A/n: Ahhh sorry for the slight delay... I've been really busy and stressed lately so i was a little slow but hey! The chapter is done! Hooray!
The day went and passed mostly stress-free. The morning came and went in the blur of videogaming, the afternoon passed more slowly when they took a walk to the park.
The cold of the winter air hit their faces as they walked over a decent amount of snow that had fallen in the night. The snow was powdery, almost looking like someone dumped powdered sugar everywhere and claimed it had fallen from the sky.
Punzie had convinced them that they all needed to get fresh air, despite it being frigid outside, but they had all agreed, all feeling a little cooped up and stiff.
The park was white with a slight sparkle of the sun glinting off the undisturbed surface. The leafless trees and bushes of the park donned white branches, icicles glinted like small crystals on the flora.
Jack, wearing his usual blue hoodie with torn pants and sneakers, looked at the snow in delight. He was always one for the winter season. If only this snow was more compact and malleable, then we could really have a snowball fight.
The four of them trudged on to the fountain landmark through the powder, Merida dragging a sled and Hiccup dragging another three, scavenged from the depths of Hiccups basement.
As Hiccup and Merida were busy discussing school, a hand tugged lightly on the back of Jack's hoodie. Turning to see the owner of the hand, he was met with a cold-bitten face and green eyes. "Aren't you cold?" Rapunzel gestured towards his thin jacket and his torn pants, her voice somewhat muffled by the light purple scarf that hid her lips and nose from the cold.
"Nope. Don't worry, I can stand the cold pretty well." He answered, but not without noticing what Punzie was wearing: jeans and a jacket that would only really be useful if it was 20 degrees warmer. But what worried him most was that they were both made of cotton. "But what about you, Punzie? Haven't you heard the phrase 'cotton kills'?"
She looked down on herself worriedly, examining her clothing of choice. "Wait, what does that mean?" She looked back up to Jack, eagerly waiting for the answer to the morbid saying.
He had to try not to laugh at the expecting face she gave him, but he couldn't help the wide grin on his face that replaced his suppressed laughter. "Cotton is a good water absorber, right? When snow melts into cotton clothes on a cold day like this, it can turn into ice, and you can get hypothermia if that happens."
She fell silent, contemplating his words and looking down at herself. After several steps, she looked back at him, her eyes narrowing. "What about you, then? You're wearing nothing but cotton, too." She tugged lightly on his jacket again.
"Touché." Jack replied, smiling at her examination. At his reply, the fountain came into view. If it wasn't for the slightly bluer shade of white of icicles that hung on the triple-tiered fountain, it would have almost disappeared in the white hillside behind it.
"Last one to the top has to drag all the sleds back!" Merida bolted to the hillside with Hiccup close on her heels, the sled she drug smacking into the back of Jack's leg on accident, causing him to stumble slightly and loosing precious seconds.
Rapunzel dashed after the two already climbing the hill, laughing and leaving Jack behind.
"Hey! You did that on purpose, Red-Head!" And he took off after them, easily catching up to Rapunzel half-way up.
Passing Rapunzel, he reached the top of the hill, his tan pants having turned white with snow. He snatched a sled that had been discarded and threw it down in front of him. Running, he jumped onto it, the forward momentum speeding him down the hill at surprising speeds.
Walking back up, sledding back down, walking back up, and sledding back down again and again until the sun was touching the tips of the tall pines.
As Jack was ready to go down once again- this time standing on the sled to surf down- he watched in horror as Rapunzel, with her golden hair billowing out behind her, couldn't turn away from the large structure of the fountain at the bottom of the hill.
She hit the fountain base at an angle, and it sent her side and back into the rim of the fountain, her head seemed to hit as well.
"No, Rapunzel!" Jack yelled as he forgot the sled, racing down the hill to get to her. Merida and Hiccup were both running towards her as well, but Jack had already reached her, turning her face towards him. She seemed almost asleep.
Fearing the worst, he unzipped her jacket and placed his ear above her heart.
It was a moment until he heard the gentle beating. Sighing in relief, he soaked in the warmth that radiated from her body, relief flooding his senses. Merida and Hiccup soon came up to the two of them, panic rolling off of them in waves.
"Is Punzie okay?" Two voices synchronised.
"Yeah, she's okay." Jack lifted his head, glancing up at her face. The moment his gaze landed on her eyes, they fluttered open.
"What happened?" Her wide eyes met his for a second before they flicked over to Hiccup's and Merida's.
"That's what I was going to ask you." Jack chuckled out. A breath of relief followed.
"I'll tell you this: I'm not doing that again." Punzie sat up, her hand going up to clasp the back of her head.
"Are you sure you're okay, Punzie?" Merida kneeled beside her, looking at the spot her hand lay.
"Yeah. Don't worry, I'm fine!" She waved off Merida, but held onto Jack's hand as she stood up, slightly wavering.
"Don't strain yourself, blondie. Take it slow if you need to." Jack latched his arm around her waist as she stepped towards her sled, which had slid a bit farther from the crash site.
"I'm okay, really! Don't worry about me." Her gentle smile melted away his worry. It was so sincere, teeth just as white as the snow around them, lips still that same attractive pink, despite the cold.
He could feel a new blush replace the flush he received from the cold, and he looked down at the snow in embarrassment. She looks really pretty… I haven't really noticed before. She's my friend, and I always knew she was pretty, but why am I embarrassed about thinking about it? So caught up in his own thoughts, he almost missed Rapunzel's question.
"Are you okay, Jack? Your cheeks look really red." His eyes shot back up to hers. Green eyes looked back intently at his blue ones. They remind me of springtime…
"You're cold, aren't you?" He watched surprised as she stepped away from his grasp, hands pulling at her scarf. "That's kind of ironic, don't you think? You warned me about cotton making you cold, and here you are." She wrapped her scarf around his neck and chin. Her smell invaded his senses: chocolate and a light floral smell he couldn't quite identify.
"Better?" Her face lit up as she looked at him in her scarf, a sweet smile tracing her lips. She's so cute! Another flush reached his face. Nodding once, he bashfully buried his face into the scarf in an attempt to hide his blush. What am I doing? Why is everything she does so damn cute!
During their slow trudge home, Jack dragging the four sleds, he attempted to figure out what was going on. However, every time he reached a conclusion, he received the same results: he was falling for her.
A/N: And so ensues the awkward moments between teens in love...