Mess of a Fantasy (Darise Ever After High Fanfiction)

Chapter 11: Don't You Love the Smell of Awkward in the Morning?

I woke up to the smell of fresh blueberry pancakes wafting all the way from the kitchen.

I rolled out of bed, went to the bathroom, and brushed my teeth and hair. My hair looked longer today, and is it possible for teeth to morph into canine teeth by themselves?

I started to wonder if the Charmings normally got all dressed up for breakfast- was it impolite to walk out of your room in your pajamas in the morning? I picked up my phone- but then I let it slip out of my hands and back on the nightstand.

I can't call Daring right now.

"Darling will answer, right?" I whispered, praying I wouldn't have to call Dexter or worse, Daring. I dialed Darling and she answered after half a ring.

"Heyyyyy, are you hungry? Never mind, of course you are. Open up the door, I'm outside," Darling rambled.

I hung up the phone and opened the door for Darling. "Come on, let's go down to the kitchen. I'm hungry!" She was still in her pajama pants and Abercrownbie sweatshirt. I sighed of relief.

She led the way down the steps and to the foyer. Dexter had just arrived there also and was on his phone. "Hey, Dexter!" I called.

"Come on, you have to come!" He was saying into the phone. "Oh, hey guys, it's Raven."

Darling and I leaned over Dexter's shoulder and shouted "HEYYY RAVEEEEN!" into it.

"Hey guys! Fine, fine, I'll come," Raven laughed.

"Talking about the party?" I asked.

"Yep. Awesome! Okay we have to go eat breakfast. Talk to you later, Raven!" He finished.

We all followed to the kitchen. "Hey Jonathan!" Darling and I said cheerily as he placed a plate of pancakes at the table. I guess the Charmings only eat dinner in the Main Dining Hall. We sat around the counter and piled our plates with pancake stacks. Dexter passed the syrup to Darling, who passed it to me, and I slathered my pancakes in the sticky, sweet syrup.

I was mid-conversation with Darling and Dex about Thronecoming memories. "I was being an antisocial lump in the corner, and then guess who came over and asked me to dance?" I story-told.

Guess who came in, just in time.

The three of us stopped smiling and laughing and dropped our chins, looking at the quickly diminishing pancake stacks on our plates. There were three stools, and with him, we were four people.

That's right, you guessed it, Mr. Daring Charming.

As Jonathan prepared him a few fresh pancakes, he stood, waiting, in a plain white tee shirt and pair of gold sweatpants. His ever-present crown had a pattern of dips and peaks, just like my whole life. It was also sparkling, like the way he made me feel.

I could feel his eyes on me, as well as the tension building in the room. As soon as his pancakes were finished, he took the plate and left quickly. Chef took some pancakes for himself and then also disappeared, leaving many uneaten extras on a plate in the middle of the counter.

"Okay, what was that all about?" Dexter asked me, rapidly stabbing a small, syrup soaked slice of pancake to get it to stay on his fork.

"I.... He...." I attempted, trying to formulate a valid answer.

"Wow. He's got it bad for you, Cerise." Dexter said.

I closed my eyes hard and just nodded. I felt the same. The stress normally made my head feel like a substantial paperweight, but right now it just felt like beautiful weightlessness. It felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my hood and shoulders. At the same time my heart, which sometimes tends float like a feather, had dropped like a rock into the ocean, disappearing among the swirling waves of emotion growing inside me like a tsunami.

We continued on to finish breakfast in silence. We all had much too much on our minds for small talk. When I finished, i dismissed myself and found my way back to my room on my own. The party wasn't until 2:00, and it was only 11:15 now. I decided to shower anyway and put on my party dress. Maybe it would put me in a better mood.