Author's note: So it's been a long time...but chapter 2 is finally up! I really have no excuses so I'm not even going to try, but I will say that I'm sorry it's taken so long. I still hope you enjoy it, though!
Please follow, favorite, and review to let me know how I'm doing! (All reviews are appreciated!) Anyways, here's chapter 2...
That whole night I couldn't sleep. But, how could I? Someone had seen me, talked to me even! While I waited for day to break, paranoia ate me alive. Something in the back of my head kept telling me that Elsa was just a fragment of my imagination; that I dreamed her up, and her magical ice castle, so that I wouldn't be so lonely.
Throughout that night I continually flew back to the North Mountain, positive that this time it would be bare. But whenever I peeked around, the castle was always there, standing tall under the twinkling stars.
The moon couldn't go away soon enough. I kept willing it to sink under the horizon to give the sun a chance to shine. Though Elsa never actually said, I figured it would be acceptable visit to the next morning. Of course, if I had it my way, I would have never left.
Not wanting to seem too eager, I forced myself to wait until late morning before I made my way back to her castle.
Just as I had done so many times that night, I floated on the wind to the North Mountain. As the castle came into view I decided that, since we were acquainted yesterday, I no longer needed to use the door.
I dropped down onto the balcony with a soft thud. Instead of the ice freezing my bare feet, the familiar coolness was a much needed comfort. Even though I was very much dead, the nerves and anticipation of seeing her again made me feel more alive than ever.
I quietly walked into her room, and if she knew I was there, she didn't acknowledge it.
As I watched her, I noticed how different she looked from last night. Her dress, though roughly the same color, was much more sophisticated and reserved. It was cut straight down, and the hem just barely brushed the floor. And instead of the lose braid, she was in the process of pulling her hair into a tight bun on the back of her head.
"What happened to last night's flashy number, huh? You know the tight one with the sparkles and snowflakes?" I said with a smirk, obviously startling her.
After getting over the initial shock she replied, "That was, uh, sort of an impulse. Kind of a onetime thing," she said, quickly turning around to hide her beat red cheeks.
"Well it was certainly better than this," I replied, gesturing to her plain outfit, but almost immediately regretting the comment. She didn't seem to appreciate the joke, and I quickly realized that I'd have to watch my mouth if I wanted to stay.
"I don't care what you think," she huffed. "I don't even know why you're here."
"Remember, you told me I could come back," a huge grin broke my face as I recalled that particular moment.
"No, I said that I'd consider it. And after consideration, I've decided that it would be best if you'd leave me alone," she corrected me.
Suddenly aware that the morning was not going at all to plan, I desperately blurted, "I won't bother you, I promise!"
"I highly doubt that you won't be annoying," already beginning to turn away from me and continue on with her day.
"Hey, that hurt!" I joked, trying anything to change her sour mood. "But please Elsa!" I begged, turning serious. In a last, desperate attempt to change her mind, I shot her a playful smirk. She just rolled her eyes, though, obviously not amused.
"Your little smirk and good looks might be enough to sweep other girls off their feet, but it's going to take more than that to convince me."
"You don't get it, do you? You're the only one who can see me! I'm invisible to everyone else!" I shouted. "Wait a minute; did I hear you call me good looking?" I asked as an afterthought, my voice turning playful again.
"That's beside the point," she quickly brushed off my comment. "So what's this about invisibility?" she asked skeptically, clearly not buying it, but wanting to change the subject.
It was the perfect opportunity to buy myself some more time, so naturally, I jumped at the chance.
"Let me start at the beginning," I told her. I then explained everything about how I can't be seen, heard, or touched; what it means to be Jack Frost.
However, during my lengthy explanation, I carefully tiptoed around the fact that I was dead and failed to mention my immortality. It's always been a bit of a touchy subject, and I refuse to think about it because it always leads to one thing: the sister that I left behind.
Pushing these dangerous thoughts back out of my mind, I refocused my attention on Elsa, trying to read her face as she processed the new information.
"Okay," Elsa said after the long silence following my explanation, still a bit skeptical. "So then, why can I see you?"
"Well I guess that would be because you believe in me," I stated simply.
"What do you mean?" she asked, clearly confused.
"To the rest of the world, I'm just a legend; a made up legend. But if someone believes that I'm actually real, not just from a storybook, then I become real to them," I paused to make sure she's still listening, but then continued. "But, you see, that's never happened to me, at least not that I know of. So, I've never really had the chance to see if it was true."
Elsa stayed quiet for a long time, I guess trying to process everything I'd thrown at her.
At last she broke the silence, "So you're really Jack Frost? Is there anything else that I need to know about you?"
"It's possible that I can form snow and frost," I said, trying to sound casual as the words rushed out of mouth fast enough to render my attempt useless. "Oh, and I can fly," I added, keeping my eyes trained on her to catch her reaction.
Oddly enough, she didn't seem at all fazed by my confession. Instead, she laughed. I was not expecting this, maybe confusion or denial, but certainly not laughter.
When she caught enough breath to speak, she asked, "Can I see?"
No matter how much I tried, I could not figure this girl out. She couldn't accept that I was invisible, but throw in snow powers and flying, and all of a sudden it's amusing. Maybe she just thinks I'm crazy.
I picked up my staff, which had been leaning against the icy walls, and hesitantly dragged it across her bedroom floor. Delicate frost formed on the ground as my staff passed over it. From there, it continued to spread until the whole room was covered in the swirls of ice.
I took a moment to admire my work. Even though it had been hundreds of years, I still couldn't contain my pride when seeing my creation. And I had to admit, this job was particularly well done. The frost was delicate, precise, and all together perfect.
I watched as Elsa took it all in, and then met my gaze. "Not bad," she said, as a smirk of her own crept up on her face.
"Not bad?! NOT BAD?! I just covered your room in frost with my own hands and all I get is a not bad?!" I yelled in mock defense, though actually slightly hurt by her words.
"Well technically you used your shepherding crook, not your bare hands," she told me pointedly while motioning to the staff in my hands.
"I'd like to see you try making frost with your bare hands," I challenged, ending with a scoff.
She simply shrugged in response and broke my challenging stare. That's what I thought. But then she scanned the room, as if deciding how to prove me wrong, and settled on the ceiling. She raised her arms towards the peak; where all of the sides of the ceiling joined together to form the tip of her castle. At the flick of her wrist shards of ice began forming shapes out of the ceiling, continually growing closer to the ground.
When she dropped her arms back to her sides, I stepped back trying to figure out what she had created. I stood in complete awe, mouth hanging open and everything, as I realized it was a magnificent chandelier. My eyes darted from Elsa to the chandelier, wondering how she had done that with just her fingertips.
"I don't admit this often, but I do believe you've won," I tell her, still partially shocked by her abilities. I'm not sure why I was so surprised, though. After all, I was standing in an ice castle that she probably built with another simple flick of the wrist.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by her light chuckle floating through the air. As I watched her, I realized how truly beautiful she was. Her eyes sparkled with joy, and her lips were turned up in a smile.
She turned away from me, and walked towards her balcony. After pressing my palms together, I opened them to find a perfectly formed snowball. While Elsa wasn't looking, I threw it and the snow hit her square on the back.
She froze mid-step, and I almost thought she might scold me, but then she turned around with a devilish glint in her eye. Her hands made motions in the air, but it wasn't until I looked above my head that I found out what she was doing. Hanging just a few feet above me was a huge snowball, just waiting to be released.
Just as she was about to drop it, panic flashed through Elsa's eyes. Instead of burying me, the snowball simply popped, and glittery snowflakes rained around me, but disappeared before ever touching the ground.
When I looked back at Elsa, her eyes were watery and her lips were pressed into a firm line.
"No Jack, you have to leave. I can't do this again," Elsa pleaded weakly.
"Elsa, what's going on? Why do you keep pushing me out?" I asked softly.
At these words, a small sound escaped her lips and tears rushed to her eyes, threatening to escape. As an instinct, I rushed to her side. Unsure of whether she wanted my comfort, I ended up standing awkwardly next to her and sadly watching as a lone tear rolled down her cheek.
"Elsa, please tell me what's wrong. What did I do?" I asked as I knelt down next to her. Through teary eyes, she looked up at me. But instead of answering, she just leaned forward and buried her head into my neck. I hesitantly wrapped my arms around her shaking body, but eventually became more sure of myself.
I stroked her back with my thumbs, in what I hoped was a soothing action. Whether it was me, or time, she finally started to calm down.
"That's what Anna said," she choked out between sniffles.
"What?"
"That's what Anna, my sister, said to me. She told me that I always push her out," Elsa explained. After a moment, I realized she was referring to when I told her that she was pushing me out.
"Why don't you tell me what happened," I suggested in what I hope was a comforting voice, not really sure what else to do.
She opened her mouth as if she was about to spill out all of her secrets, but quickly closed it and pulled her lips into a tight line. I watched her closely as she took a deep breath, trying to collect herself, before straightened up and looked me firmly in the eye.
"I'm fine. It's nothing, really, I'm fine," she repeated as if trying to convince herself it was the truth, which it clearly wasn't.
"Elsa, you're not fine okay, and you don't have to pretend to be for my sake either."
"Your sake!" she scoffed at me. "You think I'm doing this for your sake?" But when she saw what I'm sure was my shocked expression, her face softened. "Look, Jack, I know you just told me your whole life story, but I'm not sure I can return the favor quite yet. I mean we just met!" she admitted with a little laugh at the end.
As I thought over her words, my eyes lit up with realization.
"Yet? As in a future?" I asked hopefully.
"Uh, I don't know, Jack. I really just need some time to think. I didn't just run away to the mountains for the fun of it," she said with a sad smile. After a slight pause, she then turned away and headed towards the door. It was only just as she was reaching for the door handle that I realized what was about to happen.
"Elsa! Wait!" I called, trying to think of any reason to make her stay. When my mind turned blank and she turned back towards the door, I began to panic. "No! Please don't leave; I can't live like this anymore!" I pleaded out of desperation. I had survived decades of being by myself, but now that I had a glimpse of being noticed, I couldn't just turn away and forget it never happened.
She huffed loudly, looking conflicted. I hoped she didn't want me to go either. Without another word Elsa glanced at me one last time, and then left me alone with my thoughts. I can't believe she just left. We've both so lonely, and she just destroyed our one opportunity to end that. I should've known not to get my hopes up.
"So are you coming or not?" said a quiet voice that I had become familiar with. I looked up from where I was standing, and sure enough Elsa was watching me curiously from the doorway. I shot her a doubtful glance, and she raised her eyebrows at me like a challenge.
I put my hands up in mock surrender, and Elsa called, "Alright, just follow me."
I made sure to stay close behind Elsa, so as not to get lost in the maze of hallways. But after walking not even 20 feet, she came to an abrupt stop. I looked around, noticing we were standing in front of the door to the left of Elsa's room. She gestured for me to step inside. The room was also a bedroom, slightly smaller and less elegant than Elsa's. Was it possible that she was offering me a room?
I looked at her hopefully, waiting to see if my assumption was correct.
Choosing my words carefully I asked, "So what is this room for?"
"Well I was thinking that, uh, maybe you could use it," she said nervously while staring at her shoes. "For now at least," she added quickly, careful to avoid any commitment she wasn't ready for. When she looked up, I couldn't help but notice the warmth creeping up on her cheeks.
"I'm sure I could find a use for it," I replied casually, although my face told a completely different story.
I couldn't believe it. Here I was thinking Elsa was kicking me out, when really she was ensuring my stay. I loved watching kids laugh and play in my snow, I truly did. But this, this was a whole new kind of happy.
A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Did you like it? I know it moved kind of fast and they're already living in the castle together, but it's not like they're in love or anything! I'm going to blame it on Elsa's kind heart and her instinct to try and protect people since Jack is so desperate to be seen. They're also both very lonely so it worked out!
No promises on when the next chapter will be uploaded, but I will try to get it up as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!