And So It Begins
How the conversation had returned to the topic of Elsa was beyond Jack. He honestly made every attempt at changing the conversation.
"Merida, did you hear that there's some tomato disease going on? You should start stalking up before the world stops growing them."
"Hiccup, I heard that Books, Books, and Beyond are having a Geek Day sale. You want to go?"
"Bunny, my man, you wanted my iPod, right? You want to have a thoughtful discussion with me as to why I am on the brink of giving it to you?"
"Anna? Insult me? Please?"
But it was to no avail and all eyes were trained on the adoring couple across the cafeteria.
"I never thought she would move on that quickly!" Tooth stammered, tucking some of her multi-colored hair behind her ear.
"I didn't think she would move on at all!" Bunny exclaimed, throwing his arms up for emphasis.
"But they're still a tentative thing. Right, Anna?" Tooth looked at Anna who nodded in response.
"They're not serious or anything, yet."
Jack gave a bitter laugh. Yet.
"You're uncharacteristically quiet, Jack," Merida observed from behind her fifth cup of tomato juice since she sat down. "Surely you have something more to say other than an admission to your 'hatred' for PDA."
"Nope. Nothing." Jack said bitterly.
Before Merida could say anything she was interrupted by Rapunzel slamming her tray on the table before taking the seat next to Jack.
"Jackson Overland Pain-in-the-donkey Frost!" Jack cringed at the the shrill cry of the hyperactive blonde. "Why didn't you tell me you broke up with Elsa?" Her peridot eyes expressed the fire her small frame was barely containing. Jack could only gulp hesitantly. He forgot about Rapunzel.
"Maybe because he knew you would go on some psychotic screaming spree like you are now," Merida said bluntly, wiping her mouth after a large swig of tomato juice. Rapunzel shot a withering glare at the redhead, but Merida wasn't the least bit fazed and shrugged.
"Calm down, woman," Jack snapped in false confidence. "I would have told you this morning but I didn't see you." That was true and anyone would attest to it. However, if Bunny were asked, he would say that there was more to it. After all, it is not n everyday thing to spend a good portion of the morning hiding in the janitor's closet and away from the wrath of a woman's tears.
Rapunzel slumped at this as she looked from Jack to Elsa then back to Jack with a wistful gaze.
"But, but, you guys were my perfect couple. The two of you were my OTP!" the blonde looked like she was at the brink of tears.
"Cut Jack some slack Punz," Anna said, sporting an uncharacteristically wicked glint in her eye. "He's just a tsundere."
Jack was too exhausted to even know if he should be offended or not. "What language is that? I may not know a lot of vocabulary but I am 74% sure that is not English."
"It's Japanese." Hiccup replied in a dull tone, his eyes still glued on his book. "A tsundere is someone who does not easily show affection." He said succinctly.
At this, Bunny burst into laughter, pointing at Jack.
"Anna called you a Japanese word!"
"Shut it, cottontail! Let's just let this topic go. Couples break up all the time."
"But Elsa was infatuated with you for the majority of her life. This is not something we should think lightly of. Where are all the waterworks? Because after all the effort she put into your guys' relationship, she has every right to shed a few tears," Tooth protested.
"Yeah, especially when you broke up with her through text," Merida chided, shaking her head disapprovingly.
Rapunzel covered her mouth in horror as she watched her OTP burn into flames.
"Drop it," Jack growled.
"Let's just give Jack some room. It was his break up too. If Jack doesn't want to discuss Elsa, then we as his friends should respect his wishes," Anna spoke diplomatically. Jack was about to sigh in relief when he caught Anna's meaningful glare. This conversation was far from being over.
The group fell into a comfortable buzz with little conversations sprouting up at a whim when Hiccup's question halted all conversations.
"What do you have against your fork, Jack?" Hiccup pointed his chin in the direction of the disfigured utensil buried into a piece of chicken. Three clean holes right through the bone.
Jack looked down at his fork, surprised himself. The heck?
Bunny, who had been watching Jack from the corner of his eye, smirked.
"He just saw something he doesn't like."
Catching his drift, Jack's eyes turned into dangerous slits.
"What do you mean, Bunbun?" Tooth inquired next to her boyfriend.
"Ice Prick was staring at Arendelle and Ice Princess."
"I was not!" Jack snapped.
"You were outright glaring at the poor guy. If looks could kill, Ice Princess would be dead by now." Bunny declared smugly.
"If looks could kill you'd be dead a long time ago," Jack retorted.
"So tell me again why we are all here?" Hiccup drawled, his eyes zeroed in on the words of A Guidebook to Mechanism In Advanced Organic Chemistry.
"This is an intervention for Jack and Elsa's relationship," Rapunzel said with a resolute nod of her head, as if pleased with the name she came up at the moment.
"If so, shouldn't the people of interest be here too?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow, his eyes, however, were still glued to the page.
"No! It defeats the purpose of having one. They'll both just deny the fact that they were made for each other!" Rapunzel whined.
"I'm with blondie on this one," Bunny spoke, his arm draped on Tooth's thin shoulders. "Ice Prick is definitely jealous that Ice Princess and Arendelle are an item."
"I may not look like I pay attention, and often times I do not, but I specifically remember Jack profusely denying any insinuations that he might be jealous."
"Come on, Hiccup," Merida huffed, "You of all people know better than to buy into Jack's load of cra-" Merida glanced at the starry eyed Rapunzel before continuing, "goldfish crackers and sunshine." An 'ohh I love those' from a cheery blonde could be heard in the background. "Jack did not get jealous over girls in the past because they were practically throwing themselves at him. But now that one isn't, well, Elsa has definitely caught his attention."
"But why would he be jealous now?" Anna asked, not convinced herself.
"Because Dylan was only a catalyst," Hiccup replied, understanding dawning on his face.
"Jack is a dufus who needs a wakeup call from time to time," Bunny groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. "Gosh, I really deserve his iPod after this. And probably his social security if he has any credit on him."
Ignoring the latter half of Bunny's comment, Tooth chimed in,
"Jack didn't have a horde of boys following Elsa when the two of them were dating or before that because of Ice Grandfather's goons-"
"-security-" Anna corrected.
"Yes, security goons. Same thing. But now that the male population has seen it tested and true that Elsa Arendelle can be approached without being castrated, they all want a shot that they never thought was possible."
"So what's keeping him away from rekindling their relationship?"
"Come on Anna, everyone in this room has already caught on," Rapunzel sighed exasperatedly. "First of all, his pride won't let him admit it. Two, he never thought he had competition for Elsa's heart. And three, he has yet to realize that he may not have to become a eunuch in order to date Elsa Arendelle."
"Once he does realize these, however, he will be trying to win back Elsa like a bull on a steak!" Bunny grinned as if he just discovered the secret of life.
"Honey, I don't think a bull would eat other bulls... or meat for that matter-"
"You can make me watch Animal Planet later, Tooth," Bunny dismissed her attempt at correcting him. "So, Rapunzel, what's the gameplan?"
"Well, every good mission needs a good mission name," she mused, tapping her chin.
"What about Jelsa? Wasn't that the ship name you gave them?" Anna added helpfully.
"Operation Jelsa? Please, we need to be more iconic. Some revolutionary to fit the purpose of our mission!" The stars beaming from the blonde's eyes were blinding.
Hiccup, who was silent for the majority of the time finally noticed the pregnant pause in conversation. Sighing, he finally set down his book and massaged the bridge of his nose. "If we're done here can I leave? I need to get check out another book before the library closes-"
"Shut up, you're killing my thinking bubble," Rapunzel shushed him as she rubbed her temples methodically.
"This is just an overload of work your adding to your plate. People would think you guys were planning D-Day or something with this amount of intensity-"
"THAT'S IT!"
Hiccup could have sworn that the window behind him cracked and he thanked the day he decided to trade his glasses in for contacts.
Rapunzel, seemingly immune to her own earth shattering voice, continued on to share her life-changing revelation. "We will call it: Operation Overload!"