Title: The Queen Stimulation
Summary: When Cupcake started longing for the affections of Jamie, she was more than mildly disappointed to see that, other than Sophie, Jack Frost was the girl of his heart. Her solution? Emulate Jacqueline Frost, herself. Being yourself is so last year, anyways. (Or so she thought.) Cupcake/Jamie. Fem!Jack!AU. Teen!Kids-of-Burgess. Post!RotG.
Word Count: 1,568
Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians.
Warning(s): Again, my attempt at humor. Also, for an intentional make-over of sorts, minor coarse language, and an, um, unconventional pairing?
A/N: An unasked for sequel of sorts to The Elf Inauguration. (Yes, I'm narcissistic that way; you can throw tomatoes at me, if you wish, but be gentle – I'm fragile. :P) Unbetad. Any mistakes are mine and mine alone.
Cupcake Stevens was in hell. The blue hoodie and brown trousers felt completely unnatural. Unlike her sparkly, violet tutu and bubblegum, stripped leggings, the trousers clung to her lower half like a glove, showing her curvy figure off a little too perfectly. Curvy? Yeah, right, she thought bitterly. Not, if those cheerleaders at school were any indication. Curvy is just a politically-correct term for fat girl. Cupcake didn't care, though. Those girls may be model-thin, but most of them had the personality of a plastic bag.
The hoodie wasn't so bad. She titled her head. It, at least, covered her substantial bust considerably. She looked herself up and down and tried an experimental wink. It was a fail, but whatever. She could always get better as she continues her mission. Besides, how hard can winking be to master? The large girl smirked.
She had this thing in the bag.
Ever since Jacqueline Frost has greeted them, the Kids of Burgess as they liked to dub themselves, in a fancy-schmancy dress last month on Halloween, her friends have been more in like than ever. Some were even, ugh, infatuated. None seemed more enamored than James Bennett, though. Cupcake Stevens couldn't stand it. Although she tried to convince herself otherwise, she just had to face the facts: she's got it bad for Jamie. Upon realization, she shuddered. It was not because Jamie was unattractive, or unappealing, though. It was just the thought the seemed so weird. Then again, the only thing weirder than Lisel Stevens crushing hard on James Bennett would be, if said boy returned her feelings and since that hasn't happened, then, the universe was probably alright. Cupcake glared at her reflection. The universe could screw itself.
After a couple of minutes, she reexamined herself. Now that she has spent some time in the outfit, she finds that it was not as bad as she thought. (She would later blame her mild melodrama on account of Pippa dragging her to all those school plays – the theater geeks were getting to her – no offense, Pippa.) Cupcake could now see why the Snow Queen (a title she's recently started giving the Guardian of Fun in private) would wear such an outfit. The hoodie made the wearer appear smaller, therefore, giving said wearer a sense of youth and vulnerability; this was contrasted nicely by the tight trousers which, basically, say, "Come at me, boys." She wondered, if that was the Snow Queen's intention, or if she was just reading too into it. Either way, the ensemble was a clever juxtaposition of contrasts, if Cupcake could say so, herself.
She gazed down at her black combat boots. Should she? Nah, she gets enough bruises as it is from football. She doesn't want to add rocks to the list. Cupcake blew a strand of short, messy hair away. Stupid hair, she grumbled. She looked at her box of temporary white hair dye and grinned. She may not be able to get the long, flowing locks of the Snow Queen, but she could, at least, have the starlight hue that so many of her male friends (and some of her female, but who's counting, really?) go gaga over. She took the box, locked her bedroom door, and went inside her adjoining bathroom.
It was time for her metamorphosis to be realized.
Jacqueline Frost knocked on Jamie Bennett's bedroom window the following night. It was a crisp November night, and she had just returned from giving snow to some other part of the world. She wasn't tired, though. Far from it, actually. She knocked again, this time with her staff. She heard an unmistakably-male chuckle. Her heart saddened and gladdened. Her little Jamie was growing up. The window opened up.
"Still impatient as ever I see?" the brown-haired teenager teased.
The Guardian floated in gracefully.
"Only because you're perpetually slow," she returned, grinning. Jamie grinned back, but, then, suddenly, his face fell. Jack frowned.
"Is there something wrong, kiddo?" she asked.
Jamie sighed, and nodded. He sat down on his bed and gestured for Jack to do the same. Still frowning, she obeyed. There was an awkward silence. Jack twitched slightly, trying to resist the urge to break the ice. Silence has never –
"…It's Cupcake," Jamie said finally.
Jack blinked. Cupcake? What could be the matter with her?
"She's…changed," he continued, noticing the confused look on her face.
"In what way?"
"In many."
"That sure is helpful."
"Visit my friends and I tomorrow, and you'll see what I mean."
With that, a promise was made and the white-haired girl took off into the night. She was kind of disappointed that she couldn't stay longer, but Jamie seemed pretty serious. She could only hope that whatever the issue is, that it is not as drastic as implied.
It was now after-school the following day. As thousands of teenagers rushed out of the school, ecstatic for the weekend, Jack hid behind a wall.. She knew the action was silly since, even after the defeat of Pitch, she doesn't exactly have a colossal fanbase like, say, North. Still, she hid. Jamie and his friends finally came out. She was just about to fly over to them when she noticed something bizarre: in the back, a stocky girl in a blue hoodie and brown trousers. Her hair was a comical mix of ash blonde, dirty blonde, and dark brown with a few prominent white patches here and there. She had to stop herself from gasping. The girl was Cupcake.
Jamie saw her from the corner of his eyes and asked his friends to give him a moment. They consented and continued their conversation. When the male reached her at last, she grabbed his shoulders and looked at him, crazed.
"That was Cupcake?" she whispered frantically.
Jamie grimaced.
"Told ya," he said, dusting imaginary dust off his pants.
She frowned.
"Do you want me to talk to her?" she asked.
Jamie blinked. He, then, smiled lightly.
"I would very much appreciate it."
Cupcake Stevens clenched her fists. She couldn't believe it. She had done everything: she dressed like Jacqueline Frost, she looked like Jacqueline Frost, she talked like Jacqueline Frost, she acted like Jacqueline Frost, but, despite all that she has done, Bennett still did not return her affections. What more could he possibly want?! She knew she may not be his dream girl, but it had to count for something that she tried to dye her hair fucking white just, so, the bastard can begin to fucking see her as more than a fucking friend. Cupcake lowered her eyes, settling down on a playground swing. She kicked some red leaves absent-mindedly. She may be disappointed over the results, but there was no way she was ever going to cry over –
"Hey, Cupcake," a familiar feminine voice called.
In shock, said girl fell off the swing, landing ungracefully on the leafy ground. Her caller winced. A dainty, pale hand came into the fallen girl's view.
"Sorry about that," the owner of the hand said.
Cupcake scowled.
"What do you want, Snow Queen?" she grumbled.
Jack grinned awkwardly, despite the harsh tone.
"Snow Queen, huh? Well, it's certainly catchier than Frostbite, I'll give you that," she said, leaning closer to the mortal. Cupcake would not have any of it, though; the mortal edged away. The Winter Spirit pouted – which, much to Cupcake's distaste, still made the immortal girl unfairly attractive. Jack sighed.
"Look, if I've done something to make you mad at me, I'd really like to know," she said, "I do not wish to lose a friend – not, if I can help it," she finished nervously, biting her lip.
Dammit.
Now Cupcake was starting to feel guilty.
"It's nothing," the mortal girl mumbled.
Jack scowled.
"It is not just 'nothing'."
If Cupcake was in a lighter mood, she would sniggered at how much the Winter Spirit seemed like a mom, but she wasn't. Instead, she got up and glared at the older girl.
"Why do you care?" she asked bitterly before turning on her heel. She marched on, hands in the stupid hoodie.
The Guardian's face was crestfallen. Cupcake was sorry she didn't care.
"Because I hate to see a pretty girl like you so sad," Jack said quietly.
Cupcake froze in her tracks.
"Is that supposed to be some kind of joke, Frost?" she said, gritting her teeth, locked in place.
"Is that the root of all this?" Jack simply prompted, "Appearance?"
Cupcake fidgeted slightly. Slowly, she turned around and shook her head.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jack asked cautiously.
Cupcake swallowed. She nodded. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
Jamie Bennett could only stare. Cupcake stood red-faced on his front porch.
"So, yeah, to conclude that embarrassing explanation, I-I sort of have a thing for you and, yeah, I know that it was silly for me to do all that stuff, but, if you ever want to – " Cupcake stammered.
He hugged her tightly.
She blushed fiercely.
"Wha-What the hell was that for, Bennett?" she asked, nose scrunched up, looking off into the side.
Jamie smiled.
"It's a date. Just promise me you won't try to dye your hair white again," he teased.
She scoffed.
"Fine, fine, you, damn bastard," she murmured.
Her lips wore a small smile.
From a distance, Jack Frost watched the exchange.
She smiled.
Her little Jamie was growing up.