Chapter 11

"You gotta be kidding me. Since when does the Ice Witch doodle hearts on anything?" Hiccup exclaimed to Kristoff as they drove through the crowded streets of downtown Burgress.

Neon signs brightened a few shop windows and the streetlamps lit the blocks with a dim glow. The sidewalk cracks were trimmed in silvery ice and the air was cold and nipped at their noses. Cars honked and sped right past them and Kristoff could only wonder when they'll actually reach their destination. When they eased to a rusty stop in front of a red light, they stopped right next to two bikers that were also standing. They both gave the pair an odd glance before the biker with a hook hand chuckled.

"Nice bike!" he snorted.

Kristoff face palmed himself when they finally took off.

"Hey at least we got some information. It was better than seeing Elsa's drawers." Kristoff assured his friend when they were far away enough to resume talking.

"What color were they?" Hiccup smirked as he stopped Toothless and turned off the engine. Kristoff jumped off before anyone else could spot him.

"Let's just get this over with." the blonde sighed and looked up at the small gray building where Jack told them to meet him. From what they heard it was one of the few places in Burgress that Jack liked to hang out.

"Hey look at this way! We're going to a live gym. Just wait til my dad hears about this." Hiccup insisted.

Kristoff rolled his eyes and the two of them slipped in. As they walked through Kristoff gulped and avoided the strange glares some of the visitors were given him and especially the smaller boy next to him.

Tall, towering men with impressive muscles and tattoos flashed them large frowns as they passed. Sweat mixed with cologne and faint cigarette smoke lingered in the air. In one area, two huge men who looked identical to one another were doing sit-ups. Another guy was furiously throwing punches at a mini punching bag while another guy was practicing in the air.

"Hey kid! Wanna be my dumbbell for today?" Hiccup yelped when one of the Stabbington twins grabbed him in a chokehold.

"He's good!" Kristoff grabbed Hiccup and pulled him back. "By the way do you know where we can find Jack Frost?"

One of the brothers, the one with a huge eye patch spit on the mat and wiped his face. "Yeah he's over there." he answered, pointing behind him.

"Thanks! Let's go Hiccup!" Kristoff forced on a smile before grabbing Hiccup and pulling him along.

They began to move deeper through the gym towards the very back mats.

"So this is what a real gym looks like." Kristoff murmured, seemingly unamused.

"I know right? Nothing like the smell of sweat and tough guys!" Hiccup chortled.

Kristoff ignored his dry humor and continued on.

They found Jack in a lone corner and practicing his punches. His gloves hands were but a blur as he kept throwing endless strikes at the foam dummy. Pitch sat nearby, playing with his phone and stealing a smoke from his electronic cigarette. He looked up and grinned, making Hiccup and Kristoff shudder.

"Visitors!" he announced.

Jack stopped and turned to them. He smirked and turned to Pitch, holding out his hands. "Help me out of these."

Pitch pulled off his gloves and Jack turned to a chair and snatched up a water bottle.

"Can you get me a towel?" Jack turned to his friend, who nodded and turned to leave.

Shaking his head, Jack slumped down in the chair and took a swig. "So I figure you guys came here with news."

"Yeah, Kris has it all covered about our very mysterious girl. Don't you Kris?" Hiccup teased.

Jack turned to him and Kristoff cleared his throat. Before he could speak Hiccup cut in.

"Just one more thing. Are you supposed to box with no liver?" he asked.

Jack gave him a funny look and Kristoff nudged him in the ribs.

"First thing's first…Elsa hates smokers. So the cigarettes have to go." Kristoff held out his hand.

Jack sighed loudly and took out his pack from his sweats pocket. When he looked up, Kristoff arched a brow and he pulled out his electronic cigarette as well.

"It won't even affect her." Jack protested.

"Just for now." Kristoff assured calmly.

"And it looks like we got a problem…Elsa has a distinct taste in…pretty boys." Hiccup said in a slow voice.

Kristoff face-palmed himself, while Jack gave him a long look before he raised his brows.

"What are you saying?" he exclaimed.

When Kristoff and Hiccup said nothing, Jack gestured at himself. "You think I'm not a pretty boy?"

Kristoff blushed and Hiccup quickly raised his hands. "No no you're very pretty! Isn't he Kris? He's a very pretty guy!"

"Oh yeah I um…wow sexy….not that I'm interested!" A very red Kristoff nodded and Jack smiled, crossing his arms behind his head.

Kristoff then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a list that Anna gave him. "Here's more info. Apparently she's a major chocoholic, she loves Idina Menzel, and her favorite books are psychological thrillers."

"So I'm supposed to buy her a heart-shaped box of chocolates and listen to some Broadway chick? You obviously never asked this girl out for a coffee." Jack chuckled as he swept his hair from his face.

"Okay how about this? She's got this habit of going to the ice rink later in the day to practice. How about you visit her? You used to play right?" Hiccup asked.

Jack sighed heavily and grabbed his car keys and backpack. Hiccup and Kristoff couldn't help but smile at the reluctance on the white-haired boy's face. Suddenly Hiccup remembered something and he stepped forward.

"Oh and she might be wearing lace panties! In case you're interested!" Hiccup said, while Kristoff groaned and covered his face with his hand.

There was no practice today, yet that did not seem to bother Elsa as she skated around the ice-rink in her oversized Burgress Bulldogs sweatshirt and yoga pants. She held her hockey stick and moved the puck past a few teen skaters and mothers who were teaching their children.

She loved being alone on the ice, it was the perfect getaway from the rest of the world and there was something about being on the ice that comforted her. Pushing her bangs from her forehead, Elsa moved her hockey stick on the ice and when she skated to the net, she swung back and fired. The sound of the puck bouncing into the net filled the air and a smile appeared on the girl's face at her strike.

"I knew I'd somehow find you here!"

Elsa stopped and groaned silently at the all-to-familiar voice. She turned around and sure enough, Jack stood at the nearest stand, watching her with interest.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Last time I checked this was a public arena, unless her Royal Iciness made a private reservation." Jack mocked with a roll of his eyes.

"Don't make this stick go somewhere you don't want it go buddy." Elsa hissed. He never seemed to stop did he?

"That's why I plan on staying right here where it's safe. So there's no practice today?" Jack asked as he leaned over and watched Elsa do a smooth figure eight.

"Coach had to go to his Tolstoy book club. If you're planning to ask me out again then can you just get it over with?" Elsa asked, striking the puck into the net.

"Who says I came here to ask you out?" Jack asked.

"Then why are you here? Don't you usually hang around with Pitch and your beloved cigarettes at this time?" Elsa frowned and skated over to him. She leaned against her hockey stick and arched a brow.

"Unfortunately Pitch bailed out on me. And I'll have you know I stopped." Jack announced.

A sarcastic smile appeared on Elsa's lips. "Really? You?" Somehow she couldn't seem to believe it.

"Yeah apparently I read that you can get black lungs."

"And hell of a lot more. Well….since you're already here…do you wanna come onto the ice and help me practice? I've been doing the same moves for a while now." Elsa admitted.

Did he just hear her correctly? Jack's eyes widened before he smiled. "Are you serious?"

Elsa smirked and skated to the stands, a second hockey stick in her gloved hand. "Let's see what you're made of Frost."

"So what made you so interested in hockey? I remember you were a preppy figure skater before you became the Ice Witch." Jack said. He had the puck and Elsa was trying to steal it by trying to dodge past him and swipe it away.

"I'm surprised you still remember." Elsa actually smiled at the few times they used to come across each other at the ice rink back when they were still kids.

Back then Jack was a thin scrawny boy who loved to skate rings around Elsa, who always seemed to find herself on the ice at the same time he was. She'd always yell at him for making her dizzy and Jack would always tease about her "twinkle toes".

Jack laughed. "My mom still has that one picture of us in one of her scrapbooks."

"Seriously? I remember she took it right after that night when there was a big game and the winter ice show. That's why we were all dressed up." Elsa reminded.

"Yeah I still remember that. We watched each other's events…and then bickered about who looked better." Jack smiled.

They both fell into an awkward silence before Elsa cleared her throat and straightened.

"You're forgetting about one little detail there Frost." She crinkled her nose playfully and gave him a haughty smirk.

"And what's that?" Jack asked.

Elsa crossed her arms. "That I ended up punching you right in the face when we left the rink because I saw you flirting with Rapunzel Summers, my arch enemy that time. She ended up taking my trophy."

"I never thought you could pull such a stunt. Good thing your dad pulled you off." Jack chuckled, brushing a hand across his nose where the blonde apparently aimed and fired.

"And I stopped talking to you ever since." Elsa pointed out.

"Admit it, you Elsa Northland, were jealous." Jack teased.

Elsa let out a dry laugh. "I was ten years old. People change you know."

Jack laughed and Elsa found herself smiling as they stopped and stood on the ice.

"So what made you stop figure skating? Sophomore year I mean?" Jack asked curiously, leaning against his stick.

"Life was getting out of hand. After everything went out of control with my life…I don't know…I guess ice-skating became too girly for me. With hockey, you can just let it go. It lets me channel out all the anger I feel." Elsa breathed. She stood and brushed her hair from her face.

Jack frowned and stopped. He snatched the puck up and handed it to her. The girl took it with a small smile.

"And you? I didn't think you'd still play hockey Mr. Bad Ass." Elsa teased.

"You know I always loved it. But after you started hockey my own life was becoming…complicated for me and I sort of stopped for a while." Jack revealed.

"Really? You used to be such a little Show-Off, twirling all those circles around me during practice."

"Used to."

Elsa stopped and watched him skate around the empty rink. "What happened?"

Jack froze and stiffened as Elsa moved past him and turned towards the net.

"It was my dad." Jack answered, turning towards her.

Elsa looked up and noticed the solemn look on his face and she became confused. "Your dad?"

Jack sighed and nodded. "Yeah."

"Did something happen between the two of you?" Elsa asked. When she was younger she remembered seeing Jack and his father skate at the ice rink all the time. They were so happy on the ice.

Jack skated around her and went for the puck. "He died when I was sixteen. He was driving home in a blizzard and his car flipped." he said in a voice that was just barely a whisper.

"I'm sorry Jack, I shouldn't have asked." Elsa apologized. She figured that he probably hated mentioning it in fear that it'd trigger back memories. She knew she hated it when someone brought up her mother's leaving.

Jack shrugged and forced on a lopsided smile. "My dad was the one who taught me how to skate and play. I guess his death took a huge toll on me. Now it's just me, my mom, and sister."

Elsa could only watch as he flipped the puck in his hands before dropping it and pushing it towards her.

"And you? What's your story for becoming so cold towards everyone?" Jack suddenly asked.

Elsa tensed and crossed her arms over her stick. "I don't like to talk about it either. All I really tell people is that my mom walked out on us when I was a sophomore and things just spiraled out of control after that."

She looked up, noticing Jack watch her from the net. "What?"

"Nothing, life can really be a huge bucket of shit sometimes." Jack chuckled, running a hand through his hair.

"You have no idea Frost. There's a mantra I sometimes use to hide everything: just conceal don't feel, don't let it show." Elsa explained.

"Conceal don't feel, don't let it show. Hey I like it." Jack chuckled.

"Thanks." Elsa could not help but smile at him as she positioned her stick. She struck it across the ice and Jack caught it easily.

"C'mon you hit like a little kid!" Jack exclaimed.

"I don't think you want to see my game-side! It can get ugly." Elsa insisted with a wink. She shrugged and positioned herself.

"Do you think I'm seriously….WHOA!" Jack cried as the puck flew straight at him.

The senior had just three seconds to duck the blow that would've struck him straight in the face. Once the puck wheezed above his head and right into the net, he straightened and suddenly stumbled right into the net, getting tangled in the process and landing hard on his butt.

"Hey!" When Jack pushed the net back he noticed Elsa standing in front of him, a victorious grin on her face and a hand on her slender hip.

"Sorry, you've been warned." Elsa choked back a laugh at the sight of his fallen body.

"It's not funny! You almost sliced that puck right through my face!" Jack exclaimed, struggling to catch his breath and get over his surprise.

"I'm not laughing!" Elsa insisted in defense.

She skated over to him and smiled. "Are you really okay? I can get you…an ice pack if anything hurts." she smiled and brought a hand to her mouth to cover her giggles.

Jack tried to smile yet failed. Dang she was impossible. If it weren't for her laughter, he would've cursed the daylights out of her.

"I didn't think you'd get this tough." Jack groaned instead and fell back against the net.

He draped an arm over his eyes and suddenly heard Elsa's skate over to him. He removed his arm and smiled up at her twinkling eyes and mischievous grin.

"I think that's enough for tonight. Thanks for stopping by. Now I know how good I really am." Elsa teased, pushing her braid back over her shoulder.

"Good? More like vicious." Jack grumbled.

He sat up and rubbed a hand across his face, trying to cover his own amused smile. Elsa turned and began to hurry across the ice, her laughter trailing behind her. Lifting his eyes, Jack smirked and decided to get back at her.

"You know I don't know if I should say this but you look quite sexy in that outfit!" he called after her. Nearby, a few skaters heard his remark and snickered.

Elsa's speed picked up and suddenly she felt herself slam right into the wall with a startled thud. This time Jack was the one who fell back in laughter.

"JACK!"

"Oops." Jack bit his lips and pushed himself up from the ground. He skated over to her just as Elsa dropped her arms on the ice.

Once the stars disappeared, Elsa blinked up and noticed Jack looking down at her.

"What did you say?" she fired back, her face turning bright red. Did the puck really miss his head?

The look on Jack's face was genuine as he held out an arm. The girl took it and he pulled her up.

"Come to Hiccup's party with me. That's how you can make it up to me. And consider it an official truce from the last fight that was completely not my fault." Jack decided.

Shaking her head, Elsa brushed the ice from her clothes and cursed at the aching in her butt. "You never give up do you?"

She turned back and began to untie her skates. Jack grimaced and watched as Elsa bent over, her back at him and her nicely curved butt high in the air.

Whoa settle down Frost. You don't need more pucks fired at you.

"So was that a yes?" he asked, clearing his throat and leaning against his stick.

"No." Elsa answered over her shoulder. She straightened and began to climb out of the rink, still wincing at the throbbing ache in her butt.

"So was that a no?" Jack called behind her.

"No!" Elsa rolled her eyes sarcastically, moving away from the rink and into the stands.

"I'll pick you up at 9:30 then!" Jack smiled and fell back against the wall with his arms crossed behind his head.

"Don't over-excite yourself!"

Smiling, Anna approached by Elsa's door and let herself in. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorframe. Her sister was sitting at her desk and doing her homework. Her back was turned to her and she had one earphone slipped in.

"So how was practice today?" the strawberry blonde asked.

"Normal." Elsa answered curtly, not taking her eyes off her assignment.

Anna rolled her eyes and stepped further into Elsa's bedroom. She flopped down on the edge of Elsa's neatly made bed and grabbed her sister's favorite stuffed snowman named Olaf.

"Was Astrid there?" she asked.

"No, she had to work."

A thoughtful silence filled the air before Anna cocked her head to the side. "Really…so you were all alone?" a sly smile played on Anna's face at the sight of Elsa tensing in her seat.

"Don't you have homework you have to do?"

"Already finished it." Anna chirped.

"Then how about you let me finish mine?" Elsa suggested.

Another time Elsa would not mind her sister sitting in her bedroom. But tonight she had a feeling that Anna came here on a mission to snoop.

"Aren't you such a grouch? Did you run into Frost again?" Anna guessed with a giggle.

Elsa's grip on her pencil tightened and she rolled her eyes. "That's none of your business, maybe I did and maybe I didn't."

"Oh c'mon Elsa we're sisters. This should be normal – having one-on-one girl talks about our crushes." Anna insisted.

"Let me point out three mistakes with that statement. Number One – Jack is definitely not my crush. Number Two - You're forgetting we're very two different girls. And Number Three - As much as I love you Anna, I have absolutely no interest in hearing about Horny Hans." Elsa reminded.

"He's not horny. He's a polite boy who actually asked me out to Hiccup's party this Friday." Anna announced happily.

Elsa straightened abruptly and slowly turned around in her chair to face Anna.

"Can you repeat that?" her knuckles turned while at her tight grip on her chair.

"Hans asked me out to Hiccup's party this Friday."

"Why?" Elsa seethed, feeling her icy fury build up inside her. What right did that pathetic excuse for a Prince Charming have to sweep her sister away like that?

"Uh because it's actually normal to have a guy who likes a girl ask her out to the party." Anna pointed out.

"And you said yes?" Elsa exclaimed in complete disbelief.

"Yes, and I don't care what anyone says. I'm going to this, I'll climb out the window if I have to." Anna announced firmly. Elsa watched her sister stand up and walk boldly out of the bedroom. Once Anna was gone, Elsa turned back to her homework.

"Urgh why me?" she groaned, dropping her head on her desk.