It was a Friday when they became friends.

The sky was bleeding a deep indigo when Jack walked out of the wide oak doors of DunBroch & Co. and into the frosty December air. He pulled his coat tighter around him in a huff. Normally, he would have taken the time to savor the first snowflakes of the season. He found that he was always happiest during winter. But the day had been particularly hard and a certain monster with hair as red as her fiery attitude unleashed her most frightening and demeaning roar yet.

Jack heaved a long and defeated sigh that came out as tiny white puffs. His anger had yet to subside so he decided to walk the way home than ride the bus as he would usually do. He wasn't paid enough to get constantly yelled at. He wasn't even paid for heaven's sake! Immersed in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice the yellow cab coming up at him when he crossed the street. The car horn blared loudly and Jack turned just in time. The driver yelled from his open window, "Watch where you're going, you moron!"

"Fuck you, too!" Jack muttered through gritted teeth before storming away.

Jack had been walking for almost an hour and was halfway home when he put his hand in his pocket and realized to his horror that his keys were missing. He stopped in his tracks, fumbling his other pockets. Instead of finding his keys, however, he merely cussed again because his phone was lost as well. Jack tried to retrace his steps, thinking furiously if he had been robbed at some point during his walk.

"No. Impossible," he whispered to himself. They're back at the office, he thought with a chill. He'd rather have them stolen than have to return to the wretched office to retrieve them.

Having no choice but to go back, Jack turned around before breaking into a sprint. Hopefully, the firm would still be open and princess hothead would have been long gone by the time he got there.

Only one of his prayers was answered, however. The firm was still definitely open and Jack cringed when he realized why.

Jack made his way through the dimly lit corridor of the ninth floor. He reached the main office and pushed the glass doors open. It was deserted and almost pitch black, save for the bars of light coming out from the tiny edges of the door at the right side of the room. It can't be, he thought desperately, she's still here? His desk was at the far corner of the room and to get there, he had to pass her office. But if Jack had to be proud of anything he was capable of, it would be his ability to go unnoticed. He was always stealthy, which became quite handy during the times when he and his sister had nothing to eat. Having worked there for almost four months, Jack could easily maneuver between the desks even with his eyes closed. He didn't dare stop to look at the illuminated room to his right. Before he knew it, he had found his keys and phone in the small drawer at his desk.

Jack allowed himself a small smirk of triumph before heading back. He was about to leave when he heard soft muffled sobs. Curiosity got the better of him and before he could stop to make sense of what he was doing, he stood near the door and took a peek at his boss's private office. For a moment, all he could see was the heap of untamed red curls piled on the wooden table. Suddenly, the familiar tune of Jack's phone sliced through the silence of the room. He cursed himself mentally as he turned his phone off in haste. His effort to remain unseen was futile because at that very moment, the bush of hair shot up and revealed a wide-eyed Merida.

"Overland? What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, her voice a mixture of surprise and anger.

"Uh…I'm sorry Miss Dunbroch. I forgot my phone and keys when I left earlier. I didn't mean to bother," Jack mumbled in a rush. When he calmed down, he noticed Merida's puffy red eyes and her tear-stained cheeks.

"Are you alright?" he asked warily.

"Do I look alright to you?" Merida questioned, flicking an eyebrow.

"I just want to help."

"Why? I just yelled at you this afternoon. Or have you forgotten?"

Jack twitched at her reaction though he somewhat expected it. He knew his relationship with Merida was never particularly pleasant, but he did not have the heart to leave her in such a state.

"Of course I haven't," he said, daringly opening the door wide enough so he can step into the room. "But I'm willing to look past it considering that it's after office hours already. And I'm not leaving until you're finally alright."

"You won't understand. Besides, it's all so stupid anyway."

"It's never stupid if it's enough to cry about."

Merida glared at him, deciding what to do with the indomitable man now sitting across from her. She weighed her options. She wanted desperately to be alone, yet at the same time, found the need to talk to somebody about her problems. She feared that if she continued to bottle it up any longer, she'd explode.

Merida rolled her eyes dejectedly, deciding to let her guard down and trust Jack enough to seek for help. "All right then. If you can promise that whatever happens tonight will only be between the two of us, then I'll tell you."

"Why? Do you have anything else planned to do with me, princess?" Jack mumbled as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, but inside he was delighted and a bit astonished to hear Merida's verdict.

"You disgust me, Overland," Merida said and reached out to shove him roughly for good measure.

Jack feigned hurt inciting a laugh from Merida. His lips broke into a wide smile when he heard the melodious tone of the foreign sound. He had never heard or seen her laugh throughout the four months he had spent in the firm, and he found her laughter even lovelier because of it. He almost felt his stomach drop in disappointment when she stopped.

"I didn't know you could laugh," he teased, earning another hit in the arm.

"You are hopeless. You can just leave."

"No! You said you'd tell me."

"Well, then, shut up."

Jack rolled his eyes as Merida positioned herself to a more comfortable position on her chair. "I'm tired," she began. "I don't think I can keep doing this."

Jack wasn't sure what she was talking about so he remained silent to see if she would continue.

"I haven't been able to sleep for weeks. I'm still quite overwhelmed with Mum's decision to leave the MacGuffin Case to me and the trial is only two weeks away."

"You're an excellent lawyer, and I'm not just saying that to suck up to the boss," Jack said, sincerely disturbed by her sudden lack of confidence.

Merida resisted the urge to make a witty retort of her own and went on. "It's my first case alone. I fear that if I don't win it, I could very well disappoint my mum and cause terrible repercussions on the firm. The MacGuffin Case is one of the biggest cases the firm has ever had. If I fail, I will never be able to live it down.

"Sometimes, I wish I could just leave. Leave everything behind. Don't get me wrong. I love my work. It's just that, if I was given the chance to choose, it wouldn't be my first choice."

Jack's brows knotted in confusion. For all he knew, Merida was born to be a lawyer. He couldn't see her as anything but. She had a way with words and possessed the rare ability to persuade anyone to side with her by merely speaking.

"What did you really want to do, then?" he asked.

"Nah, it's stupid."

"Well, it can't possibly be stupider than mine."

Merida looked at him in curiosity, her eyes silently prodding him to continue. Jack took the hint. A secret for a secret. He leaned back into his chair, folding his arms over his chest. "It wasn't really stupid. Just ambitious. Very ambitious. For a long time, I had only one dream and it was to become a world-renowned pianist. I wanted to compose my own songs and get invited to fancy music events. Everyone would know my name and say how brilliant my music is. It was my father who taught me how to play. I was very young and always fascinated whenever I would watch him play. I learned fast. I remember Dad telling me that I was even better than him when he was just beginning."

Jack smiled at the memory but grimaced at the one that followed.

"My father died when I was thirteen. He battled cancer for two years, but he finally gave out. It left my mom, sister, and me with a lot of unpaid hospital bills. When we finally paid the remaining ones almost two years later, it was Mom who got sick. We had no money left so I had to do the only thing I could think of."

"You sold the piano," Merida finished.

Jack nodded. "It was our only fortune left. At least, it was the only thing in our house that could pay for my mother's medicine. Then, three days later, Emma and I were orphans. My two uncles took custody of us back and forth until I got old enough to take care of Emma on my own. It was my uncle North who suggested that I become a lawyer, promising that he would pay for law school. I didn't want to. I still don't want to. But here we are. Anyway, I haven't played the piano since. I don't even know if I still can."

"That's a shame. I would have loved to hear you play," Merida said, surprising both of them so she added, "Only to judge if you were really that good."

Jack snorted a laugh.

"I guess it's my turn. I think it's only fitting that I tell you my story, don't you think?"

"Yes, I dare say, princess."

"Very well, then. I wanted nothing more but to travel. I never exactly imagined myself being stuck in one place. When I was growing up in Scotland, I was almost never at home. Our family owns a large farm there. I would go out into the fields and ride my horse, Angus. Sometimes, I would shoot the ripe apples hanging from the trees with my arrows."

"Your arrows?"

"I'm an archer," was Merida's frank reply. There was an unmistakable hint of pride in her voice.

"Whoa. That's a pretty weird hobby. As if you're not intimidating enough. You have to add a bow and arrow in the picture!"

"You think I'm intimidating?"

"Do you think you're not?"

"Idiot," Merida said as she shook her head, but let out a hearty laugh in spite of herself.

"Do you really think I'm an idiot?"

"Yes. Especially today. I have to be honest, I'm still not sorry for lashing out on you earlier. You know now of my concerns regarding the Case so you must understand why I did what I did. Don't gloat or anything, but you're honestly one of the best interns here. That's why I don't understand why you suddenly became unfocused on your work."

Jack's high spirits almost deflated once more. He had nearly forgotten about it and he rather hated Merida for bringing it up. He sighed, "I didn't mean to. It's just that I can't pay the rent of our apartment anymore, and Emma and I have had a hard time looking for a place to stay. We just found one yesterday."

Merida nodded in understanding but did not say anything. For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then Jack said, "I guess we're not so different after all. We have our own fair share of forgotten dreams."

"Who says we have to forget about them? We can still change our fate, Jack," Merida exclaimed, a sparkle gleaming in her eyes. For a reason she could not fathom, she was no longer afraid—not of the coming trial or the prospect of altering her life. The heavy burden on her shoulders had been lifted, and she felt like she could do anything.

Jack, on the other hand, was stunned to silence, the corners of his thin lips curved in a small smile.

"What's with you?" Merida asked when he did not respond.

"You called me Jack."

Merida recalled then flashed a smile of her own. "I suppose I have. I can't believe it, Overland. You've grown on me for the past hour."

Jack grinned broadly this time. "Does this mean I get to call you Merida from now on?"

"We'll see."