Tick, Tock. Tick. Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
He stared at the wall as the pointers of the clock moved one agonizing second at a time, wondering what in the goddamn world he had done now to be summoned to the principal's office on a fucking Friday afternoon.
Admittedly, he was no model student—he was in no place to argue with that, but he had been a good boy, hadn't he? He even copied all of Hiccup's homework that week without getting caught. So why was he there? What kind of business Principal Calhoun would have that was important enough to delay his sacred weekend plans?
He huffed sliding on his seat and stretched his legs as he daydreamed about a nice and well-deserved nap in his cozy bed, and after that, a fun night out with Hiccup and the Hooligans eating pizza and drinking milkshakes at the Edge.
He heard footsteps on the hallway, and his head instinctively turned up in the direction of the noise. He watched a blonde girl walk to the counter, and he immediately recognized her.
Elsa Arendelle from the drama club.
Although they weren't friends, they were still on the same year and had crossed paths before. She was a star student—top of the class, wealthy family, head of the drama club and goddamn hot. Elsa was that type of girl who was effortlessly beautiful and had no idea she made all heads turn when she walked. Her pale, flawless skin was smooth and her hair, usually tied in a fancy French braid cascaded down her back in lose waves. Her eyes were a clear shade of blue, proportions were perfect, and she had a natural elegance in the way she moved that any ordinary person would take years to master. But she was also a goody-two-shoes know-it-all, an introvert, and a total nerd.
"Hi, I'm here to talk to Principal Calhoun," Elsa said smiling politely at the secretary.
"She'll be with you in a minute," Roz replied with her usual cheerfulness.
Elsa nodded turning around and finally noticing him sitting there and staring at her.
"Hey," he greeted with his trademark charm.
"Hi," she said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and dragged herself to sit, leaving an empty chair as a physical barrier separating them. She sat completely straight, resting her folded hands on her thighs and stealing glances at the closed door to the principal's office.
Jack watched with amusement as she bit her lower lip and crossed and uncrossed her legs.
"Calhoun tries to look way more intimidating than she actually is," he said casually as he sat up. Elsa turned to meet his eyes, and he continued, "Whatever trouble you're in, I'm sure it's not gonna be that bad."
The girl arched an eyebrow at him. "Gee, thanks for the words of wisdom," she said.
He shrugged. "I'm just trying to be nice because, you know, you look like you're having a stroke."
"Your worry is greatly appreciated," Elsa said flashing him what looked like a well-rehearsed smiled. "But not needed."
"Whatever you say…" he grumbled looking away from her and going back to staring at the clock.
And they waited for what seemed like an eternity in an uncomfortable silence, broken only by Roz's occasional loud coffee slurping, until the principal's door opened, and Tamora Calhoun appeared in all her authoritarian glory gripping the doorknob. "Ms. Arendelle, Mr. Frost," she called and gestured with her head to her office. "If you please."
Jack went in first followed closely by the blonde girl. He was surprised to find another student in there already. He was a tall, skinny Asian-American guy, and Jack knew that he was the Student Council's president, but he couldn't remember for the life of him the guy's name. The president was sitting in one of the three chairs positioned in front of Calhoun's desk and smiled as they entered, so Jack nodded at him in acknowledgement.
"Have a seat," Calhoun said as she closed the door and walked back to her desk, and Jack and Elsa did as they were told. "I assume introductions are not needed," she added as she sat down and leaned back on her seat. "But just in case, this is Tadashi Hamada, this year's Student Council president."
Calhoun pointed at the guy, and Tadashi gave a quick wave. "Hi," he greeted. "I'm happy to finally meet you two." Jack frowned with suspicion at that statement, but chose not to say anything.
"And these are Ms. Elsa Arendelle and Mr. Jack Frost," Calhoun continued glaring at Tadashi. "But you already knew that, since you chose them."
"Uh…" Elsa held one finger up. "Chose us? Can I ask for what exactly?"
Calhoun sighed intertwining her fingers and resting her hands on the table. "Have you ever heard about a blog named The Underground?"
Jack snorted leaning back. "Haven't everyone?"
Elsa nodded in agreement.
Indeed, The Underground was a blog with unknown origins whose popularity had grown alarmingly among students. Its posts were usually testimonies anonymously sent by someone in the student body, or entries on school events and daily life. And everything on the blog—be it a meme thread or a reply to a heartfelt message—was always signed by one user known only as Babydoll. As more people read the blog and checked it with more frequency, Babydoll became an idol of sorts, and people adored her for her frank opinions, her sympathetic advices, and her authentic sense of humor. Even if they had never met her, Babydoll was their friend, their companion, and their source of inspiration through the agonizingly boring and excruciating High School days. Babydoll's digital influence gave her enough power to rule the entire school, and anyone with half a brain would know better than to challenge her in any way.
"Precisely." The principal closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. As she opened her eyes, she added, "Well, meet Babydoll." And she pointed at the guy sitting on the first chair.
"What?" Elsa was frowning. "I thought Babydoll's identity was supposed to be a secret. Why are you telling us this?"
"Wait, wait, wait…" Jack turned on his seat to stare at the Student Council's president. "You're Babydoll?"
"Well.." Tadashi scratched the back of his neck embarrassed. "I'm one Babydoll."
Jack gasped placing a hand on his chest dramatically. "There's more than one Babydoll?"
"I'm currently the only one," Tadashi admitted. "But ever since The Underground has been… restructured"—he looked back at the principal and she nodded her approval at the word choice,—"the position has been passed on from one student to another."
Jack shook his head in disbelief. He felt like he was a kid, and he had just found out that Santa was actually his father with a fake beard dressed up in a red and white outfit. He took a glimpse at the girl sitting next to him, and the fact that she seemed as surprised as he was gave him a sense of relief.
"Teenagers these days seem to have problems with long-term memories, so you may not remember this," Calhoun interrupted his jumbled up inner conflict as she spoke slowly. "But The Underground started as a gossip network to defame students. It got out of control, people got hurt by what was posted on that blog, but thankfully we managed to shut it down, and its creator received the punishment they deserved. A few months later, however, I had a student coming into my office with a proposal for turning the blog into a space where students could express themselves anonymously."
Jack's eyes met Elsa's, and he saw his own feelings reflected in her eyes—a mixture of surprise, confusion, overwhelm, disbelief, and even a hint of excitement.
Tadashi cleared his throat. "What we want is for The Underground to be a safe place for students to interact without the fear of being judged. We want them to know that they are understood, and that there's someone out there that's got their backs."
"And here… is where you two come in."
The Underground
Where Hawthorne High's student body can let their words fly high and free in the comfort of anonymity.
Inbox is open for submission. Keep in mind that identities will be kept secret and Babydoll does not tolerate hatred, cursing or any sort of disrespect.
Oh, the season for red paper hearts and chocolate boxes is here, Undergrounders. What was my surprise when I opened my window this morning and was slapped in the face by a gush of fresh air carrying the sweet and addicting scent of romance. Like that John Paul Young's song, Love is in the air, folks. And it's also overflowing in my inbox.
Like I need to remind any of you that February 14th is around the corner, right?
Now some have already put your love plans into action and are preparing for the most romantic Holiday of the year, and I tip my proverbial hat to you. As for the rest of my readers, the clock is ticking and time is a precious and limited resource that should be used wisely.
Remember, boys and girls, you can't just wait around for your knight in shining armor to find you. I spend good money on conditioning my hair and if you think I'm gonna let some guy use it as rope, you've got another thing coming, pal. You're not gonna get anywhere near a strand of my silky hair and I can get out of the tower on my own, thank you very much. In case you didn't enjoy the fairy-tale metaphor, this is to say that you gotta get out there in the big scary world by yourselves, darlings. If you want anything to start, you gotta make the first move yourself.
So step it up, Undergrounders, mating season is officially open, and I expect good reports. Clean up, find that lucky bracelet, pick the perfect outfit, wear that nice fragrance that'll drive them crazy, have a breath mint, or do whatever you need to prepare yourself and go out there, my children. It's show time.
Make sure to tag your boo in that cheesy kissy photo and show the rest of the world how in love you are. And by boo I might as well be referring to a whole pint of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream fifteen minutes to midnight. Heaven knows ice cream never let me down before.
But that's a topic for another day.
Shall we head to today's mail?
I_throw_pennies_in_ponds: Roses are red, violets are blue. You may not know this, but I like you. I'm just a dorky guy with cheesy poetry and pickup lines. But I was wondering if you were free to spend with me this Valentine's. S, you're the only girl I see. What do you say about you and me?
Babydoll: Roses are red, violets are blue. Somebody write me cute poetry too!
D4nc3W1thM3: A, I'm a huge fan of yours and you're the prettiest girl in school. I know we never really met but I wanted you to know that I feel better just by seeing on the hallways. I like you and I wish you were mine.
Babydoll: Slow down, kid! Why don't you get to know each other first and get to talk a little? Besides, I thought I was the prettiest girl in school. D1nc3W1thM3, are you sure you don't need to get your eyes checked?
ShyBoy: Dear Babydoll, how do you know when's the right moment to kiss her?
Babydoll: Well, if your girl wants you to kiss her, she'll send you signs. Maybe she'll play with her hair, or lick her lips, or her voice will be low and hoarse. But I'd say you should pay close attention to her eyes. The eyes communicate much more than you'd expect, honey. You may notice her eyes drifting to your lips, and that's either a sign that she wants you too, or that you have something stuck on your teeth (in that case, just do a quick check at yourself in a mirror before meeting her)… She'll look at you and you'll feel like drowning in the depths of her irises. Her eyes will soften and lure you closer, and you'll feel it's time. But if you still feel overwhelmed when that time comes, just count to three. Key to kissing someone is to relax and enjoy the moment, and that applies to everyone out there. I have all the faith in you, ShyBoy. You'll do great, and you'll sweep that girl off her feet. Trust Babydoll on this.
Tigerlilly: Dear Babydoll, I wrote you last week and I just wanted to thank you for your advice. You're awesome.
Babydoll: You're welcome, babe! Babydoll loves helping her Undergrounders out.
2punchez: Dear Babydoll, who are you? I think I saw you in the cafeteria yesterday. Just give me a hint on what you were wearing?
Babydoll: On Wednesdays, I wear pink.
Keep your heads up, Undergrounders.
Love,
Babydoll
As the red light in the machine signaled that her coffee was ready, she picked the pot and carefully started pouring the steaming hot liquid inside her travel mug, like she did every morning. She took a quick glance at her sister and raised an eyebrow at the sight of Anna sitting at the breakfast bar with her eyes glued to her cellphone, her mouth half open and a spoon full of cereal held in midair.
"Anna, what are you doing?"
Anna looked up embarrassed at getting caught daydreaming and munched on her soggy cereal. "Nothing," she muttered nonchalantly.
"Well, hurry up if you don't want to take the bus to school. I'm leaving soon."
"No, wait!" Anna squealed and proceeded to pour food inside her mouth and washed it down with orange juice.
"You're gonna choke eating so fast," Elsa commented as she put the lid on her mug and closed it shut. "I'll wait for you in the car."
"I'm almost done!" Anna shouted, but Elsa had already left the kitchen.
Taking a small sip of her coffee, Elsa took her bag and keys and left the house as she listened to Anna running around throwing the dirty dishes in the sink and grabbing her belongings. Shaking her head, Elsa chuckled to herself. Even after entering High School, her baby sister was the same as always.
She went to the car and waited some solid five minutes before Anna appeared in the front porch. Elsa lowered the window on the driver's side and shouted, "Don't forget to lock the door!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm locking the door," Anna grumbled turning on her heels, going back to the door and fishing out the keys from her back pocket. She walked to the passenger's seat and slammed the car's door with more force than needed.
Elsa raised an eyebrow as she turned on the car. "Ready to go?"
"Yes," Anna replied putting on her seat belt with a huff.
Elsa drove down the route they took every day to school and looking at her sister from the corner of her eyes, she noticed that Anna had her attention focused on her cellphone again. "No music today?" she asked.
Anna looked up confused. Usually, Anna would keep switching radio stations until she found a music she liked, but with her focus on other matters, the car ride had been awfully quiet that morning. "Sorry," she sheepishly said and turned on the radio on a random music station. "There's a new post on The Underground."
Elsa snorted rolling her eyes. "I should've known."
She spotted her cousin, a girl Anna's age with long blonde hair and a flashy purple jacket with golden flowers embroidered on it that could be seen from miles away waiting on the sidewalk and stopped for the girl to get in.
"Morning, ladies," the girl said as she slid inside the back seat.
"Good morning, Rapunzel."
"Hey, Punz," Anna greeted turning around on her seat. "Did you read it?"
"Oh, my God, YES!" Rapunzel squealed. "Did you read the messages?"
"YES, THE FIRST GUY WAS SO CUTE! OH MY GOD!"
"YES. YOU THINK WE KNOW HIM?"
"OH MY GOD WHAT IF WE DO? THEN WHO WOULD THE GIRL BE?"
Elsa flinched pressing a hand to her ear. "Keep it down, you two."
"Did you read it, Elsa?" Rapunzel asked leaning forward with her arms on the front seats, excitement emanating from her skin.
"No, I did not have time to read it yet," Elsa replied, her eyes focused on the road.
"You should make time for it," Anna said. "It's Valentines's Day themed."
"Yeah, and there's this guy who wrote a poem for the girl he likes."
"Wait. Babydoll keeps identities anonymous."
"She does," Rapunzel agreed.
"Then why is this guy writing poems anonymously? The girl will never know."
"If they love each other, she will," Anna argued. "Love always finds a way."
"Speaking from experience, sister of mine?"
"… No… But that would be so romantic!"
"Yeah!" Rapunzel nodded. "The anonymous message could be what ignites their love story. That would be cute."
Elsa shook her head as they entered the parking lot. "You two are hopeless."
Anna shrugged. "I'm pretty sure he's someone from the drama club."
"Why's that?" Elsa asked.
"It's totally a drama kid thing to do. You know, because we just did Shakespeare and all."
Rapunzel nodded. "Totally."
Elsa laughed. "School is a lot bigger than that. And we aren't the only ones who read poetry," she said parking the car and turning the ignition off.
Rapunzel shrugged. "You never know."
"Wouldn't it be nice if it was someone we knew?" Anna fantasized opening the door and getting out of the car.
"What difference would it make?" Elsa asked looking at her sister from over the car's roof.
"Would be nice, that's all," Anna sheepishly replied.
"Just like knowing who Babydoll is," Rapunzel added standing beside Anna and slamming the car door.
Elsa laughed as the three of them headed to the school's main doors. "Join the club. Pretty much the whole school wants to know."
"Well, call me Detective Anna and sign me up for that case."
"Good luck with that," Rapunzel said mockingly as she linked arms with Anna.
Anna furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, are you ditching me, Punz?"
Rapunzel shrugged. "I like Babydoll being an incorporeal existence. And The Underground wouldn't be the same if people knew who she was."
Elsa smiled surprised at her cousin's reply. "Smart girl."
"Hey! What about me?" Anna pouted.
"You're smart too, Anna," Rapunzel said rubbing Anna's arm affectionately.
Anna groaned. "Just you wait. I'll figure out who she is and then we'll she who'll be laughing then."
"Can't wait for that to happen—" Elsa said as they entered the school, but her attention soon drifted to the crowd of students gathering in a messy circle.
"What's going on there?" Rapunzel asked lifting herself on her tip toes trying to get a better look at the commotion.
"Only one way to find out…" Anna mumbled as she led them in its direction.
With his backpack casually slung over one shoulder, Jack walked down the hallway whistling some random melody with a big grin on his face. Every time he heard something about it, his humor improved, and he felt like high five-ing strangers and spinning people around.
"Oh, I'm most certain that was for me!" he heard a girl saying.
"Your name doesn't even start with an S," another girl told the first one.
"It could be a decoy."
"If you say so…"
Jack felt his smile widen a little. He kept walking, his ears attentive to the murmurs of conversation around him until he spotted his best friend's messy auburn-hair in the crowd. The guy was sitting at the stone rail giggling at something on his phone.
Jack walked around his friend and leaned over, resting his chin on the brunet's shoulder. "Hey, Hiccup," he said wrapping his arms around Hiccup's middle.
Hiccup turned his head to look at Jack and winked. "Hey there, handsome."
Jack pushed himself up with both arms and sat beside his friend. "What you smiling at?"
"New post on The Underground," Hiccup said with a shrug. "Did you read it?"
Jack groaned. "It's too early for reading."
"Well, it will be worth your brain effort. Babydoll's humor is entertaining as usual."
Jack stared at him with a smirk on his lips. "My, Hiccup. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were in love with the anonymous queen."
Hiccup laughed throwing his head back. "As if."
"So what is it about?"
"Kids are in full romance mode. More love messages than usual."
"Hmm..." Jack nodded. "What about you, gonna send something to Astrid?"
"Nah." Hiccup shrugged. "Astrid doesn't read The Underground, and she's more into actions—"
"Dog," Jack scoffed.
"—than empty words shouted anonymously."
Jack leaned back on his hands and crossed his legs. "Some girls find that romantic."
"I'm sure they do," Hiccup conceded. "My girlfriend is not one of those girls, though. Besides, now that we're together, I don't need the messenger. I could just walk to her and—"
"Kiss her relentlessly, and leave her lightheaded, trying to figure out what just happened."
Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck as he jumped lading his feet on the floor. "That too, I guess..." he said looking back at Jack.
Jack slid off the rail as well, and they headed to their classroom together. As they walked, though, they saw people sneering and whispering to each other. Noticing that the murmurs were directed at a specific area ahead, Jack and Hiccup exchanged confused glances.
"What's that about?" Hiccup mused out loud, and they both went to investigate the scene.
"… You know, when Babydoll said to wear a scent that would drive people crazy, she didn't mean your ogre stench grossing everyone out!" they heard someone saying.
As they got closer and wandered through the students, Jack recognized one of the persons involved.
"What did you say, small fry?" Shrek, the captain of the soccer team, snarled grabbing the other kid by his collar and lifting him off the floor. The other one involved was a scrawny guy with black hair, a prominent nose and something very sassy in the way his eyebrows arched upwards.
"Your hearing sucks for someone with such huge ears," the skinny boy said, his voice constricted by the near strangulation happening.
"Oh, ho, ho. You did not just say that!" Shrek's friend, a short guy nicknamed Donkey shouted jumping up and down around them and moving his arms dramatically. "Shrek, don't let him talk to you like that!"
Jack hissed. Shrek's aggressive demeanor was something not exclusive to the soccer field, and he could clearly see in his mind the bloodbath that would follow if things kept going the way they were going. His hero complex kicked in, and he pushed past people, making his way to the taller one of the group.
"Hey, big guy! Watcha doing here?" he asked throwing an arm around the soccer captain's broad shoulders and casually pulling Shrek back.
"Giving this nerd what he deserves," Shrek spat.
"Now, that wouldn't be very smart, would it?" Jack mused rubbing his chin in a contemplative manner.
"Calhoun hears that you got into another fight, she will kick you out of the team, pal," Hiccup added standing on Shrek's other side with his hands in his pockets in a relaxed posture.
"Fine." Shrek groaned as he pushed the other guy against the lockers. Narrowing his eyes, he added, "Do yourself a favor and stay the fuck out of my way, freak."
Shrek turned around and Jack mouthed 'go' to the kid. The kid begrudgingly nodded adjusting the collar of his shirt and walked in the opposite direction of the soccer team's captain.
"Alright." Jack clapped twice looking around the crowd of snooping students. "Show is over, you vultures." He shooed people with wide arm gestures. "Come on, move along, there's nothing to see here…"
Shrek reunited with his friends, but he still emanated anger through his pores, and it was clear that he was holding himself not to break anything. Jack figured all it would take to start another quarrel was a tiny spark, so he and Hiccup waited around, silently watching on the sidelines to make sure that the ruckus was really over.
"That Babydoll bitch has to go," they heard Shrek grumbling to his friends.
Jack sighed rubbing his temples. "Guess you can't win everyone," he mumbled.
"What was that?" Hiccup asked looking back at him.
Jack shook his head. "Nothing." Jack adjusted his backpack straps and straightened up. "Let's go to class before we get blamed for… whatever again…"
Hiccup nodded. "Right behind you."
Eugene had been sitting at the edge of the stage with his feet dangling as he scrolled down on his phone reading the words displayed on the screen. As he read, he heard a cry of pain and things crashing on the floor and turned to look in the direction of the sounds.
"Ow! Kristoff!" Rapunzel cried scowling at that bulky guy who had been hanging around the auditorium the past few days.
"Sorry," Kristoff mumbled putting the cardboard boxes he had been carrying on the floor. He knelt down and started picking the scattered objects he must have dropped when bumping into the blonde.
"Try being more careful," she said sternly as she and other members of the drama club helped him pick up the dropped items.
"What's that rock troll doing here?" his friend Hans asked with contempt as he stopped beside Eugene and rested his back against the stage with crossed arms.
"Didn't you hear? He's serving detention."
"What for?"
"Who knows?" Eugene shrugged. "Some kind of trouble with the janitor's floor polisher."
"And he was sent here to the drama club?" Hans scoffed. "What are we? A charity organization for the troubled and rebellious youth?"
"Something like that," Eugene mumbled, his eyes still glued to his phone. "Especially now that Elsa is in charge."
Hans shook his head. "Unbelievable."
"Tell me about it..."
"Mind telling me what's the oh-so-interesting thing you're reading now?" Hans asked, and there was a hint of irritation in his voice.
"The Underground."
"Again?"
"There's a new post", Eugene said. "I had to read it."
"I honestly don't understand what the appeal is."
Eugene glared at his friend. "Babydoll is."
Hans snorted.
"There's something very enticing about her," Eugene explained. "My money is on her being super hot."
Hans chuckled with that superior attitude he usually carried. "Now how would you know that?"
"It's the way she writes. She writes with confidence, and it's sexy."
"They're just words," Hans said with a roll of his eyes.
Eugene groaned locking his phone and shoving it inside his pocket. "For a literate ass, you sure are skeptical about the significance of words."
"Words mean nothing when you don't know their source," Hans argued. "She could very well be a three hundred pound gentleman who lives in his mother's basement. And her name is Chuck." With an eyebrow arched in challenge, he added, "Think about that."
Eugene snorted leaning back on his hands. "Shut up. You don't even read The Underground."
"Fool yourself all you want." Hans let out a tired sigh. "Babydoll is a scammer."
"It takes one to know one…" a girl said and both the guys turned to look behind them. Among others, she leaned over a long table painting something with a large brush. Although her eyes were directed at the panel she was painting, they knew she was paying attention to them.
"Still holding a grudge?" Hans asked the girl as he rested his crossed arms on the stage. "Water under the bridge, Anna."
Anna snorted shoving the brush inside the paint can. "And am I supposed to just forget what a manipulative liar you are?"
Hans rolled his eyes. "Your inability to move on truly preoccupies me."
Anna crossed her arms glaring at him. "You know what preoccupies me even more, Andersen? Your fucking sociopathy!"
Their discussion was cut short by Elsa's shout on the megaphone, "Alright, everyone!" She purposefully threw a glare at both Anna and Hans. "Break's over. Now get back to your places."
Students mumbled as they went back to the stage, and Elsa grabbed her script and flipped through its pages.
"Hans, Eugene, Rapunzel," she called looking at the three of them. "Why don't we go from the balcony scene?"
Rapunzel nodded standing up. "Okay."
"Yes, ma'am," Eugene said and he and Hans walked to the center of the stage as well.
"And keep your phones off," Elsa said on the megaphone again. "I hear anyone saying another word about Babydoll, they're painting an entire set on their own."
Jack parked his car and took a quick glance at the rear-view mirror. His hair was still humid from the quick shower, but that would have to do for now. Ha grabbed his bag from the passenger's seat and got off the car. Locking it up with the remote control, he headed to the entrance of the Lucky Cat Café.
The bell on the door rang, and the Asian-American boy sitting on the counter looked up from the comic book he had been reading.
"Sup, Hiro?" Jack greeted the boy.
"Your girlfriend is cranky today," Hiro told him.
"First of all, she's not my girlfriend," Jack said walking towards the counter. "But thanks for the heads-up. Second, do you have any blueberry muffins?"
"Yep, freshly out of the oven." Hiro jumped off the stool and reached behind him for a clean plate. "They're still warm."
Jack smiled. "Perfect. I'll have one." He leaned over the counter inspecting the food options through the glass display. "And also a cup of black coffee and a mocha."
Hiro put the muffin on the counter and went to the coffee machine. "Coming right up."
"So how have you been, Hiro?" Jack asked as the coffee machine came to life and it starter grinding the beans.
Hiro shrugged. "Same old, same old. School's boring."
Jack nodded. "You played the new Hero's Duty yet?"
Hiro shook his head.
"Friend of mine just got me. We could play together when you're free."
Hiro turned to look at him with a smirk on his lips. "Are you challenging me, Frost?"
Jack shrugged. "Just go easy on me and try not to use your genius superpowers."
Hiro laughed throwing his head back and turned his attention back to his beverage making task.
"Hello, honey," a female voice said, and Jack felt a gentle hand rubbing his shoulder.
"Hey, Cass." Jack smiled at the woman behind him. "Busy day?" he asked looking around the coffee shop. Pretty much all the tables were occupied.
"You have no idea," Cass said with a tired sigh. "Can I get you anything?" she asked walking around the counter.
"Hiro already got my order, thanks."
"Take some cookies for you and Elsa. I'm trying out new recipes." Cassie put two golden brown cookies with white chocolate chips on a plate. "On the house."
Jack shook his head. "You don't have to—"
She pushed the plate in his direction. "I insist." Cass winked before going back to serving the tables. "Give me your feedback later."
"I will."
"Here you go," Hiro put a tray with the two coffees on the counter in front of him.
"Thanks, buddy," Jack said placing the two dessert plates on the tray as well. With a final nod, he headed to a table close to the window carrying his acquired goods.
The table was occupied by a blonde girl hurriedly typing away on her notebook computer. "You're late," the blonde, also known as Elsa, also not commonly known as his partner in crime, said as soon as he was at earshot, her eyes not even moving from her screen.
"Sorry. Practice," he explained as he placed the tray on the table. He noticed that she already had a cup of coffee next to her, and he worried she would not accept his gift. "But I come bearing peace offerings."
She stopped typing to look at the tray, then at him as he sat across from her. "Thank you," she said as she replaced her empty cup from the new one. She took a sip of her plain black coffee before adding, "I changed a few things on the replies you wrote. Give it a last check and you can put it on queue."
"What did you change?" Jack asked as he pulled his chair closer to the table.
Elsa shrugged. "Nothing major. A few words here and there." She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Your Frost was showing too much."
He rolled his eyes as he put the muffin plate on her side of the table, to what she mumbled her thanks. "I finished the 'Songs to make you cry' playlist. It's also ready to post," he said pulling his laptop from his backpack and turning it on.
"Are you sure we can post it without giving away who you are?" Elsa asked furrowing her eyebrows. "Musical taste could be a huge identifying factor."
Jack shrugged. "It's not my favorite songs top ten, Queenie." He put one cookie on her muffin plate and took a bite of the other one. "It's saddest songs of all times for broken hearts," he said while munching on the sugary treat. "We're safe."
Elsa sighed. "If you say so."
"I do. And I also think we should continue with the morning posts."
Elsa snorted leaning back. "Of course you would say that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Everybody was talking about The Underground today." Elsa looked at him from over their screens barrier. "I bet you loved the attention."
Jack shrugged. "I'm not gonna lie, it felt good seeing our efforts being appreciated. But it's not like people were talking about me, you know."
"Even if they weren't chanting your name in the hallways, the current Babydoll is at least fifty percent you. And you love having the school buzzing about you—any version of you."
Jack smirked leaning on his chair and folding his hands behind his head. "Still, morning posts clearly have a higher view rate, so we should keep doing that." He saw Elsa opening her mouth to protest, so he added before she could say anything, "And that's not only my ego speaking, but my perceptive point of view. It's the logical thing to do."
Elsa narrowed her eyes at him before conceding, "Do as you wish. Don't forget to put the new post on queue tonight, then."
"Aye, aye, cap," Jack said with a salute. "What are you working on?"
"Drafting some replies," Elsa mumbled.
"Don't forget to mark the ones you answered," Jack mocked. That was a mistake he constantly made when they had first started working together all those months ago. Back then, Elsa would nag about how his lack of organization made them do unnecessary work. She would complain for hours every Thursday when they met to work together about how they had to discard so much material because they had spent the previous night writing replies to the same messages.
Elsa glared at him. "I won't."
Jack smiled as he put his headphones on, and soft rock started playing on his ears. Adjusting himself on his seat, Jack focused his attention on his laptop, running his eyes through the answers Elsa had revised for him. Everything was fine, so he copied the text and adjusted the layout, adding it to The Underground's posting queue. Then, he opened a new text file and started writing.
Time passed as they worked silently on their separate tasks, reading and typing on their own machines. At some point, Jack felt his neck stiffening and decided to take a quick break. He stood up stretching his back and rotating his shoulders. Elsa continued working as if he wasn't even there.
"So… how's the play coming out?" he asked cracking his neck.
"Alright, I suppose." She stopped for a moment to rub her eyes, then went back to typing. "We're a little behind on the sets but we're managing. At least everybody memorized their lines already." She shrugged. "That makes rehearsing easier."
"Hm…" He looked at her, his mind trailing off with thoughts.
Elsa looked up at him with suspicion. "What?"
"I've watched a couple school plays before… How come I never saw you?" he asked sitting back down.
She laughed. "I'm not an actress. I work behind the stage, not on it."
Jack arched an eyebrow looking at her with his chin resting on his hands. "Stage fright?"
"I have been on stage before, you know," Elsa said with a roll of her eyes. "I just found that directing was a job more suited for me."
"Bossing people around?"
Elsa smirked raising her eyes to meet his. "Exactly."
Jack sighed. "And here I thought that was something exclusive between you and I."
She shook her head. "You're not that special, Frost."
"That means I'm a little special, right?"
"Of course," she said patronizingly.
He smiled leaning back. "Well, good luck. I'll come watch."
Her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah." Jack shrugged. "Babydoll has to cover school events."
"I'm already gonna be there," she reminded him.
"But you're biased. We need neutrality."
Elsa laughed. "That's not you, buddy," she said making him smile as well.
"I'm still coming to praise your hard work."
"I'm flattered," she said placing a hand over her heart. After taking a bite of her muffin, she added, "By the way, some boys from the drama club find you attractive. They said you were hot."
"Can't blame them," he said with a nonchalant shrug. Then, he frowned. "Wait. me me or like, fifty percent me?"
"Does it matter?"
Jack gave the question a moment of thinking, then he replied, "I guess not. What about the girls?"
"I'm afraid I don't have that kind of information," she said rolling her eyes.
Jack leaned over the table intently looking at her eyes. "Let's be more specific, then… Do you find me attractive?"
Elsa stopped typing, her fingers frozen in the air as she slowly raised her head to look at him. "Frost, what was rule four on our agreement?"
He pouted. "Jack Frost must contain his egotistical player self while interacting with Elsa on behalf of The Underground," he mumbled the statement by memory. "You're such a killjoy, Queenie. What was rule number five again?"
She glared at him as she recited, "Elsa Arendelle must contain her snobby, 'unfun', nerdy self while interacting with Jack on behalf of The Underground." She narrowed her eyes. "And how does stopping your sexual advances make me unfun?"
"Did you even hear what you just said?" Jack laughed, but his laughter stopped short as he saw the unamused expression the girl in front of him held. "Sorry," he said sounding half-apologetic. "You don't have to say anything."
"Good."
"... You and I know what your answer is anyway."
After his weekly meeting with Elsa had ended and he was back home, he received a text from Hiccup saying that the gang was going to The Edge and asking if he wanted to come too. The Edge was a retro diner build on a hill from which one could see the entire town where he, his friends and a good part of Hawthorne's teenagers hung out.
With a quick 'hell yeah' reply to his friend, he hopped on his car and drove to the diner.
"So where did you go after school?" Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup's girlfriend asked him as they sat together at one of the tables set outside with burgers, fries and milkshakes between them.
"Home," Jack answered with a shrug.
Astrid raised her eyebrows at him from across the table and crossed her arms. "Oh, really?"
He met her eyes feeling wary. "Yeah..."
"So it wasn't you hanging out at a coffee shop with that Arendelle girl from the drama club?"
"What?" Hiccup looked surprised from Jack to the girl sitting beside him, then back at Jack. "Frost and… was that Elsa? Or her sister?"
Astrid shrugged. "I don't know that girl's name."
"If you must know, that was Elsa," Jack clarified. And as Hiccup's eyes widened, and Astrid chuckled smugly at him, he realized what he had just said. "Crap," he mumbled grabbing his milkshake and slurping noisily.
"Why were you with her?" Astrid asked.
"And why did you blatantly lie about it just now?" Hiccup added.
Jack shrugged acting nonchalant. He looked around their group quickly and was glad to conclude that no one was paying attention to the conversation, the others being too busy indulging in eating contests and loud cheering. "No reason," he said looking back at the couple. "We just ran into each other. And I didn't lie. I went home, then went to grab a coffee and stopped to talk to her while I waited for my order." He threw a glare at Astrid before adding, "Which is what you probably saw, you detective wannabe."
Astrid was unfazed by his animosity. "You both had your laptops on the table," she countered. "And you seemed quite comfortable with each other."
"Oh my God!" Jack threw his hands in the air. "What are you, some kind of stalker?"
Hiccup chuckled throwing an arm around Astrid's shoulders. "Frost, what are you hiding?"
"I'm not hiding anything, geez," Jack mumbled resting his arms on the table and pressing a hand to his face. "We… I… We're friends, kinda."
"Yeah, right," Hiccup scoffed. "Jack, you and I have known each other since kindergarten and this is the first time I hear you saying anything about this supposed friendship with Elsa Arendelle. Not only that, but you guys are close enough to occasionally have coffee together?" Hiccup shrugged. "Sorry if I find it the tiniest bit suspicious."
Jack bit his tongue as he tried to come up with a plausible explanation. "It's… because we haven't been friends for that long."
"Mmhmm…" Hiccup nodded. "So what's the story behind that?"
"You know how it is, Third." Jack shrugged. "… Valentine's Day is coming up and Super Silly Fun Land has a prizes event for couples."
"Wait a minute." Astrid held her index finger up as she stared at him incredulously. "Are you saying… that you're hanging out with this random girl for only God knows how long just so you can score some free merch on Valentine's?"
Jack gulped. "… Yep. That's exactly what's happening."
Greetings, people. This is the premise of a story I'm planning on writing. It's kind of a "Gossip Girl meets Youth and Consequences meets Love, Simon meets High School Musical meets Mean Girls meets many other teenage shows" thingie. It's gonna be short (I'm thinking between seven and twelve chapters) and it's not gonna involve thirty-or-so characters like I sometimes write.
I hate naming things. That's one of the reasons why I write fanfiction in the first place. But both The Underground and Babydoll are references connected to the person who started the blog in this story... I'll only say that. Another fun fact: I had specific characters in mind when I wrote all the users. Some may be easier to recognize than others.
Leave suggestions of posts for The Underground. Or messages to Babydoll.