First of all, I have no excuses. Second of all, I suck. There's not much plot wise, but next chapter's rather important. I don't know if any of my readers stuck around this long, so I am so so sorry about everything... but I haven't given this up. I've just been working on Jackunzel week entries, and then I want to start a new Jackunzel story, and that is in the works, so this story's been on the edge of my mind. By the way, if you follow CGI High, then I'm finally going to update after like years! Soon, I promise. Same goes for another story, so don't think that I'm dead just yet!

I was going to thank my reviewers and all but that'll take too long to type up and I really want to put this thing up online and yeah so if you reviewed, I love you, and I will always love you cuties! And I recently reached over one hundred reviews- I don't deserve you all. But seriously, thank you. :) P.S. There's some language in here.

"There's a dance on Friday, did you hear?" Chatter among the hallways usually revolved around who was dating whom and other aspects of gossip, but today, it was focused on a certain school event that colorful posters advertised.

The Spring Dance was a tradition there at Dreamworks High, with a floral themed event, complete with photos against a flower-splattered backdrop, formal attire, and a threat or at least ten chaperones hanging all over the dance floor and making sure couples were at respectful distances from each other.

Merida really hated it, the entire shebang, having gone to the last dance with Macintosh the year prior. That night, she'd just spent her time in the girl's bathroom, avoiding her boyfriend and knocking back a flask of whiskey someone had set her up with. It had ended with her hitching a ride with some random dude because Macintosh left to some after party, conveniently forgetting he had a girlfriend he'd taken to the fucking thing.

She still hated it as she walked through the hallway, with the giggling girls throwing not-so-discreet glances at boys they wished would ask them to be their dates. It was all so juvenile, in her opinion, really. However, she wasn't traveling the hallway alone, and Rapunzel seemed to like the idea.

Needless to say, Merida was a bit irritated with her companion.

"It sounds pretty, don't you think?" The blond smiled and tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear, and opened her locker with a graceful finesse that Merida could only dream about, something that Elinor Dunbroch would've been proud of.

However, though she would envy Rapunzel's being everything her mother wanted, she'd never want Rapunzel's optimisim. "No," Merida said with an eye roll, "It sounds stupid. A spring dance?"

"We should go," Rapunzel said, taking a book out of her locker and placing her book bag inside.

"Sure," Merida snorted, "Right after ah pick out a nice dress."

"I'm serious," Rapunzel gave Merida a playful hit, and slammed her locker shut. "It could be fun."

"Dances are not fun," Merida replied sourly, "Ah don't want tae."

"C'mon, Merida, please?" Rapunzel batted her eyelashes in a teasing manner, and Merida shoved her.

"Nope," Merida said confidently. "Nothin' ye say'll tell me otherwise."

"What if I offered you something?" Rapunzel's green eyes twinkled in mischief.

"Nope," Merida repeated, sure nothing Rapunzel offered would be worth her while.

"Jack and Hiccup can come with us," Rapunzel said cheerfully.

"Even worse," Merida said. "Now ye'll never get me to go."

"Oh, come on Merida, it'll be fun!"

"No."

"There'll be food."

"No."

"And dancing."

"No."

"A cute date?"

"No."

"At least a cute boy?"

"I heard 'cute boy'," Jack appeared out of nowhere, "So here I am." Merida gave him a hard shove.

"Ouch," Jack rubbed his shoulder. "So what are you talking about then, if it isn't me?"

"I was trying to convince Merida to come to the Spring Dance!" Rapunzel said excitedly.

"Oh, I'd pay to see that," Jack grinned, earning himself another smack.

"And you and Hiccup'll go too, right?" Rapunzel beamed. The question threw Jack for a loop.

"Uh-"

"Of course he's goin'," Merida interrupted, and shot Jack and triumphant look.

"Princess, I know you want to see me in a tux-" he began, but never finished because of Merida's murderous look.

"So we'll all go together," Rapunzel said happily. Then her face fell. "Unless you wanted to go with Macintosh, Merida?"

"We broke up," Merida announced.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Rapunzel said solemnly, puzzled at Merida's look of glee.

"No, he just told my mum we broke up tae get me in trouble, but ah think it counts," Merida said. "Either way, we're done."

"Congrats," Jack said, clamping Merida's shoulder. "He was a douche."

"Yeah," Merida agreed, smiling for once.

"So we'll go together, then? The four of us?" Rapunzel asked. "Um- Jack, will you be going with.. Tooth?" She said her name as if it were taboo, and glanced around quickly after speaking it.

"No," Jack said. "She- well, she won't talk to me."

"Tough," Merida nodded sympathetically. "Ah could tell ye liked her, and she found herself a lad-"

"What? No," Jack said, like the idea offended him. "Tooth's my friend. Or, she was. I don't know, she stopped talking after I showed up to that party."

"Then she's not yer friend," Merida said, and Rapunzel had to agree, and Jack nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "So. We're dragging Hiccup down with us, then?"

"Dragging me where?" Hiccup joined his friends, stuffing papers in his backpack, and replacing them for books that he was going to put in his locker.

"A dance!" Rapunzel said happily.

"A dance?" Hiccup sounded hesitant. "No, remember the last time we went someplace together?"

"Fuck them," Merida said, too cheerfully for her statement. "Just fuck 'em all, Hic."

"Fuck 'em all and get herpes," Jack smiled.

"What are herpes?" Rapunzel questioned.

"Shut up," Merida told Jack spitefully.

"I don't know," Hiccup said, tongue in cheek. "This seems like a really bad idea."

"It won't be," Rapunzel promised. "Please, Hiccup? We're all going together!"

Hiccup sighed. "Fine."

At approximately one day before the dance, Rapunzel came to Merida saying she had nothing to wear. Rapunzel took one look in Merida's closet and declared that Merida had nothing to wear either.

While Merida argued that her dress choices were perfectly fine, Rapunzel insisted that black was not acceptable for summer.

Rapunzel had then dragged Merida away to a nearby clothing store, and declared that she and Merida would find the perfect dresses and come out looking like princesses the day of the dance, ignoring Merida's protest that she'd rather be the kingdom thief than be a princess.

"How about this one?" Rapunzel pulled out a terrifying dress that was gold, strapless, and looked like it had been drowned in glitter.

"Ah'd rather set meself on fire."

"Okay, how about this one?" Cue an equally hideous dress of magenta, this one floor length with bright orange straps.

Were there any normal dresses in this store?

"No, Rapunzel, just try an' find yer dress, lass," Merida said, and she pretended to like a random number on a nearby rack. "Ah'll find me own."

"If you're sure-" Rapunzel said reluctantly, but a dress a few racks down made her eyes light up.

"Yeah, yeah. Go," Merida waved her friend away and decided that as long as she looked like she was going through dresses, Rapunzel wouldn't throw a hissy fit. So she went through at least three racks of dresses, wrinkling her nose at each one.

There seemed to be none that weren't sparkly, low-cut, short, or in an offending color. Merida had just picked up a pink dress- a hot pink splattered with blue rhinestones all over the bodice and made another face, tucking it behind a dress on a nearby rack.

She took another look at the dress she'd just shoved the ugly one behind. This one was actually...fine. Merida stepped closer to it, unhooked the hanger from the rack, and felt the material.

The dress had a sweetheart neckline, and thin straps about as thick as her hand that went over the shoulders. It was soft, not uncomfortably cheap nor flimsy, and a teal color. It was shaped like it would cling to her curves, sewed with golden thread, and went to just above her knees.

Well... if Merida had wanted a dress, this one was okay.

Merida hesitated to take it, though. It was a reasonable price- not that money was an issue for her- and it wasn't revealing, and it was in her size. She grabbed it, not knowing why she didn't want Rapunzel to see it, and as cover grabbed two random dresses to hide it in between.

"Merida!" Rapunzel came up to the redheaded girl, flashing a few dresses so quickly that Merida didn't really get a glimpse of them. "I found some dresses." Her eyes fell to Merida's hands, and she smiled. "You did, too! Want to go to the fitting rooms?"

"Sure," Merida shrugged, sure that if the dress she'd liked wouldn't work out, that she really didn't want to choose anything else and she'd just go someplace else.

Rapunzel and Merida found dressing rooms across from each other, hard because there seemed to be plenty of girls there, most likely other schools having dances or events similar to such.

Alone in a cubicle, with a cynical full-length mirror and a small bench in the corner, Merida eyed the dresses. She hung them up on the hook on the tan door, and selects one of her random dresses. Maybe she should've looked at them before she'd chosen them, because this was a strapless dress, red, low-cut, floor length and looked like something a movie star from cliche portrayal would wear.

Still, Merida peeled off her clothes and stepped into the dress, and besides not looking at the dress style, she really should've payed attention to something else.

Size.

The dress was too damned tight, and Merida struggled just to zip it up, and felt like she had when her mother forced her into corsets. Merida wasn't overweight, but she wasn't stick thin, and a small was not for her. Catching a look in the mirror, she was horrified. She looked like a girl playing dress-up in a too-tight dress that someone like her, an archer and soccer player, did not belong in.

"Merida?" Rapunzel's voice could be heard through the barrier. "Did you put on your first dress?"

"Yeah," Merida grunted in discomfort, ready to yank the thing off while not ripping it at the same time, but stopped at Rapunzel's request.

"Oh, let me see!"

Rapunzel wore a light purple dress, a halter style that flowed out to around her knees, decorated with silver here and there. It was nice on her, sure, and Merida sourly thought that she never had to worry about fitting in a dress in her life.

"You like that dress?" Rapunzel's face was unreadable.

"No," Merida snapped, crossing her arms, and the relief on Rapunzel's face was evident.

"Okay, so what do you think about this one?" Rapunzel asked, splaying out her skirt with her fingers.

"Sure," Merida said, and she meant it. Rapunzel could probably take a random dress and make it look good, without another thought.

"I'm not sure-" Rapunzel said, looking down at the dress hem. "I'll think about it. And, Merida- I like the red, but since you've got red hair, it kinda clashes-"

"Ah hate it, so ye don' need tae sugarcoat yer thoughts on the thing," Merida skims her waist with her hands before the two girls go back into their fitting rooms.

The next dress- not the one she likes, the other one- is purple. An electric, psychotic purple, and as she examines the length, she wonders if it's a mistake, because this can't be a dress. It has to be a shirt. No dress would be that short, right?

Merida slid it over her head, and it was her size, but it was squeezing her nonetheless. The neckline dipped dangerously low, and Merida attempted to yank it up less it reveal everything her bra meant to conceal, but that made the cloth rise up on her thighs and she didn't want that either. Because the dress stopped mid-thigh, and Merida can only think of how her mother would react if she saw Merida in such a dress. She'd probably explode, and for a second, Merida's tempted to get the dress just to mess with her.

"Merida?" Rapunzel called, and Merida opened her door.

Rapunzel's latest dress was a lime green, strapless number that goes to the floor, with flowers dotting the bodice. She looked Merida over and forced a smile, but it was obvious she didn't like it.

"I like that one," Merida offered towards Rapunzel's dress, because Rapunzel seemed to make it work. Rapunzel smiled down towards it.

"You think? I don't know. I kinda like this one, better than the last one, but-"

"Ah know," Merida's mouth twisted into a wicked smile. "Ah like this one," she gestured to the monstrosity she wore. "Ah think it's the one."

"Really?" Rapunzel had such a pained, panicked look that Merida couldn't help laughing.

"Ah'm messin' with ye, lass. This is somethin' a hooker would wear," Merida said, and she laughed at the look on Rapunzel's face.

"Okay," Rapunzel laid her hand over her heart thankfully. "I've got one more dress left. You?"

"Me too," Merida said. "Er- let's see if those work out."

Merida took the final dress, the teal one, and she took off the offending garment in favor for it.

She looked in the mirror, expecting it to look terrible, but to her surprise, it wasn't. It clung to her curves like she'd expected, but not in a tight manner that showed every little roll of fat and crevice that her body held. It was just fitted in the places were it should be, and was concealing in the manner that the neckline was modest, and so was the length.

The teal color made her hair, skin, and eyes stand out, and she rather liked it, and she let her hands rake her sides, before she began worrying. Mainly just worrying that Rapunzel wouldn't like it, like she hadn't liked the first two choices...

Merida looked at herself in the mirror ad decided that she didn't care if Rapunzel liked it, and boldly opened her dressing room door just as Rapunzel did.

"Merida, I think I-" Rapunzel stopped as soon as she caught sight of Merida, and her voice became a hushed whisper. "Oh, Merida."

"What?" Merida looked down at her dress. "Ah no it's not the kind o' dress ah'm supposed tae get, but-"

"Merida, this one is perfect," Rapunzel shook her head to stop Merida's insecurities. "This one is the one. You have to get it."

"Ye think?" Merida pursed her lips down at it. "Ah dunno-"

"Merida, stop thinking it over. It's perfect. It's like it was made for you," Rapunzel said, firmly. "Trust me."

Merida nodded, and smiled at her friend. Her actual friend. No matter what the other people said, Rapunzel would actually be a friend. A true one.

"What to you think about my dress?" Rapunzel asked, and Merida focused on Rapunzel's dress for the first time. Pale pink, Sweetheart neckline, like the first one Merida had tried on, and strapless, that went to around her knees and flared out around the hips, multicolored crystals over the neckline and layers of tulle in the skirt that made her look like a fairy, also a light shade of pink.

Merida honestly thought that the dress was a crime against humanity, but on Rapunzel, it looked like a gift from the heavens. By the way Rapunzel smiled down at the dress, Merida knew that she loved it.

"It's perfect, Rapunzel," Merida said, and that was enough to make her friend smile.

m

"Dude, it's already eight, and the dance started an hour ago. I didn't buy tickets for nothing, so you have to go into Merida's room and get them."

Jack was driving Hiccup's dad's car, Hiccup in the passenger seat, waiting for the girls to come out of Merida's house. They'd been waiting for a good half-hour, and Jack was loosing his patience, drumming his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. Hiccup just pushed his glasses up, refocused on the video game console in his hands, and shrugged, pressing another button and initiating an irritating sound that Jack had been hearing for the longest time. Jack groaned.

"What if they're changing or something?" Hiccup pointed out.

"Then you get an eyeful-" Jack was cut off by Hiccup's elbow jabbing him. "Ow, I was just kidding. They said they'd be ready by seven thirty."

"They'll be out soon." Hiccup pressed another button that caused a second annoying sound, and Jack grit his teeth.

"Do you have to play that game?" Jack asked, irritated.

Another sound. "Yes."

Jack looked towards the window, but they wasn't any movement outside, and he wanted to leave, to just get away from Hiccup's annoying video game, and he unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door, despite Hiccup's question of where he was headed.

Jack had reached for the doorbell when the door opened, and Rapunzel gaped back at him.

She was stunning under the porch light.

Her golden hair shone, curled all around her shoulders, and her dress shimmered, a dazzling pink that just made Rapunzel look so beautiful, and Jack got the indication that he'd been staring, and he tried to snap out of it, but he couldn't and kept looking at her.

She even wore makeup, and jewelry, and she looked almost like a completely different person, except for the fact that she wasn't.

"Jack?" Rapunzel asked. "Are you okay? You look woozy."

"What?" Jack said. "No. I mean, yeah. I'm fine." He stepped back. "Where's Merida?"

"She's right here!" Rapunzel beamed, and she yanked someone next to her.

If Rapunzel hadn't said that this girl was Merida, Jack would've never guessed it.

Merida had hair like a bird's nest. This girl had smooth, controlled curls. Merida never wore makeup unless it was black. This girl had gold eyeshadow on, for Christ's sake. Jack swore that this was not the annoying girl he knew.

"Who are you and what did you do with Merida?" Jack could only ask, and Rapunzel laughed, pulling Merida by the elbow to follow her onto the porch patio.

"We're going to be late, Jack!" Rapunzel called, and Jack stumbled after them, sure that Hiccup would be spooked out at least a little bit. Their friends looked really, really different.

"Oh, there you-" Hiccup's words became a mangled mess of syllables when he noticed Rapunzel and Merida, which was expected, them looking the way they did.

The girls get into the backseat and Jack into the driver's seat, and he stuck the key in the ignition, but he secretly enjoyed the way Hiccup blubbered and spewed nonsense.

"Aren't you excited?" Rapunzel asked as Jack started driving. "This is too exciting!"

"Sure," Merida seated herself comfortably next to Rapunzel on the backseat, and reached over Hiccup's shoulder to fiddle with the dials of the radio. "We can leave as soon as we get there, right?"

"No," Rapunzel said firmly. "We've got to enjoy ourselves."

"Fat chance-" Jack kept his eyes on the road.

"Do you have to be a downer? We're friends, hanging out together, and that makes it a great night,"Rapunzel said. Merida had found herself a suitable rock station and she buckled herself up, looking at Rapunzel.

"It's still weird-" Merida chuckled. "Admit it. We aren't typical friends."

"No," Rapunzel paused, thinking of the last time they'd gone someplace together, but she had to smile. "I guess that's why we're friends."

Jack changed Merida's radio station and found another one with more current music, and left it on as a song filled the car.

"My song," Jack declared, and bobbed his head to the beat before beginning to sing along. "Been around the world, don't speak the language-"

Surprisingly, Hiccup joined in. "But your booty don't need explaining-"

It was a popular song, so even Rapunzel knew it, though her over protective mother might've had a heart attack had she known Rapunzel liked the song. "All I really need to understand is- when you-"

The three looked at Merida in the backseat, who looked towards Rapunzel and actually smiled. "Talk dirty to me."

Rapunzel danced around in her seat at the next part, and Merida laughed, Hiccup joined her, and Jack turned up the music.