#Chapter 16 : Surprise

Narrator's POV

"Hey Beth, I think..I...have a crush on Jonathan."

After those words just slipped from Mavis mouth, Beth choked on her food and hit a fist at her throat. Mavis quickly drowned water down her throat, patting the blonde's back as she drank.

A month had passed since her hangout with the girls, but now's not the time to relax. Beth buried her nose into her books, her eyes traveling fast as she took in the knowledge she needed for a big exam that hung the weight of her graduation. She wondered if she was overdoing it since there were nights she had to sacrifice and study, but she'd do anything for college

At the moment, she was having lunch with Mavis. The girls were chatting on various topics. And now the black-haired teen declared that she had a confession to make. Beth fixed her glasses and chewed her bread slowly, making sure not to make too much noise for herself as Mavis spoke.

"Seriously Mavis? The university's computer mech?!" Beth said a little louder than she should have.

Mavis panicked and palmed her lips, telling her to shush up because the person of topic was sitting near. She was lucky he didn't catch it though, his chattering with Jack and a few other male teachers fogged up the sounds.

"Why? Our age difference is not that bad," she said in a concerning casual voice as she released her hand from Beth's mouth.

The blonde still had her mouth hung over. "He's, like, one of the teachers here, goodness sake Mavis!" Beth whisper-yelled

"Meh, I don't see why not. Besides, I'm not alone," Mavis said, wiggling her eyebrows at Beth. She stared back with a 'what' look, until she realized what her friend was talking about

"Jack and I are only best friends," Beth said confidently.

Mavis smirked. "Now when did I ever mention Jack?" she laughed.

Beth slowly face-planted on her table, trying her best to fight back the heat at her cheeks

Mavis peered behind her shoulder and caught a glimpse of Jonathan, chuckling with his friends. The young man had good peripheral vision and spotted her gaze. He directed his eyes to her, and curved a smile. Mavis quickly whipped her head back with red ears. Mavis turned for one last glance, determined to not get caught again, but she saw Jack approaching near them. It seemed that they had talked enough for the day

"Hey Beth, looks like your Romeo's coming. Gotta go!" she said quickly, lifting her backpack and ran off before she could get attacked from her best friend

"Just how many times should I tell you?! WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!" Beth yelled. She gritted her teeth as she was responded with laughter. It was a good thing that there was barely anyone left so nobody watched their craziness

"Sup Beth? What talk did you two had to make you yell like that?" Jack said as he took a seat across from her.

Beth shrugged. "It's girl problems. Only girls can understand," Beth said, taking a deep breath.

She covered her forehead when Jack suddenly blew air to her face. "Heh, had a fight with books did you? Your bangs are all over your eyes."

Beth slid back her hair with her palm. "Well, we all know that the exams are coming up soon, so I gotta prepare myself," she said. Jack nodded in understatement

"Um, Beth?"

"Hmm?"

"You got anything on schedule today?"

"Maybe later night I'll read more books, But I'm free right now."

"Can you help me?"

"What?"

"I wanna buy a dress for Rapunzel, but my fashion sense ain't sharp. Can you help me pick one?" he said, hoping that Beth would agree.

Beth raised a brow. "Why don't you ask Rap herself then? The dress is for her, right?"

"I want to make this a surprise for her," he said in a whisper tone.

Beth curved a smile. 'How sweet' she thought. She couldn't help but smirk

"Aww, You like her don't 'cha?"

Jack was taken aback at her words. He rubbed the back of his neck slowly with a perplexed look he tried to hide.

"Beth, that's not-"

"Relax, I'm just joking! Seriously though, you two would make a cute couple," Beth said with a grin. Jack only plastered a smile

"C'mon, I'll help you find the right dress," Beth said. She slung her backpack and pulled Jack's hand

Shen then abruptly stopped. "Wait, what about Tadashi?" she asked.

Jack shrugged. "I got a text that he went home early. And I already told him that you'll be going with me," he said. They went in his sports car and drove from the university

Meanwhile, in Beth's house, Tadashi bobbed his head back and forth as he followed the beat to a remix he was making with his DJ Portable. Hiro was decorating the guest room, going on his tippy toes to plaster colorful papers

"Uhh, big bro? A little help here?" Hiro said, trying his hardest to reach the spot he wanted but it was no use since his height was incompetent

"Yeah, yeah. Wait a minute," Tadashi said. He slid off his headphones to his DJ Portable and went to help his younger sibling

Back to Beth. She and Jack were in a dress shop. They searched through rack and mannequin, trying to find the perfect dress for Rapunzel

"Hey Beth! What about this? It's one of Punzie's favorite colors," Jack suggested. His hand held a hanger that held a magenta dress with an exposed back and a long slit at the leg. Beth didn't approve

"No, it's too, um, breezy," she said, before returning her eyes to a stack of dresses

After a few minutes, a certain dress captured her eye. It was the perfect one, a sleeveless navy blue dress with a simple yet, elegant design. Perfect for teenage college students. It had transparent straps at the top and bottom, but the rest wad fine. A shirt-like top was worn over the upper half of the dress

It's perfect

- A/N: I really like this dress actually X) -

"I think this one's good?" she asked as she lifted it up. In all honesty, she wanted the dress for herself, but she'd do anything for her best friend

"It's good! Try it on."

"What? But.."

"Just try it," he said softly. Beth sighed and finally nodded at his request and went to the changing room. After the sounds of the ruffling of clothes were done, Beth pulled the door open

"So, what do you think?" Beth bit back a blush as she saw Jack's bright smile.

"Nice! How much does it cost?" he asked as he pulled out his wallet. Beth raised the tag to her sight and nearly wanted to throw the dress to space. Gosh darn, the price! It's more expensive than all the clothes she's arrived with!

"Uhm, it's pretty pricey. Are you really okay paying?"

"Yeah," he assured her.

She changed back and Jack paid for the dress. The two didn't count the amount of time they were there, so they were shocked to see that it was already evening. Jack drove Beth home and they arrived to her place

"Thanks for the drive," Beth said, opening the door and stepped out of his car

"Your welcome..uh, hold up!" he suddenly called.

There were rustling noises as he dug his hands under before pulling out a shopping bag that carried the dress they just bought. He held it out to Beth

"Happy Birthday by the way"

Beth widened her blue eyes at what he said. She never even realized that it was her birthday. For her, birthdays were forgettable, you get it every year and sooner or later it'd get old. She didn't think that it was a very important day for her.

"Tadashi told me this morning that it was your birthday and I really wanted to give you something but I couldn't decide what. Well, I wanted to buy you a dress, but I don't know your measurements. So I thought it'd be better if you chose on your own. And by the way, Rapunzel likes pink and purple, not dark blue," he said with a smile

Beth sighed. "Jack, thank you for this present, but I can't take it. You said earlier that this was for Rapunzel, it's better if you give this to her," Beth said, handing back the bag.

"But, Beth I-"

"No buts, just be honest, Jack. That's enough for a birthday present. I want you to be honest and not lie to anyone just because of one simple thing. You said before that this dress was for her, so gift this to her," Beth said with a headstrong tone. Jack couldn't say anything no more, taking the bag and driving back home. After making sure he was gone, Beth breathed deeply.

'I really want that dress' she thought, looking up the stars, still the same ones that she and Rapunzel were under. It was as if they were watching her, making sure she was keeping her promise.

'But, I don't want Jack to be a liar.'

She ended her thoughts and entered the door to her house. It was pitch black inside, and Beth felt the wall for a switch. Finding it, she flipped it over. But as the lights went on..

"SURPRISE!"

Her parents were holding a birthday cake. Her brothers wore silly birthday hats and there were birthday presents tucked under their arms. Beth could only close her mouth with a trembling hand, trying to hold back tears that were threatening to spill out

"Oh darling, don't cry," her mother said, reaching out to wrap her arms around her daughter. Beth happily hugged back

Beth made a wish, blew her candles, and smeared cream over her brothers' faces. Now it was time to open her presents.

"Happy B-day sis! Here's my present, hope you like it!" Tadashi cheered as he handed her a blue MP3 Player along with blue headphones.

"It's beautiful," Beth said in awe.

"There's more. Hear the music!"

Beth quickly plugged her headphones to her music player, and a clear tune was heard for her.

"Wow big bro! That was awesome!" she gleed after listening it all they way to the end. If there was anything she was disappointed with, it was that the song was over.

"Mixed it myself," he said proudly with a wink. Beth rolled her eyes with a smile

"Happy birthday big sis! This is my present and it's way cooler than Tadashi's!" The said elder brother rubbed playfully Hiro's head after he gave his gift to Beth. It was a small box, inside was a beautiful bracelet

"Thanks Hiro! This is gorgeous." She snatched her younger brother from Tadashi to give him a hug. Hiro smiled and hugged her back

"Elsa..." her father said, and Beth fell silent. That name hit her ears like a long lost language. She was almost never called with that name, her real name that her real parents gave her. She came closer to him as she smiled.

"I don't know if you'd like this or not, but I hope you would," her father said, handing her a simple brown box. She took it and uncovered the top.

It was a pair of heels. It was in black and designed with abstract curves around the toes, giving the footwear a classic, elegant look. She gave her family what they thought to be the millionth thank you. Her birthday celebration commenced joyously

Meanwhile, at different place...

Two adults celebrated their eldest daughter's birthday with an indescribable sense of loss. They looked upon the stars, hoping their child was still out there, somewhere, safe under the same sky. Policemen had done their best, but there were no results. But the two couldn't give up. They were sure that their daughters would one day return