Elsa cried. She hadn't wanted to, she didn't want to give Christian the satisfaction and she had managed to hold her emotionless expression until she was certain that he wouldn't see her, and then she let loose. They had been together for nearly two years and Elsa had loved her time with him but something hadn't been quite right for the last few months. There had been no love or passion. They'd lost the spark that had made them so fun in the beginning.

So Elsa had asked to meet him at the park. She'd wanted to do it in a public space, just because she was well aware of Christians' violent emotions. Wrapping up against the cold winter afternoon, Elsa had steeled herself and, with as much courage and kindness as she could, broke it off. She had expected tears, maybe even anger, but what she had received had truly surprised her.

"To be honest Elsa, I way out of your league anyway. And here's a tip; try having sex with your next boyfriend once in a while. Maybe then you won't complain of there being no 'passion'."

Just thinking about the cold way he'd thrown those words at her started a fresh wave of sobs. Elsa wiped her eyes on her sleeve, thankful she'd neglected to apply mascara that day. She was just collecting herself when someone sat next to her on the park bench. Elsa didn't look up, but saw out of the corner of her eye that it was definitely not her ex-boyfriend. He would never wear such scruffy looking jeans, and he had always hated converse. No, Elsa could breathe a sigh of relief. Christian hadn't returned to gloat at her tears.

The two strangers sat for a while in total silence. Elsa was happy with that. She didn't want to speak to anyone and certainly didn't want to engage in polite conversation at that moment. After a time, when her breathing was back to normal and she felt as though her eyes were less puffy, Elsa opened her bag and set to work reapplying her eye makeup. She still avoided the mascara, just in case, but added a little extra concealer to hide the redness and clean herself up. Elsa felt a lot better and relaxed into worn wood of the bench. She heard her bench partner shuffle a bit.

"So, forgive me if this is rude or anything but are you okay?"

Elsa looked over to the young man, surprised by his boldness. He looked about her age, maybe older, with a shock of white hair and dressed casually. He leant forward and she noticed there was a kindness in his face that she was drawn to.

"Pardon?"

"Well, I was taking a walk and saw you crying after talking to that guy. Didn't think much of it until I noticed you'd disappeared and saw him stalking around the field like a thing possessed."

That panicked Elsa and she instantly started looking around, convinced she would see Christian barrelling towards her.

"Don't worry, I followed him about, made sure he left and then came to make sure you were okay. Not many people come to the rose gardens so I figured you might have found some peace and quiet here."

Elsa didn't know what to say. This stranger was being so kind to her and all she could do was burst into tears again.

"Hey! Don't cry, shit I'm not good at this stuff." The man reached into in pocket and pulled out a pack of tissues. In his haste to give one to Elsa, he managed to pull the entire wad out of the pack and onto the ground. As he scrambled to save them, Elsa could help but laugh softly at his antics. "Here, this one's mostly dry. It'll be okay for blowing your nose at least."

Elsa took it and sorted herself before thanking him.

"I'm Elsa, by the way. Sorry about this, I just broke up with my boyfriend and he didn't take it so well and you can see."

"Well not matter what, you should never say things to make people hurt so much that they'd cry. That's not right."

Elsa shrugged. She let herself talk, knowing that she would probably never see this guy again.

"It's my fault, I wasn't enough for him. I should have done more, you know, in the bedroom. And I get that it's just-"

"Whoa, hold up right there. Are you telling me he blamed you for not having sex with him?!"

Elsa nodded, her cheeks flaring red as the stranger stated it so bluntly.

"No, nu-uh, I refuse to listen to this." The man put his hands to his ear and shook his head comically. Elsa actually felt herself brighten when she watched him. This man was acting as though they were best friends and Elsa found herself relaxing more and more as the stranger put on a stern face.

"Don't you dare say things like that, and don't believe them either!" He shook a finger and Elsa knew this was the man's big brother side taking over. "You owe him nothing. If you want sex then that's cool but you should never ever feel as though you need to do anything with anyone, no matter now bad or guilty they make you feel."

The man sat down next to her and looked sheepish. He ran a hand through his snow white hair and grin at Elsa, making her stomach do a little flip at the sight.

"Sorry, sometimes I go into Brother Bear mode. I've been talking to my little sister about that sort of thing recently. She's sixteen and an absolute nightmare."

Elsa chuckled.

"Oh trust me, I know. Mine's eighteen and she's still got her head in the clouds. Sorry to say, but it doesn't get any better!"

The man slap a hand to his forehead and groaned.

"She's driving me into an early grave! I mean seriously, look at this!" He pointed at his unnaturally white hair, "she's making me go grey at twenty three!"

The pair laughed together and Elsa felt as though she was going to be okay. They talked for a little while longer about their sisters until Elsa looked at the time and realised she had to be home soon to make dinner for herself and Anna.

"Well I really must go, but it's been wonderful Mr…?" Elsa suddenly realised that she didn't know the man's name! How rude she had been for forgetting to ask! But the man just laughed and stood, brushing the seat of his pants off before holding out a hand.

"I'm Jackson Overland, but please just call me Jack."

"Jack, yes…" Elsa took the hand and shook it. She felt how cold his hands were even through her woollen gloves.

"So…" Jack stood awkwardly, hands in his pockets trying to look casual but appearing anything but.

"So?"

Jack sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Look, I know this doesn't look great, what with you just coming out of a relationship, but I really enjoyed our chat and since I've only just moved here I'm at a bit of a loss. Could I get your number? I don't mean in a romantic way or anything, I just could do with a friend to meet up for coffee with and go to the cinema."

His babbling entertained Elsa, and she admired his candidness. She too might need a friend, knowing that Christian was bound to try to turn some of her friends against her. So they exchanged phone numbers and the promise of meeting in the night week.

She walked away with a certain sadness in her heart, one that she knew wasn't about to go away anytime soon, but also a new world of possibilities in the form of her budding new friendship. Jack was something that she needed, something new and bright in her dull and repetitive life. Maybe Jack would bring Elsa's springtime?

A/N: I broke up with my boyfriend today. I wrote this to vent. I feel like it went well.