Jack glanced at his watch in anticipation. He was eager for the lesson to end and for the lunch break to begin. In the two weeks since he had met Elsa, the lunch period had become more enjoyable. They had spent every break outside under the tree chatting. Having a friend to talk too had made the days slightly more bearable, even if he didn't share any classes with her.

He let out a sigh and looked up. His eyes fell on Hans, who was deep in conversation with the class teacher. All around him, his fellow classmates were busy working. Sighing, he redirected his attention to the math problem in front of him. He pulled the textbook closer to him as he compared his work with the example given in the textbook, ensuring that he had reached the correct answer.

He had just began working on the final problem when the bell rang. The vibrations on his watch buzzed in time with the programmed alarm and alerted him to the end of the lesson and the start of the lunch period. Grinning, he slammed the book shut and bundled up his books. Shooting out of his desk, he waved at Hans and gave him a wide smile before turning and following the rest of the students out of the room.

He walked briskly towards his locker. Pulling it open, he hastily shoved the books in to rest in a messy heap before pulling out his packed lunch, notepad and pen. He tucked his lunch and pad and paper under his arms before slamming the door shut.

Walking towards the cafeteria, his eyes fell on an increasingly familiar head of platinum-blonde hair a few metres ahead. He picked up his pace and weaved through the crowd of students until he was level with Elsa. Reaching out, he tapped her on the shoulder and watched as her expression changed from being startled, to a welcoming smile as she nodded her greeting. Her own lunch and pen and paper were tucked under her arm. He slowed down his pace to meet her own as they continued their walk.

Entering the cafeteria, he felt his heart sink. The doors to the yard were shut while a heavy downpour of rain fell outside. For the first time since they met each other, they were being forced to remain indoors and in the same room as their bullies. He turned and watched as a small frown crossed Elsa's face and knew that she was thinking the same thing. Her blue eyes darted around while she looked for a place for them to sit.

He felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to watch as Elsa pointed to a table at the farthest end of the cafeteria. Quickly, he scanned the room and let out a small sigh of relief upon noticing that Tyler and his gang were at the opposite end of the cafeteria and deep in conversation.

Hastily, he followed her to the table and took a seat. Spreading out his lunch, he pulled the pad towards him.

'So, how has your day been so far?' he asked, shoving the pad towards Elsa.

A small frown crossed her face. She placed her partially eaten sandwich down and pulled the pad towards her as she wrote her response. 'It's been okay. I'm tired though. My sister kept me up last night. She kept blasting her One Direction album all night. I was this close to going in and breaking the damn CD.'

He chuckled. Taking a sip of water, he grabbed the paper. 'Emily loves One Direction. She plays their CD all the time. I'd probably be more annoyed with them if I could hear. Luckily for me, she doesn't bother to sign their songs.'

'Tease,' Elsa replied, pouting at him. 'Speaking of sisters, don't look now, but here comes mine.'

Raising his head, his eyes fell on a slender girl as she made her way towards them. Her strawberry-blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. She gave them a wide smile and waved at them. As she approached, she pulled an empty chair from a nearby table and pulled it to sit beside Elsa.

He continued to study her as she grabbed Elsa's notepad and tore off a piece of paper before taking the pen from her sister's hand. Bending her head down, she furiously scribbled a note down. Once she had finished, she leaned past Elsa and handed him the sheet of paper.

'Hi, I'm Anna. I'm Elsa's awesome younger sister. You're Jack right? She's told me about you. She says that you are funny, sweet, cheeky, the same age as her and lots of other boring stuff. Anyway, for some reason she has been reluctant to introduce you to me. It's probably because she refuses to answer me when I ask her if she thinks you are cute. Also, if you could refrain from showing Elsa this note- that would be good.'

He laughed. He could feel a faint blush tinting his cheeks as he read Anna's note. His eyes glanced up and he caught Elsa's gaze as she leaned over to try and peek at the note. Pressing the note to his chest, he watched as she shot a pointed glare at him and her sister. Shrugging, he handed the note over to her. He met Anna's gaze and watched as she shook her head.

A deep blush crossed Elsa's face as she read the note. He watched as she screwed up the note and tossed it at her sister before she leaned down to scribble her reply.

'Anna, I swear to God that you are so dead. Your One Direction CDs are going in the bin as soon as we get home. Jack ignore her,' she wrote, showing the note to both Anna and Jack.

'I told you not to tell, Jack!' Anna wrote, poking her tongue out. 'You are a traitor. Still, at least now we know the answer to the question. I'm pretty sure that she would not react like this if she didn't think that you are cute.'

He grinned. Leaning back on his chair, he watched as Elsa buried her head in her hands. Slowly, he reached over to pull her hands from her face. Once he'd let go of her hands, he pulled out the paper and pen.

'Cute, huh?' he wrote, sliding the paper towards her.

Elsa could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. Anna's laughter filled her ears as she continued to enjoy the reaction that she'd earned from her older sister. On the opposite side of her, sat Jack. She turned to face him and groaned as he looked at her with a cocky smirk on his face.

Grabbing the paper, she hastily scribbled a note and placed it in front of her so that both Anna and Jack could read. 'Great job, Anna. You're going to pump up his already inflated ego.'

Beside her, Jack frowned and grabbed the paper. 'That hurts, princess. You've gone from thinking that I'm cute, to suggesting that I have a big ego in a matter of minutes,' Jack replied, clutching his chest in mock pain.

Groaning, she rolled her eyes and poked her tongue out at him. Her eyes glanced to Anna and she made a mental note to not allow her anywhere near Jack in the near future. Especially if her sister was going to continue to pester her about whether she thought Jack to be cute. She shot Jack a look before bending down to grab her paper and pen.

'Oh come on, Frost. You know that you've got a big ego. Don't even try and deny it,' she wrote, shoving the paper towards him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Anna as she grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen. 'Oh this is good. You two are already acting like an old married couple,' Anna wrote, chuckling as she handed the paper back.

She watched as Jack furrowed his brow. His pen moved fast as he jotted down his response and tossed it towards her. 'Ego or not, you still think I'm cute,' he teased.

She let out a sigh and buried her head in her arms. She still didn't know what to make of her and Jack. In the two weeks since she had met him, she'd come to enjoy his company. It was true that she found him to be friendly, intelligent, caring, playful and he definitely had a cheeky sense of humour. Still, she was unsure about whether they were friends or acquaintances. She just knew that she'd started to find school a little more tolerable since she had met him. Having someone to talk with over her lunch break made her feel a little less lonely.

"How cute is this?" sneered an all too familiar voice.

She felt her heart drop. Raising her head, she found herself staring into the eyes of Violet. Blinking, she sat back and watched as the bullying girl moved to place her hands on her hips before glaring at the trio. Her eyes fell on the papers that held their conversation as they lay on the table. Hastily, she reached out and snatched the notes before Violet had a chance to get to them.

"W...what do you you w...want?" she stammered, biting her lip.

"Relax, No-way. I just wanted to come and say hello. I've been wondering where you have been at lunch time. Have you been hiding and slumming it with little kids and the Deaf-boy?" she snorted. "Fitting, they do say that freaks attract freaks."

Gulping, she shifted her head to look at Jack. A small frown had appeared on his face and his hands were crossed as he stared at Violet. She couldn't help feeling a small sense of gratitude that he was at least unaware of the cruel taunts coming from Violet's mouth. She knew that he was unable to read lips, it had been one of her first questions and he had said that he couldn't.

"Hey!" Anna broke in, narrowing her eyes as she glared at Violet. "You can't talk to my sister and Jack like that."

She felt her panic escalating. Biting her lip, she turned to face Anna. Her hand reached out to grip at hers, in the hope that she could silence her. She knew that Anna meant well, but her efforts would only further enrage Violet. She wasn't the one who had to go through classes with Violet, she wasn't the one who would pay for her action at a later time. Besides, Anna also had the benefit of a group of friends who would happily back her up if Violet dared to turn her attention on her.

"Now that is cute," Violet chortled and turned to glare at Elsa. "You have to get your kid sister to defend you. You can't even stand up for yourself. I mean, at least Deaf-boy over here has the excuse that he can't actually hear me, buy you...you are just pathetic. Maybe you should be Deaf as well as him"

She raised her head to glare at Violet. She couldn't believe the cruel words that were coming from her mouth- picking on someone for something that could not be helped. Her eyes glanced at Jack and she gave him a weak smile in the hopes of making him feel better.

"Leave us alone, Violet," she hissed. "Please. We have done nothing to you. At least nothing to deserve this treatment."

She watched as Violet threw her head back and laughed derisively. Once her laughter had subsided, she turned to glare at her. "No, you haven't. It's just that I don't like you. My boyfriend doesn't like Deaf-boy over there," she said, jerking her thumb to point at Jack. "You should never have left Norway, freak. You don't belong here and neither does your stupid friend. He should have stayed at his school with the other stupid people."

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. The tears were threatening to roll down her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied Anna glaring at Violet. Pushing herself to her feet, she turned to give Jack a weak smile. She blinked back the tears that had started rolling down her face and fled.

Behind her, she could hear Anna calling her name and begging her to wait, but she ignored her. The stares of students followed her every move as they watched her race through the cafeteria, but she didn't care. She just needed to get out of there.

She reached the halls and picked up the pace. The tears were starting to blur her vision as she made her way in to the closest girls bathroom. She let out a small sigh of relief upon noticing that the room was empty. Her eyes fell on the nearest stall and she entered it, slamming the door shut and locking it behind her. Closing the lid of the toilet, she took a seat and burst into tears.

She felt her phone buzzing in her pocket as a message arrived, followed quickly by another one. Pulling it out, she noticed that one of the messages was from Jack while the other one was from Anna. Both messages were asking if she was okay and wanted to know where she had run off to. She sighed and slid the phone back into her pocket, she'd bother with an answer at a later time.

She couldn't help snorting as the cruel insults that Violet had said repeated themselves in her head. Ironically, the names Violet had used were nothing compared to the names that she was currently calling herself. She couldn't help chiding herself for running from her problem instead of facing it. What was worse was that she had left Jack and Anna back in the cafeteria to face Violet. In all her stupidity, she had left her beloved sister and the only person in the entire school who had shown her any kindness alone with her tormentor. She was weak, a failure of a human.

The sound of the school bell rang, marking the end of the lunch period. Sighing, she got to her feet. She took a minute to sniff back the last of her tears and unlocked the stall. Groggily, she made her way to the sink and bent down to splash some cold water over her face. She stared at her reflection. Her eyes were red and her face was streaked with tears. She looked like a mess.

Shaking her head, she left the bathroom and headed for her locker. The names that she had called herself played in her head. She knew that her time spent sharing her lunch break with Jack had ended. There was no way that he would want to spend any time with her now. Not since she'd proven herself to be nothing but a pathetic crybaby who was incapable of facing up to her bully. No, she was most certainly back to her lonely existence once again.

Jack frowned. He may not have been able to hear the words that were said, but that didn't mean that he was unaware of what had gone on around him. After all, a lifetime of being Deaf had meant that he had learned to read body language quite well.

He had watched as Elsa had frozen in fear. Looking up, he had seen Violet standing at their table. Elsa had glanced between Violet and the papers that had contained their conversation. Hastily, she had quickly snatched the paper out of the way and had pocketed them before her tormentor could get to them. He had then watched as she had shrunk back in her seat and had tried to put distance between herself and Violet. Still, despite the obvious fear and distress on her face, she had continued to look between him and her younger sister, Anna. It had been obvious to him that her primary concern in the situation had been Anna and him.

Anna, on the other hand, had displayed more confidence. Her face had flushed with anger, making her complexion a similar colour to her hair and she had glared at Violet. She had leaned forward and had stared at the bully. Her gaze had not dropped once as she had spoken with the bully. Her eyes had darted back to him and Elsa only after she had closed her mouth. It had been obvious that whatever Violet had said was not sitting well with the younger girl.

Elsa had glanced briefly at Jack before she had turned to face her sister. Her mouth had opened in horror and she had reached to grip at Anna's hand in a silent attempt to try and silence the bold young girl.

To his dismay, whatever Anna had said had amused Violet. A wide sneer had appeared on her face and she had leaned in to speak to Elsa with her eyes fixed on her. It seemed that Violet's words had done the job and had pushed Elsa to her limit. She had glanced at him and had given him a weak smile before she'd turned to glare at her bully. She had said something in retaliation and he had noticed the way her jaw had clenched with anger.

He had felt his heart sink as he'd watched Violet's reaction. The bully had simply thrown her head back and her body had shook with laughter at Elsa's response. She had leaned forward and had narrowed her eyes as she had stared Elsa down and had spoken to her.

The last comment had been the one that had pushed Elsa too far. She had turned to face him and had blinked back the tears that had appeared in the corner of her eyes. She had shot to her feet and had fled the room, leaving her pen and paper behind her.

He had turned to watch in horror as Violet's face had broken out into a wide smile. She had obviously felt pride in her behaviour. Anna had been quick to shuffle over to take Elsa's spot next to him. She had offered him a small smile. She had then turned to glare at Violet and had waved her hands around animatedly before she had dismissed the older bully.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he watched as Violet stalked back to her table. He turned to Anna and watched as she let out a breath of air. She pulled at the paper and pen and bent her head down to write a note.

'She's a major bitch. I'm sorry that neither Elsa or I kept you informed. She was saying some really nasty, hateful stuff. I just wished that Elsa would stick up for herself a bit more. Neither you, or her deserve to put up with the shit that she was saying. Are you okay?'

Nodding, he grabbed his pen and paper. 'Yeah, I could tell. I can't read lips, but I've learnt to pick up on body language quite a bit. I'm fine. I'm just worried for Elsa. I'll send her a text and see if she's okay. She was in tears when she left.'

Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text to Elsa. He stole a glance at Anna and noticed that she had decided to follow suit. He checked that his phone was set on vibrate and slipped it back into his pocket. Nervously, he bit his lip. He had no idea what would happen now, whether Anna would go back to her friends. If he was honest, he didn't want her to. It made him feel a little less lonely and a bit more secure having someone with him, but he wouldn't blame her if she chose to return to her normal table.

'If it's okay with you, I'll stay here for the rest of lunch.' Anna wrote, sliding the paper so that he could see it.

Grinning, he nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

'We can play a game if you like- maybe Noughts and Crosses or Hangman?' she continued. 'I warn you, I'm pretty good. Also, don't worry about Elsa, she will be fine.'

He blushed and took the piece of paper. 'Sounds good to me. I hope that she's okay, I would hate for her to be upset.'

Elsa sighed. Pulling her bag from her locker, she carefully packed her homework into it. As the halls emptied around her, she let out a breath of relief. She couldn't help feeling grateful for the end of a disastrous day.

Luckily for her, her last two classes had been ones without Violet in them. Once the final school bell had sounded, she had taken her time to pack up and depart the class. By the time she returned to her locker, Violet had long been gone.

With her bag packed, she slung it over her shoulders and closed her locker door. Slowly, she walked towards the school's front entrance. Raising her head, she felt her breath hitch as she noticed Anna waiting patiently for her. To her side stood Jack, his blue eyes lit up and a smile graced his face as he looked at her.

Blushing, she waved at the duo. She felt the guilt of leaving them to fend for themselves hit her as she approached. Swinging her bag around to the front, she reached for her pad and a pen and pulled them out.

'I'm so sorry about lunch time. Are you okay?' she wrote, showing the paper to Jack.

Jack nodded. Taking the paper and pen from her, he bent down and scribbled a response. 'I'm fine. I was just worried for you. Violet left not long after you did. She's such a bitch. Luckily, Anna stayed to hang out with me for the last few minutes of lunch.'

She shot a smile at her sister. At least her sister had stayed behind to keep Jack company. She had found herself plagued with worry that Violet had continued to torment him, or had called for backup and he'd been hurt. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to face Jack as he handed her a piece of paper.

'The rain won't give up. Anna said that you guys are meant to be walking home. Stay here with me. I'm just waiting for Mum to arrive, she's picking up my sister from school first. We will give you a lift home,' he said.

"I've already said that we will accept the lift. Mum can't get us because she's caught up waiting for an appointment," Anna said, carefully balancing the notepad on her bag as she scribbled down what she'd said for Jack to read.

She nodded. Shuffling on her feet, she watched Jack pull his phone out. He shot them a wide grin and grabbed the paper and pen. 'Mum is just out the front. Follow me,' he wrote, handing the pen and paper back to her.

She shoved the pen and paper back in her bag and shoved it back on her shoulder. Together, the trio made their way outside into the rain. They broke into a light jog as Jack lead them towards a grey station wagon that was parked out the front of the school. She watched as Jack made his way to the back and flung open the door to sign at the petite brunette woman behind the wheel before stepping back.

"Hi, you must be, Elsa and Anna, the woman said while her hands continued to sign. "I'm Caroline, Jack's mum. My son has said that we are giving you a lift home. Anna, if you want to take the front seat. Elsa, you and Jack can squeeze in the back with my daughter, Emily."

She nodded. Her eyes widened as Jack opened the door for her before running to the other side of the car. She swung her bag off her shoulder and slid in to take the seat. Her eyes fell on a wide-eyed girl with a cheeky smile and long brown hair. She offered the girl a shy smile and buckled her seatbelt.

"Are you Jack's girlfriend?" Emily asked bluntly, signing the words as she spoke.

She felt the heat rushing to her face. Anna let out a loud guffaw from the front seat. Even Jack's mother stifled a laugh. She glanced at Jack and noticed that he had a faint blush on his face and his hands were moving fast as he signed.

"I am Jack's friend and I'm a girl, but no. I'm not his girlfriend," she replied.

She watched as the young girl moved her hands to sign her response to Jack. Jack, in return, shook his head and signed back to her before reaching over and tousling her her hair.

"Jack said that I shouldn't embarrass him," Emily translated. "He's going to get mad at me for this, but I think you're pretty and you should totally date my brother. He needs a girlfriend."

"Oh I like her," Anna chuckled, turning in her seat to face the trio in the backseat.

She buried her head in her hands. She could hear the sound of Mrs Frost laughing gently in the background and a happy shriek coming from Emily.

"Emily, remember the rules. You must always sign what you have to say so that Jack is included. Even when you want to say things that will embarrass him," she chided

The sound of a text message arriving on her phone interrupted her. Raising her head, she reached into her pocket and pulled her phone out. She swiped across to read the message:

Jack: 'Want another sister? I'll gladly give you mine.'

She grinned. Her eyes glanced at Anna who was deep in conversation with Mrs Frost as she gave her the directions to their home address. Shaking her head, she bent down to type her reply.

Elsa: 'I will trade sisters if you want. Anna's already decided that she likes yours. There must be some unwritten rule that says that if you're the younger sibling, you can try and embarrass the older sibling.

She watched as Jack grinned and nodded his head before tapping away at his phone.

J: 'The worst thing is that she knows that no matter what she says or does, she can get away with it. At the end of the day I still love the little munchkin'

She grinned and nodded enthusiastically before bending her head down to respond.

E: 'It's the same with Anna. I tell you, it's a curse being the older sibling at times.'

Sliding her phone back into her pocket, she watched as Jack leaned over to ruffle his sister's hair. The sound of Emily's happy laughter filled the car.

She could see her house getting closer as Mrs Frost pulled onto their street. Within seconds she had guided the car to a stop in front of their house. Cutting the engine, she turned around and faced Jack. He nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt before darting out of the door. He raced around to open the door for her before moving to open the door for Anna. Once Anna had exited the car, he leaned in to speak with his mum.

"It was lovely to meet you, Elsa and Anna," Mrs Frost called, signing away. "Elsa, Jack has just asked me if you could come visit on the weekend? He would like to have a movie marathon."

Blushing, she turned to look at Jack. She watched as he straightened up and faced her, a shy smile had crept across his face. "Oh, uh sure. I'll have to ask my parents, but I'm pretty sure that they will be fine with it. I'll send Jack a text, or message him on Facebook later this evening with my answer," she replied, watching as Mrs Frost signed her response to Jack.

"Sounds great, dear," Mrs Frost smiled. "I'll wait for your answer, until then, I'm sure we'll meet again. Now go on inside and get out of this rain before you catch a cold."

She nodded. She turned to wave goodbye to Jack before tightening the grip on her bag and stepping back to join Anna under the shelter of the porch. She watched as Jack slid into the front seat and closed the door before Mrs Frost started the car and pulled away from the kerb.

"He's cute," Anna said, draping her elbow on Elsa's shoulder. "You so like him."

She turned to face her sister and rolled her eyes. She watched as Anna pulled out the key and unlocked the door before flinging it open and darting inside.

"Anna!' she gasped. "He's just a fri-"

"Don't try and deny it, Elsa," Anna sang, interrupting her mid-sentence. "You like Jack and Jack definitely likes you. I know it, his sister knows it. It's just you two knuckleheads who seem to not know it yet. Don't worry, though. When you two come to realise what is blindingly obvious to me and Emily- you can thank us."

She let out a loud groan. She watched as Anna dashed out of sight. Shaking her head, she suddenly regretted the idea of not agreeing to trade sisters with Jack.

A/N- Thank you all for your reviews and continued support.