Run Away From The Pain

Sweet, Sweet Rejection

"Funny..." I chuckled, clearly amused.

"I'm being serious.." His light in his eyes faded, but his smile still remained. "One day, I want to marry you."

"Steven..." I sighed. "Please, don't make me go through this again.."

"I will marry you one day." He almost demanded.

"And that will be the day we prove to one another that we're good for each other," I sat up and cupped his face in my hands. "But until that happens, we're just going to take things day by day... Okay?"

"Okay." He smiled, and I pulled his face to mine, kissing his plush lips. 
Suddenly, my door flung open, and Claudia bounded into the room, stopping about 5 feet from my bed.
When she noticed Steven, she turned bright red, and her eyes shot to the floor.
"Oh shit, Ace.. I'm so sorry!" She stuttered in embarassment, and turned around. "I'll uh... I'll come back later."

"No, it's fine." I smiled, "Steven, can we have a moment?"

"Yeah, sure." He grinned and stood up, still grasping my hand, only letting his fingers slide from mine as he walked towards the door.
Once the door was closed, and Claudia and I were alone, she plopped on my bed and just stared at me with the most starstruck expression on her face.

"Soo..." I smirked, "What'd Joe say?"

"What?" She seemed to snap out of a day dream, and gazed upon me with perplexity. "How'd you know it was about Joe?"

"I can tell... So spill, what did he say to you?"

"Well.... Aside from asking me to come on tour with him," She blushed at her memories. "He took me out, and we roamed around the palace grounds for a bit, and, well... we kind of kissed... And he said he thought I was cute, and that he wants to take me out"

"That's awesome!" I practically jumped up and down at the thought of my two great friends getting together. 

"Well... technically I'd be taking him out, since I know more about Samarinia than he does.." She chuckled.

"Hey, maybe Joe, Steven, you and I can all double date?" I suggested

"That would be too cool," She grinned. "I'll ask Joe if he'd want to."

"Trust me," I grinned deviously "He'll want to... When were you guys thinking of going out?"

"Oh, uhmm.. tonight I think." Her eyes lit up with excitement.

"Well, what are we waiting for!" I grinned, turning my face to look at the clock, resting upon the bedside table. "It's already 4 o'clock! Let's get you ready!"

"Come to my room, and help me pick something out?" She asked.

"Do you want to borrow some of my clothes?" I turned towards my grandiose closet, and pulled the doors open. "My mother bought me so many clothes, that I'll never wear all of them.."

"Are you sure you'd be okay with that?" Claudia bowed her head, as if to say she was embarassed about borrow my clothes. "I want to look nice for him, and all.."

"I'll make you look stunning, dah-ling." I giggled, emulating her Samarinian accent.
I strolled into the closet with Claudia following closely behind me.
As I started to rummage through drawrs and hangers, something caught my eye, that I particularly wanted to wear;
A black maxi skirt, with this large, flowy forest green t-shirt, and a cream knit sweater. I quickly ran over to my bed, and laid the outfit down, then ran back into the closet, grabbing a brown leather belt, and the matching cowgirl boots my parents gave me for my birthday.
When I was finished picking out my own outfit for the evening, I rumaged through choices I thought Claudia would like.

"Ohh how about this one?" I picked out a simple purple cap-sleeve dress, that ended just above the knee, with a thin black leather belt to top off the look. 

"Ohh, I like it!" She smiled, reaching for the dress. 

"Try it on, I'll be right outside." I grinned, and walked out of the closet, closing the french doors behind me. 
I quickly slipped into the outfit I chose for myself, and moments later, Claudia called from the closet.

"Are you ready?" She asked, her already soft voice, muffled by the thick wood of the doors.

"Yeah, come on out!" I was excited to see how she would look. 
The doors slowly creeped open, and Claudia stepped out, clad in purple.
The dress hugged her curves in all the right places, and made her look so elegant, yet so sexy.
I was actually jealous; I never could pull off this dress as well as she could. 

"Meoww!" I purred, giggling like crazy. "You look..well.... hot!" 

"Thank you." She blushed, looking down at the floor.

"Come into the bathroom!" I sprinted across the room, and into the second set of french doors, which lead to the even larger bathroom. 
I went to the far left corner of the room where a huge white vanity stood, with tons of make-up, littering the top of the table. 
I pulled out the matching white chair, and held it as Claudia sat down, and scooted herself closer to the mirror. 

"Okay, I'm gonna start with your hair..." I smiled.
I ran my fingers through the thick waves of her caramel coloured hair, which hung just below her shoulders. 
"You know..." I said, taking a good, long look at her hair. "Nothing actually needs to be done.. your hair is gorgeous, and looks really good with this outfit."

"Why, thank you." She giggled, as I spun the chair around, so she was facing me, instead of the mirror. 
I looked at her for a moment, and then began to work.
I put a light, neutral shadow on her, and then smoked it out slightly with a purple color, similar to the one of her dress. 
When I was finished with that, I put some eyeliner, and mascara on her, and put a light lip gloss across her already rosey lips. 

"You're finished." I smiled, and spun her chair back around so she could get a good look at herself. 

"Oh, Ace..." She gasped, and started to tear up. "Thank you so much!"

"No! No crying!" I grinned. "I don't want you ruining my masterpiece!"
We both began to giggle like crazy, as I took Claudia's place in the chair, and began to work on my own make up. 
I did a very light smokey eye, with some eye liner and mascara, almost exactly like I had done Claudia's. 
I put my long wavy hair into a side braid, and sized up my reflection. 

I no longer looked like the sad, broken down teenager I had just a few short months ago. 
Now, I looked... well.... Royal.
I look like I actually had self esteem, and like I was worth something. 
I felt special, and for once, beautiful.

"Ready?" I turned from my reflection, to Claudia.

"Ready." She grinned. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And where on Earth do you think you're going, Anastasia?" My mother called behind me, as Steven, Claudia, Joe and I all headed out the door.
I stopped in my tracks and turned around to see Isabella with her arms folded across the lapels of her powder blue dress suit, and a smug look on her porecelain face.

"Out.." I smiled weakly, and turned back towards the door.

"Not so fast, missy.." She chuckled, and walked towards me. "Where are you going?"

"We're going out on a double date." Steven smiled at my mother. "Claudia's being kind enough to show us the real Samarinia.. you know, from a native's perspective."

"Okay," Her dark smile softened, and she seemed to visibly relax. "Be safe, and come back at a resonable hour, please."

"Okay." We all sighed in unison, as we stepped out of the extravagant marble doors of the palace. 

We practically sprinted down the marble steps and into the black cadillac parked at the front of the large parking circle. 
"Where to, Princess?" The driver asked, in a weird, nasaly voice. 

"Uhmm.... Where are we going first, Claudia?" I asked, embarassed that I didn't know anything about a country I'm meant to, one day, rule.

"We're going to the Grand Pier, first." She stated, then turned to smile at Joe, Steven and I. "Samarinia, is an island, and luckily for us, the palace is placed just 20 minutes from the finest beach circling the country. The Grand Pier is probably the nicest place in all of Samarinia, with the exception of the palace, and Dogana."

"What's there to do there?" Steven asked, stunned with excitement. 

"You'll see." She grinned devilishly.

"Ohh, I like a mystery." Joe smirked, causing Claudia to blush a brighter shade of red than I've ever seen. 

We struck up conversation about silly things, like favorite colors, and foods, and things of that nature, until we finally neared the coastline. 

"Ohh! We're here!" Claudia grinned, peering out the open window of the car. 

"Woah..." I gasped, staring out at the vast wave-filled horizon. 
The sun had begun to set, making a pink, orange, red, and yellow glow in the sky, and on the water. 
It was the most perfect thing I've ever seen.

As the car rolled to a stop, we all climbed out, onto the concrete, which eventually turned into sand to our left, and the wooden planks that made up the boardwalk, to our right.
The smell of  salty ocean air floated around us, forcing a nostalgic smile on my face. 

I haven't been to the ocean since I was about 14, and I'm now 21... Needless to say, It's been a while.

I closed my eyes, throwing my head back and inhaling deeply.
I felt a hand entangle itself with mine, and with a soft exhale, I opened my eyes to see Steven grinning at me. 
We began to walk onto the sturdy wooden planks of the board walk.
We turned the corner of a building, and stopped dead in our tracks.
Joe, Steven and I all gasped at the sight before us. 

There were red and white stripped carnival-like tents, and white brick buildings everywhere, while strings of lightbulbs hung across the tops of buildings and tents. 
There were children, mothers and fathers, and old people roaming around; some were giggling, others eating, and some were even singing and dancing. 

The exquisite smell of different foods mixed with the salty sea air, creating a new, heavenly scent.
Again, I closed my eyes, and inhaled deeply, making a memory for myself. 
My eyes split open, and I gasped.

"They have funnel cakes here?!" I almost began to drool as the sweet scent of dough and powdered sugar wafted through the air, and over to where I stood. 
Almost as though I was a dog following a trail, I absent-mindedly followed my nose, which lead me directly to the stand that was selling the delicious treats. 

"Yeah, of course!" Claudia, came up behind me, and handed the vendor paper currency, which, like most other European countries, was the Euro. "Actually... little known fact... they were invented here."

"Really?" Steven asked, taking a huge bite out of my treat, getting powdered sugar all over his face. 
I chuckled and wiped it off for him. "Thanks, love."

I winked, and took another bite of my funnel cake, as we continued walking through the pier. 
It was just like a carnival, at the beach. 
There were boardwalk games, and vendors selling different kinds of food, and products. 
There were even a few rides, like the Ferris Wheel, and that spinning tea cup ride. There was even a wooden roller coaster!
The second I noticed it, I jumped up and down like a little kid, and screeched.

"Oh my god, Steven! We have to go on it!" I giggled like a school girl. "I love roller coasters!"

"Me too! Let's go!" He grabbed my hand, and pulled me towards the line, as Joe and Claudia were in tow behind us. 
We've been waiting in lone for about 10 minutes, and I've noticed a few people staring at us, but I wasn't sure why. At first, I thought it was because I was with Steven and Joe, but I was dead wrong. 

"Oh my goodness, It's the Princess!" A woman called out, and by this time all eyes were on me. 
I froze in shock, and out of reaction I just waved a smiled stupidly. 

"Hi.." I muttered, then turned to Steven. "So this is what it feels like?"

"Get used to it, Princess." He laughed, and I just rolled my eyes.

"Your Highness, you can cut in front of me and my family, if you'd like." An older looking gentleman with a young boy and girl, smiled kindly at us.

"No, sir, I would hate to keep you waiting!" I smiled just as kindly as he did. "You have children, who would much rather enjoy this amazing ride, than wait in line all night, right?" I bend down, at the knees, to say hello to the children. 

"Hi there." I smiled, "What are your names?"

"Adrienne" The little girl, who couldn't have been more than 5, smiled a gorgeous smile, with some of her teeth missing. "And this is my brother Alan."

"Well Adrienne and Alan, would you and your father like to join me on this roller coaster, instead of having me cut infront of you guys?" I asked, sweetly. "I bet it'll be much more enjoyable with you guys."
Their faces lit up, and they both nodded up and down.

"Well it's settled." I hugged them both, and then stood up, returning to Steven's side. 
After I was discovered, the line moved rather quickly. Two people were placed per cart, so Steven and I sat in the front row, The girl and boy, Adrienne and Alan sat behind us, then came Joe and Claudia, then the father, and more people in the carts that followed. 

It took a minute or two to get everyone loaded on, but it took almost no time at all for the ride to start; rocketing us off along the wooden track. 
There were twists and turns, and it seemed like we were going so fast, we were flying.

For once, I felt like a kid again. I felt like the little girl at the beach with my parents all those years ago. 
Minutes later, the ride stopped, and we all climbed off. 
The man and his children thanked me for allowing them to ride with us.

"No problem at all, it was really my pleasure!" I smiled and waved goodbye, as we all walked off of the ride platform, and across the boardwalk. 

"Let's go shopping." Claudia suggested, to which, Steven (of course) couldn't resist. 

We went from store to store, looking at typical Samarinian garb; picking out jewelry, and hats, and scarves, and shirts and pants and shoes. 
I was rummaging through some shirts, when Steven came up behind me, and wrapped a silk scarf around me, pulling me into him. 

"Hi." I smiled, as he kissed my nose. 
"Hey there, sexy lady." He grinned.

"Wanna go get some ice cream?" He asked, as I turned my head and noticed a stand a little ways up the board walk. 

"Of course," I giggled, and then paused, looking around the store. "Hey, where's Joe and Claudia?" 
He grinned and pulled me in closer to his body. So close, infact, that is body heat radiated off of him and seeped through my clothes. His intoxicating must filled my nose, and made me pant. 
He leaned into my ear. 

"Probably canoodling," He whispered. "Like we should be."

"Canoodling?" I couldn't help but to burst into laughter, as I grabbed his hand, and we walked towards the ice cream stand. 
Because the sun had gone down, and the lightbulbs strung up above us, were blowing in the wind, the whole setting seemed like a fairy tale. 
We received more stares, and starstruck gazes, as we walked past the masses, holding hands. 

"Your Highness." He old man behind the cart smiled and bowed his head slightly. "What can I get for you and Mr. Tyler?" 

"I'll have a vanilla cone, with rainbow sprinkles, please." I smiled sweetly, and turned to Steven.

"And, I'll have a chocolate cone with rainbow sprinkles." He grinned looking down at me. 
The old man instantly got to making our cones. 
Moments later, he handed us two perfectly scooped Ice Cream cones.

"Thank you." I grinned, and handed him a few Euros. 

"No, Thank you, your majesty." He smiled, as we walked away. 

"Everyone here is so nice." I chuckled at my happy observation. 

"Yeah.. unlike the States, where everyone treats you like shit, until they want something from you.." He grumbled. 

"I'm guessing that's happened to you?" I sighed.

"More times than you could imagine... especially since the band's made it big."

"Speaking of the band... I feel bad that we didn't invite Brad, Tom or Joey.." I licked the sweet vanilla cream off of the sugar cone I was gripping in my right hand, while holding Steven's free hand with my left. "What do you think they're doing right now?"

"Probably playing charades with your mother, or discussing foreign policies with your pops." He rolled his eyes, and I laughed.