"Rapunzel, please it's not going to work," Merida told Rapunzel, as her friend struggled getting the video to upload on her phone. 

"Trust me Merida this girl has hair just like yours! It'll work if I can just get the wifi to work," Rapunzel said, as she continued to wait in anticipation. 

It was their homecoming dance and Merida had promised Rapunzel she could style her hair...as long as no straightening irons were involved. Merida's hair was always a bit tricky but the redhead had grown to appreciate her curls...she just did not know how to do many styles besides wearing it down, or half up, or in a ponytail. 

"Okay so first I have to part your hair into sections," Rapunzel stated, 

Merida could feel Rapunzel separating her hair, it felt actually pretty nice. Rapunzel was a lot gentler than her mother when it came to her hair. It seemed her mother only knew how to roughly brush it into submission but then her hair would look like she was struck by lightening. 

"Okay now I know we said no straightening irons, but could I use a curling wand?" 

Merida was confused, why would she need a curling wand? "Uh..Rapunzel, I think my hair is curly enough don't you think?" 

"It is but the video says it adds a more stylized curl, since I've been touching your hair dry your curl pattern is a little disrupted," Rapunzel said confidently, 

To be honest Merida was scared of getting burned. It had happened once before with her mother and had installed a sense of fear of having her hair ironed. However, she knew Rapunzel was trying her best, and she only had a couple of strands to do...but they all framed her face and that's what Merida was worried about. Having that hot burning iron inches from her face. 

"How do you sound like you know more about curly hair then I do?" Merida laughed nervously, 

"Well I have done my research...now curling wand or no?" 

"Fine, just don't burn my ear or I swear I'll never let you near me with one of those again," 

Rapunzel smiled and plugged in her curling wand. It was pink and purple and looked like a unicorn horn Merida thought. 

Rapunzel took a couple of wispy strands she had left out of the hair do and began to wrap it around the wand. Merida could feel the heat radiating out and near her skin. She tensed up worried that she might get burned if she were even to breathe the wrong way. 

Rapunzel saw her friend's discomfort and slowly unwrapped the hair. Rapunzel had never seen Merida so tense before. 

Rapunzel then immediately unplugged the curling wand and set down on the side table. 

"What are you doing?" Merida asked, 

"I have another idea..." 

Rapunzel left the room and returned with a bowl of water and a tube of hair gel. "Another way to help the curl pattern is to get it wet and put some gel in there..no heat required!" 

Merida smiled at her friend's thoughtfulness and instantly relaxed knowing she would not have to deal with any more irons.

Rapunzel dipped her hands into the water and carefully wet all the loose hairs that surrounded Merida's face. She then put barely a drop of gel on her finger tips and applied it to the wet hairs. 

"There when it's dry they will be perfectly bouncy!" Rapunzel said, " Ready to take a look?" 

Merida nodded and Rapunzel handed her a hand mirror. Merida gazed at her reflection and smiled. Her hair was in an elegant side swept style. Her sides looked like they were french or dutch braided somehow. Her loose baby hairs framed her face nicely. Rapunzel had done a wonderful job and most importantly...Merida still felt like herself. Rapunzel always had a way of doing those things. 

Merida felt the tears cascading down her cheeks, she had to be dreaming. She had not heard that voice in a long time. She was tired from work, maybe she hallucinated it in a weak moment. 

"Merida are you there?" she heard the voice say again. 

Merida looked down at her phone on the floor. This has to be a sick joke she thought. She breathed through the weight that had attached itself to her chest. She could hear Rapunzel's last words to her before she died,

 "I'll tell him... just let me tell him..I'll tell you how it went after," 

"Merida! Please pick up!" the voice said, 

Merida broke out of her trance and bent down to pick up the phone. 

"Who is this?" Merida gritted through her tears and her teeth, 

"It's Rapunzel Mer, I know this can come as kind of a surprise but I needed to get a hold of you," 

"Whoever you are...this is a really sick thing to do to a person," Merida cried and ended the call. 

She broke down onto the floor and began sobbing violently. All her emotions from that night came flooding back, the sirens, the hospital, the funeral, graduation night. She could feel every emotions throughout her body. It was all too much, the room that surrounded her became blank and blurry like a sand storm. She felt like she could not breathe, like there was not enough oxygen in the world that could fill her lungs. 

*ring ring* 

The phone's ringtone snapped her out of her descent. She stared at the same New York number. 

She felt her body grow cold at the thought of answering it. She could not do it..but what if this was her only chance. Merida felt like she was losing her mind. She could not think straight with all these thoughts racing around her head meanwhile her emotions were at an all time high. 

"Okay, okay, you are going to answer it, and ask what it wants, then you are calling Angus," she comforted herself, 

Merida took the phone back in her hands and pressed the receiver button. 

"Mer.. I'm so sorry I did not mean to frighten you, I feel like all I am doing is hurting you all more," the voice said. 

"What do you want?" Merida asked angrily, 

"You need to call Jack and Hiccup, you have to come back together," 

"How do  you know them? Did Jack put you up to this? Is that it?" Merida yelled, 

"No he doesn't even know I'm calling!!! Merida it's me it's Rapunzel I am using Jack's phone, but he doesn't-" 

"I knew it! You tell him that if he ever calls me again I will get a restraining order against him! This is not funny, it's cruel, and I just I just.." Merida could not finish her sentence. Her emotions were taking over again, " He was supposed...to be...my ...friend...why why is he still making me feel guilty after all.....these years," Merida cried and hung up the phone. 

She sobbed into her floor wishing she had never gotten out of bed. 

Author's Note: Suuuuper sad chapter I know, but it is important to the plot! Hope you all are doing well and please comment and vote!

-Firegirl