Hans leaned back lazily against his chair in Arendelle university's library. He'd come to the library to get some studying done and to avoid the sound of the sweet 16th party going on at his neighbours house. His tolerance for the spoiled girl who lived next door was already low. Throw in a collection of her teenaged friends and a DJ playing a high rotation of insufferable boy bands and the atmosphere was positively grating.
He had only been at the library for a mere ten minutes when his uncle had called and had demanded to catch up. He had been apprehensive at first, but had caved and had told his uncle to meet him at the university library. To his relief, the older man had willingly agreed to make the drive after citing the need to leave the confines of his house.
"I see that my old stomping ground hasn't changed much," drawled Edward, stepping from behind Hans and startling him.
Smirking, he turned to watch as his uncle lowered himself into the chair. "I see you found me," he stated.
"That I did, boy," Edward noted. "It's not hard to spot class amongst the riff-raff that they let into this university."
Hans chortled. "Trust me, Uncle. It is actually a lot worse during the normal school year. I have often questioned the sort of students that they accept. Some right thugs go here."
Edward nodded. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small silver flask and took a sip. "Speaking of fellow students, how is the situation with our Mr Frost and Miss Blanchard?" he asked. "Any progress?"
Hans smirked. Lifting his head, he caught his uncle's gaze. "Quite good actually. I'm glad you asked.
"After I took the photo's, I approached Elsa. I made sure to get to her after she had finished a shift at work and when she was alone. I gave her a few simple options. I told her that she could either force her sister to dump the loser she is with and come back to me, or that I'd show the photo's to her father. Of course, she never really had a choice. Well, needless to say, she was not happy. She got a bit defensive and I had to slap her to shut her up. Naturally, she ran to her boyfriend immediately after. However, this time, I was ready. I simply paid two of the university's most dimwitted thugs to help me beat Jack up. We managed to land him in hospital. Poor boy, he didn't stand a chance," he boasted.
"Keep going boy," Edward sneered. "What about Walt and North, do they know yet?"
Hans nodded. "Oh they know," he chuckled. "I sent the email to Daddy Blanchard earlier than they were expecting. From what I've overheard, it went down like this. Apparently dear Elsa had lied to her daddy about her whereabouts. After Jack got out the hospital, little Elsa ran running to his side to comfort him. So, when her dad got the email and flipped out, he went to find her. As luck would have it, he turned up on the North's doorstep and found her in a somewhat compromising position in Frost's bed. Needless to say, her daddy wasn't very happy and has grounded her. She's lost all her freedom. As far as I know, the only time they get to see each other is here at university."
His uncle grinned. "That girl can kiss her little relationship goodbye. Her father will never approve of it. Walt has always been the more cautious one. I dare say that if he had been the one lodging the money, I would not have been able to steal it so easily. North, on the other hand, has always been pathetically trusting. He always wants to see the good in others, always wants people to be his friend and always wants to -"
"I get it," he snapped, wincing slightly at the glare his uncle shot him. "What exactly is it you have planned, Uncle? You have already ruined their first business. How exactly do you intend to mess with them now?"
His uncle turned to stare at him. "That, my boy is going to take a bit of effort. We are going to have to step up the game. We need to simultaneously play on Walt's fears as well as becoming more proactive. I am going to need you to call on your talented little computer friend and see if he can help get us access into both Kingdom's and the Guardians' systems. Once we have access to their computers, we have control and they will be putty in our hands."
Fred let out a loud gasp as he hit stop on his phone's video camera.
He had spent the last two hours bent over the books in one of the university's library carrels. He had been about to pack up to leave when he had caught sight of Hans Westergaard lazing on a nearby chair with his phone pressed to his ear. From what Fred could figure out, Hans had been talking to someone about Jack and Elsa. Apparently, the topic of Jack and Elsa was so important that whomever Hans was talking to, was willing to make a trip into the university to discuss it further.
He had sighed and settled back into his chair. Hans had caused a lot of trouble for Jack and Elsa lately and he was willing to bet that whatever he had in mind, wasn't good. He had pulled out his hat and had placed it over his curly hair before sending a text to his girlfriend, telling her that he would be a bit longer and to not call him in the meantime.
He had not had to wait long. Less than fifteen minutes later, a tall, lanky man with dyed black hair had entered the library. After looking around, the man had found Hans and had taken the seat opposite him. Something about the man had given him a bad vibe. Carefully, he had pulled out his phone and had positioned it so that the camera lens was facing Hans and his accomplice and had hit record.
Shaking his head, he looked down at the video that he had captured. Hans and his accomplice had not stayed long, but their brief chat had managed to answer a few questions while raising even more. Keeping his head low, he watched as Hans stood up and left the library.
Pulling out his phone, he quickly dialled Lana's number. She had thought that something was sketchy with the way Hans seemed invested in Jack and Elsa's relationship and it turned out that she had been right. What's more, it seemed that not only had Hans been responsible for their friends' recent troubles, but his uncle had a long history of messing with Elsa's father and Jack's uncle.
Jack sighed. Flopping down on his bed, he pulled his laptop onto his lap and booted it up. He'd not long been home after having spent the morning working behind the counter of Guardians' flagship store.
He logged onto Facebook and noticed the new message alert. Clicking onto the message, he felt his spirit sinking slightly when he realised it wasn't from Elsa. Instead, it was a group message sent to him, Elsa, Lana and Jamie from Fred and contained a link to a private video that Fred had uploaded with the order to watch it as soon as possible.
Frowning, he had turned the sound up on his computer and had hit play. He frowned as the video played, showing Hans and an unknown man, who had been identified as Hans' uncle, discuss him and Elsa. According to the the man's own confession, he had played a major part in the downfall of his uncle and Walt Blanchard's first business. Now it appeared that he had even more more trouble planned for their families while his and Elsa's relationship was doomed to become a casualty in the process.
Closing the link, he let out a loud exhale which he followed with an even louder expletive. He had never felt more angry in his life. He needed to make sure that Elsa saw the video. Glancing at his watch, he noticed that it was 3pm. Elsa was not due to finish work for another few hours, which meant he would have to risk angering her father and contacting her while she worked. Picking up his phone, he dialled her mobile, but it went directly to voicemail. Reluctantly, he searched online for the phone number of Kingdom Ice Creamery headquarters. Taking a deep breath, he made the call and waited patiently while the receptionist transferred the call to Elsa.
He could hear the trepidation in her voice as she took the call. 'Jack, what are you doing? If my father finds out that you've called me here there will be trouble,' she whispered.
"I know, El, but please trust me on this. You need to check your Facebook. There is a message from Fred with a video link. It's to do with Hans. Apparently him and his uncle have played a major role in the mess between our families and they have more trouble planned. Please, babe, you need to see it now," he said. "Please, just trust me on this."
He heard her let out a small sigh. 'Okay, hold on,' she murmured.
He waited a few minutes while she pulled out her phone and logged onto Facebook.
'Jack!' she gasped. 'This is...we need to...'
"I know," he murmured. "That asshole and his uncle have some explaining to do. We have to get our families together, El. They need to know so that we can get to the bottom of this. I knew it, I bloody knew that my uncle was innocent."
'So what do we do now?' Elsa asked. 'Dad is in a meeting for the rest of the afternoon and I'm caught up with paperwork. It will have to wait until we get home when I can show it to both Mum and Dad.'
"Yeah that's fine, babe. I'm going to show it to Uncle Nick and Aunt Clara when they get home. I'll stay in touch and let you know what happens. I'll let you get back to work, I'm going to go have a shower. Love you," he said before hanging up the phone.
Biting her lip, Elsa grabbed her laptop and headed downstairs with the page open to the video that Fred had taken earlier.
She had pulled her mother aside not long after getting home and had showed her the video. Her mother had been shocked and had advised her to wait until after they had finished dinner to show her father.
"Dad," she called, stepping into the lounge room where her parents were seated. "I have something to show you. It's important."
She watched as her father turned to study her before closing his book. "Okay, go ahead," he urged.
Nodding, she moved to kneel beside her father's chair. She shot a look at her mum and watched as she reached to mute the TV volume. Carefully, she balanced the laptop on the armrest of her father's child and hit play on the video. Swallowing the lump that had formed, she watched as her father's jaw clenched while the video played out in front of him.
"Pitch," her father hissed, closing the laptop. "He's behind this. I should have known."
Frowning, she turned to study him. "Dad?"
She watched as her father stood to his feet, a look of determination on his face as he made his way towards the hallway. Pausing at the door, he turned to face her. "Elsa, do you know if Nick North has seen this?" he asked.
She nodded and pulled out her phone. "Jack's just shown him," she admitted. "The video was only taken this morning. It was Lana's boyfriend, Fred, who filmed them. He was studying in the library when Hans and this guy, his uncle, showed up."
"Do you have the North's phone number?" her father asked, reaching to grab the phone from its charger.
She nodded. She scrolled through her phone until she found Jack's home phone number. Handing the phone over, she watched as her dad punched the number in before leaving the room.
The presence of her mother's hand on her shoulder, startled her. Turning around, she caught her mum's gaze and nodded. Suddenly, she felt all the emotions begin to pour out of her as she burst into tears.
"Shh, shh, it's going to be okay," her mum soothed, pulling her into a hug. "This video raises a lot of questions as you know. We are going to have to work with the North's to make sense of it and that will require your father to bury the hatchet, but I can assure you that it will be okay."
She let out a soft sob. "Mum, don't you get it? We have been played. This guy, this 'Pitch' guy and Hans used us. They used Jack and I to mess with you and Dad as well as Jack's aunt and uncle. I mean, it looks like this guy was pretty much responsible for the first business failing and the whole Dad-hates-North thing that followed," she cried.
"He did and it does look bad, but look at it this way. At least now we can work on mending the broken relationships and getting some answers. I know that you've been hurt and believe me, I am furious that this guy deserved to use my daughter to mess with my husband, but at least this is a turn for the better," Lillian murmured, stroking a hand through her hair.
"Ahem," Walt interrupted, a stern look on his face. "Lillian, can you please go get some mugs out ready for guests? Nick and Clara are coming over. They'll be here in ten minutes."
She felt her mum let go of her as she excused herself and made her way into the kitchen.
Blinking, she turned to face her father as she dabbed at her eyes. She watched as her father let out a loud exhale before taking a few steps towards her. He hesitated for a few seconds before he wrapped his arms around her. "It seems that I was wrong, Elsa," he admitted. "According to this video, I have been wrong for years. We have a few things to sort out, answers to get and all that. It just...it seems to me that you and Jack became pawns in Pitch's sick game,"
Sniffing, she pulled out of his grip to face him. "I...are...you…" she stammered.
Her father let out a sigh. "Pitch is a guy that North and I know. We had a history and it wasn't a pleasant one. In short, he was jealous of us. Now it appears that we have all been fooled. Apparently, I was wrong about North and quite possibly about Jack," he began. "Not that you didn't do the wrong thing in lying about your whereabouts and sneaking around."
"Dad, what do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head.
They were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing.
"I mean, that your boyfriend is here," he answered sternly. "Not that I'm promising anything, but your mother has been on at me to give you and the boy a chance to explain yourselves. I just want you to know that I'm not accepting anything, I'm simply going to have a talk with his uncle. There is so much to discuss with North as well as you, your Mum and your sister. It's going to involve honesty from all of us."
She nodded, barely managing to hide the smile that had started to form on her face. She quickly dabbed at the last of the tears while her mother brushed past them to open the front door. Blushing, she moved to follow her father and watched as Nick and Clara North stepped into the house with Jack at their heels.
Jack grinned. Turning his head, he caught sight of Elsa standing bashfully behind her father with a wide smile on her face.
He had only just shown his uncle and aunt the video when Walt Blanchard had called. He'd watched with interest as his uncle had broken into a wide grin. Hanging up the phone, he had announced to all that were present that things had finally taken a turn for the better and that they had to go to the Blanchard's house.
The short drive to the Blanchard house had been quiet. Jack had known that his uncle was nervous. As Hans' uncle had admitted on the video, his uncle had always been keen to see the good in people. The fact that he had been fooled and in doing so had lost his livelihood and his best friend had hurt him. Especially, as he had claimed to have always been willing to give the man they had dubbed 'Pitch' the benefit of the doubt.
"So, we should...we should head to the kitchen," Walt Blanchard said, breaking through the silence. "Lillian has put the kettle on."
Jack watched as his uncle and aunt nodded and turned to follow Walt Blanchard into the family's kitchen. Reaching out, he grabbed hold of Elsa's hand and gave it a light squeeze before following her into the kitchen.
Walt beckoned to the kitchen table where a plate of cookies had been set out and invited them to take a seat before taking a chair at the head of the table. Gulping, he watched as his aunt and uncle took a seat opposite Walt.
"Jack, you can take a seat next to Elsa," Walt ordered, pointing to two vacant seats.
He nodded. Slowly, he pulled the chair out for Elsa and waited for her to sit down before taking his own seat. He dropped his hand down to take hold of Elsa's.
They sat in an awkward silence for a while as the kettle boiled. He watched as Lillian Blanchard excused herself to pour the coffee's. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Anna as she made her way towards the kitchen. He stifled a laugh as she caught sight of her father's grim expression before she decided against it and fled the other way.
North cleared his throat and turned to face Walt. "So, it looks like we need to consider hiring lawyers and getting in contact with Edward Black Jr."
Walt nodded. He swallowed a sip of his coffee before letting out a sigh. "I was wrong," he whispered, shaking his head. "We lost everything, North. We lost our business and our friendship. Yet that still wasn't enough because Pitch and his little shit of a nephew decided to set out to mess with my daughters and your nephew."
North frowned. Leaning over, he grabbed his former friends hand. "Walt, my friend. The good thing about losing things is that sometimes, if you look hard enough, they can be found again. Now, I'm not saying that things will go back to how they used to be. I think we need to find Pitch and get in contact with our lawyers first, but if you want, we can move past this and try to repair what was broken," he said.
He watched as Elsa's dad rose from his chair and beckoned for his uncle to follow him. Beside him, he felt Elsa let out a sigh before she dropped her head to rest on his shoulder. Looking up, he noticed Lillian Blanchard and his aunt exchange a knowing smile before they stood up and excused themselves.
Smirking, he stood to his feet. "So, does this mean that your dad is okay with us?" he asked.
Elsa smiled as she got to her feet. "It means, that he's had a nasty shock and realised that he has been fooled. My dad is stubborn, but this is a positive step for him. It will take him a while. I think he wants to speak to Pitch and his lawyers. Though, he did say that he's not accepting anything, but he would talk to your uncle and you."
Grinning, he reached out to pull Elsa into his arms. His arms wrapped tightly around her back while she wrapped her arms around his neck. Leaning in, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
Breaking the kiss, he tightened his grip on her. He watched as she moved to rest her head against his chest. "This is a good sign, El," he whispered, stroking a hand through her hair. "Things are going to get better. I can feel it."