Hey nerds, I'm so sorry I didn't post last Tuesday! SO so so so so sooooo sorry... Which is why I'm posting this as soon as I finished it instead of waiting for next tuesday :D More bad news: I'm probably just going to post whenever I finish the chapters instead of having a regular day, because the next four weeks are insane. I can't promise that it will be every week... Once I get home and things settle down, I'll have more time to write, and I will find a day, or maybe even two, that I post. BUTTTT sadly, this story will be wrapping up soon-ish. Don't worry, I will finish all the dance crew stuff (hmmm... how far will they go...) and I still have some couples to get together ;) I have a couple ideas for new stories, but as I already have another story (anyone a Fairy Tail fan?) going, I'm gonna wait to start those.

Brace yourselves for some Elsa backstory and Mericcup fluff :D

Disclaimer: I don't own anything... yet... ;D

Elsa grinned across the table at her friends. Meg was talking and laughing with Giselle about how she kicked the guys' butts in their hip-hop dance, Marty and Timon were raving about how Simba took home first place in the freestyle hip-hop, and Ariel was telling Vanessa about how surprised she was placing fourth in her contemporary solo when she thought there were so many better dancers than her. After a full day of dancing, they had managed to put themselves in third place overall! And the big group performance – the full group routine - had been the best performances, ever.

Jack, Puss, and Simba walked into the room from the kitchen, bearing drinks for everyone and chatting about Jack and Elsa taking second in the waltz. Elsa blushed and looked down as Jack raved about her; she still felt uncomfortable showing that much emotion on stage.

This whole thing was unreal to her. She looked back at the beginning of the semester; she had never been this close with her best friends, was still on rough waters with her sister, and buried herself in her schoolwork. She had forgotten why she danced and had thrown up a wall to keep herself safe.

But Jack had changed all that.

He had teased, poked, and prodded his way into her heart, showing her that she could let her emotions out. Her dancing had changed dramatically; she was now less afraid to really dance for people and she was learning so much. Elsa was dramatically closer to everyone, had made new best friends in Jack's roommates, and had found a family within the crew. She had finally learned how to release her emotions and depend on other people.

Sure, nothing was perfect. She still struggled from time-to-time, but she knew she could lean on Jack for support.

My parents would have loved him.

Immediately, she stiffened at the foreign thought, her eyes growing wide. She hadn't thought about her parents in a while.

Jack set a soda down in front of Elsa and threw his arm around her, still talking to the guys. He felt her stiffened body and turned, seeing her dark and fearful eyes. Something was wrong.

Elsa took her soda, and with a mumbled excuse of being tired, slipped off to the bedroom.

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Buzz, Buzz

Buzz, buzz

Elsa pried her eyes open to glare at the vibrating phone laying on the side table by her bed. She dared it to buzz again and then closed her eyes once more.

Buzz, buzz

"What the hell," she whispered as she snatched it, being careful not to wake a sleeping Meg beside her. She unlocked her phone and saw no less than twelve text messages from none other than Jack.

Groaning, quietly, she slipped out of bed and then made her way into the living room and to the door. Flinging it wide open, she glared at the smirking boy standing behind it.

"This better be good, you woke me up." Her look could freeze anything.

Jack's smirk melted off his face, leaving a concerned look. He took two steps forward and enfolded the stiffened girl into his arms. Elsa sighed and then melted into his embrace.

He planted a kiss on her hair and then he murmured, "Tell me what happened earlier, love."

Elsa started trembling in his embrace, but shook her head no.

"Elsa, you can't just bottle it up. Please tell me what's wrong." He reached past her to prop the door open with the bolt, and then pulled her two steps down the hallway and sunk against the wall, pulling the trembling girl into his lap.

She shook her head no again, but allowed herself to be held.

"Are you nervous? Is this too much for you? Did something happen with Anna? Please let me help you. I just want you to be better." His hand was stroking her hair and he kissed her forehead as though he could kiss away her pain.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Merida smiled up at Hiccup and then burrowed herself further into both his chest and the covers of her bed. She loved these moments after a long day, where she and Hiccup fell into her bed, sometimes kissing as though it was their last, sometimes talking late into the night, and sometimes, like today, just cuddling. They had fallen into a routine. During the day, they would pretend as though everything was normal, with Hiccup pining and Merida teasing, and the nights were full of cuddles, kisses, and caresses.

She wondered if he wanted to show the world their relationship. She didn't even know if there was a relationship. Were they dating? Were they friends with benefits? She knew that he would be hers in a heartbeat, and all she had to do was ask. She knew that he was waiting for her to be comfortable, because she had expressed before they had became whatever they were that she didn't want a boyfriend.

Did she want a boyfriend?

The question was more: did she want Hiccup to be her boyfriend?

What even is a boyfriend? Someone to spend time with and to depend on when times were tough. Someone to share both the happy and sad moments of life. Someone to create memories with. Someone to hold her during cold nights and tell her she was wonderful. Someone to love.

Hiccup was already all these things; he spent every moment she allowed with her, he was always there for her, he was her best friend.

The question was, did she love him?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"My parents," she finally murmured into his neck.

Jack just held her silently, allowing Elsa to talk at her own speed.

She took a shuttering breath, "My parents died the summer right before my Senior year. Their gone, Jack. Their gone." Sobs racked her body.

One of his hands was rubbing soothing circles on her back and the other was smoothing her hair. "Elsa…"

"It was a ship. They went on a ship. They were going on a cruise across the Atlantic and were going to meet us in England to look at a school for me. Anna and I were flying out two weeks later and meet them there." Her voice was shaking, but the words tumbled out.

"Then it was gone. The ship was lost. They lost all connection with it. They sent other ships and helicopters, but they didn't find them. There was a storm. A really bad storm. The last connection they had was a worried signal."

"They're gone Jack… They are gone…" Sobs shook her body again, as she buried her face further in Jack's neck, as though trying to gather comfort from there.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Merida stiffened at the thought, causing Hiccup to look down at her.

She could feel his voice vibrating in his chest underneath her head, "Is everything okay Merida?"

"Um, yea."

He sat up, causing her to slide off his chest and back onto the bed. Looking down at her, he raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? That wasn't super convincing."

Merida huffed in frustration. He wasn't supposed to be able to tell when she was lying.

"Come on Merida, a penny for your thoughts?" His fingers found hers, and he started running two fingers up and down her palm, causing distracting shivers to run down her skin.

"I was just thinking."

"About . . . " he prodded.

"Us."

Hiccup breathed in sharply, a worried glance flashing over his eyes and his fingers halted on her hand. "What about us?"

"Well, what are we, Hiccup? Are we just friends with benefits? Or are we secretly dating? Should we openly date?"

Hiccup took what looked like to be a deep sigh of relief and scooped her back into his arms. "God, Merida. You had me scared that you didn't like me anymore." He nuzzled into her and planted a tender kiss on her cheek.

"You didn't answer any of my questions, insecure boy," Merida grumbled, pretending the affection didn't make her as happy as it did.

Hiccup pulled back a little and looked into her eyes. "Please know that I am just thrilled that you have some sort of feelings for me. As much as I would love to shout it from the rooftops that we have a relationship beyond friendship, I really just want you to be comfortable. If you want to date, but date secretly, that's okay. Just know that it will come out sooner or later. But if you want to date openly, then I would love that as well." His grin split his face at the thought. "If you just want to be friends, then I'm willing to do that. But then the kisses and cuddles would probably stop; I don't want to be friends with benefits. I don't think I can handle holding you every day and know that you don't return my feelings. Because you know how much I adore and like you."

Merida squirmed under his intense gaze, "I don't want to be friends with benefits either. I do have feelings for you, Hiccup." She blushed, mad at herself for being a coward around him, and buried her face in his chest. She could just sense Hiccup's face-splitting grin. Her breath tickled his chest as she murmured, "It's so weird to actually admit that."

Hiccup leaned down, pulling her face from his chest and leaned his face right over hers. "I'm so glad you did," he grinned and then bent down to kiss her deeply.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Elsa…" He tried to hold her closer, tried to take some of her pain away.

"And it's my fault, Jack."

He sharply pulled her away from him, startling her. He put her at arm's length, staring intently into her eyes. "Don't ever say that, Elsa. Don't say that. You can't blame yourself. It's not your fault." His fingers found her chin, turning her face up to his. "You had no way of knowing that they were going to hit a storm, or that the storm was going to be bad enough that the ship's crew couldn't handle it. It's not your fault love, stop blaming yourself."

Elsa turned her face to the side, refusing to look him in the eye. "But it is . . . If I hadn't of wanted to look at that school, or insisted that we would be fine without them so they could go on the trip . . . "

"Elsa," his finger sound her chin again, forcing her to look at him. "Your parents wouldn't have wanted you to blame yourself. They would have wanted you to keep living, to keep feeling, to keep dancing. They would want you to love on your sister, love on yourself, and live life to the fullest."

He pulled her back into his chest and her face found its familiar place in his neck, her breath tickling his skin. "Elsa, love, they would be so proud of you."

And now we know why Elsa does what she did... Things will go more in depth next chapter. I just couldn't put too much angst in one chapter! I hope you enjoyed.

Thank you all for the super supportive reviews, and for those who just started reading! I love getting follows and favorites even this late in the story. Thank you :D

Sorry for not responding to Reviews last chapter... I was exhausted. But I will today :D

Manyotpsforlife: Thank you for always making me laugh :D

SureSnowflake: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoy it this much :D

OoPoPcAnDy: I had soooo much fun with that paper... *sarcasm* But there are some coming up that I really don't mind :D Thanks for the encouragement

Randompe... no Reggieburns (;D): I would have known your style anywhere, no matter your psuedo ;) And know that I'm always open to ideas! Whether or not I decide to use all, some, or none of it is up to me and my plans for the story. I'd love to hear it! Just can't promise that it will actually happen. Though, I could always write a separate one-shot or something ;D Please do tell me! Siren, out

RasberryCheeseCake: I'm so glad you are enjoying my story :D I'm sorry I don't update super often (that's 21 units at college and two jobs for ya...) but I wish I could. Please know that I won't ever ditch my story and will keep writing! Just maybe not super fast...

disneyobsessionist: I'm glad you like the long stories :D And I'm glad you are staying alive! Maybe I'm not the best lifeline... Thank you :D I love the encouragement. And I'm not sure on the kissing thing... Personally, I think that it is unessary in dance unless it really tells part of the feelings and emotions. I have no idea about the docking thing though...

ElsaWilson: I'm so glad you love it! And i'm glad that it's super relatable :D Thank you for reviewing!

JessicaXjoe: Thank you so much, and that means so much to me. I wanted to capture the fun side of her we see in the movie, and how free she can truely be when she lets her emotions out. I'm glad that it's coming across and that you are enjoying it!

Goudel Princess: Thank you so much :D There will be more dances soon, I promise. (P.S. Thanks for PMing me and chatting with me about FairyTail! I really enjoyed talking to you)

DJMirnum: Thank you for reviewing! And I hope my PM explained everything :D Let me know if you have more questions! And also, if you caught any mistakes or anything in your second reading, please PM me and let me know... I'll fix them :D

NAndM: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I don't plan on Hans returning, but thank you for the suggestion. Honestly, the action in this fic takes the backseat to the emotional parts and romance. Sorry to disapoint...

BooksMusic: :D I love Rapunzel as a matchmaker. I think it's so great. And I'm sorry I don't update super often... I know the feeling of wanting to read the next chapter. Thank you for the encouragement! And I do encourage you to learn to dance! Either look for lessons, or youtube is fantastic. Also, I learned a lot of ballroom stuff from asking friends. Stay yourself! ;)

Frostbite: Thank you so much, I thought they went well together too :D

Have a lovely week friends and I hope to update asap! Thank you all for reading!

xoxoxoxo,

Siren