Hey guys! I'll say right off the bat that the ending is a little abrupt but I didn't want to make the chapter too long. So Chapter 8 will be completely devoted to piece of the Punz puzzle. (that was kind of almost a joke)
Anyway thank you so much for the support and I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: yada yada yada I own nothing
"Jack, let's go!" Merida cried as she hurled the empty take-out cartons into the garbage can, "You are not being late on ma watch!"
"Your watch?" he questioned, turning off the DVD player, "What are you, my babysitter?"
"Essentially, only I'm totally getting ripped off."
His eyebrows quirked, "How so?"
"I don't get paid."
"Well you can bill me later," Jack said rolling his eyes, "Let's go."
He opened the front door and gestured for her to lead the way. The red head put her hand over her heart and gave bashful curtsy. His expression remained stale.
"Alright, alright." she huffed, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets.
The pair made their way down the hall toward the decrepit elevator. The box whined and ached under their weight. Merida gave Jack a sideways glance. He shrugged.
This was the best I could afford.
"Hang on a second!" a voice rang from farther down the hallway.
Merida put her hand out to stop the slowly closing doors.
"Thanks," the stranger gulped, "gotta get out of here before my dad realizes I'm gone."
Jack looked at Merida skeptically, who didn't seem perplexed in the slightest. The woman wasn't very tall, with wide shoulders and gruff red hair. She bounced restlessly on the balls of her feet as the elevator began its decent. The foreign presence kept anyone from making conversation. The only sounds that filled the small space were the protests of the lift and the thumping of Merida's knuckles against the wall. The stranger eyed her while curiously chewing on her lip.
"Can I help ya, lassie?" she said indifferently.
Her eyes widened as color flared in her cheeks.
"Sorry," she muttered, locking her stare with the floor, "it's just… your hair is so red!"
Merida blinked.
"Y-yeah it is," she said with furrowed brows, "so is yours."
"Oh well, sure. But yours is really red, like the sun!"
"The sun isn't usually-"
"Oh yeah, you're right." she said tapping her chin, "Fire! It's red like fire. Mine's just red like, I don't know, just red."
Merida looked at Jack then back at her admirer, "Right…"
When the elevator finally reached the first floor, Merida latched onto Jack's sleeve with talons and did double-time until they were outside. The stranger had waved goodbye before bounding down the opposite street.
"Who in the-"
"I don't know." Jack sighed, "I haven't gotten to know any of my neighbors, yet."
Merida narrowed her eyes at the direction she had gone, but seemed to accept the explanation, for now. She gave Jack's sleeve another tug.
"I'll give ya a lift to Rae's." she said as they began walking.
Jack shook his head. He couldn't deny the offer. A) Merida wouldn't have let him. B) He didn't have his own car. He felt like a kid again, always needed to rely on someone else for something.
"Maybe I really should start paying you." he mumbled bitterly.
When he was not met by a snide comeback he tore his gaze away from the icy sidewalk. She was looking at him with round, sober eyes. Their arrogant glint had vanished, replaced with lulled concern. It made him feel unsettled.
"What?" he asked defensively.
She raised an eyebrow, a little annoyed by the accusatory tone. But she didn't take her gaze away from his; reading, searching, guessing. Jack felt thousands of small insects crawl down his spine.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he demanded.
Merida scoffed.
"Ya need to stop thinking like that." she said, turning her head back to the vacant street.
"Like what?" he asked with knitted brows.
"Like you're just some burden!" she exclaimed, "I'm your friend, Jack. I don't worry myself senseless over you or call ya out on your bullshit because I'm on some salary. I do it because I love you! When you love somebody, you take the bad with the good."
She'd unconsciously quickened her pace, boots slamming against the concrete with definitive drive. The frigid air turned her breath to smoke. Jack stared at her like she was a dragon ready to tear him apart. Leave it to Merida DunBroch to make such kind words sound absolutely terrifying.
After a few paces of uncomfortable silence, the Scot stopped short with a loud sigh.
"You would do the same thing for me." she said facing him, "Wouldn't you?"
"Yes." he answered without hesitation.
The glint returned to her blue eyes.
"Good," she smirked, "now get on."
Jack hadn't even noticed the black motorcycle parked just beside the curb. A light snow from earlier had covered the bike in a thin layer of white which Merida feverishly brushed off.
"Angus?" Jack said reading the white text on the side panel.
"Yep," Merida said proudly, "he's ma baby."
She swung her left leg over the seat and gave the bike a tender hug. Jack rolled his eyes but that didn't stop him from laughing. Merida shot a venomous glare before reaching behind her for a dark green helmet. On it a vicious grizzly bear appeared to be tearing its way out of the finish. With some small miracle (and a lot of swearing), the Scot managed to compress her wild red mane into the helmet without blocking her vision. Jack to one look at the helmet left on the seat and sighed.
"You have a cruel sense of humor, Merida." he grumbled.
"Man up, you baby." she shoved the helmet into his arms, "Harris was ma last passenger."
"No kidding." Jack muttered, "Who else would have a Star Wars helmet?"
"Get on the damn bike!"
They arrived at the apartment building all too quickly. Even in the crisp winter air, Jack felt his palms grow sleek with sweat.
"Take it easy, Frosty." Merida said as they pulled into the hidden alcove.
The complex was appropriately named. Even as they parked alongside the building, Jack thought he was seeing an optical illusion. At a first glance, one would probably see nothing more than overgrown foliage consuming the husk of what used to be a homely establishment. But as he inched closer and closer to the stone gate, it became clear that the building was very much alive.
Light from inside bled through many colors of curtains, making each window look like a bead in a kaleidoscope. Jack smiled to himself. Rapunzel fit right in here. His gaze moved to the front entrance of the building. Beside the large wooden doors was a long list of names, each with a crusty looking doorbell beside it. His crystal eyes traveled up the column anxiously.
"Frosty!" Merida's voice interrupted his thoughts, "Are ya in there?"
Jack shook his head to wake himself up.
"Yeah," he sighed, the apartment building suddenly seeming twenty stories taller, "yeah I'm fine."
The red head sighed and extended her hand, giving his arm a tight squeeze. He smiled weakly as a thanks. After another moment she pressed the doorbell at the very top of the list.
Rae Kingman? he thought apprehensively.
That was not her name. She was Rapunzel Lillian Gothel. Rapunzel got annoyed whenever you pointed out that her name sake was a plant. Rapunzel blushed whenever he called her his lost princess. Rapunzel had given up on substitute teachers pronouncing her name correctly. Rae Kingman could not be that same girl. Rae Kingman was a stranger.
The small bulb inside of the doorbell blinked twice and a loud click signaled their permission to enter. Swallowing hard, Jack pushed the door open and waited for Merida to follow, but she remained rooted in her place. He looked at her with a cautions expression. Her eyes did not leave the ground.
"She's on the top floor," she mumbled, "second door on the right."
Good luck, she wanted to say, but her tongue was paralyzed.
Jack, biting the inside of his lip, decided not to drag things out. He nodded and quickly thanked her before hurrying inside toward the stairs.
He was slightly out of breath by the time he'd reached the sixth floor, beads of sweat threatening to form at his hair line. He ran a trembling hand through his white locks, hoping he didn't look as jaded as he felt. His feet carried him without conscious thought toward the door he was looking for. 604 were formed from brass on the wood, a small sun drawn inside the zero. That was enough to make Jack smile. At least her habit of vandalism hadn't seemed to change.
No more stalling. he thought raising his hand to knock.
Before his knuckles even grazed its surface, the door flew open. Rapunzel stood stiffly in the doorway, a vice grip on the brass handle. Her gaze was guarded, hiding her thoughts behind pale green shields. The sudden movement made Jack jump but his shoulders fell when his eyes met hers.
"Hey." he offered weakly.
Rapunzel could only nod in reply. Her chest felt like it was wound too tight and uttering a single word would make her unravel.
You're being ridiculous, she scolded herself.
Forcing the corners of her mouth upward, she gestured for him to come in. Jack tested the waters, only stepping through the threshold halfway. When he did not immediately burst into flames, he proceeded into the tiny apartment.
Tiny was an understatement. A more appropriate descriptor would be microscopic. As Rapunzel eased the door shut behind her, Jack pivoted to survey the entirety of the room. In the corner closest to the door was a small, round table sitting very close to the ground. The mini-fridge and stove were shoved awkwardly against the wall. A few paces away was a beat-up couch with violet cushions that looked like they'd been taken out of a trite, saturated television show from the 70's.
"Cozy," Jack murmured.
Rapunzel's heart fluttered at the sincerity in his voice. Butterflies spread warmth throughout her body with each little flit of a wing. His smile, oh, his smile, made her chest hurt so bad she wanted to stop breathing.
The elated feeling in her head trickled down her spine, slowly turning sour as it pooled in her stomach. So many emotions were turning her insides into a battle field. His winter eyes made her feel as if she were flying. Then her memories, the vestiges of her heartbreak, would send her plummeting back to Earth.
I won't say I told you so.
The voice entered her mind without welcome. But the words still held truth. Rapunzel was being ridiculously naive. She and Jack could never be- that way again. There was no point in pretending, in fantasizing, in avoiding what had been such a long time coming.
"You can sit, if you'd like." she brushed past him to sit on the couch, "We have a lot to talk about."
His face fell at her sudden brusqueness. Sitting beside her, the room seemed to have run out of oxygen. Needing to focus on something other than how much he wanted to wrap his arms around her, he rested his elbows on his knees, thumbs beating together in dull syncopation.
"I'd like to start, if that's alright." she stated, staring through him.
Jack nodded, though he couldn't really imagine what she felt she needed to justify. He already understood the colors of the situation. She was his- an angle and he was pitch-black.
"My legal name is not Rapunzel," she articulated, "not anymore."
Jack turned his shoulder to face her square on. So many questions pulsated in his eyes, hers promising to answer what she could.
"You know that I was adopted." she continued with rehearsed meter, "When I was two years old I was removed from my birth parents and placed in the foster system."
"Yes," he said frantically, "yes, I remember. You were only in it for-"
"Five months," she got on, "and then I was adopted by that woman, Diane Gothel."
Jack had to blink. The acidity in her voice shocked him. Rapunzel met his eyes briefly and scoffed.
"Surprised?" she muttered.
"N-no," he stammered, "no I mean I know she was awful to you."
"Yeah, she was." she said more softly, "I didn't realize it at the time."
Jack's fingers twitched with anticipation. He wanted to help heal the wound she was reopening by talking about her mother. Taking a risk, he extended his hand to envelop hers. She instantly stiffened and sucked in a quick breath. He didn't withdraw his hand.
"You loved her." he said, tightening his grip.
Rapunzel's throat hurt. She felt like she could cry- or throw up. Why was he trying to comfort her? Did he truly not understand that things were different, now?
"I did love." she said before moving out of his reach, "But I don't anymore."
A grim chill traveled down Jack's spine. Had she misspoke? The hollowness of her gaze made him think not. The message was perfectly clear. It wasn't just Gothel that Rapunzel no longer loved. It was him.
"What changed?" he asked in a ghostly whisper.
Sudden rage bloomed across her face, followed in a beat by confusion.
"Oh, you mean with Gothel." Rapunzel said, embarrassed, "Well, it's a bit of a long story."
Yes? No? I don't know. Thank you so much for reading and I'll see ya in the next installment. Bye!