Sorry guys, but my summer is getting really busy so I think I'm gonna have to push the updating schedule back to every other day. Sorry again but here ya go on the new chapter!
Sorry for any grammar (and haha! I was right! Take that best-friend-who-didn't-believe-me-when-I-said-grammar-was-with-an-'a'-not-an-'e'!) mistakes, I was in a hurry.
Elsa stepped out of her car, taking a breath.
Catheryn and Bob wouldn't be home for another few hours, so she was free to unpack by herself and rehearse what she would say.
If Catheryn had been shocked when Elsa had asked for the hair dye those first few days, she hadn't shown it.
She wondered if Catheryn would know what to do with her now that she had her naturally platinum blonde hair again.
She lifted out one of her suitcases, dragging it up the front porch. She dug out her house key from her bag and forced her way inside.
The house hadn't changed. What seemed so different about it, then? Was it maybe that she had?
She drifted her eyes around the room in front of her, staring at her surroundings. Eventually, she walked up the steps to her room.
Her room was extremely plain. It looked like a guest bedroom, one wouldn't be able to tell that this was actually someone's permanent bedroom.
The only thing that she had that was personal in there was the photo that she kept on the nightstand of one where she, Jack, and Anna had been posing happily together.
It had been painful to keep that picture, but she couldn't bring to herself to so much as tuck it out of view let alone discard it. She smiled when she saw it, though.
Sometime, she would tell Anna. But not quite yet.
She was fully aware of how much pain she could and probably was causing her baby sister, but she, herself, just wasn't ready. Anna would juts have to wait for her. Elsa knew that somewhere inside of Anna lay a part of her that would always wait for her.
That same part had probably laid deep inside of Kate.
She took the silver frame with snowflakes and sat down on her bed.
Yes, that was the frame. Even though it was in summer.
She had been the one in the middle, red faced in a blue tank top, overly large glasses falling down her face, and her platinum blonde hair in the now familiar braid. Anna had been giving a toothy grin with her braided pigtails, and green summer tank top with her arm reaching up to hug her older sister's shoulders. Jack had been giving his signature smirk, with a long sleeve whitewashed shirt with the sleeves pushed up. Elsa believed that they were thirteen at that time, Anna had been a few weeks away from ten. Jack had always been taller than her, so of course his arm naturally draped across her petite shoulders easily.
Elsa smiled. She actually remembered that day. Not very well, but she remembered spending hours in her and Anna's treehouse (even though that was mostly her and Jack's special place when they wanted to escape), climbing the trees in Jack's back yard, scraping her knee when she jumped down to reach Anna who needed help climbing, and Jack helping her inside even though it had hardly been bleeding.
And then they had gone swimming in the creek straight afterwards.
So many happy memories.
But she could still remember exactly why she had shut them out.
Even though, if she had a choice, she would chose a much different path than the one she had chosen, that didn't mean she forgot her reasons.
A sharp pain in her chest had her take a small gasp. It still hurt to remember.
"Anna!" A young Elsa crawling closer to her younger sister's mangled body.
"It's okay, Anna," she crooned, despite the fact that she could barely keep her own eyes open. "I've got you..."
Her world faded to black with Anna in her arms.
She blinked a few times, standing up.
Her vision blurred, but she pushed it down with a gulp.
She couldn't think too much about it. It still hurt. A lot.
She quickly ran back downstairs and out to her car to get the rest of the bags.
Jack pulled into his driveway slowly. He had been putting off coming home for the whole day. It wasn't too long of a drive from Corona, so he had been driving around wasting gas for the past few hours.
He stepped out, running his hand through his messy windswept hair.
There was only a light on in the living room from what he could see, all the bedroom lights turned off.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Elsa's house.
It used to haunt him, but now it made him smile, just like it used to.
Out of habit, he stopped and opened the mailbox.
It was very full.
Nick must have been off for business for the past few days.
Jack tucked the thick mail pile under his arm, walking up the steps without worrying about his bags still in his car.
His house was a nice one story, with a big living space, kitchen, and long hallway leading to the bedrooms.
He cast one glance at the one at the end of the hall. No doubt his mother was asleep amid many empty bottles.
He deliberately kept his eyes from diverting to the right of the hallway, slipping to the left to his room.
It was still messy, just the way he had left it. Clothes were everywhere, various food packages, and papers littered the ground and his dresser.
He flicked on the light after closing the door, sighing heavily.
He fell on his bed for a second, the only thing in his room that was completely clear. He groaned to himself.
Jack then got up rather sluggishly, lumbering to the bathroom.
He looked tired, worn down, the usual. But there was something different that he could notice right away.
Something about his eyes...
The blue seemed less stormy, less broken, less dead.
They seemed like they had something to be lively about again.
He smiled when he realized that he did. He let out a small laugh.
It was nice to smile. Like, actually smile for real.
He looked around his room. It was home, to him, but nothing about this house that screamed home anymore. There were too many memories, with and without Elsa.
He quickly fell against his bed again, sighing.
He had to drag himself up to turn off the lights but when his face hit his pillow once again he was asleep.
The following morning, Elsa awoke to the smell of pancakes and bacon.
She smiled, slowly sitting up and stretching. She yawned, then pulled on a hoodie.
"Kate!" Catheryn greeted with a warm hug.
"Good morning," Bob smiled, flipping a pancake.
She smiled in response. She was sure that her bed hair was horrendous, but she didn't care. Then she remembered.
"Sweetie, you didn't dye your hair," Catheryn noted. But she didn't sound upset about it at all. In fact, she seemed overjoyed.
"Oh, right," she nodded, blushing.
"Your hair is so pretty," Bob commented, not helping with her blush.
"I take it that you go by Elsa now?" Catheryn asked.
She just nodded, the redness fading. She felt...what was the word to describe it?
Happy, her subconscious supplied.
Yes. Definitely happy.
Jack basically slept the whole day. Nick didn't wasn't coming home until two days from then so he could get away with being shut in his room until then. Don't get him wrong, he loved Nick like a father but he wouldn't let him waste time with something as silly as sleep. Even when there was literally nothing to do.
He peeked out from under the covers, the first rays of sunlight blinding him. Why had he not closed the blinds last night?
He got up, closed them, and fell back asleep.
He woke again sometime later, judging from the darkness outside, to the sound of the front door opening.
Was Nick home a day early? But, he normally would just burst open the door with his jolly demeanor, not close it with caution...
Jack grabbed his phone, checking the time. It read 9:15 pm. Wow. He really had slept the day away. He shoved his phone in his pocket.
He heard quieted whispers from the hall, and, thankful that his room was both carpeted and had a closed door, he crept to the door to listen.
"...should be asleep...we're fine..."
"...sure? He could be..."
"He's been...day..."
He could only catch snippets, but the man his mother was talking to certainly wasn't Nick.
He darted back instinctively when he heard them move away from the living room.
He held his breath, and waited until he counted to sixty.
He then slowly creaked open his door, tip-toeing to the end of the hall.
He froze when he heard nothing.
Not the content silence, like the silence where you know that what you're about to see is not going to be pretty.
He cracked open the door, practiced with his own house to know that he could sneak a peek into his mother's room.
What he saw was his mother...passionately making out with a faceless man who was definitely not Nick.
His eyes widened, and he quickly backed away from the door.
Jack tripped and fell, causing a ruckus.
He heard something scuttle from inside the room.
"Jack?" His mother called.
He got up, feeling dazed and winded.
He ran to the front door, bursting out and not caring when he slammed it shut.
Jack was still wearing his favorite faded blue hoodie with the frost designs and some brown trousers. He hadn't even bothered to put shoes on.
All he did was run.
He couldn't think of anything else to do, until the reality of it all settled upon him like the plague.
He had just caught his mother cheating on Nick.
He had known that his mother was messed up, but he would never have guessed...
Suddenly, his vision blurred to the extent that he could barely see. Jack didn't bother to wipe away the tears that fell. He wasn't in control of himself at that moment in time.
The one thing he could do, however, was reach into his pocket and pull out his phone.
He scrolled through his contacts, looking under 'K.' He still needed to change it.
He hit call, shoving the phone to his ear.
After a few rings, she answered.
"Hello?" Elsa said hesitantly.
"I need you," was all he said.
He heard her sigh. He knew that she could detect something in his voice because there was no hesitation in her voice when she replied, "I'll be there."
He ended the call, having no doubt that she would.
He honestly didn't know where he was going, and he probably should have told her about where to meet up, but he knew that she would somehow find him. She always had.
After explaining about a friend emergency, Elsa hopped in her car and drove to Arendelle with no questions asked.
She had quickly thrown on some shorts, a white V-neck T-shirt and her light blue leather jacket with some flats and headed out.
She drove straight there with her knuckles white on the steering wheel.
She knew that the drive was in reality a very long time but it felt like minutes to her.
The sun was rising when she pulled into the old neighborhood.
Elsa avoided the scene of the large mansion next to Jack's house.
She just about to pull in when she noticed a few things.
Elsa was a naturally observant person, so she was good in these types of situations.
For one, Jack's car was still there. Meaning that he had walked off without his keys, also that he was either still in there.
His shoes were still on the porch.
All of the clues pointed to that he was home, but in her gut she knew that he wasn't.
She should just go knock on the door.
Yes, that was reasonable and logistic. That sounded like a good idea.
She got out of the car, staring at the front door.
She found herself turning in the opposite direction.
Elsa gulped when she came to the mansion.
It was big and vast and looked haunted. Even though her best childhood memories were there.
She slipped in through the gate, walking with her head down.
She honestly had no idea what she was doing. Her feet had other ideas and clashed with her brain so she had no control.
Elsa suddenly found herself face to face with...a tree.
But not just any tree. This tree was the tree that held her private getaway. Well, private except to her and one other person.
She vigorously climbed up, poking her head through the hole.
Since her parents were rich, she had been able to have a very nice treehouse, with a place for a small keyboard and several other instruments that she didn't play (but her father hadn't exactly known that).
She found him curled in a fetal position.
She knew from the silent sobs that racked his body with every breath that Jack was crying.
Elsa's eyes dropped. Something really bad happened.
She crawled over. Normally, one would give someone their space to cry and let it all loose.
But, two things. The first, Jack had called for her, therefore he needed her. The second, Elsa had missed three years comforting her best friend when he needed it, therefore she needed this.
She didn't pause before she wrapped her arms around Jack, resting her chin on his shoulder.
He didn't move, but she knew that he was grateful that she was here.
She didn't say anything, it was enough for both of them.
It was unknown to both of them how long they stayed like that, but no one interrupted them, so they were free to do whatever.
"I'm sorry," Elsa finally broke the silence. She meant more than just 'sorry' for whatever had happened.
"I know," Jack whispered. He wasn't crying anymore, but his voice was hoarse and cracked, even at a whisper.
She hugged him tighter, leaning closer.
Whether it was more for his sake or hers, Elsa would never know.
By the way, yes, this was meant as a cliffhanger even though it was one of my most mild cliffhangers yet. Review time!
EmmaWinterFrost: um, it's been too long since I updated, I don't even remember what happened too clearly. But yeah, lots of coicidences in my life, believe me. Haha, we shall see...
TheMashedUpSisters: lol sorry about the rushiness (I don't think that's a word but whatever) about the relationship...
TheDerpyMustache: yes, it is horrifying if you really think about it. And umm, okay, um, interesting...uh...action? And by the way, well someone's having fun blowing up my emails now, aren't they? ;P
CupcakeMonkey567: P.N.4700; okay, well, I was thinking about officially starting your story, Grace, but now...
Grace; what *_*
Elsa; it's okay, sweetie, she will start it soon I'm sure
Grace; you're in the story
Elsa; okay, we're getting her now!
P.N.4700; noo!
C.M.567; wait, wait, wait!
Everyone; *pauses*
C.M.567; let me get the camera!
P.N.4700; *tied to a pole and gagged, spits gag out* fine, fine. Just remember that I'm always a few clicks away from making everyone die in the end.
Everyone; ... let her go and get back in the stories, ASAP!
Falcon88: no, it doesn't mean you have to watch every fandom, it just means that you have no childhood from never watching Disney classics, duh! Anyone agree with me, here? Yep, that's, that's all I've got to say to that. Well, we shall see, we shall see.
Snowman: idk, you're confusing me now! Well, it is a big part in the story, drama there. Trust me, I know. Although, I'm honestly pondering about the people out there who have worse friends than me. Yeah, but still. You guys are weird, coming from me. Well, from what I get that isn't going to happen (no offense Ice Ranger, just what I've heard) so, where does that leave you? Haha, group hug everyone!
Everyone; groans
Me; oh shut up, it's my story so build yourselves a bridge and get over it!)
Ice Ranger: lol, no problem, although I'm not sure/I don't remember what for. Well, life has been very difficult for her, I just wanted to put in a little about her. And again, no problem, it's nice to know that people out there are enjoying my story! This one is better than my first story, just be noted on that. And well, Falcon88 needs to learn a new word: optimism. Think of a new quote! How about; there may only be 24 hours in a day but there's an endless set of 365.25 24 hours ahead of us! By me ^-^
Rose: haha, probably not. It's hard writing from so many perspectives! I was thinking about doing some deleted scenes/chapters when I'm finished with the stories and I can put some different perspectives in that, how does that sound? And thank you!
Loller: sorry, I'm normally pretty good at updating and rarely ever miss two days in a row but, again, my schedule's getting busy so I'll have to cut back on updates now...
moon72: really? Nothing to say on anything? (I promise, I'm not being sarcastic here, I really thought that that chapter was super rushed with everything) But, I do agree that it was cute, though :)
ATA: lol no problem, although I feel like you were exploding silently in your room...
Jewelaria Rosha: haha, thank you!
kat biersack: oh, don't worry, I was walking into school one day with, like, three sets of new passwords written on my hand cuz a) Fanfiction kept locking me out and b) I write things on my hand to remember them
Alright, thank you guys so much and catch you next update!