Finding Nora could potentially be a bit of a problem. Oliver did have a wide net of Cast Members to ask around, but he didn't want to seem like a stalker. Seriously, he didn't want to stalk her. He wanted to meet her and be honest about who he was—Gaston. And if she didn't like that, then fine, though he wasn't exactly sure why she wouldn't be if she knew Levi. But at least he was going to try and, even if she wasn't interested, maybe eventually she'd come around. Yes, he'd been type cast as Gaston, but that didn't make him a barbarian. And he didn't want to be around people who didn't want him around, nor did he want Nora to have to be around people she didn't want to be around.

But he did like Nora. Flirting with her was fun. And maybe she was with Levi, or interested in him, but hey, that didn't mean he couldn't hang out with her (if she wanted to hang out with him, that is). Maybe she'd like him more without the padded muscle. She always did seem intrigue whenever he met the little princesses. All girls were, after all.

So his search continued. On his days off, and after he got off of work, he'd hang around the Magic Kingdom, looking for her. She came by so often that he doubted it would take long to spot her.

It only ended up taking a week of waiting. He found her in Adventureland (ew), standing in front of the giant golden camel statue, letting it spit on her. She was playing with a few kids, the sight of it shoving his plan into nonexistence as she jumped from puddle to puddle, screaming with delight and telling a fantastical story about how the Genie had turned Abu into the camel and he was trying to take revenge.

Oliver stood, breathless, almost deciding against talking to her. It was one of those magical Disney moments that should go uninterrupted. So he waited it out as she went through an entire mission of finding gems on the ground with them, hoping finding Genie's special gem would bring him there to free Abu.

"Found them!" a little boy said, his sister bumping into him as he came to a sudden halt.

"Awesome." Nora put her hands on her hips. "We have to wait until the park closes for Genie to show up though."

"Why?"

"He's off helping the sultan with something. Super important stuff. I'm sure he'll find the gem and realize Abu isn't very happy and find a different camel to put there in the morning. A real camel."

"Perfect," the girl said.

Their parents called, signaling the end of their water fun. Nora waved pleasantly before beginning her trek further into Adventureland. Oliver hurried to catch up, trying to figure out the best thing to say. Normally he just knew.

This was Nora. And he didn't know her well, but he knew she wasn't impressed with flirty pickup lines or attractive looks. But he could just talk to her like a normal human being, as if she hadn't just been super sexy playing with all the kids.

He hadn't been expecting to start sweating as he caught up to her. "Hey, Nora."

Her eyes flashed to him, suspicious.

"I know. Stranger danger." He made sure not to get closer. "I've actually met you before. I'm not trying to be weird. I actually know Gaston."

As her eyes roamed over his face, recognition dawned. He ignored the awkwardness of it all.

"My name's Oliver," he continued, not knowing what else to do. "I was hanging out in the park today and saw you playing with those kids and figured I'd say hi. But if you're busy..."

She stopped walking. "Prove it."

"Well..." He cleared his throat. "When we first met, it was raining. My meet and greet was cancelled, but I felt like I should go talk to at least one guest before going backstage. I went into my tavern and there you were, sitting all alone, looking a bit down in the dumps. So Gaston flirted with you," he wanted to be clear that he, as Oliver, hadn't been flirting with her, "and you got a free cinnamon roll." And it'd made his day. "And you didn't ever come visit me and told me the other day that I'm the one who got you doing meet and greets."

She eyed him up and down again, lips squirming, as if his story wasn't evidence enough. "Well. This is kind of weird."

"I'm not trying to make it weird. I swear." It just was weird. Of course it was. He tried not to be jealous of it not being weird to her to hang out with Levi. "I did want to thank you for always being around for me to see you, though. Especially with everything that's happened lately, with me pushing things too far." His cheeks smarted. "I'm still sorry about that. I'm going to stop prying into your life."

"You mean like right now, running into me in person?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. She wouldn't be happy to know he'd been looking for her. "I just felt like you'd rather know who I am than maybe accidentally running into me and me not telling you. Now you can do whatever it is you want with my identity, including never seeing me again. I'm not trying to ruin the magic or anything."

"So you're claiming you're magic now?"

His cheeks heated. "No. It's just the whole idea of knowing the behind the scenes stuff ruining—"

"I was kidding."

"Oh." Her expression was still closed, which didn't give him a boost of confidence. "I seriously don't want to be imposing on whatever your plans were. Sorry if this was too weird. Normally I don't tell anyone since most guests are a bit...overzealous when it comes to Gaston. So it's nice to have someone who isn't."

Nora looked him in the eye this time. "Yeah. They seriously shouldn't do that. You're a person."

And it was nice, being seen by her. To be recognized as someone who brought joy to guests while also not being looked at like he was going to be the cause of a lot of creepy dreams. That saw him, even if she didn't really know him. It felt like more than what most people wanted.

They started walking. Her posture was a bit shy, so he said, "You looked like you were having a good time."

"Yeah. It's nice getting to play with kids. They're..."

"A lot more fun than adults."

But her eyes had lost their focus. He followed her gaze, immediately wanting to roll his eyes.

Levi, decked out as Jack Sparrow, was playing with a little boy. It was some sort of hop scotch invention, which kept sending his toddler sister into a fit of giggles every time they hopped to a different foot. The rest of the line started clapping a rhythm for them to hop to, the hysteria of the baby increasing with ease hop, his PhotoPass CM clicking away to capture the beautiful memory.

Oliver cracked his neck. He could totally do better than that.

He looked back at Nora, but she was still mesmerized. His lip jutted out. He wasn't used to being outshone. But he let her continue watching, trying his best to seem the right level of interested, trying to admit to himself that Levi was actually good at his job. He was a total stick in the mud backstage, but hey. He was good with kids and that's what counted.

He was less than thrilled with how well that seemed to go over for Nora.

"How long have you two known each other?" he asked, hoping it didn't sound on edge.

She cleared her throat. "Wow, that was loud. Anyway. Um, the same amount of time I've known you?"

"Not to put an elephant in the room, but yes, I did tell you about the gossip concerning you the other day." And had also called Levi her pretend boyfriend, but he didn't want to bring that up. "I shouldn't have been so personal. It kind of matched Gaston's character, and I was already on edge from the girls in line in front of you, but it was too much."

"Right."

"I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings, I swear. I know I overstepped, but I didn't know..." That it was real. That she actually seriously did have a crush on him. "I mean, I get it. Jack Sparrow is great. He's a good guy. With and without the hat."

She blinked a few times. "Wait. Do you two know each other?"

Oliver pressed his lips together, trying not to give her a look. Hadn't Levi and him claimed to know each other when they'd come to see him at his meet and greet? "Yeah. We actually have a history."

"What kind of history?"

He sighed, starting towards Frontierland, glad for a reason to distract her. "It's not that exciting. Just know each other from work and school. That sort of thing."

Nora rushed after him. "He seems more secretive about who he is."

Was he? Nora knew both of them and Oliver hadn't told anyone else either. She'd probably already heard the explanation before, but he said it anyway, "We get stalked a lot. I mean, do you blame him? The last guy to have my job quit because some psycho guest went to his house after he told her he was friends with Gaston. She was terrifying. Glad I never met her. She's banned from the parks from life, of course, so I don't have to worry, at least about her." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "But still, you don't just go telling anyone your secret identity."

"Then why did you tell me?"

Oliver smiled, glad the conversation moved away from pirates. "Because I trust you."

"Why?"

Oliver shrugged, his smile widening. "Let's just say I have a good instinct about people."

"Do you?"

"Let's hope I do."

"I mean, you are Gaston," she said under her breath. "I would think you'd be good at everything."

He tapped his nose. "Exactly." Oliver sidled a bit closer to her. "So...I was wondering if you'd like to ride a few rides."

She recoiled. "Like a date?"

Oliver scoffed. "No, of course not. What, do I look like Gaston to you?"

"Ha-ha."

He grinned. "I may not be Gaston, but I do know a guy. And that guy can get us some Fast Passes."

Nora softened, a smile coming to her face. "Okay, fine. I have about two hours."

"Yay." He clapped his hands a few times, then penguin strolled as much like Bart as he could muster, donning a British accent as he offered his arm. "Where are we off to, my lady?"

"Nope. Not touching your arm."

"Oh, wow. I'm so disappointed that you don't want to be close to me when it's ninety degrees outside."

"Oh, please. Your intent is clear." But she was grinning. "You owe me Space Mountain to make it up to me."

"Let me just say I am definitely getting the better end of the deal." Oliver winked, leading her instead through Frontierland the long way around so they didn't have to pass a certain pirate again.

Being around Nora was refreshing, to say the least. Oliver was a people person, but sometimes Disney burnout was a thing. And typically he'd only hung out with people who just wanted to go to Epcot, drink, and complain. Gossip. A bunch of things he really wasn't interested in. Well, sure, drinking wasn't all that bad, but how much could someone really do that without getting bored with a full bladder?

But Nora? Nora was an experience person. She wanted to be there for every molecule of her body to tingle with the magic. It was something else, watching her be alive.

They ended up doing the Mountain challenge, which was easy enough with Fast Passes. Space, then Big Thunder, then Splash. She wanted to save Splash for last and he was thrilled to get to sit next to her. She was one of those people that he felt like he'd known his whole life, even though they'd barely talked. It made him want to reach out and grab her hand, let her piggy back on him down Main Street, kiss during the fireworks—

Okay, maybe they weren't that close. But he could picture it pretty well. And he tried not to picture it, considering he was just meeting her basically and he didn't want to be rude. He could be a normal guy and hang out with her, get to know her. If she treated him like a person with dignity, she deserved the same back.

On Big Thunder Mountain, they screamed about goats back and forth, which made everyone around them look at them like they were crazy. He'd always had a soft spot for the goat with the dynamite in its mouth.

"I think he's trying to kill us all," Nora said as they made their way through the queue, taking their time to play with the dynamite boxes that made things smoke out amongst the rocks.

"Nah. I think he's just oblivious that he'll blow us all to smithereens," Oliver defended him. "And if you still think otherwise, don't talk to me or my son ever again."

She snickered. "That's one ugly kid of yours."

He did the cat at the dinner table meme expression, which she laughed at.

Next was Splash Mountain. He knew the Cast Member standing at the Fast Pass entrance line, which got them in without an actual pass.

"Look at you, Mr. Famous," Nora commented on their way up the stairs.

"Hey, the gig has perks."

"That you abuse."

He winked at her. "It's not abuse if you don't do it all the time. Besides, it's a slow day."

They boarded their log. He smiled over at her. She was basically shaking with giddiness. "You seriously love this, don't you?"

"Don't act as if you haven't been ecstatic all day."

"Can't help myself. It's my happy place."

Oliver and Nora sang along the entire ride, both swaying back and forth, "Everybody's got a laughing place, a laughing place to go-ho-ho, take your frown, wear it upside down, and you'll find yours I know-ho-ho."

"This is my favorite part," Oliver said as they got to the laughing place drop. The dark made the drop feel a lot farther than it actually was, not to mention you went up and down another time.

"Mine too!"

They got soaked on the last drop.

Their screams turned into laughter.

"Oh my gosh, look at you."

"Are you kidding? You look like a drenched Lucifer."

"With my hair? Please. It's way too short. Maybe you could be a washed up Gus Gus."

She clutched her stomach, laughing as he did his best impressions of the mice.

He got out of the log first, holding out a hand for her, smirking as she took it.

"Not a word," she murmured.

"I don't think I need any for you to accuse me of anything."

"You're smarter than you look."

He pulled her out of their log, relishing her touch before her hand fell away. The smile they shared was like a secret. One he planned to keep.

"Baker," he said with a very Gaston-like purr. "Your best, please. Two." And, behind his hand, he added, "Because I don't think the lady will want to share."

"Definitely not." She grabbed her own, thanking the Cast Member before plopping herself down at the table, still incredibly damp from their flume ride.

"You know, that's my chair over there." He jabbed his thumb in the direction of all his throne's majesty.

"Oliver, I will stab you."

He plopped a huge piece of cinnamon roll in his mouth. "I do stir the hearts of women to do passionate things."

"Like murder?"

"Murder counts."

Nora propped her fist on her cheek. "You don't ever get tired of being him?"

"Not really? I'm pretty new, for starters. And I know you've seen me with the littles. They're so squishy."

"Squishy?"

"I don't squish them, I swear." He pointed with his fork. "But I could."

"I wouldn't peg you as a baby guy."

"I like kids. I mean. You have to or you can't get the job. That's the reason for the job. Not all the...attention."

She sat up straighter. "You really don't like all the fawning?"

"Would you?"

"I'm me."

"Still. No one likes being an object." He poked his cinnamon roll. "Not even us vain, charismatic, good looking ones."

"I'm sorry I had such a different opinion of you." She raised her fork again, like a sword. "Unless you keep doing that thing where you tease me about my personal life or make my friends feel bad. Then it's going to change again."

"Such sweet sentiments." He batted his eyes at her. "Well, I guess it's your turn to make it up to me now."

"Ah. Blackmail."

"No, no. Just good old fashioned revenge."

Nora grinned. "This was actually fun."

"Wow. Who would have thought you'd actually have fun with a CM."

Her head quirked to the side. "I mean, I was kind of doubting it."

"Wow. Punch to the gut."

"Yeah, yeah."

He chuckled. Paused. "So...I was wondering if maybe we could exchange numbers. Maybe hang out again sometime?"

Nora's eyes met his as she inhaled. He waited expectantly, really not sure of the answer despite their connection. She must have sensed it too.

Her hand slipped into her pocket to pull out her phone.

A shadow fell on their table.

Oliver didn't even bother looking up. His eyes were on Nora's hand as it shot away from her pocket, then on the way she was worrying her lip.

Which meant whoever showed up at their table had not only very bad timing, but wasn't any friend of his for ruining Nora's yes and making her look all distressed.

Oliver slung his arm over the back of the chair, getting comfortable and stretched out as his eyes flicked lazily up to their uninvited guest. His mouth would have flung open stupidly if not for his dislike keeping it firmly closed.

"Hi," Nora said hastily.

"Hey," Levi said, phone in hand, staring at the cinnamon rolls in confusion. "I thought you wanted to go over to Epcot tonight for strudel."

Oliver almost barked out a laugh. He definitely didn't have any skill with the ladies. Didn't he know any better than to judge what they were eating—or who they decided to eat with?

Levi chose this moment to raise an eyebrow at him, as if knowing his thoughts. Oliver held back a grin. Anything to sucker punch the guy who'd just ruined his chance for her number.

But at least maybe he could find out now what was between them. He'd just have to try to do it without any hostility.

"Yeah, I did. I still do, I just lost track of time. Sorry." Nora gestured between the two. "Oh. Oliver, Levi. Levi, Oliver."

Oliver blinked. Was she related to Dory or something? They'd established that Oliver knew Levi, what, two times now? Including once today, when they'd seen him at his meet and greet. Oliver looked pointedly at Levi. He should be the one to clear things up, after all.

Levi cleared his throat. "Nice to meet you."

Oliver stared harder. "Come again?"

"His name is Levi," Nora said. "I mean, I guess you've technically...well."

She didn't finish. It took Oliver too long to realize she meant when Oliver had called Levi her pretend boyfriend.

"Sorry about that," he muttered to Nora, then raised his voice. "We'd met before that, though. I think I said that....?"

He was so, so confused.

"Yeah. We have. Backstage," Levi said, as if they didn't have a previous history.

"Oh. I didn't know you two would have," Nora replied, fidgeting in her chair.

"It's a small world after all," Oliver sang, tapping his fork against his plate, eyes not leaving Levi as the puzzle came together. Nora should know exactly how they knew each other. Which meant Levi was keeping secrets.

"We better get going. It takes a while to get over there and I won't have much time," Levi said.

Really, he was going to be like that?

He squared his shoulders. Fine. He'd play along and figure out his game. "So, mind if I tag along on whatever you two are up to?"

"Um—" Nora said.

"I mean, I don't want to impose on your date," Oliver said, hasty and polite, hoping it sounded sincere.

Nora put a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's not a date, we're just hanging out. But thanks."

His eyes flashed to Levi, noting the grimace. So, they weren't together, but Levi wanted to be. Hopefully Nora wouldn't hold his comment against him.

"Well, I won't keep you two." Oliver got up. "It was really nice hanging out with you, Nora."

"Likewise."

He gave her one last charming smile, letting his eyes linger.

"See you, Levi," he said as nicely as possible, heading out before he'd get a reply back. Not that he would.

His fingers balled into fists the second he left. He'd been so close to getting her number. And then there was the guilt on her face the second he decided to show up. They weren't together, so why should she feel guilty? Not to mention whatever game Levi was playing.

They'd have words. And he doubted Levi was going to like any of them.

"Bloody pirate," Oliver muttered as he walked towards Main Street, the cheerful music doing nothing to stifle his irritation.

Ah, the plot thickens.

Who is more piratey, Levi or Oliver?

Question of the Chapter: Which Disney park have you always wanted to go to? I'm curious to know if anyone here has been to every single park. I haven't been to any outside the U.S.

-Flips