I'm really, really sorry. I've had a lot going on and I'm not here to bore you with the details or make excuses, but I just couldn't seem to find the time to write, and even if I had, I don't think anything would have come out of me.

Things are starting to slow down now and my fingers are just pouring out words into my laptop, so I would say I'll be back within the week with another chapter, and once April hits I should go back to my old uploading habits and be smashing them out a lot quicker!

I want to say a huge, huge thank you so all of the follows and favourites and lovely reviews I received since posting the last chapter! It meant the entire world to me! You are all so kind and I feel completely undeserving! I hope you enjoy what I have in store for these guys in future chapters. 3


Rapunzel rolled her eyes when Sally told her to leave the cash registers to make sandwiches. She was already serving at least three people to every one the other girl was, but apparently that wasn't good enough. Not to mention the new girl had zero customer service. But she was the niece of one of the women who had worked here for a decade or more, and she hadn't been hidden away for eighteen years, so they were going to like her heaps better just based off that.

Rapunzel shouldn't have put in so much effort. She was taken for granted and they insinuated constantly that she wasn't good enough. She was a hard worker, and she wanted a job that she enjoyed with people she liked being around. And these people had their minds made up about her before she'd walked through the door.

She sighed heavily, loud enough for the woman beside her to notice, but she didn't pry. Rapunzel kicked herself for being so moody. It wasn't like her to be so negative about people, but she couldn't seem to help it in this place. She wondered if being out in the world was changing her for the worse.

She counted down the last hour of her shift, trying not to glance at the clock too often. It seemed not to be moving as quickly as it should have been. The boys from the construction site down the road talked to her like she was an old friend, calling her by name, asking what her preferences for the day were. She knew Jordan, the youngest-looking of all of them, had something like a crush on her, but she wasn't interested. He was a nice boy, but he didn't make her all nervous and clumsy like Eugene did. And she liked feeling that way.

When two o'clock hit, she grabbed her bag without saying anything. Usually she would stay and ask the manager if there was anything she could do before she left, but she was just ready to get out of the shop. She said goodbye quietly to the others as she passed them, deep in a conversation now that the lunch rush had left, and kept her head down as she exited, the sun immediately heating her skin and her hair.

She still had four-and-a-half hours until she and Eugene would be going on their date. Which was fine, because she was determined to make herself beautiful for him. She didn't know what kind of plans he had, but whether it was something quiet and simple or he went all out and took her somewhere fancy, she wanted him to be happy to be seen with her.

There was a small pharmacy on the walk back to her home, so she walked in, trying not to think twice about it incase her anxiety crept up on her. She didn't know what she was doing. The people inside were mostly elderly ladies, and she wondered about asking one of them to help, but scared herself into keeping quiet and browsing the makeup aisle, trying to make sense of all the brief descriptions on the products.

"Could I help you with anything, or were you alright just looking?"

The girl in front of her wore a pink shirt, a part of the uniform, and smiled at her in an honestly friendly way. She was pretty. She had straight red hair and freckles, heaps more than Rapunzel had. They covered her entire face and collarbone and arms, dark in patches. Rapunzel studied them interestedly, itching to paint her in watercolour. The girl's lips were a bright fuchsia, and Rapunzel stared at them, intrigued.

"Um…I'm going on a date tonight, and I don't wear makeup, but I want to try. Just for tonight. Something simple. But I don't know what I need to get, or what the best things are."

"Oh, okay," she looked eager to help, and Rapunzel smiled at her energy. Why couldn't she work with people like this? "Well, you have really nice skin, so you probably don't need to be looking at foundations or anything. Stay natural; guys seem to like that. I'd recommend some mascara. Your eyelashes are really thick, but that will just make them stand out more…" she scanned the shelves in front of her with her lips pursed, pulling a small tube out. It was in black and white packaging, and Rapunzel wondered what made it different to the pink one beside it. "And I can't go anywhere without wearing blush, this one is my favourite. And lips! Did you want to wear a colour on your lips?"

"Yeah," Rapunzel decided. "I like the colour you have on."

"It's fun, isn't it?" the girl grinned, still professional. She walked a few feet from Rapunzel, grabbing another tube and holding it up. "This is the one I have on. There are other colours if you want to have a look."

"I'll just get that one," she didn't want to overwhelm herself, and she tended to lean toward brighter colours in all circumstances, anyway.

She followed the store assistant to the counter, watching as she scanned them and sat them back down on the bench in front of her. Rapunzel paid as the girl asked her where she was going for their date, and Rapunzel told her she wasn't sure. The girl insisted Eugene must have been romantic if he was keeping it a secret. Rapunzel hadn't thought about Eugene being romantic before, but she figured he had seemed a bit more inclined to that sort of thing than usual the last couple of days.

She felt a little braver when she continued her walk home. Her feet were moving faster, and her head was held up just a little higher. She smiled back at Coronians as they passed her, offering her greetings for her afternoon.

The Snuggly Duckling caught her attention as she neared home, and she chewed on her lip. She didn't know if anyone would even be there at this time, but she crossed the street anyway and pushed the door open, relieved when it moved. Hookhand, as Eugene called him, was seated on the other side of the bar, in a deep conversation with Tor. Big Nose was nowhere to be seen, and Rapunzel felt herself deflate a little. He was specifically who she'd been seeking.

"Blondie," Hookhand greeted her, having picked up Eugene's nickname for her. "What are you doing her so early? The other guys won't be here for a couple of hours, if you wanted to come back."

"I can't tonight," she said happily. "I have a date! I just wanted to tell Big Nose! But he's not here, so can you tell him for me? I know he'd be excited for me."

Hookhand didn't look overly excited himself. "Who is he? Tell him if he does anything to hurt you, I'll break his legs."

Rapunzel hesitated, wondering whether to tell them who it was she was going out with. She decided they would find out soon enough anyway. "I'm going out with Flynn. We made up. He told me all of his secrets, and his real name is actually Eugene."

Hookhand laughed loudly, and Rapunzel knew at once it wasn't because of the way she spoke or the things she said. He accepted her. All of the guys did here, and that's what she loved about the place. Tor lifted his head menacingly. "He's not good enough for you."

"You would say that about anybody."

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean it's not true."

She smiled widely at them. "Thank you for caring. If I go missing or something, you know who to go after."

A familiar head of short, black hair was waiting inside the housing building when she walked in. Rapunzel gritted her teeth, her confidence suddenly wavering when her nerves kicked in.

"Raps! Where have you been?!" Cass moved forward quickly, holding onto her shoulder tightly. "I came yesterday afternoon, and you never showed! I waited for ages! And when you still weren't here this morning, I started to panic. I tried calling you, Rapunzel!"

"Oh," Rapunzel shifted her small backpack, holding her phone that had died the first night she'd gone to Eugene's. "I'm sorry, Cass. I was with a friend, and then I had to work, and then I stopped by the Snuggly Ducking on my way home."

"And went shopping," Cass noted, glancing down at the pink bag in her friend's hand. "What do you mean you were with a friend? For how long? And what friend?"

Cass was more than aware of Rapunzel's situation with Flynn Rider. She had been at the home when Rapunzel had returned from the hairdressing salon, her tears dry on her face, leaving it feeling stiff and salty. She'd comforted her, but not the way Rapunzel had wanted, telling her he was always set out to hurt her and not to waste her time with him anymore. Telling her he was the worst kind of person, and Rapunzel shouldn't associate with him any longer.

"Um…" just being honest wouldn't hurt? "His name is Eugene. And he asked me on a date tonight."

Cass' mouth fell open with surprise. "Eugene? That's a nice name."

"Mm-hm," Rapunzel felt a little bad tricking her friend when Cassandra had always been so nice to her, but she knew she'd never hear the end of it if she explained the entire situation. "He's really nice to me. I don't know where we're going, but I stopped and bought makeup so I could look good for him."

"Oh, wow," Cass' grin was starting to sneak onto her face. Rapunzel wondered whether she was just happy that her friend wouldn't be pining for a criminal anymore. "Good for you, Raps! I'm proud of you,"

"Thanks," Rapunzel giggled nervously. "I don't know what I'm doing, but I'll figure it out."

"Well, what time is he coming? I could help you get ready, if you want. I have dinner with my father at six, but I'm free until then."

Perfect. Cass would be out of her hair long before Eugene came to pick her up. Rapunzel grinned widely at her girlfriend, accepting her proposal to help immediately. Cass had always worn eye makeup each time Rapunzel had ever seen her, so she could be trusted. Heck, Hookhand would probably know what to do over Rapunzel.

Cass was finished with all of her work for the day, so she followed Rapunzel up to room 14 immediately, telling her again how worried she'd been about not being able to get in touch with her. Rapunzel apologised over and over again. She should have thought about Cassandra. Her friend was always a little overprotective, to the point where she occasionally threatened to get on Rapunzel's nerves. But the brunette knew her friend was coming from a good place and would always have her back.

They both decided on the same dress for dinner – yellow, with large white flowers printed onto it. It was a similar style to the rest of her dresses; a figure-hugging bodice and a skirt that flared and fell to just below Rapunzel's knees. She was still wearing her navy bra, and she smirked as Cass zipped her in to the dress, thinking of how Eugene's eyes always travelled when she wore this bra with her sundresses. She would normally have felt uncomfortably on show, but something about having him beside her while they were out in the world made her confidence peak, and made her feel better about herself in general.

Cass told her all about some trouble she'd been having with a young mother who kept insisting on leaving the home to go back to her abusive partner, and Rapunzel offered sympathy and advice where she could, stunned a little that, for the first time, Cass was speaking to her like they were equals, and not like she had to mind what came out of her mouth.

Cassandra unwrapped the mascara from its packaging, grinning excitedly at Rapunzel as she leaned forward and brushed it gently against her lashes. "So…tell me about this Eugene. How did you guys meet?"

"Well," Rapunzel chuckled awkwardly, thinking over how to word this. "I met him while he was working."

"Where does he work?"

Cass didn't need to know he'd had two different jobs Rapunzel had seen him in. "He works in a bookstore. I've bought books from him before."

"Ah, that's nice Raps. You'll have heaps to talk about if you're both into reading. What does he look like?"

"He's quite tall…he has nice forearms. Brown hair, brown eyes…" she chewed on her lip, trying not to blink as Cassandra finished coating her eyelashes. "His eyes look yellow in the sun. They're really nice."

Cass scoffed, pulling back to roll her eyes. "Listen to you. I haven't even heard about this Eugene guy, and you seem to be infatuated with him already."

"Yeah," Rapunzel sighed hopelessly. "He's pretty great."

"Well, as long as he's good to you. I mean, anything would be an improvement over that Rider. I'm just glad there's someone else around to distract you."

She must have taken Rapunzel's awkward silence as sadness, because she sighed and screwed the mascara wand back into its tube. "Raps, I know you cared about him. But he wasn't a good guy, and the sooner you saw that, the better. I don't know what exactly it was he did to you, but I'm honestly glad he did it. Getting as far from him as possible is the best thing you could do for yourself."

"Hm," Rapunzel managed a tiny, nervous giggle, shrugging her shoulders once. Cass accepted it, and before she could ask any more questions about Eugene, Rapunzel opened her mouth to inform her of her last police appointment.

"Max found my parents."

Cass seemed stunned, her mouth half-open and her grey eyes wide as she stared at her friend, waiting for more information. "What?! Raps, that's amazing!"

"Yeah," Rapunzel said quietly. "I think I have to meet them. Eugene said they would still be waiting for me, after all this time, and I guess they deserve to see me again. But I'm scared, and I don't know what I want to do. I'm still thinking about it."

"Well, I'm sure they're amazing. And if you feel like you need someone to be there with you while you meet them, you just have to ask. You know I'd do anything for you."

"Thanks, Cass,"

Cassandra seemed to hang around when Rapunzel was happy with her makeup. For once, it seemed as though she was truly there just to be with her friend, but it couldn't have come at a worse time for Rapunzel. She glanced at the small clock on the wall constantly, hoping Eugene didn't turn up early. She felt bad for keeping the truth from her friend, but she knew Cass wouldn't be open to understanding at this point in time. She was quick to jump to conclusions, and sometimes seemed a little overprotective of Rapunzel, which the young brunette didn't know whether she liked or not. It was nice feeling as though someone cared, but she occasionally felt a little claustrophobic.

Cass laughed about being late for dinner as she was leaving and Rapunzel tried her hardest not to seem too distracted, walking her downstairs and waving as she left. Half an hour until Eugene was due to arrive. She tugged at the ends of her hair nervously, pulling at the choppy strands a little too roughly. What if he laughed at her for wearing lipstick? What if she didn't suit it, and he thought was trying too hard?

She went back to her room, standing in front of the tiny bathroom mirror and staring at herself, trying to find fault in her appearance. There were a lot of things she was self-conscious about; things her mother had teased her over while she was growing up. She'd wished to get rid of her freckles, and fix her teeth so the two at the front didn't sit lower. Her mother had said her top lip was too full for the bottom. But it had been a long time since anyone had been nasty about her appearance, and Rapunzel was beginning to think she kind of liked how she looked.

When their planned meeting time was fifteen minutes away, she sat on the old couch and started checking her phone constantly, just incase she'd hit something to get rid of a call or message that he'd left to tell her he was outside. Was she even supposed to meet him outside? Was he coming to her room? Was he nervous for no good reason as well? She could have laughed at herself. She spent more time with this man than anyone, and just because the word "date" had been used, her stomach seemed to be crawling with insects that she couldn't calm down.

She wondered if she should put a bag together incase she stayed at his house. But she didn't want to seem presumptuous, so she decided against it. She would stay if he asked her. Maybe he was getting tired of her staying over. She couldn't really ask him to stay at her house, because she just had a tiny single bed and one pillow, and imagine if Cass showed up first thing in the morning and caught them together.

It was 6:32 when he knocked on her door. She bounded from the lounge, pulling it open with a nervous smile.

"Whoa! Blondie, look at you!" he grinned widely. "You didn't have to do all that for me, you know."

"I wanted to look nice,"

"Job well done," he cleared his throat.

Rapunzel had never seen him in a button-up shirt before, except for the super dressy white shirt he'd been wearing after the funeral. This one was dark blue, and he wore light brown pants that matched really nicely. His shoes were brown leather. He followed her eyes down to her own feet.

"Nice shoes,"

"Thanks," she smiled widely. "I haven't worn them before."

"I never thought I'd see you in a pair, to be honest," he seemed to be holding himself together a lot better than she was.

Of course he is! He's probably been on a thousand dates! And with tall skinny people like Bec. Why would he be nervous about tonight?

The silence hung between them for a moment, and he took a step back, into the hall. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," she breathed. He hadn't asked her about staying at his house, and she was too scared he would decline if she said anything, so she locked the door behind them, putting the key in the small brown leather bag she wore over her shoulder.

He took her hand on the way down the stairs, giving her a comforting squeeze, and she smiled, watching their feet, thinking about how anyone who would see them would think of them as two regular people, on a regular night out.