Today I was having some issues, writer's block. I didn't even know how to start ! But finally, it came to me and here it is. Please review, I know some of you already do. And I've changed some things in the summary, sorry. Enjoy the chapter !
Eugene is walking through town, softly whistling a tune. He's heading to Rapunzel's house, picking her up for the movie. Eugene and Rapunzel, or Punzie as she calls herself, are going out on a frequently base. He knows she enjoys spending time with him and he does everything to make her happy. As he arrives at her house, her mom opens
"Good afternoon, Eugene." She greets him.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Lewis. Is Punzie there ? I'm taking her to the movie." He asks polite, ever the gentleman.
Ms. Lewis nods her head. "I'm so sorry, but she isn't feeling very well. You can come in if you want, she's laying in bed." She says as she makes the gesture for Eugene to come in. He steps into the house and walks upstairs. Punzie's door is closed, he knocks carefully to not startle her. "Come in." A soft voice answers. Eugene opens the door to find Punzie laying in her bed, full under the covers. She looks pale and her nose is adorably red. Punzie sniffs as she sees Eugene. He walks over to her bed and sits next to her.
"Hey, are you a little sick ?"
"I am not feeling well. And I'm so cold !" Rapunzel whines.
"Shall I warm you up ?"
She nods. Eugene climbs in her bed, it's big enough for the two of them. After some moving, they finally lay face to face, enjoying each other's presence.
"Look out, I don't want you catching my flu." She says weak. Eugene chuckles. "Don't worry, I won't."
"He brushes his hand against her soft cheek. It's warm from the fever. Rapunzel is tired, she can barely keep her eyes open but she manages because she wants to see the face of her boyfriend. Yes, he's her boyfriend. It didn't take him long to ask her, he was acting so shy when he did. Rapunzel smiles as she thinks about that moment, Eugene notices it.
"What's so funny ?"
"Remember when we used to date almost every week ?" He nods. "And do you remember when you finally asked me of becoming your girlfriend ?"
"Nooooo, I hoped I would never be reminded of that for the rest of my life. It's totally embarrassing !" Eugene says dramatically.
"Punzie laughs. Adorable. "You were so cute, sweetie. You know, at least you did ask me...
The two of them laugh as they reminisce when it happened, not even so long ago.
Friday afternoon, the school is out and Eugene runs through the hallways, trying to find Punzie. She has to be somewhere. Suddenly, he spots her.
"Hee Rapunzel !" He calls. She's already outside the schoolbuilding, walking with two friends of hers. She stops in her tracks and turns around. Her friends giggle. "Ooooh, is he going to ask you out again, Punzie ? It's like what, the seventh time these two we-..."
Rapunzel cuts her friends off. "Oh shut up." She waits until Eugene stands in front of her. "Eugene ?"
"I uhm. I eh, I wanted to ask if you're free this saturday ?" He asks shyly, trying to ignore her friends who are giggling like mad.
"Yeah sure. What do you wanna do ?"
"Ehm, I want to take you out sailing." Rapunzel's eyes go wide, sailing ? She has never done that before
"I don't know Eugene. I don't know how to sail..." She admits.
He smiles reassuring. "It's a good thing that I know then. I'll pick you up saturday at 8 AM ?"
Punzie nods. "See you then."
It's saturday and Rapunzel is busy packing her things for the sailing trip.
"Do you have everything ?" Her mother asks.
Punzie nods and checks her list to make sure she forgot nothing. "Eugene will be here any minute." She says as she drags her bags downstairs, her mother following her.
DING DONG, the doorbell screams.
"Ah there he is."
When Rapunzel opens the door, the image of a very nice looking Eugene welcomes her. He's wearing a lose blouse, shorts and slippers. His hair is messy and sunglasses are hiding his charming eyes.
"Are you ready ? Good morning, Ms. Lewis." He greets.
"Morning Eugene, have fun on your trip !"
Rapunzel sets herself in the car and waves at her mom, Eugene dumps the bags in the trunk. "We will, thanks. See you tonight." He says as they drive off.
"So where is this sailing event of yours ?" Punzie curiously asks. She only gets a devious smile back. "You have to see that for yourself."
After a two hour drive, they arrive at a beautiful lake. It isn't very crowded and the lake looks peaceful. They get out of the car, grab their things and go to the boat. Eugene helps Rapunzel to climb aboard and then sails off. It's still early but the weather is already nice and warm.
"It's beautiful here, Eugene." She says while admiring the place. "The boat is also quite impressive."
"Thank you. The boat is ours, well, from the family. We bought it with the whole family as a present for grandma and grandpa, when they were still alive. They were able to enjoy it for three years, then grandma passed away and since then, we are allowed to use the boat. Grandpa still lives alone but he never comes out of the house anymore, let alone visit the boat. It reminds him too much of grandma and he wants to be spared from that pain."
"Owwww, I'm so sorry for him. And I'm sorry for your loss too."
"Thanks, she was really nice. She would have liked you, I think. You know, grandma was always complaining why I hadn't found a girl yet and why all my other brothers did. She once hooked me up with some weird gothic girl. Her name was Alice and she was really nice but weren't in love. She's now a very dear friend of mine." Eugene feels sad, he misses his grandma so much. They had a great bond, but then one day, she just died. He never knew, he had to hear it from a friend who heard it from his older brother who was friends with Eugene's oldest brother.
Rapunzel lays her hand on his shoulder. "She sounds lovely." He nods quietly, No, today is not a day to mourn over the dead. Today is THE day, he is not going to ruin this, this is his only chance !
"So what about you ? You are close with your family ?"
"Well, no. Not really. My mom doesn't have that much of family. She do has a vague brother somewhere, but she doesn't even know if he's alive or not. Her brother has two children, two girls but I never met them. I don't know why, my mom and her brother used to be very close. But one day they just stopped seeing each other. They lived in the Netherlands but then they moved and I don't know where to. And the family on my dad's side is old and grumpy so we don't visit them at all ! And I don't have /ememsiblings so I, actually, am quite lonely when it comes to family. But he, don't feel sorry for me. Mom and dad are there and I have my friends at school..." She hesitates for a split second. "And I have you !
Eugene's heart makes a quick jump. Yes she does, he thinks. The sailing goes pretty well for the rest of the day. Rapunzel enjoys the view and Eugene fishes for a while. In the afternoon, they go swimming. The water is nice, not too cold. They swim for like, two hours and then it's getting cold in the water. At 5 PM, they decide to sail back to the shore and have some dinner above a campfire.
Once the fire is burning, they are roasting the fish Eugene caught that day. It tastes delicious.
"Hmmm, you know, you are a great cook I must say."
"Awwww, thanks. And you are a great eater." Rapunzel jokes. He laughs.
Eugene hesitates, is he going to do it now ? No, after dinner. He eats silently his fish and waits until Punzie is finished. Then he takes out his guitar and plays a tune.
"Punzie, I wanted to let you hear a song." He says, while tuning his guitar. She nods excitedly. "Ok, I'm listening."
He starts to sing, in the beginning it goes a little stiff but then he loosens up and he ends the song with:
"You make my heart swirl and I have one question for youhooouuuu: Will you be my girl ?"
Rapunzel is taken aback, she knew it would come eventually but she didn't know he would do it today ! Her hand goes to her mouth as she gasps at his question. Eugene is looking at her with the most adorable face ever. "Of course, of course I'll be yours ! Will you be mine ?"
He laughs and stands up. She crashes into his arms and kisses him. "Hey girlfriend."
"Hey boyfriend." She chuckles. "It sounds good. We sound good."
It's becoming really dark and they sit together at the fire, watching the stars till late in the night. Hand in hand, boyfriend and girlfriend.
Eugene sighs. "Those were good times, right ?" He asks but no respond. As he looks into Punzie's eyes, he notices the eyelids are closed and she's sleeping. Softly he brushes her forehead and hair. That gorgeous brown silk hair of hers. He lays like that for hours, his love in his arms. Whatever more could he wish for ? He has everything he ever wanted, and maybe even slightly more of that. But Eugene knows he's spending way more time with Rapunzel than he does with Jack. And he feels kinda guilty over it, but Jack is also deeply in love with someone and when that someone is around, he also ignores his best friend. Eugene tries to keep in touch with him but it isn't easy. They both are busy for school and with a job in their free time to earn some money and a love interest, it doesn't make it easier to spend time with each other anymore.
It used to be different. Back in the days when they were younger and had time to play, they played the heck out of it. Everyday after school they would play at the play field or at each other's home. When Eugene first met Jack, they were both nine years old, they immediately connected with each other. Since then, their friendship became so special that some people refer to them as the 'Twins' because they really are alike, physically as mentally. The only thing that separated them was their length and hair color. Yeah, best friends.
Jack is on his way home, it's already 6 PM and he knows he's late, which makes his case not easier because today he's going to discuss the extra lesson matter with his parents. He's not really looking forward to it, his parents know he's not bad at maths. His dad always has been proud of his two sons doing so well at school. He always mentions it at family parties and if Jack now has to tell him about the extra lessons, then his dad will have one son less to talk good about. The only thing that makes him bad at it is this person and Jack really don't want to bring her up. He could get in trouble for that !
"He mum, I'm home."
His mother looks up from cooking. "I see honey, dinner will be ready in a few minutes."
Jamie is watching TV and his dad is reading the newspaper. He looks quite grumpy and Jack is getting pretty nervous to tell him the bad news.
"So dad, I have something to tell..." He starts as he nervously fiddles with the cord of his sweater.
"Jack, what is it ?" His dad asks patient, looking over his reading glasses.
"You see, I uhm. I ha-..." Jack begins, but then his mom interferes. "DINNER !"
"YEAHHHH !" Jamie screams as he gets up from the couch.
Jack shakes his head. Why is this family so bad at timing ?
"Sit down, Jack. I don't want my meal to be cold." His father says while pointing at his chair.
Once the family is seated, they start eating. Jack watches his family eat. Jamie wolfs everything down his throat and will be done in no time. His mom eats like a real queen, slowly, back straight and looking very regal. His dad eats the food like a farmer. Jack looks at his plate, he's not really hungry and carrots never have been his kind of food.
""So, what did you want to tell me son ?" His dad suddenly asks.
Jack looks up from his plate, at his dad, at his mom and at Jamie who isn't paying attention at all, he's too busy with his food. Jack scrapes his throat. "Well, ehm. You know how maths never really has been a problem, right ?" His parents nod. "Well, this year it is." He says deadpanned.
His father doesn't really understand. "You mean what ? You have trouble with maths ?" Jack nods. "Son, how is that even possible ? You are so good at maths !"
"Yeah, I don't understand it either. Last year you passed with an A plus, remember ?" Says his mom confused. "What went wrong this year ?"
"I don't really know, it's just that it's different and really hard. I hadn't been expecting this at all since last year was pretty simple. But they changed something in the program and now it's really difficult." Jack simply says, trying to get out of it.
"Son, you disappoint me. You have never had any problems at school and now suddenly you do ?" His father states.
Jack throws his hands in the air. "Look, I don't know ok ! All I know is that it's really hard all of a sudden and I need to do shit...-"
"Mind your language, Jack." His mom warns.
His dad shakes his head. "Well, I only can say to you that you have to pay attention. And make your homework and assignments, and then we'll see."
"Ehm, dad. I need to say something else. My teacher offered me extra lessons because it's really not going well this semester..." Jack says, afraid of the reaction of his dad.
"You need extra lessons ? My son needs extra lessons ? Jack, how bad has it become then ? I've never heard you talking about bad grades and now all of a sudden you talk about extra lessons !" His dad bursts.
"Well, she said that they were needed.
"Ooowww, the teacher is a SHE !? Well, maybe SHE has it wrong then ?"
"What ?! NO ! Dad, she is a highly intelligent person. She has an IQ of a hundred and fifty, OK ! She's smarter than we all together are. I think she knows it when she says I need extra lessons." Jack defends.
"Well, I want to talk to that teacher of yours. I want to hear it myself. I just can't believe you've become that bad suddenly.
Ow holy shit, no, don't go talk to her ! He'll just embarrass me more than I already am ! "No dad, you don't have to talk to her. If you will just sign this paper that says you approve her tutoring me, then it's settled.
"No, I want to speak with her. You'll go to her tomorrow and you will tell that I need to have a word with her."
"But dad, I si...-" His father cuts him off.
"Jack, you will do as I say. This conversation is over !" And with that, Jack's dad stands up and leaves the
His mother looks at her plate, it's already empty but still. Jack sighs, he's really in big trouble. That stupid maths, why does she have to be so gorgeous ! Why can't I just simply pay attention, then it wouldn't have turned out into this. Why didn't Eugene let me see his notes then ? Well, he did let me see it but his handwriting is so sloppy. Stupid Eugene and his stupid love. I never see him anymore. We used to be best friends and now he's only with Punzie. Can't blame her though, Eugene is great company... Sigh, life is difficult sometimes. Well, better hope Ms. Winters won't take it too personal tomorrow. She probably won't, because she is an amazing person. She's the only person I like thus far, well, I like Jamie too but he's always so loud.
Jack's mind jump from one thought, to the other. He's very busy in his head, he has so many things to think of. He really misses discussing things with Eugene. He wants to call him but he knows he can't cause Eugene is with Rapunzel, AGAIN. But yeah, she's sick so Jack gets it. If his lady were sick, he'd also go to her and spoil her rotten. Jack sighs, he and Eugene are best friends and right now, Jack needs his friend. He needs to be with Eugene and bike around town or making jokes or playing video games together or playing the guitar and sing, in which Jack is not the star but still. His best friend has now found a soulmate and that's even more important than a best friend. You find many best friends, but there is only one soulmate for you. Jack thinks back at what Ms. Winters once had said to him when he spoke with her about his friend. She had sighed and nodded, said she knew how that felt like.
"You know, Jack. It's difficult to find good friends, but once you've found them, the task to keep them may be even harder. You found a good friend in Eugene, now do your best to keep him. Once you loosen the ropes to the friendship that the two of you share, you'll loose him. Don't let him slip away that easy, don't let him go !"
I won't, Jack thinks. I won't.
This time a chapter with Punzie and Eugene, having the main part of the story. The part of Jack discussing the extra lessons always happens to me and my parents. I tell them something and then they get upset over one tiny bad grade and yeah... But don't worry, I really love my parents :)Next chap will be: Tough discovery.