VI. Megara, September 13

Megara woke up Monday morning with a terrible hangover. Jasmine's party on Sunday had been a blast—until the Aladdin/Thomas fiasco, after which she had made everyone leave immediately—but, in hindsight, that was definitely enough. Shang Li had had a party Sunday night and Meg just couldn't resist. It was a good party despite the obnoxious number of guys—mostly football players—who wound up trying to hit on Meg. Meg had basically sworn off men—she had had far too many bad experiences with them. It wasn't like she was going to go the lesbian route or anything—she wasn't attracted to women, unfortunately. That would have just been too easy. No, she was destined to remain single forever. But that was alright. Being single wasn't so bad. Being single was cool.

She got up and pulled her curly hair into its usual high ponytail, looking at the calendar. Ugh. Picture day. Meg knew from her many past years of picture days—ten, to be exact—that it really didn't matter how good you looked in the mirror that morning. Your picture would always, without fail, turn out looking like shit. Unless you were one of those impossibly photogenic girls that everyone secretly hated. Still, Meg wasted a few good minutes picking just the right outfit and applying her makeup.

One of Meg's best friends, Esmeralda Rom, picked her up. It was nice having a senior friend—not having to drive. The parking lot of Walt Disney High School was rather small, and therefore only seniors—and a few select juniors, chosen by a random lottery—were given parking passes. Esmeralda—or Esme, as her friends called her—drove an old convertible she had fixed up herself. She got it for cheap, but now it was definitely a nice car.

"Hey," Meg said as she climbed into the passenger seat.

"You look nice," Esme noted.

"So do you," Meg returned the compliment. "How is Quasi?"

Esme gave Meg a look. Meg asked this question every day. Esme and Quasimodo Michaud had been best friends since… forever. But Esme had started dating Phoebus over the summer and Quasi had grown distant. Nowadays they hardly talked. Meg felt like she was missing part of the story, but Esme didn't like to talk about it.

"Men," Meg shrugged, throwing her hands up in mock-defeat.

"Come on," Esme said. "When are you going to give up that attitude?"

"How about… never?" Meg said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"People are starting to talk…" Esme said in a sort of sing-song voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Meg snapped.

"Don't shoot the messenger; I'm just saying," Esme said defensively. "You've got all these hot, sought-after men practically throwing themselves at you and you show no interest whatsoever. People are going to think…"

"So let them," Meg said. "Who cares If they think I'm a lesbian? What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, obviously," Esme said. "Just most people would care, that's all."

"I'm not a lesbian, just for clarification."

"I know that," Esme laughed. "So how was the party last night? More of the same?"

"Yeah," Meg said. "Half the football team flirting with me—you know how it is. That Gaston… He's just… vile."

"I heard that Hercules guy is interested in you—like really interested," Esme said. "Was he there?"

"Yeah," Meg said with a sigh. "He actually didn't try flirting with me. But I kept catching him staring at me. Kind of creepy—awkward."

"That's cute though—don't you think it's kind of cute?" Esme asked.

"Enlighten me as to how that is in any way 'cute,'" Meg grumbled, looking quite unamused.

"Well, Hercules is a pretty confident guy by all accounts, right?" Esme said. "There are plenty of girls who would love for him to even look their way. So if he wouldn't come over and talk to you that must mean he feels intimidated by you—he's scared to talk to you. He's being shy. How sweet."

Meg rolled her eyes, "He just knows I'm going to reject him like I rejected every other guy, and he doesn't want to damage his reputation—or his ego."

"I don't know," Esme said, pulling into the school lot. "From what I've heard, it sounds like he's pretty infatuated."

"Whatever you say, Esme," Meg said absently. "I'm not going to date him anyway."

"All I'm saying is don't write him off based on things that have happened in your past," Esme said, stepping out of the car and closing the door. "You can't blame him."

Esme gave Meg a smile that looked much too wise for such a young face. Meg felt a wave of emotion hit her, but tried her best not to show it. She felt suddenly very serious, whereas the conversation had felt light beforehand. Esme gave a little wave and told Meg she'd see her after school. Meg mumbled a response. She stood frozen in the parking lot for a few moments. What she was doing wasn't wrong. She was just protecting herself. Hercules—and any other guy, for that matter—would just have to deal with it because there was nothing they could do to change it. Meg shook her head and headed to class.

Meg stood in the crowded, stuffy gymnasium, waiting towards the back of a long line of students. She didn't mind being towards the back. The longer it took her to get her pictures done, the less time she'd have to spend in class, right? Still, she wasn't a huge fan of standing around. She yawned and looked at the clock on the wall. A man from the picture studio was walking down the line, handing out tiny red fine-toothed combs. Not helpful. Meg looked around for someone she knew in her line—this would be a lot less boring with someone to chat with. Esme was across the room in the Q-Z line, so there was no chance of that. Meg spotted Wendy Darling, a girl a year younger who she was somewhat acquainted with. It was worth a shot. She started heading over towards the girl when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She rolled her eyes—was a teacher seriously going to stop her from "cutting the line"? As if anyone cared about that stuff anymore. She turned around and—well, it certainly wasn't a teacher.

"Hey."

"Ugh. Hey yourself, Jerk-ules," Meg tossed her hair as dramatically as she could as she turned to head back towards Wendy Darling—but she'd lost sight of her.

"What did I do?" Hercules asked. "Why do you have such a problem with me?"

Meg ignored the question and asked a question of her own, "What are you doing in the A-H line, anyway? Aren't you an Olympiou?"

"You pronounced my name right," Hercules said, looking and sounding stunned.

"No kidding," Meg said. "I'm Greek, too—please don't tell me you didn't know that. Not only is it common knowledge, but what kind of stalker wouldn't know that about his juvenile crush?"

"Of course I knew tha—hey! Are you calling me a stalker?"

"Well, what would you call what you're doing?" Meg asked.

"Well… I'm not going to pretend I'm not into you," Hercules said. "But I'm not a stalker. I like you. I just wish you'd give me the time of day."

"You haven't given me any reason to give you the time of day," Meg said with a shrug.

"You haven't given me a chance to give you a reason!" Hercules said a bit loudly, exasperated. "I know I should just give up—everyone tells me I should—but… I can't. You're different,Megara. Ever since I met you—you probably don't even remember the first time we properly met—I haven't been able to see other girls. I've tried dating the girls that were interested in me, but they just weren't you."

Meg found herself blushing, looking at Hercules wide-eyed in stunned silence. Of all the guys that had wronged her, none had ever said anything like that. For a moment she thought it might have been the most romantic thing she'd ever heard. Then her normal thoughts kicked in and she felt like herself again.

He's just trying to get into your pants. He doesn't mean any of it.

Meg shook her head and scoffed.

"Please," Hercules said, grabbing Meg by the arms. "Just give me a chance."

Meg pulled away from him, "Don't touch me."

"One chance," Hercules repeated. "That's all I'm asking for."

Meg felt something tugging at her heart. She felt as if something was collapsing inside of her—the walls of the fortress, perhaps?

"One chance," she said. "One date."

Hercules's face lit up. "What do you want to do?"

"You get one chance to impress me and you ask me where we're going?" Meg raised an eyebrow.

"I figure we should do something you like," Hercules said. "I want you to have a good time. And I just want to get to know you and let you get to me. I just want to show you who I am, and if you don't like me after this… well, that's fine."

"Okay," Meg said. "Meet me at the Underworld Arcade after school today."

"You got it," Hercules smiled widely, then headed back over to his line with a wave.

An hour and a half after school let out, Meg arrived at the Underworld Arcade. She found Hercules wandering between the pinball machines. He looked surprised to see her. Well. She was pretty late.

"I… Well, I thought you'd stood me up," Hercules admitted.

"I considered it," Meg admitted. "But here I am."

"I didn't know you were into this kind of thing—arcade games, I mean," Hercules said, gesturing around him.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Meg said, then gestured towards a nearby vintage pinball machine. The high scores were rolling by, then reached number one—"MEG."

"Is that… you?" Hercules asked, looking thoroughly impressed.

Meg nodded, "Little known fact—I'm a pinball wizard."

"I'd like to see that," Hercules said.

Meg gave him a sly smile and headed over to the machine. It was, simply put, the most impressive game of pinball Hercules had ever seen. And it was actually entertaining to watch. The ball never once fell between the flippers. The game was long and Meg racked up points quickly. The ball shot between bumpers, kickers, and slingshots, lighting up the machine and Hercules's eyes. Once Meg activated multiball, the machine went crazy with noise as she kept all the balls in play. When the game was finally over, Meg hadn't beat her highest high score, but she'd made the list and won a free game. She looked to Hercules.

"Your turn," she said.

"Oh—no," Hercules shook his head. "No thanks, I'd just embarrass myself."

"Come on," Meg said. "You have to. Do it or I'll leave."

He gave in and stood in front of the machine. He tried to pull the plunger but the ball didn't spring out onto the playfield. Meg seemed to think this was very funny.

"What?" Hercules asked.

"You have to push start first," Meg shook her head. "Have you never played pinball?"

"It's… it's been a while," Hercules admitted sheepishly.

He hit start and launched the ball into play. It didn't take long for it to fall between the flippers. Meg didn't laugh at that, though. In fact, she was encouraging and kept the sarcasm to a minimum as she gave Hercules tips to improve his score and his strategy. Pinball wasn't simply the game of luck that so many people thought it was—there was, in fact, some skill involved. Hercules finished the game with a halfway-decent beginner's score. Meg's lack of disapproval was the best part. She hated to admit to herself that she was actually having a bit of fun. Going to the arcade was usually a solitary thing for her—something she did to let off steam or whatever. It wasn't something she usually shared, and she wasn't sure what had made her invite Hercules along on a whim. She could have suggested they do anything else, but she had decided to share this with him on some bizarre impulse.

"So what games are you good at?" Meg asked.

"Well… good is relative, but I like ski ball," Hercules shrugged.

"I'm awful at ski ball," Meg admitted. "But alright. Show me your moves."

They smiled at each other for a moment, then Meg shook her head and led Hercules to the ski ball machines. She watched as Hercules rolled the balls up the ramp, landing every single one in the 50 or 100 holes. She nodded.

"Impressive," she smiled.

Hercules held up a quarter, "Your turn."

"Oh no," Meg said. "I'm worse at ski ball than you are at pinball—much worse."

"Oh, come on," Hercules said. "You can't be that bad."

"Oh, believe me, I can," Meg said, taking the quarter from Hercules and dropping it in the slot.

The balls slid down the tube. Meg picked the first one up, pulled her arm back, and… 10 points. She looked at Hercules with an "I-told-you-so" glance. She tossed another ball up the ramp. It bounced off one of the rubber rings and landed in the gutter area for zero points. Meg looked at Hercules, throwing her hands up in surrender.

"You aren't even trying!" Hercules said.

"Believe it or not, I am," Meg said truthfully. "I've never been good at this game."

"All it takes is a little practice," Hercules said. "Here—let me show you. Pick up a ball."

Meg picked it up and Hercules came behind her, putting his arm along hers and taking her wrist in his hand. He put a hand on her hip to guide her.

"Is this okay?" he asked quietly, and she nodded, swallowing.

He led her through the motions, telling her when to let go of the ball and leading her through every step. 40 points. He led her through again. 50 points. He stepped back and she felt herself wishing for a moment that she hadn't—though she'd never admit it.

It's hormones, she told herself. Just stupid hormones. Stop it.

She did it on her own and landed 20 points, then two 30s, a 50, and a 40.

"Not bad," Hercules said. "Not bad at all."

"Oh please," Meg said.

"You're a beginner at this just like I'm a beginner at pinball," Hercules said. "But we can learn from each other."

Meg smiled, then frowned. That implied a long-term commitment. It was sweet and everything, but… This was it. She had promised him one date, and that was all he was going to get. One date. Right.

"Is something wrong?" Hercules asked. "Did I say something?"

"No—nothing," Meg said, mentally kicking herself even as she said the words. "It's nothing. Nothing's wrong, I just remembered I have all this homework, and… I'm just worried I won't be able to get it all done tonight."

"I could come over and help you," Hercules said. "I mean—if you'd like me to."

"No, it's fine," Meg said. "I don't need any help on it. Um, this was really fun, though. So… thanks."

"I can walk you home if you'd like," Hercules said, following Meg as she headed for the door.

"No," Meg said simply, pushing the doors open and stepping outside.

"Meg," Hercules said, sounding tired and bewildered.

"What?" she said, her tone snappy as she turned sharply to look at Hercules.

"What—I thought we were having a good time," Hercules said, then paused to let Meg respond and continued when she didn't. "Are we going to see each other again?"

Meg hesitated for a moment, "No. No, I don't think so."

"Can you at least give me a reason why?" Hercules asked.

Meg grabbed Hercules's hand and pulled him to the side of the building. There were no lights here. There was another building right next door and they were essentially standing in a dark alley. There was nothing dangerous about the town, so they had nothing to fear, but it was spooky nonetheless.

"Meg," Hercules said quietly.

Meg shushed him, putting her hands on his chest. She pushed him gently backwards towards the wall.

"Meg, what are you—"

Reaching the wall, she pushed his back against the bricks and stood on her toes to kiss him. It wasn't a simple, ordinary kiss on the lips. It wasn't your typical first kiss. It was more like the kind of first kiss you'd see in a movie. It was intense and deep and even emotional in a way. Meg felt all her loneliness pouring into the kiss. Hercules was confused, but he didn't resist—how could he? He put his arms around Meg's tiny waist as she buried her fingers in his curly orangey-red hair. Meg wasn't even completely sure why she had done it, but it certainly felt right. Maybe it was because Hercules seemed to be treating her with a genuine kindness. Even if it turned out not to be real in the end, Meg at least gave herself this moment. She was living in the moment, and she was enjoying it.

Wait. No. Stop.

Meg pulled away suddenly. Hercules leaned in for another kiss, but she shook her head, a worried look falling over her face as her thoughts consumed her once again.

This is the kind of thinking that got you into trouble in the first place. Living in the moment… that's what leads to broken hearts.

"Meg?" Hercules said, concerned.

"I—I can't," Meg said. "Bye."

She turned and ran, leaving Hercules alone in the dark.