My hands won't stop shaking and sweating as I anxiously wait for Ian and Barley. All I know is that we're going on a quest—what for I have no idea—and that I'm supposed to dress warmly and bring my staff.

The sound of Guinivere's engine startles me from my anxious thoughts, and I head outside to see the familiar van barreling down the street. It comes to a halting stop in front of the driveway. Ian and Barley stay in the van for a moment talking to each other before they finally notice me.

Ian's face breaks into a lopsided grin as he meekly waves and opens up his door. "H-hey, Y/N. I—um—I hope it's okay Barley wanted to come along."

Honestly? I would have liked it to be just me and Ian, but Barley's so energetic and sweet that it's hard to be upset. "I don't mind at all." I grin and wave to Barley. "Plus, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to hang out."

Ian nods with a grin, but he doesn't get to say anything before Barley honks the horn. "Come on! Adventure awaits!"

I hop in the back, despite Ian's protests for me to take shotgun and lean in the space between the seats. "So? Where are we going on this grand adventure, Sir Barley?"

"We are to adventure through New Mushroomton!"

"Barley, this is literally just our town. We see this every day."

"Yes, but this is for Y/N! It's an adventure for her memory."

"Well, since I don't remember a lot, I say let's do it." I grin and nudge Ian, who is still looking a bit sour to the idea. "C'mon, it'll be fun. We'll even get to hang out and make more memories. Please."

"Fine. Let's do it."

Barley and I both cheer as we head out. Rock music blasts through the speakers, and all three of us jam out as we head through the town. It's probably the most I've genuinely smiled and laughed in a long time. With them, there's no obsessive glint in their eyes, and it's comforting to say the least.

The closer we get to our first destination, the more Barley seems to bounce in his seat. His eyes keep glancing at me in the rear view mirror. It's like he's trying to tell me a secret without actually speaking. I offer him a confused look that he seems to ignore with a smile.

"And we have arrived!" Barley cheers as he gestured out the window.

Outside, glowing in the approaching sunset is a playground. It takes me a second to place why it seems so familiar, and I rush out of the van. A grin tugs at my lips as I find Ian's hand. "Race you to the top of the tower?"

Ian pauses for a second, disbelief flickering in his eyes for a second, but it quickly dissolves into pure joy. "Not if I get there first."

The two of us race up each other to the miniature castle and into the tower made to hold two children instead of teenagers. Ian tries to stop me. His hands tug my waist as he attempts to tug me back. I just laugh as I slip away.

Both of us make to the top at the same time. The two of us end up jamming into the tight space, laughing, and smiling like we're kids again. "How did we ever fit up here?" I ask through the growing blush as I realize there's practically no space between Ian and I. He seems to realize it too as I pull away. "I can't believe this sully castle is still here."

"Yeah, they were talking about tearing it down a few years ago, but they just restored and upgraded it."

"Am I remembering correctly? Or did we used to sneak up here with ice cream?"

Ian lets out a laugh that makes me heart jitter. "Yeah. We used to save up our allowance money for it. I'm pretty sure our parents knew, and we thought we were so clever for it."

"Oh, they definitely knew." I reply and lean back against the castle wall. "It still feels weird, you know? I forgot so much, but just seeing this brought a lot of it back. I didn't realize how much I missed it."

"Missed what?"

"Having real friends—you know, you and Barley." I look down at my hands, "I don't know if it happened before or after we moved, but people don't—they act differently around me. It's like—it's like they don't see me. Well, except for you guys."

"I've always seen you." Ian whispers so quietly I almost miss it. "Hey, we've pretty much been friends for our whole lives—except for when you moved away, but I'm always here for you."

"Same goes for you." I reply and nudge his foot. "Plus, I don't plan on leaving again. So you're stuck with me now."

"Nah. I like hanging out with you." He tells me as he tucks his hands under his arms—something I'm pretty sure is a nervous habit.

"I like hanging out with you too." I reply with a nervous grin. "Maybe next time we won't have to drive around half the city to go to a playground three blocks from your house?"

"Yeah. Barley was insistent it be a surprise."

"Wait, where is Barley? He didn't follow us up here." Ian and I look around for the other Lightfoot. It takes me a minute to find him, hunched in the driver's seat of Guinevere with a pair of binoculars. "Is—is he spying on us?"

Ian's face pales, and I pretend not to notice as he makes a stop motion to his brother behind my back. "Yeah, I think—uh—I think he doesn't want to intrude."

"We were kind of having a moment there, huh?" A soft smile tugs at my lips and my body feels all warm under Ian's hopeful gaze. There's something more to it though.

You know that feeling when you feel like you're missing or forgetting something big? That's me right now.

For some reason, I feel like there's more to our friendship than I understand. There a nagging feeling in the back of my head that my crush on Ian isn't remotely new—like it was there or developing before I left.

"I think we should keep going. Barley was talking about a whole 'plan' since we hung out after dinner."

"Well, in that case, let's keep moving." I grin at Ian and pretend the mention of Barley's plan doesn't make me nervous. Especially with him knowing about my crush on Ian, but I'm determined to enjoy the night.

I start by going down the twisting slide and laugh when Ian does the same. Barley offers me a knowing grin as we continue on the adventure that leads us all throughout town. I can't stop grinning at each little memory that's brought back to the surface.

For the first time in a long time, I don't feel like I'm being chipped away under the pressure of how other people see me. It's just me and two real friends.

By the end of the night, we end up back at the Lightfoot's. Barley whispers something to Ian as I hop out of the van. The only part of it I catch is, "This is your chance."

It makes my thoughts spiral. I start to wonder if maybe Ian does share my feelings, but it's hard to get my hopes up in case he doesn't. So, I just head inside and pretend nothing happened. "Hi, Blazey." I greet the rambunctious dragon who weaves through my feet.

The voices of Ian's mom and stepdad echo through the house to where I am. I head toward the kitchen with the plans of greeting them, but their conversation makes me stop. "I don't know about her. She's got a record, and from what I've heard, trouble seems to follow her like a shadow."

"I doubt that's true." Laurel replies, "She's a sweet girl, Colt. Not to mention, Barley and Ian have been friends with her since they were all kids."

"But she's been gone for years. People can change, and I'm not sure I want a troublemaker like her around the boys."

Tears prick at the back of my eyes. This was one of my worst nightmares, and now it's happening right in front of me. I step back, wipe my eyes, and head out of the house where Barley and Ian are leaving the van.

Ian seems to notice the change from earlier as he asks, "Y/N? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I reply with a fake grin. "I think I'm just a bit worn out. Sorry, but I—um—I think I'm just gonna head home."

"Do you want me to drive you?" Barley asks, and I shake my head.

"It's not far, so I'm just gonna walk." I offer them another forced grin. "Maybe we can hang out again soon?"

"Yeah, definitely." Ian mumbles in agreement, but I can tell he knows something's wrong. It's difficult to ignore as I turn around and start walking home.

With each step, the conversation I overheard seems to echo in my ears. I thought that maybe I had found some people who saw me as more than my reputation—as more than just trouble. Of course, Barley and Ian seem to be the only people aside from my parent's who don't without the curse's influence.

I just need to focus on them. Barley and Ian are my friends. All I can do is hope that they know or care about me enough to stick around. The chances aren't great, but a girl can still dream.

Mom and Dad both smile and greet me as I head back inside. Lucky for me, they're too wrapped up in their weekly date night to ask too many questions. I'm thankful for it as I head up to my room and collapse on my bed next to Merlin.

"It might just be you, me, and Percy here soon. You okay with that, sweet girl?" She curls up against my side and begins to purr, which I take as a 'yeah, that's fine with me.' Merlin is more of a solitary griffin, and while she likes Mom and Dad, I seem to be the only one she actively spends time with. It makes sense since I was the one who adopted her from the shelter.

Sometimes it feels like Merlin and Percy are the only ones who will never look at me differently for the trouble I've caused and mistakes I've made. There are days when even my parents look at me differently—like they're trying to find out if I'm really everything people tell them I am or if I'm still their little girl.

Honestly, it terrifies me that one day they may start believing the former—that everyone will.

The doorbell rings throughout the house, and I share a curious look with Merlin. I have no idea who would be at the door this late on a Friday night. So, I wait and listen as Mom gets it. "Oh, Ian! We weren't expecting you. Y/N's up in her room if you wanna see her."

Ian glances to me over my Mom's shoulder as he thanks her. I don't bother to sit back down. It seems pointless too now that he's seen me. My limbs feel gangly and awkward as he approaches. I wrap my arms around me in the hopes to ease the feeling and give myself some comfort.

He offers me a nervous smile that despite my fears and worries puts me at ease. "I—um—I wanted to show you what was supposed to be the last part of our adventure and to apologize."

I decide to feign ignorance. Even if I had a good idea of what's going on, I don't want to admit I overheard his parents talking about me. "Apologize for what?"

He offers me a look but says it anyway. "For what Colt said about you. He and Mom felt really bad about it after you left. Mom was already chewing him out for what he said before they realized you had heard."

"It's okay. I don't blame them for thinking or saying it." I shrug and wrap my arms tighter around myself. "Honestly, everyone does. It's nothing new for me."

"Just because it happens doesn't make it right."

"It's all part of the curse, I suppose." I shrug, and sit on my bed. Ian quickly follows suit and sets his backpack on the floor.

"What curse?" I sigh and decide to explain it all—everything that's happened since the curse started shortly after I left. The entire time, Ian just listens to the whole thing. "Wow. That sounds like a lot to deal with."

"I manage."

"Maybe there's a way to break the curse?" Ian asks. "I can ask Barley if he knows anything and do some research."

A smile tugs at my lips and against the weight in my chest. "I don't know if it'll do anything, but I'm up for trying. We might be able to do it together—you know, since we're both wizards."

"Yeah, and you still have to teach me all the cool magic you know."

"Trust me, I've already been making a list of all the cool spells I wanna show you." It's quiet between us for a long minute. "So, you said you wanted to show me something?"

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot." Ian grins widely as he reaches in his backpack. "I almost forgot about it too until my mom mentioned that we had buried a box of things as 'pirate treasure' that we wanted to come back to later. It took me a few days to find it, but I figured we should open it together now that you're back."

"You're kidding. You actually found it?" I ask him with wide eyes as he pulls out the still-dirty metal box from his backpack. "I'm pretty sure I hid my favorite toy there."

Ian and I both grin and giggle like we're little kids as we open up the box. Inside is a bunch of old toys and a couple of envelopes. I pick up the one with my name on it as Ian does the same. "This looks like my handwriting, but I don't remember writing this."

"It looks like I wrote myself one too."

I peel open the envelop and unfurl the letter. My toddler handwriting is scrawled across the page, large and uneven, and it takes me a moment to read it.

"Dear, old Y/N," it begins, "I hope we are still friends with Ian. He's a good friend, and he deserves an answer. I told Ian we can't get married until we're old. He asked if I could be his girlfriend, but that's for old people too. I'm glad I'm not a grown up yet. It sounds boring, but I'm sure you know that."

The letter continues on, but I keep going back to the mention of Ian asking me to be his girlfriend. It takes me a moment to remember it, and my cheeks burn when I do. I remember Ian making a grand proposal with a ring that he got for good behavior in class that day. Back then I thought boys were icky and things like dating and marriage was for old people like teenagers.

A part of me wonders if that's why he's always giving me that funny look. I always thought it looked like he was waiting for me to tell him something, and maybe this was it. Either way, I know what my answer would be should the question of us dating come up again.

I wouldn't even have to think about it for a split second before answering with a whole-hearted 'yes.' Only thing is, I doubt it will but that won't keep me from hoping.

A/N: Hey, guys! So i wrote a short story for a writing competition (my first one ever). Honestly, I'm super proud of how it turned out--especially for a thousand word limit, which is like a third of even my usual one-shots. It would mean the world to me if you'd check it out! The link is in my bio (because wattpad is being dumb and won't let me add it here.)