Aqua was going home from a sleepover at Varian's house when she saw her parents and a crowd standing around her father's statue.

"Dad, what's going on?" Aqua asked as she walked over before seeing what had been done to the statue. "Again? How is it possible for a king to be this immature?"

"Darling, you know how Trevor is," Arianna said as she looked at Aqua.

"He's rude, disrespectful, obnoxious, and clearly he's got a screw loose," she grumbled.

"Be respectful, dear. We have to be the bigger people. Now go back to the palace. You received a gift from Elsa that is waiting for you in your room," Arianna said and she gasped.

"Really?!"

Arianna nodded and Aquaria darted to her room excitedly.

She saw the box on her bed and she smiled brightly before opening it. There was a letter and she read.

'Dear Aquaria,
Anna and I have missed you since the coronation. Everything you told me so many years ago was right. Thank you. I also remember you talking a lot about your friend Varian during the coronation. It is obvious that he means more to you than you let on. I spoke with Anna and she gave me some advice so I asked your mother for your measurements to have a dress made for you. I personally don't think you need to do anything more, but Anna says that you should show off. Though I know you aren't one to wear a glamorous dress when you don't have to so I had another dress made for you. It should fit you and I just know that you will look gorgeous in it. There's one last outfit for you as well since I know winter is approaching. I hope to see you again soon, Aqua.
~Elsa
Oh and Anna says good luck with Varian.

Aqua blushed, but smiled brightly. She took out the three outfits. She tried on the first one and it was so beautiful. It was ocean blue with gems scattered on the top portion, there were no shoulders but the sleeves were long. The dress stopped at the ground and there was a long train with water droplet-shaped sewn in. It was flowy and breathable. She absolutely loved it, but a dress like that was meant for special occasions.

She pulled out another one and it was the one for wintertime. She tried it on and it fit her perfectly, the skirt of the dress stopped half was down her shins. The bottom of the dress was a beautiful cobalt blue with some patterns near the hem of the dress. There was a band of dark red at her stomach and the top was mostly black with a light blue fabric by her neck. There was a jacket that matched the cobalt shade on the skirt of the dress. There was a pair of cobalt blue tights to go with it.

The last dress she pulled out was just like the dress Anna was wearing the day Elsa came home, but it was blue instead of green. She had told Anna that she loved the dress so it made her smile to have her own version.

"I'm definitely wearing this to the Science Expo!" She loved the way it looked on her and hoped Varian would like it too.

"So what was in the package, darling?" Arianna walked in and Aqua turned to her. "You look beautiful in that dress, Aqua. Is that what Elsa wanted your measurements for?"

"Yeah! I love it so much! I'm gonna wear it to the Expo on Saturday!"

"I'm glad you love it. So, how was your sleepover with Varian?" Arianna asked curiously.

"It was great! We finished fixing up the lab and we had a lot of fun!"

"I'm glad you had fun, darling." Arianna hugged Aqua with a smile.

💧

Aqua smiled as she let her hair stay down instead of putting it into a ponytail or braids.

'I'm gonna get to spend the day with Varian here on the island! This is so exciting! It's the first time I get to take him around the city! Normally we're stuck in the palace at my birthday party!'

She looked at herself in the mirror. She wanted to look her best so she could make Varian think she was pretty, she also found it fun to wear cute dresses sometimes, not all the time.

'I can't wait to see what he built! I'm gonna see if he needs help at all with setting up his invention!'

She ran out and went to find Varian. She looked all over the Expo grounds but couldn't find him. She frowned, but decided to check the palace to see if maybe he had gone looking for her.

She saw her mom and smiled. "Mom!"

"Aqua, what is it?" Arianna turned to her daughter.

"Have you seen Varian? I can't find him and we were supposed to meet up before the Expo," Aqua said and Arianna nodded.

"He was helping Cassandra with some stuff last I saw. I don't know where they are now though."

"Oh, thanks mom," Aqua said before running to find the two.

She looked around the palace until she saw Varian and Cass.

"Varian! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" She ran over and Varian gulped as his cheeks flushed.

'Oh, wow... she looks great! She always looks beautiful but wow...' Varian stared at her without meaning to as he thought about her.

"Uh, Varian?" Aqua waved her hand in his face and he shook his head.

"Aqua! Hey! Um, I'm kinda busy right now," he said quickly and Aqua frowned.

"But we were supposed to go see the city..."

"I'm sorry, but I told Cass I'd help her finish her chores," Varian said and she nodded.

"I understand. I-I'll see you later," she said softly before she walked away.

Varian felt bad, but he wanted Cass to be his assistant so his presentation would go smoothly and Aquaria could see him win.

Aqua felt hurt, but she just brushed it aside. "I can talk to him later... maybe I can still help him with setting up..."

After hours of wandering the halls, she ran into Varian.

"Hey, Aqua, I thought you'd be out at the Expo by now. The presentations start soon," Varian said as he smiled.

"Oh, I didn't realize it was that time already. Can I help you with setting up or do you need me to help you with your presentation at all?" She asked hopefully.

"Thank you but Cassandra is helping me with my presentation. She's my assistant. I've gotta go so I can set up. I'll see you at the Expo!" He ran to go set up and Aquaria watched him leave.

"But I'm always your assistant..." She walked outside to go see the presentations, putting a smile on her face to hide how hurt she was.

He blew off their plans so he could help Cass and now she felt like she was being replaced. She breathed and shook her head, going out to the Expo. She still wanted to support her best friend.

As the presentations started, Aquaria noticed that Cass was guarding Dr. Alcott St. Croix. She was confused since Varian said Cass was his assistant.

When Varian stepped out she looked up with a smile. She wanted to see what he made. He was still her best friend and she wanted him to be successful, but when Shorty came out as his assistant, she felt a sting in her heart.

"I give you, the elemental remogrifier," Varian announced as Shorty pulled back the curtain. Everyone gasped and cheered. Aqua couldn't help, but smile and clap with everyone, she truly was excited.

"Assistant," Varian looked at Shorty who then dumped sand into the machine. "Here we go," he murmured as he glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Aquaria watching excitedly. He turned the machine on and smiled as it started to spin.

"The rotation causes friction which heats the sand while the counter-centrifugal force promotes particle compression!" He said over the machine. "The end result?" He shut off the machine. "Fifty pounds of sand turns into... this."

The crowd gasped as he pulled out a purple gem.

"I call this new element... Cassandrium," Varian said and he glanced at Cassandra.

Aquaria's heart clenched as she saw him look at Cassandra. Her heart was in pain after Varian ditched their plans to help Cassandra, asked Cassandra to be his assistant instead of her, but Aquaria assumed Cass had been assigned to guard duty afterward, but he didn't even ask her to help him, he asked Shorty, and then he named the new element after Cassandra. She wanted to cry, feeling so helpless, but she hid it with a smile.

She had hoped that he would return her feelings, but now she felt like she had no chance. She knew that Cassandra was much older than her and Varian, but it hurt her that Varian seemed to have a crush on Cassandra. Why else would he ditch her for Cass? He had never ditched their plans before, especially plans that he made. She had been so excited when Varian asked her if they could hang out before the Expo but he was the one who blew her off.

Out of no where, Shorty fell backward and suddenly a knife was launched at Dr. St. Croix's nose before Cassandra caught it just in the nick of time.

"Despite its lack of flair and panache, I was almost inclined to give your device a mediocre assessment," Dr. St. Croix started.

"Flair? What does that have to do with-"

"However," Dr. St. Croix cut Varian off. "Considering your assistant nearly lanced my naval cavity, I've no choice but to disqualify you."

Varian slumped and looked at where Aquaria had been, but she wasn't there.

Aquaria ran away from the Expo, not being able to hold her tears back.

"Today was gonna be perfect... I was gonna take him to Uncle Monty's and we were gonna get lunch and... I can't believe he ditched me... he chose Cassandra and Shorty over me..."

"Squirt?" Eugene stopped her, having gone after her when she ran away from the presentations. He frowned when he saw her tears. "Hey, hey, what's wrong, Aqua? You just ran away during Varian's presentation."

"I-I... I was gonna take Varian to see the city... we were gonna go to Uncle Monty's for sweets, get some lunch, go to Xavier's, and go to some of the shops before the Expo... b-but he ditched me for Cassandra... then he told me that Cassandra was gonna be his assistant for his presentation, but I guess she was assigned to guard duty so he asked Shorty to be his assistant instead of asking me... then he named his new element after Cass and... I... it hurts..." She cried into his chest and he rubbed her back.

"Aw, kid..." Eugene frowned, hating to see his girlfriend's sister cry.

"I just... he's my best friend... I thought I could impress him and make him happy today, but I guess not..."

Rapunzel ran over. "Aqua! What's wrong?!" She immediately hugged her sister tight.

"It's nothing... I've just had a really bad day..." She didn't want to admit that she liked Varian, mostly because Eugene was a loudmouth who would tell Varian immediately.

Eugene was about to say something before a vortex formed in the sky.

"Come on!" Rapunzel said immediately but a guard grabbed Aqua.

"Stay back, princess. It's too dangerous for you to go near that thing," the guard who grabbed her said.

"No! Varian's there! I need to help him!" She struggled to get away, but managed to slip out of his grasp after a few minutes. She ran back to the Expo where the vortex was and she saw that they were already starting to break the vortex. She watched as the vortex dissipated.

Her eyes landed on Varian as he picked up the Cassandrium crystal. She saw him put it on a necklace and Cass walked over to him. Aqua watched as Cassandra put the ribbon on Varian's chest and Varian gave her the necklace.

She couldn't watch it anymore. It hurt more than she thought it would. She went to the garden and curled up on one of the benches as she started to cry. She felt so pathetic, but her heart was hurting so much.

🧪

Varian smiled as he was about to help clean up, but he still didn't see Aqua and he was worried.

"Cass, I need to go find Aqua. I'll help clean this all up once I find her," Varian said with worry.

"I understand. Go find her," Cassandra said with a smile.

Varian ran off to find where his best friend had gone. He checked her room and she wasn't there, but when he checked her balcony, he saw her down in the garden curled up on a bench.

"What is she doing?"