Love never is like it is in Cinderella, there's no glance across the room and suddenly you are in love. It just doesn't work that way.
When you are just fifteen you are forced to live with a guy who is just plain gross. You would know, you had to clean under his bed for losing a bet once. He's arrogant, rude and selfish, you may even call him a beast.
You are a smart girl, who is kind hearted and gentle, if not a little stubborn, especially when it comes to him. You do what is right and you don't give up, some people may even call you a beauty.
It takes a while but over time you see that deep down inside of him there is a sweet and kind guy, and you see that despite the feuds, he is trying.
It's only after a few months of living in the same apartment at college when you can't sleep because the rain is so heavy and loud against your window do you realise that there's something there that wasn't there before. Something that has been building up ever since your parents got married. You somehow drift of in between trying to figure out your feelings and wishing that blasted rain would just stop.
When you wake up the next morning, he's already in the kitchen, surprisingly. He looks up from his cereal and gives you a small smile as a good morning, not a smirk but a smile. That's when your crazy midnight thoughts come flooding back and you begin to chant the word step-brother in your head. You love to be prepared and you certainly aren't prepared for this. Frankly it scares you.
You think less and less of him as a beast as time passes and more of the kind guy he is inside. It's new and alarming. He's no prince charming but you can't find the words to really describe him.
It's the biggest hockey game of the season. George and your mom can't be there because the baby is due any day and they have to be prepared. He asks you to be there and you consider saying no but when you look into his eyes you see that he genuinely wants you to be there.
He wins of course, he catches your eye in the crowd after he scores the game winning goal and you can't help but grin widely down at him. He meet him outside of the locker room afterwards and automatically hug him. You're about to let go because you realise that you're over stepping your boundaries but you feel his arms wrap around you and your breath catches in your throat.
When he let's go you briefly see what looks like a hint of fear in his eyes and you wonder if he is just as scared about the same feelings as you are. You go for pizza with him afterwards and you talk a little but you try not to catch his eye because he's your step-brother and looking into his eyes shouldn't make you feel like this.
You begin to hang out with him more, until one night when you are watching a movie with him and everything changes. He says your name so softly and you are about to ask him why he's whispering when you turn around and suddenly, he kisses you. It scares you how right it feels for you to be with him like this.
After a while a relationship forms and you're happy, happier than you've ever been. You go back home for the holidays and realised that you never talked about this aspect of the relationship. A secret midnight meeting has you both decide that you'll tell them, get it out of the way quickly. They love you, they'll accept it right?
It doesn't turn out quite how you planned, you've never seen your mom so angry and George is in the next room shouting at him. When you are both back to sitting on the couch and the rents are back to shouting, you do something not even you expected. You shout "I love him!" and everyone is silent because not even Derek knew this. Heck you didn't even know this.
He turns to you with a look in his eyes that you can't explain and says "I love you too" and grabs your hand.
It's then that you realise that it doesn't matter what people think you are on the outside, it's how you feel that is what's important.
Ten years later when you walk into the living room and see your stepbrother/husband asleep on the couch while your four year old daughter is perched on his knee content while watching Beauty and the Beast you realise that maybe fairytales do happen in real life and maybe happily ever afters don't seem as ridiculous as they sound.