Ariel's Story

Sunlight streamed through a huge open bay window. A gentle breeze effortlessly moved the delicate white curtains that hung to the floor. In the tree outside, birds whistled a merry tune and hopped from branch to branch in the morning azure sky. The gentle sound of slow-moving traffic was almost comforting, as cars crawled to their destinations, the occasional blast of radio echoing throughout the street. The chatter of children on their way to school drifted in through the bay window, who's curtains were hiding a sterile white room, with polished wooden floors and a jumble of assorted furniture, all mismatched.

The scene was punctured rudely by the loud buzzing noise of a mechanical alarm clock. Quickly a slender hand reached out and slammed down hard on the button to cease the noise. But the room's occupant was not simply waking from a beautiful slumber, no instead she hadn't even been to bed yet, as she'd been working all night. Once Ariel had determined that the clock had desisted in its attempt to worsen her building headache, she stalked purposefully towards the full length mirror hung on the wall. Examining her reflection with cautious eyes, she had to admit that after 26 straight hours on the go, she looked pretty good. Sure, her ocean green eyes had a certain wild look about them and her golden, ginger hair could use a brush, but other than that she looked alright. Her skin was already pale and there was a healthy flush around her cheeks. Reaching for the brush, she dragged it through her locks, straightening them so the curls fell neatly around her shoulders. Without looking at the colour, she gave herself a swipe of pink lipstick. Regarding her outfit carefully, she decided that all she needed was her trademark leather jacket. The purple vest top and tight skinny jeans looked complete with the old school leather. Add the knee high boots and it looked perfect. A rare smile graced her lips, as she turned and headed for the door.

Snatching up her keys and handbag as she passed through the clean black and white kitchen, she considered grabbing some food. The thought disappeared almost instantly. Ariel couldn't cook and besides she could grab some food at the diner, she'd be there most of the day hunting for a new job anyway. Instead she headed straight out of the front of her cute, little city apartment. Slamming the door, she adjusted her bag and walked across the hallway, nodding to her neighbor. Jogging down the stairs (a precarious thing to do in her heels), she dug her headphones from the depths of her bag and pressed the earbuds into her ears. Cranking up the volume, she bobbed her head to some remix that her friend had given her, as she reached the bottom of her stairs and onto the street. Avoiding the bustle, she weaved down some alleyways. The sun streamed onto her pale skin and Ariel lifted her head to absorb its warmth. Giving a contented sigh, she allowed her body to relax and enjoy it. The whole way she muttered lyrics under her breath, as she walked the ten minute journey to the diner. It wasn't the closest one, but it was the one she preferred.

The moment she was there, she pulled her headphones out and pushed her way in. The bell above the door jingled a merry little tune, but Ariel was already regretting her decision on this particular morning. The instant she stepped inside the almost empty diner, her eyes fell upon a certain figure known as Flynn Rider. Resisting the urge to pull a face, she chewed her lip, glancing his way. With a curt nod in his general direction, she slunk off to a booth at the other side of the diner. Chucking her back on the seat, she slid in and grabbed the menu, hiding her face. It wasn't that she hated Flynn, but she knew him all to well. He was a player. An ultimate player and she simply wasn't in the mood.

"Hey Ariel. How did the night job go last night?"

Ariel's head jerked up, her eyes meeting those of an eager young man wearing a uniform and holding a pad in his hand. Lowering the menu, she gulped slightly and shook her head. She loathed to tell him, but she had to.

"I'm really sorry Chip. It was a lovely idea, but I'm just not cut out for it. Thank you though." She gave him a shrug and a half smile, which he returned in full. She released a sigh of relief and stopped fiddling with the edge of the menu.

""It's okay Ariel. I really didn't expect you to get along with it. Here, I brought you the paper just in case. Mum said you're more than welcome to work here with us." He replied, handing over a crisp newspaper to Ariel.

"Thank you Mrs Potts!" Ariel called in the general area of the kitchen, she heard a chuckle in response. "And thanks Chip. Just an extra strong coffee if you will. I've been up all night." Grabbing the paper, she jerked it open to the job section. Ever since her divorce Ariel had found impossible to hold a job. Probably because every job she'd had included a controling, self-obsessed male boss who was nothing more than a sexist pig. But there you go. Covertly, she glanced towards Flynn again, then straight back at her paper with a huff.

Flynn still sat in his booth, waiting for his food to arrive. His stomach grumbled unhappily at him, and he absentmindedly patted it with his right hand. 'Don't worry, you'll get fed soon enough,' he thought, staring out the window. Various people passed by; some he knew, others he didn't. Staring at the street made him think of his past, something he really didn't like to reminisce on. The streets had been his home not too long ago. After his father had passed away unexpectedly, his mother had existed in a permanent drug-induced high that was sometimes accompanied by a drunken rage. She practically stopped caring for him, using all of her money on drugs or alcohol. So he ran away. Life on the streets wasn't pretty, but it was a hell of a lot better than being ignored and unloved at home. At least he got to feel alive.

At the beginning it was rough; he had no idea how to live on his own. He spent nights sleeping in abandoned subway stations, stealing unused food from dumpsters behind restaurants. It took time, but eventually he learned how to steal, acquiring more than one outfit and food that wasn't in the trash. He began to thrive, more than he ever had at home. And he began to feel alive, a true free spirit. He traveled all over the world, seeing places he could only ever imagine. He stood on top of the Eiffel Tower, saw Big Ben, walked along the Great Wall... and that was just a few examples. The one thing that each place had in common was that he didn't stay for too long. He didn't want to become too familiar with people, and eventually get caught because of it.

He was broken from his thoughts by a plate of food being set in front of him, a stack of warm pancakes with strips of bacon. He inhaled the scent, stomach awakening loudly. He took a sip of coffee, letting the warmth run down his throat, and he sighed contently. Dousing the pancakes with syrup, he began to practically inhale the food, shoving big forkfuls into his mouth. The bell over the door jingled, and looked up from his food to see a redhead entering the diner. It was none other than Ariel. A grin spread across his face, even though his mouth was stuffed with food. He figured he looked like a chipmunk, but he hardly cared. Her eyes met his, and she gave him a slight nod. Well, at least it was acknowledgement, but it wasn't too overly friendly. Sure, he knew she didn't really care for him. But her disinterest only made him want to pursue her even more. If girls were too easy, it made the game of cat and mouse practically nonexistent.

His eyes followed her, even though she made a point to not look at him as she picked a booth on the opposite side of the diner. As soon as she sat down, she grabbed the menu and threw it up to hide her face. Flynn just chuckled, shaking his head slightly. That wasn't going to deter him, not in the slightest. She was approached, spoke briefly with man, then was left alone once more. This time she held a paper up instead of the menu, conveniently blocking her view once more. Although, he didn't fail to notice that she took another peek at him before pretending to be absorbed in the paper. Hell, she was practically begging for him to come over. So he'd give her what she wanted.

As he stood up, he briefly thought of Rapunzel. She had been his first love, since he hadn't allowed himself to love before he met her. Love meant connections, and he would want to stay instead of move on. Only after he got caught did he allow himself to feel again. She had been a bright, shining star in his dim world. And yet he had left her. Frankly, he knew she was too good for him. Even her parents knew it, which was why they had forbidden their relationship. Sure, she had defied them and ran away, but eventually duty took her back to her parent's legacy. He couldn't have made her happy, truly. His parents had seen it from the beginning, and he should have as well. He pushed all thoughts of her from his mind. Their relationship was over now.

He grabbed his plate and mug and carried them over to her booth, sliding in beside her instead of sitting across the way. He knew she would pretend to be unhappy about it, but she had been looking at him multiple times, sending him signals. He set his plate down, and taking a sip of coffee before setting that down as well. "Good morning, Ariel," he said with a smile on his face. He began eating once more, but this time restraining and having more manners than when he was alone. "I must say, you are looking positively radiant this morning. How has your day been so far?" He figured he's start with idle, typical chatter. Perhaps it would warm her up to him a bit.

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Wendy snapped the book shut, her heart aching. The story had a happy ending, of course. Most novels did. The couple was reunited, the killer got the justice he deserved, good triumphed over evil. She wished the world actually worked the way it did in books. Perhaps she's still be with Peter in Neverland, or he would have followed her, decided to grow up and live with her. Make a life with her. Frustrated, she shoved her book back into her bag. It had been ten years and counting, and still Peter invaded her thoughts on a daily basis. Somehow, she still wasn't able to forget about the love they had shared when they were both only eleven. She was twenty two now, with a child, and still no love had ever come close. She had tried, numerous times, only to be taken advantage of and then tossed aside like trash. It aggravated her to no end. Perhaps it was only meant to be her and Stephen.

Her thoughts were broken up by the appearance of a familiar face. Phillip. The sight of him brought a smile to her face. He was handsome, and one of the nicest men she had ever met. Why she had ended up with all of those losers and not the guy before her was a question she asked herself frequently. Of course, someone like him probably wouldn't want to end up with the likes of her. She was tainted, multiple times over, and came with baggage: her son. He approached her when he entered the coffee shop. "Good morning, Wendy," he said simply, giving her a genuine smile. "Morning Phillip," she returned, smiling back at him. "I wish you a pleasant day." He paused at her table briefly, still smiling. "Well, I haven't the time to chat at the moment for I'm off to work, but it was a pleasure seeing you this fine morning." She nodded, glad he had at least stopped to say hello. "Thanks for saying hi, Phillip. It was great to see you," 'I wish you would stay...' she thought briefly, although she didn't dare to say the words out loud. He would just laugh at her.

He turned to leave and she began to pack up her things, grabbing her bag off of the chair and slinging it over her shoulder. She grabbed the iced mocha, finishing the rest and throwing it in a nearby trash can. She saw Anastasia, Drizella's younger and frankly more sane sister. She gave the girl a small wave as she walked out the door and back out onto the sidewalk. She saw Phillip heading down the sidewalk, and she had a great urge to chase after him. But, he had to head for work, and she would only be getting in his way. He had stopped to say hi, and if he had really wanted to stay and chat with her, he would have. She just stood there, quite dumbly, staring as he retreated. After multiple seconds. she got her wits back and began walking in the opposite direction.

As before, she had no idea where she was headed. She had no plans for the day, having it off from work, and had nowhere to be until she had to pick Stephen up from school. She began heading back towards her apartment, walking by the school and wondering what Stephen was doing. She found a bench a few blocks from the apartment, and sat down, enjoying the air. She had no other book with her to read, so instead she just stared at the surroundings, her mind wandering many different places. Perhaps she would just sit and wait for school to be out. Normally she would be running errands or find something productive to do, but for some reason she didn't feel the need. She wanted to be here, on this bench, and nowhere else. She had no idea what it was, but something was keeping her here. Perhaps she'd eventually find out.

Rummaging in her bag, Ariel searched without looking for her highlighters. After emptying almost all of the contents of her bag on the seat beside her, which included her mobile, purse, tissues, keys and various other things, she finally found them nestled right at the bottom. Extracting one, she tugged the lid off with her mouth and spat it unceremoniously onto the table. Sighing, she read an advert that claimed to be searching for an intelligent, hard-working woman. Ariel assumed that to mean an impassive, attractive young woman who would subject herself to be abused by an authoritative, higher man. She scrubbed that one out with a green highlighter, indicating that never in a million years would she be ringing the number below.

Glancing towards the counter, to check on her coffee, she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Groaning inwardly, she glared ferociously back at her paper as Flynn Rider got out of his seat. "Please, please be going to pay Chip. Do not come and sit with me" she thought desperately, as her right hand clutched the highlighter so tightly that her knuckles shone white against the surface of her skin. To her complete dismay however, Flynn took a seat opposite her in the booth. Exhaling in a great huff, she looked up long enough only to shoot him a furious look, before returning back to her paper. Perhaps he would disappear if she was completely rude and unresponsive. Ariel knew a lot about Flynn and she had vowed never to be caught out by his charming personality, nor his disarming words.

"Good morning, Ariel. I must say, you are looking positively radiant this morning. Right from the start he was polite and charming and almost immediately it got Ariel's hackles up. She physically stiffened at the tone of his voice, staring hard at the paper in front of her. Men. She didn't trust a single one of them.

"Too radiant for the likes of you Rider." She muttered, not looking up as she absent-mindedly circled a job down in the park, advertising for a local restaurant. At least that kind of job would mean she'd be completely alone, besides the customers she would be attempting to drum up.

"How has your day been so far?"

Dropping her highlighter onto the table, where it landed with a loud clunk, she finally looked up and met Flynn's eyes, her own narrowed. "Well now you come to mention it, I'm simply having the best day I've ever had. I've just got back from the most dead-end job - no offence -" She added as Chip set down a large black coffee and shuffled back towards the counter. He had witnessed enough Ariel rants to know to avoid them. "Which was perhaps the dullest, mind-numbing activity I have ever partaken in, not to mention that it barely paid a pittance and I worked my butt off all night. Oh and of course the boss was the most sexist, male chauvinistic pig in existence, but that's okay because I love being treated like an object. And I'm only being subjected to this because my no good, cheating ex-husband ruined my life and brought me to this pathetic world and promptly dumped me on my ass. Not to mention, now, that you've sidled over here because you consider me to be vulnerable woman whom you can take advantage of. I couldn't be less interested in you Rider, just so you're clear."

Rant over, she tore her eyes away from his and circled another ad in the paper. Bitter didn't even cover how Ariel felt and she often ranted like that, especially where men were concerned. Taking a deep breath, she reached for her coffee, only to knock it over with a crash. "Oh, just perfect!" She snapped, snatching her bag out of the way the coffee pool. To her, secret, delight she noticed that a large portion had splattered towards Flynn.

Snow grinned and made the attempt to wave as his head poked out from over the counter. Once she'd been helped up, she pretended to be all prideful and marched back onto her stool and it was soon as if nothing had happened. But once he asked how she'd done it, she looked up and grinned. "I... Uhm... Lost my balance whilst laughing. So, in a way, it was your sexiness' fault!" She stated to then swat him with a newspaper she'd found on the island during his "sexy" pose. That was her thing, she would constantly hit people, playfully of course, when she blames them for her embarrassment.

She doesn't care what others thought, she really couldn't care less. But she did like to make jokes on herself for a reason that not even she knew. Her hair had now completely fallen from the loose bun she'd had it in, causing the hairband to fall to the floor. Snow swiftly bent over the stool and picked it up from the floor, using her flexibility to help her. Snow, being an ex-gymnast, could do all kind of weird shapes with her body and some pretty cool stunts. She never really did them very often, only when she was exceptionally happy/excited.


As always, Snow shrugged it off and returned to devouring her pancakes. She was on the last bite when she began to choke. Not at all panicked, she simply punched herself in the back then in the back of the neck and was soon swallowing her pancake. She then looked up to the clock, realizing it was already 10:34 she leaped up. "Ooo, oooo, ooo! What are were doing today? I'm bored, like, extra bored!" She asked, jumping up and down on the spot doing a bunny impression.



Anastasia ordered herself some coffee and as soon as she'd received it she took a seat at a table for two. She was used to sitting on these tables alone, for not everyone understood that she wasn't like her somewhat crazed sister and they often avoided her. Anna didn't really care though, in fact it was something that she lived with as if everyone else did to. After finishing her coffee, she stood and was about to leave when Ariel accidentally pushed over her hot drink. Glancing at her watch, she saw that she really had to leave and walked on, feeling bad for not being able to help clean up at all. Sure, she'd done nothing to effect the mess but knew it'd be appreciated for someone to help. Anastasia left and headed straight down the path and towards her university. She noticed Phillip and Wendy a head of her, but kept on walking behind them until the path branched out and took the turn into the campus.

Now on campus, she all but ran to where she'd meant to have been over five minutes ago and silently took her seat. Getting many weird looks from the students around her, she smiled sweetly and concentrated on what the man at the front was trying to get across to them all about the human anatomy. It wasn't very interesting, but she found that nothing he ever said was, really. Anastasia was sat in the center of the group of students who never liked the man up at the front, and was constantly trying to throw things at him and instead they all hit her. Trying not to get frustrated, she continued to watch the man and did her best to ignore the guys around her.