Hola, guys and girls! I'm really happy how The Crystal Thief is progressing, and I am eternally grateful to everyone who reviewed, followed, favorited, or even just took the time to read my story.
Okay, no particularly spectacular news today. Well, I don't know how spectacular this news may be to people. But due to some PMs and reviews I have lately gotten, I was contemplating perhaps adding new POVs? I was thinking Megara, from Hercules. She seems like the type of person that would be socializing with Flynn and Jim and giving her perspective on the Thief. I think that maybe I should add Rapunzel and Giselle? I envision them as best friends and also cheerleaders. They seem like the type who'd rant about the Thief and how annoying he was…idk. And maybe Elsa and Anna? I have no idea. Clearly I need to think this through. I'm gonna have a busy weekend. So please give me support! And help me out, PLEASE. Send me PMs or reviews with suggestions that might take a little of the load off my shoulders. Thanks guys!
Reply to Comments:
Avril Lambert: Thanks for reviewing yet again! And yeah, Arista does jobs too—just check out my PM; hope you got it.
ChainedPromisesAndBrokenDreams: I defenitely considered your POVs, and as you can see, am now including some of them! (PS: I am in the process of reading your story. I'll PM you the deets…)
TheLonelyMonstersCompanion: Awwww, thx! And yes, totes, that is EXACTLY how I felt about Peter too!
Mirror: Thanks for the inspirational, motivational, criticism-filled butt-kicking review! I really liked some of your suggestions, and will be sure to incorporate some of them in my writing! Arista's apartment…hmm….I made up Arista's boyfriend, Robbie Frayman. He is an OC that I created. Nerds rock!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the storyline; Disney owns all the characters….except Dani Spark, Robbie Frayman, and Miss Dinitia(new character excitement!) They belong to me!
Oh, and PS, halfway through the story, it will ask you to look up a certain video and fast-forward to a certain time. Please do so!
My mom told me never to fraternize with bad boys, that they'd get you into trouble, mess with your head and leave you, but every time I see him, I seem to forget.
-Dani
Dani picked up her electric blue tote bag and left Yellow Stars Diner to go to Dinitia's Dance Studio, where she worked. Her teacher, Miss Dinitia, had already started the class when she arrived. Dani laid down her bag, wearing her blue leotard. She tied her blonde hair into a high ponytail and started onto the mat.
She sensed movement to her right and turned around quickly. At the doorway was Flynn Rider, leaning casually against the doorframe. Cheerily, Dani waved.
She studied his gorgeous eyes, his tan skin, his crop of shiny brown hair, his carefree bad-boy attitude, his brown satchel, his blue vest over a long-sleeve white shirt and cute black pants.
"Can I come in?" he asked.
"It's a public place," said Dani with a smile. "But Miss Dinitia doesn't like strangers in here watching her students dance. We're preparing for a show next month."
Flynn frowned. "Oh. But I'm coming in anyway. Pretend I'm invisible."
Dani smiled.
Flynn entered, set his satchel down, and sat next to it, watching the dancers. Dani jutted her chin out at his satchel. "Nice purse, Flynn."
Flynn glared at her. "Sa-tchel. It's a satchel."
Dani rolled her eyes in a playful way and trotted onto the dance mat.
"Dani," said Dinitia, stopping the music, her emerald green eyes taking in Dani. "Who's your friend over there?"
"Flynn."
"Is he here to watch?"
Dani flinched. "Yes, Miss Dinitia."
Dinitia shook her head. "Sorry. No strangers in here. Unless they're prepared to dance."
Flynn felt an ache in his heart. He wanted to see Dani dance, but he himself did not want to dance. He stood slowly. "I want to stay."
Dinitia challenged him with her eyes. "Then join my class."
Flynn felt a warmth creep into his cheeks. "The only dance I've ever done is the Corona Kingdom Dance. With my ex-girlfriend, Rapunzel."
The class tittered. "Quiet," hissed Dinitia. "That's fine. The Corona Kingdom Dance is actually pretty complicated, from what I've heard. This is ballet. Much easier. Come on in."
Flynn walked in, glaring at the blonde-haired pretties standing around giggling over Flynn's muscles and abs and neat shiny brown hair, his big figure.
"Flynn, have you heard the Greek myth about the water nymphs that did a magical dance around their god, Poseidon, paying tribute to him? He saved them from a monster that threatened to take over their waters." Dinitia gestured at the girls' light blue sparkly leotards, and her own.
"My cousin, Chandler, is actually a professional ballet dancer, and teaches ballet in Missouri," said Dinitia. "And for our show next month, he's supposed to come and be our Poseidon. But since you are here to ogle at my girls, would you like to be our Poseidon for today? It's more productive than staring at a bunch of girls flouncing around in tight skirts. What do you say?"
Flynn had barely heard what came out of Dinitia's mouth. She was a fast talker, but he found himself nodding. "Poseidon is some bigshot god, right?" Flynn asked. "So that's cool."
"I hope you're fond of tights, Mr. Flynn," said Dinitia with a grin.
Dani twirled and twirled, her ponytail flying behind her, her gray eyes flashing as she looked at Flynn's face. (You guys, if you want to get a better picture of Flynn Rider's face at right this second, go to Youtube, then type in "I've Got A Dream Tangled Lyrics Full HD" and then click the first video that comes up. Then fast-forward to 1:46. I laughed so hard, lol Flynn Rider Forever!)
Dani held back a laugh.
"Mr. Flynn," said Dinitia. "Why don't you try the leap one more time. And don't fall over, or sound like a stampeding elephant. Just jump and land lightly on your toes."
Flynn, with his face still the same as before (look up the video, seriously!), obeyed what Dinitia said, and crashed into Dani.
Dani barreled over, crashing into a row of plastic folding chairs, knocking over several boxes, and sprawling on the dance mat that smelled of feet and sweat.
"Ouch!" Flynn muttered, rolling off of Dani. "Sorry, Dani."
Dani laughed. "It's fine, it's fine." She stood up, but collapsed back down laughing again.
Dinitia mopped her forehead. "Oh, for the love of God. Class dismissed!"
After class, Flynn started to walk Dani home.
"Where do you live?" asked Flynn, looking around.
"Beddington Lane," Dani responded. "A few houses away from Wendy Darling's."
Flynn nodded. "It's the next street over."
Dani nodded, too.
On Beddington Lane, the two awkwardly stood in front of the house, and Flynn handed Dani's dance bag to her, which he had been carrying.
"Awww," Dani had cooed. "What a gentleman, Flynn Rider." Which was totally unlike him. Why he would cow to girls and carry their bags around Dani didn't know. He was acting weird—showing up at Dinitia's, offering to join ballet, and carry her bag, walk her home, talking to her in a gentle tone he usually didn't display in school or class.
The other side of Flynn Rider.
Flynn reached out gently, and took one of Dani's hands. Her heart started thudding, but he didn't do anything weird, just moved his thumb across her knuckles and looked into her gray eyes. "What other type of dance do you do?" he asked softly.
Dani's response was nearly a whisper. "Pop and ballet."
Flynn looked down, scratched his neck, and finally looked over her head into the distance. "Dani, would you like to…go to a movie on Friday?" Flynn asked.
Two days from now. Dani bit her lip. Her father didn't let her date, but maybe just one…if she snuck out….
She looked at Flynn's face and realized how cute and nice he really was. But suddenly Dani felt a pang of something. Sorrow? Emptiness? She didn't know. She grabbed his hands tightly in her own, and reached up carefully to touch his face.
His stubble was scratchy and she liked it. His eyes looked down at her, brown and beautiful and full of soul.
"It's just that—" Dani let go of his face and traveled her hands down his muscly forearms and back to hold his hands. "My mom has this thing. Against 'bad boys.'"
Flynn frowned. "Me? A bad boy? Nah, I'm an angel."
Dani smiled. "I'm sure. But in all seriousness, my mom made me promise her that I'd never fraternize with bad boys. She said they'd leave you, mess with your head, and you'd end up hurt in the end."
"I won't hurt you," whispered Flynn. "I promise."
"But you broke up with Rapunzel."
"I won't make that mistake with you," promised Flynn. "And I'll be straightforward."
Dani raised her eyebrows. "She also said bad boys make promises they can't keep."
Flynn shook his head. "Okay, I can tell this is going the wrong way, so just say no and I'll leave."
Dani shook her head too, rapidly. "Nononono, please don't go, Flynn."
Flynn turned.
"Yes, I'll go out with you." Dani glared. "But I'm trusting you. You made a promise."
Flynn smiled, his eyes sparkled. "Yeah, you won't regret it."
"I'm sure I won't," said Dani with a grin. She fell against him, breathed in his scent as he hugged her. He smelled of cologne and aftershave, and his muscly arms felt good against her back.
"You'll come to my show next month, right?" Dani begged.
Flynn nodded. "Absolutely."
Dani broke away, grinning, and headed back inside her house, waving every step of the way to Flynn.
As he went back, instead of his usual swaying walk, Flynn jumped, skipped and ran, a big smile on his face.
He passed two men playing chess near several women standing around chatting at doorsteps. Their eyes widened as they saw the gruff teenage boy who usually stood around smoking cigarettes and flirting with girls with his friends near Bronson skipping around smiling and humming to himself.
"What's with him?" demanded one of the old men.
The other one shrugged in surprise, forgetting to make his move. "He must be on drugs."
"Oh, you fools," snapped one of the women, harrumphing and turning to them, one hand on her hips. "It's quite obvious, isn't it?"
The other women smiled and stared after Flynn Rider.
"What?" demanded the first man.
The lady smiled sweetly. "Isn't it obvious? He's in love."
Sometimes I hate my life.
-Meg
Meg came out of Bronson, rubbing her back. Her job was to be a sexpot, and it hurt sometimes, depending on the guy she did it with. Wearing just a pair of lacy white underwear, Meg hurried into a side closet to pull on her purple miniskirt. She went out under the awning for a little alone-time. At least now, for a half-hour, she was off-limits. No longer the property of some guy. Free to be Megara Chavons.
She leaned against the brick wall, exhausted, and pulled out a dark blue packet of cigarettes, lighting one quickly and sticking it in her mouth.
Inhaling the acrid gray smoke gave her some satisfaction inside of her.
Sometimes she hated her life and wished to just end it all. She was a senior at Walt Disney High now, but had no chance of graduating. At least so she thought.
She spotted Flynn Rider coming that way. She had known Flynn forever it seemed, and sometimes thought he would actually ask to "commission" her. But he never had, though he never hesitated to share a cigarette or beer with her by the doorway of Bronson with his douche friend Gaston.
Flynn smiled and stopped to say hi.
Meg jutted out her slim hips and gave him a sexy salute. He didn't respond, only leaned against the brick wall and looked out into the city.
Hmmm. Meg narrowed her eyes. She didn't understand why Flynn hadn't fell hard for her yet. Clearly she deserved a guy like him, not like the guy today. Greasy gray hair, short of breath, sweaty and smelled like beer. She didn't deserve a horny old geezer like that guy.
Meg turned and bent down slowly pretending to pick up an earring she hadn't dropped. She glanced back to see if Flynn was staring. But he bent down with her. "Earring?" he asked.
Meg nodded in surprise.
"Want a beer?"
Meg nodded again, slowly.
"Be right back." He was gone.
Meg straightened up. She didn't get it. She was clearly one of the prettiest girls in NYC. Why couldn't she get a hot guy like Flynn? She knew he was cute and she liked him. She desired him. She folded her arms across her narrow chest.
"Hey, Meg."
Meg turned around to spot several of her other Bronson-buddies standing by the wall. Meg smiled and went to join them, still confused about Flynn. Maybe he was gay?
Phoebus and Esmeralda, who had been dating for about two years;—which was amazing for a sexpot like Esme—Quasimodo, who was a sculptor who worked at home and had graduated a year ago from Disney High; and Holli Would, a prostitute like Meg.
Flynn came out again. "Heyyy, guys. What's up?"
Holli, Esme, Phoebus and Quasi waved at him. He offered Meg the beer.
"Oooh, cute," Esme purred. "Flynn, you and Meg have a thing going now?"
Meg didn't mind. With a smile, she looked at him for affirmation. But Flynn shook his head, his eyebrows narrowing. "Sorry," he said quietly. "I have a girlfriend, Meg."
He's lying. What creepy skank is he sleeping with now? Meg leaned forward. "Who is it? Is she a senior like Esme and Phoebus? A junior like us? Or is she practically a woman?"
Flynn frowned. "Meg—"
But Meg was already worked up enough. She sucked in air. "I'm sorry, Flynn. Bad day at work."
"Yeah, work," laughed Holli.
"We have the same job," Meg said, gritting her teeth. Dumb frickin' blonde.
Holli tucked her hair behind her ears. A nice-looking guy walked by in a leather jacket, heading for Bronson. "Heyyyy," Holli drawled, following him with her eyes.
Meg smacked her and Quasi laughed. Esmeralda and Phoebus were busy making out.
And Flynn was already gone.
"So about the Thief," said Holli, glancing at Quasi to include him in the conversation. Phoebus and Esme stopped kissing and began to listen.
"What about him?" Meg asked, wishing Flynn had stayed a little longer.
"They're suspecting a minor. As in, a sophomore."
Meg's eyes widened. "Who told you?"
"Clay Hepburn."
Meg raised her eyebrows. "Okay, who the hell is that?"
"A…friend. I met him at work."
Meg nodded, understanding. "Oh. But they're not going to execute a juvenile, right?"
"Hopefully not," sighed Holli. "But it would be fun to watch."
Meg shook her head. "Who are they convicting?"
"Clay's dad is in the police force. I'd tell you…but we have a bad habit of mouthing off secrets." Holli was right, the whole gang could never keep a secret.
Quasi timidly raised his hand. "I can keep a secret. I wouldn't tell." It was true; Quasi was sort of a homebody.
Holli leaned forward. "Okay, fine. I heard they're convicting Jim Hawkins. Anybody know him?"
Esme and Phoebus shook their heads. So did Quasi. Meg nodded. "I know him. He hangs out with Gaston and Flynn over by Bronson."
Holli raised her hand. "I kissed him last year at a party. Spin the Bottle."
Meg wasn't surprised. Holli kissed anyone within twenty feet of her.
"I would hate to see him framed, though," Meg said, doubt quivering inside her. "No one should go to jail for what they didn't do."
"You should know," hooted Esme.
Meg nodded, she should. She had gone to jail while in her junior year. Because of the strict futuristic government rule, she had been shipped straight to jail without a fair trial—for some crime she didn't even commit. Her ex-boyfriend from freshman year, Herc, turned in a report that his current girlfriend, Chloe, had been murdered in the school parking lot, next to Meg's wine-colored car.
Of course, the government had carried her off. Obviously, someone else had killed Chloe and framed Meg. Or maybe it was just an accident. But either way the government had planned to execute her for murder, until the murderer—some idiot named Will Rhodes—confessed to the cops. And then they let her go. Since then, Meg had been very strong on people being "framed" and going to jail without a fair trial for no reason.
The teenagers near Bronson grew silent.
"Anyway," said Holli, breaking the silence. "I'm going home. I have a huge headache."
"Goodnight," Quasi murmured. "I have to go finish a sculpture."
"We're going to bed," Phoebus informed the group, and Esme left with him. Meg knew it was her turn to just leave Bronson, but she knew around what time Gaston came around with his "Jim" friend.
She lit a cigarette and sat back. She decided to wait.
Hashtag cliffhanger! Because of Meg's backstory-she was framed and spent time in jail, scraped NARROWLY by execution-she can obviously connect well with Jim Hawkins. Have an awesome weekend guys! Keep reading and reviewing. I hope I can update again this weekend...
Wow, if I had a Deviantart account, I would totally draw and upload Dani Spark. But I can't. :(
I hope I can get an account...