10. That Damn Day Part 1
The sudden blast of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song stirred Jack from his deep slumber at about eight in the morning, and with a sound that imitated an amorous walrus he groggily fumbled for his phone, hoping to kill the sound and sleep some more.
He wasn't used to getting a good night's sleep, and was thankful that he lived on his own – any room-mates or some such would have immortalised his less-than-graceful awakening on Facebook and Youtube. He would never live it down.
Wait, Led Zeppelin…a text?
He quickly gathered himself and tried once more to grab the phone, knocking it onto the floor with a thump. Cursing his clumsy haste, he stretched down from the bed, anxious to remain within the comfortable sheets as he finally laid his fingers upon the device, picking it up and swiftly checking the screen.
No text, just an alarm and a reminder for twelve o'clock on Saturday, December 8th. Today. He flicked through the messages to check if he had missed it, but the last one was from Elsa at about half past nine the previous night.
"Goodnight! Elsa x"
He debated firing off another text, but the growling in his stomach that rivalled the Impala told him it could wait. He had a long drive ahead of him, and sustenance was definitely needed.
I'll grab something on the way. It's a two hour drive.
Stretching clumsily, he nearly fainted when he caught a whiff of his own scent.
Jeez! Alright, shower first; otherwise I'll get quarantined by the CDC.
A shower, quick change of clothes later – he had elected for a black sleeveless shirt with I AM GROOT on the front and comfortable black jeans – and a quick stop for food and gas, the Impala was roaring along the road like a mechanical beast, dead set on the highway west out of Arendelle City.
Flicking through his extensive playlist on his phone he eventually gave up trying to choose a song and just set it to random. The heavy drum intro of Metalingus by Alter Bridge challenged the Impala for dominance in the decibel competition, and with a strike of panic Jack quickly pressed the skip button several times, desperate to change the song before Myles Kennedy began to sing.
I still can't listen to that song. It doesn't hold the same meaning that it used to, and probably never will.
His heart was thumping loudly in his chest as his breathing came rapidly, and a memory that he had long suppressed tried to claw its way to the surface, desperate to be seen. Jack mentally held it under the metaphorical water, feeling it struggle and thrash until finally it went limp, sinking right back down into the depths of his mind. He couldn't let it out, not yet…and maybe never.
The End of Heartache roared out from the speakers once Jack had stopped skipping tracks, and satisfied that he wasn't going to freak out and lose control of the car, he began to relax, slowing his breathing down to its original regularity. His heart, however, was not so easily dissuaded.
A sign approached and Jack scrutinised it, noting with a little pride that he was ahead of schedule. It said 'BURGESS, 100 MILES ROUTE-' though Jack missed the route number. He wasn't bothered though, he knew exactly where he was going, as though he was being pulled there.
Home.
Elsa had been up since six o'clock that morning and spent the first three hours of the day – aside from the usual morning routine – poring over documents and billing reports that had been delivered to her house by courier. They were mostly historical records of monthly income and records of who owned shares in the company, along with records from other companies who had long fallen under the heel of Black Advertising's boot that were generously supplied by their ex-CEOs.
The idea was that she would examine the average and projected sales of Fractal Fashion's products along with their monthly expenditure for things like advertising, events and production costs, to work out how much they would have available to finance the resistance. Kai had emailed over a plan in the early hours of the morning detailing his tactics to her, asking for her perusal and approval. Elsa didn't know why he did that, he was still technically the CEO of the company and, while she had influence within the board, ultimately the decisions were his until it was her time to take over. She guessed it was just out of respect.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, she slumped backwards on the backrest of the highchair and exhaled deeply, her mind beginning to lose its cohesion. She knew she wasn't feeling great in her head, with everything that happened over the past week and it was getting a little on top of her. Running a hand through her hair, currently braid free and hanging loosely over her left shoulder, she decided to give it a break. The numbers could wait until later.
Periodically she checked her phone in case any sneaky messages had slipped through - muffled by the sounds of Uprising by Muse resonating from her laptop - but each time she was disappointed.
I wonder what he's doing…
She picked up her phone and was midway through typing when shuffling and yawning reached her ears from the bedroom area, and Elsa couldn't help but chuckle to herself as she quietly placed the phone back on the breakfast bar, readying a sarcastic remark.
"Looks like the Zombie Apocalypse has begun, and in my house no less!"
Anna shot her a glower, or at least tried to. Her face puffy from sleep and looking like she had slept for a year, her hair was a mess and she was wearing a flowery pink dressing gown so the best glower she could manage was an incredibly cute squint.
"Need. Coffee." was Anna's attempt at a retort. Yep, a zombie.
"It's ready for you to press the button. Have zombies grown out of the taste of human brains, now?" she continued the assault.
"Nope. Just yours." Anna fired back as the dispenser began to gurgle into life. Elsa stuck her tongue in her cheek as her eyebrows raised in a challenged manner, her eyes flickering with playful vengeance.
"Oh, it's on!" she cackled, and chased her squealing sister around the kitchen.
"Stop! Stop! Low-hanging fruit! I haven't had my coffee yet, I'm defenceless!" Anna shrieked, tearing around the breakfast bar and into the living room, vaulting effortlessly over the sofa to get away from her relentless elder sister. Eugene had just walked into the kitchen and burst into raucous laughter, gesturing madly to Rapunzel who had just left the bedroom to see what all the fuss was about.
"Punzie, you've…gotta…see this!" he said in between fits of laughter, as Rapunzel poked her head around the corner and snorted into mirthful cackles herself.
Elsa had pinned Anna on the sofa under several large red cushions. Sat on the middle cushion which was on Anna's chest, she bounced occasionally with an expression of victorious pride.
"What's the matter, 'sis?" she teased, darting her hands under the cushion to tickle a squirming Anna. "Wanna give up, or should I tickle you some more?"
"Pweathe thtop! I can't thake anymore!" shrieked Anna, kicking and squirming to try and get away from her elder sister's relentless fingers.
"What do you guys think? Has she had enough?" Elsa called to the two spectators who, to Anna's dismay as she managed to poke her head out from one of the cushions, grinned and shook their heads.
"Majority verdict! Plea overruled!" Elsa announced, her hands sliding once more between the cushions as the convulsions and squeals resumed once more.
"Ahahaha! Please, please stop! I can't breathe!"
"Do you give up?"
"Yes, God yes!"
Elsa held her hands in the air as a sign of victory, and released a defeated Anna from the sofa. The younger sister practically staggered back to the coffee dispenser, gasping for breath as she tried to stop the laughter bubbling over once more.
The elder sister's victory was short-lived however, as while she was dancing triumphantly back to the group, Rapunzel noticed Elsa's phone screen was still active. Elsa froze, eyes darting between Rapunzel's nosy eyes and the phone. She surged forward to get to it before Rapunzel did, however the heir to Corona Haircare was far too fast for her.
"You snooze, you lose. So, what's here to gossip about…" she teased, inspecting the screen.
"'Morning, how are you?' Succinct. I like it, if a little boring. So…who is the lucky recipient…"
Elsa cringed a little. She had escaped having to brief everyone on yesterday's events and had hoped to avoid it today, but because of Rapunzel's infernal reaction speed there was no escape this time. Rapunzel's eyes went wide and she made an "oho!" sound.
"So, somebody has Jack Overland's number!" she teased, sticking her tongue out. Anna nearly dropped her coffee and even Eugene gasped.
"Right," Anna instantly took control, "This calls for a meeting. Rapunzel, coffee. Eugene, cookies. Hop to it, soldiers!"
Rapunzel and Eugene both bolted upright and saluted, then rushed off to their assigned tasks.
"I'm gonna get dressed, and then you're gonna spill. Every detail."
Elsa groaned and contemplated hiding in her room for the rest of the day, or perhaps, the year.
The drive to Burgess was shorter than anticipated, and Jack found that he was left with an hour to kill.
He had debated swinging by his old university and seeing if anything had changed, but decided against it. It held nothing that he wanted to remember, anyway. The last time he was there, another student had felt the brunt of his suppressed rage, and it was only because North's lawyers argued 'extenuating circumstances' that Jack was able to avoid an assault charge…twice. While he was grudgingly grateful to Nick for saving his bacon, the prospect of jail time had meant little to him.
Electing to simply drive around Burgess, he happened upon many of his old stomping grounds, like the statue of Thaddeus Burgess where he kissed Eleanor Andersen when he was the tender age of fifteen.
Hmm, Eleanor. Nice girl, but no fire. No passion, no independence. Never really had her own opinions, just everyone else's.
He had been aimlessly driving for about half an hour when he had involuntarily pulled over near the city's edge, as though his direction-less travelling did indeed have a destination. Gazing out of the window, he recognised the sign.
Burgess Cemetery
He didn't know how it happened, but it was as though something had taken control of his body. He killed the engine, slid out of the Impala and numbly walked inside the cemetery gates, to a place that only he knew. Little attention was paid to the well-tended flowers, the exceptionally clean headstones or the impeccably cut grass, or even the sprinkling of people who had come to pay their respects.
No, he was separate from all that, like it was a world away. Following the path to the eastern edge of the cemetery, he walked up to two gravestones situated at the very edge of a long line. Stopping about two feet away, he dropped to his knees as though limp, and bowed his head.
Sarah Elizabeth Overland
1965 – 2011
Beloved Mother, Gone But Not Forgotten
Sophie Marie Overland
2003 – 2011
Always Within Our Hearts
It was only for an instant, but the ice cracked enough to let a solitary tear slide down from his left eye as he traced along the letters and numbers dedicated to Sophie Overland's memory. His voice cracking, he could only let four words whisper from his lips.
"I miss you, snowflake."
Elsa sank back into the sofa, massaging her temples in exasperation. Rapunzel and Eugene studied her from the opposite sofa on the other side of a coffee table, and Anna was sat practically on top of her. This had been the fourth time she had gone through it, and everyone seemed more focused on the fact that Jack had helped her out instead of the slow death of Fractal Fashion.
Can't blame them, Elsa. They don't have the responsibilities that you do, lucky bastards.
"Then what happened when he dropped you off at this…Sandy's?"
"I told you, we tore each other's clothes off, he pulled me in to the back of the car and we fucked over and over again." Elsa deadpanned, tiring of the constant badgering. She inwardly laughed when Anna exploded.
"WHAT?!" she jumped to her feet, leaning over her elder sister. Elsa returned it with an impassive gaze.
"This is, what, the fourth time I've gone through this? I was just checking you were paying attention, what with it being the fourth fucking time!" she snapped.
Anna shrank a little, and sat back down. Eugene exhaled deeply, and suggested that Rapunzel should join him in making more coffee, which she quickly agreed.
"I'm sorry, Anna, I didn't mean to snap. It's just…I had the worst news from the company about Black Advertising, and all you guys seem to be concerned about is Jack." she groaned.
"I'm sorry too…this is the last time, I promise. What happened when he dropped you off at Sandy's?" she quietly spoke. Elsa sighed, and went through it again for hopefully the last time.
"He told me he understood what I was going through, and I snapped something really evil back at him, and I still regret what I said. Especially when Sandy told me he basically paid for the Cadillac's repair. That text was all I heard from him since then, and I hope it means he's not angry with me. I don't know why, but I don't want him to be."
"It's because you've got a crush, Elsie!" called Eugene from the kitchen, who promptly whimpered as Rapunzel threatened him with a frying pan for butting in. Elsa would have disagreed, but she had already come to the same conclusion yesterday.
"I know, but I'm not even sure it's mutual." she muttered.
"Guess you'll find out on Monday, won't you?" Anna smiled, laying a supportive hand on her sister's leg.
"I suppose I will." Elsa answered with a faraway look on her face as she smiled to herself.
I suppose I will.
Pulling up outside Aster's, he took a moment to check himself.
It wasn't that he wanted to look good for Aster, it was more that he didn't want him to suss anything out. The guy was an old acquaintance of Jack's, and had this uncanny ability to see past the façade that people would wear when they came to him for his art. He rarely spoke more than a few clipped words, for which Jack was grateful, but it always gave him a nervous feeling when Aster was watching him, it was like he could see everything Jack was trying to hide.
Just like a certain someone in Arendelle City.
Praying that Aster wouldn't say something, he slid out of the driver's seat and locked the Impala, then walked through the frosted glass doors into Aster's domain.
"Usual then, I take it?"
Jack's head followed the familiar Australian drawl. Aster was hunched over a special desk that had a gentle light emanating from the surface, tracing an intricate Aboriginal salamander design onto a sheet of paper. Jack just grunted his answer.
Aster pulled his feet from under the desk and stood, drawing himself to his full height. He was about six-three to Jack's six, twenty-eight years old, and his frame indicated someone who spent a lot of time in the wild. He was medium build, with powerful muscles and tanned skin. A sleeveless khaki green vest showed off the myriad of tattoos on his arms, neck and shoulders, mostly Aboriginal designs of frogs, salamanders, kangaroos and snakes, with a few dot-work mandalas here and there. Blue-grey dreadlocks cascaded from his head in a ponytail down to the base of his spine, and vivid green eyes shone with wisdom behind solid black rectangular glasses.
"Get yourself comfy then mate, I'll finish setting up." he drawled, walking past Jack toward the tray of inks and gloves.
Jack took off his jacket and hoody, hooking them onto the coat-stand near the working area. Striding over to the designated seat, he pulled off his top and tossed it in the general direction of his coats. He had been here twice before, but the sight of Aster's shop always seemed new. Various posters and paintings were fixed untidily to the wall with lashings of sticky tack, and a cork hat was impaled to the wall above the door by a sharpened boomerang. Aster hated stereotypes about Australians, and quite often physically threw out people who thought it would be clever to butcher his accent in front of him. He was that proud of his heritage…and that grumpy.
Feeling the crinkle of the saran wrap on his back as he laid down upon the currently flat recliner chair, he absent-mindedly traced a finger along the multitude of scars that adorned the left side of his torso, every one of them bringing back the same memory. The jarring disorientation as the Impala swerved to avoid a truck on the icy roads in Burgess. Losing control as the Impala fishtailed under the sudden steering change.
Covering his face with his arms as he flew through the windshield, razor sharp glass slicing into his left bicep, along his chest and back and his hip. Feeling the cold bite of snow mixing with the searing white hot pain in his body, blacking out several yards away from where the Impala hugged a wide, tall tree stump in a destructive embrace.
Aster cleared his throat as he carefully carried a tray of several tiny pots of ink, dozens of latex gloves and a sanitised cloth.
"So where are ya havin' it, mate?" he asked after resting the tray on a steel work surface next to the recliner. Jack gestured toward the base of his neck where it met his collarbone, and Bunny promptly shaved the area, wiped off any hairs with a cloth soaked in distilled water and firmly pressed a transfer onto the desired spot, holding it for a few seconds. Satisfied, he removed the paper and a pair of purple snowflake outlines now sat happily below the other four.
Letting out a 'hmm' of pride, Aster busied himself with preparing the machinery, tapping his foot a few times on a button to test that everything was working properly. The device in his hand buzzed loudly in response, and he dipped the needle of it into some icy blue ink and with one hand stretching the skin around the purple snowflakes, he applied the machine to Jack's neck.
Jack hitched his breath as the initial pain shot through his neck and shoulders, a sharp needling mixed with a burning sensation, but soon became accustomed to the feeling. After all, he had experienced it on this date twice before, and likely will do every year.
Snowflake was his nickname for her, and Jack Frost was her name for him. Maybe one day he would come to terms with never hearing it again.
He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes, and when the face of a certain platinum blonde swam into his thoughts, for the first time in what felt like forever, he felt something resembling peace.
A/N: So, Jack's accident was mentioned by Pabbie, and elaborated further here...but there's still more to it.
hydro0228: Definitely see your point regarding supporting characters. They'll get their time to shine.
windstruck07: Thanks! There's definitely more to Jack's backstory, and it's going to crop up later on. In a big way.