Yesterday has been strange, if anything; or maybe even 'interesting' fitted better. After the awkward slash cute moment during breakfast, she and Jack returned to bed, to rest their tired bodies at least.
Funny enough, Elsa, also being a victim of the time zones, couldn't care less about her now destroyed pillow fort. Since Jack decided to get a shower to clean off the sweat from his morning run, the second Elsa touched her bed she dozed off.
When she woke up she realized about a few things. One, Jack fell asleep too, and thankfully, he was still asleep. Two, he was sleeping impossibly close to her, since her fort no longer existed. Three, her right leg was also, impossibly tangled to both of his legs and her bed sheets. And four, she was so freaking glad that she didn't scream like a psycho and fell off of her bed from the initial discovery. Instead, she managed to control herself just while she un-tangled her leg from his and pushed the sheets away, and got out of the bed as fast as she could.
Jack didn't mention the incident after she got out of the shower (of course, why would he?) and after both of them dressed decently to start off the day, they went down stairs since they were just on time for lunch.
Elsa was pretty delusional to think that Hans would be there to be honest, but still, she only realized that just as she sat down to eat and he was nowhere to be seen. She then remembered he worked on Saturdays till the afternoon. Today wasn't truly a day off, and the only ones in some sort of 'vacation' here were Punzie, Jack and her. Everyone else had their life here in Arendelle. No everyone could just stop attending to their jobs or appointments just to celebrate a marriage for more than a week.
After having amazing pasta for lunch (she completely forgot how good the family chef cooked, she missed it) with her parents, Punzie and Jack (Anna and Kristoff were still doing their 'last minute' wedding stuff) her parents insisted that she showed Jack around and she agreed. She wouldn't be seeing Hans today anyways, so what the hell. She thought Jack might want to get to know a bit of Norway at least.
It was definitely the least he deserved for the huge humiliation he went through with her yesterday. Or maybe a chance to show him she was indeed a bit normal and not a total freak.
So, her dad lend Jack some keys and they drove in a black classic Ferrari 250 GT SWB California to Arendelle's downtown, feeling the wind in their faces as Jack drove expertly through the lovely streets.
It felt like a movie. Driving in a classic convertible car besides a total heartthrob, feeling free as the wind brushed her hair, tingling her face. Watching how people looked at them dreamily.
Too good to be true.
If they only knew...
The first thing they did was visit the touristic spots in the city, such as churches, chapels, a few museums and a few statues too. Jack seemed to be enjoying himself, even if it was a bit awkward since most of the people there were taking photos as well. Even a few asked them if they wanted them to take a photo of the two. It was really awkward to say 'no, thank you' and laugh nervously to then cautiously walk away. She offered to take a few pictures of him though, but he kindly declined.
Elsa also showed him her favorite stores and spots after they both got hot chocolate from Oaken's. Jack actually decided to buy a couple of things from souvenirs stores, but that was about it.
Their final stop was Elsa's favorite restaurant, called 'Fjord'. They decided to eat large variety of appetizers, from sea food to Scandinavian food. Jack seemed to like everything Elsa suggested, and he also seemed to enjoy food a lot, so she was glad about that. At least one thing they definitely had in common.
It was just when they got home, both with content faces after having a good time that Elsa realized that she didn't think about Hans during their whole adventure, not even once.
At first, she thought that when they got to the Downtown, every little spot would bring back painful memories that they had shared together over the years. Hell, most of their dates were in 'Fjord', and yet he didn't appear in her mind, not even for a millisecond while she was there.
It was kind of shocking. Maybe, it was because it's been so long since she spent an entire day with a new (friend?) person. Of course it'll be distracting enough since everything that Jack did or said was completely new to her, and a discovery. Plus, the fact that she actually had fun and it wasn't as awkward as she thought it'll be at first helped enough.
She slept content that night, pillow fort not present.
Today, though; was 'Young People at the Park' meaning Hans will definitely be there.
She woke up only to realize Jack was already in the shower, so she waited for him to come out in her bed.
"Morning, princess" He said, getting out of the bathroom with just dark jeans on.
Good Lord, she could get used to seeing this first thing in the morni-
'FOCUS, ELSA. FOCUS.'
"M-Morning" She stuttered. 'Gosh, why do I still gets so flustered whenever he talks to me?'
"So, what's in for today?" He said, as he messed slash styled his hair in front her vanity mirror.
'Is his hair as soft as it looks?' Elsa thought as she gazed mesmerized as how his fingers run through his hair. It wasn't until he locked his eyes with her that she snapped back to reality.
"Sorry, what?" Elsa said, blushing in embarrassment.
"Any plans for today?" Jack asked with a teasing smirk.
"Oh, uhm... We got Young People at the Park today; we're gonna meet there with the others in an hour or two? I guess your jeans are okay for whatever we're gonna be doing. Just add something fresh because there's a high chance we're gonna be playing some sort of sport or something like that" Elsa explained, and Jack let out a short chuckle.
"Are you good at sports?" He asked, and Elsa blushed again.
"Well... no" Elsa said and got surprised when Jack lifted his eyebrows in surprise at her answer. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why do you ask?"
"Preparing myself for today" Jack brushed off. "Plus, you don't give me that impression" He added. "Not even Yoga or some stuff like that?"
"Tried it once and it gave me a stiff neck for about two weeks" Jack snorted loudly at this making Elsa frown.
"Why are you asking again?" She repeated her previous question.
"I don't know. Just surprised that you have such a nice body without doing any type of exercise" He simply said as it was nothing.
Elsa's jaw was on the floor and she was once again, a walking tomato.
Jack chuckled at her reaction.
"You like making fun of me, don't you?" Elsa narrowed her eyes at him with a cherry blush still dusting her cheeks.
"As a matter of fact Princess, I do" He said and winked at her. Elsa scoffed at this and stomped to her bathroom pouting.
As she got ready for the day she couldn't help but feel how the nerves were eating her alive. Today will be different from the cocktail party from the other day. There wouldn't be tons of people helping her hide from Hans if she got nervous. Not even her parents will be there today. She was sure that not even a lot of her Arendelle friends were going to be there, so there was definitely no avoiding today.
Meaning, she and Jack would have to keep up their game extra-hard today as she tried to conquer Hans from afar.
She opted for a button-down sleeveless light blue shirt and some denim shorts. The sun was up in the sky and she refused to be bothered by it since she hated warm weather.
Her hair was up in a simple messy bun and she added just the necessary amount of make-up to look at least presentable.
Once she got out of the bathroom, Jack was already waiting for her. He had a navy blue cotton t-shirt and he looked like a gift straight from God.
"Ready to go, Princess?" He asked standing up from her bed.
"Yeah" Elsa said. "Let's just go buy a pie or something so we don't show up there empty handed"
After making their stop at Oaken's to buy an apple crumble pie with some vanilla ice-cream they finally arrived to Sofienberg Park.
The first thing that Elsa noticed was Kristoff's car parked outside, so that meant that Hans was already there. Because wherever Kristoff was, so was Hans.
Elsa took deep breaths before getting out of the car.
'Is okay, Elsa. You can do this. He fell for you once... right? That means he can fall for you once again.'
After giving herself her mental pep talk, she got out of the car.
Jack could tell that Elsa was a nervous wreck. Just as they were approaching to wherever the others were, Elsa seemed more and more nervous. He knew that what he said to her yesterday was at least partially guilty of her current state, but since the very first time she told him her 'love story' in the plane he knew that something was off about her break-up.
What he told her was completely, 100% true.
No one wakes up one day and suddenly stops being in love with someone.
He learned that the hard way.
Still, there were pieces that didn't fit in this whole story. The most important one clearly being the fact that Hans seemed to love her still and regret whatever happened between them.
What made that sound odd was that even if Elsa haven't said anything about it, he just knew that Hans didn't talk to her or even tried to reach her after they broke up. Not in three years.
Perhaps, one of the reasons why he didn't talk to her before and why he seemed to really regret it now was that maybe Elsa was indeed different from the Elsa that left Arendelle three years ago. Still, he didn't know that for sure, because he didn't know that Elsa.
He guessed he just had to wait and see.
After they walked for a little while through the green park, finally Elsa's cousin swearing could be heard.
"Hans, why the hell don't you shave those bushes of yours already? Squirrels here might believe they're one of them and try to mate and fuck your face if you're not careful" Jack tried really hard not to snort in amusement since Elsa made a horrified face at her cousin's comment.
"Always so sweet, aren't you, Rapunzel?" Hans said rolling his eyes.
"I'm more like the spice, Horny Hans. And look! There's the rest of my team" Punzie said pointing at them with a smile. "Jack's the sugar, I'm the spice and Elsie here is everything nice" She said and hugged Jack and Elsa.
"What about me?" Anna said frowning from her place at Kristoff's lap.
"You're more like Mojo Jojo" Punzie simply said and this time Jack couldn't stop his snort, earning a light elbow from Elsa that was having a hard time holding a snort as well.
"Hey there, guys" Kristoff waved and Anna (not so) discreetly rolled her eyes.
"Hey" Elsa said rather timidly. "I brought some apple crumble cake. I know it's your favorite dessert, guys" She said to Anna and Kristoff.
"Yum. Thanks, sis" Anna said and gladly took the cake and placed it where all the food was.
"Who told you?" Kristoff asked with a smile as he got up to greet them both.
"My mom, in one of her excessively long calls" Elsa said and rolled her eyes. Jack looked at her rather confused, clearly not understanding the conversation, and Elsa giggled. "Kristoff asked Anna to be his girlfriend at Oaken's over apple crumble pie" Elsa explained.
"They were out of Devil's cake that day. My favorite dessert" Anna added. "But, that's just fine because now we have our favorite dessert" She said and gave Kristoff a peck on the lips.
"So, how about some volleyball?" Kristoff asked.
"We were actually waiting for you two to arrive because I refused to team with Hans" Punzie shamelessly said.
"And because 3 against 3 is better" Kristoff was quick to cover up.
Jack could tell that Kristoff was well aware and as well ashamed of whatever his 'best friend' has done, but he still was trying to keep the tension to a minimum.
"Sure" Jack said and Elsa just nodded nervously.
She sucked at sports.
Emphasis on the world sucked.
"Great!" Punzie said and was quickly to grab Jack and Elsa by their wrist to then begin dragging them towards the volleyball field not far away "The PowerPuffs must stay together, good luck villains!"
After that they all positioned in the field. Punzie quickly took possession of the ball, and got ready to serve.
Jack guessed that she'll probably be good at it, since he got a feeling that she was quite a violent person for starters.
He wasn't wrong.
Punzie's first serve was accompanied with a fierce growl and was suspiciously directed with full force at Hans.
Jack was quiet surprised to find that everyone was in fact really good at volleyball. Well, Elsa was not exactly good, but she got the ball over the net every time as much as it difficulted her so it was good enough.
Everyone was actually very good, to the point that only he and Punzie were the only ones that served on his team since the ball seemed to have a very difficult time getting to the floor or hitting the net.
They won the first set barely by 27-25 and it lasted a whole lot, so they all went to grab some water bottles before starting the next set.
It was Elsa's turn to serve.
They all positioned themselves in their respective spots, Elsa going behind the end of the line with a water bottle still in hands.
"Okay, let's go!" Kristoff said once they all appeared to be ready to start.
But Elsa had something else in mind before serving.
Hans barely took a glance at her, and perhaps it was because she should've dressed better or something. But, she was determined to catch his attention in some way or another.
So, sexily she uncapped her water bottle, took it slowly to her lips, gulped down a few times and let a few droplets slide across her neck in a sexy way.
That's how she pictured it in her mind.
Of course, it didn't happen that way, at all.
Instead of the 'few droplets' a whole lot torrent of water washed over her, effectively drenching her shirt.
Fuck.
Elsa was well aware that everyone was looking at her right at the moment.
No worries, she calmed herself and pretended that it was supposed to be that way anyways, she could fix this. In a sexy way.
So, she unbuttoned the lowest part of her shirt, and proceeded to tie the two ends in a bow, showing off her belly.
Oh. My. God.
'What is she doing'
If Jack could do anything right now, if he could ask for any wish his heart desired at this very moment; he wouldn't ask for mountains of gold, he wouldn't ask to be able to fly, he wouldn't ask for a dragon or a car.
He would probably ask for a chance to hide Elsa behind a tree.
'What is she doing'
She was embarrassing herself, that's what she's doing.
If he was 100% honest, he'll probably find it cute if he was in Hans place; in an awkward slash adorable way.
But he is not in Hans place and certainly Hans is not finding it cute.
He attempted to save her in the only way he could now.
"Els, you're up" He said, and Elsa looked up to him as she tried to finish tying her shirt. "C'mon, it's your turn" He urged, with a look of 'QUIT IT' written all over his face.
Elsa flushed a deep shade of crimson, and grabbed the ball, purposefully ignoring Hans' quiet chuckles.
Jack thought that Elsa was defending herself very well before, but her skills in volleyball ended right there, she didn't know how to serve.
The ball barely made it to the middle of their own part of the field, and Hans' loud cheers at Elsa's mistake made Jack's eye twitch, it didn't make it any better when Anna started to cheer loudly as well.
'Assholes' He couldn't help but think.
It appeared that Rapunzel and Adgar were the only good members of Elsa's family.
Elsa let out a defeated sigh, and flushing in obvious embarrassment she re-positioned herself, avoiding looking at Hans.
Jack pursed his lips, and after giving Hans a side glance, he walked towards Elsa and kissed her freckle dusted nose making her blush brightly, but this time not in embarrassment.
"Even if your pout is sexy as hell, don't" He said winking at her. "You're by far the most gorgeous girl here, don't get upset by a lame volleyball game" He said, smirking at Hans and Anna that were giving him disbelieving and offended looks now. "No offense, Punzie" He said purposely.
"Oh, my God" Punzie snorted out loud at the reactions from everyone. "I'm not offended, you can do that again whenever you want" She said truthfully, still chuckling.
Jack glanced at Elsa again, that was with a slight cherry blush adorning her face but with a thankful smile.
They won the game.
Punzie was more than inspired after Jack's previous comment, Elsa had a new-found determination that didn't involve any other 'sexy' attempts, and since Anna was still offended by the comment, she was snapping at both of her teammates throughout what was left of the game.
The victory was tasty.
After having something to eat, they all silently agreed to cut off short 'Young People at the Park', mostly fueled by Kristoff's pleading looks since he obvious wanted to calm down Anna.
Rapunzel was the first one that excused herself, saying that she saw Hans' face long enough for a day, and claiming that she had to Face-Time with her boyfriend (that was arriving tomorrow at night) anyways.
Hans was the second one to leave, mumbling some nonsense while he sent daggers to Jack.
So, after that, Elsa and Jack left as well.
The first minutes in the car were silent. Even if it was the comfortable type, Jack could tell that Elsa wanted to say something.
So, after a few minutes she did.
"Thanks" She said first, glancing timidly at him. "For what you did today"
"Anytime, Princess" He warmly said, smirking at her.
She smiled for a moment, to then sigh deeply.
"I made such a fool of myself today" She said, sliding her fingers through the top of her head, tangling them in her hair.
Jack didn't know how to answer, really. He did want to say that she didn't, that Hans was the actual fool for making fun of her and he probably would if this was a talk between two friends.
But he wasn't here to be her friend, as much as that felt sour in the back of his mouth.
He was here working. He knew what he needed to do. Elsa didn't just ask for him to play boyfriend so she looked happy in front of everyone, she also wanted to make Hans jealous.
He tried to find a good answer, that wouldn't change her way of being and would also get Hans' attention.
He could tell she was waiting for an answer, though.
"I just don't understand why are you trying so hard" He finally said.
She looked rather startled.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"I mean, I don't think you should force things" He said, but she was still confused. "It's better if you just let it flow, Princess. Just be yourself"
Elsa let out a silent scoff. He could tell that she was not pleased by his answer.
She didn't say anything for a little while, and neither did he.
"Hans didn't look at me once before that" She sourly said, not looking at him. "So it's clear that just 'being myself' isn't enough" She added roughly.
"It is" Jack insisted, glancing at her. "You don't understand" He said sighing and returning his glance to the road.
"What I don't understand, Jack? Explain it to me" He could tell she was offended.
"He's not looking at you because you're so focused on him all the time" Jack said "You think he doesn't notice, but he does. Everyone does"
Elsa blinked, to then look away.
"When you finally started focusing on something else, that's when he did 'notice' you" Jack continued, and Elsa gazed at him confused.
"That was just because of what you said. It was just because of you" She said.
"No, it was because it finally appeared that you didn't care about what they were saying or what they were thinking and that you finally started to have fun with me, your 'supposed' boyfriend" He really couldn't explain the sourness in his voice right now or why he sounded kind of harsh.
Only then she realized how she almost jeopardized their whole deal before.
How pathetic could she actually be?
It was a miracle that no one called them out right then.
It was a miracle that Jack saved the situation after all.
"Look," Jack said sighing, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Don't feel guilty about today, okay?"
"How could I not? I almost screwed everything up!" Elsa said already panicking.
"Don't" Jack said. "I know it can be hard, okay? It happens. Don't worry about it. Just stop trying too hard, be yourself"
"It won't happen again" Elsa quickly said. "I will play my roll from now on don't worr-"
"No. See? You're doing it again" Jack pointed out as they finally parked at the Winters' house.
"What do you mean?" Elsa said completely confused.
"Just have fun, Elsa" Jack said. "Don't think about playing a roll, don't think about trying to appear like a couple in front of everyone, don't think about making someone jealous" Jack tried to explain.
"I don't understand" Elsa said.
"Just let it flow, okay?" Jack said. "Pretend that no one is here. No Hans, no Anna, no anyone." He added. "The one in charge of making everyone believe that were in love and happy, and the one in charge of making Hans jealous is me" He said. "The only thing you're required to do is enjoy the ride"
Elsa gazed at him, looking at his icy blue eyes worriedly.
Hesitantly, Jack's right hand reached out for her. Slowly, afraid that if he moved to fast she'll freak out.
With slightly trembling fingers, he softly brushed her cheek. He didn't know why was he doing this.
The contact was like an icy-hot shiver that traveled across his body, creating chilly goosebumps everywhere.
It was as he was hypnotized, and he was thanking the Lords that Elsa didn't push him away.
He didn't know what he was doing or why.
He just couldn't help but look at her, deep into her cerulean eyes, while he stroked her cheek.
Reality came crashing back at him though.
This was a job.
He slowly pulled his hand back, never once breaking their gaze-lock.
Life was already written for him. Opportunities already passed by him.
But he vowed that he was gonna make this beautiful girl happy.
From wherever that happiness might come from.
A.N.:
I know that sorry isn't enough, but I'm so sorry.
I've been with so much stuff lately. I'm transferring to another University, I have so much projects and works and just got home from a trip.
The good news is that I'm really full of Jelsa feelings lately, meaning that I need to pour them somewhere and this story is the perfect place for it.
Theres something I'll like to tell you tho, I'm editing Fix You, there's some chapters that are already edited (check date at the bottom). I'm not adding anything to the story, just fixing a few spelling mistakes and arranging some sentences as well to make it well... more easy to read?
I'm proud of my improvement to be honest. (for the ones that don't know, English is not my main language)
Anyway, in case you haven't read 'Fix You' because of the horrifying spelling mistakes: it's better now, it'll mean a lot to me if you go check it out.
I'll be editing this one as well, so if you want to re-read it check for dates at the bottom if you wanna know if the chapter is edited or not.
So, thoughts? Reviews always help!
Silvana.
