Tick, Tock. Tick. Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
He stared at the wall as the pointers of the clock moved one agonizing second at a time, wondering what in the goddamn world he had done now to be summoned to the principal's office. Admittedly, he was no model student—he was in no place to argue with that, but he had been a good boy, hadn't he? He even copied all of Hiccup's homework without being busted. So why was he there? What kind of business Principal Calhoun would have that was important enough to delay his sacred weekend plans?
He heard footsteps on the hallway, and his head instinctively turned in the noise's direction. He watched a blonde girl walk to the counter, and he immediately recognized her: Elsa Arendelle from the Drama Club.
"Hi, I'm here to talk to Principal Calhoun," Elsa said, smiling politely at the secretary.
"She'll be with you in a minute," Roz replied.
Elsa nodded, turning around, and finally noticed him watching her.
"Hey," he greeted with his trademark charm.
"Hi." She sat down, leaving an empty chair as a physical barrier separating them. She sat completely straight, resting her folded hands on her thighs and stealing glances at the door to the principal's office.
Jack watched with amusement as she bit her lower lip and crossed and uncrossed her ankles.
"Calhoun tries to look way more intimidating than she actually is. Whatever trouble you're in, I'm sure it's not gonna be that bad."
The girl arched an eyebrow at him. "Gee, thanks for the words of wisdom."
He shrugged. "I'm just trying to be nice because, you know, you look like you're having a stroke."
"Your worry is greatly appreciated," Elsa said, flashing him what looked like a well-rehearsed smiled. "But not needed."
"Whatever you say…" he grumbled, going back to staring at the clock.
And they waited for what felt like an eternity of uncomfortable silence, broken only by Roz's occasional loud coffee slurping, until the principal's door opened, and Tamora Calhoun appeared in all her authoritarian glory. "Ms. Arendelle, Mr. Frost," she called and gestured with her head to her office. "If you please."
Jack went in first, followed closely by the blonde girl. He was surprised to find another student in there already. Jack knew he was the Student Council's president, but he couldn't remember for the life of him the guy's name. The president dude was sitting in one of the three chairs positioned in front of Calhoun's desk and smiled as they entered, so Jack nodded at him in acknowledgment.
"Have a seat," Calhoun said as she closed the door. "I assume introductions are not needed," she added as she sat down and leaned back on her seat. "But just in case, this is Tadashi Hamada, our Student Council president."
"Hi," he greeted. "I'm happy to finally meet you two."
Jack frowned with suspicion at that statement but chose not to say anything.
"And these are Miss Elsa Arendelle and Mr. Jack Frost," Calhoun continued, glaring at Tadashi. "But you already knew that, since you chose them."
"Uh…" Elsa held one finger up. "Chose us? What would that be about?"
Calhoun sighed, intertwining her fingers and resting her hands on the table. "Have you heard of a blog named The Underground?"
Jack snorted, leaning back. "Haven't everyone?"
Elsa nodded in agreement.
The Underground was a blog with unknown origins whose popularity had grown alarmingly among students. The posts were usually testimonies anonymously sent by someone in the student body, or entries on school events and daily life. And all posts were signed by one user known only as Babydoll. As more people read the blog, Babydoll became an idol of sorts, and people adored her for her frank opinions, her sympathetic advice, and her authentic sense of humor. Babydoll's digital influence gave her enough power to rule the entire school, and anyone with half a brain knew better than to challenge her in any way.
"Precisely." The principal closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. As she opened her eyes, she added, "Well, meet Babydoll." And she pointed at the guy sitting on the first chair.
"What?" Elsa was frowning. "I thought Babydoll's identity was supposed to be a secret—"
"Wait, wait, wait…" Jack turned on his seat to stare at the Student Council's president. "You're Babydoll?"
"Well.." Tadashi scratched the back of his neck with embarrassment. "I'm one Babydoll."
Jack gasped, placing a hand over his chest dramatically. "There's more than one Babydoll?"
"I'm currently the only one," Tadashi admitted. "But ever since The Underground was… restructured"—he looked back at the principal, and she nodded her approval at the word choice,—"the position has been passed on from one student to another."
Jack shook his head in disbelief. He took a glimpse at the girl sitting next to him, and the fact that she seemed as surprised as him gave him a sense of relief.
"Teenagers these days seem to have problems with long-term memories, so you may not remember this," Calhoun interrupted his jumbled up inner conflict, speaking slowly. "But The Underground started as a gossip network to defame students, and people were negatively affected by whatever was being written in that blog. Thankfully, we managed to shut it down, and its creator received the punishment they deserved. A few months later, however, I had a student coming into my office with a proposal for turning the blog into a space where students could express themselves anonymously."
Jack's eyes met Elsa's, and he saw his own feelings reflected in her eyes—a mixture of surprise, confusion, overwhelm, disbelief, and even a hint of excitement.
Tadashi cleared his throat. "What we want is for The Underground to be a safe place for students to interact without the fear of being judged. We want them to know that they are understood and that there's someone out there that got their backs."
"And here… is where you two come in."
The Underground
Where Hawthorne High's student body can let their words fly high and free in the comfort of anonymity.
Inbox is open for submissions. Keep in mind that identities will be kept secret and Babydoll does not tolerate cursing, hatred, or any sort of disrespect.
Oh, the season for red paper hearts and chocolate boxes is here, Undergrounders. What was my surprise when I opened my window this morning and was slapped in the face by a gush of fresh air carrying the sweet and addicting scent of romance. Like that John Paul Young's song, Love is in the air, dears. And it's also overflowing in my inbox. Needless to say why, I believe. You should all be aware that February 14th is just around the corner.
Now, I know some have already put your love plans into action and are preparing for the most romantic holiday of the year, and I tip my proverbial hat to you. As for the rest of my readers, the clock is ticking and time is a precious and limited resource that should be used wisely.
Remember, boys and girls, you can't just wait around for your knight in shining armor to find you. I spend good money on conditioning my hair and if you think I'm gonna let some guy use it as rope, you've got another thing coming, buddy. You're not gonna get anywhere near a strand of my silky hair and I can get out of the tower on my own, thank you very much. In case you didn't enjoy the fairy-tale metaphor, that was my roundabout way of saying that you gotta get out there in the big scary world by yourselves, darlings. If you want anything to start, you gotta make the first move yourself.
So step it up, Undergrounders, mating season is officially open, and I expect good reports. Clean up, find that lucky bracelet, pick the perfect outfit, wear that nice fragrance that'll drive them crazy, have a breath mint, or do whatever you need to psych yourself and off you go, my children. Make sure to tag your boo in that cheesy kissy photo and show the rest of the world how in love you are. And by boo, I might as well be referring to a whole pint of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream fifteen minutes to midnight. Heaven knows ice cream never let me down before.
But that's a topic for another day.
Shall we head to today's mail?
I_throw_pennies_in_ponds: Roses are red, violets are blue. You may not know this, but I like you. I'm just a dorky guy with cheesy poetry and pickup lines. But I was wondering if you were free to spend with me this Valentine's. S, you're the only girl I see. What do you say about you and me?
Babydoll: Roses are red, violets are blue. Somebody write Babydoll some poetry too!
D4nc3W1thM3: A, I'm a huge fan of yours and you're the prettiest girl in school. I know we never really met but I wanted you to know that I feel better just by seeing you in the hallways. I like you and I wish you were mine.
Babydoll: Slow down, kid! Why don't you get to know each other first and get to talk a little? Besides, everybody knows Babydoll is the prettiest girl in school.
ShyBoy: Dear Babydoll, how do you know when's the right moment to kiss her?
Babydoll: Well, if your girl wants you to kiss her, she'll send you signs. Maybe she'll play with her hair, or lick her lips, or her voice will be low and hoarse. But I'd say you should pay close attention to her eyes. The eyes communicate much more than you'd expect, sweetheart. You may notice her eyes drifting to your lips, and that's either a sign that she wants you too, or that you have something stuck on your teeth (in that case, just check a mirror before meeting her)… She'll look at you and you'll feel like drowning in the depths of her irises. Her eyes will soften and lure you closer, and you'll know it's time. But if you still feel overwhelmed when that time comes, just count to three. Key to kissing someone is to relax and enjoy the moment, and that applies to everyone out there. I have all the faith in you, ShyBoy. You'll do great, and you'll sweep that girl off her feet. Trust Babydoll on this.
Tigerlilly: Dear Babydoll, I wrote to you last week, and I just wanted to thank you for your advice. You're awesome.
Babydoll: You're welcome, babe! Babydoll loves helping her Undergrounders out.
2punchez: Dear Babydoll, who are you? I think I figured out who you are. Just give me a hint on what you were wearing yesterday?
Babydoll: On Wednesdays, Babydoll wears pink.
Keep your heads up, Undergrounders.
Love,
Babydoll
She finished filling her travel coffee mug as she did every morning before school. She took a quick glance at her sister and had to hold a laugh at the sight of Anna sitting at the breakfast bar with her eyes glued to her cellphone, her mouth half-open, and a spoon full of cereal held in midair.
"Anna, what are you doing?"
Anna shoved the spoon inside her mouth and munched on her soggy cereal. "Nothing," she muttered nonchalantly.
"Well, hurry up if you don't want to take the bus to school."
"No, wait!" Anna squealed and poured the remnants of her breakfast inside her mouth.
"Slow down, or you're gonna choke." Elsa sighed. "I'll be waiting in the car."
"I'm almost done!" Anna shouted, but Elsa had already left the kitchen.
Elsa waited some solid five minutes before Anna showed up on the front porch. Elsa lowered her window and shouted, "Don't forget to lock the door!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm locking the door," Anna grumbled, returning to do so. She walked to the passenger's seat and slammed the car's door with more force than needed.
Elsa said nothing, but one of her eyebrows arched upwards as she turned on the car. "Ready to go?"
"Yes," Anna replied, putting on her seat belt with a huff.
As she dove, Elsa kept glancing at her sister from the corner of her eyes, noting that Anna was enthralled by her phone's content again. "No music today?"
Usually, Anna would keep switching radio stations until she found some song she liked, but with her focus on other matters, the car ride had been awfully quiet that morning.
"Sorry." Anna turned on the radio on a random music station. "There's a new post on The Underground."
Elsa snorted, rolling her eyes. "Of course there is."
She spotted her cousin waiting at the usual spot and stopped the car so the girl could get in.
"Morning, ladies," the girl said as she slid inside the back seat.
"Good morning, Rapunzel."
"Hey, Punz," Anna greeted, turning around on her seat. "Did you read it?"
"Oh, my God, YES!" Rapunzel squealed. "Did you get to the messages?"
"YES, THE FIRST GUY WAS SO CUTE! OH MY GOD!"
"TOTALLY! YOU THINK WE KNOW HIM?"
"OH MY GOD WHAT IF WE DO? THEN WHO WOULD THE GIRL BE?"
Elsa flinched, pressing a hand to her ear. "Keep it down, you two."
"Did you read it, Elsa?" Rapunzel asked, leaning forward with her arms on the front seats, excitement emanating from her skin.
"No, I did not have time to read it yet," Elsa replied, her eyes focused on the road.
"You should make time for it," Anna said. "It's Valentines's Day themed."
"Yeah, and there's this guy who wrote a poem for the girl he likes."
"Wait. Babydoll keeps identities anonymous."
"She does," Rapunzel agreed.
"Then why is this guy writing poems anonymously? The girl will never know."
"If they love each other, she will," Anna argued. "Love always finds a way."
"Speaking from experience, sister of mine?"
"… No… But that would be so romantic!"
"Yeah!" Rapunzel nodded. "The anonymous message could be what sparks their love story. That would be cute."
Elsa shook her head as they entered the school's parking lot. "You two are hopeless."
Anna shrugged. "I'm pretty sure he's someone from the Drama Club."
"Why's that?" Elsa asked.
"It's totally a theatre kid thing to do. You know, because we just did Shakespeare and all."
Rapunzel nodded. "Totally."
Elsa laughed. "School is a lot bigger than that. And we aren't the only ones who read poetry," she said, parking the car and turning the ignition off.
Rapunzel shrugged. "You never know."
"Wouldn't it be nice if it was someone we knew?" Anna fantasized, hopping out of the car.
"What difference would it make?" Elsa asked, looking at her sister from over the car's roof.
"Would be nice to give a face to a name, that's all," Anna sheepishly replied.
"Just like knowing who Babydoll is," Rapunzel added.
Elsa laughed as the three of them headed to the school's main entrance. "Join the club. Pretty much the whole school wants to know."
"Well, call me Detective Anna and sign me up for that case."
"Good luck with that," Rapunzel mocked as she linked arms with Anna.
Anna furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, I thought you had my back, Punz."
Rapunzel shrugged. "I like Babydoll being an incorporeal existence. And The Underground wouldn't be the same if people knew who she was."
Elsa smiled surprised at her cousin's reply. "That's very mature of you, Rapunzel."
"Hey! What about me?" Anna pouted. "I'm mature too!"
"You sure are, Anna," Rapunzel said, rubbing Anna's arm affectionately.
Anna groaned. "Just you wait. I'll figure out who she is and then we'll see who'll be laughing then."
"Can't wait for that to happen—" Elsa said as they entered the school, but her attention soon drifted to the crowd of students gathering in a messy circle.
"What's going on there?" Rapunzel asked, lifting herself on her tiptoes as she tried to get a better look at the commotion.
"Only one way to find out…" Anna mumbled as she led them in its direction.
Backpack casually slung over one shoulder, Jack walked down the hallway, whistling some random melody with a big grin on his face. Every time he heard something about it, his humor improved, and he felt like high five-ing strangers and twirling ladies around.
"Oh, I'm most certain it was for me!" he heard a girl saying.
"Your name doesn't even start with an S," another girl told the first one.
"It could be a decoy."
"If you say so…"
Jack felt his smile widen a little more. He kept walking, his ears attentive to the murmurs of conversation around him until he spotted his best friend's messy mop of hair in the crowd. The guy was sitting on the concrete rail, giggling at something on his phone.
Jack walked around his friend and leaned over, resting his chin on the brunet's shoulder. "Morning, babe," he said, wrapping his arms around Hiccup's middle.
Hiccup winked at the silverhead. "Hey there, handsome."
Jack sat beside his friend. "What you smiling at?"
"New post on The Underground," Hiccup said with a shrug. "Did you read it?"
Jack groaned. "It's too early for reading."
"Well, it will be worth your brain effort. Babydoll's humor is as entertaining as usual."
Jack stared at him with a smirk on his lips. "My, Hiccup. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're also a fan of the anonymous queen."
Hiccup laughed, throwing his head back. "Maybe."
"So what is it about?"
"Kids are in full romance mode. More love messages than usual."
"Hmm..." Jack nodded. "What about you, gonna send Astrid something?"
"Nah." Hiccup shrugged. "Astrid doesn't read The Underground, and she doesn't understand the appeal of anonymous declarations of affection."
Jack leaned back on his hands and crossed his legs. "Some girls find that romantic."
"I'm sure they do," Hiccup conceded. "My girlfriend is not one of those girls, though. Besides, now that we're kinda together, I don't need the messenger. I could just walk to her and—"
"Kiss her relentlessly and leave her lightheaded, trying to figure out what just happened."
Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck as he jumped off the rail. "That too, I guess..."
Jack slid off the rail as well, and they headed to their first class together. As they walked, they saw people sneering and whispering to each other, and it sent a warning sign to Jack's brain. Noticing that the murmurs were directed at a specific area ahead, the silverhead exchanged confused glances with his friend.
"What's that about?" Hiccup mused out loud.
"… You know, when Babydoll said to wear a scent that would drive people crazy, she didn't mean your ogre stench grossing everyone out!" they heard someone saying.
As they got closer and wandered through the students, Jack recognized one of the persons involved.
"What did you say, small fry?" Shrek, the captain of the soccer team, snarled, grabbing a scrawny kid by his collar and lifting him off the floor.
"Your hearing sucks for someone with such huge ears," the skinny boy said, his voice constricted by the near-strangulation happening.
"Oh, ho, ho. You did not just say that!" Shrek's friend, a short guy nicknamed Donkey shouted, jumping up and down and moving his arms dramatically. "Shrek, don't let him talk to you like that!"
Jack hissed. Shrek's aggressive demeanor was something not exclusive to the soccer field, and he could see in his mind the bloodbath that would follow if things kept going down the path they were going. His hero complex kicked in, and he pushed past people to get to the center of the mess.
"Hey, big guy! Watcha doing here?" he asked, throwing an arm around the captain's broad shoulders and casually pulling Shrek back.
"Teaching this nerd a lesson," Shrek spat.
"Now, that wouldn't be very smart, would it?" Jack mused, rubbing his chin in a contemplative manner.
"Calhoun hears that you got into another fight, she will kick you out of the team, bro," Hiccup added, standing on Shrek's other side.
Shrek seemed to consider the pair's words for a moment. "Fine." He groaned as he pushed the other guy against the lockers. Narrowing his eyes, he added, "Do yourself a favor and stay the fuck out of my way, freak."
Shrek turned around, and very discreetly, Jack mouthed for the kid to get out. The kid begrudgingly nodded, adjusting the collar of his shirt, and left in the opposite direction of the soccer team's captain.
Jack clapped twice, looking around the crowd of snooping students. "Alright. Show is over, you vultures." He shooed people with wide arm gestures. "Come on, move along, there's nothing to see here…"
Shrek reunited with his friends, and Jack and Hiccup silent agreed to watch from the sidelines to make sure that no more quarrels started.
"That Babydoll bitch has to go," they heard Shrek grumbling to his friends as they left to their classroom.
Jack sighed, rubbing his temples. "Guess you can't win everyone," he mumbled.
"What was that?" Hiccup asked, looking back at him.
Jack shook his head. "Nothing." Jack adjusted his backpack straps and straightened up. "Let's get out of here before somebody tries to blame us again."
Hiccup nodded. "Right behind you."
Eugene had been sitting on the edge of the stage with his feet dangling as he scrolled down on his phone. As he kept reading, he heard a cry of pain and metalic objects crashing on the floor, and his eyes instinctively moved in the sounds' direction.
"Ow! Kristoff!" Rapunzel cried, scowling at the brick wall of a guy standing in front of her.
"Sorry," Kristoff mumbled, putting a pile of cardboard boxes on the floor. He knelt down and started picking the scattered objects he must have dropped when bumping into the blonde.
"Try being more careful," she scolded as she and other members of the drama club helped him pick up the dropped items.
Eugene sensed someone approaching him, and he met eyes with one of his friends.
"What's that rock troll still doing here?" Hans asked with contempt as he stopped beside Eugene and glared at the scene.
"Didn't you hear? He's serving detention."
"What for?"
"How should I know?" Eugene shrugged. "Some kind of trouble with the janitor's floor polisher, maybe."
"And they sent him here to the drama club?" Hans scoffed. "What are we? Some sort of charity for the troubled and rebellious youth?"
"Something like that," Eugene mumbled, his eyes returned to his phone. "Especially now that Elsa is in charge."
Hans shook his head. "Unbelievable."
"Tell me about it..."
"Mind telling me what's the oh-so-interesting thing you're looking at now?" Hans asked, and there was a hint of irritation in his voice.
"The Underground."
"Again?"
"There's a new post," Eugene said. "I had to read it."
"I honestly don't understand what the appeal is."
Eugene glared at his friend. "Babydoll is."
Hans snorted.
"There's something very alluring about her," Eugene explained. "My money is on her being smoking hot."
Hans chuckled with that superior attitude he usually carried. "Now, how would you know that?"
"It's the way she writes. She writes with confidence, and it's goddamn sexy."
"They're just words."
Eugene threw a glare in the other guy's direction. "You know, for a literate ass, you sure are skeptical about the significance of words."
"Words mean nothing when you don't know their source," Hans argued.
Eugene snorted leaning back on his hands. "Shut up. You don't even read The Underground."
"Fool yourself all you want." Hans let out a tired sigh. "Babydoll is a scammer."
"It takes one to know one…" a girl said, and both the guys turned to look behind them. Among others, she leaned over a long table, painting something with a large brush. Although her eyes were on the panel she was painting, they knew her attention was directed towards them.
"Still holding a grudge?" Hans asked the girl. "Water under the bridge, Anna."
Anna snorted, shoving the brush inside the paint can. "And am I supposed to just forget what a psycho you are?"
Hans rolled his eyes. "Your inability to move on truly concerns me."
Anna crossed her arms glaring at him. "You know what concerns me even more, Westergaard? Your fucking sociopathy!"
Before Hans could say anything in reply, their discussion was cut short by Elsa's shout on the megaphone, "Alright, everyone!" She purposefully threw a glare at both Anna and Hans. "Break's over. Now get back to your places."
Students mumbled as they went back to the stage, and Elsa grabbed her script and flipped through its pages. "Hans, Eugene, Rapunzel. Why don't we go from the balcony scene?"
Rapunzel nodded, standing up. "Okay."
"Yes, ma'am," Eugene said and he and Hans walked to the center of the stage as well.
"And keep your phones off," Elsa said on the megaphone again. "I hear anyone saying another word about Babydoll, they're painting an entire set on their own."
Jack parked his car and took a quick glance at the rear-view mirror. His hair was still humid from the quick shower, but that would have to do for now. He grabbed his bag from the passenger's seat before getting off the car and headed to the Lucky Cat Café. The bell on the door rang, and the boy sitting on the counter looked up from the comic book he had been reading.
"Sup, Hiro?" Jack greeted the boy.
"Your girlfriend is cranky today," Hiro informed him.
"First of all, she's not my girlfriend," Jack said, walking towards the counter. "But thanks for the heads-up. Second, do you have any blueberry muffins?"
"Yep, and they're still warm." Hiro jumped off the stool and reached behind him for a clean plate.
"Perfect. I'll have one." He leaned over the counter, inspecting the food options through the glass display. "And also a cup of black coffee and a mocha."
Hiro put the muffin on the counter and went to the coffee machine. "Coming right up."
"So how are you, Hiro?" Jack asked as the coffee machine came to life, and it started grinding the beans.
Hiro shrugged. "Same old, same old. School's boring."
Jack nodded. "You played the new Hero's Duty yet?"
Hiro shook his head.
"Friend of mine just got me. We could play together when you're free."
Hiro turned to look at him with a smirk on his lips. "Are you challenging me, Frost?"
Jack shrugged. "Just go easy on me and try not to embarrass me too much."
"Trust me, you do plenty of that on your own."
"Oh, hello, honey," a female voice said, and Jack felt a gentle hand rubbing his shoulder.
Jack smiled at the woman behind him. "Hey, Cass. Busy day?"
"You have no idea," Cass said with a long sigh. "Can I get you anything?"
"Hiro already got my order, thanks."
"Take some cookies for you and Elsa. I'm trying out new recipes." Cassie put two golden-brown cookies with white chocolate chips on a plate. "Give me your feedback later."
"Will do."
Hiro put the coffees on a tray in front of the silverhead. "Here you go."
"Thanks, buddy."
Jack took a look around the room and headed straight to the window table occupied by a blonde girl typing away on one of the café's computers at an inhumane speed.
"You're late," the blonde said as soon as he was within earshot, her eyes not even moving from her screen.
"Sorry. Practice," he explained as he placed the tray on the table. He noticed she already had a cup of coffee next to her, and for a moment he worried he had jumped the gun. "But I come bearing peace offerings..."
She stopped typing to look at the tray, then at him as he sat on the seat next to hers. "Thank you," she said as she replaced her empty cup with the new one. She took a sip of her plain black coffee before adding, "I changed a few things on the replies you wrote. Give it a last check and you can put it in the queue."
"What did you change?"
Elsa shrugged. "A few words here and there. Your Frost was showing too much."
He rolled his eyes as he slid the muffin plate to her side of the table, to which she mumbled her gratitude. "I finished the 'Songs to make you cry' playlist. It's also ready to post," he informed, powering on the computer in front of him.
"Are you sure we can post it without giving away who you are?" Elsa asked with a furrow of her eyebrows. "Musical taste could be a huge identifying factor."
Jack shrugged, playing with a cookie between his fingers. "It's not my top ten favorite songs, Queenie. It's the saddest songs of all time for broken hearts. We're safe."
"If you say so."
"I do. And I also think we should continue with the morning posts."
Elsa laughed dryly. "Of course you would say that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Everybody was talking about The Underground today." Elsa looked at him from over their screens barrier. "I bet you loved the attention."
Jack frowned. "I'm not gonna lie, seeing our efforts being appreciated felt fucking amazing. But it's not like people were talking about me, you know."
"Even if they weren't chanting your name in the hallways, the current Babydoll is at least fifty percent you. And you love having the school buzzing about you—any version of you."
Jack smirked, leaning on his chair and folding his hands behind his head. "Still, morning posts clearly have a higher view rate, so we should keep doing that." He saw Elsa opening her mouth to protest, so he added before she could say anything, "And that's not just my ego speaking."
Elsa narrowed her eyes at him before conceding, "Do as you wish. Don't forget to put the new post on queue tonight, then."
"Aye, aye, cap," Jack said with a salute. "What are you working on?"
"Drafting some replies," Elsa mumbled.
"Don't forget to mark the ones you answered," Jack mocked. That was a mistake he constantly made when they had first started working together all those months ago. Elsa would spend hours and hours every Thursday nagging about how his lack of organization made them discard a bunch of redundant material.
Jack smiled as he put his headphones on, and soft rock started playing in his ears. Adjusting himself on his seat, Jack focused his attention on his screen, running his eyes through the answers Elsa had revised for him. Everything was fine, so he copied the text and adjusted the layout, adding it to The Underground's posting queue. Then, he opened a new text file and started writing some random sentences. Time passed as they worked silently on their separate tasks, reading and typing on their own machines.
At some point, Jack felt his neck stiffening and decided to grant himself a quick break. He stood up, stretching his back and rotating his shoulders. To his annoyance, his companion continued working as if he wasn't even there.
"So… how's the play coming out?" he asked, cracking his neck.
"Alright, I suppose." She stopped for a moment to rub her eyes, then went back to typing. "We're a little behind on the sets, but we're managing. At least everybody memorized their lines already. That makes rehearsing easier."
"Hm…" He looked at her, his mind trailing off with thoughts.
Elsa looked up at him with suspicion. "What?"
"I've seen a couple of school plays before… How come I don't remember seeing you?"
She laughed. "I'm not an actress. I work behind the stage, not on it."
Jack arched an eyebrow, looking at her with his chin resting on his hands. "Stagefright?"
"I have been on stage before, if you must know," Elsa said with a roll of her eyes. "I just realized that directing was a job more suited to me."
"Bossing people around?"
Elsa smirked, raising her eyes to meet his. "Exactly."
Jack sighed. "And here I thought that was something exclusive between you and me."
She shook her head. "You're not that special, Frost."
"That means I'm a little special, right?"
"Of course," she said, patronizingly.
He smiled, leaning back. "Well, good luck. I'll make sure to be there."
Her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Will you now?"
Jack shrugged. "Sure. Babydoll has to cover school events."
"I'm already gonna be there," she reminded him.
"But you're biased. We need neutrality."
Elsa laughed. "Unfortunately, that's not going to be you either," she said, making him smile as well.
"I'm still coming to praise your hard work."
"I'm flattered. By the way, some boys from the drama club find you attractive. They said you were hot."
"Can't blame them," he said with a nonchalant shrug. But as her words ran through his brain once more, he frowned. "Wait. Me me or like, fifty-percent me?"
"Does it matter?"
Jack gave the question a moment of thinking, then he replied, "I guess not. What about the girls?"
"I'm afraid I don't have that kind of information," she said, rolling her eyes.
Jack leaned on the table, intently looking at her eyes. "Let's be more specific, then… Do you find me attractive?"
Elsa stopped typing, her fingers freezing in the air as she slowly raised her head to look at him. "Frost, what was rule four on our agreement?"
He pouted. "Jack Frost must contain his egotistical self while interacting with Elsa on behalf of The Underground," he mumbled the statement by memory. "You're such a killjoy, Queenie. What was rule number five again?"
She glared at him as she recited, "Elsa Arendelle must contain her snobby, 'unfun', nerdy self while interacting with Jack on behalf of The Underground." She narrowed her eyes. "And how does stopping your sexual advances make me unfun?"
"Did you even hear what you just said?" Jack laughed, but his laughter stopped short as soon as he noticed the unamused expression on her face. "Sorry," he said, sounding half-apologetic. "You don't have to say anything."
"Good."
"... You and I know what your answer is anyway."
After his weekly meeting with Elsa had ended, he received a text from Hiccup saying that the gang was going to The Edge and asking if he wanted to come too. With a quick 'fuck yeah' reply to his friend, he hopped in his car and drove to The Edge, a cleverly named retro diner built on a hill with a view to the rest of the town. The Edge also happened to be the hangout spot for him, his friends, and a major part of Hawthorne's young population.
"So where did you go after school?" Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup's girlfriend asked him as they sat together at one of the tables set outside with burgers, fries, and milkshakes between them.
"Home," Jack answered with a shrug.
Astrid raised her eyebrows at him from across the table and crossed her arms. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah..."
"So it wasn't you hanging out at a coffee shop with that Arendelle girl from the Drama Club?"
"What?" Hiccup looked surprised from Jack to the girl sitting beside him, then back at Jack. "Frost and… was that Elsa? Or her little sister?"
Astrid shrugged. "I don't know that girl's name."
"If you must know, that was Elsa," Jack clarified, and as Hiccup's eyes widened, and Astrid chuckled smugly at him, he realized what he had just said. "Crap," he mumbled, grabbing his milkshake and slurping noisily to busy himself.
"Why were you with her?" Astrid asked.
"And why did you blatantly lie about it just now?" Hiccup added.
Jack shrugged, acting nonchalant. He took a quick look around their group and was glad to conclude that no one was paying attention to the conversation.
"No reason," he said looking back at the couple. "We just ran into each other. And I didn't lie. I went home, then went to grab a coffee and stopped to talk to her while I waited for my order." He threw a glare at Astrid before adding, "Which is what you probably saw, you Sherlock Holmes wannabe."
Astrid was unfazed by his animosity. "You were both using the computers," she countered. "And you seemed quite comfortable with each other."
"Jesus Christ, Hofferson!" Jack threw his hands in the air. "What are you, some kind of stalker?"
Hiccup chuckled, throwing an arm around Astrid's shoulders. "Frost, what are you hiding?"
"I'm not hiding anything," Jack mumbled, resting his arms on the table and pressing a hand to his face. "We… I… We're friends, kinda."
"Oh, sure you are," Hiccup scoffed. "Jack, you and I have known each other since kindergarten, and this is the first time I hear you saying anything about this supposed friendship with Elsa Arendelle. Not only that, but you guys are close enough to occasionally have coffee together?" Hiccup shrugged. "Sorry if I find it the tiniest bit suspicious."
Jack bit his tongue as he tried to come up with a plausible explanation. "It's… because we haven't been friends that long."
"Mmhmm…" Hiccup nodded. "So what's the story behind that?"
"You know how it is, Third." Jack shrugged. "… Valentine's Day is coming up and Super Silly Fun Land has that event for couples."
"Wait a minute..." Astrid held her index finger up as she stared at him incredulously. "Are you saying… that you're hanging out with this random girl for only God knows how long just so you can score some freebies on Valentine's Day?"
Jack gulped. "… Yep. That's exactly what I'm saying."
A/N has disappeared in one of my many edits. Here I am again! Greetings! So this gonna be a fun little mix of teenage stories like Mean Girls, Gossip Girl, Love Simon, Youth and Consequence, High School Musical, Grease, and so on. I may occasionally come back to tweak some wordings and correct some mistakes, so don't feel alarmed if the story feels slightly different from time to time. Also, find me on tumblr because I'm there all the time.