I can't believe I'm gonna do this chapter! 3 It's PARTY TIME~!

I do NOT own Tangled, ROTG, brands/companies and the like mentioned in this fic.


Chapter 9: The Party Part 1

Jack and Rapunzel ate lunch in a nearby restaurant. They talked about the party.

"How am I going to be there? I'm not a student yet." Jack said, looking at her. He already finished his lunch.

Rapunzel placed down her spoon on her plate and looked at him, "Oh yeah…" she said. It made her disappointed for a second but an idea struck her. Her expression brightened, "Why not fly to the school? I'll bring your clothes and you can change in the men's room!"

It made him smile. He was relieved that he could go to the school party because he really wanted to see what she was going to dance. But there was a question lingering in his mind. "Clothes?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yeah. It's a party but we chose to wear formal clothes so it's like a Christmas party-prom." She smiled then continued eating. He was only able to let out an, "Oh," as he looked down to his plate. It was going to be his first time wearing formal clothes, ever. He was nervous and excited at the same time to wear a coat-and-tie but he was more excited on seeing her dance. He wondered if it was something up-beat or something slow; if it was a kind of 1900's dance or pop. The curiosity made him insane that he wished it was already the next day. He sighed impatiently and scratched his head, trying to control his irritation so Rapunzel wouldn't notice him, but she saw him.

"Anything wrong?" she asked. He looked at her already empty plate then at her eyes and shook his head, "I'm so full." He lied. He didn't want to tell her how much he was anticipating to see her dance. He really wanted to!

Rapunzel got her wallet and left a tip on the table, "Let's go home."

They went home. The two of them changed and watched The Avengers in the living room. Rapunzel was sitting on the sofa with her legs folded as she leaned her weight against the arm rest. Her pose made her look like a mermaid while Jack was sitting on the floor, leaning his back on the couch with his legs spread across the floor. In the middle of watching the final fight scene, Rapunzel's phone rang. She didn't pause the movie so Jack could continue to watch while she was talking on her phone. She answered it.

"Punz, I need your help!" it was Clarence. He sounded troubled.

"Huh? Why? What's wrong?" she asked, confusion obvious in her tone. Jack looked at her, not minding that the movie was still going.

Clarence sighed, "I still don't have a gift for Jenny."

She chuckled, "You know, she appreciates anything you give her."

"I know," he sounded a bit sad, "But this time, I want to get her something she really wants."

She looked at the t.v., "Why not make her a small cake?"

"But that's what you can give. I can't do that!"

His frantic and panicking tone made her laugh, "Then sing something to her! That's something you can do."

He was silent for a while but he agreed, "Yeah. I guess I could do that…" he said and was quiet again, "Thanks for the idea, Punzie! You're awesome!" he said happily and it made her smile, "No problem." And with that, she ended the call.

Jack stared still at her, "Who was that?"

"Clarence." She smiled at him.

He turned his head to face the t.v. He seemed to relax more knowing that it was the guy he met earlier in CU. For a minute there, he thought it was that blue-haired guy.

Now that I think about it…, he thought and looked at her, "Who was that guy with blue hair earlier?"

"Hm? Jonathan?"

His expression seemed like he cared less, "Who's he?" he asked, trying not sound an overprotective friend. FRIEND.

"My dance partner."

Jack felt his right brow twitch after hearing the word 'partner'. "Okay." He said with coldness lingering in his voice. He faced the t.v. and glared aimlessly at it. The way that guy looks at her made his blood boil to his head. Just remembering the moment he saw him hug her made him want to transform into a winter spirit, go back in time and freeze him away from her. Jack clenched his fist. He was annoyed, irritated and mad all at the same time until his conscience knocked on his head.

Dude, you're jealous, his conscience told him but he denied it. He could hear his conscience scoff at him, Sure, it said with sarcasm, You're obviously jealous, man, it added but again, he denied the argument against him.

Then why are you so overprotective? Just because she doesn't notice doesn't mean you're not.

He frowned at himself. If his conscience was solid, he would've strangled it to death by now.

Admit it. You have a crush on her.

He growled as quietly as he could so Rapunzel wouldn't notice. He was still at war with his conscience and denied the accusation.

Then why do you hold your breath every single time she smiled at you? Why do you want to see her dance? Why are you jealous of Jonathan? Why do you get offended when someone insults her? Why do you long to be with her when you were back at North Pole?

He couldn't answer his conscience. He sighed with exasperation and dismissed his conscience. A part of him wanted to deny his conscience but the other wanted to admit defeat and say 'Yes, I like her' but his oblivious and naïve side got the best of him. He ignored his inner feelings and looked at her because the movie was already done. He decided to spend the rest of the day making trouble to other people as a winter spirit so his mind would be occupied by anything but accusations to himself.

Meanwhile, Rapunzel thought it was something she did or said that made him leave. She sighed at herself, nodded at him and decided to continue sewing accessories to her dress. It took her another two hours to attach the added accessories. She looked at her masterpiece. The dress was one-shoulder-trail dress. The front was shorter and the back was longer. Sequence were scattered at the bottom end of the dress, going up. She thought that having more sequence at the bottom and fewer at the top made it seem like there were pearls dispersing into her dress. She decided to attach a fishnet material as the shoulder strap and sewed more sequence on the strap and made the same design as the bottom end of the dress.

Rapunzel smiled at her work. She planned to wear a different dress for the dance number and the party itself but seeing her work made her want to wear the creation she made the entire duration of the party. She was nervous about the dance number. She inhaled and exhaled, "You can do it, Punz!" she encouraged herself. Then she went to try the dress she made and got a pair of heels with diamonds attached on the straps from her mother's closet. As soon as she finished dressing up, she stood in front of her bedroom mirror and looked at herself. The hair, she thought and grabbed a transparent hair tie and tied her hair loosely to the side, just below her ear and rested it over her shoulder without the strap. She smiled at the look and grabbed a clip-on white rose and attached it to her hair. Her smile drew wider and changed quickly, fearing that Jack might see her and spoil half of her 'secret'.

Jack came home by dinner time and they converse throughout the course of their meal. Rapunzel was smiling the entire night and to him, she looked pretty. He wondered if she was going to be even prettier the next day. He shook his head and smirked, Of course she will be! He thought. After all, if she was pretty even when there's no occasion, she'd be a whole lot prettier if there was a special occasion. The two of them went to bed after dinner but they weren't able to sleep until an hour or so. They were both so excited about what was going to happen in the morning.

The next day, the two of them planned to get their clothes from the laundry store before preparing for the big party. By 11 a.m., Rapunzel washed her father's coat and tie, dried the outfit immediately and ironed it while Jack was thinking of how he was going to get there and where he was going to hide his staff. He thought that he should land himself in some trees near the football field and hide his staff in the bushes. He inhaled, I hope no one sees it, he thought to himself. He looked at the wall clock just above the t.v. set. It was already 2 p.m. He rushed to her room.

"It's already 2 p.m.!" he said loudly. She was already hanging his clothes on a small clothing rack.

Rapunzel turned to him with shock, "It's that time already? I'll go take a shower." She said, grabbing her bathrobe and towel. He was panicking a bit because he didn't know what to do. He thought of preparing himself but he didn't know what to prepare. He checked the clothes, the shoes and everything else he needed and since all of it were already prepared, he decided to sit outside of her room. He sat on the floor and leaned against the wall. He breathed heavily. He was nervous. So nervous that he was almost panting as if he was a father-to-be just waiting for his laboring wife in the hospital corridor.

"Jack?" Rapunzel called. She was done taking a bath.

He immediately stood up and opened the door. He saw her wearing a violet bathrobe with her hair wrapped with a violet towel. His cheeks turned red and he turned away, trying to hide his blush, "I'm sorry…" he swallowed. "I-I'll go take a shower a now." He mumbled, got his own towel and went to the bathroom without looking at her. He shut the door firmly and locked it.

Rapunzel was just as shocked as he was. She wore her undergarments and wore the bathrobe back on and applied a thin layer of blush-on on her cheeks; a bit of silver eye shadow; black and silver eye-liner around her eyes; mascara and pink lipstick under a coat of lip gloss. Jack was finished taking a shower and opened the door a bit to slip out his hand and grab his undergarments. The two of them were so busy with dressing up and making themselves look good that they didn't notice it was already 4 p.m. Jack was dressing up in her parents' bedroom. He took a while on trying to figure out how to do the necktie but he gave up when his patience was at the verge of snapping. He went and knocked on her door.

"Goldilocks, I don't know how to tie this thing." He frowned as he gripped on the necktie hanging over his shoulders.

"Just a sec!" Rapunzel said loudly, hurrying up from wearing a trench coat to hide her dress. She wanted to surprise him.

Jack was still frowning because the bloody necktie was just so hard to arrange. He muttered curses about the thing and the one who ever invented the blasted strip of cloth. When the door opened, his heart skipped a beat but eventually ached because she was wearing a trench coat. She looked up at him and giggled at his expression.

"Let me fix it for you." She said as she folded and turned the necktie under the white polo's collar. When she was done, she scanned him from head to toe.

He looks quite dashing, she thought.

He was wearing a black coat and pants, white polo, black leather shoes and a necktie with diagonal thin black and silver stripes. She grinned up at him and he raised a brow at her.

"What?" he asked.

She shook her head, "Nothing. I'll just get my bag." She went inside her room and grabbed her fancy shoulder bag.

Jack assisted her until she got a cab but he worried about her. What if the driver can't be trusted?, he thought so he decided to ride the cab with her. Rapunzel was confused. She thought he was going to fly his way to the field.

"Jack, what are you doing?" she said as she scooted to the side.

"I'm coming with you." He said plainly.

"Aren't you going to…" she trailed off, not saying everything because the driver might hear them.

"I know. Just…" he looked at his hands, "Nevermind. I'll find a way to get in."

When they got to Corona University, it was already 5 p.m., just in time for the start. They went to the field and saw that sky-lights, balloons and ribbons were added to the designs. They were both mesmerized. There were so many people. The young teachers almost looked like students because of their outfits. Rapunzel saw her friends and waved at them.

"Clarence! Jenny!" she waved at them. The couple waved and went to them.

Clarence was wearing a grey colored suit while Jenny wore a red chiffon dress and tied her hair into a bun. They both scanned the two and smiled. It wasn't their clothes but the way they were standing close to each other. They noticed how Rapunzel held his arm by his elbows and Jack had one hand in his pocket.

"You two look nice." Jenny smiled sweetly.

Rapunzel smiled back, "You two look cute!"

Clarence laughed, "I know right?" he grinned at her then looked at Jack, "So, Jack, did she force you to come here?"

Jack smirked, looked at Rapunzel then at Clarence, "Sort of. She wouldn't show me her dress and their dance unless I came."

Rapunzel looked at him and puffed her cheeks, "What's that supposed to mean? I merely saved your surprise!" she said.

"Aww, Punz, he was just excited." Clarence poked her cheek. Jack's eyes widened a bit and looked away, blushing a bit. He avoided eye contact with Rapunzel, "Y-yeah…" he murmured.

"See? Cheer up! You don't want your night ruined before it has even started." The black haired boy grinned at her. "Well, we'll be going now." He said and looked at Jack again, "Have fun!" he said. He and Jenny waved goodbye and disappeared into the crowd.

Jack and Rapunzel decided to sit down by the table near the corner of the tent. For Jack, it was one of the most un-easiest moments of his life. Whenever girls passed by, they stared at him and it made him stiff. He looked at Rapunzel who was talking to some friends on the table beside theirs. He guessed they were her club mates so he didn't bother her. Then, Toni came to their table and asked if she could borrow Rapunzel for a bit. He nodded.

"Jack, can you please hold on to my bag? I'll be back." She said and left her bag in his hands.

His eyes followed her but then, he saw a certain blue-haired guy going the same direction as hers. Jonathan, he glared at the boy. He stood up, with Rapunzel's bag in his hands, and followed them. But unfortunately, girls blocked his path. They kept on asking for his name, number and if he has a date. He didn't know what to do. They were all over him. But thankfully, Duchess and Moira were there. They divided the girls and pushed Jack away from them.

"Sorry, girls. He's with Rapunzel." Duchess said as she pushed Jack but he wouldn't budge. She frowned, "Come on, man! Move!" she said.

Moira poked his arm, "Don't you want to see Rapunzel's dance number?"

Duchess was still doing her best to push Jack and when he took a step, she almost fell. He walked instinctively to the middle of the crowd and the two girls just followed him. There were students and teachers asking them to give some room for the dancers. The host and hostess greeted them.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" they said. "Welcome to the campus-wide Christmas party!"

The hostess smiled, "Tonight, we'll start off with the dancers. And we'll start with a sexy Tango."

"Ooh, Tango," the host commented as he grinned at the hostess.

"Yes, Sir Logan! And the first pair to dance on the floor is Jonathan, Rapunzel and Mariah!"

The crowd screamed, shout and chanted their name.

Jack turned to look at where the spotlights were set and saw Rapunzel at one side and Jonathan at the other. The music was played—it was "Bust Your Windows" by Jazmine Sullivan. The girls shrieked and squealed while the boys screamed. He saw them starting to walk to the middle slowly, Tango obviously visible in their body movement. The sight of Rapunzel made Jack gape at her. She was so stunning. Her self-made dress was remarkable. The back of her dressed flowed smoothly with her every move, as did the tips of her long hair. His "anger" towards Jonathan faded for a while. He saw the way she moved her body—how her head turned in a snappy yet elegant way; how she made every step fiercely yet gracefully and her hand movements were just perfect.

When Jonathan spun her around, Jack felt his heart leap. In the dance, when the chorus was sung the second time around, another girl joined. Jonathan and Mariah were the ones dancing together now and Rapunzel was dancing alone. Jack realized that Rapunzel was the one who was cheated on… in the dance at least. He saw her join the pair by dancing behind Jonathan, doing the same steps as he as if she was asking for a second chance. It made everyone cheer for them, except Jack who was still staring at her magnificent figure.

Rapunzel detached herself from Jonathan and did a solo dance on the other side again, this time, dancing which looked like she was in pain. Then, when the pair was dancing near her, she joined again—this time, behind Mariah and imitating her steps. After the chorus, Jonathan spun Mariah away and Rapunzel made it look like she took that chance to dance with him again. The two of them danced but Jonathan looked like he was trying to avoid and stop dancing with her but she kept on insisting. The dance felt so real that Jack thought everything he was seeing was for real—Rapunzel was still after Jonathan even after he cheated. Jack was still in state of awe until the end. The song ended with Jonathan spinning the two girls towards him.

Everyone clapped—some cheered and some whistled. The dancers bowed and went backstage.

Jack stared at the direction where they went. He inhaled and exhaled through his mouth. He still couldn't believe his eyes. His heartbeat was fast. He swallowed at touched his chest with his right hand and looked at it.

What is this feeling?

End of Chapter


I was so pumped up doing this chapter, especially the dance! XD I hope you liked this chapter :3

Questions, reviews and the like are welcome!