Picking up her phone, Elsa tried yet again to call Jack, but it was useless. His phone had been switched off and her texts had remained unanswered. She'd tried contacting him via Facebook and Skype, but they too had failed to provide any results. All day she had been fielding questions from their friends, all of whom were concerned that they couldn't reach him.
She had tried to ignore the sense of dread that had built up inside her. It wasn't like Jack to switch his phone off, or to take so long to respond to her. She had felt worried when he'd failed to respond to her text at lunch time, but had written it off and had told herself that he was busy. They had both been run off their feet lately while they tried to juggle their social life with their summer subjects at university and part time work in their families businesses.
"Still no word from him?" Anna asked as she casually leaned against the doorframe.
Elsa looked at her, beckoning her inside of her room. "No, it's not like him," her voice cracked as she took a seat on her bed. "No one has gotten through to him. They've tried ringing his home phone, but every time they've tried it has been engaged."
Anna moved to flop down on the bed, a wide smile crossed over her face as she looked at Elsa. "Relax, El, he's probably trying to catch up on sleep. I mean, it's not like you two got much sleep over the weekend," she teased.
Elsa groaned and shot her sister an exasperated look. "I really hope you're right," she sighed. "It's just with the Hans thing, I'm worried that he may have gone and done something stupid."
"The Hans thing?" Anna quizzed, cocking her head to the side as she looked at Elsa.
She sighed. In all her concern for Jack, she'd completely forgotten to fill Anna in on the interaction that had gone on between her and Hans the night before. A pang of guilt hit her.
After Anna had found out about her and Jack's relationship, they had made a pact to remain open and honest with each other.
Taking a deep breath, she filled Anna in on how Hans had accosted her after work and had shown her photo's that he had taken before blackmailing her. She watched as Anna flinched upon hearing how Hans wanted her to split up with Kristoff so that he could break her heart and humiliate her all over again.
"Wait, Hans slapped you?" Anna asked. "You told Jack right? How did he react?"
Elsa nodded. "I called him as soon as Hans had left. We met at the park around the corner before I came home. He was pretty angry. He kept saying that Hans was going down," she explained. "I'm sorry. I meant to tell you about the latest Hans drama earlier, but I was so tired last night and then today with work and worrying about Jack, it just slipped my mind."
She watched as Anna's face softened before she leaned over to throw her arms around her, pulling her in for a hug. "Oh, Elsa, it's okay. I completely understand," Anna murmured. "I'm just sorry that you have been put in this position because of me. For what it's worth, you know that I am always here for you and Jack, no matter what."
Jack groaned. Slowly, he opened his eyes, blinking slightly as they adjusted to the bright fluorescent light. Sitting up, he realised that he was in a hospital room. He turned his head to find his aunt and uncle sitting by his bedside. "How did I end up here?" he croaked.
"Jackson, you must be careful," boomed his uncle as he rushed to the bedside. His hands reached for the button to raise the bed and he pressed it, adjusting it so that it was in an elevated position. "You were involved in a nasty fight and left on the ground."
He blinked as memories of the fight with Hans and his goons came flooding back. The last thing he remembered was being dropped on the ground and closing his eyes. "My stuff," he coughed. "Was anything stolen?"
"You were lucky, Jack. Nothing appears to have been stolen. Another student found you passed out and called for an ambulance. We sent Thia to collect your car not long ago. She's at home with Emily," Nick explained.
"So, now that I'm awake, can I go home?" he asked, wincing slightly at the ache in his ribs.
"That would be a no," a man in doctor's scrubs said, stepping into the room. "Allow me to introduce myself, the name is Dr. Astermund. I'm afraid that you have earned yourself a night here in hospital for observation. It's standard hospital procedure when a patient comes to us having blacked out."
He groaned. His mind wandered to Elsa and he kicked himself, knowing that she must be worried that she had been unable to reach him. He reached for his phone and switched it on. His eyes glanced at the number of missed calls and text waiting for him and he cursed. "Wait, what drained the battery on my phone?" he asked, staring at the alarmingly low battery. "It was fully charged this morning."
"Ah, I can explain that. You see, Emily was with us for a while and got bored. We gave her your phone to play games on after she ran out of charge on her own phone," Nick chuckled. "I hope it's not a problem. You can use the hospital phone to ring us in the morning and we will pick you up."
Jack shook his head. He wanted to argue, to explain that he had friends and a girlfriend who would be worried for him, but the exhaustion he felt was taking over. Instead, he resigned himself to getting in contact with Elsa as soon as possible. Even if it meant ringing her during a lecture.
"Okay, Jack, we will leave you now. Your aunt will pick you up in the morning before she leaves for work," Nick said, helping his wife to her feet. "Try to rest and let this be a lesson to you, no more fighting."
He nodded. He watched as his aunt moved to adjust the bed, lowering him down to rest before tucking the hospital blanket over him. Closing his eyes, he felt himself drifting off to sleep.
Elsa glanced in the mirror as she applied a light dusting of makeup to cover the bags under her eyes. She'd had a restless night and had woken earlier than usual to try calling Jack again, but it had been pointless. His phone was still off and he had not been online.
Making her way downstairs, she found Anna already in the kitchen waiting for her to drive them to university. Glancing at her watch, she gasped as she realised how late they were running. Any other day and she would laugh at the irony of Anna being ready before she was. However, this morning her mind was far too consumed with worry for Jack.
"I have your coffee ready to go," Anna smiled, handing the travel mug to her.
"Thanks, Anna," she whispered.
The drive to university had been quiet. Elsa had found herself unable to stop worrying about Jack and had remained silent. Her sister had tried to put her mind at ease, but had given up after a while and had settled for texting Punzie.
Arriving at university, she had done a lap of the car park in the hope of spying Jack's car, but had been unable to spot it. Reluctantly, she had pulled her car into a park and had exited it.
Sighing, she tightened her grip on her bag as she made her way into class. Her eyes fell on Lana, Fred and Jamie and she noticed the way their faces seemed to lift upon seeing her. Sadly, she shook her head.
"Still no word from Jack?" Lana asked as Elsa slid into the empty seat beside her.
She shook her head. "None. I'm trying not to worry, but it's hard. He's normally here by now. Especially seeing as he doesn't have to drive Emily to school," she whispered. "I hardly got any sleep last night. I couldn't stop thinking of him."
She watched as Lana reached over to gently grip her hand and offered her a sympathetic smile. Sighing, she opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sound of their professor entering the room and calling the class to attention.
Lifting her head, she forced herself to focus on the professor. She was just about to pull out her books when her phone vibrated in her pocket, alerting her to a new message. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and held it under the desk so that her lecturer couldn't see her. She could feel her heart skip a beat when she saw the new message alert from Jack.
'I'm home. I need to see you and explain everything. Come over, it's only my sister and I, but she won't care. Love you ~ J'
Grinning, she tilted the phone to show the message to Lana. Picking up her bag, she glanced at Lana, who gave her a thumbs up. Standing to her feet, she slung her bag on her shoulder and made her way towards the door. She could feel the curious stares of her fellow classmates, but she didn't care.
Slowly, Jack stepped into the shower and let the warm water fall over his body. His aunt had picked him up and had dropped him home less than an hour ago. He had wasted no time putting his phone on charge and had sent a text to Elsa, letting her know that he was home and that he needed to talk to her.
His eyes glanced over his body as he cleaned himself. Injury wise, he had been lucky. He had managed to walk away from the fight with only a few dark bruises on his legs and chest, a black eye and a few grazes. It looked a lot worse than it felt. In a small act of mercy, Hans and his thuggish accomplices had delivered the majority of the blows to his abdomen and legs.
Shaking his head, he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He padded into his room and slipped on a fresh pair of underwear and trackpants. He could hear the sound of the doorbell ringing, letting him know that Elsa had arrived. Biting his lip, he spritzed himself with cologne and headed downstairs. He cringed slightly when he heard the sound of Emily opening the front door.
"Oh, Jack, your girlfriend is here," she sang, gripping Elsa's hand and dragging her into the house.
He groaned. "I told you not to embarrass me, Em. You still owe me for draining my phone battery, he scolded, poking his tongue out at his sister. "Now shoo, scram, go do whatever it is that teenaged girls do."
Turning to face Elsa, he watched as her eyes widened upon falling on his bruised body. "Jack" she gasped. "What happened?"
Gently, he grabbed her hand and led her upstairs to his room. He beckoned for her to take a seat on his bed before shutting the door. Sighing, he moved to sit beside her on the bed. His eyes fell on the dark circles that lay under her own blue eyes, a sure sign that she'd had trouble sleeping the night before. Reaching his hand up, he pushed a strand of hair from her face.
"So?" Elsa began, facing him.
Taking a deep breath, he filled her in on the events that had unfolded. He let her know how he had gone to seek Hans out and had been set up before being left bruised on the grounds of their university. He finished with how he had woken up in hospital and discovered his phone battery drained courtesy of his younger sister.
"Jack, I told you not to do anything stupid," Elsa cried, tentatively moving to grip his hand. "You know what Hans is like. You could have been seriously injured."
He sighed. Lifting Elsa's hand to his mouth, he pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles. "I know. I'm sorry, El," he murmured. "I know that I shouldn't have gone after him. I knew at the time that I shouldn't, but I couldn't stop myself. I just got so mad that he hurt you and I wasn't there to protect you."
He watched as Elsa fell back to lie on his bed and noted the tears that had formed in the corner of her eyes. Leaning over, he softly wiped her tears away before falling back to lie beside her.
"You scared me," she whispered, shifting onto her side as she turned to face him. "I was so scared when I couldn't reach you."
He gulped. Rolling over, he propped himself on his side, ignoring the slight pain and leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead. "I know, El. You were on my mind the whole time. I'm so sorry," he murmured.
Elsa felt the relief wash over her.
There was a part of her that had wanted to yell at Jack and to scold him for being stupid enough to go seek Hans out. She had thought that Jack had realised that Hans wasn't against playing dirty. This time he had really upped the ante. What had made it worse was knowing that aside from organising for Jack to be at an unfair disadvantage, Hans had also seen to it that their fight had taken place in an isolated part of their uni grounds with less chance of people being able to step in and help Jack. However, all thoughts of scolding him had gone out the window when she had seen his face.
She had struggled to hold back the shock when she had seen him coming down the stairs with only a pair of trackpants on. To see his body covered in nasty looking bruises with grazes and a black eye had left her on the verge of tears. She had wanted to reach out and pull him close to her, to comfort him, but had held back out of fear of pressing on his injuries.
Rolling over, she propped herself on her side and hovered her hand over him.
"It's okay, El. You can still touch me," Jack pointed out, smiling weakly at her. "It's mostly bruising. It won't hurt."
Without warning, Jack moved his hand out to grip her. Pulling her down, he guided her to rest against his chest. Sighing, she moved her hand to trace soft patterns over his chest. They lay in silence for a few minutes as she watched his chest rise and fall with his breathing.
A loud growl erupted from her stomach, reminding her that in her haste, she had failed to eat breakfast that morning. Sitting up, she turned to watch as Jack propped himself up on his elbows.
"I think it's time for lunch," Jack smirked.
She nodded. Climbing off the bed, she leaned down to help Jack to his feet. Slowly, they made their way downstairs to the kitchen.
"Sit," she ordered, directing him to a stool.
Rummaging in the pantry, she pulled out a loaf of bread before making her way to the fridge and pulling out some sandwich meat and cheese. She placed the ingredients on the bench and pulled open the cupboard to grab two plates out.
"You're too good to me, El," Jack pointed out. "I mean, you're making me lunch in my own home."
She smiled at him. "Okay, come on," she said, pushing the plate with his sandwich towards him. "You can carry your own plate in."
Nodding, he slid off the stool and led her into the lounge room. She watched as he reached to grab the remote, turning the TV on and flicking it to the midday movie before settling down on the couch.
Elsa waited until Jack had finished his sandwich before taking his plate and placing it on the coffee table with her own. Slowly, she shuffled back to lean against the armrest of the couch. She opened her legs and guided Jack back so that he was leaning against her chest. Gently, she set about massaging his shoulders.
"Let me know if I hurt you," she murmured.
"You won't, El," Jack whispered.
He reached his hand up to grip at her chin, tilting it down before he angled his head to press a kiss to her lips. She let out a soft moan as she melted into the kiss. Leaning forward, she gave herself better access to his lips.
"Oh gross, get a room," a bored voice said.
Blushing, she broke the kiss and shifted her head to watch as Emily entered the room, her eyebrow raised as she stared at them.
"We've got a room and you're still in trouble. So put up, or shut up," Jack teased, running his hands up and down her legs. "However, seeing as you're here, you can take our plates to the kitchen for us."
"Great idea, big bro. I think that on the way back, I'll stop by the junk room and pull out the embarrassing baby photo's of you. I'm sure that Elsa would love to see them," Emily sassed, turning to wink at Elsa.
She watched as Jack groaned before pushing himself off the couch. Leaning down, he helped her to her feet. "Fine, you win. The lounge room is yours," he muttered, reaching down to grab their empty plates.
Giggling, she followed Jack as he placed their plates in the kitchen before turning to lead her up the stairs and back to his room. She settled on his bed and watched as he closed the door behind them.
"So, I'm guessing that I don't get to see the baby Jack photo's today?" she teased, pushing a strand of hair off her face.
"Not today, princess," he joked, reaching over to switch his TV on before settling back on the bed beside her.
Pouting, she pushed herself to rest against the headboard of his bed before pulling him to rest between her legs as she continued with her massage.
"Stay," Jack pleaded, watching as Elsa gathered her phone and keys before slipping her shoes back on. "Don't go home. Just stay with me. We'll tell my uncle and aunt. They will be cool, I promise."
He watched as Elsa hesitated. A small frown appeared on her face and he knew she was thinking about it. They had spent the last half hour discussing the fact that they needed to tell their families about their relationship. They had agreed to do it on the Thursday night and had planned it so that Elsa would text him after dinner. He would then turn up at her house so that they could let her parents know before Hans could beat them to it.
"I have to go home," Elsa cried, shaking her head. "You are in no fit state to tell our families."
"Then come back to me tonight," he begged, reaching to grip her hand. "My aunt and uncle are going to a movie and won't be home until at least 10pm. You can tell your parents that you're staying over at Lana's to work on an assignment and we will head to uni together. Please, Elsa."
He watched as Elsa pressed her lips together before turning to face him, a small smile evident on her face. "Alright," she agreed. "I'll do it. I will shower at mine, but you better believe that we are only sleeping. We are going to need to be well-rested for tomorrow evening."
Grinning, he punched the air with his fist. Swinging his legs off the bed, he stood up and pulled her into his arms. "I knew that you would say yes," he teased, pressing a kiss to her lips. "You can't resist me."
"If you are going to get cocky then I'll say no," Elsa quipped, running a hand through his hair. "Don't forget that I can still change my mind."
Nervously, Elsa picked up her phone to let Jack know that she was ready to head over to his house.
After arriving home, she had found Anna and had filled her in on the situation with Jack. She had then waited for her father to return home before she had asked permission to spend the night at Lana's. She had claimed that they had an assignment to work on together and wanted the extra time to work on it. To her relief, her mother had added a few supportive words and her father had agreed.
Dinner had been a quiet affair. She had found her mind was preoccupied with concern for Jack and her anxiety about having to confront her parents. Fortunately, Anna had been happy to distract their parents and had happily shared details of her own day. Once she had finished her dinner, she had excused herself to get ready.
She had ducked in to have a quick shower before getting out, drying herself and changing back into her clothes. Once dressed, she had pulled her overnight bag down and had tossed in her nightgown and a change of clothes for the next day.
"So, you're really going to tell Mum and Dad?" Anna asked, poking her head into Elsa's room.
She nodded and turned to beckon Anna inside. "Yep, tomorrow night," she said. "Hans gave us until Friday evening to give him his answer. We are hoping that by getting in first that they will go easy on us."
"Are you nervous?" Anna whispered, reaching over to grab Elsa's phone from the bedside table.
"Terrified," she admitted, grabbing her phone from Anna. "But we don't have much choice. We can't keep hiding our relationship. It's not fair to him, or I. Besides, he's good to me. He loves me and I love him. Mum and Dad will just have to learn to deal with it."
"Well, you already know that you both have my support and Kristoff's as well. We love you both. Kristoff reckons Jack is great and I do too. You can always count on me," Anna said, smiling at her.
Smiling, she reached over to hug Anna. "Thanks, love you," she whispered before leaving the room.
Jack groaned as he heard the sound of the front door opening and Thia's chirpy voice greeting Elsa.
"Thia, don't you dare embarrass me," he warned, skipping down the last stair before pulling Elsa into his arms.
"Embarrass you," Thia scoffed, turning to wink at Elsa. "What, do you mean like telling Elsa how I had to iron your shirt for you prior to your three month anniversary date?"
He watched as Elsa giggled and turned her head between him and Thia. "Yep, that would count as embarrassing me," he muttered. "We're going to my room now. Thanks, Thia, see you later."
Gently, he turned to tug Elsa up the stairs. Behind him, he heard Thia call out to let Elsa know that she had plenty more embarrassing stories to share. Elsa let out a giggle and turned to face him. "Your cousin is sweet," she pointed out. "I'd like to hear her stories."
"She's talkative," he muttered, pulling Elsa into his bedroom. "She is far too friendly for her own good."
"I believe that you've met my sister," Elsa chuckled, dropping her bag on the floor. "I swear Anna was born talking. As a kid, she used to talk to everyone we met. Actually, she still does talk far too much."
Taking a seat on his bed, Jack watched as Elsa bent down to slip her shoes off. Standing up, she pulled her nightgown out of her bag. He chuckled and watched as she moved to toss her jacket over his head.
"El, it's not like I haven't seen you naked. Do you really think that I need to cover my eyes just so you can change into your nightie?" he asked, tossing the jacket to the floor. "I mean, if it wasn't for these damn bruises, I'd have been ripping that night off you later."
He laughed as Elsa let out an exasperated groan and turned to glare him. Smirking, he pulled back the covers and climbed into bed while he waited for Elsa to shuffle out of her jeans.
"Remind me again, why do I put up with you?" she muttered as she moved to join him under the covers.
Leaning over, he pulled her closer to him and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Because you love me," he murmured. "Also, I am ridiculously good looking and you can't keep your hands off me."
"Says who?" she teased, poking her tongue out at him.
"Says the woman who currently has her hand resting on my bare chest," he replied, bending down to kiss her again.
He watched as Elsa recoiled, pulling her hand back and looking at him with wide eyes. "I didn't hurt you did I?" she whispered.
Shaking his head, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "No. You could never hurt me, El," he replied, reaching over to switch the bedside light off.
Beside him, he heard Elsa let out a sigh. Reaching his arm out, he pulled her closer to him. He felt her tense up slightly and moved to press a kiss to her shoulder. He knew that she was worried about hurting him and approaching her parents the following night. Inwardly, he cursed himself for his decision to approach Hans. Especially as he had inadvertently caused more stress for Elsa.
"Jack, I'm scared," she cried, tilting her head to look at him. "What if it doesn't go well tomorrow night?"
He shuffled closer and tightened his grip on her. "Whatever happens, we will handle it together. We've come this far. I love you too much to let you go," he vowed. "Like it or not, your parents will just have to deal with it. I am not giving up on the best thing that has ever happened to me."
Slowly, she leaned in to press a kiss to his lips. Pulling back, she smiled at him before reaching her hand to stroke at his face. "I love you," she whispered.
Hans sat hunched over his laptop. The email address of Mr Walt Blanchard was typed in the address bar of his email provider along with a message containing the photo's of Elsa and Jack. He was all set to send the email which would provide a nice surprise for the couple. He knew that they were expecting him to send it on Friday evening. After all, he had told Elsa that she had until Friday to make her decision, but he liked to keep things interesting and playing fair was not his idea of fun.
It had not surprised him that Elsa had gone running to her boyfriend after he had approached her in the carpark. In fact, he had anticipated it, which was why he had booked for two of Arendelle University's strongest, yet dumbest students to help him deal with Frost. He had known that Jack would be furious that he had dared blackmail and hit his precious girlfriend and would seek him out. Just like he had known that Elsa would never have agreed to split her sister's relationship up. Not that he minded, it had brought him great pleasure to watch the annoying Jack Frost get beaten so easily.
He had received word that it had taken a few minutes for Jack to be discovered after he had fled the scene of the fight. He had yet to see Jack following the fight, but had watched as the thugs he had hired had doled out quite a lesson to Jack. They had done such a good job that Jack had been forced to spend the night in the hospital. Apparently the night without word from Jack, had left Elsa a mess and she had fled from her class earlier in the morning.
Shaking his head, he flicked his eyes to the images of the happy couple on the screen. "I hope you have enjoyed your happiness because it's about to end," he smirked, hitting send on the email
A/N- Whew, well, what can I say, but for all of you who want to throttle Hans and Pitch please form an orderly queue.
Once again, thank you all for your reviews and responses. Keep Calm and Ship Jelsa.