It's September already and I'm already excited for Christmas! Also, I'm excited for Rapunzel's upcoming campus-wide Christmas party! :D Especially her dance number!

I do NOT own Tangled, ROTG and the brands/companies and the like mentioned in this fan fic.


Chapter 8: Preparations

Rapunzel sighed a bit and ignored the girls walking down the middle aisle. She got a letter and pressed it against the wall. She thought that maybe she could get help from the theatre arts students to stick it for her because she still had to fix her dance costume for her dance number. She grabbed another letter and pressed it against the wall too. Jack went to her, "Need any help?" he asked. She shook her head, "Nah. I was just trying to see if my layout looks really okay." She said and took the letters from the wall and placed them back with the other letters. He followed her. They were arranging the letters when suddenly, someone spoke.

"So, Rapunzel, have you thought about my offer?"

Rapunzel inhaled and sighed with exasperation. She was tired of her. She turned to the group of five girls and straightened herself. "Yes and I say no."

Jack glanced at them. He was confused. He could feel the intensity of the two girls and watched them intently.

"Even if I pay you thirty grand for it?" the girl asked. Jack looked at her. The girl had a long crimson red hair and feisty green eyes. She was wearing a bit of blush-on and lip gloss, considering how her lips shined unnaturally. His brows furrowed a bit and then, he glanced at Rapunzel who was a bit irritated by the look of her face. Rapunzel frowned, "Even if you offer the whole continent, I still won't." she spat. Jack could see and feel her irritation getting higher by the second. He was curious on what were they talking about.

There was a bit of silence and then the girl with red hair spoke, "Fine. But you're stupid to turn down such a big deal." She scoffed at her and turned to leave with her posse but Rapunzel jumped down the stage and placed her hands on her hips, "You're the stupid one here." She said as she smirked at her back.

The girl turned to her again and walked towards her until they were only a feet away from each other, "What did you just say, blondie?" she narrowed her eyes at Rapunzel. Jack knew there's going to be trouble so he jumped down the stage and landed behind Rapunzel. He went closer to her just in case one of them attacks.

Rapunzel rolled her eyes as she scoffed, "You heard me. If anyone's stupid, it would be you. Can't you understand a simple 'no'?" she crossed her arms, "Now I'm wondering how you graduated high school if you don't even know what that means. I'm also starting to wonder if you're the one who made your assignments and not some person you just pay to do it for you so you'll pass." She smirked at the girl.

The girl smirked back at her, "You think you're so smart, Rapunzel, even though you aren't."

"And you think you are?"

Jack watched them. They reminded him of himself and Bunnymund but in a different and higher case. This was something serious. The red head was willing to pay Rapunzel a lot just to do school work and, probably, impress her professors. It doesn't take a valedictorian to know that it was against school rules. Hearing the red head insult Rapunzel made him almost lose his patience.

"Am I not? I'm one of the top ten in the dean's lists." The red head crossed her arms with pride.

Rapunzel placed her hands on her hips again, "Are you sure you're the one who worked hard for it? And I don't believe you."

The group of girls laughed, headed by the red haired girl, "You couldn't believe I'm smarter than you?" she said and continued laughing.

"Of course I don't. You see, if you were, you probably know how to actually fight arguments by sticking to the topic, not changing it by… hmm.. I don't know, throwing insults and accusations to your opponent, maybe?" Rapunzel arched a brow, which made the red head stop from laughing. It hit her.

Rapunzel knew she got her. She liked the sight of the girl turning red from embarrassment and anger. She never thought she could stand up to her until a while ago, when her patience snapped. She was the type who wouldn't try to argue with anyone because, generally, she dislikes arguments. But now, she has had enough of the girl. Rapunzel inhaled a bit. Unknown to her, the red head was going to hit her but Jack caught the girl's wrist. All of the girls' eyes widened. They didn't notice him until now but for Rapunzel, she didn't feel him move his way in front of her. She knew he was behind her but he was just so quick!

"I think you've done enough damage already." He said, glaring a bit at the red head. All of them were still too shock to move. Rapunzel was the first one to recover. This time, she was the one who was watching them. She watched carefully to see if either one of them would do anything violent. She felt a bit relieved when Jack let go of the girl's wrist but, he was still glaring at her. She held his wrist and pulled him beside her and stepped forward, "You might want to leave before I strangle you." She said.

The red head glanced at the both of them but she eyed Jack from head to toe and smirked. From the looks of her, she seemed she likes Jack's bad boy look. She turned and snapped her fingers and left the theatre arts room with her girls and slammed the door shut. The echo of the slamming rang inside the theatre and left them staring at the door. Rapunzel sighed. It was one big leap for her.

She sat at the bottom of the stage and leaned back on it, "God, I thought I was going to be done for." She said, looking at her hands. She was trembling from the irritation she felt earlier. She tried calming herself down from the nervousness and a bit of anger she felt by inhaling and exhaling as exaggerated as she could.

Jack went in front of her and bent his legs. He looked at her then at her hands and noticed she was still trembling so he held them gently yet firmly. "Man, girls like her still exist? I thought they were extinct by now." He said.

She laughed, "I wish they were but I guess it wouldn't happen ever." She smiled up at him, "Thanks Jack."

His lips curved into a small smile, "No problem, Goldilocks."

They both stood up and someone suddenly barged in.

"There you are!" a girl said loudly, her voice echoing in the room. "Everyone's been looking for you, Punz! The venue's changed! It'll be held outside, in the football field!" she added. She was looking at Rapunzel but saw Jack's figure standing by her, "Who's he?" she asked, loud enough for her voice to echo.

Rapunzel grabbed the letterings. Jack helped her.

"I'll explain on the way." She said and went to the backstage and grabbed two shoe boxes full of glitter cylinders and went to the door.

While on the hallway, Rapunzel introduced Jack to her friend and club mate, Jenny. She also explained that Jack was going to transfer to CU after the Christmas vacation. Like Toni, Duchess and Moira, she asked his relationship with Rapunzel. And like what he told the trio, he said he was a family friend or the son of Rapunzel's dad's friend. I'll just stick with 'family friend', Jack thought. But unlike the trio, Jenny didn't ask a lot, just their relationship and where he currently stays. And luckily for the both of them, Jenny didn't squeal like the three did. The whole trip to the football field was silent but when they opened the double doors to the field, they were greeted by a lot of noise echoing in the field.

There were students designing the light posts with garland, some were decorating the stage, some were placing black rubber mats across the field and some were practicing their dance numbers. The three of them went to the stage and placed down the letters on a nearby table. They were greeted by the other students assigned to fix and decorate the stage. They gathered around them but all eyes were on Jack. They looked at him from head to toe. It made him uncomfortable again. He still wasn't used to being seen by a lot of people so, he stiffened a bit.

A boy with black messy hair, Clarence, looked at Rapunzel then back at Jack, "So, who's he?"

Everyone had their eyes turned to Rapunzel now. It made her feel a bit uncomfortable and blush. She bowed her head and looked at them, at Jack then back at them and lifted her head back, "This is Jack. He'll be transferring here."

They all nodded in an Oh-I-see way and looked at Jack again. Clarence held his hand out to him for a handshake. For a moment, Jack stared at his hand and took it. The black haired boy gave him a firm handshake and a wide grin, "I'm Clarence." He introduced himself and lifted his arms to his sides, still grinning at him, "We are Rapunzel's club mates, but we prefer to be called her 'campus family'." He added.

They all waved at him and gave him a warm welcome. Some gave him a handshake and some gave him a pat on the shoulders. Jack smiled at them. He didn't know what to say to them—whether he should say thank you or nice to meet you all. Clarence looked at Rapunzel, "So, are you done with the letters?"

Rapunzel puffed her cheeks, "No."

His eyes widened, "What!? But the party's the day after tomorrow! We need to put the letters up now!" he said with obvious panic in his voice. The theatre arts coordinator assigned him to lead their club so he'll be in big trouble if things weren't done on the day of the deadline which was today.

"What? But I thought the deadline's tomorrow?"

"Ms. Claire moved the deadline today because the dancers have to do a dry-run tomorrow." He explained and grabbed the letterings she made and gave it to her and looked at her with pleading eyes, "Please, Punzie?"

Rapunzel stared at him for a while and sighed in defeat, "Oh, alright!" she said and went to the table. Everyone got back to their work. Jack walked to her and looked at what she was doing—she was spreading glue diagonally and then, she sprinkled red glitters all over it. Then, she left a space for the green glitters and squeezed the glue bottle to put glue at the bottom then she sprinkled red glitters on it too. He now visually saw what she was explaining to him earlier so he helped her with the other letters, doing the same thing she did with the letter M. When it was their turn to sprinkle the green glitters, the letters reminded him of North's candy canes—only they were red and white by color. He smiled. Rapunzel saw this and bumped his hips with hers.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked teasingly.

He chuckled, "Nothing."

She nudged him, "I don't believe you."

He looked at her, smiling, "It's really nothing."

She pouted at him. His heart melted by the sight of her adorable pout again and sighed in defeat but he still smiled at her, "It's really nothing, Goldilocks. I just remembered North's candy cane because of these." He said and held up the letter Y and excess glitters fell from it.

She smiled brightly at him, "Do you miss them?"

He arched a brow, "What? No!" he denied but Rapunzel kept teasing him but he still denied it, "I don't miss them. I just…" he looked away from her, looking down at the letterings, "…miss my job…" he mumbled so quietly that she didn't hear him even though they were only inches close.

"What?" she tilted her head.

Jack looked at her with his eyes then back at the letterings, "I just feel different, being a human and all this."

"You'll get used to it soon, I guess. Being a winter spirit for centuries must be something you won't get rid of easily." She smiled at him but she realized that he might misunderstand her, "Not that you should get rid of it. I-I mean that… um.." she stammered badly.

He grinned and placed down on the table the letter he was holding, "I know," he said gently, trying not to sound arrogant, "It just feels really different. I never really thought I would experience this." He said, referring to everything he has done so far.

She giggled and gave him a light smack on the back, "Oh, Jack! You'll get used to it. It's only been days since you came to my house and stayed there as—"

"Stayed!?" some of her club mates reacted, notably, the girls. The guys were surprised too but didn't surround them like the girls.

Rapunzel cleared her throat, "He's my visitor. He's staying there as my visitor." She said, emphasizing on the word 'visitor'. The girls calmed down but they were a bit disappointed though. The guys exhaled. All that time, they were holding their breaths.

Jack gave a sigh of relief. He thought he was going to be surrounded by women again. He looked at Rapunzel who was frowning a bit, her lips forming a small downward curve. His expression of panic softened at the sight of her face. He took the letters, "Let's go put 'em up?"

She looked at him, her expression changing from a frown to a warm smile, "Let's go!" she nodded.

Jack got a chair and stood on it while Rapunzel was down the stage, several feet away from the stage. She guided him on where to put the letters. Although, even with her help, it took them a while to place all the letters. When they finished, Jack down the stage and stood beside her. The letters formed an arc across the wooden wall. He was amazed at how the letters sparkled that he smiled unconsciously.

She gave him a friendly pat on the arms, "Good job!" she said, clenching her hands to a fist in front of her.

He looked down at her fist then at her, grinned and bumped her fist with his own.

Since they were done, they said their goodbyes and went home. Immediately, Jack turned transformed himself. He told her he'd be back by sunrise because he still had to go to North's place before going back. Rapunzel could only nod. I'll be spending some time alone again, she thought. And this time, it would be long before Jack could get back to her place. She sighed after he left and walked towards the window and looked at the direction where he flew and closed the windows a bit, leaving a small gap for him so when he returned while she was still sleeping, he could enter. Because there was nothing left to do except for sewing her costume, she got the roll of black cloth they bought and went to the mini library where the sewing machine was. She started sowing while listening to her iPod. She took a ten-minute break and went back to sewing.

She thought it was weird for her not to feel sleepy. She looked at the wall clock. She gave a heavy sigh. It was already 2 a.m. but she still wasn't sleepy and she was still only three-quarters done with her dress. She still needed to put white accessories on it. She stood up and searched a nearby drawer for her needed accessories and got them. She sat back down by the sewing machine and started sewing the sequence manually. It took her a good two-and-a-half hours before she completed her dress and decided to hang it by the sewing machine. She was so tired that she almost had to crawl her way up to her room. And as soon her head hit the pillow, she fell into deep slumber.

After an hour, Jack came back. She saw her sleeping, snoring lightly and hugging another pillow with her arms and legs. He smiled at the sight and went down quietly, transforming himself again. He just came from North Pole to ask North for something. It took him a while before he was able to finish his business there. He sat on the floor, placed his staff under her bed and pressed his back against her bed. He decided to take a short nap but he was deeply asleep that he didn't wake up when Rapunzel took a shower and when she opened and closed the bedroom door so she could go to the kitchen and prepare him his breakfast.

It was already 10 a.m. when he woke up. He panicked a bit and rushed downstairs but he didn't see Rapunzel. He went to the kitchen and saw a note on the table.

Good morning! I'm at school. I thought you were going to wake up earlier so I made breakfast but since you didn't and I didn't want to wake you up, I left your bowl of cereals in the fridge. – Rapunzel

He released a sigh of relief and placed the note back on the table. He went to the fridge and got his bowl of cereals and ate it quickly so he could go to the university. He took a shower, dressed in the clothes Rapunzel left for him and when he was ready, he closed the windows and locked the doors. He didn't want to use a cab so he ran his way to the place. It took him a while and a few stops but he managed to reach his destination just fine. He wasn't sure how to get in so he tried to walk casually, passing by the gate. The guards checked him but he was able to enter because he told them he was wanted to apply as an art student and he needed to get an application form. They let him pass so he went inside the building first before going to the field.

"Art student," he scoffed at himself, "You're not even artistic, moron." He told himself before opening the same double doors and saw more people than yesterday. The place improved. There was a fountain nearby, buffet tables, group tables and even a tent across the field. He walked in a crowd of rushing students and looked for a certain long-haired blond. He searched her at the back of the stage and saw her wearing a white baggy shirt, black leggings and black strapped heels. She also braided her hair halfway down. She seemed sweating although there was snow around.

Rapunzel was grinning at someone and he doesn't know who because there were too many people at the direction she was looking at. He saw her go to her bag and grab a towel. He walked to her but he stopped when he saw a guy walk up to her and give her a hug. She said something but he couldn't hear it nor could he read her lips. She smiled at the blue haired guy and somehow, it made him frown glare coldly at him. When the guy left, Jack walked up to her with a stoic expression.

She noticed there was someone beside her so she turned and saw him. She greeted him with a smile, "Oh, hey! So how was your trip?"

He didn't feel like smiling back, "Fine." He said and went silent. He wasn't looking at her and she noticed that so she looked at the direction where he was looking—at the blue haired boy. She looked back at him, "What's wrong, Jack? Did you see something?"

Jack continued to glare coldly at the boy. Him, he thought as a reply to her question, but he really wouldn't say it to her. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't. Rapunzel stared at him, waiting for his answer. He dismissed looking at the guy and looked at her with a stoic expression, "Nothing." He said as a reply to her question.

She placed her hands on her hips, leaned her hips to the side and arched a brow, "The last time you said that, there was something."

He smirked and also raised a brow, "It's really nothing." He said but she only raised her brow still. He laughed a bit, "Honest." He assured her and changed the topic, "What happened here? And what's with the shoes, Goldilocks?" he asked, looking at her than at her feet as he smirked some more. He looked at her with his eyes, his head still facing the ground.

She looked at her feet then at him and curled her toes, "Practiced our dance."

He lifted his head and nodded, "What are you going to dance, Goldilocks?"

She grinned up at him and placed her hands behind her and leaned a little forward and slowly turned her head to the side as she said, "Secret." She chuckled, "You'll have to come tomorrow for you to see what we're going to dance. I don't want to spoil you." She said and wiped her sweat with her towel.

He placed a hand inside his pocket and posed in such a way that he looked like he was modelling for a photo shoot, "Fair enough." He smirked and stared at her as she drank water from a one-liter sized bottle. She was able to empty half of it in seconds. "So, what are you going to do now?" he asked.

Rapunzel twisted back the bottle cap to its place and looked at him, "I was thinking of getting you a medical certificate. It's a good thing you came so I won't have to go back and ask you to go with me. The hospital's just over there." She pointed at a tall building.

They decided to go to the hospital and get him a medical certificate. Whatever their strategy was, they were able to get a certificate from a doctor. There were no recorded health issues so he didn't need to go back the second time. Rapunzel also brought his one-by-one photos and earlier before practice, she was able to grab a copy of the application form. She was prepared and it surprised him. Man, was she a girl scout. And she also brought a pen!, he thought.

She told him to fill up the form and she'll be the one to pass it for him. It was a bit hard for him to write because he only wrote a few times and all of it were on moist glass, not papers. Now that he was done, he wondered what was going to happen on his first day of college. He returned the pen to her and stared at the application form. He didn't know if he should smile or stick with his usual poker-face. He looked at her. She fixed the forms in order and placed them in her bag. She looked and smiled at him.

"You'll do fine, Jack." She said and zipped close her bag.

He could only smirk.

I do hope so, Goldilocks.

End of Chapter


Yay! Another chapter done! This is a make-up chapter for the day I wasn't able to post. :D Hope you liked it! This is the LONGEST chapter I have done so far xD Almost 4000 words! Achievement unlocked!

Questions, reviews and the like are welcome!