This fic is based on songs from In Love With a Ghost's EP called 'Let's Go'. You can easily search it up and I recommend listening to it while reading this story.
We've Never Met but Can We Have a Cup of Coffee or Something
The world is chaotic, and so is him.
She was a spirit who roamed around the depths of the world, wandering about and trying to keep up with the fast pace of the growing universe. She observed as people grew old, starting from little toddlers amused by everything around them, up to the point when she no longer had the chance to see them again.
Elsa had been like this for a long time. Looking around in silence, even with the knowledge that no one could possibly hear her. Indulging herself in the wonders her environment could offer.
Checking again, she figured today was 2020. Chaotic. Or weird. And weird.
People's hands glued to their devices, stuck at home trying to figure out what to do next. She'd seen someone attempt to bake, another person screaming one song for a whole week, one kept buried under the sheets of their own bed, a gamer playing games all day, someone maintaining a serious conversation with a small plushie, and students suffering from online classes. There also had been one who apparently scrolled through the entirety of the internet, a fan spending time trying to write a fic, and a lot more. Ah, quarantine.
And no matter where she went, she'd hear the same set of topics over and over, the echoes of the media repeatedly highlighting the ongoing crisis all over the world. Nothing much changed since the past few months, she had been dizzily roaming around the streets seeking everything the world could offer, she observed the almost empty walkways, and she'd simply daydream in the midst of her adventures.
Suiting herself a comfortable cyan sweater and tying her hair up in a loose bun, she took upon another adventure to what used to be such a busy street, now filled with just the bare minimum amount of people the world could allow. Still, some had decided against guidelines anyway.
She decided to drop by a small coffee shop, the area almost empty on a Monday afternoon. The smell of the coffee and the soft light shining from the windows added to the coziness of the entire room, all together with the comfy seats accompanied with the lack of noise of the entire shop. It seemed as if no one had gone inside for quite a long while, not even a single employee to be found, though she could've swore that the door had a huge "OPEN" sign hanging from its knob. Oh well, just one of the many mysteries of the current times.
Honestly, she'd rather not care. Way better off than accidentally scaring people just to get a cup of coffee for herself. Upon examining the area for a moment, she sighed in relief and walked by one of the couches, brushing a hand over the surface while indulging in the aroma present in the air. At that point she wondered, if she could smell the satisfying smell of coffee, someone must've been here at least since a while ago.
Enough to feed her curiosity, she walked up to the counter, only to hear the sound of a door creaking open. A young man entered the cafe, plugging his earphones and immediately bopping along the music like the world ceased to exist. Aware of the ongoing situation today's life continued to face, however, she really couldn't blame him.
For the first few minutes, she simply ignored him despite guessing that he owned the shop. No, he seemed more like an employee-ah, no, she shouldn't judge based on appearances.
But then again, she heard a loud thud from across the room, only to see the same guy plopping himself down into one of the seats and going about as if unaware of the noise he made. Again, she knew to herself that there was no point in trying to intervene, especially considering her invisibility and possible lack of social skills.
She looked back at the counter and quietly read the entire menu. Thankfully, the man did know how to shut up.
For 2 seconds, that is.
She groaned in annoyance, wishing that she could do something to soothe this man's mind or at least be able to convince herself to freeze him in place. And then hope that people would just blame it on "Jack Frost". Ugh.
And when she thought that the situation couldn't get any worse, the man started to walk toward where she had peacefully settled herself. She bit her lip, internally screaming for help and hoping that nothing bad would happen due to the rising anger she sensed from herself. When was he ever going to leave?
Oh, no. Why, out of all the places, did he choose to stand beside-
"I know we've never met but," he placed his arm on the wooden countertop, fiddling with a leftover cup for a second then facing her again, "can we have a cup of coffee or something?"
She gulped in confusion, a blank expression evident on her face. After a while, she quickly glanced behind, wondering if someone else had been there prior to her notice. She slowly started to panic the moment her dreaded thoughts had become a reality-or not, but she could only hope; the entire cafe still remained absolutely spacious, and the guy gazed nowhere else than where she stood. And, worst of all, he was waiting for her to speak.
Talking to people. Great. Not something she had done for quite a while, she had long forgotten how to communicate with others. And, oddly enough, now she had to talk to a person who fueled her exasperation and seemed like he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Or she was being judgmental.
"Um, you can see me?"
"You can hear me?"
That was not the response she expected.
"What?" His answer already raised too many questions from the back of her mind, along with the look of horror and absolute turmoil from both of their faces. The guy seemed to share her sentiments and had not been expecting a response from her either; he must've thought she was deaf as she didn't seem to notice the commotion from earlier. Ignoring all that, she couldn't get over the fact that he felt her presence.
"Uh," he looked around, a hint of realization apparent in his expression while a sudden wave of fear clouded Elsa's anxious mind, "I'm not supposed to be… seen? I guess. I don't know."
She gulped, self-doubt settling in before she handed her reply. "Me too."
"What."
"What?"
"You're like me then. Hello there, I'm Jack Frost. And you?"
Her eyes twitched. Now he had been too bold and a little bit too pretentious-she felt slightly taken aback by his statement. She crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows in disbelief, her head slightly inching closer to him while she scanned him from head to toe. White hair. Blue eyes. Barefoot. Pfft, nah, he might be kidding. "Are you serious?"
"Why would I lie about such a thing?" Yet again, he sounded full of himself, not what she expected Jack Frost to be. And besides, he was simply a myth, too obscure to be considered real.
She sighed. This conversation was bound to nowhere. "I'm Elsa. It's nice to meet you."
"Pretty name. Now it makes me wonder why I haven't met you before, if you're a spirit like me," he said. Finally, a word of his made sense to her. Though it instead made her wonder if she shouldn't have gone to this cafe and somehow got a pleasant day all to herself… which didn't sound any different from the days that passed.
After all that, the place still remained spacious. No one else entered the shop, the scent of coffee started to cease, and the sunshine from outdoors dimmed. They could possibly have the entire area to themselves for the whole day, an idea she didn't want to entertain with a companion such as Jack. But then again, she came here for the drinks and she had nothing else better to do.
"Are we… still having coffee?" Elsa asked despite herself, now eager to examine the place. A lot could happen within the clean halls, and it seemed that whoever was in charge of the place had forgotten about coming back to it. In relief, she made her way around the counter.
Jack scoffed, uncertainty present on his slight actions. "I don't eat or drink much, but sure, if you want. Though there's no one else here so I'm not sure how you're going to make that work."
"Okay. Hold on," she said, confident in her voice.
She made her way to the kitchen, Jack following right behind her. As opposed to the dining area and as expected, the kitchen looked messier, though tidier than the rest of the cafes she used to explore during the past. So many lids and random labels, most of it would probably make a newbie scream. Least she got what she needed.
She finally found the source of the wonderful smell she looked for ever since she stepped into the cafe; from the corner of the kitchen there it stood-brewed coffee from a machine ready to be consumed. She supposed it cooled down as the scent seemed to have gone away, yet the surface remained warm as if it had been made just seconds ago. Giddily pouring the liquid from the carafe of the coffee maker to the cup she found in the store, she kept a satisfied grin.
Thankfully Jack didn't seem to mind; she hadn't been aware of what she must've looked like while craving the drink. She looked back at him and saw him leaning on the wall. "Any requests?"
"I like cold drinks," he said. Interesting. Though she still had her doubts that he was Jack Frost, the Jack Frost.
"Alright." She slowly placed her cup of coffee down on the kitchen table, then grabbing another cup for Jack. Iced coffee might work for him, she figured and so she went on fiddling with the tools she could find. "I went here to get myself a warm cup of coffee. I'm already too cold."
"Oh, sorry. I should've backed away for a while."
She laughed but quickly brushed it away. "The cold doesn't bother me, it's fine."
"But you just said-"
"I meant that I'm literally cold. And before you ask those questions, Jack Frost," she made a snowball in a blink of an eye and threw it to his face, "there goes your answer."
He stood there in shock and saw in him quite a mix of shock and rage. "You're kidding."
Forming another ball of snow from her very hands, she taunted him yet restrained herself from releasing a bark of laughter. She had felt proud, so proud-today she knew what years of forgetting how to talk to people had contributed to her (in)sanity. "Why would I lie about such a thing?"
"Okay, okay, I get it!" He raised both of his arms in surrender, and by then Elsa only noticed the piece of wood he held tightly on his hand. "Impressive."
"Which makes me wonder if you're actually Jack Frost, or is that only what you've lead me to believe."
"Well, are you Jack Frost?" he asked.
She shook her head, finding the trivial question kind of funny. "No. Actually, I don't really know. I'm not sure what people consider and a lot have just simply said that all snow is from Jack Frost. First of all, I know for a fact that isn't true, and second, I can create snow and ice on my own command, so what does that make me?"
"A perfect match."
"A what-"
"... for a snowball fight."
Elsa let out a breath of relief. Admittedly, for a few seconds, every inch of her being trembled. "Ah, thought you said something else for a moment. I'm nearing that point where I wouldn't hesitate to freeze your face."
"Woah, calm down, don't touch my face!" He seemed offended. "Social distancing, remember?"
"I can freeze your face even when I'm 6 feet away from you. Also, we're spirits. Can we even get diseases?"
"Probably not, but you'll never know," he replied, shrugging at the idea. "Also, miss, I know I should've done this sooner but here's your proof that I am, in fact, Jack Frost."
He sent shards of frost to the walls of the room, also forming beautiful fern-like patterns and tiny bits of snowflakes falling in what now seemed to be a winter wonderland. She gazed at the scenery in amazement, yet a wave of dust soon interrupted Jack's show of powers, most of which landed straight to Elsa's face. She sneezed, causing three snowgies to form and run toward where Jack stood. He laughed, and after a while, so did she.
"So tell me, if I wasn't able to see you, does that mean that you literally attempted to offer someone a cup of coffee even though you know you're invisible?" she inquired in the midst of their glee and the snowgies. Jack snorted at the sudden sentiment, and Elsa had only realized how bizarre the time was when she asked.
One of the snowgies hopped on Jack's hand in glee as he thought of an answer to Elsa's concern. He smirked at the little being; in return, the snowgie ran to his shoulder. "Uh, yeah. I got bored. That's none of your business."
"I know, I was just wondering, sorry." She looked down, she could feel the awkwardness she caused.
Jack placed a hand on her shoulder, a genuine smile present on his lips. She glanced back at him and could see that even the snowgie slightly hopped, it and Jack happily ensuring her that nothing wrong happened. "Don't be sorry, I understand. Oh, and also! This happens every time you sneeze?"
"Um, yes." She cracked a grin.
He squealed, letting go of Elsa's shoulder. "They're so cute!"
Jack sat down on the floor, chuckling at the sight of the snowflakes around them. The rest of the snowgies soon jumped onto him, one hiding in the pocket of his hoodie, and the other resting on his foot. Elsa couldn't help but laugh, and even though they might've made a mess in the kitchen, both of them stayed there in glee. And besides, the cafe did look at least a little bit better with all the ice and snow. Which, all of a sudden, made her wonder: what would happen if she decided to build one of these shops during the past?
Elsa continued making Jack's drink, careful not to accidentally cool down hers instead, and in no time Jack enjoyed the taste of his cup of coffee. He praised her, sharing that he never tried such sort of drink before, and thanking her for introducing him to something he used to ignore. And for once, he didn't seem annoying.
"We should probably go out of the kitchen," she offered. Jack simply nodded and immediately stood up, carrying the three snowgies and his icy drink in his arms.
They walked up to a comfortable couch nearest to a window, the view and the muted sounds from outdoors keeping them company for the rest of their meeting. Various landmarks and experiences had been the spotlight of their continued conversation, and though Elsa couldn't say that she was in ease, the feeling of talking to someone after years of keeping her mouth shut did leave a tiny impact on herself.
She could only handle not much noise, she would rather find her place somewhere more quiet. Yet despite the circumstances and that she doesn't easily favor his presence, she still appreciated that she wasn't alone anymore.