Author's Note - Hi guys, since I'm currently reading loads of summer novels... don't ask haha, I thought I try and write a new fanfiction and see if any of you liked it, so with that being said, please enjoy the first chapter of Jack's Mamma Mia Summer.
As Jack fished up a story he'd been working on about the top ten places to visit for the summer, he braced himself mental for the conversation that would come next when he would have to go into Gothel's office to remind her about his holidays. He knew from experience that if you didn't tell her, then she would assume you weren't taking time off.
He'd never forget the time he'd been on holiday one summer in Spain when he'd first started working here part-time, nearly eight years ago and she'd rung him on holiday demanding to know where he was, even though he'd told her months in advance.
Jack played I Have A Dream on his Spotify playlist to help calm his nerves before he approached the woman who his coworkers would swear was secretly a dragon in disguise. Not many people knew it, but Mamma Mia had been his favourite movie ever since he saw it in theatre with her Grandfather, North.
North was the only family he knew, since both his parents had perished in a car crash when he was only a few years old. Closing his eyes, he remembered how happy they'd both been when they'd come out of the cinema.
"That was a great movie wasn't it North?" he'd asked, his brain still trying to understand how Donna had been able to run around the island as well as sing and dance at her age.
"It was the greatest movie ever made" the older man had smiled weakly.
North often said that there was something about the movie that captured Jack's mother's spirit. He'd told him that the character Donna was almost the spitting image of how Jack's mother use to carry on.
It had been him and North for over twenty-four years, and every now and again the two of them would relax on the sofa and pop in their copy of Mamma Mia they'd gotten as soon as it came out on DVD. North was the only person Jack felt he could be his usual self with, he felt as though he could start singing along with the songs in the movie and not feel judged.
Nevertheless, all good things must come to an end and this year marked the fourth year since his beloved Grandfather had passed away. He felt so sad in the movie theatre when Mamma Mia Here We Go Again came out, he knew that his Grandad would have loved to have seen it and the ending scene of the movie had Jack in bits as it made him think of North even more than usual.
As the song came to an end, Jack took out his headphones and rose from his chair, his heart was still beating fast, but he knew that it was now or never. If he left it any longer, it would be too late for him to go on Holidays and it wasn't like a refund was in the question.
"Gothel… it's me, Jack, can I come in?" he asked sheepishly as he knocked on the door.
"Ah yes Jack come in!" she shouted, he wasn't sure, but he thought he almost heard a hint of happiness present in her voice, he guessed that another of her lovers had bought her something expensive to make her look slightly younger.
Pushing open the door he took a seat and across from him was Gothel, a woman in her fifties at least, her hair was dyed jet black, although the roots gave away her strands of grey and she was covered head to toe in expensive jewellery.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked as her eyes met his.
"W-Well Gothel as you know my Holidays are coming up and-" before he could finish she cut across him.
"I suppose you'll be telling me you won't be going?" she asked, Jack wasn't sure if she was serious or not and despite searching her eyes for any kind of sign he couldn't tell if she'd genuinely forgotten or was just messing with him, "I'm teasing" she cackled.
Jack chuckled an awkward laugh to try and ease the tension he was feeling, but his heartbeat soon rose when Gothel slammed her hands on the table and leaned in closer to him.
"So tell me, are you going anywhere nice?" she asked, a little too keen for Jack's comfort.
"Well I'm actually going to Skopelos, my Grandfather and I had planned to go there for years, but he passed away recently, so I'm mainly going for the two of us" he confessed, trying his best to fight his emotions.
"I'm so sorry to hear that pet. I remember my first trip to a Greek island, I almost didn't feel like coming back, not to mention the locals are breathtakingly gorgeous and know how to treat a woman, there was this one guy that -" she tried to continue, but Jack cut her off.
"Okay thanks, Gothel I'll just be at my desk I still have some stuff to finish," Jack said as he quickly got out of the room before she'd a chance to tell him about her sex life.
When he got back to his desk, he looked up the place he was staying at, Villa Aphrodite. He'd picked it solely because of how much it reminded him of Villa Donna from the movie, it even and an archway and a path leading up to the Villa.
The instant Jack got home he was already on the phone to his best friend Toothiana, they'd been best friends since pre-school. Jack would never forget the first day they met, he was trying to work on a jigsaw and Tooth came up next to him and wanted to examine his teeth, saying that they were really sparkly.
"Hey Jack, what's up?" she asked, as Jack heard her shoo away one of the many kittens she fostered for, no doubt they'd been all over her all day. Regardless if she wanted to believe it or not Jack knew she had a way with animals which is why he was contacting her, to begin with.
"Well actually, remember that trip I was telling you about? I was wondering if you'd be able to take care of Bunnymund for a few weeks, just till I get back" he replied, his voice hopeful.
"Jack you know I don't have the room and-" she paused, "You're doing the puppy dog eyes aren't you?" she sighed.
"Maybe," Jack said sarcastically into the phone.
"Fine, but you owe me big time mister, I expect at least a cappuccino and a pack of chewing gum" she replied, laughing a little.
"Peppermint?" Jack asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes Peppermint" Tooth laughed.
"Thank you so much Tooth I'll drop him down to you soon, just need to finish packing at the moment" he replied as the two wished each other a goodbye and promised to meet up when Jack got back.
As he hung up the phone the incarnation of the devil skulked into his bedroom and jumped up onto his bed, the cat had a face on him to stop a clock, as usual, he looked as though he were judging Jack. He'd never have adopted the cat but North loved animals, and since his passing, Jack couldn't lose another thing that reminded him of the wonderful man his Grandfather was.
"Let me guess, you usually only come looking for me if you either hungry or if you're looking for something of mine to steal and make me chase you around the apartment like an idiot, so which is it, are you hungry?" Jack asked Bunnymund.
The Chartreux cat meowed loudly at the mention of food and without giving Jack so much as a second glance raced off to his bowl, where Jack was met with an impatient look as he scrapped the tuna into the cat's dish.
"You're welcome," Jack said as he watched the cat dig in, not paying any mind to his owner.
His Grandfather had been the one who got along with Bunnymund, the cat was more dog-like around him and ever since his passing it seemed as though his distaste for Jack had grown, they'd never gotten along before North's passing, but since then he would get scratched and attacked more often by the fuzzball.
"That should be enough, right?" Jack asked himself as he to a step back and examined his belongings, "Six t-shirts, five shorts, two pairs of saddles, three books to read while over there, a sunhat, sunglasses and lots of suncream".
He'd initially packed more, but when Tooth had been around, she told him that he was packing as if he were never coming back and had dumped his belongs out onto the bed and put in what she claimed were the essentials. Quickly, Jack scooped up his DVD copy of Mamma Mia and placed it in his suitcase, if he were lucky he'd get to watch it more than once while over there.
"This time in three days, I'll be living our dream North" he smiled as he gazed at the last photo the pair had ever taken together.
Jack couldn't help but feel as though he'd be even more excited for the vacation if his Grandfather were able to come also. After all, he was the one person Jack felt he could say anything too, he'd been the first person Jack had come out as being gay and North just hugged him and told him he was so proud of how brave Jack was to come out of the closet.
Over the years Jack had dated quite a few guys, but none of them lasted, he learned after about the third guy he'd dated that if his Grandad didn't like them, then that was generally a sign that they were going to break his heart like the others before them.
As Jack switched off the light and crawled in between the sheets on the bed, he could already smell the salty beach air and feel the sun on his skin. He told himself that he'd have to be careful since he didn't precisely tan as much as he did cook in the sun.
Author's Note - Hope you all enjoyed reading this, I wrote it during my lunch break, so let me know what you all thought about it and if you've any sort of ideas I'll take them on board.