CHAPTER FIVE
( A PRINCESS )

     CARMEN SITS UP on the bed. Looking around the unfamiliar room, she notices a clean pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt laying on the nightstand, along with a small note. She rubs her eyes, yawning dramatically as she rolls from Zach's bed, and picks up the small note.

'-Zach,' it read in cursive print. Carmen shrugs, slipping into the clothes without a second thought. They were baggy, but comfortable at that. She then proceeds to tie her hair into a messy bun, before exiting the room. She descends down the light hall, following the sound of voices.

"It's because Carmen is here," Corbyn says, confusing Carmen as the next sentence is muffled from the other room.

She steps inside, catching the attention of Aurora, Jonah, Corbyn, and Zach.

"What about me?" She asks, glancing around at the others.

"First of all, Caramel, how are you even functioning properly without coffee?" Aurora raises an eyebrow. "Why are you up so early?"

"I'm surprisingly a morning person," Carmen replies softly, sitting down at the dining table with a smile.

"That's stupid," Aurora comments. "Don't you need some coffee to keep you awake?"

Carmen shakes her head, looking at Zach for a short moment. He doesn't notice, though, as he's too busy staring at her. She looked beautiful, he thought, even without trying. Her heavenly voice sent chills down his spine, and he couldn't help but keep his eyes glued on her with a smile, especially seeing how gorgeous she looked in his clothes.

Corbyn nudges Jonah and Aurora in acknowledgement, nodding in the direction of Zach. With a smirk, Aurora grabs her coffee, before skipping up the stairs joyfully with Carmen in tow.

---

"I'm a princess," Aurora states, marching into the room while flaunting her new Disney dress. "Bow down, peasants."

Daniel bows down dramatically with a grin, before plopping down on a chair. Carmen follows closely behind her, small giggles leaving her lips as she prances. Callie's eyes widen at the sight of Aurora's small Cinderella dress.

"I thought you were joking," She murmers.

"Nope," Carmen confirms. "We were completely serious."

Aurora gasps, twirling around to face Jonah. "We were," She pauses, winking. "Dead Sirius."

Jonah shakes his head disapprovingly as Carmen sighs. Jack takes his chance to step into the room, interested in the conversation.

"So what do you guys want to do today?" He asks, placing himself on the floor in front of the chair Callie sits in.

"Well, we can do anything except go to the mall," Carmen tells him, sending a glance to Aurora. "Aurora and I are currently banned."

Aurora then gasps, a light bulb flashing in her head. "We should go to Ikea."

Not waiting for a response from any of the others, she grabs the hands of Carmen and Callie, before dragging them up the stairs. Behind them, Zach muttered something that sounded like, "Here we go again."

"So why Ikea?" Callie questions, nearly tripping over the last stair.

"Because my six month ban is over," Aurora replies, pulling the two into Jonah's room, then closing the door behind them.

Neither Callie or Carmen were surprised as she finished her sentence, before dumping her bags on the floor. She sifted through the clothes and makeup, before looking up at the girls.

"I literally packed my house. Help yourselves to any of this stuff."

Grabbing her bag that had been sat outside in the hallway, Carmen dumps her bag on the floor, too, joining Aurora. By this time, most of the floor was covered in shoes, tops, jeans, makeup, and everything else they had managed to fit in their bags.

"Come, Callie," Carmen motions to the floor, looking expectant. "Join the clothing cult."

Callie rolled her eyes at their ridiculousness, but, nonetheless, joined them with a wide grin on her lips.

---

Nearly twenty minutes later, the three had finally made their way out of the room. None of the three girls had any sight of Jonah, Zach, or Jack. Carmen narrowed her eyes at the living room, expecting a prank.

She pokes Callie's are, gesturing to the empty room.

"Where are-?"

Carmen's sentence is cut off as the three boys jump out from the staircase, Jonah blaring Aurora's air horn as they did so. Screaming, Carmen trips over the last stair. But before she hits the ground, Zach's familiar arms wrap around her waist, and he smiles down at her once again.

He helps her stand, only for her to glare at him. The girl's heart pounds in her chest- for both the scare, and the feeling of Zach's arms around her. Carmen's cheeks flare at the new conversation sparking.

"Aww," Callie coos. "She fell for him."

"That's what I said the first time I heard about that!" Aurora exclaims, high-fiving Callie. Then, Aurora turns around, before yelling, "TRUST FALL!"

Falling backwards off the top step, expecting to land in the arms of Jonah, Aurora hits the hard floor with a thump. Carmen giggles, catching Zach's attention, like usual. Not moving, the girl looks up at Jonah.

"You were supposed to catch me, Marais," Aurora chastised with a joking scowl.

Jonah, still grinning, shrugs his shoulders. "Oops. Come on," He extends his hand, making Aurora shake her hand stubbornly. "Aren't you ready to go?"

Carmen smiles as she sees Jack step to Callie's side, sharing a look with her.

Ignoring the question, Aurora serenades him. "If I lay here. If I just lay here, would you lay with me and just forget the world?"

"If you get up now, I'll give you a piggy back ride," Jonah offers, still holding out his hand.

When she refuses, he drops his hand, still looking down at her. Jack, who now had Callie on his back- something that Carmen didn't notice- was becoming impatient.

"If you can't get the girl out the door, I will," He says, shifting his weight, and adjusting Callie.

Without saying another word, he maneuvered around Carmen, Zach, and Jonah, before grabbing one of Aurora's hands, and dragging her body out the front door. Watching amusedly, Jonah chuckles, glancing at Zach and Carmen.

"Well, that's one way to do it."

---

Carmen focuses on the store in front of her, looking around with Zach close by her side. Aurora links arms with Jonah, smiling brightly as she waves sarcastically at the manager of Ikea. He scowls in responce.

Once the six of them were all safely gathered at the entrance, Aurora let go of Jonah, sprinting into a random aisle. "TO NARNIA!"

"I want to come, too!" Carmen yells, chasing after her, leaving Zach alone.

"Don't leave me behind!" Callie says, following quickly after them.

Coming to a stop in order to allow them to catch up, Aurora hears the boys' continued chat.

"I suggest keeping a safe distance, but don't let them out of you right," Jonah says to them.

When the other girls join Aurora, she continued to walk, looking around for a specific shelf. When finding it, she snatches the girls from sight, then disappears behind rolls of packaged toilet paper. Shrugging, Carmen joins with Callie behind her.

"Have you guys ever made a toilet paper fort?" Aurora questions in a whisper, hoping the boys wouldn't hear her.

They shake their heads, causing a smirk to grow onto her face. "Then you shall learn from the master. But be quiet, I don't want the boys to find us."

Aurora then proceeds to direct Carmen and Callie to the sides of the bottom shelf, showing them how to stack the packages so that no one would notice, or be able to see them. But through the chaos of mutters, Zach, Jack, and Jonah had managed to find them.

Despite the fact that they knew where the girls were, they walked in the opposite direction, mischievous looks plastered on their faces.

"If they find us, I want you to take them down," Aurora states, pulling a bottle of black paint from her purse. "Got it? Tackle if you have to."

She smudges the paint in a stripe under both of her eyes, before doing the same to Carmen and Callie. Carmen didn't react, too interested in how she could possibly have the idea to put paint in her bag for any occasion.

Hearing footsteps from outside the fort, Aurora narrows her eyes, peeking through one of their peepholes.

"Aurora!" Jonah calls from outside, hiding his hands behind his back like Jack and Zach. "You're going to get all of us banned if you three keep this up."

"That's the plan!" She calls back, Carmen and Callie snickering beside her.

"Can you at least let us enter the fort?" Jack asks.

"No boys allowed," Callie giggles.

Joining Aurora at the peephole, Carmen furrows her eyebrows in suspicion. Looking at her, Aurora notices her suspicion.

"They're up to something," She comments, seeing as there was no reply.

With a loud war cry, Zach comes barreling through the fort's wall, spraying silly string all over Carmen. She lets out a loud screech as he continues to empty the can. Jonah and Jack barge through the entryway, both shooting large nerf guns.

With a screech, Aurora begins throwing packages of toilet paper in retaliation, and flailing her legs around. Carmen then made a quick decision, tackling Zach into a huge bin of stuffed animals.

Aurora was swept off her feet, before being thrown into a bin of animals next to Zach and Carmen. Carmen giggles, looking down at Zach, who is laying below her in the bin. He smiles boyishly at her, removing a strand of hair from her eyes, and placing in behind her ear.

The moment is cut short, though, as a loud voice interrupts the current yells of war.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" An unfamiliar voice roars, making Aurora's head pop up from the bin of animals, and averting the attention of Zach and Carmen. "I WANT ALL OF YOU OUT NOW!"

The Ikea manager's face is beet red, his anger evident in his expression.

"Don't be such a Malfoy, Luke," Aurora says sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "We were just having a little fun."

His notrils flared, and his face grew impossibly more red. "I will call security on you. Again."

"Is that a promise?"

---

"I don't know about you guys, but I had fun getting carried out by the security guards," Aurora says, leaning into Jonah as the six make their way into the Why Don't We house.

Jack gives her a weird look. "You're crazier than I thought."

"I take that as a compliment, Poodle," She replies, earning a chuckle from bother Zach and Carmen.

The second the door was closed behind them, a blond- that wasn't Corbyn- ran at them full-speed from the hallway.

"IT'S MA BOIS!"

_____