A/N: Hey, guys, hi. So here is this story for you to read. One thing I'd like to say is that it is sort of based off of a story by Krypie called "Journey to Another Dimension." Feel free to check it out, along with my other stories—I've recently accumulated a lot of them. Hehehe . . . anyway, a bunch of these characters and such in this story are based off of my own life and the people I know. I'm not putting their actual names, but variations of thme and also what might have been (in the case of my sisters). This first chapter just sort of introduces the problem, nothing much about "Tangled" in it yet. Anyway, enough of my babbling, read on! Reviews, favorites, and follows are much appreciated! :D

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN "TANGLED." NOTHING FROM IT IS MINE. ONLY THE MAIN CHARACTER, MADDI, AND OTHER CHARACTERS ARE MINE. MADDI IS BASED OFF OF ME. NOT "TANGLED." ENJOY!

CHAPTER ONE

AND SO IT ALL BEGINS

Maddi

Tonight, either everything will be perfect, or it will all blow up in my face. You're probably curious as to why that is. So I shall tell you. Tonight is my thirteenth birthday party—a sleepover. I'm having a bunch of my friends over, including my two best friends. The last two and I are going to be watching my favorite movie of all time—"Tangled"—once everyone else leaves. So, you're probably thinking, "Oh, what could be so bad about that?" Yeah, that's not quite the case.

Well, the thing is, my two best friends . . . they're kind of rocky right now. A little while ago, at another friend's birthday party, one of my friends, Zellie, kind of got offended by the other three of us . . . and she hasn't quite forgiven my other friend who's coming over, Kat (short for Katherine, a name she absolutely hates). Things are pretty much the same between us now (mostly), and our other friend, but not so much Kat, so . . . yeah.

I thought that maybe tonight we could figure things out tonight, maybe over one of our favorite movies . . . but now I'm not quite so sure this was the best idea. Actually, neither of them actually knows that the other is coming . . . no, that's a lie, Kat knows, but Zellie doesn't. So yeah. Hehe.

Anyway, right now I am sitting on my family's sofa, staring at the blank T.V. screen. A book lies next to me, face down. It has been two minutes since my party "officially" started—5:00. Zellie and Kat should be coming any minute now. I am agitated. I want to read my book, but I also don't want to. It's weird. My mind is weird. My mind is crazy.

Ding-dong!

Yap, yap!

Holy chocolate! Someone's here!

I stand up quickly. My head goes dizzy. I close my eyes, pulling my two dark-copper braids neatly onto my chest. I shove my glasses up the bridge of my blackhead-covered, upturned nose before taking a deep breath, opening my eyes, and walking over to the door.

"Who's here?" yells the voice of one of my two younger sisters. She runs down the stairs and into the front hallway, up to the door. Her bob of dark auburn hair sways above her shoulders as she squishes her face to the glass in the door.

"No idea. Watch out, Brooky-lynn," I say, sliding over to her in my "Frozen" themed socks—Anna on one foot, Elsa on the other. I mixed them with the other pairs. I put them on certain feet so that they seem like they look at each other. Oh, "Brooky-lynn" is not my youngest sister's name in actuality (it's really Brooklynn), but I like calling her that.

"Is it Charlie?" My other sister comes running down the stairs, like Brooklynn, referring to the younger sister of Kat and her (Emma's) best friend. Charlie is short for Charlotte, which suits Charlie but I don't think she really likes it—similar to Kat and Katherine. She looks at the door, long, brown hair hanging down her back.

"I am as clueless as you," I say.

"I think it's Zellie!" exclaims Brooklynn, peeking into the glass in the front door.

"Please move and I'll see," I say, joking seriously—if that makes sense. It's just something I do. She moves to the side and I take her place in front of the handle. I feel our pet dog, Max, rub against my feet. He's a tiny, black-and-white (but mostly black) shi-htzu that is the absolutely craziest and most adorable, short-haired shi-htzu dog that has ever come into existence. I unlock the door and open it.

Brooklynn is right. It is Zellie. She smiles as I unlock and open the screen door. I slide away on my socks as she, her mom, two younger sisters, and younger brother step inside.

"Hi, Maddi!" she says excitedly. "Where can I put this?" she adds, holding up a turquoise envelope. I assume there is money inside (that's what I asked for for this birthday).

"Right here," I say, pointing to my mom's old hope chest, covered with a teal, fancily designed cloth.

"Great," she says. She sets the card down there, next to an owl-covered present bag. Inside it is a gift from Emma. "Hi, Maxie!" She bends down and scratches Max on the head. He responds enthusiastically, wagging his tail like crazy and licking her before hurriedly moving on to the next person, before coming back to her, and then, because I call to him, he comes to me, and everything is rather crazy now. He then runs off after Zellie's mom, who enters the living room with the younger girls and boy (Zellie's younger siblings and my younger sisters). My mom comes out of the hallway soon after.

I grin suddenly—a mischievous grin I often give when I have some extreme silliness in store for someone. Or maybe nothing much except me being crazy. "Come on. This way." I grab her hand and pull Zellie along behind me, through the hallway and into my bedroom. I sit down on my purple bed, and she sits down next to me. Our heights even up drastically—Zellie is rather a lot taller than me. She has medium-length, dark brown hair that holds a pretty shine to it. Her face is littered with freckles, and she has one of the best smiles in the world.

"Hi," I say, still grinning.

"Hi," she says back, giving me a similar grin. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks!" I exclaim. "Now I have entered the year of unluckiness that is the thirteenth year of my life." I put my hand dramatically over my heart.

She laughs. "Yeah," she says. Her voice is a little deeper than mine—I think. I can't really tell with voices. But it's pretty.

"And you shall be joining me in District 13 next month," I say, waggling my fingers up in front of her face, also referring to The Hunger Games, something I am an extreme fan of.

She laughs again. "Yeah. It's crazy, right?"

"Yeeeeees!" I say, leaning in close to her and continuing to waggle my fingers in front of her, giving her a fake creepy face, widening my eyes and acting like I always do when I am extremely excited—or nervous—or both.

Things go pretty much like this for a little while, until it is 6:15 according to my alarm clock on the vanity at the end of my bed in my rather small but extremely Harry Potter themed room. And then the doorbell rings again and I suddenly tense before relaxing again. I do not want to look frantic. Besides, it's best just to hope for the best . . . you know? Plus . . . there are other guests besides just Zellie and Kat . . . it could be one of them. . . .

"Who else is coming?" Zellie asks, standing up next to me. I hadn't realized I'd just stood up myself.

I shake my head to clear it. "You'll see," I say mysteriously, before pulling her hand and stepping into the hallway, and then to the front door. Max is again barking like crazy.

I take a deep breath before preparing to open the door, hearing the others walk behind me. I brace myself. Now or never. . . .

Kat and her younger sisters (both Brooklynn and Emma's ages) and mom are at the front door. Kat looks rather a lot like me. She has the same color hair as me, though maybe a bit lighter by a fraction of a shade, and brown eyes. She also wears glasses. She dances, so she's also really flexible, unlike I, who swims on a competitive swim team. We often argue about which sport is harder. It's rather . . . just rather. Yup, just rather. I grin when I see her, and open the door to let them in. That's when I hear the angry voice behind me.

"Katherine?!"