27B (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twelve (Ran out of characters, this is my friend and I.)

Oh my God, guys. I'm so sorry about this, but my Wattpad account keeps glitching. I'm not blaming anyone, but if this is a hack I need the person to stop right now. It is not cool to delete other people's work. And what are you even gaining? My unhappiness? I just went on and my whole chapter twelve was gone, meaning that I have to start over. I tried everything, but it's gone. Also, I went on the other day and Wattpad alerted me that someone saved this story on another device, but I only write on my iPad. This immediately led me to think that this was a hack. If this is a hack, and the hacker is reading this right now, I need you to stop deleting parts of my book. Stop it. NOT COOL. NOT APPRECIATED. CUT IT OUT.

Thank you, all you innocent readers who DIDN'T hack my account. I'm sorry about this, all you awesome patient smurf people. Who knows? Maybe it's just a glitch, but I don't think so. Whoever is doing this to my account, just please stop it. Please? Thanks, guys. :(:(:( Sorry about the delay in updating. It's because of this slight setback.

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This chapter is dedicated to Jim and Susan, family friends who are particularly interested in my books. :)

Present Day...
Harper...
Harper woke up screaming at the top of her lungs, her throat hoarse and dry. Horrible visions of Rumple floated behind her eyelids when she closed her eyes. She sat up in bed and put her hands over her face, holding them there for a long time as if she were trying to peel away the thoughts of her almost-kidnapper.

A figure appeared in the doorway, and he came closer, seeming worried. His hair was messed up and his shirt was creased with deep wrinkles. His arms were muscular, which scared her, realizing she couldn't fight back at him if he attacked and tried to kidnapp her for Rumple. She screamed and slapped him across the face, thinking it could even Rumple himself. "Damn, Harper!" a deep, raspy voice cussed. He stumbled back, holding his cheek. She gasped when she heard his voice, recognizing and instantly regretting that her first impulse was to slap him.

"Ethan! What are you doing here?!" she jumped out of bed and ran over to him, making sure he we okay. "You were screaming, Harper. But, you know, I didn't come because of that. I wanted to meet The Cat in the Hat, cuz I heard he was visiting the castle tonight, and I figured he would be in your room at two o'clock in the damn morning," he squeezed his temple, squinting his eyes in the dark.

"Why were you screaming?" he asked, reaching over and turning on the bedside lamp. It filled the room with a comforting, mellow orange glow. "I had a bad dream," she mumbled, embarrassed. He grinned, his white teeth catching the lamps' light and sending out a twinkle from a silver filling in the back of his mouth. His fiery hair looked more severe in the light, his curls gaining a shiny look.

Ethan laughed, then glanced down at himself and sighed, probably relieved that he was wearing pants. He acted as if he could have done with more than a white undershirt, with a scowl at his exposed, freckled arms, but Harper didn't mind. She giggled and said, "You're glad you decided to keep your pants on when you went to bed, aren't you?"

"Entirely," he cracked a cute grin and said, "No go back to bed. Don't wake me up again," Ethan said, taking her hand and leading her to the bed. He ripped his hand away as the warm shock shot up his arm. "You felt that too, right?" he asked Harper, who nodded in response.

He sighed, as if relieved he wasn't crazy, and Harper sat down on the bed and slid under the covers. She glanced up at Ethan. He had never looked more handsome. His red hair positively sparkled with the strange lighting, and his sharp features and distinct jawbone had hints of darkness to them, giving them more depth. Stubble shadowed his face, which he rubbed constantly. Ethan turned to leave, but Harper reached out and just caught the back of his shirt. He turned around, surprised.