Race Of His Life

Chapter 15

They blinked once.

They blinked once again.

"What?" Merida interrupted. "What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"I meant exactly that!" Flynn burst out, seemingly panicking, "He's not anywhere around here! Not even a mile around the area!"

"What?" Rapunzel gasped, "But you would've known if he had left, right?"

Flynn clutched his forehead, using his powers and panicking simultaneously affecting his mind, "I wasn't using my powers last night. Told him that since he's working I couldn't sleep properly so he told me to switch off and rest and that he wouldn't leave until-"

He stopped, eyes blown wide as realisation struck.

Seeing his sudden reaction, Anna grasped his arm and shook him. "Until what?"

"...until he finished his work..." Flynn muttered.

"Finished his work?" Merida did a double take, "but he still has to..."

Flynn thought hard on all the tasks that Elsa had given him to do. "Clean all the broken glasses and lights, help around the rink with tasks to compensate for the money he owes us for the broken glass, plant trees to replace the ones he uprooted and most of all, fix the rink."

"And he's finished all of them..." Anna whispered.

They stood in silence for a few seconds, taking in the information they just realised.

"He could've at least told goodbye before leaving..." Rapunzel sniffed.

"Why the heck are you crying?!" Merida growled, looking pretty pissed.

Rapunzel looked up at them with tear-filled eyes. "He's stayed with us for over a month now and he ate with us all the time and- you know I love meeting new people and making friends!"

"You hit him on the head with your pan when you first saw him." Merida pointed out.

"He scared me!"

"So? You knock out all the people whom you meet just 'cause they look scary?"

"It was the middle of the night and I was sleepy!"

"Okay, calm down ladies." Flynn stepped in, grabbing Rapunzel and dragging her towards their house. "How about meeting for breakfast to continue this depressing conversation?"

"Sounds good." Merida stomped to her house.

Anna sighed, walking slowly towards her house, cursing Jack in her head while remembering Elsa's fake smile and the previous day's incidents.

I guess the misunderstanding with Elsa gave him the push to finish all the work in one day... I wonder if it would've been different if they hadn't fallen apart...

Jack would've said a proper farewell to everyone and his friendship with Elsa would've lasted...

Or they would have even...

Anna sighed again and shook her head, knowing that her unsaid assumption was nothing but the dream and hope of the fangirl inside her.

.....

Did I make a mistake by running off without telling anyone...?

Jack groaned for the hundredth time, hitting his head for continuously doubting his actions.

After planting the last tree, Jack had removed the covering over the rink and froze the rink perfectly and smoothly so he wouldn't have to use the resurfacer. Stretching in exhaustion, he had returned to his room but instead of sleeping, he had packed his bag and left, glancing back many times to check if Flynn and Elsa were tailing him. Once he was sure that he was pretty far from the rink, he had frozen a few branches of a tree and settled down amidst the cold, taking a nap before heading out to the road.