Elsa Winters
Anna narrowed her eyes at the boy in front of her. "What was her name again? Lily, I think. Cheated on her boyfriend with you."
"I, uh-"
"Oh, or Katie! She was crying for at least a month after you ditched her after one night."
"Anna, I-"
The strawberry blonde ignored him. "Not to mention there was Willow, Riley, Quinn, the two Haleys, the foreign exchange student, Holly-"
Elsa slammed her hands down on the table, hating the way Jack was sinking lower and lower in his seat. Her sister was one of the nicest people in the world, so why was she being so rude? "Anna, that is enough!" She took a deep breath, realizing people had turned to her. The blonde needed to control her emotions. "We all know Jack has been with several girls-"
Anna scoffed. "More than several."
"But-" Elsa shot her a quick glare. "He owns up to all of them. There is no need for you to keep sharing information we all already know, especially when he hasn't denied being with any of them."
The blonde looked over to Jack who was awkwardly rubbing the nape of his neck. "I know I'm not boyfriend material. I care about Elsa though." He paused, lowering his voice. "We aren't a real couple, but even if we were I wouldn't treat Elsa like that."
Anna looked unimpressed, going as far as rolling her eyes. "Really?" She inquired. "Tell me, Jack, what makes her different?"
"She matters to me." Jack took a deep breath, shutting his eyes for a moment. "I can't explain, not well at least. Those girls were just for fun, and I told them that before we did anything. Elsa is different. She means more."
Elsa studied Jack for a moment, noting the way his face had flushed slightly. His words seemed genuine, and Elsa hoped they were. The blonde knew she cared about him, after all.
The girl turned back to Anna. The junior was clenching her fists, an intense glare on her face. "You're not even good enough to be Elsa's fake boyfriend." She leaned forward so that her face was right across from Jack's. "Don't humor yourself into thinking otherwise."
Jack's lips trembled slightly, his eyes wide. "You're right," was his gentle reply. "I should go. I'll see you after next period, Princess." He got up to go.
Naturally, Elsa stood up to follow, but the boy stopped her. "Anna just got back; you deserve some time alone with her."
The blonde waited until he was out of earshot to turn to her sister. "What was that? Honestly, what has gotten into you, Anna?" She exhaled, shaking her head slightly. "I can understand you being concerned if we were actually dating, but you know we aren't. Why are you giving him such a hard time?"
The satisfied grin was wiped off of Anna's face. However, she still looked far from remorseful. "You were better off hating him. Now, I have to hate him enough for the both of us."
Elsa gave her sister a sad smile. "I never hated him." That only made Anna frown more.
Jack didn't bring up lunch so Elsa took that as a sign that he didn't want to talk about. Anna's words seemed to have affected him for whatever reason. The blonde didn't want to push him to talk about it though. If he was upset with his 'player' title then Elsa wasn't the one to talk about it with; after all, she had labeled him too.
"You want to just go to my house and watch a movie or something?" Jack asked as the pair headed down the hallway to leave school. The blonde nodded in response.
"There you two are!" Layla came into view, smiling brightly. "I wanted to invite the school's hottest couple to my party in a couple of weeks." She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a sheer black top with a black cami underneath. Her hair was straightened, as it usually seemed to be. In fact, everything would have seemed normal if not for the fact she was looking at Elsa as if they were friends.
Jack tightened his grip on Elsa's hand, pulling her a bit closer. Elsa couldn't help that her heart fluttered slightly at the display of protectiveness. "You want us at your party?" He rolled his eyes slightly, already beginning to walk away. "We'll pass."
As expected, Layla didn't let it go, walking beside the pair. "Oh, come on, please?" She fluttered her eyelashes, her green eyes sparkling. "I know I was mean, but can you blame me? No one thought you'd get a girlfriend, Jack. I was just jealous; let me make it up to you both."
Elsa would be lying if she said she trusted the girl beside her. However, the blonde was prone to empathy, possibly to the point it became a fault. It would be hard if the guy you were chasing got a girlfriend out of the blue; that'd hurt. People weren't at their best when they felt hurt.
She glanced over at Jack who seemed far from impressed. His eyes were glazed over and bored, rolling gently as he listened. "I know you, Layla." He sighed. "This is some game, and I'm not letting you drag Elsa into it." Jack picked up his pace, still holding the blonde's hand.
Elsa halted her steps, not letting Jack move further. "We'll go," She replied simply, ignoring the shock that took over Jack's features. "Thanks for the invite, Layla." She smiled slightly before letting Jack drag her away.
"What was that?" Jack whispered harshly as they got into his car. He looked up in frustration, shutting his eyes for a moment. "You are so aggravating, Elsa!" The girl winced slightly at the use of her first name. "How can you be so aware and yet still naive?"
The girl crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing. "What does that mean?"
He sighed deeply. "It means you know people take advantage of rich kids and you know your family reputation makes it to where distance is placed between you and others. You're aware of the walls you've had to build to protect yourself." He was dangerously close to the girl, his eyes flashing. "And yet you're still so naive, Elsa. You empathize with people who don't deserve it. You're letting yourself be stupid."
Anger flared in Elsa, a glare resting on her face. "Are you talking about Layla or you?" The blonde didn't mean to say it, but that didn't stop her from continuing. "I know my walls are weak, but they've never needed to be strong; people don't try to get in, Jack. If you want me to build stronger walls so be it, but don't be surprised when we're on opposite sides of them."
She watched the boy's anger die, hurt replacing it. "Princess-" His voice was gentle now as he trailed off with uncertainty. He opened his mouth several times to say something, but the words never came out.
Elsa closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing. "I can't explain what's been happening recently. Ever since we stopped being friends, I haven't been close to anyone else apart from Anna. I'm the Winters' heir. I'm the poster child for perfection." For some reason, the blonde felt close to tears. "And ever since you've come back it's like everything I've built up over the years is falling apart. I'm feeling things I haven't felt in years. I didn't realize how empty I felt until now."
She shook her head, willing herself not to cry. "I want to be who my parents expect, but I feel so trapped." She dug her nails into her hand, shaking gently. "This rebellion has made me realize how many things I want to do. I want to be friends with you. I want to go to some party, even if I regret it. I want to be stupid because being Elsa Winters is exhausting, Jack. I'm tired of doing everything right. I just want to enjoy this relationship while it lasts because once it's over I'll lose my reason to rebel, and I'll have to be the cold girl everyone sees me as."
Jack laughed, the sound bitter. Slowly he grabbed her hand and the girl was surprised the action didn't feel out of place. "Being Jack Frost isn't much fun either," He stated simply. "If you want to go to Layla's party, we can. I'm positive she's planning something, but if you don't care then we can ignore that. I just don't want to see you get hurt."
The blonde smiled at the boy. It felt nice having someone she could be real with, someone who wasn't surprised to see her crumple. "Thank you." She squeezed the boy's hand gently before closing her eyes in contentment. "We're going to your house, right?"
"Yeah." Elsa heard the boy turn on the car but she kept her eyes closed. She had a lot of emotions she needed to sort through.
The girl had sworn never to be Jack's friend again, but now she was. Elsa had promised never to go against her parents, yet she was intentionally breaking rules. She was going against her own word and, as crazy as it seemed, the blonde didn't mind. For the first time in years, she felt free.
Elsa felt free when she was in the water splashing Jack. She felt free when she talked to Belle about Jack, even if the conversations were casual. She even felt free when she defended Jack to Anna. The girl was excited to take over her parent's company, even if the pressure left her numb at times. Still, right now it felt nice to just be a senior in high school.
"Oh, and this one is my absolute favorite! Jack's first birthday: as soon as he realized that cake tasted good he shoved his whole face in it." Jack's mother chuckled, pointing to yet another photo of Jack Frost as a child.
Elsa felt herself smiling. Jack was young in the photo, though he had a full head of hair, hair that was covered in chocolate. He had quite literally thrown himself into the cake, each hand holding a fistful of the content. Positively adorable.
Jack groaned for about the thousandth time, running a hand through his hair. "Mother! You're going to scare her away!" Elsa took in his flushed face as his eyes looked everywhere but her. He was even more adorable right now than he was in the photo.
Jack's mother simply rolled her eyes, swiping her hand in a dismissive matter. "Nonsense! Elsa is enjoying these, aren't you dear?" The woman turned to Elsa, giving her a fond smile. She looked a bit older than her own mother with a few gray hairs visible. However, her smile was as youthful as her sons. Elsa had always enjoyed talking to the woman when she was younger.
"Of course," Elsa agreed, smiling at the photo. "These photos are very cute." Her eyes twinkled slightly and she noticed Jack had turned an even darker shade of red.
If his mother noticed, she didn't comment on it. "Exactly! I've missed you, Elsa!" She placed her hand on the blonde's knee, giving her an earnest smile. "Speaking of which, if we go far enough in Jack's photo albums I'm sure we'll come across pictures of the both of you."
Jack looked optimistic for a moment and Elsa couldn't help but smirk slightly. "I think I'm enjoying these photos more." She turned the page, laughing gently as she stared at a picture of Jack with wide, shocked eyes. Even back then, his eyes were a gorgeous shade of blue.
Once again, the boy groaned, giving Elsa an annoyed look. "The betrayal is too much." He dramatically moved a hand up to his forehead, leaning back slightly. "From both my mother and my girlfriend."
"Oh, shush." His mother scolded. "She's your future wife; she has to see these at some point." The woman didn't seem to notice how both Jack and Elsa blushed red at this, their eyes widening.
Despite her embarrassment, Elsa mostly felt bad. For some reason, tricking her own parents seemed easier. The blonde knew their companies could merge without her help and felt annoyed her father insisted on dragging Elsa into it. However, by pretending their relationship was more than business, they were deceiving Jack's mother and the blonde had always had a soft spot for her. She wouldn't mind being her daughter-in-law.
"Actually, Jack, would you mind going and getting us some tea?" She smiled at her son, gesturing to the kitchen. "I'd like to talk to Elsa alone."
For a moment it seemed he'd resist but, in the end, Jack left, a suspicious look in his eyes. The blonde chuckled slightly.
"What did you want to talk to me about, Mrs. Frost?" Elsa asked politely.
She smiled at the girl beside her. "Please, call me Emily; we may be family one day." The brunette winked at the girl. "I just wanted to thank you, Elsa. I know you and Jack haven't been together long, but you've already made him so much happier." She sighed slightly, looking off in the direction of the kitchen. "His father puts so much pressure on him, and I think sometimes Jack has a hard time just doing things that make him happy. I know he goes to parties and hangs out with friends; there was just something missing. He's been much more at ease since he started dating you."
The blonde knew she could relate to that. It was clear she and Jack handled pressure differently but was he able to act any more freely than her? In the end, it seemed the answer was no, especially if his mother was correct. Elsa was glad they were both able to help each other. "There is no need to thank me." The girl responded truthfully. "Jack has helped me every bit as much as I've helped him, maybe more. I think we both needed someone we could let our guard down around."
This made the brunette light up, her blue eyes practically glowing with warmth. "Still, thank you! I'm so grateful he has you. I was starting to get worried with all the talk about him being a player." She shook her head gently before growing more serious. "I'll admit I was frustrated with my husband when he told me he wanted to force you two together; true love is so precious, after all. I'd hate to take away my son's opportunity to have it just for business." She smiled again, eyes still locked on Elsa. "It's quite fortunate that he was already in love with you. It makes merging the companies together easier but, much more importantly, it makes him happy."
Elsa didn't have it in her to correct the assumption. Jack Frost was not in love with her. Hopefully, she would be able to make him happy regardless, as he made her happy just by being her friend. The blonde had to admit how beautiful the picture was that his mother was creating. The idea that the two really had fallen into pure love and would be able to work side by side forever. If only fairy tales came true; reality was much too harsh.
Jack appeared back in the room, placing down some tea on the coffee table. He leaned toward Elsa, putting his hand in front of his mouth. "What'd she tell you?" He asked, not bothering to keep his voice quiet enough that his mother couldn't hear.
Both ladies laughed at this, amused with how paranoid he appeared. "Nope, not telling!" Elsa smiled at the boy, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"You wound me, Princess." He clutched his heart in mock pain, before raising up his hands. "I have ways of making you talk though." He lunged at her, tickling the girl while she squirmed underneath him.
"Jack!" The blonde managed to shout between giggles. The pair wrestled around, not noticing the way Emily was watching them in amusement, fondness evident in her eyes. "Stop, Jack!" She laughed some more. "Please! Stop!"
Finally, the boy relented, pulling away. Both of their faces were flushed as they took in deep breaths. "You're lucky you look cute when you're laughing." He gave the girl a fake glare before smiling at her instead. Maybe it was because she had just spent so long laughing but the blonde couldn't remember ever being happier.
Author's note: Anna is not a 'villain' in this story. I absolutely adore her and I want to give her more character depth than I usually do. That said, I am so excited to progress in this story. I have two chapters coming up that I am so excited to write but I'm trying to hold off a bit and let things build.