Takes place: prior to the events of the story, August 2014
POV: Arianna
Summary: Tori and Owen loved their daughter, but her rebelliousness was getting out of hand. Arianna loved her parents, but their constricting rules were beginning to take their toll. As soon as their blatant disapproval of her relationship with Frederic was thrown into the mix, none of them could stand it anymore, and Arianna made a choice she could never take back.

It was late, and I did my best to be quiet as I snuck back into my parents' house. I may have been a college student, but for some reason, I still had a curfew. If only I could stay in the dorms during summer break. Or with Frederic. But my parents insisted I stay in the family home, at least until I graduated. They probably knew that my work would eventually take me far and wanted to spend as much time with me as they could before that happened. It was sweet, but it didn't give them a reason to treat me like I was still a child.

"Shush, Max!" I hissed, trying to shoo away my dog who came up eagerly to greet me. "Quiet." I made a show of holding a finger to my lips. I knew he wanted to bark, but he knew his command, and settled for a tiny whimper instead. "Good boy," I praised under my breath, scratching him behind the ears before I finished climbing through my bedroom window and shutting it silently behind me.

I kicked off my heels, rubbing the sore soles of my feet. A bunch of friends had been out clubbing, and while it was exhausting, it was also inspiring. Clubs and bars were where I was guaranteed a sure supply of alcohol, and with the fake IDs we managed to get our hands on, getting in was easy. The legal drinking and clubbing age was going to be lowered from twenty one to eighteen at the end of the year, but I didn't have time to wait. I produced my most interesting work when I was a little buzzed.

My small bedside lamp illuminated my room in a dim light, just enough so that I could see the pages of my sketchbook. I brought the pencil to paper, but my mind was coming up blank. What to draw? I thought, chewing on the back end of my pencil. Max rubbed up against my feet as I pondered, my constant cheerleader. My thoughts wandered back to my parents, and how I always thought they were my biggest cheerleaders. They supported my dream to be an artist, but kind of smothered me along the way. As their only child, they could never stop baby-ing me, keeping a close eye on me at all times. My mom even tried to write to my professor to excuse me from last semester's Drawing From Life module where we drew nude models. She probably didn't know the internet had already exposed me to things much worse than a naked person posing to be sketched. Maybe I could do something about support and suppression. I began drafting an idea, something to do with an oak tree that grew so large it smothered all of its inhabitants.

As the piece progressed, I still found myself pausing at random intervals, constantly hitting walls. This wasn't going to work. I needed to be freer. Looser. I needed more alcohol.

My parents sometimes did checks on my room, but never super thoroughly. As long as no contraband was in plain sight, I would be fine. That's why I kept my stash in the minifridge under my desk.

Vodka or whiskey would have been overkill. I just needed a little nudge, plus I was already arguably tipsy after my night out. Maybe a beer. Yes, that would be just right. The can of Corona was right at the back of the fridge. I'd managed to convince Frederic to buy me some. It was my favourite brand, not really because of the taste, but more like because it reminded me of him. Frederic Corona. The man I was so lucky to land. The man who sent me flowers and took me on thoughtful dates. The man who tried his best to impress my parents even though they had their reservations about him. The man who I hoped to marry someday, maybe once I graduated college. My parents got married right after Mom's college graduation, so maybe I could do the same.

The can opened with a hiss and I took a good swig, plopping myself down on my bed once again. The images came a little easier now. Roots suffocated the earthworms in the dirt. Leaves grew so densely no birds could land on its branches. The trunk was so thick that no hollow nooks or crannies could act as home to squirrels or chipmunks or any other woodland creatures. The whole ecosystem was entirely inhospitable.

Exactly what I was going for.

I took another gulp and let out a very unladylike burp, something that Dad would have definitely laughed at and Mom would have definitely told me off for. I bit back a laugh at the possibility of it.

After a few minutes, Max's head rose from the bed, suddenly alert and staring at the door.

"What is it, buddy?" I asked him, following his gaze. "What's there?"

The answer was given to me by a knock at my door. "Arianna?"

My mom. My mom was there.

She knocked again. "Arianna, I know you said you weren't feeling well, but you know the rules. No locked doors. It's not safe."

I cursed under my breath. I told them I wasn't feeling well at dinner and that I was gonna have an early night. It usually worked well enough and I was able to sneak in and out through my bedroom window without much trouble. Apparently, it didn't work tonight. "In a second, Mom." I tried to say this as drowsily and nasally as possible to make it seem as if her knocking had woken me up. At the same time, I scrambled. I wrestled myself out of my dress and threw it into the back of my closet, pulling on an oversized t-shirt. I frantically sprayed deodorant around the room to try and mask the scent of the alcohol. I grabbed my purse and hid it under my desk. I tucked the can of beer under my bed to keep it out of sight. The whole time, Mom kept knocking on my door.

"Not in a second. Open the door now," she said firmly.

"Just give me a minute!"

"Arianna Katrin Hollen, I have been knocking on your door all night and have gotten no response until now. I've been worried."

"Mom, I'm fine. I promise."

"Open the door then. I just want to see you and make sure you're okay."

Groaning, I made my way towards the door and unlocked it before quickly burrowing under the covers and pretending I had been asleep. Mom came in and flicked on the main lights, and I blinked rapidly for my eyes to adjust. She sat on the edge of my bed and Max hopped off, sitting on the floor by my head instead.

"I've been trying to check up on you all night. Why didn't you answer me?"

"Sorry, I was… asleep."

She gave me a once over. "You don't look very sick."

"Um… well like Dad says. Rest will make you feel better."

She inched closer to me, placing a hand on my sweaty forehead that I shrank away from slightly. "You feel a little warm but… hang on, are you wearing makeup?" She looked at what had come off on her hand.

My pulse sped up slightly. "I—"

"And what is that smell?" She sniffed the air around me. "It smells like a nightclub bathroom in here."

"Probably just Max," I said coolly. My dog shot me a dirty look for trying to use him as an out.

"Why would Max smell like a nightclub bathroom?" she questioned, leaning back before her hand caught on something and she picked it up. "And why is your ID on your bed?"

Fuck. "No reason!" I made an attempt to grab it but she held it out of my reach, squinting at it.

"Hang on… since when were you born in 1991?"

"Must have been a typo—"

"Jesus, Arianna, how stupid do you think I am?" she snapped, throwing the ID on the floor. "I wanted to give you the chance to come clean yourself but obviously you take me for a fool. I know you snuck out, and you've been sneaking out. Who gave you the fake ID?"

"I—"

"Was it your boyfriend?"

"No!" That was the truth. Frederic supplied me with alcohol sometimes, especially if I was drinking with him so he could keep an eye on me, but he wouldn't know the first person to contact when it came to getting a fake ID. "I got it from a friend."

"Where have you been? Have you been drinking?" As soon as she asked that, there was a dull metallic clunk from underneath my bed. Max's flicking tail had knocked over the half empty can of beer, and the bronze liquid was spilling out onto the floor. Mom reached underneath the bed frame and pulled it out, looking at me with a stern expression. "Explain yourself, young lady."

"It… helps with my artistic flow."

"Arianna!"

"What? It's the truth!" I insisted, raising my arms in exasperation. "I produce some of my best work this way. The legal drinking age is already going to be lowered to eighteen, and you guys let me have drinks at home all the time."

"Don't you dare try and defend yourself as if any of what you're doing is right." She glared at me, the heat rising in her cheeks. Whenever Mom was really mad, her entire upper body flushed red, from her chest to her neck and face. I watched as the crimson colour slowly spread, expressing her fuming anger. "You're only nineteen. You won't hit the legal drinking age until the end of this year when it's actually lowered, so you have no right to be doing this now. And we allow you to have drinks on special occasions only, when we're here to monitor you. We do not allow you to sneak out at night and come home smelling like some drunk party animal, only to drink more. I get that you want to be an artist, and you're good at it, but that is not an excuse for your behaviour."

"Well, maybe if you didn't suffocate me so much, I wouldn't feel the need to sneak out," I argued, shifting to sit on the farthest end of the bed. "What kind of nineteen year old needs to ask for permission to go out to meet friends?"

"By friends, you mean your boyfriend."

"God, why are you so against him? He's done nothing wrong! And for your information, I didn't even see him tonight. I haven't seen him since last week thanks to you."

"He's older than you—"

"Dad is five years older than you!"

"Five years is a far cry from fifteen! What do you even see in him?"

"It's only thirteen," I corrected. "Frederic is kind, he cares about me, he's cultured and intelligent." I listed off all the attributes I loved about him, hoping that Mom would see things from my point of view.

"For God's sake, Arianna, surely you can find someone like that who's your age. Doesn't it make you even the tiniest bit uncomfortable that he was in college when you started elementary school?"

"No, Mom, it doesn't. I'm old enough to make my own decisions. I met him when I was eighteen, already an adult—"

"You're an adult on a technicality, but you're still my daughter—"

"So why can't you support your daughter in this?" I pleaded, my voice cracking.

"He's a bad influence," she shot back. "I'm confident enough to bet that he bought you this beer and who knows what else." She wasn't wrong there. "You're getting so attached to him. You're even wearing one of his shirts!" I glanced down to realise that I was indeed wearing an oversized shirt I'd taken from his apartment. That didn't exactly help my case.

"He was so polite and respectful when I had you guys meet him. Why can't you accept that Frederic is the man I want to be with for the rest of my life, and that I'm the girl he wants too?"

"Are you sure about that?" she asked coldly. "Because from the viewpoint of an outsider, it sure looks like you have ulterior motives when it comes to marrying him."

My eyes narrowed. "What are you suggesting?"

"He's already got a stable job and a good income, whereas you're an unemployed college student. Think of how things will look when people see you together."

"Are you seriously saying that I'm a golddigger?" I shrieked, resisting the urge to throw something at her. "I could very well say the same thing about you and Dad."

"Your father was a grad student when I met him. He wasn't a working man who had already established a name for himself."

"Frederic is an artist. I am an artist. If anything, we'll just be poor together."

My door creaked open. "What's going on in here?" Dad's voice was croaky, as if the yelling had woken him up. It probably had.

Mom rose from my bed to pull him inside, her hands firmly on her hips. "Your daughter snuck out. Again. To go out clubbing and drinking and doing who knows what."

"You what?" Dad turned to me.

"Well, your wife is accusing me of being a golddigger," I retorted, standing confidently to meet them.

"You what?" He turned to Mom.

"Oh please, as if you believe that man is any good for her."

I glanced between them, uncertainty rising in me for the first time that night. "Dad…?"

He looked uncomfortably at me. "Well, he is a lot older than you, sweetheart."

I scoffed, trying to hide my heartbreak. Dad was at least always civil with Frederic, unlike my mom who treated him like gum stuck on the bottom of her shoe. I thought he'd have my back, or at least pretend to. "I can't believe this…"

"I have had just enough of your behaviour, Arianna." Mom towered over me menacingly, but I refused to shrink back. "I'd thought that the relationship would fizzle out, but it's clear that I need to step in. You need to end things with him."

"Like hell I will."

"I will not take that sort of attitude from you in my own damn house!" She yelled so forcefully I could feel a bit of spittle hit my cheeks. "Either you break up with that man or you get out of my house."

"Tori—"

"Don't 'Tori' me," she snapped at Dad before turning back to me. "Frederic is no good for you, and I'm fucking sick of sitting around and waiting for you to realise that. It's him or us. You make your choice." Mom stormed out of my room, slamming the door behind her so hard chips of wood flecked off and speckled the floor.

"Fine!" I yelled through the door, making Dad wince.

He gave me a sympathetic look. "I'll go talk to her," he said gently.

"Don't bother. She can't accept that I can make my own choices. Maybe this will finally show her."

Dad hesitated, but eventually followed Mom out, leaving the door ajar.

The fight had definitely sobered me up. The buzz in my head was gone, which I guess was a good thing, because I could focus on packing. College started in less than two weeks so I had already been in the midst of doing just that, which made the job a lot easier. It didn't take long for my suitcases to be filled and shut. As I packed, I could make out bits of their hushed conversation.

"You can't be serious about this."

"I'm deadly serious. She's on a scholarship. She can support herself on her own. If she doesn't respect my rules and wishes as her mother, then she can get the hell out of my house."

"Our house."

"Don't make me play the lease card. You know I will."

"She's our daughter."

"Not anymore. Not if she's dating that… man." There was a beat of silence between them before Mom continued. "I just can't see this ending well for her. As her mother, I can't in good conscience stand by and watch this without stepping in, and as her father, you shouldn't either. What does he see in her? Just someone to take as a trophy wife?"

"Tori!"

"You know it's true," she hissed before calming herself again. "When we first started dating, you were a little bit older but we were both unemployed. The stakes were even. Now everything is so… unbalanced between them. What's five years between us now that we're almost fifty? Whereas with them, she'll be in her late fifties and he'll be pushing seventy. How can that not bother her?"

"People do strange things for love."

She scoffed. "I don't know why you're not on my side, Owen. What are you thinking, defending her like this?"

"I'm thinking that I'm on nobody's side, and that you two need to talk things out in a controlled environment where you're not just having a screaming contest."

"She doesn't want to talk through anything with me, and I don't either. Not until she sees the point I'm trying to make here."

The whole time, Max whimpered and pawed at my feet, looking up at me helpless.

"I'm gonna forgive you for getting me caught with beer in my room," I told him. "But only because you don't understand what's happening or why I'm leaving, and I know that you'll wonder why I'm gone."

The old dog huffed, nudging my leg with his head.

"Just imagine that I'm moving into my college dorm, and that I'll be back… eventually."

He squinted at me, like he knew I was lying.

"You didn't deserve to get dragged into this, bud," I said pitifully, scratching him for a final time after righting my suitcases so they were standing up. "But my mom has been on my back about Frederic for way too long. If she can't respect my decision, then this is what I have to do."

Max whined as I walked out of my room, suitcases in hand. Just before I was out of sight, he hopped onto my bed and curled up by my pillow. I turned away before I would change my mind.

Mom and I crossed paths in the hall. She glanced down briefly at my bags in hand before looking at me once again. "You're really going then."

"I am," I affirmed. "And I'm not coming back until you can accept me and my choices. All of them."

Her lips were pressed into a thin line. "So be it."

My car was out front. I left my set of house keys on the dining room table and made my way to it, lugging the cases behind me. As I heaved them into the trunk, I was alerted to the presence of another person. At first I thought it was my mom coming to apologise, or to say that I could still live at home and date Frederic at the same time. But of course I was wrong.

"Oh. It's just you."

Dad was still in his pyjamas, his hair messy, as if he didn't even stop to clean himself up a bit. "Your mother and you could talk about this in the morning, you know?" he offered. "You don't have to go if you don't want to."

"Dad, I'm leaving. I want to. I can't… I can't live here anymore. Mom is suffocating me, you won't back me up. She won't let me make my own choices unless that choice is leaving you guys. If this is the only choice I can make on my own, then it's what I have to do."

"Where are you even planning to go?"

"You know exactly who I'm going to, and you know you're not changing my mind so don't even bother."

"I'm not… here to change your mind," he said unconvincingly. "You drank. You shouldn't be driving."

"I'm fine," I insisted.

"You would fail the breathalyser test on the spot and then what?"

"I need to get all my stuff to Frederic's place."

"Then pass me your keys and let me drive you."

That caught me off guard. "Dad, you don't need to—"

"If this is what it takes to keep you out of a car accident, then so be it." He didn't even wait for me to pass him the keys, he just got into the driver's seat without another word. Heaving a defeated sigh, I got in next to him and leaned over to put the keys in the ignition.

Dad put the address into Waze and we drove in silence for a while. Frederic's place wasn't too far away, but the drive seemed endless. It got worse when, after the initial silence, Dad thought it would be a great time to start talking about everything that just went down.

"You know, something about Hollen women is that they're feisty," he began awkwardly, making me cringe. "Your mom and your Aunt Estella and your grandma, they clash like this all the time. It doesn't mean they don't love each other."

"Mom kicked me out of the house."

"Well, you could have stayed and just had things play out.

"Why is it my responsibility to have waited around when it was her who gave me that ultimatum in the first place?"

"Maybe… maybe she would have come around with the whole boyfriend business."

"Dad, you couldn't even come around. You don't even like him, and you like everyone!"

"I like Frederic, don't get me wrong, but I'm just not too sure if I like him… for you…"

"Wow, thanks," I droned sarcastically. "You know, I'm really tired of you two treating me like I'm some delicate flower. It might have been endearing at first, but now it's just getting old. I wish you would just let me make my own choices. If they're the wrong ones, then I'll just take the fall, but you're not even giving me that option."

"Can you really blame us, sweetheart? We're your parents. We only want what's best for you and this guy… just doesn't fit what we think would be best."

I glowered, sinking down deeper into the seat and turning away from him. Instead, I stared out the window, trying to avoid his gaze. He didn't seem to take the hint though, and didn't give me the silence I desired.

"Your Aunt Estella never liked me when I first started dating your mom," he continued. "She always thought I wasn't good enough for her little sister, but look at us now!"

"She still doesn't like you," I mumbled.

"Well, yeah, but she's civil with me. She doesn't accidentally-on-purpose spill food on me at Thanksgiving anymore."

"I don't want you guys to just be civil with him!" I blurted out. "I want you to like him like I do, because I really, really do. This isn't just some middle school boyfriend who won't last a month. Frederic is someone I could really see myself with for the rest of my life, which means he'd become a massive part of your lives too." Dad was silent when I said this, so I asked him something I'd been thinking about since they first met him. "If Frederic and I got married someday, would you walk me down the aisle?"

He fidgeted uncomfortably, not answering me.

"Dad?"

"Arianna… don't you think you're thinking a little too far ahead?"

My jaw dropped. "Oh my God, are you serious? Isn't that like the one thing fathers are supposed to be sure about? Growing up, when I was first learning about what weddings were, we'd play that game where I used to ask you 'If I married an ugly troll, would you still walk me down the aisle?' You always said yes, no matter who or what it was. Always."

We were driving down Frederic's street, and the apartment building was in sight. Dad pulled in to the front, still not saying a word.

"I'll call you an Uber," I told him flatly, punching the details into my phone as he engaged the brakes.

"Do you need any help getting your stuff up?"

"Not from you."

He looked hurt, but after the things he said, and didn't say, I felt that he deserved it. I convinced myself he did.

We sat in uncomfortable silence. His Uber was on the way. When it was nearby, I got out of the car and opened his door. "It's almost here."

Dad hesitated, like he didn't quite want to go, but eventually he rose and met me on the street. "You don't have to leave," he said again.

"Yes, I do. Please don't try and talk me out of this."

He looked at me tenderly, giving me a small smile. "You can come home whenever you want to, okay?"

"I… I don't think I can, Dad," I answered honestly. "Not if it means I can't be with the man I love. Not until you and Mom show me that you can be okay with my choices."

Dad's car was behind us, and it released a sharp honk, making us both jump. He looked between the Uber and me. "I better get going."

"Yeah."

After a moment's hesitation, he pulled me into a strong hug. Growing up, he'd always call them bear hugs because of how tight he squeezed me and how little I used to be to the point where it was really like being hugged by a bear. The memories were bittersweet. It took me a second, but I hugged him back, my heart aching in my chest.

"I love you, Arianna."

I buried my face in his shoulder. "I wish you could love him too."

Dad tensed up at my words. "I know." Then he released me and got into the Uber.

I stood by my car for a few seconds, a million different emotions fighting inside of me. Anger rose to the surface. Anger at my mom. Anger at my dad. Anger at me. I hated all of us then. I hated the mess we'd become. I hated that because of them, I was doubting myself. Maybe I was being set up to just become a trophy wife. Or maybe I was being set up to get dumped once someone better came along.

Getting back in, I slammed the car door and drove into the parking garage. A part of me wanted to just storm right upstairs, but I also didn't wanna give him a heart attack in case he was asleep. I texted him instead.

A: Are you up?

He replied quickly.

F: Yup. Was just about to head to bed though. Why?

I called him.

"Hey, is everything okay?" He picked up after the first ring.

"Why are you dating me?" I blurted out.

"W-what?" He sounded confused, and he had every reason to be.

"Why are you dating me? What do you even see in me? I'm just some kid in college who hasn't got her life together at all, meanwhile you're this high achieving art critic who's well sought after and I just don't get why you… chose… me." The words came out in a mad rush that I was almost worried he hadn't understood any of it. But after a second, he spoke.

"Ari, I'm dating you because I love you, and I love so many things about you." I blushed at the nickname. I'd always gone by Arianna but when he started calling me Ari a couple weeks into our friendship, I realised I kind of liked it. "I love how you always want to do what's right. I love how determined you are to get what you want, because that also means you're determined to do what's right. I love how much you care about people that you always check in on them, even if you haven't spoken to them in a while, even if you're separated by oceans. I love how you talk about how you envision our futures together, and I love how we want the same thing. I love how we fit together, how we make each other better people. I've learnt so much from how you treat other people, and how much you love anyone and everyone you come across in your own special, unique way. You make them feel loved, like they have a place to belong in this world, and that's something not a lot of people can do."

Silent tears were running down my cheeks as he spoke, and I wanted nothing more than to hug him. Taking a shuddering breath, I asked, "Can I come over?"

"Now?"

"Yeah."

"Of course."

"And can I… stay with you for a while?"

"You know you can stay over anytime but… why so late? What's going on?"

I chewed on the inside of my cheek. "My mom kicked me out," I finally said softly.

His silence was deafening, but he finally spoke with such a concerned tone. "Yeah. Yeah you can come and stay. Where are you?"

"Downstairs in the parking garage."

"Do you have suitcases with you?"

"I do."

"Okay." He let out a breath. "Get yourself up here first. We can handle your stuff in the morning. Just get up here safe and we can talk about everything if you want. Or you can get some rest. It's late."

I agreed, hanging up and making my way to his apartment. The bellhop was in the lobby, asleep in his chair, so I silently passed him and got into the lift. One of the walls was a mirror, and I stared at myself. I really looked like hell. I was in nothing but an oversized shirt, shorts and sandals. My makeup was smudged everywhere and my hair was a mess. I felt myself sink lower. When I got to his floor, the door was ajar.

"Frederic?" I called, going in and shutting the door behind me.

He was there, waiting for me in the dim light. "C'mere," he said gently.

I let myself fall into his outstretched arms, breathing in his familiar scent and feeling the texture of his shirt against my cheek. "It's okay. You're okay," he kept saying, using one hand to stroke my hair.

"Today really sucked," I mumbled into his chest.

He took me by the shoulders and took me to his room, sitting me down on the edge of the bed. "Tell me everything."

So I did. As much as it hurt to re-live everything that had just happened, I did.

"How're you feeling?" he asked softly once I finished.

"Upset. And angry. And so fucking frustrated. And sad. It's a lot. I'm a mess."

"You have the right to be a mess." He handed me a box of tissues which I gratefully took, loudly blowing my nose into a piece. "I'm sorry that all this happened. You know you can stay with me until you go back to your college dorm, and even after that. I can assure you I'm dating you because I really love you, not just because I can. I'm not the kind of guy to get into relationships willy nilly."

"I guess…" I trailed off, my nose sniffling. "Do you wanna get married?" I proposed.

"Of course I do."

"Great. Let's go to the courthouse." I got up but was quickly stopped by his outstretched arm.

"Wait a second, you mean now?"

"Yeah. What did you think I meant?"

"Like… in the future?"

I shook my head firmly. "I'm serious. I'm estranged. Your family isn't here and you don't even get along with them that much anyway. We could elope. Who's stopping us?"

"Arianna, stop and think about this for a second."

"What, you mean you don't want to?" I questioned accusingly.

"No no no, it's not that. I do, I really do, but I want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. A marriage is a lifelong commitment. I'm done with school but you're still in college. You need to be ready to do this, and I'm happy to give you all the time you need to make sure you're ready. I know you're not drunk, but you've had things to drink, your emotions are running high and that's not the best combination of things when making big decisions like this."

I sniffled. "I hate it when you sound right."

"You hate when you know I'm right," he corrected, and I couldn't find it in me to argue with that. "I want you to sleep on it, okay? It's not a no. Just think it over — really think it over. If you still want to do it in the morning, then we can."

"Really?"

"Really." He brushed a thumb over my cheek before kissing it lightly. "Do you wanna grab a shower or anything?"

"Yes please. I definitely need one."

Thoughts clouded my mind. I took a shower, cleaned off the ugliness of the past day, wrapped myself up in one of Frederic's old hoodies and went to bed.

At some point, I couldn't really sleep properly. I drifted in and out, but for the most part, I was awake. The thought of getting married bounced around in my head the entire time. When I sensed movement next to me, I sat up.

"Frederic?"

"Go back to bed, love," he whispered. "It's still early."

"What time is it?"

He glanced at his smartwatch. "Six fifteen. You can sleep more if you want to."

"I'm not tired," I insisted, despite the fact that I'd barely gotten a few hours of sleep. Surprisingly, I didn't feel tired. I didn't exactly feel well rested, but I definitely wasn't tired. "I've thought about it. I still wanna do it."

He flicked on the lamp then, illuminating our faces in the warm light. "Talk me through it."

I brought him through my thought process. "My parents don't like you and as much as it hurts me to say this, they're never gonna like you. They keep walking on eggshells around me, waiting for me to be the one to say that I've come to my senses and I'm ending things, but you and me, we've talked about us before. How we wanna spend the rest of our lives together. How we wanna raise kids together. You made it clear when we first got to know each other that you date to marry, and that hasn't put me off. I still wanna be with you. This will prove to them and to everyone that I'm serious about this and I'm not letting you go. If my parents want to have a daughter, they have to accept this part of me."

"I don't want you to feel like you have to get married just to prove something."

"I'm not doing it because of that. I'm doing it because I love you, and because I want to. Like you said, I'm determined to get what I want."

He smiled kindly at me. "You're a strange one, Arianna Hollen," he said. "Most nineteen year olds would want to go out partying or get certain grades in college. Not many would have marriage as their goal."

"I'm not like most nineteen year olds," I replied determinedly. "I promise I want to do this."

"Alright then." He got out of bed and flicked on the main lights. "There's a twenty four hour courthouse near City Hall. We can get ready now. We'll also need a witness, but I know your parents are off the table. Anyone else you can think of?"

The name was clear in my head. "I know just the person."

XXX

Helen was at the courthouse before we were. She was up early as always. The semester might not have started yet, but she was on her college's gymnastics team so she was often up early for practices or just to go on runs to train her body.

"Hey," she greeted, wrapping me in a tight hug while giving Frederic a wary glance. I knew she had been sceptical about my relationship at first, but she trusted me when I said he made me happy. She still had her reservations about him, but she was kind enough to keep them to herself. "You ready to do this?" I read between the lines there. She really meant to ask 'You sure you wanna do this?' I knew what she was thinking, and she knew I'd be able to infer her meaning.

"I'm ready," I affirmed with a smile I hoped looked confident. "Thanks for agreeing to be the witness."

"Out of curiosity, who knows you're eloping?"

"Just you."

She looked surprised, but was quick to mask it. "Well, I'm honoured you chose me to be the only witness to your special day."

"Guys." Frederic called us over from inside the courthouse. "They're ready for us."

"So quick?" I questioned.

"Not a lot of people are getting married at this hour." He did have a point about that.

We didn't bother dressing up. Frederic and I were in shorts and flip flops. Helen was in workout clothes and sneakers, still a little sweaty from her run. It certainly wasn't glamorous, but in the moment, it somehow felt fitting. My whole life had been turned upside down in a matter of hours. This makeshift wedding was just the cherry on top. Frederic walked a few steps ahead of us, already by officiant at the table. The wedding documents were all spread out, waiting to be signed. Helen and I walked arm in arm to meet them. It was almost like she was walking me down the aisle. I smiled softly at the realisation.

The officiant guided us through the paperwork we needed to fill out. It all went by in my head like a blur. That is until we got to our names as a married couple.

My parents and I had always talked about the family name dying out. Dad's last name was Burden, something he was desperate to get rid of, hence he took Mom's when he married her. Owen and Victoria Hollen. Aunt Estella lost the Hollen name when she got married, and her daughter Willow took her dad's. That meant I was the only person who could pass down the family name. I didn't really want to be thinking about my parents at that moment, but for some reason, I couldn't stop myself from keeping their wishes in mind.

"I don't want to change my last name," I told him. "And you don't have to change your last name to fit mine. I'm just making it clear that I want to stay as Arianna Hollen."

He looked like he wanted to say something, but one steely glare from Helen told him it would be best not to argue with me. He probably knew there was no shot at him winning anyway. "Yeah, of course."

We signed our names on the dotted lines, repeated scripted vows provided by the courthouse and exchanged imaginary rings. We didn't have time to buy actual bands, so we made do with what we had. We both smiled at each other as the officiant said the final words. "By the power vested in me by the state of North Carolina, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Our lips joined in a kiss, followed by scattered applause from our two-man audience. It wasn't how I imagined my wedding would be, but this was what it was. I made my choice, and I had to be confident in it. I was confident in it. I kept repeating that I was in my head, because then I would really believe it.

After the ceremony, the three of us went for a reception at IHOP, because I was a firm believer that pancakes were the only way to start the new week, or a new chapter in your life. As we sat there, the two of them making polite yet slightly stilted conversation, I unlocked my phone and checked my messages. The family group chat was pinned, its title 'Hollen Hooligans' with a bunch of cute emojis staring back at me. The last message was from last night when Dad asked if I needed any tylenol, and I told him I was fine. I unpinned it. I saw my individual text threads with Mom and Dad, before doing a double take. The little message 'Mom is typing…' popped up. I stared at it, watching the three dots in the speech bubble bob up and down over and over, until the note disappeared. Still, no messages came through.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard, a message on their fingertips. "I meant it when I said I'm not coming back," I typed, before deleting it. "I eloped this morning." I frantically hit backspace. "I can come and talk things through with you, but only if you're willing to listen." I really considered sending it, my finger poised over the button to, before I deleted the message once again, powered off my phone and buried it in the bottom of my bag.

I found myself lost in my own thoughts, and certainly not for the first time that day. Somehow, my life had been uprooted entirely in a matter of hours. My third year of college started in less than two weeks. I had left campus back in summer the same girl I always was. Now I was returning in fall as an estranged daughter and a wife. Despite the fact that I'd made my choice, and was firm in wanting it, my heart felt oddly heavy. I wasn't just some college student in a relationship anymore. I was married. I may have kept the family name, but I was no longer a Hollen. There was no going back to who I used to be.

A/N - Hello dear reader! I've somehow managed to go down the rabbit hole of pretty much writing Arianna's entire backstory and how it links on to her relationship with Rapunzel later on in life. The next few chapters will be pretty much released in order of how the events played out so keep a lookout for those coming soon! As always, let me know what you'd like to see and until next time, stay safe.

This story is also available on AO3. I also have a Twitter where I post behind the scenes content, polls, writing updates and more. Both are under the same username kalesalad003 and the links are in my bio!