I checked my phone for the millionth time that morning: no new messages. Come on Rachel, I thought, where are you? I had been waiting at the entrance gates for the last half hour, expecting my best friend to turn up at any moment but she was nowhere to be seen. She had told me she would be there at ten but I should have known that, in Rachel’s world, that meant eleven or even later. She always turned up late for everything and would send a last minute text saying something like “Sorry, on my way” with a smiley face and even if I had been waiting for hours in the rain I would forgive her. Because she was my best friend.
I had told Max to meet me at the entrance at half ten, expecting for him to find me hugging and screaming with my favourite girl in the whole world, but instead as he approached, grinning with his hands in the pockets of his Peter Pan costume, he found a lonely girl waiting there with floor-length hair and no shoes.
“Hey, where’s your little friend?” he asked, greeting me with a kiss.
“She’s not just my ‘little friend’, she’s Rachel,” I replied with a withering look. He raised one eyebrow in response and I burst out laughing. I could never stay mad at him for long.
“So, what’s Rachel like? Will I like her?” he asked like a disapproving parent. I rolled my eyes at him.
“Of course you will like her!” I exclaimed, “She’s fun, she’s dramatic, she’s tiny and she loves Disney.” Max nodded, impressed.
“The question is, though, does she like Disney as much as me?” he asked doubtfully. I raised my eyebrows at him. He held my stare.
“More.”
He gasped with mock indignation. I nodded, enjoying his theatrical outburst. It’s not every day you see your boyfriend trying to defend his title as ‘The King of Disney’.
But, just at that moment, I saw the familiar shape of a tiny girl with blonde curly hair that bounced as she walked round the corner. Interrupting Max midway through his speech on why he was the biggest Disney superfan in the world, I ran screaming towards my best friend, almost completely forgetting I was wearing a princess costume and metre-long hair extensions. As soon as she saw me, she let out a squeal and sprinted at me, nearly knocking me to the floor with a huge bear-hug.
“Alice! Oh my god! I’ve missed you so much!” she screamed right in my ear, causing me to wince but also smile.
“I’ve missed you too, Rach! I have so much to tell you!” I laughed, hugging her tight.
“This is going to be so awesome! I haven’t been to Disneyland since I was, like, three!” she gushed, bouncing up and down like she did when she was excited about something. Suddenly, she caught sight of Max nervously hovering at the entrance and her eyes lit up. “Oh my god, is this your boyfriend?” she shrieked.
“Yeah, but I don’t think he’ll want you to-“ I tried to stop her but she full-on ran at Max with her arms outstretched. He looked absolutely horrified as my crazy best friend hurled herself at him and literally bowled him over. She may have been tiny but she had the strength of a football player when she was happy.
“Oops, sorry!” Rachel giggled as she hauled Max onto his feet. “You must be Alice’s boyfriend. Max, right?”
Max dusted off his costume, which, thankfully, was still in one piece, and looked at Rachel with a dazed expression, wondering what had just happened in the last five minutes. I finally caught up with them and answered for him as he looked mildly traumatised.
“Yeah, this is Max. He plays Peter Pan here,” I explained. Rachel rolled her eyes impatiently.
“I know that,” she replied, gesturing at his outfit. “I mean, who else would be wearing a green top and pants with the little hat? Mulan?” she demanded feistily, causing me to slap her on the arm and laugh at how serious she looked. She rolled her eyes again with a smile twitching at the edges of her mouth, then turned to face Max with a serene expression.
YOU ARE READING
Oh My Pixie Dust (Oh My Disney One-Shot)
Short Story'Why did I think putting Rachel and Max together would be a good idea?' Things have never been better for Alice Winters: she's working in one of the happiest places on Earth, she's rediscovered her love for Disney and she's completely in love with...