All right, everybody! The dance is FINALLY here! For this chapter, I decided it wouldn't be right to just have one perspective, so . . . *drum roll in background* this chapter is both Rapunzel's AND Jack's! It interchanges repeatedly, so if any of you feel confuzzled by the changes in those talking, then I'll give you a cheat-sheet and put the person's perspective at the top of the section. Happy reading! And remember, I DO NOT SHIP JELSA! I SHIP JACKUNZEL AND HELSA. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
Chapter 9
Rapunzel Corona
"NO MORE BLACK!" I yelled for the hundredth time at Mavis and Merida. Mavis wanted to wear black lipstick, black eyeshadow, etc., and Merida had agreed with the dark-colored makeup. "Can't you choose some reds or pinks or yellows?"
Mavis sighed, but relented. "Fine, Rapunzel. We'll wear lighter colors. But I still get to keep the black eyeliner and mascara. Deal?" I nodded.
"Ah guess ah can wear not as dark stuff. Ah guess." Merida shrugged.
Merida chose red lipstick, forest green eye shadow, brown mascara, and dark blue earring studs. It went perfectly with her dark blue jeans, dark green shirt, dark grey sandals, and purple armbands.
Mavis was wearing a lacy black top, black skirt, and royal blue espadrilles. Her black hair was curled and hung in cute wavelets. Her black mascara and eyeliner made her blue eyes stand out and her raspberry-colored lips pulled back into a grin.
"See, you guys?" Heather stood behind me, brushing her hair. "You should use lighter tones more often. RIGHT, Mavis?"
Mavis nudged Heather playfully, and Heather swatted at Mavis with her hairbrush. The two giggled. Elsa joined in. We had invited her, and her sister Anna, over to my house because we felt like she needed a break from all the stress she'd been through, preparing for the dance.
Anna twirled in front of the mirror. Does this look fancy enough?" She was wearing a pretty, spring green dress with a matching ribbon in her hair and dark green ballet flats.
I laughed. "Anna, this isn't a formal! You don't have to dress up! The dance is casual, right, Elsa?"
"Yes, Anna. You could even wear jeans if you wanted to!" Elsa gestured towards Merida and we all burst out laughing.
"Well, I don't care," Anna replied stubbornly. "I want to look good for Hans tonight. It's our first date!" Elsa smiled and rolled her eyes. She was wearing a simple teal skirt, a black shirt with ruffles on the shoulders, and silvery low-heels.
Merida said, "Ah don't care a fuck what all a yah boyfriends ah doing 'cause mah mum picked out mah own boyfriend, and he's as annoying as hell. Ah just want tae slap 'im every time 'e talks!"
Mavis nodded. "Macintosh is such a pain in the ass," she agreed. "I mean, like, you know Audrey, right? Who's now dating Ted, Once-ler's best friend?" We nodded. "Well, she used to date him, and she complained constantly about him. Like, she's SO super nice! She never complains, EVER, so Macintosh was a HUGE jerk to her, and she kept telling me how arrogant and in love with himself he was. She hates him."
I finished applying my lip gloss, then put the cap back on. I was wearing a flowery lilac dress, pink leather ballet flats, and my hair was braided down my back and adorned with flower barrettes. "So, girls, enough chit-chat. Who are your dates to the dance?"
"Once-ler," Mavis said. Her cheeks flushed pink slightly.
"Macintosh," Merida said grumpily.
"Snotlout!" Heather twirled around happily. Her cocoa-brown dress swished around her thighs as she danced around in her short green boots.
"Hans!" Anna joined Heather in twirling.
"Flynn." I smiled, blushing when I said his name.
Elsa didn't say anything.
"Uh, Elsa?" I asked her. She looked up at me. "Who are you going to the dance with?"
A small smile played on her lips. "He told me not to tell anyone. Not even Anna," was her reply.
I was about to press further when my mother called from downstairs. "Rapunzel!" she said. "Let your friends come on downstairs! It's photo time! I've got the special camera out!" All of her sentences ended in exclamations.
"Coming, Mother!" I shouted back. I turned towards my friends. "You girls ready?" I asked them. They nodded. Anna looked like she might pass out from excitement. "Let's go!" I led them down the stairs, slowly for a more dramatic entrance.
The gasps from our parents were so loud. Bright flashes off lights blinded me. When I'd blinked away the spots, though, I saw someone who made us all gasp.
"Ruffnut! You made it!" Heather shrieked, tackling the poor girl into a hug. After a few seconds, we all piled into a hug with her.
"Youch," Ruffnut winced. "Seriously, guys? You're gonna give me bruises tonight!"
I giggled. "Sorry, Ruffnut. But you said you couldn't make it tonight . . ."
Ruffnut snorted. "Yah, that's what I thought before, but then Tuffnut's date got another guy, so he was able to drive me. It really sucks when your parents only buy you and your twin brother one car. TO SHARE," she added. "But that doesn't matter. I'm hear now, aren't I? So let's get this show on the road!" We followed her outside.
"Oi, but ah only got a few pictures!" Mrs. DunBroch, Merida's mom complained.
"Rapunzel! Girls! Come back, we need more pictures of you!" Mother protested. But we were already piling into Ruffnut's and Merida's cars. We drove off, waving to our parents through the sunroof and windows. The night had officially begun.
Jack Frost
"Dude, hold still, will ya?"
I was busy trying to tie Hiccup's bow tie on correctly, but he kept squirming.
"Sorry," he told me, "I'm just anxious to see who my date is! Mavis is shut tighter than the dragon's mouth in level 13 of-" He broke off, seeing my expression. "Oh, yeah. Just forget about it. I'll shut up."
"Good." I chuckled. "Maybe then I'll finally get this damn tie tied." I finally did, though, and stood back to survey my handiwork. Even though Rapunzel and I had repeatedly told Hiccup that it was a casual dance, he'd refused to listen. I finally just gave up on it and let him wear the suit and freaking bow tie. I was wearing dress trousers, a tuxedo jacket, a blue shirt, and my white-and-blue Converse Chuck Taylors. North had advised me to dress casually, but not TOO laid-back. Aster had just said, "Try not to look like an asshole."
"Ready, Hic?" I asked him over my shoulder. I was already halfway out the door.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." He was muttering something under his breath about the quadratic formula. I shook my head. Nerds, I thought.
"Ah, Hiccup!" Stoick, his dad, bellowed. Hiccup's dad was big. Like, really big. He was 7'9" and not afraid to say so, and weighed over 150 pounds. He had this really deep voice that scared the hell out of me every time he sneaked up on me. "You look more like a man and less like a human dumbbell!"
Hiccup winced. "Thanks, dad?"
Stoick chuckled, then turned to me. "And you, Jack!" he shouted. I cringed. "You look like a man, too!"
"Uh, thanks, Stoick," I replied. "Hiccup, we gotta go now or we'll be late." Hiccup nodded and grabbed his keys. We both ran out the door.
"Your dad scares me, man," I told Hiccup as we climbed into his car.
Hiccup nodded and groaned. "He always says stuff like that. Like, you're not muscular enough, you need to get buff, try lifting weights at least half your size . . . it's pretty annoying."
"I bet it does, but Hic, he's your dad," I pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks, Frost." He smiled.
"Welcome, Haddock." I grinned back. "Hey, we're here. Pull into that space, dude!"
"Why?" Hiccup wanted to know. "It's a pretty far walk from the school."
"Because when all the fangirls come running, we can make a quick getaway!" I explained, causing Hiccup to crack up. But he parked there anyway.
When I got out of the car, though, he remained glued to his seat. "C'mon, Hic!" I said, yanking the driver's side door open. I grabbed him and hauled him out, slamming the door.
Hiccup seemed to wake out of his trance. "W-what?"
"You almost tripped over a pothole and I saved you," I remarked sarcastically, rolling my eyes. Hiccup punched me in the shoulder.
"Shut up, Frost," he shot back, but I was laughing, and he joined in, too. That was when I noticed what Hiccup had been staring at. Three cars were parked all in a row, and as I stared, a bunch of girls came streaming out. I saw Elsa come out of a car and made my way over there, dragging a limp Hiccup behind me.
"Hey, Elsa," I greeted her casually. She whipped around, then seeing that it was me, relaxed and smiled.
"Hi, Jack. How's it going?" she asked conversationally.
"Pretty good so far, besides the fact Hiccup was drooling over you girls and I had to drag him out of his car," I quipped. Elsa laughed appreciatively. The other girls, having overheard, all laughed as well. Hiccup turned bright red and muttered something under his breath as we all went into the building. I held Elsa's hand as we walked. I saw Rapunzel's eyes widen out of the corner of my eye, and she whispered something to Mavis. The two giggled and trotted after us.
A nice, danceable song was playing as we entered the gym. I grabbed Elsa's other hand and immediately swung her into the dance. We danced around a little awkwardly, but we were both laughing and breathing hard at the end of it.
"Want to go get some punch?" I shouted to be heard in the loud gymnasium. Elsa nodded and followed me wordlessly to the refreshments table. There, a couple was making out by the punch bowl.
"Dude, go find someplace else," I told the guy, bumping his shoulder. Elsa looked over at the two and gasped.
"Anna?!" she choked out.
Anna glanced over at her sister. "Oh, hey, Elsa," she said nonchalantly. "Have you met my boyfriend Hans yet? He's new this year, and we experienced true love at first sight." They both gazed adoringly into each other's eyes.
"Sheesh, you two," I said, carrying two plastic cups of punch. I handed one to Elsa, and she took it without drinking it. I downed mine in one gulp. "A little less PDA, thank you very much." Hans glared at me, but bowed to Elsa.
"My apologies if I have been rude to you, my lady," he said, flashing a white-toothed smile at my date. "Anna and I just both have this deep, burning passion for each other, and we could not control ourselves. Forgive me."
"Us," Anna corrected him.
"Us." Hans placed his gloved hands over Anna's small ones and led her off onto the dance floor. But I did see him look back at Elsa once, and I slipped my arm around her waist protectively.
"Wanna go dance so more?" I asked her.
She shook her head no. "Is it okay if we go sit by the sidelines? I need to absorb what just happened these past few minutes." I nodded and we both made our way over to some chairs on one side of the dance floor.
Rapunzel was there. She batted her eyelashes at us. "So how are the two resident lovebirds doing?" she cooed. Then, noticing Elsa's distraught expression, her face softened. "What happened, Els?"
Els? Was that Elsa's new nickname? Hmm, I didn't know Elsa and Rapunzel were friends. Very interesting . . .
Rapunzel
Elsa's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Rapunzel, I just met Anna's boyfriend! He seems so nice and polite, but it's just like Anna to jump into a relationship and then get her heart broken. I don't want it to happen to her again!" She started sobbing, her mascara running down her face. I pulled her into a hug, and Jack just stood there off to the side, looking around awkwardly.
"Shh, Elsa," I said soothingly. "It's going to be all right, dear." My friends had always said I'd been motherly and kind, and I was grateful for that now. "Anna may be headstrong, but she is wise, sweet, caring, beautiful, and everything a boy could ever want. But you have to trust her. Without trust, this world we live in might be destroyed. So, can you do that? For me?" I looked at her, making my green eyes as huge as possible. Another one of my traits that came in handy in situations like these.
"For me?" Jack asked. I looked up to see him crouch down next to Elsa. She nodded, sniffling. I handed her some tissues and she blew her nose, wiping away her tears and runny mascara.
Flynn appeared in front of us. "Hey, Blond-" he stopped, and saw the three of us sitting on the floor. "-ie," he finished. "Er, wanna dance?" he asked me awkwardly.
I glanced over at Elsa hesitantly, but she waved me away. "You go, Rapunzel. Have fun with your boyfriend! Don't worry about me, Jack's here to keep me company."
I nodded. "You sure?" Elsa crossed her arms, and I laughed. "Okay, Els. Let's go dance, Flynn!" I grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor just as a new song started. The last song had been really tiring, and so everyone who had danced the last dance were either chilling by the refreshments table, or sitting by the sidelines. An energetic beat came on and I started dancing around, my long braid flying around behind me. I motioned for Flynn to join me, but he held up a hand to say, "I'll pass."
I danced over to a freshman boy and took his hands in mine. We started to dance around. I grabbed the hands of a junior girl and pulled her along as she pulled along a sophomore girl in my grade and a senior boy. More people joined in with the dancing. We all clapped our hands in the air to the beat as we swung through each others' arms. I motioned again for Flynn to join us, and he said no again, but one of his friends shoved him in and he got swept up in the current of dancers. When the music finally ended, Flynn and I met up together and kissed, right on the spot. We were not those who were afraid of PDA. Flynn led me back to where Jack and Elsa still sat, and went off in search of refreshments for us.
"You were great, Rapunzel!" Elsa told me enthusiastically. "I would never have the nerve to dance in front of everyone like that, let alone get them to dance with me!"
"Yeah, Punzie." Jack smirked. "Maybe you should become a dancer."
"Shut up, Frost." I rolled my eyes at him and shoved him in the shoulder. "You already know that I want to be an artist."
Flynn came back, bearing punch and potato chips. He asked Jack and Elsa if they wanted anything, just to be polite. Elsa said no, thank you. Jack, being the troublemaker he always is, told Flynn he wanted an extra-foam, whip-smart, mocha-locha sundae with extra cream and sugar shot in. Flynn screwed up his face and was like, "Uh, no." But Jack and I both cracked up, and Elsa let out a small smile. It felt perfect.
Jack Frost
I saw Hiccup standing, frozen, in the middle of the dance floor. I was about to call to him like, dude, what're you doing standing in the middle of the floor like that? when I saw a girl grab his hand. A blonde girl with choppy bangs. Who was wearing red.
"Hey, Elsa, Punz," I told the girls. "Will you be okay? I gotta go help Hiccup."
Rapunzel waved off my concern. "You go on, Jack. We'll be fine." Elsa nodded.
"Yeah, Frost," Flynn butted in. "These two lovely ladies've got me to protect them." His arm encircled Punzie's waist.
I raised my eyebrows at him. "If I catch you laying a finger on Elsa," I said threateningly, "You are gonna get, Rider. Understood?"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it, dude. Chill." Flynn mock-surrendered.
Elsa pushed me towards Hiccup. "Jack, go on. Your best friend needs you. I'll be fine. Honestly." Then she got a wicked look on her face. "And if Flynn so much looks at me, I'll throw an icicle at his head."
I laughed while Punz made a worried face. I shook my head at her and jogged off towards Hiccup.
"-and I'm SO super sorry, Hiccup!" Astrid was saying as I got nearer. "I thought you were breaking up with ME, and so I just-"
"You just what, Astrid?" I interrupted, crossing my arms across my chest.
Astrid glared at me. "Shut UP, Frost," she hissed at me. Hiccup just shot me a relieved look.
"How long have you been yakking my best friend's ears off, As? He's gonna get deaf soon 'cause of you," I said nonchalantly.
"Did you just call me an ASS?!" Her ears turned bright pink. "Why you little-"
"She-devil!" came a loud voice. I grinned. I'd know that Scottish accent anywhere.
Astrid glared over my shoulder. "Can it, Scottie," she growled. "I can wreck you faster than you can say 'lassie'."
"Oh, yah?" Merida challenged. "Well, ah can kill yu quicker 'an yu can say anything!" Hiccup and I cracked up.
"Guys? What's going on here?" Rapunzel. She was standing behind Merida, looking bewildered.
"We're gonna 'ave a fight-woman ta woman," Merida answered ferociously without looking at Rapunzel.
"Hey, kids!" Principal Manny came over. "What's all the ruckus?"
Astrid pointed an accusing finger at Merida. "SHE, that no-good, filthy Scot threatened to kill me!"
Merida glared at her. "Ah never woulda done such a thing, Astrid, and ya no it!"
"Merida's right," Hiccup interjected. "She's not the kind of person to threaten to murder someone."
Astrid gasped, looking shocked that Hiccup hadn't taken her side. I was quick to agree with Hiccup, and Rapunzel chorused in as well.
Principal M looked over all of us. "All right then," he said finally. "Astrid, I hate to do this at the first dance of the year, but . . . you're going to have to come with me, young lady."
Astrid glared at the four of us again, then stalked after Principal M. Hiccup sank against the wall.
"Phew!" Merida said. She slumped against the wall next to Hiccup. "Ah was ahfraid that ah mighta actually had tae do something tae hurt 'er. Ah don't really want ta hurt anybody, in truth."
"Yeah." Rapunzel crouched down next to Merida, tucking her legs beneath her. "I would've hated it if anyone had actually physically gotten hurt. I hate violence."
I leaned against the wall, next to Hiccup. "Yeah, that would've been a pretty nasty fight back there, wouldn't it have been?" Then, suddenly, an idea struck me. "Hey, why don't we all just ditch this place? 'Cause, come on, the music's bad, the food's cheap, and everyone's acting weird."
Rapunzel lifted her head up. "I agree with everything Jack just said." She shot me a look. "Except for the food part." Hiccup laughed at that part.
"Why not?" he agreed. He turned to the red-head. "Merida? Are you in?"
Merida glanced up, her eyes shifting from each of her friends' faces. "Ah guess," she mumbled. "But we better get outta here soon, or ah'm gonna kill someone for real."
"Let's go, then!" I said. I was about to walk out the door when suddenly a thought struck me. "Wait a minute. What about our dates? I need to go find Elsa."
Merida snorted. "There's no way ah'm gettin' Macintosh. 'E doesn't deserve tae 'ave fun."
"I suppose Flynn wouldn't mind too much if I left." Rapunzel shrugged. "After all, he ditches class all the time to hang out with his friends."
"And my date already left." Hiccup sighed, but gave me a half-hearted smile.
"Guess that only leaves me." I grinned. "You guys go on ahead and wait for me in the parking lot. I'll catch up with you all later." Then I walked away, weaving my way through the crowd.
"Elsa!" I called, over and over again. "Elsa!"
"Jack!" I whirled around. Elsa was standing right behind me. She looked relieved. "Thank God I found you. I was looking all over for you, but I couldn't find you and-oh, Jack I was so worried something had happened to you!"
"I'm fine, Elsa," I told her, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "But Hiccup, Merida, Rapunzel, and I are going to ditch this place for some fast food. You wanna come?"
Elsa shuffled from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "Um, I'd really love to Jack . . . but . . ." she said haltingly. "My mom doesn't let me eat junk food. And she's going to pick me up soon. I'm sorry."
"Hey, no problem." I put my arm around her and kissed her forehead lightly. "I'll see you next week, Els." She blushed, but then hugged me. And I hugged her back. Then she said goodbye to me and merged back into the crowd. I made my way to the parking lot.
Hiccup honked his horn at me. "Geez, Frost!" he yelled at me through the window of his car. "How long does it take to talk to Elsa?"
I ignored his question. "She's not coming," I told him. "We can go now. Where're we going? McDonald's? Wendy's? Chick-Fil-A?"
"McDonald's," Hiccup replied. He put his car into gear and backed out of the parking lot. Then we were driving down the road, with Merida driving hot on our bumper. When we pulled into the drive-in, Hiccup ordered a premium grilled chicken sandwich with a diet coke and medium fries. I got a Big Mac with lots of ketchup and extra cheese, a Pepsi, and a large amount of fries. After we'd paid, Hiccup pulled into a vacant spot in the lot and Merida pulled her car up next to ours.
I pressed a button and held it, and the sunroof opened up. I glanced over and saw Rapunzel doing the same. She looked my way, too, and held my gaze. We both smiled at the exact same time, then laughed. I held up some packets of ketchup in the air and waved them at her. She made a face at me, but caught the ketchup packet I threw at her. She grinned craftily and squirted some ketchup into Merida's McWrap. I put a hand over my mouth to stifle the laugh that arose in my throat.
Merida was still talking on her phone. "Yah, and ah'm sorry again if yu can't all fit in Ruffnut's car, but ah'm needed at home, and yeh know mah mum. She'd blow the roof off a the school!" While she was talking, she reached for her wrap. Punzie giggled mischeviously. I smirked at her, and she hunched her shoulders, trying very hard not to laugh out loud. When Merida took a bite from her McWrap, she immediately spit it out the window.
"AUGH!" she spat. "That was DISGUSTING! Who did that?!" she demanded.
Finally, Rapunzel and I couldn't hold it back anymore. We both fell into deep fits of laughter. I was cracking up so hard, I fell onto the floor of Hiccup's car, and was literally rolling across the tiny surface. When I had calmed down enough to sit up, I poked my head out of the sunroof and waved to the two girls, with a very large grin spreading across my face. Punz poked her head out, too, and waved at me.
Then, an old dude with a fat mustache came running out of McDonald's. "Scram, ya punks!" he yelled. "You teens are so immature!" He waved a spatula in the air menacingly.
We all looked at each other, then burst out laughing. Even Merida, who was still seething over the ketchup prank.
The old guy waved his spatula in the air again. "You heard me!" he shouted. "Go now, or else I'll call the cops on ya!"
Hiccup immediately stopped laughing, and put the car into drive.
"Hey, Hic, what're you doing?" I asked him. He didn't answer; he just got the hell out of there. "Jesus, Hiccup! What the heck's going on?"
"I don't know about you, but I don't want to get arrested when I'm only 16!" Hiccup grunted.
"Aw, come on, Hic! Loosen up a little! Relax! That old dude didn't scare ya, did he?" I taunted.
Hiccup gripped the steering wheel even tighter. "Shut up, Jackson Frost," he said. "Just shut up."
Rapunzel Corona
"Sorry about the prank, Mer," I apologized to Merida quietly.
"It's all right, Rapunzel," Merida replied distractedly. After tasting the wrap, she'd thrown it out for the birds. "All ah really want tae know right now is where the fucking hell Hiccup's goin'. Ah mean, that guy wasn't really gonna call the cops. Obviously not."
"Well, maybe Hiccup didn't want to take the chance," I suggested.
Merida snorted. "Hiccup's such a wimp."
I sighed, and looked out the windshield. I saw a white head of hair poking out of Hiccup's car's sunroof! I poked my head out of the roof myself. "Jack!" I shouted to be heard over the wind, my blonde hair whipping everywhere.
Jack turned around. Spotting me, he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled back, "Enjoying the view, Punzie?"
I laughed. That very moment, with my head poking out of Merida's sunroof, my arms up in the air, screaming with joy, I felt like the whole world was at peace.
Phew! FINALLY finished this chapter! It took me over a week, and I have exceeded 4,500 words! This is my longest chapter yet! I hope you like this ending. SPOILER ALERT: POSSIBILITY OF JACKUNZEL AND HELSA NEXT CHAPTER. POSSIBLY. THERE IS A CHANCE, BUT I AM NOT CERTAIN IF I WILL OR WILL NOT. I will try to get my chapters out faster, but this one was a time-eater, and had me up all night. So, Jackunzel, Merricup, and Helsa action will come ASAP. Gracias for your time and consideration.