A/N: So, I got a lot of pretty negative responses over the whole 'Charming being called gay' thing. Ranging from things like 'I hope not because I want him with Cindy' type responses,to the very, um, passionate anon reviewer who left this little gem 'no one want him gay you fucking piece of shit and calm your ass down making him by watching the motherfucking Cinderella movie and get ur shitty ass dick together do u instead what the fuck I'm saying bitch! U better understand stupid motherfucker'
I'm used to getting criticism, I listen to it, and most people can say it very decently and that's great. Actual constructive feedback helps a story, and your input is actually listened to, because i'm not just writing for me, I do want something you guys are going to want to read too. Some people just feel the need to be super lame about it though, and At the end of the day, I'm going to write what I think is best, and what I hopefully think you'll like. You're more than welcome to tell me what you think, angry anonymous people, but just prepared that am I also capable of ignoring you until you can figure out how to express yourself in a somewhat decent way. If I can keep at least 80% of you guys happy, that's good enough for me. Peace out amigos.
"How many Kanye songs do you think I can get away with adding?" Esmeralda muttered as she sat with her lap top propped open on her bed, scrolling through her I-tunes library.
"I dunno, but I don't think the schools gonna like you using any of the ones with swearing or racial slurs in them" Pocahontas replied.
"...Ok, so no Kanye then"
As Esmeralda tapped away, Pocahontas stood in front of Esmeralda's full length mirror. She stared at the purple crop top she'd just pulled on, before frowning and pulling it straight back off again.
Pocahontas had come over to Esmeralda's house hours before she was due to meet up with Smith at the coffee shop on their 'date-that might not be a date but lets hope it is a date-date' for moral support. And also, since it had been decided by the committee that they were both in charge of the music, they had to make a playlist for the dance.
And also to steal clothes.
But mostly for the moral support and committee thing.
Esmeralda looked up as her purple crop top was thrown across her room "What was wrong with that one?"
Pocahontas was already rifling around in Esmeralda's closet again as she huffed "I'm wearing skinny jeans. You can't wear jeans as tight as this and a crop top at the same time, it's way too revealing! Especially on a date that might not be a date"
"Who made that rule?" Esmeralda sneered. Because if that was a rule, she had long since broken it.
Pocahontas pulled on a red, off the shoulder, top "Well, revealing for me" she clarified.
"True enough" Esmeralda admitted as she watched Pocahontas scramble out of the red top as well, diving back into her closet "You know I've never seen you get so worked up over your look before. You're such a t-shirt and shorts kind of girl, it's weird to see you try and dressup"
Pocahontas suddenly looked stressed "Is it? Do I look weird in this? God, I knew I shouldn't have worn wedge heels. Are the earrings to much? Can you tell I'm wearing lip stick? The lady at MAC said it was a neutral shade! Neutral!"
"Oh my god, calm yourself, woman! You're neutral, you're neutral!" Esmeralda held up her hands, almost scared "And the wedge heels are cute, I plan to borrow them from you sometime in the near future and maybe-probably-most likely forget to return them to you for a couple months, so just chill out, ok?"
Pocahontas took a deep breathe "Ok... I'm chill. I'm super chill. I'm chill, I'm chill, I'm chill..." she chanted, flopping down next to Esmeralda on the bed for a bit of a break.
After a brief pause, due to her face being smushed into Esmeralda's comforter, Pocahontas raised her head "Maybe I'll just wear the caftan top I came over in"
Esmeralda stared at the dozens of discarded outfits around her room, and if her friend hadn't been in such a vulnerable pre-date state, she would have hit her with her pillow.
"Yeah, just be you. Casual, neutral, and just a little bit of a dirty hippie. You do that look well" Esmeralda smirked.
"And I'll leave the revealing crop tops to you" Pocahontas smirked right back.
"Ok, so back to this playlist. I have to add at least two Carly Rae Jepson songs to keep Lottie happy, so help me try and pick the least two annoying ones"
"Definitely not-"
"Don't worry, 'call me maybe' is already black listed"
Pocahontas peered at the screen "Do you have Celine Dion's greatest hits on here?"
"Oh, like you can sit there and pretend that one song from Titanic isn't amazing?" Esmeralda scoffed.
Pocahontas checked her watch as Esmeralda dragged 'My heart will go on' onto the playlist.
"And how many Pussycat Doll's songs should I add? Seven? I'm going to put seven"
Pocahontas tuned out as she checked the time on her phone "I've still got half an hour before the bus comes. Do you think we'll finish the playlist by then?"
Esmeralda shrugged "Even if we don't, I'll just finish it after you leave"
Pocahontas pursed her lips.
"Don't give me that look. I'll be good. No profanity, no electro house remix's, no Gangnam style-"
"And no more Celine Dion"
"I'm not promising anything"
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Aladdin held up a purple collared shirt by the hanger, a paisley design covering it.
"Ok, how about this one?"
Phoebus and Flynn stood back and stared at it critically.
"Yeah, no" Phoebus shook his head.
Aladdins face fell "What? Why not? What's wrong with it"
Flynn crossed his arms "What do we look like, the judging cast of project runway? Here to judge your fashion choices for you? I'm Micheal Korr's and he's Heidi Klum?"
"What, why am I Heidi Klum?" Phoebus frowned.
"It's the hair, dude"
"Oh"
"And don't be offended, she's smoking"
"Thanks man"
"Anyway, Aladdin, put down the hideous shirt, I'm tired and bored and we've been here for hours-"
"It's been twenty minutes, Flynn"
"-And I've already considering drowning myself in the mall's fountain"
Aladdin shoved the hanger back on the rack "Well, I've got to get something organized for my date with Jasmine. I thought I'd start with a new shirt"
"What about where you're taking her? How are you getting there? Have you bought her flowers or anything?" Phoebus asked.
"...I said 'started' with the shirt"
"And the date's tonight?"
"Yup"
"Man, you're screwed"
The three boys walked out of the mens clothes shop back into the bustling mall, Aladdin with his face in his hands as he groaned.
"Why did I leave this all so late. I'm an idiot. This was my second chance and I blew it. Maybe I should call Jasmine and tell her I got bitten by a raccoon and contracted rabies or something. That could buy me some time..."
Phoebus tried to sound reassuring "Look, maybe you have blown it just a little, but you've still got at least five hours left to try and get something done. Worst case scenario, it's an average date"
"But I can't do average! We need to think of something amazing!"
"Man, anyone else feel like hitting the food court?"
Aladdin and Phoebus slowly turned to glare at Flynn.
"What? I'm hungry"
"You could at least pretend to be interested in helping me"
"Well, maybe a McDonald's value meal will help me care more?"
"..."
"Fine! I'm helping, I'm helping...um...uh..." Flynn stared around the mall. There was a foot locker, No, that wasn't much help. A build a bear? Hm, he wasn't allowed in there because of that last time with the stuffing incident...The milkshake bar? Nah, somehow he doubted a choc mint thickshake would make Jasmine willing to date Aladdin full time. Jeez, he was stalling, needed to suggest something fast. Then he could get his McDonalds faster.
"There! That shop. That one right there. That one looks promising"
Aladdin and Phoebus both turned around to see a cheap looking pop-up shop. You know the type. The mall recently had one of its store close down, so until they get a new certified brand to take its place they rent it out to one cheap company or another?
"The Genie's Bazaar..." Aladdin read the sign out loud, looking doubtfully at the store.
Phoebus frowned "Didn't that place used to sell candles?"
"Ah, Phoebus, nobody buys candles anymore. Not with internet downloading now-days"
"Flynn, are you suggesting people download candles-"
"To the Genies Bazaar!" Flynn hurried them along inside
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
The inside of the store was a mess. Fold out tables and shelves full of crap with scribbled price tags sticky taped onto them. There were pots and pans, throw pillows, old power rangers action figures, a lamp shaped like a womens legs, a wicker dining table set, an inflatable palm tree, a whole table full of snowglobes, gardening supplies, an embroided quilt with what looked like the members of N'sync stitched into it, an old fifties style telephone, a phone shaped like a banana, and then a phone that was shaped like a banana picking up its own smaller fifties shaped phone...
"This place smells like mothballs and old people homes" Aladdin peered around "It makes me sad"
"Yeah, I don't think were going to find anything useful in here" Phoebus said "Oh hey, candles" he picked up a strawberry scented candle that was actually shaped like a giant strawberry.
"You like that! Ten fifty! Today only!"
Phoebus almost screamed out loud as someone came bursting out of what must've been the stores backroom, his voice booming across the shop. All three of the boys stared as the huge middle eastern man, with his goatee, ponytail and electric blue three piece suit, bounded across to them.
"I got a special deal on those, man sold 'em to me for twenty dollars per case of a hundred. So obviously I bought ten cases! Of course I only realized strawberry candles didn't sell that well after I bought a thousand of them! Wait, what am I saying, of course they sell well. They're a top seller, best candle you'll ever buy, they smell like happiness and rainbows. Here, take a whiff, mmm. Strawberry happiness"
Phoebus was slightly paralyzed in fear and surprise as the candle was taken from his hands and shoved under his nose "You got a girlfriend, son? Makes a great gift. Even if you don't have one, who would resist a man who owned one hundred strawberry candles! You'll have all the women and candles you could want! Dream come true! So can I put you down for one hundred candles? I'll give you an even better price. Only two hundred dollars. That's an eighty percent saving, I think, I don't know. I never finished high school, why do you think I'm running this place? Anyway, three hundred candles it is"
"Ok, time out, time out" Phoebus called out as the man was in the middle of filling out his blank order form he'd pulled from his suit pocket "I'm not..this isn't-I don't want candles ok! No candles! Zero candles! Never...not...candles"he muttered as he backed away, slightly scared as he put the strawberry down fast, back where he found it.
The man stared at him for a second "...how do you feel about orange scented candles?"
"No!"
"Ok, ok fine. I get the idea. One time a man came in asking for candles and I offered him the banana ones and he said no and asked what others I had, and I said banana ones, and then he asked again and I said 'banana ones' again, and then he started getting angry and telling me to get serious but I just offered him the banana ones again, and then when he was really pissed I offered him the orange ones and he asked in surprise if I really did have orange ones or was I just joking more, and I said no, sorry, but orange you glad I didn't say banana again?"
The man laughed at his own joke as the three boys stood there in silence.
"haha ha..ha...well, it was funny at the time...until he punched me in the face, but whatever. Are you here to buy something? What are you even doing here? What do you want? Hm? Wait, I know. You boys are after my own home mixed brand of special party time beverages, aren't you?" the boys exchanged glances as he pulled two giant un-labeled bottles of clear liquid out from under the counter "Brewed it myself in my own bath tub, forty percent strong, ever see the movie the hangover? Yeah, that's the only warning I'd give you before you take a swig of this stuff. You might wake up on the roof of a vegas casino with a baby and a tiger. Here, have a whiff-"
Phoebus was once again encouraged to smell something that was shoved under his nose, and he immediately pulled a face.
"Woah, oh my god, that...that is alcohol" he winced, his eyes almost burning.
"One hundred dollars for both bottles. No refunds. No telling people where you got if you wake up married to a cocktail waitress in florida with the police asking you were the stolen catamaran went"
Phoebus cut him off right there "Ok, this is insane. You're insane. Do you even have a license to sell alcohol?! Were minors! Are you even-"
Flynn butted Phoebus hard in the ribs "Ignore him, he doesn't know a good thing when he see's it" He already had two fifty dollar bills in his hand "I'll be needing both of those bottles-whaHEY WAIT NO-"
Phoebus managed to drag Flynn away from the counter without hesitation, as Aladdin was left alone with the blue suited man.
"So are you kids going to buy anything? Because honestly I am a busy man and I have a lot of other customers to serve today"
Aladdin glanced around at the completely empty store.
"Uh...well, not really, no. I was just looking for stuff I could get to impress this girl...I'm kind of meant to be taking her out on this 'amazing' date but I left it too late to plan anything and now I need something to make up for it...something better than a strawberry candle at least" Aladdin shrugged.
The man smiled, his voice more toned down than before "Ah, to impress a girl. That old chestnut"
Without another word, he pulled out another box from under the counter, opening it to reveal an array of strange and unique looking jewellery. Aladdin stared wide eyed.
"Woah" he muttered.
"Yeah, nice, right? Hard to believe, but I do own some actual decent stuff in the middle of all this thrift store crap"
Aladdin picked up one that stood out right away. It was a ring, gold and shaped like a crown, with light purple gem stones embedded in it.
"Are these real diamonds?" Aladdin asked, impressed.
The man scoffed "Real diamonds? God, what am I? The Maharaja of the east side mall? No, they're not real diamonds. Still, it's worth something. I can give it to you for eighty bucks"
Aladdin's face fell "I don't have eighty bucks. I only have around twenty for the whole date"
"Little on the cheapskate side, no?"
Aladdin glared a little "It's the best I could do, ok?"
the blue suited man drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the counter as he watched Aladdin gaze at the ring a little more, before sadly placing it back in the box with the other jewels he wouldn't be able to afford.
"Well...thanks anyway"
Aladdin started to head back towards Flynn and Phoebus, who had now been distracted by a set of 1970's playboy coasters, before he was called back.
"Hey, kid, wait"
Aladdin turned around, the man coming back around from the counter.
"You seem like a good kid, and I want to help you out. I didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up either so you could say I feel a little bit of empathy here, so let me ask you a question. Do you have a job?"
"What? No"
"Would you like one? Working here for me, I mean? Just on saturdays and a few days after school. It doesn't exactly have a dental plan, but all you have to do is learn how to work a register and maybe peddle a few soaps, but heres the real kicker, I'll let you have that ring, free of charge, and you just work back the difference for me. Take it out of your first couple pay cheques. Hows that for a deal?"
As he'd been speaking , Aladdin's face had already broken out in a smile "Are you for real right now? You'd do that?"
"Sure, I've been looking for someone to hire for awhile, and so far the ads I put up in the mens bathroom haven't gotten me anywhere. I only have ad's up in the bathrooms because it's the one place I could bribe the mall cleaners to keep them taped up, but I won't go into that"
"Wow, thank you. Yes, I'll take the job! This is awesome" Aladdin beamed as the man pressed the ring into his hand and clapped him on the shoulder.
"And while I'm at it, let's set you up with a nice rental jacket too, maybe find you a nice watch you could wear. I have a great one with Elton John on it. Covered in rhinestones. Very classy" then he froze, an enlightened look on his face "And you know what I just realised?"
"Um..no-"Aladdin started, but the man had already dived back behind the counter and begun rummaging around in one of the drawers.
"You said you didn't have your date planned right?"
"Right?" Aladdin said as he peered over the edge of the counter.
"Well!" The man popped his head back up, now holding two ticket stubs "Guess who has a friend at the mall cineplex!"
Aladdin took the ticket and saw they were for a night time showing of some movie. He squinted as he read the title.
"Not without my ..feather duster? I've not heard of this movie" Aladdin said doubtfully.
"I think it's one of those old ones. A special anniversary showing or something. I don't know, I didn't really pay attention when I stole the- I mean...was given that friend...that I mentioned. Who exists...Anyway, it's vintage! And romantic, girls love that kind of stuff"
Aladdin still looked a little doubtfully at the tickets.
"Hey, kid, can beggars really be choosers? I just presented you with a really convenient solution to your problems and your gonna stand there like your too good for 'not without my feather duster? A classic piece of cinema?"
"That I have never heard of"
"You ever see that maid in Manhattan movie with Jennifer Lopez?"
"No"
"Well, you should, it's amazing"
"...did that have anything to do with anything right now?"
"Don't knock movies about maids until you've seen them...and also that is so fine. I would take a walk around her block, to see what she's got, if ya knowwhatimsayin', son"
Aladdin gave in. Why not? Maybe it would be a great movie. And he wasn't about to throw this mans generosity back in his face.
Wait, did this man even have a name? He should probably find out as it dawned on him he was kind of his boss now.
"I'm Aladdin by the way"
The man smiled and stuck out his hand for him to shake "Nice to meet you Aladdin, I'm the genie"
Aladdin stared as he shook his hand.
"...the Genie?"
" genie. This is the Genies Bazaar after all"
"Um...but do you have a real name or..?"
"Just call me Genie"
"But-"
"Genie"
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Elsewhere in the very same mall, down at the food court, Ariel was out with Eric, having just gotten a couple of ice-cream sundaes from the McDonald's Flynn was so desperate to get too.
And yes, you heard that right. Ariel was out with Eric. Alone together and hanging out for the second saturday in a row. It was a winning streak.
They'd only been texting last night and she'd mentioned she hadn't heard of the Arctic Monkeys after Eric cited them as one of his favourite bands. He said this has to be changed immediately. And here they were, Ariel holding a music-zone plastic bag containing two Arctic Monkeys albums.
"You really shouldn't have bought these for me, I could have just waited and saved up" Ariel said for about the fiftieth time.
Eric brushed it off "Not good enough, I want you listening to these guys right now. Everyone who isn't listening to them is missing out, and I'm doing a public service by spreading their genius" he said grandly, making Ariel laugh "Besides, you paid for lunch"
"I only bought you a fifty cent cone!"
"Yeah, but it was a good fifty cent cone" he said, finishing it off with one more big bite.
"Well, thank you, it was crazy nice of you. And I promise I'll buy you a hundred more fifty cent cones to make up for it"
Eric fixed her with a serious look "Are you willing to shake on that?"
Ariel stuck out her hand with an equally serious expression "I swear on my life, you'll never go coneless again"
"You better not be playing me right now, Red. I don't joke about my cones"
Just as the very official, legally-binding, contract was sealed, Ariel just happened to notice someone behind Eric. Standing outside of bed, bath and beyond, was her father and her two oldest sisters.
Ariel eyes widened. She was in her 'punk' clothes. Ripped denim shorts with spikes on them. Black tank top. Dr Martens. Her necklace had a skull on it. And if her Dad wasn't going to have a fit over all of that, Ariel could bet he'd have something to say about her hanging out alone at a mall with a boy in the grade above her.
Oh, and she may have also told him she was at the library studying.
"Ariel? Are you ok? You look a little-"
"Hm?" Ariel said, looking a little high strung as she kept a watchful eye on her family members, making sure to sidle around Eric at the right angle to hide herself as best she could "Oh, um , yeah. I'm cool" she said, not being very cool at all.
As Eric looked a little concerned, Ariel glanced hurriedly at the surrounding shops. The shoe emporium provided no coverage. The jewellery place was way too wide and open. There was one store close to them that looked like it had high shelves to duck behind, but it was a womans lingerie store. Yeah, she'd have a fun time explaining why she wanted to drag Eric in their. Then she noticed one of those passport photo booths. Perfect!
"I just- lets go in here! Don't you want photo's? I want photo's. I love them, get them with my girlfriends all the time. Photo's are awesome" she muttered as she quickly dragged Eric into the booth after her, pulling the curtain shut.
Ariel sighed and quietly congratulated herself on her genius. There was no way they could've spotted them. She knew her Dad regularly made a point of meeting up with Attina and Andrina since they moved out of home, but since when did they start meeting up at the mall? Maybe she shouldn't tune out so much when he tries to tell her his plans for the day over breakfast...
Just as she started to relax a little, she noticed how cramped this booth actually was. It really was only designed for one person. She looked up and she was almost nose to nose with Eric, standing behind her. There goes that relaxed state.
"Oh, wow, haha...cosy" she laughed nervously. Eric, somewhat annoyingly, didn't seem phased at all as he smiled.
"Well, there is a seat" he looked behind him at the small bench "Not exactly big enough for two though" He sat and then gestured to his lap "You don't mind do you?"
He had barely even asked that before Ariel had sat herself sideways on his knees, an arm around her shoulders to steady herself. Sitting down bridal style.
Hm, maybe she should've acted more bashful ("Oh, golly gee, I'm so embarrassed, I usually don't get so close to boys before. I'm such a demure little thing, tee hee")
But the day Ariel can get away with being 'demure' is the day pigs fly, and what kind of dumbass would she have to be to miss this opportunity?
Eric slipped the money out of his pocket and put into the machine. The automatic ladies voice gave them clear instructions for their photo's. Face the camera directly. Chin up. Eyes forward. No smiling. Neutral expression. Hands by your sides.
Yeah, right.
The first flash went off and Ariel had a huge grin on her face, leaning into Eric, and she blushed as one of his hands went to rest on her leg.
"Silly one?" she asked.
"Of course"
Ariel screwed up her face and stuck out her tongue, with Eric pulling a 'blue steel' behind her as the second flash hit them.
"Rock and roll?" Eric asked, holding up the devil horns.
Ariel nodded as she stuck them up too, both of them trying to look deadly serious. As soon as the third flash went off they couldn't hold it any longer and both burst out laughing.
"You have one photo remaining" The automated ladies voice droned at them.
Ariel turned to Eric "Quick, what should we do for this one?"
Eric paused for a second, his eyes glancing over Ariel.
"This one" he finally smiled, before leaning in and kissing her right then and there.
Ariel was caught off guard for a second, before she smiled against his lips, and she gladly opened her mouth to deepen the kiss. The last flash going off.
Ariel was the one to pull away first, mostly because she was smiling too widely to make out properly at all, and as the two looked at each other they just laughed.
"So..uh...cool" Ariel said, stupidly, still wishing she had more of a way with words.
"Very cool" Eric nodded, both Arms snaking around her waist.
"Where did this come from then?" Ariel asked "Not that I'm complaining at all"
Eric shrugged "Well, this whole day...hanging out with you, getting ice-cream, you looking so cute, these photos...it just of accidentally felt like the best date I'd ever been on. Guess I forgot it wasn't a real date" he said playfully.
Ariel smiled, pulling herself closer "It can be a real date if we want it to be" and this time she kissed him first.
Just as Ariel sunk into the feeling of his lips on hers, her heart pounding and her mind going crazy with happiness, she heard the curtain being pulled back.
"Ahem" A voice tutted.
Ariel and Eric pulled apart and looked up in surprise and embarrassment.
"Attina!" Ariel cried out, her eldest sister smiling down at them, hand on her hips.
"Hey, sis" she said smugly, her grin widening as she glanced over to Eric "These yours?" she asked, holding up the run of their photo's that had obviously printed from the outside of the booth. The last one clearly of them mid-lip lock. Oops.
Ariel practically jumped off of Eric as she peered around the curtain "Oh god, did Daddy see me? Where is he? Am I dead? I'm dead aren't I?"
"Woah, your Dad's here?" Eric asked, suddenly sounding a little scared.
"Calm down, he's helping Andrina pick out new shelves for her dorm room. I spotted you" Ariel gaped "But I'm not going to tell him" she said quickly "And...what are you wearing?"
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ariel clapped her hands together like her prayers had been answered "You're the best big sister ever!"
"I know" she smiled "Of course this is on the assumption that you will be explaining who this boy is over a lengthy private phone call tonight, and you're going to tell me he's a completely respectable boy with good intentions, who comes from a good family and gets perfect grades. That is what she'll be telling me, right?" she asked, looking directly at Eric.
He faltered a little "Oh, uh, yeah. Completely respectable" both him and Ariel looking sheepish.
Attina smiled "I'm also going to assume he isn't some random boy you found in a photo booth, as well?"
Ariel blushed bright red "Of course he's not! He's my...he's.." she paused and looked towards Eric. What were they now? Still just friends? Bandmates? Eric smiled and answered for her.
"I'm her boyfriend" he said, as he took her hand in his.
Ariel practically felt her blush spread all the way to her toes. Was this happening? Did she officially just gain one boyfriend? That boy being Eric!? Her smile was beaming, indescribably happy, as she leant up to kiss him again. There was barely a couple seconds of lip contact though, before Attina pulled them apart with a sigh.
"God, you crazy hormonal teenagers. Will you just get out of here while Dad's not around and be grateful that I'm the awesome older sister that I am?" Attina shooed them out of the booth, handing Ariel the photos, before they scurried away to the exit.
"You're my official favourite sister!" Ariel blew her a good bye kiss.
"Damn right I am" Attina muttered to herself as she smiled over her youngest sister.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 o0o
Pocahontas was at the coffee shop on time.
ok...so she may have been fifteen minutes early. Just in case.
She chose one of the booths near the back of Duke's. It was quieter than the Starbucks down the road, and it was much less likely that she'd run into anyone she knew here as well. Not that she was doing anything shameful. Not at all. Just on a maybe-kind-of date with an older guy who happens to be working for the guy trying to destroy their quad. Not shameful at all.
"Pocahontas?"
Pocahontas jumped in her seat as a guy appeared to take her order. Wait. She knew this guy. Tiana's friend from before?
Then the realization hit her. Crap, Tiana works here!
How could she keep forgetting this!
"Oh, hey...John" she said, trying not to look too distracted, while also remembering his name "What's up?"
John Rolfe shrugged "Not much, but you have kind of been sitting here for almost twenty minutes now and I was wondering if you wanted to order?"
"Yeah, right, sorry" Pocahontas laughed "Um, a caramel latte, thanks"
"One caramel latte" John scribbled on his pad "What size was that?"
"Just a small, please"
He smiled as he added another scribble "one...upgraded ..to large ..for no extra cost..caramel latte" he muttered as he wrote.
"You don't have to do that"
"Sorry, but it's our policy here at Dukes that cute girls get their drinks upgraded for free. I don't make the rules" he shrugged, making Pocahontas smile and shake her head. She was glad she didn't have to think of a reply as he threw her a quick smile back before disappearing to behind the counter.
Then the little bell on Duke's front door chimed, and in stepped Smith.
Pocahontas straightened up, running a hand through her hair on impulse as he spotted her straight away.
"Hey" he said, slipping into the booth across from her "Hope I'm not late at all"
"No, your fine, I've not been here long" she smiled.
Last time when she's seen him in person he'd been in work pants and a dress shirt. Obviously, he was working. But now he was wearing nice jeans and a t-shirt, with a light jacket.
"I've already ordered" she said as Smith flipped open one of the coffee menu's.
"Really? That's a shame, I would have payed for you"
Wow, where were all the guys offering to get her coffees every other day of the year?
Smith shrugged "Oh well, I'll pay next time"
Pocahontas had to stop herself from smiling too hard. This maybe-date had barely even started and there was already a next time? Suddenly, it was like 90% of her nerves disappeared. This was casual, he was in normal clothes, talking to her now as easily as they did over facebook for the past couple weeks. What had she been so worried about?
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o00o0o
"-And so now Aladdin has a job, apparently" Flynn threw up his hands as he sat on the kitchen bench in Rapunzel's high rise apartment.
"Just like that? That was lucky. I hope his and Jasmines date goes well. She doesn't talk about it that much, but I think she likes him more than she lets on" Rapunzel smiled as she took a couple glasses out of the cupboard "Do you want a drink or anything? We have lime kool-aid?"
Flynn had organized to meet Rapunzel after he was done at the mall. The two had to make sure to arrange stuff back at school, since Rapunzel still hadn't been allowed to have a cell phone, but last night her Mom had left for a business weekend a couple towns over. Some giant bridal convention. Apparently her products sold great at those things. Flynn didn't really care about that though, point is, he had some alone time with Rapunzel.
"Nah, I'm good. Not that thirsty"
Except for a tall drink of you.
Flynn visibly winced after he thought that. Good thing he didn't say it out loud.
"So, ah, got any good movies?"
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00oo
It turn's out Rapunzel did not have any good movies. Not even one of the five Die Hard movies.
She had chicken run, Stuart little, and Babe, plus eat, pray, love and another three Julia Roberts was also a box set of Gilligans island and a recorded concert of Neil Diamond.
And these were some of the least sad DVD's that sat on the small shelf.
Flynn had settled with Chicken Run.
He'd started by simply sitting next to Rapunzel, both of them upright. Then as the movie had progressed, Rapunzel had slumped down a little, Flynn had edged a fraction closer at a rate of every ten minutes, until his leg was resting against Rapunzels, then she'd slowly tilted herself towards him until she was leaning into his side. Then the subtle arm had gone behind her and over the back of the couch.
Flynn was doing well, he was almost there. Now he just had to say something smooth.
"Wow...I don't remember there being this much allusion to world war II and nazi death camps in a movie about talking claymation chickens when I was ten..."
Yeah.
Real smooth.
"Yeah.." Rapunzel agreed "It's really sad..."
Damn, he'd missed his chance. Why can this never be easy. Damn Nazi's, always killing the mood.
"So, um...do you want to make out? Because it's cool if you want to make out"
Flynn took more than a few seconds to process if that was a real thing Rapunzel had just said, or if he imagined her saying that in his head out of pure desperation. But she was smiling playfully at him, before leaning up to kiss him first. Flynn liked that. Her making the first move.
At first she kissed shyly, un-experienced but eager, starting with one long kiss before breaking away to press a few lighter kisses on his lips. She tasted like lime kool-aid. Flynn was the one to take the kiss further, letting his hand travel to her waist as they both leant back into the couch cushions, his weight on top of her as she pressed into him. She gave his tongue access as he pressed against her lips, and she was brave enough to let her hand move to the back of his neck, and let it travel through his surprisingly soft hair. This wasn't like anything they'd be able to get away with in the school halls.
Rapunzel thought it was funny how different kissing was from how she imagined it. She thought the inside of someone else's mouth would be warm, but it was actually rather cold, and this might sound stupid, but surprisingly wet. But what she quickly learnt though, is that there was a warmth too it, but that came from the flush that enveloped your skin, and the excitement and the build up and anticipation that came from being connected like that. A kiss on it's own seemed average, and she couldn't imagine that doing it with just anyone would make her heart beat faster. With Flynn though? Her heart was beating like crazy.
Rapunzel let herself lie back even further as Flynn positioned himself to hover above her, pausing with his face just inches away, their lips just not quite touching anymore. There was a blush across her cheeks as her eyes darted across his face. He still loved seeing her freckles. Cautiously, Flynn placed his hand on her leg, and he felt the smoothness of her skin as he ran his hand up higher.
"Is this all right?" He asked lightly, never one to usually ask permission.
Rapunzel smiled, her voice barely above a whisper "Yeah"
Flynn smiled back at her before planting his lips on her again, going straight back to the deep kiss they had before, as his hand only just inched its way up that much further, past the hem line of her skirt...
Then there were some dull thuds, a click, and the sound of a door swinging open.
"Rapunzel? I'm home. The bridal expo got cancelled due to an out of control cat show that was being held in the pavilion next door. P.E.T.A crashed it, there was red paint and cats everywhere and-" Gothel paused as she actually stopped to survey the scene in front of her.
Flynn commando rolled off of Rapunzel in one rapid movement, falling to the floor before quickly jumping up, hitting his shin on the edge of the coffee table, before standing up tall with his hands on his hips, then his sides, then they went back to his hips before he finally crossed his arms across his chest.
"Hey, hi, how are you, hi" he shot out rapidly, trying to look un-flustered as he stood there, awkwardly.
Gothel just stared, her eyes wide and her mouth open, a roller-suitcase and her keys still in her hand.
Rapunzel bolted upright from the couch, hurriedly fixing her skirt and hoping she didn't looked as flushed as she felt. Too bad for her, she was bright red, and her t-shirt had slipped off one shoulder. Flynn didn't look better, with his hair mussed up, and a guilty as hell look on his face.
"Oh, hi, Mom!" Rapunzel broke the ice as she let out a nervous, slightly terrified, laugh.
Gothel turned to look down at her daughter, an eerie calmness to her voice "Rapunzel...what...what is this? Who is this? What are you doing?"
The calmness was more scary than the yelling. Rapunzel was sure she saw her Mom's eye twitch.
"This...this is Flynn. He's my..uh...boyfriend" she said, nodding squarely "Did I not mention I had a boyfriend?" she tried smiling sweetly.
Gothel did not return the smile.
Her eyes shot themselves back to Flynn.
"Boyfriend?" she repeated lowly, like it was some foul slur.
"Um...nice to meet you, mam"
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"But Mom we were just watching chicken run!"
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Gothel all but shrieked as Flynn was physically dragged out the door by the sleeve of his shirt by a pair of surprisingly strong manicured hands, with Rapunzel clamouring behind them.
"Yeah! Just watching the movie! Did you know its actually pretty educational about the state of the holocaust in war time Germany and-Argh, don't pinch me!"
"Mom, just listen to me, you're not being fair!"
"You stay inside, Rapunzel, I'll be talking to you later!"
"Ok, so I should've said something, but just stop! Don't throw him out!"
"Yeah, don't throw me out!"
"Your far too young to be having a boyfriend Rapunzel"
"No I'm not!"
"How old is this boy? He has facial hair for gods sake!"
"He's a senior at my school"
"A senior!?"
"A young at heart senior-and ow with the pinching!"
"I knew this school was a bad idea, I shouldn't have sent you there. Trust me, this boy is just taking advantage of you, I'm sure of it. Awful, all of them"
"Don't say that, he's not awful!"
"Yeah, I'm not awful!"
"You have no say in this!"
"I think I have a little say in this-"
"How dare you come here and touch my daughter!"
"Hey, I was invited! She wanted to be touched!"
All three of them stopped for a second to wonder at how stupid a thing to say that was.
"...ok, so that came out wrong, but- oh gOD WHAT IS WITH YOU AND THE PINCHING? Are you drawing blood!? I think you drew blood-ARGH!"
Gothel had managed to pull Flynn all the way down the hall to the top floor elevator, throwing him in and jamming the down button hard.
"Mom, please!" Rapunzel tried one more desperate time to not let this get out of hand, as Flynn stood there in the elevator.
"No, Rapunzel! This ends right now! You are not allowed to see this boy again"
"But-!"
"But nothing, if I ever catch him here alone with you again, or anywhere for that matter, I will pull you out of that school! It's obviously been a bad influence, I'd never thought you'd do something like this"
Gothel and Rapunzel continued to argue, and Flynn heard a crack in Rapunzel's voice that showed she was close to tears, but he couldn't do anything as the doors dinged and slid shut on their voices, as he was sent down to the bottom of the building.
Of course he tried getting back up there. As soon as he'd reached the ground floor he'd just taken an elevator straight back up again. Of course, Gothel had obviously taken Rapunzel back inside the apartment, and he stared at their front door feeling useless. He couldn't hear yelling anymore, and he knew if he went up and knocked on the door he'd just spark the whole thing up again. He pictured Rapunzel locking herself inside her room, upset and alone.
God, he wasn't wildly fond of his own Mother at the best of times, but this woman was plain crazy.
He should've known from the Julia Roberts movies.
He slumped back down and out the building, feeling bad. Real bad. He kicked a trash can to show how bad he felt. Now he bet that trash can felt bad. Good. Stupid trash can.
Flynn walked further down the payment before glancing back up behind him at the high rise. He squinted a little. Up on the top floor he could see a figure in one of the windows, leaning against the window sill, arms folded. Rapunzel.
He started waving his arms wildly to catch her attention. It worked, as he saw her head shift, and she waved back as she noticed him, and he could barely make her out properly, but he hoped it made her smile.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"-And then Thomas, the guy I was telling you about before-"
"Oh, the guy with the little green beret thing?" Pocahontas asked.
Smith laughed "Ha! You remember me telling you that? Man, I seriously hate that hat, but anyway, where was I. Yeah, so Thomas had to go pick up Ratcliffe's Porsche from the auto repair shop one day, since he makes us interns do all his errands, and-"
Pocahontas cut him off as she put down her coffee "Let me guess, he crashes it?"
"Worse"
"There's a 'worse' than crashing it?"
"Oooh yeah. See, me and Thomas, we both drive crappy, beat up old things, and we'd talked before about how much we wanted Ratcliffes Porsche. We dreamed about this car, ok? So while he's driving it back from the shop, he calls me up to rub it in my face, and I'm on my lunch break nearby and I tell him to come pick me up and then I'd get to drive back to the office. Solid plan. Except I went to Han's chinese for lunch, and Thomas only agreed to let me drive, if I bought him some Stir fried prawn noodles, which I agree too"
Pocahontas stared at the way the corner of Smith's lip kept tugging upwards and he struggled not to laugh at the memory he was re-telling. He had a way with a story. They'd been in the coffee shop for over an hour now, and they hadn't even mentioned anything about the quad.
"-So when he pulls up, I open the passenger door and lean across to hand him the box of noodles, an to this day he will insist I was the one who didn't hand it to him properly, but really he just didn't grab it tight enough, and-"
"Oh, no" Pocahontas knew where this was going.
"Oh, yes. Stir fried prawn noodles everywhere. All over the gear stick, all over the floor, down between the leather chairs, splattered up on half the dashboard..."
"Oh my god" Pocahontas laughed.
"Yeah, sure, laugh about it now! We weren't laughing at the time. Thomas almost started hyperventilating. I was considering packing it all in and just driving to Mexico, start a new life."
"What did you even do?"
"Well, after ten minutes doing nothing but panic and organise our final will and testaments in case Ratcliffe actually killed us, we just...scraped it out. Got a bottle of water from a gas station and a pack of kleenex and just...scrubbed. On the side of a highway. Thomas sprayed axe body spray to try get rid of the smell. All while Ratcliffe kept texting us asking what was taking so long...he ended up never finding out what happened, so we pulled it off, but a week later he mentioned a funny smell in his car. He thought his dog had some gastro problem"
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Over behind the counter, John Rolfe stood at the coffee machine, frothing milk for a cappuccino. He watched as Pocahontas laughed over whatever the man she was with was saying. Two things he noticed.
Number one: Pocahontas had a beautiful laugh.
Number two: That man was far too good looking.
"Watcha' doing?"
John jumped, his hand jerking, frothed milk spilling over the counter top.
"Well done, there" Merida smirked as John scrambled for a wash cloth.
"Nothing, I wasn't- nevermind, what is it? You need help on how to make an iced-chocolate again?" He snapped a little unfairly.
Merida still didn't stop smirking though "Ooh, touchy. And I don't need help making anything actually. I got a handle of them iced-chocolates on the second day. I make 'em brilliantly. But I did happen to see you not so subtly eyeing up miss, tall, dark and gorgeous over there. You fancy her, then?"
John tried to shoot Merida with an annoyed look, but she had this habit of being ridiculously charming, even if she was too cheeky for her own good. It had only been a week and it was like she already everyones little sister.
"I do not 'fancy' her, as you put it"
"...were you starin' at the guy then?"
"What? No!"
"Just asking!"
John gave Merida a flat look as he started re-frothing milk.
"What? No judgement you know. People at my school said I was a lesbian just because I didn't want a boyfriend even though three guys gave me valentines day cards last year, and also because I made captain of the archery team...and I hate wearing dresses...and also I really like the Ellen Degeneres show. But everybody likes Ellen! Their arguments are so invalid"
"You talk a lot"
"Yeah, I know"
John walked away to put the jug of milk back in the fridge, and it was only 5.8 seconds before Merida had started up again.
"So why don't you make a move? Ask for her number. See if she's single?"
John scoffed "Oh, yeah, she looks real single"
They both looked over to where Pocahontas had now moved over to the other side of the booth to sit right beside Smith. It looked like he was showing her pictures on his phone. She was leaning right in close to him.
Merida screwed up her nose "I dunno, he looks a bit old for her...he might be her brother or something?"
"...yes, her completely white, blonde, brother"
"...adopted brother?"
"Who's adopted?"
John and Merida turned around as Tiana appeared behind the counter, tying on her apron as her shift started.
"Nothing, it's not important"
"We're trying to figure out how this girl John's in love with knows this blonde guy over in that booth over there" Merida blurted out gleefully.
"Oooh, I didn't know John was in luuurve" Tiana teased.
She hadn't been sure about Merida working here, being so young, but without even realizing it they'd become some kind of two person make-fun-of-John team . It was pretty great.
"So who is the lucky lady-" she started, before she looked to where Merida was pointing to.
"Oh. Should'a known"
"Should have known what?" Merida asked cluelessly as John started to look slightly embarrassed.
"She's a girl from my school. Honestly John, you've met her maybe twice and now you've moved up to being in love?"
"I never actually said that, actually" he spluttered, but Merida over-cut him.
"So do you know the blonde guy with her then? Does he go to your school too?"
Tiana took another look "No... don't think so. He looks kind of old too"
"That's what I said"
"I didn't think she had a boyfriend either" Tiana's curiosity peaked. Maybe she had a boyfriend now though?...and he was cute.
No, this wasn't like her. She wasn't a gossip and she didn't care if Pocahontas had a boyfriend anyway. No, she should just leave them be. It wasn't important.
….
Still, maybe she should ask, for the sake of John. Since he was interested. It would be helping out a friend.
"Be back in a sec, I'll just go over and say hi" Tiana said quickly, heading towards the two before John could stop her or Merida could cheer her on.
Plus, she knew Lottie would love to hear about this too.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Pocahontas was so very aware of how close she was too Smith as he showed her pictures of some of his companies landscape work. Because yes, eventually they moved onto quad stuff. Kind of.
She asked him more about his job and what he did, why he liked it, etc. She was just interested in everything about him.
….of course, this line of conversation was close to getting to the topic of the quad.
She would get there. Eventually. When she was less lost in the blue of his eyes and breathing in the subtle cologne he had on. Now that was something teenage boys didn't do. Wear cologne. Pocahontas found she had a whole new appreciation for the stuff.
"Pocahontas, hi!"
Pocahontas almost choked on her own tongue.
"Tiana!" she gushed immediately "HI!"
How, how, HOW had she forgotten Tiana worked here for the third damn time!
"How are you? How are you going, whats up?" Pocahontas asked quickly, shuffling a little away from Smith.
"Good, thanks. You?"
"Oh, I'm good. Good. Real good"
There were a stiff few seconds where Pocahontas mentally prayed that Tiana would quickly leave without asking who she was wi-
"So who's this?"
Dammit Tiana.
Smith answered the question first "Um, John Smith. I'm a friend of-"
"The school!" Pocahontas interrupted "Yeah. He's, uh, one of the landscaping employees who is helping on the quad/parking lot project-"
Not a lie.
"-And we decided to meet up to talk about the dance were holding to be able to relocate the project away from the quad-"
Also not quite a lie.
"So this is all strictly an official dance /quad project meeting to discuss...very important factors...about the things...that we are doing" Pocahontas finished off with a solemn business-like nod.
Tiana stared at her.
Pocahontas was totally sure she bought it.
'Oh my god, does she really think I'll buy that?' Tiana thought as she glanced at the wedge heels Pocahontas had put on. The dressier than usual top, and the rare appearance of makeup on her face.
That and the lack of any actual documents or committee meeting papers anywhere in front of them.
Tiana smiled and nodded though "Great. I'd love to stay and talk...business, with you guys, but I kinda gotta work. So, I guess I'll just hear all about in class on monday" she gave Pocahontas a very knowing look, and the girl slumped a little in her seat.
"Yeah...looking forward to it"
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 o0o0o0o0o0
Jasmine sat by the front window of her house, all dressed up in a sparkly top and her best jeans, staring out past the curtain. She heard a few shuffled footsteps behind her across the polished marble floors.
"Is he here yet? Do you see him?"
Jasmine sighed "No Dad, not yet"
"Ooh, I wish he'd hurry up. I'm so excited! My little Jasmine, going out on a proper date" he clapped his hands together eagerly as he peered out the window too.
Jasmine resisted the attempt to roll her eyes. Her father barely let her go out late to parties, and even the mall with friends was a stretch unless she texted him every half hour to assure him she was alright, but being taken out by boys? Oh, she would be fine if there was a boy with her. A nice Arabian boy at that. He was a pretty progressive man in a lot of respects, he was fine with her wearing crop tops and he had let her get a belly button piercing after all, but god forbid a girl could handle being out in public by her lonesome.
"There he is! He's here!"
Jasmine whipped the curtain across the window so they couldn't been seen staring, as Aladdin came walking up their long driveway.
He was wearing a nice blazer and...a hat. The hat had a feather in it...
They both watched as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled something out before ringing the doorbell.
Her Dad gasped with delight "Oh my god, is that a ring box? That looks like a ring box! He's going to propose , oh my-!"
"He's not going to propose, Dad!" Jasmine cut across him as she went to the door.
"Oh, right yes. First date. Of course...that was silly of me...Still, I'd always imagined you'd have a spring wedding...you'd make a beautiful bride"
Jasmine rolled her eyes as she didn't respond.
Honestly, weren't most dad's protective and threatened by the boys who try and date their daughters? It looked like hers was ready to send her down the aisle with the first boy who showed up on door with a strange hat.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
As Aladdin stood in front of the door he was starting to second guess himself. Mostly the hat.
True to his word, Genie had helped him get ready. The blazer, swanky shoes and real lather belt were all on loan from the store. He'd opted to remove the fist sized decorative rams skull from the belt though. He didn't think he could pull of Texas chic.
He flipped the ring box over in his fingers before he brought up his hand to knock on the ominous mansion doors.
But as he raised his fist, the door opened.
"What's with the hat?"
Aladdin stood there with his fist in the air. He quickly dropped it.
"Just...gotta be looking fly, is all"
Jasmine raised an eyebrow as she slipped out the door, shutting it quickly behind so her Dad couldn't stall them. She thought she saw him run off to get his Camera. They had to move fast.
"You know, I can never tell if your being funny on purpose, or if your just kind of a dork"
"A little a' column A, a little a' column B"
As they walked down the drive, Aladdin handed her the ring box.
"Here, this is for you"
Well, he didn't present it on one knee, I think I'm safe. Bad luck, Dad.
Jasmine lit up as she opened it "Oh, wow, It's actually really pretty"
"You sound surprised?"
"Well, no offence to your gender, but from my experience guys generally always buy generic heart shaped jewelry for girls. Even my uncles do it for my Birthday. And most of it's tacky"
Aladdin made a mental note about heart shaped jewelry as Jasmine slipped the ring on her finger.
"It fits?"
"Perfectly. Thank you" she smiled, earnestly "It's such a beautiful color"
Jasmine was still admiring it, with Aladdin basking in his so far success, when they reached a shiny black car.
"Wow, nice car"
"Yeah, I know right?" Aladdin agreed. Jasmine gave him a look.
Of course it wasn't his car, Genie had 'pulled some strings' with a friend of his at a rental place. He was as surprised as Jasmine at how nice it was.
"I mean, um...here, let me get the door for you"
Jasmine slipped into the back seat, surprised as Aladdin followed in after her.
"Evening there, fine little lady!"
Jasmine almost shrieked as she was greeted by Genie, sitting in the drivers seat, a presidential style chauffeur costume on. Lord knows where he got it. Within twenty minutes of knowing the man, Aladdin just stopped asking questions.
"You...have a driver?" Jasmine thought she was missing something. Was Aladdin really a rich guy pretending to be a poor guy who had pretended to be rich? Or was she missing something?
"No, he's just on loan-"
"I came free with the car. You could choose between me or a pine scented air freshener. Personally, I think I smell better anyway. Here, sniff me"
"Ignore him. But seriously, you didn't think I'd make you catch the bus to the movies did you?"
Jasmine wouldn't have minded catching the bus, she thought, but she didn't say anything
"We're going to the movies?"
"Is that a tacky first date?" Aladdin winced.
"Not as tacky as heart shaped jewelry" Jasmine joked.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Jasmine peered up at the old, crumbling, building "I've never been to this movie theatre before"
Aladdin looked doubtful too as he followed Jasmine out of the car "Yeah...Genie, you sure this is the right place?"
"Of course it's the right place, it's a living legend of a building around these parts! The old swinging theatre, built all the way back in the twenties. A piece of local history! It's been fitted out with modern cinema screens and everything, adapted to the modern times. Come on kids, appreciate a little culture in your lives!"
Aladdin's jaw clenched a little as Jasmine wandered up closer to the building to look at the movie preview posters pasted on it's walls.
"You said you got these tickets from a guy at the mall cineplex!"
"Yeah? And I did. Frank. He cleans the aisles. His sister works here. Cleaning pop-corn and soda off of cinema floors runs in the family"
"Look, I can appreciate a little culture just fine, but I would have preferred if it wasn't culture from back when Charlie Chaplin was big"
"Words are cheap, the biggest thing you can say is 'elephant'"
"...and what the hell is that supposed to mean!" Aladdin hissed under his breath so Jasmine wouldn't hear him.
"It's a Charlie Chaplin quote. I don't know what it means, but maybe that makes it more meaningful, hm? Think about it"
Aladdin had to take a deep breath.
"Is everything alright?" Jasmine called.
"Fine! Be right behind you!" Aladdin smiled and waved, before rounding on Genie again.
"I am so mad at you!"
"What? What have I done? Got you free movie tickets, a ring, a free ride and that fabulous hat? Which you are pulling off, by the way"
"Really? Cuz' you know I really wasn't feeling it earlier and now it's kind of growing on me and-hey wait, no! That is not what's important right now!"
Genie smirked "No, it's not, what's important right now is the fact that you have your dream girl waiting out in the cold while you stay here, arguing with me, instead of rolling with the cards you've been dealt with and making the best of the situation, hm?"
Aladdin glared.
"I wanted to take her on the best date ever. She deserves the best date ever"
"Hey, I just offered you what help I could give, the rest is on you pal"
Genie picked up a pair of headphones from the passenger side box.
"Now, I'm going to sit here and listen to my 80's pop workout playlist and tune out the world while I wait here to take you guys home after the movies ended. Also, heres a couple'a dollars. Buy a box of Junior Mints or something. You're welcome" he finished, placing the hot pink beats headphones over his ears.
Aladdin stood there with the dollar bills in his hands, regretting that he ever trusted a fast talking junk store owner who insisted people call him 'the Genie'.
I mean, really?
Had he been high on strawberry candle fumes when he agreed to this?
"Genie, come on! You can't just-"
"Lets gets physical, physical! I wanna get physical, physical, tuning out the world Aladdin, sorry, can't hear you, too tuned out, ooooh, lets get into physical!~"
Aladdin slammed the car door shut and headed into the building with Jasmine.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 o0o0o0o0o0
Esmeralda was sprawled out on her bed, staring at the ceiling, her midsummer nights dream script laying on her stomach.
"I hate this. At home on a saturday night. Studying. It's so tragic"
Phoebus was lying down on her floor, waving his arms and legs.
"Look, I made a junk angel" he said, pushing the piles of clothes and magazines and makeup around to clear a space.
"So, so tragic"
"In our defence, we haven't actually started studying yet. We've just been lying down for the past forty five minutes"
"Yeah...we should probably open the damn things at least. Memorize a few lines..."
Phoebus sighed "Considering our first rehearsal is tomorrow morning..."
They both stared at their script books.
"...so do you think Pocahontas's date went well?"
Esmeralda bolted upright in her bed "Oh my god, I don't know! She hasn't even texted me back. It's driving me crazy"
"It's pretty late now too. Maybe coffee stretched out into dinner?"
"Or maybe he took her back to his bachelor pad and their doing the nasty right this second"
Phoebus laughed "Yeah, right"
Even though she had just been joking, Esmeralda gave him a look "What? It could happen. He's older and lives alone, no parents to stress about. She wouldn't have to worry about him saying anything about what they did together to jerks at school, and he wouldn't be all fumbly and awkward like most teenage guys"
"Hey, us teenage guys have feelings too"
"Didn't you tell me you accidentally got your watch caught in a girls hair when you were making out with her, once?"
"Yeah, notice the word 'once'" he stressed "But seriously? You think Pocahontas would actually do anything serious with this guy? Not just tonight, but like, ever?"
"I dunno. Maybe. Why, does the idea seem so weird to you?"
Phoebus shrugged "A little. Like...it's Pocahontas. I've never even seen her kiss a guy at a party, or even hold hands with anyone, know what I mean?"
"You think Pocahontas is a prude?" Esmeralda raised her eyebrows.
"No, I wouldn't use that word, not really-more like-"
"You know she went to third base with that Koko-whats-his name guy, right?"
"What?! No way!"
"Yeah, way"
Phoebus stared at her bemused "You're being serious?"
"It was only last summer when both of their families were going to some huge, native american tribe, reunion, spiritual...thing. I don't know what they call it, and they were all camping out and she said she had no one else to hang out with, and yeah. Tents...under the stars...supreme boredom between elders teaching them to weave their own wicker baskets to keep in touch with their heritage"
"And how am I just hearing this now?"
"She swore me to secrecy"
Phoebus gave Esmeralda a knowing look "Didn't she also swear you to secrecy about this John smith guy?"
Esmeralda looked a little guilty "Yeah...but it's you! You don't count, I tell you everything. And I know for a fact you don't tell anyone else. You're just my secret gossip buddy"
"Such a manly title. I'm proud to bear it"
"Besides. I don't tell you any of our really big secrets"
This got Phoebus's attention.
"What count's as a really big secret? I already know you had a sex dream about Mr. Frollo in sophomore year" he smirked.
"It wasn't a pleasurable sex dream, it was creepy as hell! I couldn't look him in the eye for the rest of the year and I don't know why my brain did that to me!" Esmeralda grimaced like she wanted to gag on the memory all over again.
"I also know you had your first time with that guy we met from DreamWorks high at one of Lottie's parties, whatever his name was"
"Tulio"
"Yeah, him. Didn't talk to him much, got on with his friend Miguel better, myself. You should've slept with him"
Esmeralda dropped a pillow on Phoebus's face, and she could hear him laughing from beneath it.
"Yeah, well, I know your first time was with Aquata, so nyurgh" she stuck out her tongue.
"Hey, we had a very meaningful two week relationship"
"That she refused to tell anyone about, and then hooked up with Flynn a week later at that beach party"
"She didn't want her to Dad finding out. She had like fifty sisters at school as well that we had to hide it from" he shrugged, obviously not very phased over this tragic break up "And Flynn was perfectly welcome to her, she didn't really mean much to me anyway"
"Oooh, harsh"
"Coming from you? Come on, you've had a revolving door of boyfriends" Phoebus threw the pillow back to Esmeralda, who caught it in her lap "Speaking of which, how's Khaki-chino's and hair gel?"
"Is that your new nickname for Naveen?"
"Yup"
"Creative" she actually laughed "And thing's are fine"
"What does 'fine' mean? Gonna dump him soon?"
"No, fine means I've already picked out my wedding dress" she shot back sarcastically "Fine means fine, what do you care?"
Phoebus waved it off "I don't, just wondering. Besides, I just remembered you still haven't told me what one of your so called big secrets is" he pressed, smiling up at her from his spot on the floor.
Esmeralda smiled back and hugged the pillow to her chest "Hm, not telling. It's way to big and dramatic and secret"
"Is it about me?" Phoebus joked, pulling a cheesy smile.
Esmeralda just scoffed and threw the pillow back at him.
"Yeah, you wish"
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
A/N: LONGEST. CHAPTER. EVER. YO. Almost 12, 000 words. Yoooo.
Sorry about not updating in about a month, I was just stuck on certain parts of this chapter. Re-writing, and worrying and then re-writing again. I think I went through about ten different ways that Pocahontas/Smith not-date date could have gone. I think it was because of all the one on one couple, romancey, stuff in this chapter. I just hope you guys understand that i'm not going to serve you up some rushed up shit I just wrote to get the new chapter up faster, you know what I mean? And I like keeping things together, and the chapters coherent, so I knew I wanted to get all these 'dates' in the one chapter. That's just how I had it planned, and my plans stretch over maybe two written pages, and somehow a scene summed up in one or two sentences can stretch out to a couple thousand words. And if I'm not happy with it, I don't post it.
Anyway. Onto dot points!
. So many of you have been asking about wether I'd be including the Genie or not! And also I think you were all wondering how the fuck I was going to pull that off if I did. I have been waiting to write him. I hope you like him as some slightly deranged shop owner. And instead of pulling off all his 'tricks' with magic I made him dodgy like a lovable criminal. Hope ya'll are ok with that. Have you ever been offered home fermented alcohol? It smells like rocket fuel. I was offered some by a Croatian family when I was sixteen. I don't recommend it.
.Eric and Ariel! Yay! This was another scene I was so stuck on. I knew what needed to happen. They were going to get together finally. I just...couldn't figure out how to make it interesting. Everything I wrote or came up with was hella boring, to me anyway. That wouldn't do, these two are too cute. Then the photo booth idea. I hope you guys like it, it's all my un-romantic brain could manage. And also, despite their ridiculous(ly awesome) name, The Arctic Monkeys are a really great band if you haven't heard of them. I know their huge in England and here in Australia, but I don't know about America. I hope they are, cuz now i get to brag and tell you all my uncle is one of the managing directors of the record label they're signed too...not that that really does anything to make me cooler. It's not like I've ever met them...but I DO get free CD's in the mail! Ha! Winning! so yeah, please excuse that shameless plug telling you to check out their music, plus me trying to make myself sound uber cool, but they are an honestly great band if you like that kind of indie rock music thing.
. I've also had certain messengers who were a little concerned that Rapunzel and Flynn were a couple that were moving too fast, at least faster than the others, and now that I can't ruin the plot, you can see I had a reason before it. While quite a few of the other couples are going to face challenges before they start going out, a lot of Rapunzel and Flynn's problems are going to start after they started going out. So just read what happens, because they are still a way off earning their happy ending.
. I hope no one was put off by the talk between Phoebus and Esmeralda. They're some of the older characters, and I think it'd suited their personality to talk about things like that. For example, Jasmine and the other girls wouldn't talk about those kind of things so frankly. Sometimes it's weird to think I'm writing this kind of thing about beloved disney characters from my childhood, but also I remember i've been morphing them pretty away from that this entire fic, and it's not actual disney. Plus, I want to show how close Esmeralda and Phoebus's friendship is, that she puts him almost on parr with Pocahontas, her best friend. And please don't think I'm making her a bitch by having her share Pocahontas's secrets, because we totally all have that person who is exempt from the rule of keeping total secrecy. For me that person is my Mum. I'd tell you to see it in the way that Esmeralda is usually such a blabber mouth, just telling one person is really good for her, and Pocahontas wouldn't really mind anyway if it was just Phoebus. Maybe Flynn, she'd mind, but Phoebus is cool.