XIX. Snow, October 1
Snow White stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, fixing her hair and putting on her signature red lipstick. It was Friday night and, like every Friday night, she was going to stay with her boyfriend at his apartment on the college campus the next town over. But this wasn't like any other Friday night. Tomorrow night was the homecoming dance, the night that Snow had dreaded every year since the night was ruined her freshman year. As one of the so-called "popular" girls, Snow was expected to show up to the dance every year, and she did. She showed up and she put on a pretty dress and a smile, and she pretended everything was okay. And nobody was any the wiser.
She wished she could just erase the night from her memory—forget it had ever happened. But, of course, she couldn't, no matter how hard she tried. In fact, the harder she tried, the deeper it was ingrained in her memory. She squeezed her eyes shut now, trying to stop herself from thinking about it. She took a tissue from her nightstand and dabbed the corners of her eyes.
"You'll be okay," she told her reflection.
She picked up her overnight bag and headed down to her car. She threw the bag onto the passenger seat and drove off towards campus. The college Prince was attending was Les Clark University. LCU was a good school with reasonable tuition, and a lot of WDHS alumni wound up going there due to its being so close to home. It was basically the only thing of importance in Buena Vista, the town it was situated in, so it definitely had a "college town" feel. Snow White liked the campus, which included a beautiful park and a variety of cute little shops and restaurants. She figured she would probably wind up going there, since it was close to home, a good school, and Prince was there. She couldn't really think of anywhere else she might go, anyway.
She pulled up outside the apartment building and Prince was waiting there for her on the curb. He opened the passenger side door and took Snow's bag, and as she walked around to greet him, gave her a kiss. She hugged him, then followed him into the building, chatting as they headed up the stairs.
"I was thinking we could go to dinner tonight—I hope you don't mind," Prince said, turning to look down the stairs at Snow.
"Of course," Snow smiled up at him. "That sounds wonderful."
"It's sort of a double date, actually," Prince said, opening the door and letting Snow into the apartment. "Do you remember Kuzco?"
"I think we met a couple times," Snow said, thinking. "He graduated with you, right?"
"Rich kid—Peruvian—kind of self-centered, but not necessarily a bad guy," Prince said, trying to remind her. "Always dressed in really bright colors."
"Oh yes," Snow said, nodding as she remembered. "Kind of flamboyant, but not necessarily gay?"
"That's the one," Prince nodded. "He's got a date with a girl, so apparently he's not gay."
"Anyone we know?" Snow asked curiously as she took her bag from Prince and carried it into the bedroom to set it down on the bed.
"I didn't recognize the name," Prince said as Snow walked back out into the living area. "Can't remember it now, either."
"Well, it's always nice to meet new people," Snow said. "Do they both go to LCU?"
"Yeah."
"Great," Snow smiled, stepping close to Prince in order to wrap her arms around him. "So when I come to school here I'll already know a few people."
Prince put his hands on Snow's shoulders and held her away from him for a moment to look her in the eye, "You want to go to LCU?"
"Sure," Snow said, cocking her head to the side. "I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be than here with you."
Prince pulled Snow towards him and embraced her in a warm hug.
His real name wasn't Prince, of course—it was just a nickname. But it was a nickname he had had forever, and it had stuck. His real name was Frederick Prinz, but no one ever called him Frederick, or even Freddie—not even Snow or his mother. Prince, of course, was derived from his last name, Prinz. And it suited him. If Snow had never met him, she would've thought he was too good to be true. Of course he had his flaws, as everyone does, but it was very easy to forget that he wasn't perfect.
"Do you need to get ready at all?" Prince asked.
"No, I think I can just wear this," Snow said, referring to her dark wash jeans and simple yellow tee. "We're not going anywhere fancy, are we?"
"No, we figured we'd all just go for pizza," Prince said.
"Works for me," Snow said.
Prince took his cell phone out of his pocket and took a look at what Snow could only guess was a message from Kuzco on the screen.
"Well, looks like Kuzco's already ready. His apartment's just down the street," Prince said.
"Should we walk down and meet up with him?" Snow asked.
"I don't see why not," Prince said.
The two headed out of the building holding hands and Prince led the way towards Kuzco's place. It was a nice day, and Snow tried her best to appreciate the warm, slightly humid air on her skin and the blue sky. After all, the cold weather would be coming soon and then she'd be wishing she had spent more time appreciating the summer. Winter always seemed like the longest season. Of course, Snow appreciated the winter for its beauty, but she was not actually all that fond of her namesake. She liked the way it looked from the window when she was curled up by the fire. She sometimes appreciated the fun of making a snowman or a snow angel. But she really hated cold and windy days where the tiny particles of frozen water whipped through the air and scraped her face. She shook her head at herself—she was supposed to be appreciating the warm weather, not thinking about the things that were worse than it. She leaned her head against Prince's shoulder for just a moment, glad to be here with him.
"Prince!" Kuzco said when he opened his apartment door with a flourish. "Great to see you—come in—this must be Snow."
"Yes," she said, nodding, a bit intimidated by Kuzco and his big personality.
"Let me look at you," Kuzco said, holding Snow in front of himself for a minute. "Ah! Yes—I do remember you. You're pretty popular, huh?"
"Well…" Snow looked at the ceiling and shrugged a bit.
"No need to be modest here," Kuzco said, heading over to the kitchenette. "Something to drink?"
"No, thank you," Prince said.
"I'll just have an ice water, if you don't mind," Snow said.
"Coming right up," Kuzco said, grabbing a glass from the cabinet.
"So what time are we meeting—sorry, what's your date's name again?" Prince asked.
"Kida," Kuzco said, looking at his watch. "I told her I'd pick her up at her dorm about—a half an hour from now."
"Well, the dorms are only a five minute drive from here so we should be fine," Prince said. "I can drive, if you'd like."
"Sounds good," Kuzco said, handing Snow the frosty glass of water as she thanked him.
The three sat on Kuzco's couch and chatted for a couple of minutes as Snow sipped on her water. After talking for about fifteen minutes, they headed out and down the street to Prince's car. Prince got in the driver's seat and Kuzco jumped in the shotgun position. Snow saw that Prince was about to say something to Kuzco, but she gestured to him not to bother and got into the backseat of the car. It was a bit rude of Kuzco, yes, but Snow was beginning to remember that he wasn't much of one for social graces. That was fine—she wasn't needy.
When they pulled up to Kida's dorm, Kuzco called her and she came right out. Snow was surprised at her appearance. She was striking—completely exotic looking, and completely beautiful. Her hair appeared to be white—at first Snow thought it might be an extremely light blonde, but as the girl drew closer to the car it seemed to be pure white. In contrast, she had tanned skin and she wore light blue eye shadow that was the same color as her eyes. She slipped into the back seat next to Snow.
"Hi," she said. "Kidagakash Nedakh."
"Kidaga—" Prince began.
"Call me Kida," she said, then smiled at Kuzco, who had turned his head to look back at her. "Hi."
"I'm Snow White," Snow said. "And that's my boyfriend, Prince, driving."
"Prince?"
"It's a nickname," Snow said, hoping to cut off any jokes about purple rain or little red corvettes. "His last name is Prinz."
"Ah," Kida said, nodding. "It's nice to meet you both."
"It's nice to meet you," Snow said. "I'm thinking about going to LCU, so the more people I know the better."
"Still in high school?" Kida asked.
"Senior year," Snow replied.
"Which school?" Kida looked at her curiously.
"Walt Disney," Snow said. "It's where all three of us went."
"Oh," Kida nodded. "I always wanted to go there, your building looked so cool! I went to Marceline High School, though."
Marceline High School was the other of the two high schools in Snow's hometown, the original public school that had become overpopulated. Snow often forgot about its existence, if she was being honest, as the interaction between the two schools was surprisingly limited. Snow wondered for a moment how different her life might be if she had wound up going to Marceline rather than Walt Disney—who would she be friends with? Would she still be popular? Would she have a boyfriend? The one thing she couldn't help from cropping up in her mind was that what had happened at homecoming her freshman year would never have happened. But would she trade everything—her friends, her boyfriend, the memories—for that? She considered it for a moment and then thought, No. If it hadn't been her, it would've been someone else. And the good things that had happened to her at Walt Disney High School far outweighed the bad.
"Snow… you okay?"
"Fine," Snow smiled at Kida, mentally scolding herself for letting her mind wander into that direction. "Sorry, just kind of… spaced out there."
Prince pulled the car into the lot of the local pizza joint, Tony's. The four piled out of the car and piled into a booth by the window. Prince went to the counter and ordered them a half-cheese, half-Hawaiian pizza, then came back to the booth to slide in next to Snow.
"So tell me about Walt Disney High School," Kida said. "I've always wondered what it's like."
"Well, first off… the teachers are crazy," Kuzco said, sing-songing the last word.
"How so?" Kida asked.
"Literally, in some cases," Prince said.
"A lot of them are just really mean," Snow said. "Well, we call them 'evil.' But beyond normal teacher strictness—just unnecessary rudeness. They do know their subjects, though. And you wind up learning a lot. There are some good ones, too, though."
"Oh, the teachers at Marceline were pretty average," Kida said. "And the education was pretty average too. I'm really loving being in college—learning so much."
"As far as I'm concerned, it's all about the party," Kuzco said, leaning back on the bench and coolly sliding an arm behind Kida.
Snow raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. The four discussed different aspects of the two differing high schools until the pizza was ready, and then Kida and Kuzco munched on the Hawaiian side while Snow and Prince stuck to the more traditional cheese. It was pretty clear to Snow that Kida and Kuzco were not a very well-made match. She thought she could probably find a guy more suited to Kida pretty easily—she wasn't so sure about finding a date for Kuzco, though. She decided maybe she should save her matchmaking services for those younger than her, though. She probably knew more about love than anyone else at WDHS, but she didn't know much about college—and she got the impression most people in college weren't exactly looking for love. Anyway, it was only Kida and Kuzco's second date, and from the impression Kida was giving, there wouldn't be a third.
The date was a bit awkward at times, and Snow was honestly glad when it was over. She was happy to have met Kida, though, and the two exchanged phone numbers before Kida got out at her dorm. Snow and Prince dropped Kuzco off at a party at a frat house at his request, then headed back to Prince's place.
When they got inside, the two cuddled up on the couch under a blanket and turned on the television. Some mindlessly dramatic TV movie was on, so they left it on that. Snow put her head down on Prince's lap and he rested his hand on her back gently. She was tired from the school day and dinner and she could feel herself drifting off, as the movie required very little concentration…
"Snow! Snow, it's okay, wake up."
She opened her eyes and found herself on the couch. Despite the clear safety of her current situation, she felt fearful and she couldn't remember why. She blinked blearily. She must have been having a nightmare, based on the panicky feeling and the urgency in Prince's voice as he shook her awake. The television was still on and Prince was still there. Prince sat her up and spoke in a soothing voice, trying to calm her down.
"It's okay, it was just a dream," he reassured her. "I'm here—I won't let anything happen to you, you know that."
"I know, I know," Snow said, beginning to feel the panicked feeling subsiding.
"Was it…"
"I don't know," Snow said. "I don't remember. Probably."
"Come here," Prince said, and Snow rested her head on his shoulder as he held her close. He turned off the TV. "I wish you would tell me who did this to you so I could do something about it."
"What would you do?" Snow asked, wrapping her arms around Prince's neck and swinging her legs over his lap.
"Probably something illegal," Prince admitted. "But I'd at least give him a piece of my mind."
"No offense, but I think he would probably beat you up," Snow said.
"Well, that narrows it down to—just about every guy in your year," Prince said. "Seriously, we could at least bring legal action against the guy—get him thrown in jail or something, before the statute of limitations runs out."
"But there's no evidence," Snow said. "No… I'm happy now—usually. I can almost always not think about the fact that it happened. If I had to go to court, testify against him… I don't think I could handle it."
"I would be there for you," Prince said. "I would help you get through it."
"I know you would," Snow said, reaching up and touching his face. "But I can't do it. I just can't."
"Well, I won't pressure you," Prince said with a sigh. "But if you ever decide to do something about it… I'll be there."
"I know," Snow said. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Prince said, and gave Snow a kiss.
It was true when Snow said that she was happy now. She genuinely was happy with her life and almost everything in it. It was just occasionally that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep. It was only occasionally—on nights like tonight would inevitably be—that she would stay up late crying, not thinking specifically about the details but just about the fact that it had happened. Thinking about the fact that three years ago she had her innocence stolen from her at a dance. Snow was not a hateful person by any measure. But if she hated anyone, it was him—the boy who had taken her virginity on no one's authority but his own. The only time she had ever wished harm on anyone is when she wished, on each sleepless night, that somehow someone could make him feel the kind of complete violation and crushing humiliation that she had felt since then. And Snow realized, for the first time in her life: she wanted revenge.