In Another Lifetime

Chapter 7 - Room 25

Merida was thinking about the brunette boy she'd met just a few moments ago. Her music was pulsing through her headphones as she mouthed the words along to David Archuleta -

Do you ever think, when you're all alone, all that we could be?

Where could this thing go?

Am I crazy or falling in love?

Is it real or just another crush?

Do you catch your breath, when I look at you?

Are you holding back - like the way you do?

Cos I try and try to walk away -

But I know this crush ain't going away.

Suddenly the door opened, interrupting the song. A girl with seriously long blonde hair and a purple cardigan that fell off of her shoulders was standing in the doorway. Merida pulled her headphones off and stood up.

"Um - are you Merida Dunbroch?" the girl said slightly apprehensively.

"Yeah -" Merida replied; this girl didn't seem too bad actually, "I'm guessing you're Rapunzel Corona?"

The girl nodded, then gestured to the remaining bed and queried, "- am I sleeping there then?"

"Unless you want to swap," Merida said quickly,she didn't want to create a bad impression, no matter how much she hated this summer camp; she guessed everyone here was in the same boots as her, "I honestly don't mind."

"Nah, this is good," Rapunzel said optimistically, sitting down on the saggy mattress and rolling her eyes. "Lovely, um, bedding here, isn't it?"

Merida snorted, then tried to cover it up with a mumbled apology, but Rapunzel didn't mind.

"Sorry, my mum doesn't like me snorting when I laugh. She says 'ladies do not chortle, Merida!'"

Rapunzel smiled.

"Don't worry about it. She's not here, is she?"

"I guess not," Merida said, winding up the cable on her headphones.

"Does your mother expect a lot of you then?" Rapunzel asked, genuinely interested.

Merida nodded sadly.

"It's like she wants, wants perfection or something," she sighed. "And if I don't do what she says then she'll put a ban on my archery lessons. I just want my FREEDOM!"

"Overprotective mothers, tell me about it," Rapunzel sighed. "My mother won't even let me out of my home town. This is virtually a whole new world for me; I've never been on a car journey longer than half an hour before."

"Wow," Merida breathed. "And I thought I had it bad."

"Well," Rapunzel sighed, "you get used to it I suppose. When's dinner supposed to be at this place anyway?"

"The grumpy woman in the saggy vest said seven I think," Merida replied. Rapunzel giggled.

"I wasn't the only one who thought she was a grumpy old witch!"

"Did you see the way she got really aggravated and rolled her eyes every time you asked a question?" Merida chortled.

"You saw that too!" Rapunzel laughed so hard it hurt her stomach. Somehow they had forged a bond that didn't seem new, it seemed like it was always there, waiting to be unearthed, discovered again. Something suggested they had been here before.

A/N Thanks for over 300 reads already! This story is going really well and I hope to update again tomorrow if I can :) if not I will on Monday but no promises cos I have a stupid schedule and stupid teachers with stupid homework. Oh well!!!