, letting Hopper deepen the kiss around me. This almost felt like heaven touching around my lips with the tip of a feather. His lips was the most sweetest taste I have ever had the chance to experience first-hand. I found myself surrounded by the rush of mint leaves and sugar around his chapped lips, which made me hang onto the taste for perhaps much longer.
I couldn't help it. I, Meeshell Mermaid, was now officially in love with Hopper Croakington II. And the way he romanced me with all of these little tactics while having to sweep me off my feet had definitely proved that. All we needed to do was to make sure both the moment and kiss wouldn't end between us.
But all of a sudden, the taste of his lips started to change instantly. It no longer tasted like mint, but instead, it was now left with such a leathery aftertaste. Something wasn't definitely right about this. I was very certain that his kiss still tasted like a perfect mint leaf. But why did the feeling of that kiss change in a matter of moments? I knew something was wrong about this.
So as soon as I opened up my eyes, I found out that I wasn't kissing Hopper...
...
...
...
...I was kissing a library book.
The scenery all around me was no longer a darkened basement with a beautiful romantic moonlight shining me and Hopper. In fact, Hopper was no longer here with me. All that was left was just me and a library book inside the academy's local library. I felt nothing more than disappointment and frustration that what I thought was the most magical night of my entire life was now nothing more than a cruel dream. I can't believe I had fallen asleep after all this time. My mind just had to play tricks on me that I didn't even want, truth be told.
While I still groaned in disappointment, I suddenly heard Hopper laugh somewhere across the room. I quickly separated myself from my library book and looked around for his voice. It took me a while before I looked around the left aisle of the library to find him.
When I found him though, I found Hopper Croakington with his arm around one of my good friends, Briar Beauty. She felt comfortable around him and strange enough, he actually did too. I could understand deep down why Hopper always had a thing for her. But just by seeing this, I shouldn't have to be jealous of the two of them. I shouldn't have to be jealous that Hopper was busy being happy with the one that truly understood him. Nor should I have to be jealous of Briar for finding the one that was definitely meant to be her happily ever after.
In fact, I was happy for the both of them. I was happy for Hopper most of all because he could at least be with the one that he had always had a crush on. It was all that Hopper could ever want from all of this.
But yet, I felt nothing more than hurt on the inside. Because it made me wish that it could've me being held around Hopper's arm. Alas, that kind of thing would happen only in my dreams. I didn't have to like the harsh fact I just mentioned milliseconds ago, but sometimes, it just made me wish on how things would have been different if Hopper and me would have met with the same magic and chemistry that he had given Briar. That's the kind of scenario that would be worth smiling about to me, but hey, that's life. Sometimes, it's fair. And yet sometimes, it's unfair.
And I knew it was fair.
Right now, I'll keep all my dreams to myself with a smile still attached to my face. Just because they can't come true someday, that doesn't mean I wont stop dreaming about the moment that I would have shared, should it have happened in a different scenario. And deep down, I won't stop dreaming about those eyes of Hopper Croakington himself, from now until the night comes through. Just thinking of that forbidden green-eyed gaze nevertheless will always make the sound of my heart skip a beat.
Awww, wouldn't we all, Meeshell?
I just want to say that I got nothing against the couple of Hopper Croakington II and Briar Beauty itself. We can ship whoever we want in the fandom, and I respect that. And to be honest, I think Hopper/Briar is pretty cool ship myself. Then again, I pretty much ship Hopper with pretty much the entire female student body (LOL XD), mostly Briar, Kitty, Faybelle, Ginger, Ramona, Darling and yes, that definitely includes Meeshell Mermaid herself. I probably would like the idea of a Hopper/Meeshell ship since they would probably be more comfortable around water. Heck, I'd call it TadpoleShipping. That sounds like a pretty good fit.
Of course, I'm just talking waaaaaay too much now. So, you all wanna see more of this couple? Just let me know and I'll make that wish happen for all of you, just because I really like you all a lot. Leave a feedback if you want. Until next time, peace my fellow fairy tales.
R.I.P. Chester Bennington of Linkin Park
March 20, 1976 - July 20, 2017