frigid {jack frost}

t h r e e

"So.." Elsie paused, watching the barefoot 300-year old run his staff over the ice, making it thicker and a less possibility of falling through. His hair was really as white as snow, and that kind of made El amused, but when it ruffled in the wind blowing by as he turned to look at her, it made her blink instead. Not an involuntary blink that you do without thinking, but one that was filled with sudden surprise. She got the weirdest set of chills when he looked at her, and all she can think is that it was from the cold.

In reality, it was not.

"Got your skates on?" Jack grinned, leaning on his staff- like he always does.

Sophie grinned back in response, where as the girl standing beside her simply nodded. On the outside, she looked calm. On the inside, she was scared. No way was she going to let him know that she couldn't necessarily skate, so she was going to wing it. Both pull things off without plan, but that's just another similarity that the two had. Succeeding was Jack's outcome, but failing was usually Elsie's.

The 2-year old wobbled onto the ice, and sure, El was supposed to be helping her, but she just stood there. Soph's legs wiggled and spread a lot, but she got the hang of it. "Baby steps!" Jack encouraged, bending down so he could be her height. Elsie watched as her cousin managed to make it to him, squealing in excitement as he mumbled praises with a sweet smile. He was gentle, El concluded, no matter what he claimed. Sure, he was rebellious and sarcastic, maybe too mysterious at times, but he was gentle and kind, plus someone Elsie wanted to find out everything about. Is that weird? She asked herself, looking down to her shaking legs. Her mind answered for her and said that, yes, it's kinda weird to want to know every single detail about one person, but from what he has shown her, he seemed interesting enough.

"Elsie? Y'coming?"

The hair gathered on top of her head shifted as her eyes found Jack's again, her conscious confusing her for that same jolt of chills on her skin. "Yeah!" She cleared her throat, glancing back down at the old skates on her feet, worry flooding her senses. Try, she urged herself, Just this once.

The first step wasn't so bad, but when her other foot was lifted from the matted down grass, her balance was lost completely. An 'oof!' escaped her lips as her bottom met the ground, causing both the pain in her buttocks but also the color in her cheeks. Embarrassment sided with the worry, making the situation even worse.

Jack basically got the idea, but he still laughed. Not a 'In your face!' type of laugh, but more of a friendly one. "Need help?" He chuckled, flying over after making sure Sophie wouldn't move from the middle of the pond. He extended his hand towards Elsie's disappointed figure, nudging her with it so she'd look up.

She hesitated as she slowly placed her glove-covered hand in his, noticing how small hers was compared to his. His touch was cold, but certainly didn't freeze her like she would've thought. Elsie always overreacted, always over thought, and always tried to make sense of things. If she couldn't make sense of it, her mind would have a hard time in believing it. That's mainly why she had to prove that the guardians existed.

The blast of goose bumps, again, happened, but she tried to get used to it. For all she knew, it might occur because of how cold he was.

When she stood up (with the help of Jack), she started brushing off the snow on her bottom and, after trying to move her feet, she began to stumble again.

"Hey, hey, take it easy," Jack chuckled, his raspy voice laced with reassurance and care. Sure, he only actually knew her for a day or two, but secret sympathy overwhelmed him when she wasn't in his sights. He couldn't imagine his parents dying. Not that he remembers them, but it'd still hurt. They died in time, of course, but Jack didn't have to bear living with the fact the two people that raised him were no longer going to stand by his sides. For this reason, he cared. It would be sick not to.

Elsie found herself face to face with a faded blue hoodie after Jack's hand, once again, pulled her up. This time it was with more force so maybe she wouldn't fall again, but instead of her body leaning backwards, it went straight forward. Thus, here she was, her red-tipped nose brushing against the soft fabric, eyes screwed closed. Her hands were balled into fists, clutching onto the hoodie, trying to keep herself upright. It scared her to think if she let go, she'd fall for the third time. The owner of the hoodie had his chin against his chest, staring down curiously at her odd reaction.

Like Elsie, his mind got confused. Like Elsie, he got those chills. It shocked him at the same time, because he was already cold- could he even get chills? The thought perplexed him, but as his mouth was left open ajar in surprise, her aroma was captured by his deep breath through his nose. With his eyes widening like they were and his mouth pressing into a thin line, the scent continued to affect his senses and build up a blast of nerves into his system. He only thought of it as random chills, as did Elsie, but in all honesty, they were fluttering butterflies that liked to tease the two.

She smelled of simple vanilla. That was it.

Yet it smelled so good to Jack. So good that he had to pause before stepping back from her. It was almost like he didn't want to leave that position- so close to her, so close to feel her warm puffs of breath on his neck, so close to notice her overwhelming and marvelous scent. He had to move before he got even more confused, though.

And it seemed like such a sudden movement, because just after a few seconds of Elsie's grip on Jack's hoodie, he had stepped back so abruptly. Like it was without thought. But his mind was there, it was there alright, and it had given him all that thinking in just a short time, even though it seemed longer.

His hands were on her shoulders, holding her there so he could give her a confused and weary grin, like he was unsure that he should even smile or not. She managed to match the look, both quite addled from the shared moment. What.. was that? They both wondered to themselves, Jack's throat being cleared as his cold touch left her shivering shoulders just as fast as they came.

The incident was one of many to come, but the two just brushed it off and continued to make their way to Sophie. Jack helped Elsie across, and sure, there were more incidents, seemingly shorter than the first, but they happened and neither of them could deny that.

It was the start of something, whether they liked it or not.