"Come on Kris ! I don't wanna be late !" Anna nags as she continues to pull Kristoff with her.
They're heading to her sister to pick her and John up to go ice skating this afternoon. Behind them, Rapunzel and Eugene are walking, they were invited by Anna since she wanted to bond with her cousin. Rapunzel, on her behalf, invited Eugene to go with her because she wanted to do something fun together with her boyfriend. Anna said that it was ok since she brought Kristoff, her 'boyfriend' with her. And then Eugene invited Jack to go with them because he didn't want his best friend to be alone these winter days and it would be a nice opportunity for Jack to learn how to skate. Sadly, Jack was anywhere near grateful that his friend brought him along because now he probably had to look at all these couples who were super in love with each other while he has no one. And they probably were very good at ice skating and just would skate away, leaving him struggling to only stand on the ice. Besides, those shoes were killing his feet. But on the bright sight, he now had the chance to get to know where Elsa lives. He has never been to her place and he is curious in what kind of house she lives, well, they live.
"Ok, we're almost there." Anna informs the rest.
Rapunzel looks at her boyfriend excitedly. "Are you excited to go on the ice ?" She asks.
"Yeah, I really want to see how you skate !"
"You'd be surprised, I can skate quite well actually. How about you Anna ?"
"I can't skate very well, I mean if you have seen my sister then I would look like a hippo getting a seizure next to her. I mean, she's just great on ice, she's like an ice queen. But she taught me a few tricks so I can skate and I can move forward but that's about it..." Anna answers. "How bout you Krissy, you know how to skate right ?"
"Ehm yeah, I think just like you. I know how to move forward." He says while he nervously goes with his hand through his blonde locks.
Eugene nods in approval. "Nice, seems like we all can skate. Wait, what about you Jack ? I thought you liked the winter, then you must like skating too right ?"
"Oh well, I do like the winter, but only to build snowmen-..."Jack starts.
"OMIGOSH, you like to build snowmen ?" Anna interrupts, she can't believe what she just heard. "I asked Elsa a hundred times to build one with me but she never did ! I should have gone to you instead, except then I didn't know you but you know it would have been nice. To build with someone who actually liked to build with snow. Maybe we could build a snowman after skating ? I would love that, and I think Elsa would want to build one now... I dunno I'll ask her. But go on, I'm sorry I interrupted."
"So I don't really know how to skate. It's been a long time since I was on the ice and I kinda forgot how, I guess." Jack goes on.
Anna smiles in sympathy. She lays her hand on his shoulder. "It's ok, I'm sure Elsa will help you, she skates like a pro."
After another fifteen minute walk, they arrive at the lane Elsa and John live. The rest waits outside the door while Anna walks in. Jack observes the house. It's more like an appartement but a really fancy one. He was told that she lives on the first floor so they have neighbours under and on top of them. The curtains behind the windows are white and they are shut. There is a little balcony with a table and two chairs, but it looks like it hasn't been used for quite a while because nature is taking these objects over. After a few minutes, Jack finally hears some noise and Anna appears with her sister right behind her. While Anna is rambling about why John couldn't come, Jack lets his eyes hoover over his teacher. He can't believe he's going to spend an afternoon with her, well, not alone with her but still. She is wearing something comfortable looking, black leggings and a huge hoodie. Her hair is tied in a ponytail, even though that's not her usual style, it still looks stunning. A heavy bag is leaning on her shoulder, it probably contains her skates. Looking as fashionable as ever. Jack thinks. Elsa smiles shyly and bites her lip. Suddenly, she notices Jack.
"Hi Jack, you're coming along as well ?" She asks.
"Yeah, although I'm not quite sure if this was a good idea."
"What do you mean ?"
"Well, I can't really skate so it kinda seems useless to bring me along since I would have to sit on the sideline while you guys are having fun on the ice..."
"Oh no, don't worry. I'll help you, if you want ?"
His eyes light up. "You would ? Ehm, sure thanks Ms. Winters !"
"You may call me Elsa, we're not in school. Plus, it makes me feel old in a way, hearing it from someone who is a year younger as my sister." She grins.
He grins too. "Ok, then I'll call you Elsa... and you may call me Jack, like you already did." He jokes. She giggles. Cute.
"Ok, well let's go then peeps. I wanna have some fun !" Anna yells while she waves her hands to get the group going.
After they arrived at the ice skating rink, they immediately went inside to change their shoes and clothes. Anna and Rapunzel came to wear sweatpants and a shirt with a hoodie. Kristoff wore his usual attire, which contains a jeans and a sweater. Eugene wears also jeans but with a t-shirt to show off his muscular arms. Jack didn't know that they had to change clothes so he sticked with his hoodie and brown jeans. Then they had to fit the skates, which was hard for Jack because most of them were too tight around his foot or too loose. In the end he just gave up and wore the most comfortable pair he could find. They all went to the rink excitedly. Anna immediately stepped onto the ice, dragging Kristoff with her, again. Eugene and Rapunzel went on the ice too, Eugene gave Jack a wink and then skated away. Well. Jack thought after they all left. Isn't this just... great. Fuck this skating, why did I even come along in the first place !?
He was so lost in thoughts that he didn't realise that Elsa was left with him. She carefully steps on the ice and waits for him to join her. When she sees that he's not going to, she offers him her hand. She wants me to touch her ? Like holding hands or something ? Well yes, of course how else is she going to teach me... Ok, let's do this.
"Come on Jack, how hard can it be. I'll teach you." She says kindly. "I like teaching people things, I've been born a teacher I think."
Jack frowns. "Are you sure ? I don't want you to spend the entire afternoon learning me how to skate while you already can. It would be a waste of time."
"No, it wouldn't. Now come on." She encourages him and then grabs his hand and pulls him carefully on the ice. He gasps as his skates touch the ice and slip away. Then soft hands catch him and hold him tight. He gazes at her as he realises how close they are, their noses almost touching each other. OMG, this is so awkward.
"Thanks." He stambles. In return, he gets a nod and a smile. Then she drags him along the ice, he lets his feet glide over the ice and tries to get more relaxed.
"So the most important thing with ice skating is to keep balance. No balance, no skating. Focus." Elsa says while she lifts one leg up, her other leg has to carry all of her weight. She is standing in total balance on one blade which is so thin that Jack fears it she might slip. She doesn't. She only smirks. "Why won't you try ?"
Jack swallows hard. Standing on ice is hard, let alone standing on one foot on ice ! Slowly, he lifts his foot off the ice. He's still standing. Elsa claps her hands and cheers softly. "Yyyaaaayyy, you did it !" Omg, that's so cute. Jack thinks while smiling proudly of his achievement.
"Now." She continues. "Let's see if you can skate a little. It really isn't that hard, the only thing you have to do is keep balance and push yourself forward with your feet." She says while giving a little demonstration.
"Huh, ok." Jack stamels while he tries to move forward. It's not going great but at least he moved one inch.
The young woman laughs and grabs him by the wrists. She drags him over the ice, her face facing his. She is skating backwards while he is skating forward. "There we go, a little bit faster."
Jack is totally surprised by her sudden movement and especially when he discovers she's skating backwards ! "You can skate backwards ?!" He practically screams.
She nods.
"Waaauuuw, that's so epic !" He exclaims. She blushes which makes her even cuter. "So, can you do like... some other tricks ?" He asks shyly.
"Sure." She says, letting him go and skates away. She skates half a round and then makes a double axe. Jack claps in his hands while cheering loudly. Other skaters turn their heads to see what's happening. Elsa skates back to him with a red head and a quite embarrassed look on her face. "Shhhh, keep it down. Not everyone has to see it !" She half whispers.
He laughs soft. "Aaawww, but you were really good. It looked fantastic, was it hard to do ?"
"Well, a bit yeah. Because the jump takes off from forward edge which means I will rotate a half extra. And that's very hard to do, but I get the hang of it.
"Well, to me you looked absolutely amazing. You just flew through the air !" The boy shouts enthusiastically. "Can you do another trick ? For meeeee ?" He asks while adding his cutest face ever.
She giggles. "Ok, a spin this time." And she skates away, again. With enough speed, she launches herself into the air by making a single salchow edge jump and ends her little performance in an upright spin. A few skaters stop to watch her as she spins faster and faster. When she is finished, they clap. She blushes like mad and skates over to Jack. "Please tell me you've seen enough." She says half jokingly.
"WOW, that was absolutely gorgeous. When did you learn this ?" The boy asks impressed.
"I started ice skating since I was seven but at 19, I had to stop due to a knee injury. I wanted to skate in competitions but I couldn't because the trainings were tough and damaged my knee too much. Now, I only skate for fun." She explains.
He nods. "Well, I think you're great. Mind if I try too ?" And he skates away. It shouldn't be that hard, it didn't look like it...
Elsa realises what Jack is up to. She tries to stop him and yells. "WAIT, JACK ! No don't, you're gonna get yourself hurt, you don't have any experience. It takes years to practice !"
Eugene and Rapunzel are standing next to Elsa. Eugene watches as his best friend tries to impress his crush. He chuckles. Elsa looks at him. "What's so funny ?" She asks.
"Oh eh, well, I think or he's going to succeed very well beyond everyone's expectation, or he's going to fail terribly... and I think the last one will be my final answer."
Rapunzel gives her boyfriend a punch against his shoulder. "Eugene, don't say that about your friend. That's not nice."
Jack is already too far away to even hear what his friends are talking about. He tries to make speed and skates as fast as he can. Now, what did she do again ? Right, lift your leg up. He lifts his leg and throws his leg through the air and feels himself flying. Well, this isn't that bad. But then he realises he also has to land. OOOhhhh shit, how am I going to land ? He tries to land well but the moment his blade touches the ice, it loses balance and Jack falls hard on the ice.
"AAUUWWTTSSchhh, shiiiiit." He screams, holding his wrist.
Elsa is shocked when she sees him crashing into the ground. Quickly, she skates over to him to see if he's ok. "My goodness, Jack. Are you alright ?" She asks with a worried face.
Punzie and Eugene also skate quickly to them. Eugene goes sitting on the ice. "Dude, what were you trying to do ? You have no experience at all and then trying to impress someone isn't the most smartest thing."
"Awwww, are you hurt ? I hope it's not too bad." Rapunzel tries to sooth Jack.
Jack squeezes his eyes to ignore the pain. He tries to think at everything else besides the pain. "No." He answers between gritted teeth. "I'm not okay... It hurts."
"Someone call an ambulance !" A man calls. He rushes over to the boy and studies Jack's wrist. "Boy, I think it's broken."
A woman comes over with her cellphone in her hand. "The ambulance will be here in ten minutes." She says.
"Thank you." Elsa says to the woman. The lady gives her a nod.
"Els, we'll go to the hospital by train ok ? Then you can go with Jack in the ambulance, we'll meet there." Anna informs her sister, she gets a nod back. "And maybe I could get the car so we all are able to go back home..."
The older sister shakes her head. "Anna, you don't have a drivers license. I don't want you to risk a penalty for driving without supervision or a license." Elsa decides.
Eugene jumps in. "I could go get my car, the girls can go to the hospital and I'll just go home to get my dad's car. Then I'll meet you at the hospital and bring you all home safely." He suggests.
Punzie sighs. "Ahhh, you're so cute when you're trying to take control..." He grins. "I'm always cute !"
"Well, sometimes you're not so cute." She answers back.
He frowns and tries to say something back but Elsa cuts him off. "Yeah yeah, we're all cute. Now, Eugene goes home and picks up the car. I will go with Jack in the ambulance and Anna and Rapunzel will travel by train. We'll all meet at the main entrance of the hospital and then Eugene, ever the gentleman, will drive us home. Am I correct ?"
Everybody nods. "Good, that's settled then." Elsa says stern, she's the oldest and the wisest. It's her job to look after everybody and to make sure no one gets hurt... She sighs deeply. How is she ever going to explain it to Jack's parents ? They'll probably say that he's not allowed to go with them anymore. What did she do ? Because she had to show off her skills, she put him in danger. It was dumb and irresponsible, as the eldest, she should have known better than that.
Fifteen minutes pass, then the ambulance arrives. Two men come rushing in with a brancard. They bend over Jack and study his wrist and make sure he doesn't have a concussion. Jack gets some morphine against the pain and is moved on the brancard. Elsa goes with him into the ambulance as they are on their way to the hospital. She holds his other hand for comfort and whispers soft. "Jack, why did you do that ?"
He grins and then giggles. "Because I wanted to impress you I guess. You are sooooooo good in everything, I wanna show you what I can. I want you to like me back."
Elsa shakes her head. "Jack, I already like you. You don't have to put on some show just that I like you."
"But I love you. I loved you ever since you gave us our fist lesson. Ever since I saw you the first day I knew I loved you !" He suddenly shouts.
Her eyes go wide but then she shakes his words off. He's just drugged, tomorrow he won't remember what he said. It's just the morphine that makes him hallucinate...
But then, Jack suddenly grasps her hand and pushes it against his chest. He looks at her with teary eyes. "Please Elsa, you have to believe me. I love you ! I know that you think I'm stoned or something but this is the truth, I never dared to say it to you but now I wanna tell you because I'm not embarrassed for my feelings towards you. Do you understand what I'm saying ?" He asks her while staring deep into her eyes.
She blinks multiple times before giving an answer. "Jack, you're not in your right mind at the moment. Why don't we drop this subject and talk about something else ?"
The boy lays his head down and rests on the pillow. He sighs and closes his eyes.
They arrive at the hospital, a doctor immediately takes a look at his wrist. Then Jack gets an x-ray to see where the fracture is. Luckily it is only one fracture, a tiny one, in his wrist. He gets a bandage and is send home. The morphine will disappear during the night.
"Well, that was a rather... unfortunate event." Elsa concludes.
Jack nods in silent.
"So, do you need a ride home ?" She asks.
"Oh shoot ! Yeah probably, my parents don't even know what happened."
"It's ok. We'll take you home." She answers smiling politely. They walk to the main entrance of the hospital where Anna, Rapunzel and Eugene are already waiting for them.
Rapunzel runs over to Jack. "O GOD, ARE YOU OKAY ?!" She screams. He nods and she hugs him tightly.
Anna runs over to Jack and hugs both him and Punzie. "Yaaayyy, I've always loved group hugs. Come on Eugene !"
He shakes his head and waves his hand while standing next to Elsa. "Nah, you go ahead. I'm standing good right here." He then looks at Elsa. "So, what was it ?"
"Oh eh, just a small fracture in his wrist. It should be over in a couple weeks if he keeps his rest." She says flatly.
Eugene nods. "Ok... " He looks closer at her, she seems a little off today, maybe just shocked that today ended in a hospital. "Are you alright ?"
Elsa looks up to him. He's slightly taller than she is and smiles kindly but concerned. "Yeah, I was just shocked I guess. I've never met someone who can't skate but does care to try a jump mid air... I mean man, what was he thinking ?"
He laughs. "I think he wanted to impress a very beautiful woman he admires for a very long time."
She furrows her eyebrows. Does he mean me ? Does Jack admire me ? But, why ?
Eugene whispers soft into her ear. "You know, Elsa, that boy over there, he really likes you. And maybe he won't appreciate it that I told you but it's for the best. I don't think you had a clue and he kept it hidden very well but you have to know, he's getting out of hand with these fantasies of his. Jack is madly in love with you from, literally, the day he met you."
Her eyes grow big. "But... I'm his teacher. And... I'm older. And... he's my student... And I'm already engaged... And-."
"And you're very attractive to the guys." Eugene adds. "Haven't you ever realised how all the male students of the school drool over you when you walk by ? Haven't you ever noticed the way every female teacher is jealous of you because, basically, you're stealing their men away, even you don't do it intentionally ? Haven't you ever noticed how naturally kind and good you are ? I mean, you're the kind of woman every man wants and not just because you have good looks. It's because you're also beautiful from the inside."
Elsa nods slowly and then grins. "And when did you, men, get to be so sensitive and sweet to a woman like that ? For all I know is that men only want one thing..."
"Well yeah, we want that too ! But you know, we're also human and we also understand what it's like to be uncertain over something. I have a big family that largely consists of women. We men may look hard and careless on the outside but we also have an inner side and that's the thing that matters and the thing we don't often show to women. We wanna come over as cool and manly, not some cry baby who wants to talk about feelings all the time." Eugene smiles and chuckles at his teacher's confused face.
"Come on, let's get you all home." She finally manages to say, definitely confused by the young man's words. As she walks up to the crowd around Jack she silently thinks. This is wrong isn't it ? I don't know how to tell him, what should I say ? Doesn't he know I'm engaged ?
Slowly, the group of people get outside in the car. The drive home is quiet and a bit uncomfortable. They drop Jack off at his house, he is still a bit drugged and wobbles on his legs. Elsa sees it and gets out of the car. "Come on Jack, I'll help you in. Then I also get the chance to explain this to your mom." She says while helping him to the house.
Ms. Frost opens the door. "I thought I heard some no-.. O GOSH, Jack what for heaven's sake !" Then the woman looks back at Elsa, her eyes narrowing. "What did you do !"
"We- He- eh, I... I am so sorry Ms. Frost." Elsa stutters. "It was kind of my fault; you see, I've had some training in figure skating so I showed him some skills. Then he thought it was a great idea to copy me and so he tried one of the most hardest jumps and fell and hurt his wrists. It's not bad, a small fracture which should heal if he takes rest properly. I am so sorry again."
The older woman narrows her eyes. She pushes her son inside and looks angry at the young teacher. "You should have known better, he can't skate at all ! You are his teacher and so responsible for everything that happens to him. You disappoint me Elsa, I really thought you knew better." She says shortly and slams the door shut in the young blonde's face.
Elsa lowers her head as she walks back to the car. She feels guilty for letting anything happen to Jack, she didn't mean it that way. She didn't know he would be that crazy to follow after her ! A normal person wouldn't do that ! Elsa crawls on the backseat of the car and doesn't say a thing the whole ride home; she only stares out of the window, mindlessly.
John opens the front door and welcomes her with a warm hug. He pulls her inside, waves at the people in the car and closes the door. Then, he pours her hot chocolate and gives her the mug, which she drinks silently. "Sweetie, are you alright ? You didn't have fun today ?" He asks concerned while sitting next to her on the couch.
She sips her chocolate while staring at nothing. "She hates me." She whispers soft.
He is confused. "Who hates you darling ? Who could possibly hate you ?!"
Elsa looks at her boyfriend. "I think Ms. Frost hates me."
"You mean Jack's mom ?" She nods. "But why ?"
"You know how you said that we would go ice skating but suddenly you couldn't so I went with Anna and Kristoff instead, right ? Well, turns out; she brought Punzie and her boyfriend who's best friend happens to be Jack. And Jack wanted to impress me by making an axe on the ice but he fell cause he can't skate. So he half-broke his wrist and now his mother hates me."
John rubs her shoulder while kissing her neck. "Sweetie, no one can hate you. And even if they wanted to, they still couldn't. I think she was just shocked to what happened to her son. It'll pass, she'll figure out her son had been stupid. This is not your fault !"
"But I feel so bad ! I mean, I made her son do that and now look at him. He's half stoned because of the med and has broken a bone !" Elsa complains.
He smiles. "Did you force him to do it ?"
"No."
"Then it's not your fault." He concludes.
She sighs deeply. "I know that, it's just that I could have prevented it from happening but I didn't. I just stood there and watched, kinda... frozen in time..." She trails off.
"Honey, don't worry about it. You're just going to explain what happened to Mrs. Frost when she has progressed what happened. I think she was just shocked to see her son covered in bandages..." The marinier says softly to calm his girl down.
Elsa nods. " I guess. So... How was your day ?"
John turns his head. "How was my day ? Do you really wanna know ?" She nods again. "Well, to be honest, it was quite... boring. Without you."
"Hahaha, very funny." She says sarcastically. "So you didn't play with your model cars then ?"
"Listen, I do not play with my cars. I just happen to like cars very much."
She laughs. "Tell me... Johnnie. If you were to choose between me... aaaannnd a classic model car. Who would you pick ?" Elsa asks while she looks him daringly in the eyes.
John glares at her playfully and then grabs in an embrace to throw her on the carpet. "I think I'd have to go with... you, after I got the classic !"
She opens her mouth, then closes it, then opens it again to say something but closes it because she can't figure of something immediately. He laughs at her and teases. "You look like a goldfish Elsie !"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT !" She screams and pushes him away. His legs are strangled through hers and he drags her with him in his fall. Together, they roll off the couch and wrestle a bit on the ground. Then Elsa lays on the ground with her fiancee on top of her. The dog doesn't even bark, he just stares at the two and closes his eyes again to sleep. Dumb humans. Suddenly, Elsa notices something laying under the side table. She tries to get a better view of it and when she doesn't, she tries to grab it.
"Ho ho ho, lady ! What are you trying to do ?" John chuckles while trying to get a hold on her limbs.
She wriggles under his weight. "Wait, wait. What is this ?" She asks while holding a disk in front of his face. She reads. "MD.E21. John ? What is this ?"
He gets serious when he sees what she pulled from under the table. "Hé ! Give that to me !" He tries to grab it out of her hands but she's faster.
"No no no no, wait." She exclaims while studying the disk carefully. "What is this, honey ? Why did you hide it ? Am I not supposed to see it ?"
The man shrugs and tries to avoid her eyes. She pulls his face to hers, their eyes meet. "John." She says softly but clear. "WHAT. IS. GOING. ON."
Hoppa, next chap ! Hope you enjoyed it. I also wrote another story; the dance. If you like Elsa and Hans bickering at each other, then you should read it. I just really need a beta reader for that one, someone with whom I can share thoughts and ideas with. Any one interested ? I really, really need one...
The next chapter will be different from what all the previous chapters have been. I decided that it was time for a change of course, hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do; here's a small teaser !
"Officer, we need to talk." A deep male voice speaks from the other side of the phone. "Come to the office immediately." And with that, the man hangs up.
John stares at his cellphone. Why would the captain call him ? They are supposed to be off duty for a couple of months. It couldn't hurt to come and see what's going on. He thinks and then walks to the bedroom to get his bag. Just when he wants to leave the appartement, Seth comes running at him and howls softly. John bends over to pet his dog. "Sorry buddy, I'll be gone for a while. Elsa will be home soon, she'll walk you." Having said that, the young militair grabs his back and closes the door behind him.