The worst

After some soundless snickering at her own actions and reaction, Rebecca was finally able to sleep. She slept for hours and hours, not even noticing Anthony getting up and getting dressed. He even managed to take a shower and order breakfast without her waking up. It wasn't until there was a knock on the door and a soft, "Roomservice" from behind the door, followed by the scent of food, that Rebecca slowly woke from her long slumber. Although if you counted the time that she had spent lying awake, staring at Anthony, they had probably slept the same amount of hours. Now that their breakfast had arrived, Anthony knew that he needed to wake Rebecca up.

He could see her moving a bit, but her eyes were still closed and it didn't seem like she was fully awake yet. He chuckled as she sat down at the edge of her bed and he gently stroked one of her cheeks as he said, "Rise and shine sleepyhead." Slowly Rebecca opened her eyes a bit, and shut them again. Repeating this process as if it were slow-motion blinking. Not fully realizing yet where she was. Thinking that Anthony's presence is in her dreams, instead of real life.

Anthony chuckled again at the sight of this dazed, and half asleep Rebecca. Finding her most endearing. He then tapped the tip of her nose before he said, "If you don't wake up, the food is going to get cold." It was only now that Rebecca realized where she was. That she wasn't in her own bed, but that she and Anthony had shared a room last night. She sat up in a startle and Anthony snickered as he said, "Finally. I was beginning to think I had to wake you princess style." Rebecca was fully distraught and in her mental confusion, from having just woken up, didn't understand Anthony's remark. So, she asked, "Princess style?"

Anthony was happy to explain, and as he removed the lids from the trays that held their breakfast, he answered, "I have read my fair share of fairytales and have read enough to know that if a maiden doesn't wake up from her slumber, it is the job of the prince to wake her with true love's kiss." This of course shocked Rebecca even more, as she envisioned Anthony kissing her, but her shock didn't last long. As it was pushed aside by a different emotion, embarrassment. Because when she imagined her being woken by a kiss from Anthony, she recalled how she usually looked when she just woke up, and it wasn't a very pretty sight. That brought her back to reality, which was accompanied with the stress of how she was looking right now.

She had been so tired after not being able to fall asleep for so long, that she had fallen asleep so deeply, without a care in the world of how she was sleeping and how she would look once she would wake up. She was certain she looked like a mess and that her hair would be resembling a birds nest more than a human's hair at this point. She frantically began running her fingers through her hair as if using them like a brush, while Anthony's back was turned to her, before forfeiting that attempt and slipping into the bathroom as she said, "I'm going to wash my face. I'll be out in a bit." The moment she closed the bathroom door, she lowered her head as she held onto the door handle and groaned from embarrassment.

She couldn't believe that she had showed this side of herself to Anthony so early into their courtship. Then she recalled Anthony's reaction, which didn't even show a trace of judgment or disgust. She began to smile as she thought about that and thought to herself, 'How sweet was he that he didn't say anything and smiled to her like he always does? All while looking so dashing himself.' Because Anthony's reaction to her morning look had been so normal, Rebecca for a second began to wonder if she hadn't looked as bad as she thought she did. So, with some fear and hesitation Rebecca approached the large bathroom mirror, anxious of what she might see, while hoping for the best. But when she glanced into the mirror, her disappointment was immediate and her fears became true. She looked just like she had thought she looked, maybe even worse. She asked herself, 'How did one night manage to turn her hair into whatever it was supposed to be now??'

While she was panicking in the bathroom, Anthony was blissfully unaware of the state his fiancé was in. He found her adorable no matter how she looked, and to him even when her hair was a mess, it was a 'cute' mess. So, he hadn't minded her morning look at all, and was enjoying seeing these sides of her he hadn't seen before. Her half asleep state, her struggling to wake up, her startled bunny face when she realized it was him. He loved it all.

Like the innocent soul that he was, he softly knocked on the door and asked, "Are you almost done? Just wash your face and come out, okay? I ordered you waffles since I know you like them so much, and I would hate for them to get cold before you can eat them." Rebecca looked at herself in the mirror once more as she leaned on the sink counter. Then she let out a soft sigh and said, "That sounds wonderful. I'll be out in just a second!" She splashed a few hands of water in her face, ran her fingers through her hair once more and stepped out. Still feeling a bit self-conscious and nervous, but ready to take this step with Anthony. After all, he had seen the worst and smiled, it could only get better from here.