Meg hadn't seen Hades since he started dating Gothel. She didn't really miss him, but she was starting to feel pretty lonely. Hades wasn't a very good friend, but at least he was always around. Meg drove aimlessly around town, listening to her music. She drove around for a while before ending up at Pleasure Island. Meg turned on her iPod and put in her headphones as she walked across the parking lot. It was Friday night, so it was pretty crowded. Meg got something to eat, then wandered around for a bit. She eventually headed to the arcade and made her way to the air hockey table.
Meg ran her hand over the air hockey table. "Attention, everyone! Megara is the most beautiful girl in Andalasia!" Hercules used to be so sweet and charming. Meg smiled to herself at the thought of the memory.
Meg was startled when a hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder. She jumped and removed her headphones.
"What the hell!" Meg cried, turning around.
Thomas was standing there, also looking startled. "I-I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"No, it's okay." Meg wrapped her headphones around her iPod. "What's up?"
"My brother ditched me and I was on my way out when I saw you standing here alone." Thomas shrugged. "I thought I'd say hi."
"Hi," Meg said, sticking her iPod in her back pocket.
"Do you play?" Thomas asked pointing at the air hockey table.
Meg smiled at him. "Oh yeah."
"How 'bout a quick game?" Thomas offered.
Meg nodded. "All right."
Their "quick" game lasted almost an hour. Thomas was just as good as Meg, if not better. They stayed pretty even throughout the whole game, but in the end Thomas won by one point.
"I'm impressed," Meg said, setting down her air hockey mallet.
Thomas laughed. "Likewise."
"How did you get so good at air hockey?" Meg asked him.
"When we were kids John and I used to come here all the time. Our parents would let us go off on our own, but we had to stay together. John loves video games and we would stay in the arcade the whole time. I never got into video games, so I ended up playing a lot of air hockey and skee ball," Thomas explained.
"So, you also play skee ball?"
Thomas nodded. "Yeah. It's actually a really good way let out a little steam."
"Oh, I bet. Is that what you were doing when your brother left?"
"Yeah. I was actually on my way to cash in my tickets when I saw you," Thomas said.
"Well, don't let me stop you," Meg said. "Thanks for the game."
"You're welcome. I'll see you around, Meg." Thomas gave her a small wave and started to walk away.
Meg pulled her iPod out of her pocket and was unwinding the headphones cord when Thomas came back.
"You wanna help me pick something out?" Thomas asked her.
Meg thought his little pick up line was kind of lame, but she couldn't help thinking he was really cute. She smiled at him. "Sure."
Thomas started taking his tickets out of his pockets. Meg laughed as he kept pulling out one handful after another. He dropped a few of the tickets in the process and Meg picked them up. He handed her a handful of tickets then dug out the rest of his tickets.
"My goodness, Thomas. How long were you playing?" Meg asked.
"Only a couple games."
Meg went to respond, but stopped when she saw Gaston behind the prize counter. Thomas didn't see her hesitation and continued to the counter. Meg followed him.
"Hey guys," Gaston greeted.
"Hey," Meg muttered, dropping the tickets on the counter.
Gaston took the tickets and started counting them.
"What do you think?" Thomas asked.
Meg briefly browsed the prizes. "The silly string, definitely."
When Gaston came back over to them, Thomas asked for two cans of silly string. Gaston handed the cans to him and Thomas gave one to Meg. She started shaking it, not really sure what she was going to do with silly string. Thomas got a couple of other toys and some candy. Meg swiped a piece of his gum and popped it into her mouth; she loved Bazooka bubble gum. After he cashed in all of his tickets, they headed towards the exit.
"Meg, wait up a second!" Gaston called after her.
Meg told Thomas to wait for her, then turned and walked back over to the counter.
"What?"
"I'm sorry about Vanessa's attitude towards you."
Meg shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm a big girl, I can handle it."
"Well, if it's worth anything, I miss the times we all had together. You were good for Vanessa and Hercules," Gaston said.
Meg was completely taken off guard and didn't know what to say. She thought Gaston was on Vanessa's side in all of this.
"That Helga broad is a bitch," Gaston continued. "You're a way better girl for Hercules."
Meg looked down at her can of silly string and started fidgeting with it. "Oh. Well, I really don't intend on getting back with Hercules."
"I don't blame you," Gaston said. "But, he really is sorry for what he did. He misses you a lot, Megara."
Gaston didn't really like calling her Meg; he said it was too common of a name and Megara suited her better. He was the only one who called her by her full name. Once in a while Vanessa would, too, but not anymore.
"I know he says that," Meg said. "But he's still with Helga."
Before Gaston could say anything, Meg turned and left. Why can't they all just leave me alone? She thought. Thomas was waiting for her outside.
"Is everything all right?" Thomas asked.
Meg nodded. "Yeah. I've just been trying so hard to avoid all of their drama and they're sucking me right back in."
Meg exhaled in frustration. Suddenly, Thomas sprayed Meg with his silly string.
"What. The. Hell!" She uncapped her can and prayed him back. "Jerk."
Thomas laughed and sprayed her again. Meg narrowed her eyes at him and sprayed him. Soon, the two of them were chasing each other through the park. Meg tried dodging one of Thomas' attacks, and lost her balance. She started stumbling forward into the fountain. At the last second, Thomas grabbed her and pushed away, but tripped and fell into the fountain. Meg knelt down in front of the fountain.
"Thomas, are you okay?" Meg asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Thomas sat up and Meg saw he had cut his bottom lip.
"Thomas, you're bleeding," Meg said.
Thomas touched his lip and winced. "I'll be all right."
Meg reached out and helped him out of the fountain.
"Thank you," Meg said. "You saved my iPod. You're my hero."
Thomas smiled. "It's all in a day's work, ma'am," he said in a fake macho voice that sounded a lot like Hercules'.
Meg laughed. "How can I ever repay you?"
"Let me take you out next weekend."
"Are-are you serious?" Meg stammered.
Thomas nodded. "Yeah I am."
Meg smiled at him. "All right."
XXX
Esmeralda admired her reflection. She was wearing black high heels, a white mini skirt and a fitted black, off the shoulder top. It had been a while since Esmeralda had done any modeling and her agent set her up with a photo shoot for a print makeup ad. She was excited about getting back into modeling again. Esmeralda was running late and decided to grab some fast food on her way to the studio. When she got there, she quickly finished eating and threw her garbage away as she went inside. She spotted her agent in a corner, talking on the phone. Esmeralda made her way through all the other models and walked over to her. Maleficent hung up and frowned at her.
"What happened to you?" Maleficent asked.
"What do you mean?"
Maleficent rolled her eyes and motioned for Esmeralda to follow her. She led her over to the photographer, Lady Tremaine. Lady Tremaine finished up with one of the models, then turned to face them.
"Good lord, Esmeralda! You really let yourself go," Lady Tremaine said.
"What?" Esmeralda looked down at herself.
Lady Tremaine put her hand on Esmeralda's stomach. "You've gained a lot of weight."
"You need to lose fifteen pounds before I look into finding you a job," Maleficent said.
Lady Tremaine put her arm around Esmeralda's shoulders and pointed at the other models. "When you look like them, come back and see me."
Esmeralda slowly made her way out of the studio. She suddenly felt very self conscious as she walked passed the other models. When she got back home she stripped down to her bra and panties and stood in front of her full-length mirror again. Esmeralda only weighed 125, but she no longer had her fit body. She still did a lot of dancing, but recently she didn't have a lot of down time and usually ate fast food on the go.
How could you do this to your body? Esmeralda asked herself. You know better.
Esmeralda ran her hands over her stomach. "You need to lose fifteen pounds..."
Esmeralda didn't know what made her do it; maybe it was just her being all caught up in her emotions. She put her clothes back on, then went into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and knelt down in front of the toilet.
Don't do this, she told herself. This is stupid and dangerous.
Esmeralda shook her head. It won't get out of hand. I only need to lose fifteen pounds. Esmeralda stuck her finger down her throat and made herself throw up. At first it really hurt and tears rolled down her cheeks. Esmeralda got up and washed her hands, then brushed her teeth and cleaned herself up. She stared at her reflection. She felt somewhat ashamed of what she had done, but she justified it by telling herself that this wasn't going to become a permanent habit. Esmeralda opened the door and was face-to-face with Clopin. She stopped abruptly.
"Are you okay?" Clopin asked.
Esmeralda nodded. "I stopped to get a burger and it made me sick."