Elsa sighed as she settled into the warm, bubble bath. Her mind instantly travelled over the changes that had occurred over the last few weeks.
A month had passed since she and Jack had admitted their feelings for each other. In that time, they had stayed true to their word and had taken things slowly. Neither of them had wanted to risk jinxing their friendship, or new relationship by rushing things.
Their new status had remained unknown by their classmates. They had refrained from exhibiting any behaviour that had hinted at a more intimate relationship while on school grounds. They had continued to sit together as normal in the cafeteria. After school, they would meet up and would walk to her house, or would catch a ride with Mrs Frost and Emily. Asides from that, there had been no sign that the two of them were anything more than good friends. There had been no hand-holding, no declaration of love on stationery and no stolen kisses while on school grounds. All people had known was that the two of them had remained quiet on the topic of prom.
She had found that she had been the focus of curious glances and intrigue for a few days after word had got out that she had declined Ryan's invitation to be his prom date. He was a popular basketball star and was considered to be amongst the most eligible of students within the school. Many girls had confessed to having a crush on him. The fact that she, the newcomer, had turned him down had sent shockwaves amongst the student population. She had been the subject of gossip and speculation for a few days until it had settled down.
She had wasted no time in contacting Ryan. She had approached him the day after she had shared her first kiss with Jack. After a moments consideration, she had told him that while she had appreciated his offer, she had decided to decline in favour of spending the evening with her best friend. To his honour, Ryan had accepted her refusal with grace and had simply wished her a good evening.
After speaking with Ryan, her and Jack had gone to purchase their prom tickets. Jack had wanted to spring for the cost of both tickets. She had initially wanted to decline his offer, knowing that the Frosts did not have a lot of money, but she had caved in after a word from her mother. Instead, she had allowed him. The smile on his face after he'd had the tickets in his hands had been worth it. He had claimed that it had made him feel even more like her boyfriend.
They had waited until after school to have their photo taken with the tickets. Anna had invited herself to the Frosts that afternoon to spend time with Emily and had taken their photo before she had disappeared to allow Elsa to settle down for her regular ASL lesson.
Shaking her head, she pulled the plug and allowed the water to disappear down the drain. Looking in the mirror, she couldn't help noticing the smile that graced her face. It was the same smile that had settled on her face ever since her and Jack had taken the next step in their relationship.
It still felt surreal to her that she was in a relationship with Jack. Although, she couldn't deny that she felt comfortable being with him. It felt natural for her to hold his hand and to sit with his arm around her waist at home. The kisses that they had shared felt nice as well. She had thought that it would feel weird, to kiss her best friend, but it hadn't. It had felt like it was meant to be.
Jack groaned. He watched as the sales assistant laid out yet another possible outfit for him.
It wasn't even midday and already he regretted agreeing to go shopping for a prom outfit with his mother. His mother had raised the idea the night before and had told him that she intended to take him to check out suits and shoes. He had simply nodded in approval, his mind had been preoccupied with visions of enjoying his usual Saturday sleep in and walking mid-morning to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. He had anticipated that it would simply involve heading into a shop, pulling a suit off the rack and purchasing it.
To his dismay, his mother had had a completely different idea. She had burst into his room and had shook him awake at 7am. She had given him exactly one hour to get dressed, fed and to meet her in the car.
Once in the car, she had driven him to a suit shop in a neighbouring suburb and had forced him to try on a selection of suits. Every suit he had tried, had been wrong in his mother's opinion. She had claimed them to be unsuitable before she had dragged him to a second formal wear shop.
By the time they had arrived at the third store, he'd had enough. He had tried on multiple suits and had been poked and prodded so many times by assistants with tape measures, as well as his own mother and had felt ready to give up. He had really thought that suit shopping would have been a case of walk in, try on a suit and find that it either fit, or didn't. However, he had been wrong and had discovered that there were a few factors to consider when buying a suit.
Not only was price a factor in the suit he would wear, but also colour. He had been surprised to learn that there was not just black and grey, but the shades of grey varied. The same went with the white dress shirt that he would wear. Asides from the colour of suit, he had to consider the cut of the suit, the number of buttons that would be on the jacket and whether to go for a waistcoat and jacket combination, or just the dress shirt and jacket. Once he had selected the suit, he had to find the dress shoes to match. With each passing minute, he had come to realise why many men appeared reluctant to attend formal events.
"That's it. I am just going in my jeans and a t-shirt," he groaned, furrowing his brows as his mother turned away yet another possible suit.
"Oh no you are not," his mother replied, shaking her finger in his face. "No way in hell am I letting my first-born go to his senior prom, with his very first girlfriend, in jeans and a tattered t-shirt. Besides, you are going to want to look nice for Elsa."
He raised his eyebrow. Ignoring him, his mother turned and selected two suits from the rack that the sales assistant had dragged out. His hand reached to tug at the hem of his prized Batman t-shirt and he noted that a small tear had appeared at the side.
Sighing, he reached to tap his mum and waited for her attention. "I want to go see Elsa at some point today," he protested, eyeing the clock in the background.
His mother sighed and handed the suits to Emily to hold. "Elsa is out doing her own prom shopping. I have already heard from Lillian, she will let us know the colour of Elsa's dress so that we can organise the corsage," she replied. "If you don't give me too much grief today, then you can invite Elsa over to our place tomorrow."
He grinned and took a step back as his sister moved to dump the suits in his hands. "Can we at least go to the Andersen's house so that I can see Anna?" she asked. "If it's only Elsa, then it will be no fun for me. Jack will just take her to his room so that he can kiss her like he does every other time she visits."
He poked his tongue out at his sister. Stepping closer to his mother, he attempted to place the suits in her hands so that he could respond, only for her to shake her head. Instead, she pointed him in the direction of the changing room and gave him a fixed stare until he had no choice, but to comply.
Gulping, he stepped inside the dressing room. sliding his clothes off, he said a silent prayer as he pulled the first suit on. He was tiring of being dragged around and just wanted to be get it finished already. He buttoned the suit up and turned around to admire himself in the mirror. Once satisfied, he stepped out of the cubicle and poked his mother. He watched as she turned him around and tinkered with the suit before sending him back to try the second suit on.
The second suit was a plain black suit with a white dress shirt. Sighing, he slipped it on and admired his reflection. In his opinion, it was a nice fit. The pants were not too long, or too short and the sleeves appeared to be a decent length. Still, there had been several other suits that he had felt fit the criteria that had been dismissed by his mother.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed back the curtain and stepped out. Walking up to his mother, he waited for her to finish her conversation with the sales assistant before tapping her on the shoulder. Biting his lip, he watched as she spun around to admire him. Her eyes glanced over his frame and she tugged and pulled on the suit. Holding his breath, he watched as she broke into a wide smile and nodded her head enthusiastically.
"This suit is perfect," she said, speaking for the sales assistant's benefit. "Do you like it, Jack?"
He shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, it's a suit. I've never worn one before, but it feels nice enough and it seems to fit," he replied nonchalantly.
He watched as his mum turned to let the sales assistant know that they had finally found the perfect fit. Once finished, she pulled out her phone and snapped a photo before typing a message. Slipping the phone back into her pocket, she looked at him.
"I'm sending a photo to Lillian," she explained. "It's not everyday that my baby looks all grown up."
Rolling his eyes, he darted into the change room before his mother could become too preoccupied with pointing out how quickly he was growing up. Quickly, he changed out of the suit and hung it on the hanger before pulling his ordinary clothes on.
Letting out a sigh of relief, he pushed back the curtain and made his way to the curtain with the suit. He stopped to playfully nudge his sister, who was focused on her handheld Nintendo console.
The cashier scanned the price and his eyes widened as he noticed the price. Reaching over, he tugged at his mother's elbow. "Mum, are you sure?" he asked, indicating to the price. "It's almost $230 and we still need shoes."
His mother smiled. Reaching over, she pressed a kiss to his forehead before pulling back and looking at him. "Jack," she began. "This is a really special event in your life. I can handle it. I've got some money saved. Besides, your dad's parents sent me some money for you and Emily for Christmas, so yes, I'm sure."
He nodded. Pulling out his phone, he typed out a text to send to Elsa. He felt the need to let her know that after being poked, prodded and bored senseless, that he had finally found a suit that his mother deemed suitable. Glancing at the message, he hesitated slightly before adding an XO to it- the text equivalent of a kiss and a hug.
Elsa yawned. Her eyes glanced at the watch that she wore before pulling yet another dress off the rack.
Her mother and Anna had decided a few days ago that they would spend Saturday taking her to find a prom dress. Apparently, her mother had gone one further and had put the idea to go shopping in Caroline Frost's head. Jack had sent her a message to let her know that he had also been dragged shopping for their prom.
While she loved her mother and her sister, she could not deny that shopping for clothes with the two of them was downright exhausting. Both of them meant well, but their taste in fashion was different and they had conflicting ideas on what would suit her. Her mother had hinted that Anna should stay home and rest, but her sister had steadfastly refused. She had claimed that it was the closest she would get to her own prom, at least for another three years. Therefore, she had stated that she had to be part of Elsa's shopping experience.
After waking, they had travelled into the city to check out some formal dresses. So far, they had visited three stores and had left two dresses on the 'maybe' list and had made their way to check out the dresses in a fourth store.
"Anna, I keep telling you that there is no way in hell that your father would agree to a slit that high," her mother argued, pointing to the dark blue dress that Anna had held up. "I know him and if Elsa came home with that, he would have the slit stapled or sewn up immediately."
"But Mum," Anna whined, pouting. "It's so pretty and it would suit Elsa."
"No, 'But Mum's' here, Anna. It's non-negotiable. That dress is not an option," her mother stated and turned her back.
Sighing, she turned her attention back to the racks of the clothing. Her mother and sister continued to argue in the background, but she ignored them. She didn't have the heart to tell Anna that while the dress was pretty, it wasn't quite to her liking.
The sound of a text coming through on her mother's phone interrupted her. Pausing, she turned to face her mum and wondered who it was. A few seconds later, her own phone beeped. Reaching down, she fumbled in her handbag and pulled out her own phone. Swiping the screen, she read the message from Jack. It was only a simple message to let her know that he'd just bought his suit for the prom.
"That was Caroline," her mother explained. "She was just letting me know that they have just purchased Jack's suit. She even sent me a photo of him in it."
"You got a photo? Let me see!" she blurted, moving to stand beside her mother. "I want to see what he looks like."
"Me too. I can't imagine Jack in a suit. I want to see," Anna giggled and moved to grab at their mother's arm.
Frowning, she gently pushed Anna out of the way and moved to stand closer to her mum. "Back off, Anna," she ordered, poking her tongue out. "He's my boyfriend."
Her eyes widened as she looked at the image on the screen. There was no denying that Jack looked hot in the black suit. He looked so different to his normal, everyday outfit of jeans and a t-shirt. Although, she couldn't help feeling relieved when she noticed the way he was posing with his tongue poking out and the cheeky glint in his eyes that she loved so much. "He looks good," she added, smiling at her mum.
"He's poking his tongue out!" Anna exclaimed, grabbing the phone from their mum.
She chuckled. "Well, of course. It is Jack, what did you expect?!" she pointed out. "Of course, he's going to poke his tongue out."
Turning her back on her sister, she walked towards a rack of dresses at the back of the shop. Her eyes fell on a collection of mint green dresses. Flipping through the selection, she pulled out one in her size. She trailed her fingers up and down the dress, admiring the softness of the material. The dress was gorgeous- a long halter dress with an open back, empire waist and an embellished keyhole neckline which led to a beaded halter strap.
Grabbing the dress, she made her way to the change room. She managed to slip into the room unnoticed by both her mother and her sister. Peeling off her clothes, she carefully stepped into the dress and zipped it up. She noted with delight, how the dress seemed to fit her perfectly. The hem of the skirt rested at her ankles and was long enough to be classy, but not too long that she would spend her evening worrying about stepping on it.
Pushing open the curtain, she stepped out into the store and cleared her throat.
"Elsa!" Anna gasped, her jaw dropping. "You look amazing. That dress is-"
"Perfect!" her mother finished, smiling widely. "That dress looks beautiful on you, love. Do you like it?"
She nodded and smiled shyly. "I love it. This is it. This is the one," she said. "It's not too expensive either."
"Jack is going to be speechless," Anna added. "I can't wait until he sees you in the dress."
Blushing, she excused herself to go back into the change room. Quickly, she changed back into her jeans and t-shirt. Carefully, she hung the dress on the hanger before making her way to the counter.
Jack groaned. He watched with dismay as Elsa led his mother, as well as his own mum and sister into her room before closing the door in his face.
He had tried in vain for most of Saturday evening to convince Elsa to show him her prom dress when they had chatted online. Every time he had asked, she had refused and had told him that he would have to wait until prom to see it. He knew from the text that Lillian Andersen had sent his mum, that the dress was a mint-green colour. His mum had then organised for him to present her with a simple white corsage, but that was all he knew.
He had hoped that by the time he had arrived at the Andersen house, that Elsa would have changed her mind. He had even tried sneaking into her room while she had been in the bathroom, but had been caught. Walt Andersen had witnessed him sneaking in and had clamped his hand over his shoulder and had sternly marched him out of her room before wagging his finger in his face. Walt had then reminded him of the no entry ruled that he had established for Elsa's room.
Slowly, he sunk to his bottom and leaned against the wall. He desperately wanted to know what was going on inside her bedroom and to see the dress, but it was no use. The girls had decided to gang up on him instead.
He felt a tap on his hand. Blinking, he looked up and noticed that the door to Elsa's room was once again open. Standing to his feet, he faced his mother. "The dress is beautiful. You are going to love it," she said, smiling at him.
He nodded. He watched as his mother, Lillian Andersen, Anna and Emily headed down the stairs, leaving him and Elsa alone.
"I still want to see the dress," he cried, pouting at her.
"Patience, Jack. You need patience," Elsa teased, smiling at him. "You only have to wait four more weeks. Besides, haven't you heard that good things come to those who wait?"
Sighing, he reached out to pull her towards him. He wrapped his arms around her waist. She responded immediately and wrapped her arms around his neck. Leaning in, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
Breaking the kiss, he looked at her. He removed his hands from her waist. "Now can I see the dress?" he pleaded. "I promise that I'll say lots of nice things about you."
He chuckled and watched as Elsa stepped back and reached to swat at him. Rubbing his head, he watched as she caught his gaze. "Four weeks, Jackson. You have to wait four more weeks. If you don't shut up about the dress, it won't be the only thing that you miss out on," she sassed, winking at him.
A/N- Ahh getting so close to the prom. The next chapter will be a time skip of four weeks again, and will be the big prom chapter. As always, have a great day, thank you all for your reviews, and for taking the time to read this. Keep calm and ship Jelsa.