Jack Frost was gone, and with him went his disarming smile, his contagious laugh, his ice-blue eyes. Right after his funeral Rapunzel went into her room and stood with his soft blue hoodie tangled in her hands, staring blankly at their Polaroid photos on her wall.
I'm never going to see him again, she thought.
A soft tap on the door indicated that her best friend had known to stick around for longer.
"Punzie? Shall I get ye some hot coco?" Merida leaned against the doorframe, her curly mop of red hair refusing to stay trapped in a ponytail. It took a little longer than usual for Rapunzel to really process what she'd said.
"Oh...yes, please. That would be great," she finally replied.
Merida nodded. "I'll be right back. Stay put, lass." She left the room, pastel Doc Martens clunking down the hall.
Rapunzel looked at the Polaroids again. That was all she had left, really.
***
The hole was still there in the middle of the frozen lake, but it was quickly freezing over again. Another week, especially in the perpetually snowy town of Burgess, and it would look like nothing had ever happened.
Hazel sighed and put her hands in her pockets. Nothing is going to be the same again.
Footsteps crunched lightly behind her. She turned to see Hiccup, her brother's best friend, stop at the edge of the lake as well.
"Didn't wanna go home, huh?" he said.
Hazel sighed. "No, I didn't feel like it." Hiccup just nodded.
Hazel but her lip. "I keep on thinking like it was my fault. If I hadn't insisted on skating...maybe Jack wouldn't be-"
"Hazel." Hiccup put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't say that."
"You're right," she said numbly. "I'm sorry. You're right."
They continued to look at the lake in silence.
"Now what do we do?" Hazel said.
Hiccup shrugged wearily. "We go on living, I guess."
***
"Funerals always make me cold," said Elsa as she and her sister entered the house through the back door.
"But you never get cold," Anna pointed out. Elsa shrugged. "Funerals are different."
Anna knew what she meant. Five years ago, their parents had died on a cruise accident in the Caribbean. The sisters had had to move to Burgess to live with their uncle, who ran a general store attached to the house.
From day one, Jack Frost had been their first and closest friend, a brother to two orphaned sisters. His death left a new hole in Anna that hurt in a different way than the hole her parents had left behind.
The sound of a door shutting reached her ears. Anna looked up, realizing she was alone in the living room. A sudden panic overtook her. No, not again, please!
"Elsa!" She ran to the door. This is exactly what Elsa had done right after their mom and dad died. And Anna had never felt more useless and alone. "Please don't shut me out again. Please..."
Back then it had taken several weeks for Elsa to emerge from her room. This time, the door opened.
With a strangled sob, Anna hugged her sister tight, and the two of them cried together in the doorway.
***
The ceiling greeted Rapunzel as she awoke, one crack running through it. Like a fracture on ice—
She shut her eyes tight. Don't think about that.
She pushed herself out of bed and went into the dining room, as per her usual routine when she'd wake up at 6:30 am sharp (even on a weekend like today) to make breakfast for her parents. To her surprise, her mother was already up and making pancakes.
"Mom?" Rapunzel said blearily.
"Hello, dear," her mother said with a smile.
"I usually get breakfast. Don't I?"
"Well...you woke up late today."
Rapunzel glanced at the clock. 8:15! "Oh shit."
"Rapunzel!" admonished her mom. "It's okay. Really, it is. Sit down and don't worry about it; I'll handle breakfast. In fact..." She looked at her daughter worriedly. "I think you shouldn't be doing too much right now. You've been through a lot lately."
Just because my boyfriend died doesn't make me a handicap case. "But I can't just sit here and not do anything. I still have plenty of projects lined up..."
Twelve noon came and went, and Rapunzel had not touched a single of her projects. She was supposed to finish knitting a scarf for Merida, glaze an oil painting and put some handmade pots into the kiln, but none of that happened. Rapunzel lay in bed beneath a string of soft yellow lights, knowing she was in a dreaded artists' funk- and knowing that it was because she was still grieving for Jack.
Her eye fell on the pile of books on her bedside table. Maybe this will take my mind off things...
She picked up a battered copy of Ender's Game and was surprised when a paper snowflake fell out between the pages and landed in her lap.
Jack.
