"I HATE shopping Rapunzel," Merida groaned as they walked through the bustling shopping centre. "I thought I warned you about this?!"

"Oh come on!" Rapunzel said excitedly, "You'll really enjoy it!" Merida gave Rapunzel a look that said - bitch please?

"What do you seein it?" Merida moaned as she scuffed her red converse along the floor. "It's so DULL!"

"We're here to get you a dress and some shoes," Rapunzel stated firmly. "That's it. Then we'll go home. I promise."

"Good."

They went in shop after shop, Merida getting more annoyed by the second. Eventually there was just one left.

"This had better be it," Merida glared into the shop windows. It was definitely better than the majority of the other shops they had visited, and they weren't too girly either.

"If we can't find anything," Rapunzel sighed, "you'll have to wear one of mine."

"No way! Your dresses are all pink!"

"Exactly. We have to find one."

They walked inside and they were astonished by how many dresses you could fit on one rack. It turned out to be quite a lot. The pair of them instantly began searching, picking out colours and trying to find something, anything, that Merida would be prepared to wear.

It felt like all hope was lost, when Merida saw a dark navy dress right at the back of a rail. She plucked it out and was greeted with a real find. The dress was fitted, but wouldn't hurt her to wear. It didn't have any lace, frills or sparkles, it was decorated with a simple golden belt with a broach in the shape of a bear.

"Punzie!" Merida called. "I've found something!"

Rapunzel came running over immediately, and she squealed when she saw the dress.

"It's perfect Merida! What size is it..?" She checked the label and smiled as she realised it was in exactly Merida's size. "It's going to look gorgeous! Go try it on!"

Merida went grudgingly to the changing rooms and pulled the dress on. She looked at herself in the mirror and was genuinely astonished by how well it fitted her figure. It was nice and long, trailing to the floor, and it was comfortable. The silk glided over her skin and made her feel almost royal. She stepped out of the changing room for Rapunzel to see.

"Well?" Merida asked, nervous.

"Mer," Rapunzel said slowly, "Hiccup is gonna go CRAZY when he sees you!"

"Really?"

"Meri, it's stunning!"

"Shall I buy it then?"

"If you don't I'll buy it for you and force you to wear it."

"Fine!"

They left the shop happy, and very soon they selected a pair of midnight blue heels to go with it. Merida was starting to believe that maybe shopping wasn't as bad as she made it out to be.

The next day was the day of the dance. They had to get there by 6, and that meant Rapunzel was insisting that Merida come over to get ready at 1.

"Five hours?"

"Maybe six? I don't know if it's long enough -"

"Of course it's bloody long enough!"

"Calm down!"

"I can't!"

"Hiccup on your mind?"

"No!"

"Hiccup's on your mind."

"Oh shut up."

"Just come over at one, OK? We can calm our nerves."

"With alcohol?!"

"No you idiot! We're underage!"

"Ugh. I'll be there at one."

Merida arrived at Rapunzel's house slightly late, and Rapunzel was running around like it was the most important thing in the world.

"Calm down!" Merida yelled. "I'm only half an hour out!"

"That's half and hour lost!" Rapunzel panicked. Merida dragged her bags up to Rapunzel's room and they changed into their new dresses, (Rapunzel had bought hers ages ago as soon as the notice was put up.) That in itself took at least an hour, adjusting everything and trying to figure what shoes Rapunzel was going to wear. This meant for the majority of the time Merida was slumped over the bed, bored as hell.

"Merida," Rapunzel picked up two pairs of shoes, "pink or purple?"

"Whatever you want!"

"Not very helpful."

"Don't ask me then! I'm terrible with fashion!"

"Don't we know it."

"Come on, can we at least get hair done?"

"We'll do that later."

"Well what do we do now?"

"Duh, jewelry!"

Rapunzel brought out a box that was full of necklaces, earrings and bracelets.

"Um," Merida started, "I brought my own..."

She pulled out a dark blue, simple, beaded necklace and some golden earrings in the shape of arrows. Rapunzel nodded her approval.

"They're pretty, but can you PLEASE help me choose?"

"Ugh - fine!"

Merida rifled through the box until she found a pair of earrings in the shape of golden suns and a matching necklace.

"What about these?"

Rapunzel stared at them.

"I never knew I had these! They're gorgeous!"

They finished preparing their hair (a simple plait for Rapunzel and a messy bun for Merida) and realised they only had one hour left. Rapunzel squealed when she realised they hadn't done makeup yet.

"Merida! Get here now!"

"What?"

"I'm going to do your makeup."

"Rapunzel, no -"

"If you let me then I'll do your maths homework for two weeks."

"Fine."

"But you can't struggle."

"Fine! Just do it!"

Rapunzel spent a full half hour on Merida's face, erasing any blemishes she had and applying dark eye shadow to match her dress. Her lipstick was a shade redder than her lips were so it made them stand out ever so slightly, and her eye lashes had a small amount of mascara that made her eyes look very slightly brighter.

"Done!"

Merida looked in the mirror and for once, she was glad that someone had used makeup on her. Her mother had tried several times before and the results had always been catastrophic. Rapunzel seemed to understand Merida's want to be minimalist, and she'd applied this very well.

"Punzie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You don't hate it?"

"No. It's actually pretty good."

"Woah. That's a real compliment from you!"

"I aim to please!"

Rapunzel grinned and did her own. She had hers done quicker because she was more used to it. Her cheeks more of a blush and her lips were slightly pinker. Her eyeshadow was deep purple which made her bright green eyes stand out even more.

"It's six o clock!"

"They should be here any minute!"

They had booked a joint taxi with Hiccup and Jack, but they hadn't turned up yet. The pair of them were starting to panic when they heard a car hoot from outside.

"... Oh God."

"It's them."

"Has my mascara smudged?"

"Who even cares?"

"I care!"

"We have to go!"

Rapunzel flung the mascara into her purse and they descended the stairs and left the house. Hiccup and Jack were waiting outside for them, talking quietly. They were both wearing identical black tuxedos, making them look ridiculously handsome. They turned and saw Merida and Rapunzel, and both their jaw bones dropped simultaneously.

A/N Sorry for the cliffhanger! This is a pretty short story so it'll all be finished in the next chapter. I've really enjoyed writing this!!