Princess Anastasia.

That was the only thing written on the note Ana had received from the waiter. Only two words and six syllables.

It felt as though her heart had stopped.

She suddenly felt sick to her stomach, a wave of nausea rolling over her as she glanced at where their waiter was gesturing.

There was a couple sat inside not too far from their own table, although she couldn't pinpoint exact features through the slim opening of the doorway. But then the employee left once more, causing the door to fall closed and obstructing her view of the table.

"I'll be right back." Ana wondered if her roommates were even able to hear her; her voice felt so small, so meek in comparison to how she usually spoke.

She tried to smile at the small group, although it was nowhere near as genuine as she wanted it to be. "Feel free to order for me if I don't make it back in time." She hardly trusted their taste in food but she had more important things to be concerned about.

Ana stood from her seat - unsteady and stumbling slightly in her heels - before making her way to the door. She pulled it open only slowly, trying to catch a glimpse of the couple's faces but failing miserably.

She sighed, mentally steeling herself and habitually straightening her posture as she walked back into the main part of the restaurant. At the sound of her footsteps in the otherwise quiet room, the couple's heads turned in her direction.

The Princess gasped upon realizing who they were.

"Cousins," she exclaimed with a grin. "It's been too long."

Both of her older cousins stood to meet Ana halfway. "It has," Renata agreed. She was the eldest cousin, almost ten years older than Anastasia herself.

"Your sister informed us of your plan," Augustus's tone was hushed. "Have you gone insane?" The princess laughed, sidestepping his form to sit at a free seat at their rather large table.

"Maybe," she shrugged.

"You absolutely have," Renata giggled as she sat across from Ana.

"So what's it like?"

"Always so curious, August." Ana gave him a look, eyebrow raised and a mischievous grin spread across her lips.

"Can you blame us?" The older cousin gushed as she practically bounced in her seat. "You get to go to college! I can't imagine that our parents would ever let us do something so reckless." Practically all of Ana's relatives were royals of some sort; Renata and Augustus were the children of a duke and duchess.

Their parents were much stricter than Ana's own.

"You have to tell us absolutely everything," Augustus demanded.

~~~

The princess told her cousins about as much as she could; explaining every detail from the dorm room and her classes to Mason and his ridiculous antics. They both consecutively decided that she had to continue the small prank war as long as he did.

Without even realizing, she had spent roughly half an hour talking to them and had to leave abruptly when she remembered that she was supposed to be here with her roommates. She promised to update them on her situation as much as possible.

"He's a lightweight." Ana was pulled out of her thoughts by Josh's voice, who nodded in Mason's direction when she glanced at him.

She turned to look at the man he was gesturing to, who was currently laughing to himself after dropping another forkful of pasta on his lap. Luckily she had thought ahead and placed the cloth napkin on his legs so his jeans wouldn't get dirty.

She sighed as she tugged the sleeves of her borrowed sweatshirt over her fingers. It was startlingly chilly out that night and the breeze made her all the more cold. She truly did appreciate Mason's thoughtfulness, although she wasn't sure if she could consider it that when he most likely hadn't been thinking when he gave it to her.

They had been served their food not too long ago, and it appeared that they all thought to order the same dish as each plate was filled with the same sort of pasta. Carly had already eaten half of it whilst Josh and Ana had taken only a few bites; Mason's was currently all over his lap.

"So it seems," she laughed when said roommate cheered after succeeding to finally put the food in his mouth.

"It was really smart of you to get a table outside," Carly commended. "It would've been a disaster if he was this loud and we were inside."

"Probably would've gotten kicked out," Josh noted with a nod.

"Pfft." Mason suddenly interrupted, slamming his hand down on the table and causing the tableware to rattle. "I-," he paused for seemingly no reason, "Am not a lightweight."

"Sure buddy," Josh drawled. "Whatever you say."

"I'm perfect," he stuttered on the word and Ana snorted. "There's no way someone as great as me could be a lightweight. Only assholes are lightweights. I bet Caleb is a lightweight." He started to ramble about who would be able to handle their alcohol and who wouldn't, listing the reasons why as he went.

"We should probably take him home huh," Carly stated.

"I'll take him," Ana offers. She was looking forward to going home; after the whole ordeal with her cousins she was exhausted and just wanted to lay down.

"No way," Josh persists. "You're the one paying so you should at least take the time to enjoy it. I can take him back."

"It's okay. Trust me I've had my fair share of expensive dinners; I can live just fine without this one." She hadn't really meant to say that second half, but she supposed it was too late now. She only hoped they didn't notice the slip-up.

"Come on," she laid her hand onto Mason's shoulder after standing. "We're leaving."

"Where're we goin'," he slurred.

"Home."

He cheered softly, stumbling to his feet and drunkenly slinging his arm over her shoulders. "Let's go home, pretty."

"He's super affectionate when he drinks," Ana thought out loud.

"Yeah," Josh laughed.

"I'll see you guys later tonight. Here's my card," she tossed her debit card onto the table.

Carly's eyes widened. "You're just giving us your card?"

"Why not," Ana shrugged. "I trust you." And she really did. It was highly unlikely that they would use her card to pay for anything more than the food. And if they did, well that was an issue for another time.

"See you guys," she lifted her hand to wave but was surprised when it was suddenly grabbed by Mason. He stared at her fingers for an unnervingly long amount of time, turning her hand and bringing it near his face to inspect them more closely.

"Bye," they both called out as she moved to walk through the door, interrupting whatever Mason had been doing.

"Even your hands look fucking perfect," he muttered against her shoulder. She hadn't even realized how close they were until she could physically feel his breath on her skin.

"You're really drunk."

"I already told you I don't get drunk," he insisted. And while she didn't believe him for half a second, he did sound a bit more like his normal self.

Ana rolled her eyes. "Then if you don't get drunk you should be able to get home without me right?" She pulled away from him, hoping it would be enough for him to release his hold on her. Instead, his arm around her only tightened and she laughed as he practically fell on top of her.

"You can't leave," Mason whined.

Luckily they had made it to the front entrance by now, the host's eyebrows raising as he gave the two a once-over. "Thank you so much," Ana hurriedly said. "It was a lovely meal." And then she walked through the doors, practically dragging her roommate in order to get them both out.

She stopped for a moment just outside of the building, leaning up against the wall and taking a brief second to regain her breath. Apparently she had been holding up most of Mason's weight, and he was a lot heavier than one would assume.

She felt Mason slowly slide down the wall, inevitably bringing Ana down with him. "No no no no no no-," she groaned as they fully sat on the ground. "We're supposed to be leaving."

"Just for a second." His voice was practically a whisper as he let his head fall onto her shoulder. "M'tired."

"What you are is annoying." Ana huffed, brushing her hair aside so he wasn't laying on it.

"No, you." He shifted slightly, seemingly trying to get more comfortable on the cement ground. Ana internally sighed, awkwardly patting his back as his breathing deepened.

I can't believe he just fell asleep on me, she absentmindedly thought. Then she stiffened.

"I can't believe you just fell asleep on me!"

~~~