First things first. I noticed that I use too much dialogue in my story so I'm trying to reduce that. Secondly, my English isn't that advanced to express certain moments or atmosphere's very good and I deeply regret that it isn't my first language. But I try my best to make it work. Third, I'm going to change a big part of the story and so Jelsa clan; I don't know if it will be all Jelsa at the end. Everything is quite uncertain at this moment. I try to avoid cliche plots. And fourth, I am continuing this story, as you all may have noticed. I'm not going to abandon it until it's finished. But do know that I have very little time and so updating won't be regularly. But I am never gonna leave it untouched for months again, I promise. Furthermore, I'd like to thank everyone who follows, or recently has followed, this story and comments on the chapters. It's really nice to see that this thing gets read. I'm not writing for no one, hehe.
The sister went to a local bar and stayed there most of the night. Elsa drunk a lot of ice tea, as it is her favourite beverage and Anna rambled all night long about how awesome the wedding will be and how beautiful she's going to look as bridesmaid. At around four am, Elsa decided that it was time to return home. Anna stayed the last part of the night to sleep out her hangover.
Getting out of the bar had been a hard one for starters. Anna had spotted some random dude whom she liked and they had been talking for a long time. Elsa was enjoying her beverage and watched as her sister was socialising. After a few free drinks from that dude, Elsa decided that it was time to go because the sun started to come up. She tried to cut off the conversation they were having but that seemed harder than it was. First, walking didn't go very well. Everything seemed to move all the time and Elsa had to get a hold on everything for balance. Secondly, Anna constantly moved because she wanted to stay a little longer. And lastly, Elsa was just too tired to even care and so she called her sister that she was going to leave any moment. Anna cut off the conversation by saying that she already had an awesome boyfriend, which was absolutely true, and then left to find Elsa. She found her big sister sitting in an ally clutching her purse. Elsa stood up and took Anna by the arm. Together, they walked home. When they finally arrived at Elsa's home, Anna was still blabbing about this incredible sandwich she had eaten earlier at school and Elsa was having a hard time putting the key in the keyhole. Anna bent over and tried to help, with no success of course. They finally had it and Elsa pushed the door open. The dog came running at them and greeted them enthusiastically. Then Anna made her and Elsa a big cup of cacao and ate some sandwiches. Elsa laid on the couch, her limbs spread and her hair all tangled. The strawberry blonde laughed and took out her cellphone to take a weird selfie with her sister laying awkwardly on the couch. Elsa got up and groaned, complained about the headache she already started to feel and how everything sounded so loud. Anna went to the toiled but couldn't find the light and so she peed next to the seat, which left a huge mess. Elsa giggled as she tried to clean it up, she succeeded pretty good. They finally got into bed at around five am in the morning.
It's seven am in the morning and Elsa struggles to fall asleep. She tosses and turns but doesn't get a bit of sleep at all. She sighs deeply as she throws off her blanket. It's too hot. Her head rolls aside to meet John's sleeping face. She smiles. His face is so cute when he's asleep. She kisses his forehead softly. He smells good. His brown hair is all messed up. It looks good on him, she decides. After another half an hour of looking at her handsome guy, Elsa decides to get out of bed and make breakfast and maybe mark a few tests for the next day.
With a cup of coffee and a plate full of toasts, she settles down at the dining table. Spreading out the papers and marking all the good answers, she finds herself in a quiet relaxing moment. To be honest, she could do this all day. Most teachers mark the bad answers but that doesn't really help motivate the student and so Elsa turned it around by marking the good answers and encouraging them to keep thinking that way. It really helps because her students are always ready to give it an extra push. After having marked thirty one tests and having to go another fifty three, John enters the room. He hasn't dressed yet and is just wearing his boxers. His body looks fit and lean and his muscles protrude through his skin. He grins, as he sees her checking him totally out, and walks up to her and kisses the top of her head.
"Hey sweetie, you're up early." He states and goes to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast.
Elsa stretches and yawns shortly. "Yeah, I couldn't sleep. Anna and I came back at around four but I'm too hyped to even close my eyes."
John settles down on the chair across from her. "And why is that ?"
She shrugs, stretching again due to stiffness. "Maybe because I'm going to meet your parents today. Like, I've never met them before and now suddenly we're going to visit them !"
John nods. "Well, I'm pretty darn nervous myself. I haven't had contact with my mom for so many years you know. I ran away... It was my own choice."
At noon, the couple arrived at John's parents' house. They step out of the car. Elsa sees her boyfriend hesitating. She walks up to him and lays her hand around his hips. "Are you nervous ?" She whispers in his ear. He nods. She smiles. "Remember that we're a team. And no matter what they say, they will not break us."
He kisses her cheek. "I love you."
Elsa grabs his hand and together they knock on the door. A muffled voice can be heard and seconds later, the door is opened by a wild looking woman. Her face is in question, but when she recognises the young man, she exclaims in shock and pulls him in for a hug. John hugs his mother back awkwardly. "Hi mum."
"Honey are you gonna behave when Johnny comes ?" Susan asks her husband Tom.
Tom says nothing. He's reading the newspaper intensely.
"Sweetie I asked you something."
"Hrrmmmpff." Tom answers.
Susan frowns. "What hrmpff ?"
Tom looks up from his newspaper. "He decided to run away from us because we treated him so badly. And now he comes back to ask for my blessing for his marriage with some chick ?"
Susan sets herself down next to her husband. Ever since John left he's been nothing but bitter. He couldn't understand why his son ran away. He couldn't deal with the fact that he had no one to fall back on now. His first son, Ethan, was sweet and a great kid, but he was not John. But Tom realised too late what he was doing to John and when he did, John was long gone and Ethan was dead. Susan placed her hand gently on her husband's shoulder. "I understand that you are bitter. But it was such a long time ago. Can't you forgive him ? You need to let it go sweetie." She says encouraging.
Susan grabs both sides of his face. "My god Johnny, you are so grown up now !" She takes a step back to admire her son. When he left, he was nothing more than a kid, a skinny and small young boy. And look at him now, he has grown at least ten inches, if not more. His body seems very fit and muscular, he looks healthy. Susan sighs, luckily he did not go the wrong path. She resumes scanning him thoroughly. His clothing is modest. A navy blue sweater on top of brown jeans. His hair looks fuller than when he was younger, it makes him look healthier. And also he grew a beard, not too long, not too short; just enough. Then she suddenly notices the girl standing next to her estranged son. She is pretty. Damn she's really pretty. The girl is quite tall and really slender built. Her face resembles a doll, so fragile yet very friendly looking. Her hair is almost white but her eyebrows are dark though... And then her eyes, god, those big beautiful eyes. Susan's eyes travel down. The young gal is clothed very casual. A white blouse with on top of it a small vest. The blouse is neatly tucked into the black skinny jeans, perfected by a slim brown belt at the tiny waist and black baseball shoes. To complete the casual look, the girl chose to wear a tiny yellow handbag which looks really good. Susan blinks a couple of times. It's rude to stare at a person for so lang. But she can't help herself. Her son has really caught the best fish of the lake here.
"I'm sorry, hi I'm Susan. Johnny's mother, obviously." She says embarrassingly and extends her hand for a handshake.
The girl places her slim hand in Susan's and shakes it gently. "Hi." She says with a gentle soft voice. "I'm Elsa. John's girlfriend, obviously." She chuckles.
Susan stares at the angelic like girl. She... is... Perfect... "Ok eh come on in then."
The alarm goes off. Jack groans and slams it off. He stretches and yawns deeply. After five minutes of waking up and rubbing his eyes, he stands up and realises what day it is. It's maths day ! A two hour lecture from Elsa ! Jack's face lights up. He quickly puts on his clothes and heads downstairs. Jamie is already up, watching some stupid tv series.
They boys enter laughing loudly the lecture hall where Elsa is probably waiting for them. They settle down in the middle row and get their stuff ready for the lecture to begin. Jack's eyes search the young woman but they don't succeed. Instead, they find a middle aged woman with brown hair and some stupid thick glasses. Jack's heart skips a beat. She isn't here ? Eugene leans over to his best friend and whispers. "Wow Ms Winters sure got old."
Jack frowns and pushes his friend away. His face is in question. What is this ? She's always present... The older woman coughs and starts to speak.
"Welcome students. My name is Jill and I am a substitute for Ms Winter who couldn't make it. She has a severe cold. But I'm sure she's going to be fine. Ok let's start. Please open page two hundred nine."
Great. Jack throws his pen on the table in front of him. He has to waste two hours of his life to this old crook. He rolls his eyes in annoyance and curses softly. Fuck. Shit. He had been dreading the week and to be honest, he kinda had been looking forward to see her fresh young face again. To see that she was ok after last week's events. Over the half year and a few weeks, he has noticed tiny characteristics her. She seems to be an early bird, always sunny and bright in the early morning. He noticed how passionate she is about her job and that she truly wants to give every student a chance to bring out the best of themselves. He noticed how she, during reading, is always playing with her hair and how she bites her lip when she is embarrassed. Her lectures are the best, in his opinion. She keeps things clean and clear and Jack understands what she is talking about. She is a total professional, always prepared and willing to do the whole lecture over just for someone who has trouble with keeping up. And Jack has tried hard to spot something bad about her, he really has tried. But there really just isn't. She never interrupts someone mid sentence, she does not have an impatient soul, she treats everyone the same and tries to be optimistic about everything. Sure, he has heard he shout to her boyfriend, but she had good reasons so that doesn't count.
"So." Tom begins, looking intensely at Elsa. "Where have you guys met ?"
Elsa turns at John and both grin widely. "Well." She begins. "We met at a disco... I went with my sister. She was drunk, I was tired and he was funny."
John nods. "We talked and then I asked her phone number, said I was gonna call her soon. Then she dragged her sister with her and they disappeared into the night."
"But the next day, he tried to call me." Elsa adds.
"Yeah and I got her sister but I didn't know it at that time cause they sound pretty much alike..."
"And she pretended to be me hahahaha !" She laughs.
"Hrmmm." Tom murmurs. "And how long have you been together ?"
"Almost three years now." Elsa answers proudly. She's kept track from day one, and so has John.
The atmosphere is uncomfortable. They are sitting here for a few hours now and Tom just doesn't seem to end his endless rain of questions. Especially about Elsa. He asks her where she grew up, if she is religious, things about her family and most of all if she and John already had 'done it' yet. John, the sweetheart that he is, interfered and backed her up where needed.
"But dad, we came here... well I came here, to ask you a favour." John clears his throat nervously. Elsa lays her hand on his knee for mental support. "Dad, you see, er, I asked Elsa to be my uh... my wife. And I need your blessings for our wedding..." Elsa rubs over his knee. She's proud of him.
Tom's eyes grow wide. "What ? Marriage ? At this age ?"
"I'm twenty five and she's twenty two... surely there's no problem with that ?"
Tom stands up and paces through the room. His son getting married so soon. Not having called him for years and now showing up with this chick asking him for his blessings ? But she does seem nice though. Not someone who's only after his son's looks and money. Tom turns around, he has to get these emotions out. "You ran away from home, stayed away all these years. Your mother even thought you were dead at some point. Then you show up with a girl saying you want my blessings ?! What do you want from me ? If I refused, weren't you getting married anyways ?!"
Susan tries to interfere. "Tom please, let's put this behind us now." She whispers as she tries to calm him down. He pushes her away. She stumbles over a magazine and falls on the ground.
Elsa gasps and runs over to the poor woman. "Are you alright ?" She asks while helping Susan up. The older woman looks at her grateful.
John also stands up, standing taller than his dad and points his finger accusingly at Tom. "Listen. I ran away because I didn't get any support here. You always said I was born by accident. That it wasn't planned. You know how fucked that sounds for an eight year old ? So yeah, I ran away. And when I did, I found a family. A family who took me for who I was and who raised me. And I found a girl. A girl who loved me no matter what. A girl who understood that I didn't want to talk about my past. And I want to build up a future with her, not just as my girlfriend, but as my wife. So yeah, I want your blessings. Because I want you to see how far I've come without your help. You not helping me was the best thing you could ever do to me, cause it learned me to stand on my own, to rely on only me."
Tom squeezes his eyes together. "You ungrateful little swine ! You never accepted that Ethan needed more help than you. By the time you were three you could tie your own shoelaces, something that Ethan has never managed to do. And now, thanks to you, he is dead !"
"What ?!" John shrieks. "Blaming his death on me doesn't solve your problems. You're twisted up, here, in your head. And you know what. Forget it. I'm never going to visit you ever again." He grabs his stuff and drags Elsa with him.
"Bye.." Elsa whispers at Susan, who has tears in her eyes, before closing the front door.
The lecture doesn't seem to end... ever. The woman keeps on talking and keeps on talking. Seriously, when does she shut up ? Jack groans in frustration. He looks at his watch. What ?! Only fifty minutes had gone by ? This is taking forever. And that woman is so darn boring. For starters, she keeps pushing up her glasses with her thumb. Like who does that. Seriously. Secondly, she keeps pointing at the notes on the board as if every word is important. Third, that choice of wardrobe is terrible. Nothing like the young hipster Ms Winters who wears almost anything. Skirts, jeans, dresses, shorts... anything. Much more interesting and much more colourful than this lady. This Jill person, is wearing a grey brown skirt on top of grey black stockings. A white blouse underneath another boring grey vest completes her greyness look... Gre(y)at. To finish her look, she decided to wear a grey scarf to match her dull grey face... Jack groans, how many colours of grey are there ? He is slowly starting to hate the colour grey. Fifty shades of grey, his ass !
After another two hours of pure torture, Jack sprints out of class. He is finished for today and can't wait till next week and he is going to see Ms Winters again. He sighs deeply as he rides home. This was awful. Maths will never ever be this boring again hopefully...
"Why did you have to do that ?" Elsa asks her fiancé on their way home.
John frowns. "Do what ?"
"You know what !"
"He's being unreasonable. All he had to say is; god I'm happy to see that your life is working out. And sorry that I was a horrible father. But NOOOOO he started blaming me for the same shit he used to blame me for." John squeezes the wheel.
Elsa rubs his shoulder and goes through his soft hair. He slowly relaxes at her touch, it has always relaxed him, one of the reasons why she's perfect. "You know he was surprised to see you." She begins.
"Well he could have said that before screaming at me." John growls.
"He's different than you sweetie. He probably didn't, and still doesn't, understand why you ran away. You ran away as a kid but came back being a man. It's quite a shock to him to see you so independent and happy maybe..." She whispers in his ear and plants a kiss on his cheek.
John turns his head at her and smiles. "It doesn't matter. He's in the past. I don't wanna talk about him anymore."
Elsa nods. Whenever he's ready, they'll talk some more about it. "As long as you know that I love you no matter what." She says as she lays her head on his big shoulder.
He kisses the top of her hair and sniffs in her delicious scent. "If I didn't have you, I don't know what I'd do. Love ya."
No one could ever stop him marrying her. Not even his own family. He's going to marry this little adorable geek ! He looks at her, leans over and steals a kiss from her soft lips. She smiles and closes her eyes. Letting her ears hear the soft motor of the car while the wheels roll over the asphalt. She sighs happily, knowing that this man will always be beside her, that he will always chose for her. This is not the end of freedom, it's the beginning. Marriage means getting drunk in a bar and waking up next to him the day after. It means boring days at her work but coming home seeing that he has cooked for her. It means streaming movies online and watching them at night while eating a big bowl of M&M's. It means having someone to cry on when times are sad. It means waking up to see his face every day, well most of the days. It means waiting for him at the airport when he comes back home after a long mission. It means baking him a chocolate pie but ending up eating most of it herself. Marriage doesn't mean the end of the freedom you had as a bachelor, it means that you're a team; you're in this together. It's the two of you against the world.
Half an hour later, the couple arrives home. John makes some tea and Elsa falls on the couch and lays there for a good few minutes before sitting up. "UUgghhhh... I'm so drained. Your dad totally sucked the energy right out of me." She complains. John places the cups of tea on the side table and sits next to her.
He chuckles as he flips through his photo library on his laptop. Elsa lays her arms over her eyes and groans. "What are you laughing at ?"
"You looked so young here..." Is all he says. "Time has flown by and now you're a woman, ready to marry a man."