Chapter 5

"Rapunzel, I can see you." He sighed, watching as the girl grabbed the remaining blonde locks and yanked them into the tower, the window shutters closing behind them with a bang. I shouldn't have come here….

"Go on Jack." Aunt Tooth stood a couple feet away. "You need to explain and apologize to her."

"But Aunt Tooth‒"

"No whining, young man. You're the one flying through school without so much as a glare from another student. Think of what she's had to go through, not knowing that she had a friends all along." She gave Jack a glare, and vanished. He sighed. I shouldn't have told her about Rapunzel…

Being someone who didn't particularly care about most things, Jack had found it rather strange that that winter break he had come home to find that he cared about what his family thought of Rapunzel. He had told them a bit about her, and since then, Uncle North and Uncle Aster had done everything in their power to find out where she lived.

Once they did (not so hard because knowing where people lived was basically Uncle North and Uncle Aster's job), they immediately sent Aunt Tooth and him to the location.

So that Jack could tell her that he was under a curse too.

For the record, Jack never wanted this to happen. He didn't want to be here right now. Judging by how fast Rapunzel had scrambled back into her tower, he figured she didn't want him here either.

"Rapunzel?" He called up again. He knew that Aunt Tooth probably sent one of her workers to watch him. (Just because she was a Muggle dentist did not, apparently, restrict her from using magic at work). Which not only meant that he had to talk to Rapunzel, it meant that he had to stay here for a good hour at least, so it would seem like he and her were bonding.

Joy.

"Come on, Rapunzel. I just want to talk." He waved his wand around, and snow began to fall from the clouds, blanketing the grotto he was standing in. The creek nearby froze, and snowflakes began to dance along its surface.

"I'd really rather not, thank you." Her voice came from the closed shutters.

"Rapunzel, I swear to God I will climb this tower."

"Go ahead. No one's ever reached the top."

He flicked his wand, and a parade of dark clouds came rolling down to the ground. Once he had compounded them all together so they wouldn't let him fall, he stepped on, and guided them to the shut window at the top of the tower. He rapped on it twice.

No answer.

"Come on Rapunzel. I climbed the tower, let me in."

"You didn't climb it, you cheated and used magic."

"Obviously no wizard has ever decided to come after you."

"No one's lied about it either."

"Will you just let me in? It's freezing out here."

"You're the one who made it snow."

"Yeah, and now I'm the one asking you to let a poor, shivering soul inside your nice, warm tower."

He heard the shutters creaked, and watched as piece of Rapunzel's blonde hair crept out. It wrapped itself around his ankle, and he bent down to undo it. "Rapunzel, what is your h‒AAAAHHHHH!"

The shutters flew open, and Jack was yanked through into the tower. He felt the piece of hair let go, and tried to grab at it as he flew into a bureau. The shutters closed with a bang, and Jack moaned. "Nice way to let someone in, Rapunzel."

"It's not my fault." She sat on a stool, reading a book by the fire. "It has a mind of its own."

"What do you mean it‒oh." Jack watched as the tendril that had pulled him into the tower waved at him. "Am I‒"

"Just wave back."

Jack did, and the tendril fell to the floor, lifeless as it was supposed to be. "So, uh, Rapunzel, I wanted to talk to you about…uh…"

"Potions homework?" She glanced up, a smirk decorating her face. Jack shook his head.

"No, actually, it's about your curse…"

Wrong phrase to use. The second he said it, Rapunzel tensed up. Where once before she had seemed content, now her eyes looked like a wild animal's, trapped in a corner. "What about it?" She asked, trying to act nonchalant, but Jack noticed how her fingers twitched as she turned her book page.

"Um, well, I've noticed that no one at school has really been all that nice to you…"

"Wow. Excellent observation."

"…and…well…I wanted to say that…I…understand…your…circumstance?" The look she gave him as he said it made Jack feel like it wasn't the right way to put it.

"Oh you do, do you?" She shut her book, not bothering to save the page she was on. "How many times have you been shoved into a wall?"

"Uh, well, none."

"Been used as target practice for the older students' hexes?"

"…uhm…"

"Been told it'd be better for everyone if you died? Committed suicide?"

Jack looked at the ground.

"Exactly. That's what I thought." She started to walk up the stairs. He grabbed her arm as she passed by him.

"No, you don't understand‒"

"No, Jack. I don't think you understand." She wrenched her arm out of his grip. "You don't know what it's like, being looked at like you're a freak show. You've got girls hanging onto every word you say. You fuck them like there's no tomorrow, while for me, there might not be. You don't understand, Jack, because you aren't under a curse. I am never going to have a life like yours, Jack. I've met so many people like you, and you're all the same. You only think of yourself, never of others. You only want others to like you.

"I know why you're here. You're here so you can tell all your girlfriends that you're being nice to me, so they can think that you're such a wonderful person and all. Then when they spit in my face, and insult me for dragging your attention away from them, I can't say it didn't happen. You know what, Jack? I almost feel bad for you. It's got to be hard, handling all those girls at once. But hey, I bet fucking them senseless just makes them forget that you're doing the same to the others. I mean‒"

Here Jack stopped her. Sure, she was more or less correct in what she was saying about him, (well, except for that fact that she wasn't at all), but he needed to defend his pride. "Hey, my bet with Scorpius has nothing to do with‒"

"Oh, it's a bet? Oh my God. You're playing with other girls' hearts and futures for a bet?" She whirled at him, and Jack could see that her nose was red. He glared at her.

"I am not playing with their hearts and futures, Rapunzel." He spit her name out like a sour taste in his mouth.

"Of course you aren't! Because it doesn't matter what happens to them, only what happens for you. Why didn't I see it before? Obviously this bet must be so much more important than treating girls right and not allowing them to throw their lives away if they get pregnant‒"

"‒IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE FUCKING FORCING THEM TO DO IT. THEY'RE CHOOSING TO ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THEY MAY GET PREGNANT, THEY WANT TO BE TREATED AS WE TREAT THEM." He laughed maniacally. "Don't you see, Rapunzel? They want to fuck us because we're unattainable to all of them. You're just jealous because all anybody sees in you is an ugly, shitty little mutant that nobody wants."

Rapunzel's eyes narrowed, and she pointed to the window. "Get. Out. Of my. House."

Jack knew that the last statement went too far. Hell, he was a mutant himself. He knew he had no right to call her that, but she had made him so fucking mad. Who was she to go making assumptions about him? She was the one no one liked, save the two girls that tolerated her, at best. "House? More like jail cell."

Rapunzel whipped around, grabbing something off of the stove, and threw it at him. "GET OUT."

It hit him in the head, knocking him out as well as over. Did she just hit me with a frying pan?

"What happened to you, kid?"

Jack woke up to Uncle Aster staring at him, concerned. Aunt Tooth stood above him, obviously enraged at what had happened at Rapunzel's house.

"I found him lying in the snow, with a bump the size of Russia on his head." She said through gritted teeth.

"I take it you heard the conversation, Auntie?" Jack muttered, wincing as he tried to adjust himself.

"Uncle Aster, would you please leave Jack and me alone for a bit? I have something I'd like to speak with him about." Uncle Aster nodded, and left the room, but not without giving Jack a 'sorry-mate-you're-screwed' look as he did.

"Jack‒"

"I know, Aunt Tooth. I know. Trust me." Jack winced again as he sat up against the pillows of his bed.

"To think you would say such awful things to her!"

"She started it." He muttered. Aunt Tooth glared at him.

"You can't blame her. You didn't explain the situation very well."

"So what? It's not my fault that she decided to go ahead and start insulting me. Plus, she threw a fucking frying pan at me. I think we both know who the clear victim of that engagement is."

Aunt Tooth shook her head. "You should learn to listen, Jack, not just hear." She left after that, causing Jack to want to strangle and hug her all at the same time.

"Hey, Jack!" Jack turned and saw Scorpius run up to him. A cheeky grin told Jack all he needed to know.

"That makes it 28:27, you. Nice job, my man." He smiled, and patted Scorpius on the back, but he shook his head.

"No, no, Jack. I was going to ask if you wanted to come stay with Albus and I at his house this summer."

Jack laughed. "Bit of a late notice, Scorp. We get out of school in two weeks."

"Yeah, so?"

"Does this have anything to do with a certain red head related to Al?"

"No."

"That was a rather quick answer there, Scorp. You sure you don't just want to give me the fifty pounds now. I'll be nice and tell you to fuck her."

"Shut up, you arse. It's not because of her. Albus and his family have the best summer parties in the world. Which is why you should be there, because we have no idea where the shit you live." He laughed, and Jack nodded.

"Sure, I'll ask. Is Beckett coming?"

"Yeah, pretty sure. Hey, can we keep the score 28:27? I'm feeling lucky."

"Naw mate. You gotta either date or fuck to get that point. 27:27, equal." Jack smiled as Scorpius ran off. "Alright, well, see ya Frosty!"

"Have a nice life, Princess Sparkledust!"

A girl came up to him at that moment. She was pretty, not stunning, with dark hair and a light complexion. "Jack? I'm Freida Collins." She smiled. "Wanna walk me to my next class?" She winked at him. Jack smiled.

"Oh, I'll do more than that, sweetheart. Here, hand me your books."

28:27, here I come.