Rapunzel Bennett (Jackunzel)

Chapter 17

"That's Jack." a quiet voice said from behind Zel.
Zel turned her head, "What?"
It was Sophie, like Zel she was still in her pajamas. None of the children bothered to change.
The colorful outfit made her look so innocent.
"Your painting."
Zel looked back and squinted at the monotoned blue painting she didn't finish.
"No... No, it's abstract. I was trying something."
"No no," Sophie mocked, "that's Jack. That's his side profile, his spiky hair, and his eyes." she pointed, approaching her sister.
Zel kept shaking her head, "It... It's not. Why are you here? Do you need something?"
"Dad came home. He wants to show off his new toy."
Zel nodded, "We should show humor him then."
"You don't wanna tell me about your painting?"
Zel awkwardly clasped her hands together, "I'm good."
"Oh, I'm going to put the painting... Somewhere... I'll be right behind you."
Sophie nodded and smirked as her back was turned.
A minute or two later Zel was fanning her painting to get it to dry faster and someone else came in the room.
The room was filled with the scent of cotton candy and the person noticed.
"Sophie... Sent me to get you..."
Zel jumped.
"It smells really good in here." They commented.
Zel looked at them. The guy. The same guy she's been seeing.
"Jack... Yeah, it's a candle, I lit it a while ago."
"I like your painting."
Zel smiled, "Uhm, thanks. I don't know how I feel about it." she admitted.
Jack nodded, "So... Why is everyone wearing pajamas?"
Zel laughed, "Dad's in charge so it's kind of a lazy day."
"Well, he set up the weird machine thing."
Zel nodded, "Yeah..." she paused, "Hey, do your powers control like wind and stuff?"
Jack shook his head.
Zel slumped, "So I'll have to wait for this to air dry before I hide it." she grumbled.
"Well, let's go then."
Jack nodded as he waited for Zel to leave before him. He wanted her sweet smell to brush past him another time.

Mr. Bennett was shaking his hips outside, starting up the new contraption. While Jamie and Sophie were playing in the snow, waiting.
He poured the cotton candy mix just as Zel and Jack came outside.
"Sunshine! Isn't this awesome!" Zel's father said like a proud child.
Zel giggled, "Yes dad, it's very cool."
Mr. Bennett began swirling the paper stick in circles as the cotton candy clung to it, "Oh my God! It's working! This is so worth a bad liver."
"Your excuse was pancreas." Jamie corrected.
"So worth a bad pancreas." he repeated.

After making the first complete cotton ball he raised it in the air, "Who wants this masterpiece?"
Sophie jumped up, accidentally kicking the snowman, "ME!" she aggressively shouted as she ran to retrieve the wad of pure sugar.

He had made some for himself and the other kids and while everyone got thirds and fourths, Sophie was only allowed to have the one.
Jack plopped down beside Jamie who was still distraught about his sister kicking a hole in his snow person.
"Why can't Sophie have seconds?"
Jamie turned to face him, "You really know nothing about my family do you?"
"I know you have two siblings and parents."
"Yeah, I figured. Well, Sophie has this problem with sugar..." he paused gesturing his head to Sophie who was running all over the place and kicking random snow piles while laughing maniacally. "I don't know if it has a name but typically Sophie is always exhausted, doesn't matter if you blast rock music in her face she can sleep through it. But when she gets even a little sugar she suddenly gets all this unnatural human energy, she could run a marathon if she wanted. So we have to distance her from candy and sweets. It's like an addiction she gets all she can handle then ends up paying for it. She gets these stomach aches that last hours and it isn't fun."
"So, if she has too much of anything sweet, she ends up suffering through pain for it?" Jack restated.
"Well, Sophie always says that the pain is worth it. She would do it all over again if she could. But I think she just likes the excuse to destroy everything in her path." Jamie clarified.
Jack nodded and looked to the sweet-smelling girl who laughed on the porch with her father.
"The pain is worth it?" he mumbled under his breath.
Just then Sophie came and ran right through the snowman with her arms spread out, "SOPHIE!" Jamie shouted at her.
She just chuckled evilly, making airplane noises.

"Oh... You're in my room again... What a surprise." Zel said sarcastically as she shoved her failed painting into her closest.
Jack bounced his head, "Yeah... I had a reason but forgot it."
"Then... What are you still in here?"
"I like the candle smell."
Zel hid her giggle, "Oh yeah, me too." she grabbed the half-used the pink candle and walked in front of Jack.
She grabbed his hand and put it out.
In it, she placed the candle, "But... I don't think you have much. You can keep it."
She walked back to the closet and covered her painting with sheets.
Jack's face was heated and he was uncomfortable.

Suddenly in the middle of the room, a portal opened. It was a portal to Bunny's realm.
"Oh--"
Soon, out of it hopped Bunnymund, carrying an unconscious body.
"Is that guy still sleeping?" Jack asked himself.
Bunnymund dropped Flynnigan to the floor, "Jack! I know you're the one that did this. You can't just send random people to my place, you owe me seventy-two eggs, mate."
"Seventy-two?"
Bunnymund nodded and glared, "Yeah, your little friend smash some on impact, then walked across them."
"We aren't friends."
Zel fell backwards, crashing into her closet, "There is some rabbit kangaroo crossbreed and it's speaking." she started frightened.
Bunnymund's eyes widened and he turned around.
"Is that a teenager?"
Jack nodded.
"But... Only kids believe in us..."
"Jack?" Zel desperately asked to one fictional being about another, "What... What's happening?"
Jack clasped his hands together, "Oh, this is the Easter Kangaroo, we dropped off Eugene with him."
"Eugene? Don't you mean Flynnigan?"
"I- she's a beaut."
"Excuse me?" both Zel and Jack said at the same time.
"So you dropped this guy? I'll let ya slide this time but Jack knows better."
Zel furrowed her eyebrows, "Am I being threatened by a talking rabbit?" she asked herself aloud.
She let herself slide down to the floor as her head pounded.
"Okay Zee, this is not the weirdest thing you've seen this week. Just breathe in and out." she reassured herself.
"Oi, I get it now. She's crazy."
Jack glared at him.
"This the one North talked about?"
"He told you?!"
"He told Sandy, but Sandy's a blabbermouth."
"Funny." Jack sarcastically remarked.
Jack shook his head, "Does Toothiana know?"
"Unless someone else told her she shouldn't."
"Okay, good because we aren't on the best terms."
Bunnymund crept to the portal, "I don't care about your problems." he finished before leaving them with Flynnigan.
Jack whistled as he hit the ground with his staff, opening a portal to Toothiana's realm and kicking Flynnigan in there.
"Who's Toothiana and why are you guys on good terms?" Zel butted in, "Is she an ex? Is that why you're always here?"
Jack narrowed an eyebrow and rapidly shook his head, "No, no, no, no. Nope. No. Definitely not. Nope, never. No."
"Did you... Did you say 'no' enough? Should I let you continue or...?"
"No... I'm done."
Zel nodded, "Okay, well... Are you enemies?" she persisted, leaning her head forward but not moving anywhere near Jack.
Jack scratched his head, "Well no..." He paused, "I'm assuming Jamie told you my problem."
"Enough, he said you were heartbroken like... Once."
Jack nodded, "That's it? Good. Well, I was sort of trying to open up. Sort of." he clarified, "But as I was talking about this thing, that's been more important to me than anything... Toothiana tried to kiss me."
"I... I'm not sure what it's like to have someone like you... But shouldn't it be flattering to have someone feel that way and want to comfort you in your time of need?"
"Well..." Jack said as he and Zel silently stared into the eyes of each other, "You're comforting me right now and I'm even more flattered because I know you don't have any intentions at all."
Zel hesitated, "Yeah..." She shut the closet door, "I'm not really comforting you though, just listening."
Jack smiled at her, "And that's enough." he lightly expressed.
Zel pursed her lips as her cheeks got hotter.
"Oh, well! I should go downstairs... Down ladder... Just... Down."
Jack laughed as she stumbled on her words.
"I actually haven't even checked on Sophie yet, so..."
Jack laughed as she hurriedly left the room.
He looked around and took a deep breath.
He decided he would confront to Toothiana.