Warning: Fairly long chapter ahead.

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE LAST PRANK

*knock* *knock* *knock*

"Elsa!" Jack greeted her with a surprised glance and a smile on his face.

"Hi" she said in reply. "Is Auntie Rosie here?" she tried to look around inside.

"Yep. Please, come in" He said as he gestured his hand towards the inside and opened the door further.

"Oh, no. I only came here to give you this" she said as she handed the invitation letter over to Jack. He read the front out loud.

"Mrs. Overland"

Upon reading that the letter was for his mother, he didn't dare open it.

"Thanks, I guess" Jack said with slight uncertainty.

"You're welcome." She said in return before she bid him farewell.

"See you later" she was already walking away but her head was still turned to Jack, constantly glancing back in front of her incase she steps on anything.

"Huh?" he replied with a confused face.

"Nothing!" she shouted back before running towards the town.

Jack retreated back inside to give his mother the letter. Slowly unfolding the parchment, her eyes drifted along the lines of the sentences and she read the letter in silence. Not long after, the line of her lips curved upward and her eyes were gleaming with joy.

The evening arrived faster than Elsa expected, but nonetheless, she was prepared for it. They were all feasting on the mouthwatering delicacies right before they all moved to the solar to where the Christmas tree was. The guests, who were family friends, were busy talking to their hosts, Stoick, Kai and Gerda to be exact, while the children were busy laughing at Jack's tricks as they sat right in front of the tree.

When all but family was left, they all agreed upon exchanging their gifts before it got too late. But somehow, Elsa forgot to place hers under the tree earlier, so she had to run upstairs to get it.

"I'll be right back" was the last thing she said before disappearing into the dark hallway.

The door squeaked as she opened it slowly, revealing a brightly lit room to which she was very familiar with. She took a few steps towards her dresser and that's when it happened. A sudden gust of cold wind blew out all of the flames and left her in the darkness. A sudden chill ran down her spine when she took notice of the windows' closed state. She stood there motionless, hoping that the lights would suddenly come back on. At that moment, she was terrified.

"cold…dark…evil…destiny" were the silent whispers of the cold, gentle breeze that was encircling her. Her heart was beating furiously and her breaths were shallow and fast.

"Who-who are you?" Elsa said with a stammer. She was frantically turning to different directions with her hands raised for defense but the fact that everything was pitch black didn't help her vision at all.

"Snow white hair, bright blue eyes, do you not recognize me at all?" the deep echoing voice spoke out in a calm way but with mockery laced into it.

"S-stay away from me!" Elsa cried out. Once again ignoring her cries, the feminine voice began to laugh maniacally, until finally fading into the darkness itself.

After a few moments of silence, her eyes darted to one spot of the room. The ice necklace she had crafted began to emanate a light blue glow and it seemed to be the only source of light in the darkness. She slowly made her way to the trinket; waving her arms around to be sure she wouldn't bump into anything. Slowly opening the lid, and gently slid her fingers on top of the pendant. The moment her finger and the trinket made contact, there was a bright blinding light emanating from it for a few seconds before it died down. Her room was now illuminated with a soft light-blue glow of moonlight that shone through her window. Despite the moon's comfort, Elsa quickly grabbed the rest of the gifts and ran out the door as fast as she could.

She took one last glance at her bedroom door before racing down a blind corner of the hall and accidentally bumping into something hard.

Jack found himself being pinned down to the ground by the now platinum blonde who had just run into him. Elsa's head landed on his left shoulder while the rest of her body crossed over to his right. [They kinda looked like an oddly shaped 'X' if you still don't get it]

Elsa stared at him wide-eyed as she processed the line of events that just happened. When finally everything clicked, she abruptly went back to her feet with an expression of embarrassment on her face.

"Jack! I'm sorry I didn't see you there." She did her best not to stammer. She helped him get up and picked up the boxes that flew out of her arms. Jack helped out and gave her a smile as he handed the last one.

"Actually, I'm glad to see you. I kind of got lost on my way to the bathroom. This house is HUGE!" he said with a hint of embarrassment in his tone. From the many times he'd been here, he still wasn't familiar with the hallways and used the house's size as an excuse.

Elsa giggled for a moment before giving her answer.

"Come on" she said, waving her free hand as a sign to follow her. Unfortunately, she accidentally summoned a wave of magic aimed at the wall. The very second it made contact, it was covered with frost. She nervously thawed it out with a sheepish laugh and led Jack to the bathroom.

When they both got back, the evening continued. Elsa couldn't help but think about her father's words, and the accidental blast of ice to the wall was what triggered her memory. She felt like she had to go somewhere she could be alone to let go of her tears. So she excused herself, promptly adding to continue what they were doing without her.

Her feet decided to bring her all the way to the garden. Although the plants and beautiful flowers that bloomed there were withered, she couldn't help but admire the beauty of winter, how important it was to the cycle of the seasons. She looked up to the moon that seemed to be sympathizing with her misery.

"I guess we're both a bit sad right now, huh." she spoke out, talking to no one in particular except for the moon. She wasn't expecting an answer, but she thought she saw the moon gleam back at her. Deciding it was all in her mind, she sat down on a nearby bench not minding it being covered with snow.

She had completely forgotten about the events that happened in her bedroom, and the moon was giving her positive energy to make her smile. What he was trying to do was explain that she had nothing to be afraid of. Was that he would protect her along with all the children of the world. And that she had nothing to be sad about, she has everything she needs, everything she wants. All in all, he was reassuring her that nothing terrible was going to happen to her.

"I feel so alone…" she silently muttered to herself.

Elsa didn't know why she said she was alone, she just felt like saying it. Maybe it was because she felt distant from her family, or because she badly needed encouraging thoughts and advice regarding the near future. With that belief in mind, the chain of thoughts began to swirl around in her mind. She curled herself into a ball and started sobbing. There was no one she could share those thoughts with. Her father forbade it. She had to keep them all to herself, besides, she didn't want to ruin Christmas twice.

There was already a flurry of snowflakes when she lifted her head to breathe some fresh air. Only then did she notice she was holding her supposed gift for Jack. Maybe it was what hit her the hardest. She could remember all those fun times they had playing with her powers. How she would prank him and they would laugh together when he was covered with snow. She knew how to thaw the snow she manifested without knowing the full secret to it. All she did was think of her family, all the people she loved and the ice would melt. Soon, she couldn't do any of those because her father wanted to get rid of them.

Through the blizzard now encircling her, she was able to make out two figures walking towards her. She didn't pay any heed to them and brought her head back down to sob silently. She didn't care if anyone would be mad at her for not controlling her powers. They would be gone by the morrow and this would be the last time she could use them.

"Elsa!" Her mother cried out, instantly running to her, not fearing her powers by any way. She wrapped her warm arms around her poor, frightened child. She lifted her head expecting to see her father, but instead saw Jack with her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, unsure to handle the situation. He knows he helped her before, but this time was under different circumstances. Her mother was there for her, so he decided to sit beside her and hold her hand for comfort.

"You're going to be alright, sweetheart. I won't let anything happen to you" her mother reassured. When she was seated beside Elsa, she reached out to a bush with withered flowers. At her touch, they were reanimated and Jack let out a tiny gasp. She plucked a flower and stuck it on top of Elsa's ear.

They sat there for a while, and then the queen suggested that they go back inside, but Elsa refused. Her Majesty declared she was already freezing and retreated back inside to the rest of the family. Jack, however, was able to withstand the cold temperature just like Elsa did. This was proven by him not wearing any shoes even in the winter.

Elsa had already stopped weeping minutes ago, and was talking cheerfully to Jack. Something was telling her that this would be the last she would see him, although the whole of her hoped it wasn't.

"So why did you come with my mother out here?" she asked blatantly.

"Well, it was supposed to be your dad, but Aunt Gerda said that she wanted to talk to me about…some things" he explained. His cheeks flushed a bright red as he remembered their conversation.

"When did you start calling her 'Aunt Gerda'?" she giggled at the thought. She noticed how his cheeks glowed crimson, and became utterly suspicious.

"While we were walking…" he trailed off. However, Elsa wasn't done when her curiosity only grew.

"What were you talking about?" she asked. Her mother being the queen and all, it had to be important.

"Not telling you" he said as if he was annoyed, when in true reality, he was embarrassed. He looked away when he felt the heat rise up to his cheeks once again. He couldn't help but think Gerda's words true.

"Awww come on! A secret for a secret?" she said with a cheeky grin.

Jack found her offer enticing. Although for a fourteen-year old, he knew he had to play his cards carefully.

"Alright, you first" he said.

"What? No, you first" she insisted.

"Then I'm not telling you" Jack said while crossing his arms. When he told her his secret, there was no turning back. He was scared of the possible outcome.

"Fine! I'll go first" she said in defeat. She wanted to know the cause of Jack's bright red face badly. Jack nodded for her to continue.

"We're going home tomorrow" she said, her lifted spirits going back down. It sounded more like a confession than a secret. It was what her mother whispered into her ear a many minutes ago that made her cry those extra seconds.

A tear escaped her eye and she was just on the verge of crying. No, she was already crying. The main reason being that she thought of her powers being taken away from her. She didn't mind if they had to go home earlier than usual as long as she could still have her powers.

"Hey, a-are you alright?" Jack asked uncertain of what to do. He had no idea why Elsa was crying after announcing that they were leaving the following day. It was normal for them to say a few goodbyes as they would always see each other a few weeks after. He thought that there must be something else bothering her, and so he decided to ask her about it.

"Elsa, if there's something bothering you, you know you can tell me anything. I'll always be here for you. You're my best friend, after all." He said with sincerity flooding through his voice. He was genuinely concerned for the ice princess, his ice princess, as he always has been and will always ever be.

Upon hearing his sincere statement, Elsa slowly stopped sobbing and looked up to meet his chocolate brown eyes with her own bright blue ones. She nodded slightly before spilling every single detail of her troubles and worries straight at him. From everything her father told her to the events that took place in her bedroom earlier, nothing was held back as the words flowed through her mouth. She didn't care if her father would scold her for telling anyone, she just didn't care anymore.

When Jack couldn't bear hearing every ounce of sadness and pain that escaped her lips, he abruptly pulled her into a tight embrace; gently rubbing her back and cooing soft words into her ear.

Elsa had stopped crying again, and the small blizzard that was now swirling around them died down. She chuckled when she remembered their agreement.

"It's your turn." She said as she sniffed her nose.

"Maybe some other time. It's not that important anyways."

"But-"

"Shh." He said as he put his index finger on her lips. Elsa face glowed in confusion and Jack slowly pointed his finger upward. She followed it to find a sprig of mistletoe tied to a branch of a nearby tree.

Before Elsa could react, Jack pressed his lips against hers and pulled back quickly with a triumphant smirk on his face.

Elsa stared at him dumbstruck. When she had finally found her voice, Jack was expecting her reaction.

"Jackson Overland! How dare you-" but before Elsa could finish, Jack cut her off.

"Lighten up frostbite, think of it as the last prank you'll get from me this year."

"Wha- Don't call me that!" she retorted.

"Hey! You called me by my full name!"

"You-" Elsa stopped when she heard a familiar voice nearby.

They both turned their heads to the source of the sound.

"Jack and Elsa sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Anna sang loudly as she was sticking her head out of one of the windows of the manor.

"Anna!" Elsa shouted back. The strawberry-blonde only stuck her tongue out.

Elsa saw her mother pull Anna back and just as she closed the windows, she saw her wink at her before they left.

She turned her attention back to Jack and they stared at each other for a few seconds. They suddenly burst in to laughter and they wouldn't have stopped if Jack hadn't interrupted.

"You know what, we should go back inside. It's getting late."

"Yeah, I guess we should." Elsa said as they stood up to their feet.

"Come on, frostbite." He teased.

"Hey!" she complained. However Jack just chuckled in return.

Although the way back to the manor was just a short trip, Elsa felt like it took forever. They both remained silent as they slowly walked on the frost covered path. Their awkward silence gave Elsa time to think to herself.

She thought about their conversation earlier, and blushed at the thought of Jack kissing her. It was her first kiss, they both knew that. However she couldn't know for sure if it were Jack's too. She shook her head as she mentally scolded herself for thinking of such things.

What do I matter to him, I'm just his best friend. Besides, he said it was his last prank for the year…his last prank…last…prank. The words echoed in her head but when she was just about to cry again, she felt her foot slip on the frozen stone path. She managed to regain her balance just in time before she fell flat on her bottom.

"Woah, you okay Snowflake?" Jack asked.

"Jack, could you do me a favor?" Elsa asked as she clutched the snow-white box tighter before continuing.

"Could you stop it with the nicknames?" She said with annoyance.

Jack chuckled before replying. "Nope."

She sent death glares his way and continued on.

The last prank…her brain reminded her.

A/N: I had so much fun writing this chapter. Yes, I know how much better it could have been if I had put more thought into this. However, the things that I wanted to happen happened and that's what matters.

It's my imagination and it's your choice to follow along or not :)

P.S. Mood swings are normal for the characters in this story. XD