Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction uses characters from Rise of the Guardians, The Guardians of Childhood, and Frozen which are trademarked by DreamWorks Animation, William Joyce, and the Walt Disney Company respectively. The author of this story claims no ownership over them. The story the author is telling is of her own invention and it is not purported or believed to be part of the canon storyline. This story is made for entertainment purposes only. The author is not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story.

Author's Note: This story is not related to Nocturne.

Smile. Nod. Say

something witty

before he finds

out what an incredible

geek you are.

― Ellen Hopkins, Crank

Eyes on Me (Piano Collections) – Final Fantasy VIII OST

Minuet in A Minor

She slammed the empty cup down onto the table, glaring at the vintage wood panelled walls as she muttered something unintelligible under her breath.

This was all his fault.

He was a frequent patron of her cousins' café, The Yeti Bro's Coffee Emporium. He comes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at around 3'olock, orders an iced Americano and a small macaroni and cheese (always) and stays until 7 or 8pm. He always comes alone though, but he's always preoccupied too – reading a textbook, taking notes, sketching something, or typing furiously on his laptop.

"Oh no." she whispered, gripped the sides of her head in horror, her eyes widening in appall of her own thoughts. "I've memorized his schedule. This is bad; this is really, really bad."

It's been three weeks! Three weeks since the incident. Three weeks should have ample time for her to forget about him. And yet, every single time, every single time she saw him, her heart would take off in a frenzy, her breath would get caught in her throat, and her would cheeks burned with a rosy blush.

It shouldn't have mattered; one single moment shouldn't change her entire opinion on a person.

Should it?

She turned her head, adjusting her icy blue eyes to now glower at a specific table, his table, on the top floor.

Jackson Frost.

"Woah, Elsa," Olaf cried, pulling her of her furious thought. "What's the matter? You're glaring daggers at my favourite patron's table, what did he do?"

"He wasn't who I expected him to be." Elsa muttered.

Olaf blinked, confused by her strange answer.

The Yeti Bro's Coffee Emporium was located right at the heart of the University of Burgess' campus. It was connected to the school's modern glass-panelled library, but it jutted out on its own. It was a beautiful, quaint, and cozy coffee shop that the brothers had designed with Elsa's help.

Elsa had been working for her cousins, Olaf and Marshmallow, for three years now. It was more than just convenient for her to run from class straight to her part-time job as a barista, she truly loved it. The smell of coffee, the smiles on customers' faces, and most importantly the chocolate always energized her. It was all a routine but enjoyable work until three weeks ago, when she met the Ice Prince himself outside of the café.

"Elsa, you need to explain." Olaf said. "What do you mean, 'he wasn't who you expected him to be?' Jackson Frost is Jackson Frost. Isn't he? It isn't some sort of…codename for a secret spy is it – oh my gosh. Is Jack a spy!? Is that why he's always so serious? But that white hair is so conspicuous!"

Elsa snorted. It was hard to keep a straight face around Olaf, let along stay angry.

"Don't mind Olaf. He's hopeless, Elsa." Marshmallow said, his deep voice straining as the muscular younger brother of Olaf carried in several large boxes of coffee beans and flour into the kitchen. "Hopeless and clueless."

"Hey! That is no way to talk to your older brother, Marshmallow."

"For God's sake, Olaf, we are in our early 30's, stop calling me by that childish nickname. My name is Marshall!"

"You will forever be as sweet as marshmallow to me…Marshmallow." Elsa called as the exasperated brother dropped all of the boxes with a loud thump. Olaf chuckled before heading out to the cash register.

The sound of door's wind chime indicated the arrival of a customer. Elsa peaked out of the back to see that it was Anna who came in. It was a crisp autumn afternoon and her younger sibling was dressed beautifully (and warmly) for the season. The strawberry-blonde wore a deep blue, oversized knit sweater and a floral skirt with a pair of brown, lace-up, calf-high boots. She smoothed her windblown bangs down, fixing her pigtail braids while she was at it.

"Anna!" Olaf cried, quickly jumping over the counter and enveloping his youngest cousin in a warm embrace.

"Your hugs are the best, Olaf." Anna giggled, her voice muffled by Olaf's shirt. He chuckled, giving her one last squeeze before continuing his task of clearing the tables.

Anna then went over to Elsa, hooking her arms around her elder sibling and squeezing.

"How was your day?" Elsa asked when Anna let go.

The platinum-blonde placed her forearms on the countertop, leaning against them as she watched her strawberry-blonde sister walked over a table. She threw her leather backpack haphazardly over the table and then flopped down into the chair with a tired and irritated sigh.

"Ugh, I can't believe Calculus is a core course. I need a pick me up after that hell of a lecture. Can you make me something, Elsa? Something hot and sweet and caffeinated and overly chocolate-y?"

"Of course," Elsa replied, straightening up and grabbing several utensils with one hand and ingredients with the other. This was one of her favourite things, to create a concoction all of her own that didn't follow the generic recipes written on board. She poured a shot of espresso, scooped some cocoa powder up, added a pump of caramel and hazelnut flavouring, steamed some milk all before pouring the drink into one of the many pretty but mismatched porcelain mugs that the café offered. She finished the drink by topping the mug off with a good helping of whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

"Do you want a muffin?" Elsa called over her shoulder.

"Ooh, yes please – only if they are the lemon poppy seed ones though."

Elsa then brought the muffin and drink to her sister's table. Anna clapped excitedly, reaching up to kiss her sister on the cheek before starting on her sugary treats.

"How has your day been?" Anna asked, after devouring half the muffin. "Didn't you have a midterm this morning?"

"Yes, I did." Elsa replied, sitting down in the chair opposite of Anna. The café was quiet around this hour – and Olaf never really minded if she took a break anyway. "It was what I was expecting, difficult, but manageable."

"And you were freaking out about for days on end."

Elsa rolled her eyes.

The wind chime rang again and she quickly turned and got up, putting on a soft smile and preparing the opening welcoming on her tongue.

Stark white hair.

Cool blue-grey eyes.

Jack Frost.

His eyes met hers. Her heart took off in a frenzy, her breath got caught in her throat, and her cheeks began burning with a rosy blush. She quickly looked away, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear before hurrying behind the counter.

"The usual?" she asked softly. He nodded, taking out his bank card and swiping it when she directed him to. "It will be a couple minutes," she replied. He turned on his heels; Elsa's eyes followed him, watching him as he smoothly and casually walked up the stairs to his usual table.

She sighed when his figure disappeared beyond her vision.

Just as she thought she forgot.

"What was that?" Anna murmured, sliding behind the counter, watching as Elsa scoop a serving of pasta into a square bowl and putting it in the microwave. "Are you alright?"

Then Marshmallow came bursting through the back door. "I thought that Olaf was kidding around with you," he hissed, then pointing in the direction of the white haired man, "is he being mean to you? Is he harassing you? Do I need to kick his ass?"

"No! No!" Elsa said, shaking her hands in front of her, "it's nothing like that – it's just that…. That…"

"You find him attractive." Anna concluded with a smug smile on her face, she relaxed, leaning against the countertop.

"Anna!"

"He is gorgeous, Elsa." Anna continued, "He looks like a model with the bleached white hair and blue eyes – and that body? Wow."She fanned herself with her hand. Elsa scowled, reaching over to yank down on both her younger sibling's pigtail braids.

"Shh! He might hear you!"

"Ow! Over Olaf smashing plates over there? Nah, I can barely hear myself think half the time." Anna laughed, pulling her hair out of her elder sister's hands.

Marshmallow crossed his arms over his chest, very interested in the sisters' conversations.

"Did I hear my name being called?" Olaf asked, showing up behind his younger brother's shoulder.

"Oh it's nothing, Olaf. It's just Elsa here finally is having some boy problems." Anna giggled.

"What!?" He cried loudly, "Is Elsa in love? Is it Jack!?"

With that, both Anna and Marshmallow jumped him, tackling the loud-mouthed, big nosed man as they covered his mouth.

"Keep it down!" Marshmallow hissed, "He's right upstairs!"

"I never thought I'd see the day though." Anna mused, letting go of Olaf to dance around Elsa, who was trying to calmly pour shots of expresso for Jack's drink. "Finally, Elsa! It took you long enough! I thought you were going to be single forever."

"Anna! I never even said anything and you assumed that I am dating him?"

The strawberry-blonde harrumphed. "You'll snag him, who can resist your charm and beauty?"

"Are you into the aloof mysterious type?" Marshmallow asked, as he decided to be helpful and remove the bowl of macaroni and cheese from the microwave and placing it on a tray.

"He is a spy though; you know what happens when you fraternize with the enemy!" Olaf cried.

"Olaf – Jack isn't a secret agent!" Elsa hissed. She threw an ice-cube at her loud-mouthed cousin. Olaf shrieked, ducking just in time as it sailed over his head.

"Then what do you mean that 'he isn't what he's supposed to be!?'" Olaf yelled.

Elsa sighed tiredly.

"I know, why don't you go ask him!" Olaf declared loudly, grabbing the iced-coffee from Elsa's hands. He placed it on the tray and shoved it into Elsa's arms. "Here, go give it to him and talk to him."

"But, I don't even know what to say!" Elsa cried.

"Look for something that he is interested in and bring it up." Anna suggested quickly, "Ooh! Ask about the weather. No! Ask for his number."

"Anna!"

"I'm just joking, Marshmallow! But, seriously, Elsa, just ask him how he is doing or something."

And with that, Anna shoved her sister towards the stairs with an encouraging thumbs-up. So Elsa took to the stairs, slowly and deliberately as she tried to calm her heart and keep the contents of the tray from tipping over.

She saw his tuff of white hair before even reaching the top. He was sitting at the furthest table from the staircase, the one with the best view of the campus gardens, and just as Anna said: he looked like a model. He wore a thick, striped sweater overtop of a light coloured button down shirt and a pair of dark coloured jeans.

The white-haired man was leaning over his laptop, his brows somewhat furrowed in concentration as he typed away with occasional quick pauses to think. An issue of The National Geographic lay open on the table behind his computer. Should she make a conversation about that?

He saw her coming, glancing over quickly as he swiped the magazine close and placed it in his lap. She hastened her steps now, balancing the tray in one arm as she placed the bowl of macaroni on the table and the iced Americano beside it.

"Here you are," she murmured softly, out of habit rather than attempt at conversation.

"Thanks," he replied, his eyes leaving the screen of the computer to meet hers for just a second. The blush rose to her cheeks again. This was her chance: say something, she had his attention!

But nothing came out.

Her mind went blank.

And she couldn't linger anymore. So she turned slowly on her heels, walking away as her stomach melted behind her in disappointment.

"And?" Anna asked when Elsa finally sulked her way down the stairs. The younger sibling took one look into her sister's eyes before her shoulders fell in defeat. "You didn't talk to him, did you?"

Elsa shook her head. Anna groaned, muttering something about never seeing Elsa go on a date.

"But why the sudden interest now, Elsa? He's been coming here ever since the café opened." Marshmallow asked.

"Ya, he's so standoff-ish and cold." Anna said.

This is why she was so curious about him to begin with. Why it that Jackson Frost chooses to put up such a distant façade?

"…It's cause… because I saw him in the park three weeks ago."

"Jack goes to the park?" Marshmallow said, stunned.

"Okay, what happened?" Her sister asked, leading everyone back to table where the remnants of her post-calculus snack remain.

Elsa wrung her hands together, staring at the discarded muffin wrapper on the side of the table. She slumped down into her seat, stealing a sip from her sister's drink.

"I saw him playing in the park with a bunch of children," Elsa blurted out quickly, "I'm pretty sure he was with his sister too." It was all really coincidental; it wasn't like she purposely sought him out. But when she finally realized it was him (and god, was she ever surprised that it was), she couldn't take her eyes off of the sight. Jack Frost: the infamously taciturn patron at The Yeti Bro's Coffee Emporium, was having a snowball fight with a group of children at the park.

"It was so… different. I never thought that Jack could smile like that or even laugh." She said, her heart fluttering childishly at the thought, a smile pulling at her lips. "The sound of his laughter, it was… infectious…I want to see him smile again – like he did that day."

"Awe, that's so cute, Elsa!" Anna cooed, reaching over with one hand to attempt to pinch Elsa's cheek. The platinum-blonde was quick to retaliate, swatting the hand away with a glare.

"I just wonder why he's so cold at school, though." Elsa continued.

"Maybe you'll be the girl to bring him out of his shell." Marshmallow joked.

"You're such a sappy romantic," Olaf grinned, having missed Marshmallow's teasing tone, "Guess your nickname is Marshmallow for a reason, Marshmallow."

"Why you –!"

"Hey," They all whipped around at the sound of a new voice. There he was, standing at the foot of the stairs, his bag slung over his shoulder and drink in hand. It was a Thursday, and it was only 5 pm - why was Jack leaving?

Elsa stood quickly.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. Jack ran a hand through his silvery-white locks, a bit uneasily.

"Um, can you do me a favour?"

Elsa paused. "Uh – ya, sure."

"I can't find my phone, I think I left it somewhere. Can I borrow your phone to call it?"

"Of course." she responded, pulling her cellphone out of her pocket.

He took it casually with a quick thank you, dialing his number in before pressing it to his ear. They waited in silence, her heart leaping in her chest. Marshmallow had hastily pulled Olaf into the back by the collar of his shirt and Anna had thankfully decided to leave things be as she rummaged through her bag.

"Hello?" Jack said, "Ah, Bunnymund – did I leave my phone in your car? You still at the uni? I'll meet you in the arts parking lot." He hung up, handing her back the phone.

"Thanks…" he said, his sentence trailing off as a cue for her name.

"Elsa. And you're welcome."

"I'm Jack," He said, and then she thought she saw a hint of a smirk, "but you already knew that. I have to go, thanks again."

He turned to leave, readjusting the strap of his messenger bag as he pushed open the glass door. She let out a tired breath, slumping down in the chair beside gain Anna who was trying so hard to keep back a squeal of delight. Suddenly, the strawberry blonde gasped.

"Hey, Elsa, now you have his number!"

It's Jack. Thanks again for lending me your phone. 6:34 P.M.

Oh, and for the record, I am not a spy. 6:35 P.M.

Author's Note: Hello everyone! Hope you are having a lovely summery day! I am so sorry for the long delay between chapters. I'll try and update faster now… no promises though. Since some of you have been asking for a story on how Jack and Elsa met in the modern alternative universe, I came up with 'Minuet'. In this verse, Jack's character is a lot colder, just because I wanted to explore that side of him. The future of 'Minuet' may become more than a two-part one-shot (I don't think it is related to Ballade… maybe? I am not too sure - yet), but we shall see where my muses take me.

There will be at least one more one-shot posted before the continuation of 'Nocturne' with the Third Movement. So I hope you guise look forward to that!

Thank you to:

Hysteria Rogers, Shimmer Shine, DarkbladerX666, Flamin'Sky, Guest #1, idrabble, Trapid, ElsaTheSnowQueen2, CelesteWhite, SunriseImagination, snowflake675, JoPoGirlsKickAss, LuannLu, crazyeights4ever, EllySnowflake675, Dragowolf, CaptainBeer, SMr. Freeze, Jabamaca Guest, I am Nikita Daughter of Apollo, AurelianRebels, DeniseAgron, yangires, LoveYou111, highnDaphne, ICExSNOW, and Crl

For reviewing the last chapter! I am going to try to message each and every one of you guise who review (through private message or author's note) just to show how much I appreciate your kind words and constructive criticisms. Honestly, your guise's reviews are my muse and motivation.

Shimmer Shine: Thank you for your review! =D And don't worry, Jack's situation will revealed very soon!

Guest #1: 'Oh my god' is right! Thank you so much for your review!

Trapid: Ahahaha! You seem very adamant on the fact that it was the tea. =P Is it? Or is it not? Thank you for your kind words about the set-up of the chapters, characterizations, and my writing. It means the world to me.

snowflake675: Thank you so much for your kind words!

JabamacaGuest: Your presence was missed. Thank you so much for your kind words and love for this fanfiction!

AurelianRebels: Thank you so much from your praise, really, my heart swells with such pride and happiness! To answer your question, I am Canadian by birth but I am of Oriental descent, does it show in my writing by any chance?

LoveYou111: Updated! Thanks for your review. =D

highnDaphne: Eep! Updated! Please don't cry! Thank you for your review!

ICExSNOW: I am a slow writer, so sorry! Thank you so much for your praise and review!

Crl: Pitch is always the source of some problem. Ahaha. Thank you so much for your review!

Thank you guise so much once again!

Until next time!

Please follow, favourite, and review.

Cordially,

EireneHarmonia