BEST FRIEND , WORST ENEMY. SAME DIFFERENCE.

HE     SEES     IT     TOO     ,     DOESN’T     HE?     He     must     ,     he     must     see     it     too     ,     for     otherwise     why     would     he     stretch     one     leg     hastily     in     front     of     the     other     until     both     stood     in     front     of     her,     blocking     her     body     with     his     own.     (     finally     wanting     to     live     up     to     your     big     brother     role     ,     huh?     )     she     thinks     for     a     fleeting     moment     ,     but     terror     quickly     raises     its     hand     and     smudges     the     words     against     the     walls     of     her     mind     ,     so     that     her     focus     is     now     purely     on     said     terror     once     again.     Fingers     move     with     a     mind     of     their     own     ,     reach     up     ,     travel     their     small     travels     until     they     can     find     themselves     hooked     into     the     material     of     Steve’s     shirt     ,     gripping     so     tightly     that     her     fingers     begin     to     fade     white.     

❛          You     see     it     too     ,     don’t     you     .     .     .     .     ❜     she     speaks.     Not     a     question     ,     but     a     statement.     ❛          You     see     her.     ❜     she     wants     to     feel     relieved     ,     wants     to     ever     so     desperately,     (     I’m     not     crazy.     I     knew     I     wasn’t     crazy.     )     but     the     terror     that     coated     her     bones     and     soaked     itself     into     their     marrow     simply     wouldn’t     allow     her.     It     wouldn’t     allow     her     to     feel     anything     but     it’s     bony     fingers     against     the     ridge     of     her     spine     ,     gliding     upwards     in     clunky     movements     until     it     reached     her     throat     and     squeezed     ,     it     squeezed     and     squeezed     and     didn’t     let     go     (     why,     it     hadn’t     since     she     was     a     mere     child     )     

The     tip     of     her     nose     presses     to     his     back     below     his     shoulder     ,     her     fingers     gripping     tighter     into     fabric     (     a     feat     she     thought     not     possible     )     Her     body     trembled,     and     suddenly     she’s     eight     years     old     again     ,     chest     heaving     heavy     and     body     unable     to     move     ,     unable     to     do     anything     but     stare.     

                                                ❛     Steve     .     .     .     ❜

IT     AMAZES     HER     ,     TRULY     IT     DOES.     To     see     Punzie,     here     in     the     flesh     (     quite     literally     )     ,     to     hear     her     hurried     words     ,     the     worry     that     stretches     itself     out     across     syllables     ,     latching     deep     into     every     letter     not     seen.     Giselle’s     eyes     are     wide     ,     comically     so     ,     and     she’s     sure     her     eyebrows     have     now     made     their     acquaintance     with     the     top     of     her     forehead.     They     then     turn     narrow     ,     and     blink     ,     slow     and     hard     ,     as     if     in     doing     so     Rapunzel     would     be     gone     ,     with     nothing     but     the     strange     furniture     in     Robert’s     apartment     to     keep     her     company.     (     ‘Out     for     a     pizza,     trust     me     you’ll     love     it.’     He     had     exclaimed     with     one     foot     already     out     the     door     )

Word     must     travel     fast     from     Andalasia     ,     whispers     stretched     wide     across     the     land     ,     carried     by     the     wind     across     the     sea     ,     for     she     had     only     been     gone     not     yet     a     week     and     yet     here     she     was.     Rapunzel.     Punzie.     One     of     her     dearest     friends     from     a     kingdom     in     a     land     not     quite     far     far     away.     

❛     Punzie?     What?     How     —     ❜     she     reaches     stretched     fingers     out     ,     closes     the     small     gap     between     them     ,     before     they     land     against     fabric.     The     feel     of     it     now     grounding     in     the     fact     that     Rapunzel     truly     was     here     ,     right     before     her.     That     this     wasn’t     just     some     dream     (     she     knew     for     fact     it     wasn’t     ,     she     had     pinched     her     arm     twice     to     check     )     that     she     had     somehow     managed     to     leave     their     world     and     step     foot     into     this     oh     so     strange     one.     

                               ❛     What     are     you     doing     here?     ❜

IT     CAUSES     TEETH     TO     SINK     INTO     THE     INSIDE     OF     CHEEK     ,     that     tone.     That     pleading     tone     that     only     affects     Jamie     when     it’s     coming     from     the     lips     of     a     certain     blonde     au     pair.     It     scares     her     ,     terrifies     her     ,     that     there’s     this     other     person     in     this     universe     that     has     this     effect     on     her.     Though     the     number     of     said     people     who     have     such     domain     of     her     heart     range     in     the     low     single     digits     ,     the     fact     that     there     was     even     a     digit     to     be     found     —     it     stated     at     her     in     the     face     ,     cold     unblinking     eyes     with     this     knowing     smirk     that     screamed     ‘YOU’RE     NOT     SO     TOUGH     AFTER     ALL.’     

She     swallows     a     small     gulp     of     air     ,     begs     it     to     act     as     some     type     of     pill     ;     to     travel     across     a     tongue     that     pleaded     for     more     the     taste     of     even     more     champagne     —     give     her     the     willpower     and     the     gumption     to     not     turn     heel,     to     keep     walking     in     a     direction     ,     any     direction     ,     that     would     take     her     farther     from          Dani.

                                           But     she     can’t.     

❛          Poppins     .     .     .               ❜          She     speaks,     voice     floating     over     breath     of     soft     exhale.     Chin     hangs     low     ,     pressed     to     her     chest     ,     as     she     shoves     her     hands     in     the     pockets     of     her     jacket.     

                                                  She     just     can’t.     

❛          I'm     not     goin’     anywhere,     okay?     I’m     here.          ❜          she     punctuates     the     word     that     should     hold     a     meaning     so     simple     ,     yet     is     anything     but     ,     with     palms     that     press     against     the     arches     of     Dani’s     arms.     Fingers,     missing     the     warmth     of     the     pockets,     curl     around     the     material     of     Dani’s     jacket.     Head     still     low     ,     she     looks     her     in     the     eye.     

                                                                      ❛          I’m     here.          ❜