A Rose by Any Other Name

A Rose by Any Other Name is a fanfiction written by Little Anonymous Darling.

Cast

 * Hopper Croakington II - the main character of the story.
 * Briar Beauty - is mentioned throughout the story, makes an appearance near the end.

Summary
Hopper should've thought twice before thinking that he'd ever have a chance with the Beauty that was Briar...

Tags / Genre

 * Romance
 * Humor

Story
"Met a girl with a graceful charm, but when beauty met the beast - he froze, Got the sense I was not her type by black eye and bloody nose, But I guess that's the way it goes...

Tell me again, was it love at first sight, when I walked by and you caught my eye? Didn't you know love could shine this bright? Well, smile because you're the deer in the headlights!

It's suffocating to say, but the female mystique takes my breath away. So give me a smile or give me a sneer, 'cause I'm trying to guess here..."

- Owl City, Deer in The Headlights

If there was a more fitting last name for the flawless Princess known as Briar Rose Beauty, it would have a lot to compete with. That flawless smile, sparkling mauve eyes, charming giggle and wonderful lively personality - 'Beauty' was certainly the only perfect finishing to such a beautiful name for a pretty girl.

...However, compared to her, Hopper was just a piece of slime and muck. Literally.

How could he ever compare to a Princess?

Granted, he was a Prince, of sorts, but never one that was worthy of any gawking over, such as the Charmings.

He could only remain as a Prince for so long, with the kiss of a fair maiden, but unfortunately, none of the girls at Ever After High fit the bill to break his spell to give him enough time to woo over the future Sleeping Beauty. Sometimes, Hopper considered the fact that Briar was the only one who could disarm the curse - with True Love's kiss.

But then again, believing something as foolish as that was just a lost cause.

And so, there he sat, on the desk, in his amphibian form, bestowing his gaze over the weary Princess his heart had longed for ever since his first few days at school - and now, here, it was, the year of Legacy Day...

He still hadn't caught her attention.

Countless attempts at asking her to school dances, or even just the smallest of glances, but it never worked. She had always thought of him as nothing but what he really was - on the outside, anyway - and that was a slippery, slimy frog that belonged in the bogs of the Enchanted Forest.

He would wait... and wait... and wait.

That was how his story would go.

He'd sit in the swamp for who knows how long, and soon, a girl would free him of his curse with a kiss. He'd be normal.

...but a small part of him didn't want to go through with the story, not if it meant Briar wouldn't be the Princess kissing him.

Oh, how he had yearned to know what it would be like to have a girl like her know a boy like him.

But his charms and romantic words only worked when he was in his animalistic form. What a cruel, cruel twist. Otherwise, he was just an awkward, dorky, desperate teenage Prince with a hopeless and useless crush that would never happen.

Although... maybe... just maybe, somehow, someway...

Without even bothering to think twice, he leaned forward, his slimy, sticky frog lips leaning forward to place just the smallest of kisses on her cheek, maybe just that would suffice...

However, the bell rang - which obviously awoke the sleeping Beauty, and it caused her to shriek loudly, lifting up her thick Princess-o-logy textbook and slamming it onto him rapidly, knocking him off of the desk and flattened like a bug.

"Hopper?" Briar said slowly, peeking over the desk to notice the frog lying on the tile floor. "Seriously?" She made a disgusted scowl at the sight of the smushed amphibian and wrinkled her nose. "Desperate much?"

Hopper let out a chuckle, and raised a flipper, about to recite words of romantic lore to her, however... she walked off.

Without another word or a second glance.

I bid you adieu, my Sleeping Beauty, he thought mournfully. but someday, somehow, I'll be your Prince.