I sighed, falling back onto the bed. It was around 3, so I had a few hours to kill before we were to go out. There was a desk in the corner of my room and I sat myself down, getting Pascal out and placing him in the corner of it facing me. I got out my charcoal, a big piece of paper and began drawing. It was my preferred pastime. Aunt Gothel was never an artsy person, she was more science and math, so her opinions and critiques of my creations were always invalid to me. That's the great thing about art I guess. As long as you can justify your work, no one can tell you it's wrong.

My mind began to wander, reflecting on the past 16 years. How my whole life was a lie, how I was kept in that room for years and for what? Just some selfish insane woman? Someone who couldn't even give me answers now?

Minutes turned to hours, my hand flying up and down the page, smudging, smearing, shading, creating until the stick of charcoal was nothing more than a stub in my fingers. I barely stopped to think before taking a new stick, my movements never ceasing. The ideas flew from my head and onto the page. It felt so natural I didn't even have to think about it, as if the charcoal was merely an extension of me. The world around me melted away until it was just me and my thoughts and my work and Pascal. That's how it seemed to be for the last 16 years anyway.

Knock knock.

"Rapunzel?" I turned and saw Tadashi sticking his head in. "You ready to go?" I glanced at the clock on the wall, seeing it was 5:55.

"Oh, sorry… um… lost track of time."

"It's okay," he said, entering the room. I only now noticed how truly tall the guy was. He towered over me, making me shrink back a little. "Can I see what you drew?"

"Sure."

Tadashi came over to the desk and looked over my shoulder. At that moment, I began to feel a bit embarrassed at how dark my drawing looked. Don't get me wrong, it was a great drawing. It just wasn't the most uplifting. It focused on a girl sitting at the top of a tall tower with no doors and only one window. Her hair was so long that it extended all the way to the ground dozens of feet below. There was a cloth gag over her mouth and tears ran down her cheeks, staining them a darker colour. The border of the paper was dark with light coloured hands and claws reaching in to grab her. "Wow," he said. "You're a really great artist."

"Thanks," I said sheepishly. "You're a really great inventor. I met Baymax at the station last night."

HIs face lit up. "Really? What did you think of him?"

"I think if he was available all over the world, it would be revolutionary."

"Hopefully, he'll be available all over the world soon…" his gaze was glued on my drawing, unblinking. "Ahem," he cleared his throat. "Hiro is downstairs, my friends will be here soon to pick us up. You might wanna wash your hands before coming down."

I glanced at my hands, still black with charcoal dust. "Right…"

XXX

"Hey, I'm glad you're coming! Tonight is gonna be fun," Hiro said as I walked down the stairs. He and Tadashi both seemed pretty casual so my scruffy appearance didn't bother me as much as it should have. Suddenly, a van pulled up outside, the horn honking twice. Tadashi opened the front door for me. "Those are my friends. Be warned they can be a bit rowdy but they're a nice bunch."

I followed them and watched as a short, punk looking girl slid open the van door, a piece of gum in her mouth. "Sup Tadashi, Hiro," she said casually. Her attention fell on me. "And you are?"

"Coming with us," Tadashi interrupted. "Let's go in, we'll introduce her in front of everyone." Hiro and I followed him in as the door closed behind us. "Guys, this is Rapunzel. She's staying with my family for a while so we figured she should join us." I shrunk back a little in my seat as all eyes were on me.

"It's okay," Hiro whispered softly, placing his hand on my arm.

"Rapunzel, this is GoGo," Tadashi pointed to the punk girl who nodded in my direction, a bubble of gum popping at her lips. "Honey Lemon." A tall girl wearing lab goggles and a bright, 70s looking outfit waved cheerily. "Damon." A burly guy with dreadlocks offered me a fistbump which I hesitantly returned. "And Fred." The tall and lanky looking guy driving the van turned to wave, looking back at us for a little too long.

"Keep your eyes on the road, man!" Damon exclaimed as the van swerved to the right.

"Okay, okay, jeez!" he replied, turning his focus back where it was meant to be.

"So, Rapunzel." Honey Lemon turned to me. Her hair reminded me a little of mine, but shorter than mine was before it was cut. "We're going to this sushi place near our university. Have you ever been? The sushi comes to your table on bullet trains just like in Japan!"

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "No, I haven't been. I… don't get out much. I've only had take out sushi."

"Well then this is gonna be a huge upgrade!" she chirped excitedly.

The group then began talking about school. Tadashi's pride was of course Baymax, but the others were all working on really cool inventions too. Honey Lemon was engineering chemical balls for attack and defense, GoGo had levitation discs, Damon had plasma blades and Fred had something he called a "Fredzilla suit". I didn't dare to ask more. Even Hiro was working on microbots which would be able to construct and deconstruct massive structures on command.

It didn't even stop when we pulled up to the parking lot and went into the restaurant, the group of us just being rowdy teenagers. Well, rowdy tenagers and an awkward social recluse. Though, as the minutes passed by, I did begin to warm up to the group and it seemed like they were more comfortable with me too. Honey Lemon was especially eager for me to try ordering.

"You order from the iPad. This place has amazing specialty rolls," Honey Lemon instructed, tapping a few buttons on the screen for me. In an instant, a small bullet train pulled up to our table on a conveyor belt next to us. On it sat several plates of sushi which they all eagerly reached for.

"You've really never had good sushi before?" GoGo asked, an eyebrow raised. I shook my head meekly, suddenly feeling self conscious again. "Only the stuff out of a box."

"Do you know how to use chopsticks?" Hiro questioned, passing me a pair. Again, I shook my head.

Honey Lemon perked up. "Ooh! I have the perfect thing!" We all watched curiously as she dug through her bag and pulled out a hot pink glove. "Here, put this on."

"What's it for?" I asked, uncertain.

"Just trust me."

The smile she gave me was so comforting, how could I say no? I slipped the glove onto my left hand and gasped in amazement as my fingers began moving on their own accord. Grinning from ear to ear, Honey Lemon placed the pair of chopsticks in my hand and I looked in wonder as my fingers clasped around them. The glove manoeuvred my hand until I was using chopsticks perfectly, picking up a roll wrapped in seaweed.

"Cool, right?" she gushed, her eyes wide with excitement. "I invented it for my little brother who has Lyme disease. His tics make it so he can't really hold chopsticks without spazzing out, so these safely stabilise your hand and mimic the movements for you! It's super easy to use to learn and get muscle memory too."

I brought the roll up to my mouth and popped it in. "Mmmm" I hummed as I chewed, feeling balls of fish roe popping, filling my mouth with a taste I never knew before. "This is amazing! Both the glove and the sushi. You guys get to eat this every day?"

"Well, not every day," Damon said, helping himself to a piece of raw fish. "Today is a special occasion. Our boy Hiro has gotten into the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology on a scholarship several years ahead of schedule."

"Aww, you guys…" Hiro blushed, a smile spreading on his face which was infectious.

Tadashi nudged him in the ribs. "It's a big deal. You're officially the youngest person to ever get in, and the youngest person to get in on a scholarship. This is a reason to celebrate, which is why dinner is on me!"

"Yes!" Fred punched the air. "Nothing is better than free food."

Hiro shot him a deadpan stare. "Fred, you literally live in a mansion." All of us were lost to a fit of giggles.

"You guys are all so talented. It's no wonder you're where you are, doing what you love. I've never been much of a science person. I'm more artsy."

GoGo rested her chin in her hands, looking straight at me. "So. What's your story?"

I chuckled nervously. "What do you mean?"

Honey Lemon placed a hand on her arm, "GoGo…"

"I mean what's your story? You're staying with the Hamadas, something must be up." It felt like the air got a lot thicker.

"My… my story?"

Tadashi's facial expression darkened. "GoGo, you-"

"What? A girl can't be curious?"

"Dude, not cool," Damon spoke, some food flying out of his mouth. My chest felt tight.

"You don't have to say anything you're not comfortable with, Rapunzel," Hiro added, throwing me a sympathetic glance.

"Though, if you did, we'd all be very interested to- ow!" GoGo's interrogation was cut off by Fred punching her in the arm to shut her up.

"You guys really wanna know?" I asked softly.

"What's your business is your business, you aren't obligated to share what you don't want to." Honey Lemon gave me a look that made my heart melt, her eyes so understanding.

I sighed deeply, rubbing my sweaty palms on my jeans. "You guys have been so kind to me. I don't mind sharing." I could tell I had all of their attention, their looks giving off different vibes. While GoGo seemed to be hanging onto the edge of her seat in anticipation, others looked a little uncertain. I took a deep breath. "Okay, first off, I'm an orphan. Well, I'm not totally sure about that... I guess. Half an orphan at least." Then went the story I felt like I had repeated over a dozen times the past 48 hours alone. The only thing I left out was the intersex part. That was a little too much to share at the time. I watched all their facial expressions morph from uncertainty to curiosity to pity. "So yeah… I'm not a huge people person, and I'm glad you guys are okay with me being here."

The silence after threatened to suffocate me. I could see they didn't know what to do, what to say. Even GoGo with her wit didn't utter a word. In a panic, I began to apologise, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anyth-"

"We appreciate you telling us this," Tadashi cut me off. "Your story is safe with us. All of us." This line seemed to be directed at GoGo, who blushed a deep scarlet. "And honestly, this whole time you've been with us, I would have never guessed it was your first time hanging around other people before. I guess that's a sign you're doing a good job." The others mumbled in agreement.

"Plus," Hiro added, "Tadashi and I are orphans too. So we kind of know what that feels like."

"Son of a bitch." Our attention was thankfully drawn away from me and towards Damon, who scrubbed at a green stain on his sweater. "I just bought this sweater, man!"

"We should call you Wasabi for that," I giggled. Surprisingly, everyone else, other than Damon of course, chimed in in agreement.

"I like the sound of that," Hiro chuckled.

"Hah, nice going, Wasabi," Fred jibbed.

"Not bad, kid," GoGo said, giving me a pat on the back.

"Come on, guys, it's just this once," Wasabi protested as we continued to laugh at his expense. The tension eased as the attention was finally off me, and the rest of the night went off without a hitch.

XXX

Cass looked up from her laptop when we walked in, a steaming mug of tea by her side. "Good you're back. How was your dinner, guys? I hope the boys took care of you, Rapunzel."

"They did, I had a great time for my first night out ever."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh? So they-"

"Yeah, they know," I interrupted.

"And you-"

"I told them. I mean, one of their friends did ask," she shot Tadashi a steely look, "but I chose to tell them! I guess. I really don't mind them knowing. I mean, eventually people will know these things, I'm staying here after all. Questions will come and well it would be rude to just sit there twiddling my thumbs forever while people try to cover for me. Eventually they'll have to know because I can't be riding the 'I'm bad at people' excuse forever. Sorry, am I babbling? I'm babbling, aren't I?"

Cass looked at me with a small smile. "Well, as long as you're comfortable with them knowing, it's fine by me."

I jumped a little when I felt a warm presence by my leg. Looking down, I saw it was a Japanese bobtail cat, white with brown and black spots, circling my feet and purring softly.

"Hey, Mochi!" Hiro exclaimed, picking up the furry creature. "It's late, we should all get some rest."

"Hiro's right. But just so you know, I really had fun tonight," Tadashi added, giving me a kind smile. I could see the hint of dimples on the edge of his cheeks. "At this rate, we should make you an honorary Hamada. You fit right in."

"Really?" I gasp in surprise.

"Yeah! No matter what happens in the future, you always have us here when you need it."

Cass piped up, "Oh, Rapunzel, that reminds me. We're providing you with a phone so you can keep in contact with me and have a way to call someone in case of emergencies. It's all set up already." She handed me a phone, not the latest model but more than anything I had had before.

"My number is on there, so are Tadashi and Hiro's, but this is yours so you can add more if you want to. You know how to use it, right?" I nodded meekly, mumbling a quick thanks, too flabbergasted to do more. "Awesome. Well, it is late, you should get some rest."

Not wanting to argue or be a nuisance, I agreed and made my way back to the spare room.