11.
Head ache wasn't enough to describe how he felt.
The annoying sun light woke him up, and he instantly felt like a truck just ran over him, particularly over his head, multiple times.
His body felt numb, and getting out of bed was way harder than he thought it would be when he attempted just to seat on his bed.
Damn.
How much he've drunk last night?
He couldn't remember anything. The last scenes that were replaying in his mind was him getting even angrier and irritated than the previous days of the week. He remembered opening a new bottle of DunBroch's Whiskeys, and he remembered getting out of his dorm.
He stopped dead in his tracks.
He was in his dorm now.
How he made his way back here being that drunk?
He felt a strong twinge in his head. He groaned. Maybe trying to remember right now was not the best plan.
Coffee. He needed coffee.
He got up and realized that he was still in yesterday's clothes.
Okay, shower first, then coffee.
With his head still trying to kill him, he walked towards his closet and picked some boxers and a sweatpants, and made his way to his bathroom that had also a door inside of his room.
He took a cold shower. He really liked the cold. Cold water made his body ache in a pleasant way, and it made him feel fresher.
He got out of the shower and put on the cloth he picked, no shirt on.
He really needed coffee. He got out of the bathroom through the door that was connected with the living room, while he dried his hair with a towel.
He made his way to the kitchen, and was just about to turn on the coffee machine until he felt his heart stopping.
Did he... did he see someone on the living room?
His heart was beating in his ears as he slowly turned to face the leaving room.
Someone was sleeping on his couch.
"Fuck" he whispered.
What in hell happened yesterday?!
He moved slowly towards the sleeping person, almost tip toeing, not wanting to wake this stranger up.
Huge was his surprise when he saw Elsa sleeping peacefully under a coat, curved in a small ball.
And everything instantly flashed in his mind.
How he walked endlessly through the campus, drinking. How he couldn't stop thinking about their 'fight'. How memories from the past kept on replaying painfully in his mind. How he kept on drinking. How he decided to call her, and didn't stop until she picked up. How she appeared right where he decided he'll sleep since he couldn't find his way home. How she helped him walk, and brought him home.
And how he told her something he swore not to tell anybody.
And she just listened. She just stroke silently his hair while drunk him decided to have a heart to heart with her. He remembered how she told him that he did not deserve bad things to happen to him. She told him that she forgave him.
He felt the urge to step back and maybe run out of campus, or jump from his window. Too many feelings were surrounding him at the moment. Feelings he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Feelings he didn't know how to deal with.
He gazed at her when he managed to control himself. Her hair surrounded her face like a halo, and she was covering herself how she could.
He felt like an idiot. The night he spent on her dorm she prepared him a 'bed'. She gave him a duvet and pillows. And here she was, sleeping under a coat with a hard couch pillow.
He made silently his way towards his room, to at least give her something decent to cover herself from the cold.
He couldn't help but wonder why she didn't leave.
He grabbed the duvet from his bed, and walked towards the living room again. Thankfully, she was still asleep.
He moved cautiously to her, and hold his breath while he removed the slower he could the coat that was covering her, to then place the duvet in its place.
God, he had no idea what he was doing. He felt stupid.
She stirred a bit, and he felt like having a heart attack. But luckily, she just cuddled with the covers, smiling just a bit in comfort.
He let go the breath he was holding.
He backed away, and make his way towards the kitchen again. He felt insanely confused about the situation, and his head ache was not helping. He still needed coffee.
He tried his best on pretending she was not there while he attempted to make a breakfast as good as hers, she was distracting and he felt nervous. He'll never drink like that ever again.
He pursed his lips when he saw his magnificent breakfast: Coffee and toasts. Yeah, worthy of a Queen. He didn't know why he was trying so hard in making a good impression. He didn't care about anyone, right? Still, if he hypothetically cared about someone, he'll sure be failing at impressing people with food.
He turned, and was about to place the food on the counter when he saw her stranding in front of him, flushed and wide eyed.
He felt heat rising from his neck.
She gazed at him, lips slightly parted, and still as a statue.
He didn't move, he must be looking like an idiot. Plate of toast in one hand and a small tray with two mugs of coffee in the other.
He thought the situation couldn't be any worst... until her eyes traveled his chest.
Crap.
He forgot to put a shirt on.
He must look like a tomato now.
She adverted her eyed and played nervously with her hands, before clearing her throat.
"I-I... uhm, I think I should go" she stuttered, and stepped back, towards her stuff.
"Wait!" Jack quickly said. Elsa looked at him surprised. "I-I made breakfast" he stupidly said.
He really wanted to face-palm himself.
Elsa said nothing, she just nodded slowly and made her way towards the counter, looking everywhere but him.
Jack placed a mug and toast plate in front of her once she seated.
"I'll just.. put something on" he muttered and rushed to his room.
'Fuck, Jackson. Get a grip on yourself'
He quickly threw a white t-shirt on, and went quickly to the kitchen.
She was munching a piece of toast, while observing the place. He gulped.
He took a seat in front of her, eyes on his mug, looking at her discreetly through the corner of his eye, she was gazing at him.
He cleared his throat.
"There wasn't much for breakfast" he muttered, eyes lifting up to her. She blinked rapidly.
"Oh!" She said realizing what he was referring to. "Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine with this" she said and quickly gulped coffee. She was uncomfortable, he could tell.
They ate in silence. Stealing glances every once in a while.
Elsa was worried, the silence was killing her. She wanted him to say something, anything. She didn't know if he was mad or not. Heck, she didn't even know if he remembered everything. It looked like he did, why else could be the reason of her woking up on his couch, right?
She really wanted to ask him if he remembered everything, or some of it. But she was afraid.
But she couldn't take the silence anymore.
"What time is it?" She asked, finishing her coffee. He looked up to her, surprised and even relieved that she spoke.
"Uhm..." he muttered and checked his phone. "30 past noon" he simply said.
Elsa's face transformed right before his eyes. She went to calmed, to shocked and finally to terrified.
"Oh my god" she whispered, and rushed towards her coat. She frantically searched in one of the pockets, and put out her phone. Jack just stared at her.
hey, are u still sleeping- Anna.
im knocking but u don't answer are you there?- Anna.
Elsa are u ok?- Anna.
Elsa i know u don't want me to enter to ur room but I'm worried- Anna.
ok, u never sleep till this late. where r u?- Anna.
Elsa answer me pls- Anna.
ELSA WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU- Anna.
Elsa I'm calling flynn I'm crazy worried here- Anna.
Els, Anna called r u alright- Flynn.
Holy fuck.
"Shit!" Elsa screamed, scrolling through the text. "Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit" she muttered, putting her boots and coat on.
"What? What happened?" Jack said, walking slowly towards her, looking at her with wide eyes.
"My sister is going to kill me!" Elsa whined. "Oh my god its so late" she said and arranged her hair the best she could.
Jack just stared at her.
Elsa grabbed her car key and was about to open the door to leave, but she turned to Jack.
What was she supposed to say at times like this? 'I'll call you?'
They stared at each other intently.
"I- uhm, thank you" Elsa said, blushing furiously " I-I'll text you f-for project meeting, okay?" she said embarrassed.
"S-sure" he stuttered.
Elsa glanced one last time at him, and got out, closing the door behind her.
Elsa walked rapidly to the elevator, that thankfully opened just before she called it. Unfortunately, there were two boys inside. Wasabi and Eric were looking shocked at her. Their gazes scanned her from head to toe.
Just. Great.
She was in pajamas, her hair was all messy and it was past noon. She looked like she had a one night stand. Perfect.
"Uhm, its a long story" She simply said, blushing.
Once she left the building, she got in her car, well-aware of the astonished looks everyone was giving her. She groaned, starting the car and speeding towards her dorm.
Anna was really going to kill her.
X
Jack didn't know how to feel.
He was still in the same position that he was when she left, deep in thought.
He didn't have the time to say anything to her, but she looked really agitated and in a hurry. It was pretty obvious that no one knew where she was, she has clearly forgotten to inform someone.
He remembered Elsa's little sister, that petite strawberry blonde girl that was constantly blasting of energy wherever he saw her. It was clear that she didn't like him and that she was afraid of him. What were there going to be her thoughts about this situation? Maybe Elsa would be lucky enough to avoid her.
His thoughts traveled unconsciously to her again. Now she kew something abut him that she wasn't supposed to know. No one was supposed to know. But, instead of feeling nervous or angry, he didn't feel like that. It was weird, somehow the fact of her knowing about his past didn't worry him.
Still, he couldn't help but think if she was going to do something with that information now.
'Of course she wont' he immediately answered himself. By the way she was acting so selfless yesterday (today, actually), he was sure that his secret was safe.
That was one thing less to worry about.
But one thing that did worried him was that he didn't know how to act know. What he was supposed to say? 'Hey princess, thank you for saving me from a possible alcohol intoxication yesterday. Oh! And thank you so much for listening about my pathetic past'
Yeah, not gonna happen.
The image of her sleeping peacefully on his couch couldn't leave his mind. If someone told him before that the Queen of DWU was sleeping on a couch with a coat as a cover willingly he would have laughed, hard.
But he saw her with his own eyes.
She didn't complain about anything. She didn't complain about the cold, she didn't complain about his lame breakfast and she didn't complain about his drunk self. She even said thank you when she left. She somehow seemed grateful and comprehensive at every moment.
She seemed to care.
She seemed to actually care about him, even thought he was being a dick (or his usual self).
But, why?
And most importantly, was he ready to let someone in?
She seemed really genuine and sincere, but so did his ex- girlfriend and ex- best friend. How could he be sure that Elsa wouldn't do the same to him? What if he trusted her and then she betrayed him? He wouldn't be able to take another blow like that.
But, something inside of him, told him that she was different. That he should give her a chance.
But he wasn't ready yet.
He needed time.
He needed to spent time with her without opening up to her, without letting her in for the moment. He needed time to know her, to see if she was real.
Just a bit of time, he didn't want to end up hurt again.
x
Elsa prayed to every god and goddess she could name to not be found by Anna, she really prayed the hardest she could, she even considered offering sacrifices just so her sister wouldn't hatch her looking like this.
Jack's upper body didn't leave her mind through the whole fucking trip, and she would never admit it out loud. It was an amazing sight. He wasn't extremely muscular builded, but he had a fair body. He was thin, but his muscles gave him a nice silhouette and were perfectly delineated, showing that even though if he was not a mountain of muscles, he was strong. His body had much less tattoos than she imagined, but still there were plenty of them. She really wanted to take time to observe every single tattoo, but she only could remember one.
A lake, right where his heart was.
God, she felt like a sinner.
She was a sinner, and that was the reason why the gods did not answer her prayers.
Just as Elsa closed the door of her dorm as quietly as she could, Anna made herself noted.
"Guess who decided to FINALLY show up!" she exclaimed, arms crossed on her chest, frown on her face.
Elsa slowly turned to her and smiled sheepishly.
"Good morning, Anna" she said nervously. Anna turned red in anger.
"GOOD MORNING?! How about you try good afterNOON! Where in hell where you Elsa? I was going insane here and-" She gasped, with both hands covering her mouth as she looked horrified at her sister "You're in a sleep shirt" she whispered "YOU'RE IN A FREAKING SLEEP SHIRT!"
"Anna, I swear I can explain" Elsa tried to calm her sister down, with both hands in surrender.
"EXPLAIN PLEASE" Anna screamed. Elsa sighted. How on Earth she was going to make this sound remotely good? "Elsa, did you slept with a boy last night?" Anna asked incredulously.
"Yes- I mean, no! Not in the way you're thinking! I just-" Elsa stopped when she saw Anna turn white.
"Oh my freaking gosh" she whispered
"Anna, its not what you think" Elsa tried again.
"If its not what I think then what is?!" She squeaked. "Elsa, you left in the middle of the night, in a sleep shirt, you didn't answer your phone for hours, and you returned at noon and all messy! What else could it possibly be?!
"Anna, if you just let me explain-"
"Explain" she interrupted her and crossed her arms on her chest once again. Elsa breathed deeply before starting.
"Okay... So, yesterday-or, this early morning actually, while I was sleeping my phone started ringing-"
"Oh my god a booty call?!" She exclaimed.
"NO"
"Oh, okay... continue"
"Okay, so my phone started ringing and at first I ignored it, but then it ringed again, so I finally answered and... it was Jack" she said, Anna stayed in silence "He was really drunk and he realized he didn't know where he was. It was nearly 4 a.m. so I got worried and decided to look for him. Once I found him I took him to his dorm but he was so drunk I really didn't want to eave him alone. So I slept there" she finished. "On the couch"
Anna stared wide eyed at her sister like she'd just tell her that she wanted to kill the president.
"Did he rape you?" she asked.
"Wha-No, of course not!" Elsa exclaimed somewhat offended.
"Are you sure? He could have drug-"
"God, Anna! Yes, I'm sure! He was so drunk he couldn't even walk!" Elsa snapped, but Anna was still looking kind of betrayed. "What?" Anna shook her head.
"Nothing, just.. please let me know if you're doing something like this the next time. You've promised me that if you did something with him you'll let me know. But you left me crazy worrying here again" She said, sounding a bit hurt, Elsa pursed her lips in embarrassment.
"I know, Anna. I'm sorry." She said sincerely. Anna nodded and smiled at her in forgiveness.
After a few minutes, Anna left telling Elsa that she needed more fabric for another dress. Elsa plopped in the couch, she was truly exhausted. Yesterday(today) was definitely a long night.
An idea popped in her mind.
She quickly grabbed her cellphone and decided to do it, not caring if there was a big probability that she'll regret this.
x
Jack read it a hundred times, just to make sure he wasn't raving.
Wanna meet up for the project tomorrow? -Elsa (snowflake emoji)
She was a fucking tornado, he was sure of that.
But he had yet to decide if she was good for him or not.
Still, he typed 'sure'.
A.N.:
HEY GUYS! Yeeeeesssss, here I am, with another chapter, just for you!
The reviews were seriously AMAZING Thank you so very much! They made me so so happy!
Okay, so this is what happened the morning after ;) BUT Jack and Elsa still have a pending chat, don't you think?
Soooo... There here are some stuff for some reviewers, that you are all very welcome to read:
#1 for the reviewer that asked for the number of the chapters (sorry for not placing your name here but I cant right now :( )I don't know how many chapters, but I can assure you that there's going to be many, many chapters. Right know I have 12 ideas for 12 future chapters that are not yet linked, so yeah, I think we'll surely reach 30 chaps or even way more than that. But don't worry, I already know the course of the story and how things are gonna happen, so I van promise you that I'll keep this interesting. (and promise every reader as well).
#2 I'll like to thank the reviewers (all of you) you're really just so sweet and so supportive! You deserve this chapter! Thank you so so much! You have really no idea how much this means to me and how happy I am to write for you!
#3 Para el/la reviewer que me escribe en español ;) Soy de Paraguay! (no creo que lo conozcas) es un país chiquito pero lleno de gente alegre en el centro de Latino America! Tu de donde eres? Tus reviews siempre me sacan una sonrisa!
#4 For my wattpad reader aleriseanne thank you for being so supportive! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
I guess thats all for today... Anyway, here's night time, and tomorrow I'll start on working on chapter 12 to upload it as fast as I can! Hopefully it's going to be up same hour than now.
REVIEWS ARE DEEPLY APPRECIATED!
Till next time!
Silvana.