Retrieving My Princess- Book 2 (Sequel to HSLP)

Confiding Problems- Chapter 14

Confiding Problems- Chapter 14

Penelope's POV:

"I don't know what to do, Mr. Rockefeller! She's supposed to fall in love with Harry Styles, but everything is going all wrong," I said while leaning on the toll booth side on the music genre heaven.

"Well don't look at me, Ms. Mayfield. I've never been a Guardian Angel, and I don't plan to be. That job is hectic," he said with a dry chuckle as he stood up from the stool inside the toll booth and stretched.

"Please, can you try to help me? I... I just want her to have a happy ending. I want to tell her everything, but I know I can't. Besides the fact that it's against my rules, she wouldn't believe me." I let out a frustrated groan and threw my head back making my hair fall out of its bun.

"Penelope, you should know by now that when people choose the option of amnesia over dying, not many return to their old ways. Even though Ariel originally loved Harry, she may end up falling in love with someone new. The heart works in a funny way, but if their love really is as strong as you've told me, they will always find a way back to each other. Through her suffering and pain she will eventually have a happy ending. Many people have it easier than she does, but she is learning the beauty, and horrors, of life all at once rather than gradually."

"You see, Mr. Rockefeller, this is why I don't ask you for advice. You confuse me."

He chuckled before saying, "In other words, Ms. Mayfield, let her make her own decisions. Guide her, but don't hold her hand like how you initially started. Look over her like you used to. She will make mistakes, but through them she will recover her memories. She's already making a speedy recovery compared to most amnesia patients."

"You're right. I guess I was holding her hand, but I just wanted to be there so she wouldn't feel lonely."

"She's not anymore. She has her new best friends Kaitlyn and Evelia, her old best friend Mary, and her friend Adrien. You can now protect her from a distance."

"Thank you for your advice, Mr. Rockefeller. I should return now. She's going to think I'm just throwing a hissy fit if I don't return soon," I said while pushing away from the toll booth and taking a couple of steps back.

"You're welcome, Penelope. You know I'm always here if you ever need anything." I merely nodded my head with a small smile, and disappeared. I decided to take a small detour. I appeared in a hotel room with all of Ariel's friends inside. I did not exactly lie to Ariel when I said my traveling abilities are limited, because they are. Even now I feel like I'm slowly getting pulled back to Ariel's side.

Harry, Niall, Zayn, Louis, Liam, and Scarlet were seated in the small hotel living room. Scarlet, Niall, and Louis were on the floor while Harry, Liam, and Zayn sat on the sofa. I know it's against the rules to do this, but I need to warn them. I felt myself become visible, but they still didn't notice them. I cleared my throat and all six of them jumped.

"How did you get in here?" Scarlet asked with wide eyes.

"Don't tell us because we're calling security anyways," Louis said already pulling out his cell phone.

"Go ahead. Paul's just going to think you've all gone crazy because you're all stressed over Ariel," I said while shrugging my shoulders. I'm going to get in so much trouble.

"Who are you then? How did you get in here? But most of all, how do you know about Ariel?" Harry asked already on the edge of his seat. I saw Scarlet from the corner of my eye that she was getting ready to pounce on me.

I giggled and turned towards her. "You know, if you pounce me you're just going to go right through me and smash your head against the wall," I said with a teasing smile. Before any of them could respond I quickly said, "How did I get in here? Well I just appeared in here."

"That's impossible. How did you get through security?" Zayn asked.

I sighed and said, "I don't need permission from anyone to go wherever I like. And for the love of Poseidon, do not interrupt me."

I glared at them all, and I saw Liam's eyes fill with amusement. "You use the same phrases A does," he said with a smile.

I gave them a friendly smile before saying, "Well she learned from the best. I'm her best friend forever."

Niall looked confused. "But her best friend forever is dead. Her name was..." and then his eyes widened in understanding.

I gave them a sad smile and said, "That's right. I'm Penelope Mayfield. That's why I said it’s useless to tackle me. You're just going to go right through me."

"Ok, as much as I like talking to the dead, which by the way is beyond creepy, what are you doing here?" Scarlet asked.

"I'm here to request your help. I need Ariel to fall in love with you," I said pointing to Harry.

"Me?" Harry said in shock.

"No. I want her to fall in love with a Greek god. Of course you, you twat," I said while rolling my eyes and letting my annoyance show. "And yes, Ariel's sassiness rubbed off on me."

"Why would you want her to love Harry? If you know her a lot more than we do, why?" Liam said as he stood up from the couch.

I gave them a longing smile as I responded. "I know Ariel loved Harry with all her heart before she decided to return to this world. When she chose to return... I gave her a choice. I told her she can choose to die and allow you all to remember her for whom she was, or she could return to Earth and continue to live. I warned her there was a price to pay if she chose the second option, but as always she put everyone before herself. She chose to come back so I wiped her memories," I said as I saw them grow angry with me. "She couldn't know what the price was because there are rules I need to follow and one of them was to not tell her what the price was. It's quite ironic because right now I'm breaking a huge rule by telling you all this. But the point is, Harry you need to get Ariel to love you. I need my OTP to stay united, but also because I don't want her to choose Prince Adrien."

I saw their murdering glares disappear, and understanding replaced them. "So you know what he's planning?" Lou asked as he quickly stood up and walked in front of me.

"Wait... What?" I looked confused, and stared at them waiting to explain what was going on.

"You didn't know that Adrien is planning to hurt Ariel?" Harry asked confused.

"No," I said as my eyes widened and my palms became sweaty. Then, it dawned on me. I left her alone at the palace. I always left her alone whenever Adrien was around. "I need to leave. She... I left her alone. Look, I know you all think that it's my fault that she lost her memory, but it isn't. I don't make these rules, and even if I did, she chose her fate. You won't see me again, so this is good bye."

I felt as if I was suddenly getting pulled a lot faster out of the room, and my eyes widened. I pushed past Louis as he fell on his bum with a loud "umph," and ran up to Harry. "I don't have much time. I'm getting pulled out of here, so I'll say this quick. Harry, save her. Do everything in your power to win her over. I can't see her broken again. I've seen it one too many times, and if I see her broken one more time then it'll kill me. No pun intended since I'm already dead. But before you all start to pity me, listen to this quote by Dumbledore. He said, "Don't pity the dead, but pity the living." Whatever Adrien is planning, it can't be worse than seeing Ariel suffer. Something must have happened to him that made him that way. Just save her before it's too late."

I started to disappear, and I saw Harry try to grab me, but he went through me. I disappeared and I ended up in a dark place.

Harry's POV:

When I tried to grab Penelope, I went through her and she finished disappearing. I stared at the spot where she disappeared, and we all remained silent. "I think we all need sleep... I think this tour is just stressing us out," Scar said rubbing her temples and laying down on the floor.

"Did we really just talk to a ghost?" Zayn asked as his face fell into his hands with a loud groan.

"I hate to admit it, but yes we did. She needs Harry to win Ariel over, but how do we do that so it won't seem as if we are playing Adrien's game?" Liam said while leaning on the wall.

"How should we know? We are two hours and a half away from London. It's not like we can magically leave and be back in time for our concert tonight," Niall said while slowly walking into the small kitchen and coming out with a water bottle.

"Harry? Mate? You alright?" Lou asked finally standing up and walking towards me. I shook my head as if to clear it, and finally decided to answer.

"Not exactly. I'm just as confused as you lot. How am I supposed to get near Ariel if she is shutting me out? Yeah she remembered Mary and Scarlet, but when will she remember us? In order for her to trust us, she needs to remember us," I said as I began pacing.

"While you guys finish coming up with an addition to our plan, and I'm to try and wrap my mind around what the hell just happened," Scar said before covered her face with her hands.

"Wait, maybe we don't need to do anything. Mary and Evelia are in London. They are usually always with her, so they can try to slowly pull Ariel away from Adrien," Liam said with a triumph grin.

"They are already doing that. Don't you see? Ariel is remembering us in the order from who she met last to who she met first. Think about it. She remembered Mary first, and Mary was the last person she met. She remembered me next, and she met me about an hour before she met Mary. If I'm correct, that means she will remember either Perrie or Eleanor next because she met them both the same day," Scarlet said sitting up.

"What are you implying?" Zayn said focusing on Scar.

"Oh gosh you guys really are slow. We don't need to do anything to her memory. If she does need a memory jog, then we can send her drawings to her. She will see that she drew them, and she will start questioning Adrien. I'd like to see Adrien weasel out of explaining those pictures to her," Scar said with a smile.

"One problem though. She remembers everything that happened when she was kidnapped. We can't send her anything she drew during that period because she will already know those drawings. Plus, when I talked to her, she sounded heartbroken. I think she was starting to like me, but since I accidentally missed my movie day with her, she is now assuming I met up with another girl. She thinks I fancy someone else, but I don't. Also, she's upset about the fact that I wouldn't tell her what Adrien was planning. She won't talk to me," I said as I turned to look at my suitcase. There I saw a picture of Ariel and me from our Up All Night tour peeking out. She had fallen asleep on our way back to the hotel from a concert, and I held her in my lap as I placed a kiss on her forehead. This was about three weeks after she found out she was a princess.

"Harry?" Niall questioned from beside me as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"I just want her back, Niall," I said quietly as a tear slid down my face.

"We'll have her back soon. I promise. I know we won't have a break for awhile, but by then she will be yours again. You just need to wait until our final show in Lisbon, Portugal," Niall said with a sad smile.

Ariel's POV:

Penelope hasn't bothered to return since last night. It's fine. It's not like I needed someone else hiding something from me. I feel like I was too harsh on her and Harry though. I know they can't tell me everything because I need to figure stuff on my own. I just wish Pen didn't get me accustomed to tell me everything I asked because now I get ticked off when people don't tell me what I want to know. I groaned in frustration and threw my bed sheets over my head. I heard a knock on my door, but I just groaned in response and slid deeper into my covers.

"Ariel? What are you still doing in bed? It's almost noon," I heard Kaitlyn say as she slowly approached my bed.

"Let me sleep through my problems. Go help Mary or something," I grunted out and held tightly onto my sheets.

"Ariel, come on. What's wrong?" I felt the bed dip and she placed a hand on my head over the sheets.

"Confused and stressed about life," I muffled out.

"Ariel, you know I can't hear you through the sheets if you mumble." I could hear a small smile play through because she knew she won.

I threw my sheets back, and I saw Kaitlyn hold back a smirk and giggle. "I'm just confused over everything. I just want a drama free day. Is that too much to ask for?" I groaned out before covering my face with my hands and proceeding to turn around and give my back to Kaitlyn.

"Well if you stay in bed all day, you won't be able to have that day. Adrien just called and said that he and Evelia won't be able to make it today. He said something along the lines of them going back to France for the day because they had a dinner to go to, but that they will be back tomorrow afternoon."

"Well what do you propose we do since it's only me and you today?"

"Well you can read through one of your journals to see if something else jogs your memory."

"One, How did you find out about them? Two, no thank you. I've had enough hospital visits to last me a lifetime."

"Queen Cassidy told me about them yesterday when you were rushed to the hospital. She was worried, so she told me. She told me to urge you to read them because she hates to see you suffer."

"Well I'm done remembering for right now. I don't want to remember anything until tonight at the earliest."

"Well it's your call, and as for what to do today, we can always go into town and do some useless shopping."

"That's no fun. Mary's working, and it won't feel right going without her."

"You're right, but it's our only chance to get you your drama free day. Plus, fresh air and new scenery won't be such a bad idea."

I groaned and dragged myself out of bed. I heard Kaitlyn laughing, and I scowled at her. I turned to look at the mirror, and I saw my hair looked like a rat's nest. My eyes widened, and I quickly grabbed my brush and curler. I connected the curler, and while it heated up I brushed my hair out. That seemed to have helped my entire hair, except for the tips. I'm glad I'm curling them now. I probably need a haircut though since it's all the way to my waist. I pulled out a light blue bow from my drawer, and proceeded to go into my walk-in closet to find the perfect outfit. As I passed the dresses, one caught my eye. I pulled it out, and I saw it was a replica of Ariel's town dress from The Little Mermaid. I smiled and pulled out my two inch navy blue heels. I walked out of the closet with my outfit, and I saw Kaitlyn was making my bed. She wasn't paying any attention to me, so I curled the tips of my hair. I walked over to the loo to wash my face clean from oil, and I proceeded to apply only eyeliner, mascara, and blush. When I walked back out of the loo, I saw Kaitlyn undoing the back of the dress. She smiled at me when she saw I was done, and signaled me over so she could help me tie up the dress. I slipped off my pajamas, and slid into the dress. Kaitlyn tightened the back of the dress, and she smiled at me when she was done. I slipped on the heels, and grabbed a brown leather bag from the closet. Inside I placed my wallet, and cell phone. I walked over to my dresser and placed all my jewelry on myself. I also slipped on my Harry Potter charm bracelet, and smiled down at it. "Are we taking a driver?" I asked her as we walked out of my room.

Kaitlyn was wearing an orange sundress with an Aztec design, and brown sandals. She had her hair styled in lazy curls like Pen. I miss her. She's never been away for this long. Kaitlyn had Pen's usual makeup, and she looked up at me. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just thinking about how you remind me of an old friend," I said with a small smile. She still hasn't answered my question.

"Oh, go tell Queen Cassidy and King Thomas that we're going downtown. I'll go get my car in the meantime. Yes, I'll be driving," she said with a teasing smile before she headed off to the staircase. I walked towards Alexander's room, and I heard him in there giggling. I opened the door, and I saw Dad swinging Alexander around as if he were an airplane. I saw Mum sitting on a wooden chair by Alexander's window.

"Good afternoon, honey. How are you feeling today?" Dad asked as he placed a dizzy Alexander on his play mat since he was a giggling mess.

"Alright. I already drank my medication as well. I'm going downtown with Kaitlyn. She said that a new scenery and fresh air should help relieve my confusion," I told them with a small smile.

"That's fine, sweetheart. Would you like to see your old flat while you're downtown? It will help with your memory," Mum said with a smile.

"Yes. That would be lovely," I said with a forced smile. I don't want to hear anything about my memories at the moment. I just want to relax. Mum nodded, and stood up from the chair.

"Keep an eye on Alexander as we go get your keys," Mum said with a kind smile. I nodded, and they exited the room.

"Hello, munchkin," I told Alexander as I reached him. I bent down and hugged him.

He squealed in happiness and hugged me back tightly. "Sissy! Do you want to play Toy Story 2 with me?"

"I'm sorry, Alex. I'm going out with Kaitlyn right now, but I promise to read you another bedtime story tonight."

"Pinky promise?" he asked while holding out his small pinky. I smiled and crossed my pinky with his.

"Pinky promise, but for now, why don't you tell me which characters you're missing from the Toy Story movies? I'll grab them while I'm out."

"I'm missing..." he gave me a list of characters he's missing. In total there were fifteen characters on the list.

"So all the characters from the last film?" I asked him as I finished saving the list in my notes in my iPhone.

"Yes! Can you please get them for me, sissy?"

"Of course, my little troublemaker." I hugged him and squeezed him while he merely giggled like crazy and pushed away from me. Just then Mum and Dad came into the room with bright smiles. I took to chase Alex around his bedroom while he ran behind his furniture and behind his toys.

"Alright you two," Dad said while chuckling and picking me up by my waist preventing me from tickling Alexander into a pile of tears. I squealed as he put me down, and I just had a childish grin. "Here you go. Now, be careful when you visit. If you feel nauseous or by any way sick, tell Kaitlyn quickly so she can get you out of there. I don't want another incident like yesterday to happen."

"Yes, Dad," I said rolling my eyes. "I don't see why you got nervous anyways. You knew my memories were horrid, so you shouldn't have expected anything less."

I left Alex's room with a loud huff, and walked down the staircase. I clutched my keys in my hand tightly until I felt them stinging my hands. I sighed and softened my hold on them. As I walked across the courtyard, I looked at them and smiled. There were three keys, and a Woody from Toy Story phone charm hanging from the Hogwarts Crest key chain. One of the keys had a house sticker on it with "#1" written in a black sharpie, another had another house sticker but this one had "#2" in sharpie, and the final key was a car key with the Volkswagen logo on it. By the time I made it to the front driveway, I saw Kaitlyn in her yellow Fiat waiting for me. She was talking on the phone while seated in the driver’s side. I walked in front of the car to get to the passenger side, and she quickly hung up. "Who was that?" I asked her as soon as I was inside with my seat belt buckled.

"My husband, Augustine Carlton, called me to ask me if I wanted to meet him for lunch, but I denied. I told him I was spending the day with you shopping downtown because you needed a relaxing day. He didn't mind, though. He said that he is glad that I am getting along quite well with you," Kaitlyn said with a sincere smile. I nodded and told her that I wanted to stop by a couple of Disney stores in order to buy the toy list my little brother gave me, and her eyes widened. "Fifteen toys?! He asked you to bring him back fifteen toys?!"

I giggled and said, "Oh, come on, Kait! That isn't a lot! Plus, I owe him since I've been blowing him off accidentally since Adrien is always around." Before Kaitlyn could respond, my phone began ringing. The Mario theme filled up the car, and Kaitlyn began laughing.

"What the hell is that?" she laughed out when we came to a stop light.

"That, dear Kaitlyn, is the sweet sound of the Mario theme. I need to feed my gaming side too, ya know," I told her whilst sticking my tongue out and pulling out my phone from my bag.

(Ar= Ariel, Ad= Adrien)

Ar: 'lo?

Ad: Good afternoon, my dear princess. How did you sleep?

Ar: *blushing* Hey. I slept alright. Just... Just hard to take in the information you told me.

Ad: I know. It's hard to accept the fact that someone you started to consider your best friend turns out to be fake.

Ar: *sighing deeply* It is, but I guess what's done is done.

Ad: Exactly, but I'm actually calling you for a different reason.

Ar: *panicking* Are you guys hurt? How's Evelia? How are you? How is your family?

Ad: Calm down. It isn't anything like that. *light chuckles* And to answer your questions... We are not hurt. We are all fine. Evelia and I are fine along with our parents. We just had to come back to France because we have the royal family from Spain here, and they wanted Evelia and me to be there tonight for the dinner. But we will be back in London by tomorrow afternoon.

Ar: *relieved tone* Oh thank God. I thought something horrid happened. What were you going to ask me?

Ad: I know it isn't appropriate to ask through the phone, but last night wouldn't have been a great timing either. I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me.

Ar: As in like a date? *blushing and smiling*

Ad: *sarcastic tone* No, as in just a friendly outing. Of course as a date.

Ar: Yes, I'd love to, but don't get your panties in a twist. I was merely teasing you.

Ad: Brilliant. I will pick you up from the palace at around six in the afternoon. Hopefully, this remains in the down low. It'd be a shame if the media found out.

Ar: You're right. What could be a better cover story than the Princess of England out on a date with the Prince of France? They're going to take everything into a high scale thing that will have the audience begging for more of our outings. Sickening if you think about it.

Ad: Exactly. That's why I'm hoping they don't find out. But anyways, I'll see you then, yeah? I'm going to spend time with my parents since Evelia and I have been in London for the past two weeks.

Ar: It's fine. I totally understand.

Ad: I knew you would. Good bye, my beautiful Princess.

Ar: Good bye, Adrien. *blushing*

*End of Call*

I heard Kaitlyn sigh, and when I turned to look at her she merely continued to look at the road. "What's wrong?" I questioned her.

"Nothing. Honestly, it's nothing. I'm just sighing because I have wonderful timing to suggest shopping days because now you can shop for a new outfit," she said with a cheeky smile.

I groaned and said, "Do we have to? I mean I have plenty of clothes back at the palace. I can just use some of that."

"Are you kidding me? I get to suggest an outfit for you to buy, and you're denying it? Oh no, missy. We will buy you an outfit today. You need to look ravishing." It seemed as if she forced a smile at the end before turning back to the road. The car ride remained silent as she drove off to one of the seven Disney stores in London. The hunt for the missing Disney characters was quite successful if I say so myself. We only had to go to three of the seven stores in order to complete the collection. As we put the remaining toys in Kaitlyn's boot, she huffed and started her car again. "You know, we are buying more things for your brother than we are for ourselves. Let's hit downtown now."

She turned on the radio, and a catchy song came on. I saw her quickly glance at me when the singer began her song.

Oath

Cher:
Yo, my best friend, best friend 'til the very end
Cause best friends, best friends don't have to pretend
You need a hand, and I'm right there right beside you
You in the dark, I'll be the bright light to guide you
'Member the time, time, times sneaking out the house
All of the time, time, times that you had your doubts
And don't forget all the trouble we got into
We got something you can't undo, do

Laughing so damn hard
Crashed your dad's new car
All the scars we share
I promise, I swear

Wherever you go, just always remember
That you got a home for now and forever
And if you get low, just call me whenever
This is my oath to you
Wherever you go, just always remember
You're never alone, we're birds of a feather
And we'll never change, no matter the weather
This is my oath to you

Ariel:
I know I drive you crazy, hmm, sometimes
I know I call you lazy, and that's most times
But you complete me, and that's no lie
You are my tuxedo, and I'm your bow tie
We in the car, sing, sing, singing our song
Rocking the building, tear it down, like we king kong
And in my eyes, you can do, do no wrong
You got a best friend sing, sing along

Laughing so damn hard
Crashed your dad's new car
All the scars we share

Cher:
I promise, I swear

Both:
Wherever you go, just always remember
That you got a home for now and forever
And if you get low, just call me whenever
This is my oath to you
Wherever you go, just always remember
You're never alone, we're birds of a feather
And we'll never change, no matter the weather
This is my oath to you

Ariel:
Oh ohh

Cher:
I'll never let you go

Ariel:
Oh ohh

Cher:
Whoa, this is my oath to you

Ariel:
Oh ohh

Cher:
Just thought that you should know

Ariel:
Oh ohh

Cher:
Whoa, this is my oath to you

Yeah...

Both:
Wherever you go, just always remember
That you got a home for now and forever
And if you get low, just call me whenever
This is my oath to you
Wherever you go, just always remember
You're never alone, we're birds of a feather
And we'll never change, no matter the weather
This is my oath to you

Ariel:
Oh ohh

Cher:
You should know, you should know, you should know, you should know, yeah

Ariel:
Oh ohh

Cher:
Whoa, this is my oath to you

Ariel:
Oh ohh

Both:
Wherever you go, just always remember
You're never alone, we're birds of a feather
And we'll never change, no matter the weather

Ariel:
Oh ohh

Cher:
This is my oath to you

"That was the lovely Cher Lloyd with her single Oath featuring Rockin' Ariel. As we all know, this song was recorded long before Cher's best friend, Rockin' Ariel, had her tragic accident. She's alive, but-," the radio announcer said before Kaitlyn quickly changed the station.

"Sorry, but I hate when announcers talk so much. Just a tiny pet peeve of mine," she said while keeping her eyes on the road. I merely giggled, but didn't say anything because that sounded accurate. On our way downtown, we passed down a street that ran right by my flat. How did I know? Well Mum called me and gave me the flat address when we were still in the first Disney store, and she told me how the surroundings looked like in my old neighborhood. To be fair, for a neighborhood in downtown London, it wasn't that bad. There were small shops in the neighborhood and two flat complexes, but besides that, the neighborhood was safe. Mum told me my flat was on the twenty-third level, but there were twenty-four levels. She said that the top two levels were one flat, so that means my flat must be huge. I'm curious, but scared at the same time. I continued to map my way to the flat through my mind as we made it into downtown London. When we found an open car park, I turned to her and said, "You better lock this car nice and tight because my brother will be very upset if I don't come back with his promised gifts."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stop threatening me, and let's go. I'll make sure to "lock this car nice and tight" because I'd hate to see Prince Alexander crying," Kaitlyn said while rolling her eyes with a teasing smile on her face. As soon as I was out the car she locked it, and we went out into the London streets. It felt really weird to be out with people, actually. I was so used to being in my own little bubble that it felt strange to see so many people walking past us in a hurry. No one paid any attention to us. We saw Directioners huddled around magazine racks to find precious information on the lads, but they never noticed us pass by. I mean, who would? It's not like I'm anything else but a princess. I would understand if I was some sort of international popstar, but sadly I'm not. I'm only a princess.

Throughout our shopping trip, I kept finding things Mary or Scarlet would enjoy wearing, and I bought it for them. Kaitlyn would get ticked off because I kept buying clothing for everyone else but me. When we entered a store called Almost Famous, Kaitlyn turned to me and said, "You will find a dress here for tomorrow night. Even if it means spending about three hours in here, we won't leave until you have the perfect dress for tomorrow night."

"Oh gosh, Kait. If you insist, but I'm telling you, I don't need a new outfit. I have so many possible outfits that I'm quite sure he couldn't have seen them all at one point." I saw a smile grow on her face when she heard my nickname for her.

"Kait? Why the nickname?" she said while not attempting to hide her smile.

"Well, I give nicknames to all my friends. Well... Just to my friends that have long names. For example, Mary doesn't have a nickname because it's short."

"So in other words, you're giving me a nickname because you're too lazy to say my complete name? Here, try this on," Kaitlyn said while shoving a purple dress to me and pushing me to the dressing rooms.

I giggled and said over my shoulder, "Pretty much!" I heard her mumble something to the store works, and they nodded. I heard them mumble something along the lines of cranking up security. I wonder why? Maybe Kait just doesn't want me to get hurt. I shrugged it off, and tried on the dress. It was purple and down to mid-thigh. It had a black plaid design with black stars and black bows. It was tied around my neck, and had a sort of black corset. Honestly? I looked like some rockstar. I sighed and pulled it off again. There's no way in hell I'm wearing that. Mum and Dad would probably throw a fit. I walked back out and gave Kait the dress. "No thank you. I look like some sort of rock princess."

She nodded and placed the dress back on the rack. We walked towards the white button down shirts, and she grabbed one that came with a two inch brown belt. She smiled and mumbled, "This would look amazing with army green jeans."

"Army green jeans? I think I have some at home. They were part of my old clothes." She nodded and immediately walked over to the shoes. She grabbed some flats with a camouflage pattern, and gold butterfly earrings.

"Go try the shirt on. Just to make sure it's the appropriate size. It's already six, so hurry so we can be back in time for dinner."

I nodded and quickly walked back to the fitting room. I tried it on, and saw it was a size extra small. "I need to gain weight," I whispered to myself when I saw some of my ribs slightly poking out.

I examined the shirt in different angles when I tried it on, and became satisfied with how it looked. I took it off and slipped on my dress. A store associate helped me tie it up, and I gave her a nod of thanks. This is the second time she's helped me, but she doesn't seem to mind. Instead, she seems kind of flustered when I asked for her help. When I walked back out, I saw Kait waiting for me by the cash register. "Did it fit?" she asked when she pushed herself off the counter slightly.

"Yup. It fit perfectly, but I realized I really need to gain weight. My ribs poke out slightly, and they look gross." She gave me a sympathetic smile and told the cashier to ring us up. She rung us up, and the total was expensive. Geez, why would they charge so much for some measly shoes, earrings, and a white shirt?

She whispered into my ear when my items were being placed in a brown paper bag with the store logo on the front, "I should've warned you that this posh store is expensive."

"You should've, but it's fine. The outfit is going to be amazing for tomorrow night."

She sighed and said, "I think you shouldn't go."

"Why? I've already spent money on the outfit, so I'm going to go."

"But Ariel, you just got out of the hospital about three weeks ago. Honestly, I feel like you're moving too fast with your life."

"Kait, I'm going. I already told Adrien I would go, and I'm not backing out. Plus, like you said, it’s my life."

"But, Ariel..."

"No. I'm going because how bad can it go? I'd probably ruin the date because I'm a clutz." Before she could respond, two girls around my age walked in laughing. One of them had black hair, a black Rolling Stone t-shirt tucked into her high-waist black leather jeans, and white Jordans with red markings. She had a gold chain around her neck and a black watch on her right arm. I couldn't see her face because her curls blocked it. The other girl that walked in with her had blonde hair, and blue eyes. She covered her nude lips as she laughed loudly into her hands. She had her hair curled as well, but it was pinned back out of her face. She wore an orange pinafore style skirt with white daisies design, and a white tank tube top. She paired it with white trainers and a simple silver bracelet and necklace. It was evident that they had some sort of fame because the workers began to buzz in excitement.

When the two girls noticed that the workers began to buzz around, the black haired one said, "Yes, there are two celebrities in the boutique. Now, return to your posts."

The blonde hair girls looked at her with horror and humor in her eyes while she stifled back another laugh. I wasn't so smart. Instead, I burst out laughing very loudly. Kaitlyn nudged me in my ribs to shut me up, but it wasn't fast enough since both girls quickly turned to my laugh. Suddenly, all humor was sucked out and they stared at me as if they were seeing a ghost. The way they were staring at me made me feel uncomfortable. "S-sorry," I stuttered out as I looked down at my hands instead.

Kait whispered into my ear, "We should get going." She tugged at my left arm, and I looked up. I saw that the girls seemed to have snapped out of their daze because the black haired girl instead glared at Kait. Wait... She looks familiar...

"Kaitlyn, what the fuck are you doing here?" the black haired girl spat.

"Ariel, let's go," Kait said louder. Kait seemed on edge, but why?

"Stop it. Don't you see she doesn't want to go? She already doubts you, Kaitlyn."

My eyes snapped towards the girl, and before I could snap at her, something clicked inside of me. This is Brat, but why can't I remember anything about her? "Brat?" I whispered out while letting go of Kaitlyn's hand and bringing my hands to my mouth in shock.

Brat's eyes softened, and so did her posture. The blonde girl pulled Brat back and whispered something into her ear. "I don't care. I just want my Mermaid safe. I want her to know what this bitch is capable of," Brat whispered back harshly.

She walked towards us, and I felt Kait quickly grab my hand tightly. Kait looked nervous, but I don't see why. "Ariel, get away from her," Brat said quietly as she kept her eyes trained on Kaitlyn.

"No," I said in a louder tone. "Why should she? Kait is my lady-in-waiting, and my best friend. I trust her, and whatever you have to say about her, you can say it with her by my side."

Brat's eyes softened before she said, "Ariel, she isn't who she pretends to be."

"Stop it. You're going to confuse her," Kait said stepping in front of me.

"No I won't. She needs to know the truth."

"No, she doesn't. That's our past and all that matters is the present. Don't make things harder for her."

"You want me to keep the past hidden?" Brat said coldly "You don't want me to tell her how you made our life a living hell? You don't want me to tell her how you used her back in music school?"

"Cher, stop it! You're going to make things worse!" I didn't realize I was walking backwards until my back hit a clothes rack. What is she talking about? Who's Cher?

"Cher, she's right. Look at her. She looks absolutely confused and petrified," the blonde girl said finally intervening.

"Perrie, I'm not going to stop. Don't you understand? Kaitlyn's just using her again, and I need to prevent it now while I still can," Brat said turning towards the girl called Perrie.

"But Cher, think about her sanity," Perrie said looking directly at Brat. So her name was Cher?

"Please, Ariel. Believe me when I tell you that I've changed. I swear that everything that happened between us in the past is staying in the past," Kait said with pleading eyes.

"Don't you dare talk to her!" Cher yelled before pulling her away harshly. "You made us suffer so much. You used her because you wanted her scholarship! You were jealous that she was getting success while you were most likely going to miss out on the fame you wanted. You almost ruined our Christmas charity fundraiser. You-!"

I didn't hear the rest of her yelling because I sprint out of the door with tears clouding my vision. I heard all three of them yelling behind me, but the faster I ran the fainter their voices got. After sprinting out of way from oncoming cars and away from them, I finally made it to my old flat complex. The paper bag from Almost Famous was held tightly in my left hand while my head was still spinning. I slowly walked inside and ignored the people in the lobby. Nobody seemed to notice the crying princess that slowly approached the lift. With a shaking hand, I pressed the level twenty-three button and waited until the lift doors closed. As soon as they closed, I sunk to my knees and cried silently into my knees. I remembered that the lift in Oak Woods felt friendly and warm, but these feel eerie and mysterious. I feel strange being here, and my confusion and clouded vision didn't help. When the lift doors opened to my level, I slowly stood up and slowly made my way down the small corridor to my flat door. I felt the door with my right hand, and I placed my forehead against the door. I noticed that the sides of the doors had markings as if it were forced open, and now it made sense. That's how Amelia got in. She forced my door open.

With shaking hands, I took out my keys from my bag. I studied the keys, and decided to slip in the key with the "#1" on it, but it wouldn't go in. Strange... Harry's voice played back in my head:

Ariel, that home that you drew and remembered is the home where you grew up in.