t h r e e
Jamie's 8-year old body clambered onto the sofa, alerting Elsie to look up from her book. He sat Indian style in his shark pj's (one of his favorites), facing his cousin with a grin that's missing a bottom tooth. El's light-weight laugh was short but ignited the mood gracefully. It was Christmas Eve and she planned on telling another one of her parents' Santa Clause tales for the boy that had the same big imagination as her. Jamie already set out a plate of cookies and a glass of milk by the Christmas tree, adding his own snack to share with Elsie that night. They planned on staying awake until sunrise to spot the jolly old man, so the camp was set up for a long wait. Sleeping bags, flashlights, snacks, and even a trip-wire by the fireplace that they had set up themselves. It was going to work this time, and the two made sure of it. Last year was just a practice run, they had excused.
"Let's see," Elsie started, placing her book on the coffee table, "Would you like to hear about the time Santa's sleigh broke down? Or when he lost one of his reindeer?"
"How could he deliver presents without the sleigh?" Jamie gaped up at her, sincerely worried how Santa managed to do it.
"Ah, well, he got a little help from the Tooth Fairy," she nodded thoughtfully, smiling at his shocked expression.
"They know each other?!"
"Know each other? They go waaay back, Jamie."
She continued on to retelling the story her father once told her, using hand motions and sound effects to add to the exciting night. She explained how the Tooth Fairy used her flying skills to deliver while Mr. Clause jumped from roof to roof. Sometimes the big guy would slip, making the 8-year old boy gasp loudly. Sometimes Tooth would forget a house, but Santa would get it for her. It was a fun tale, ending in Elsie taking a sip from her own mug to create the image of Santa Clause taking a victory chug.
"You two really staying up all night?" Elsie's mother sluggishly entered the room, a hand on her back as she walked. "Again?"
The 15-year old girl full of Christmas spirit found it funny that both her aunt and her mom were pregnant at the same time. It was just relieving and wonderful to know she'd have a baby sister and a baby cousin soon. Once she went to college, she hoped Jamie would retell the stories to the two girls, wanting them to have the same amazing childhood as she did.
"You guys are surely persistent," her mom chuckled, heading into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.
The two cousins with a close bond just smiled at each other, planning on having the same persistency until they saw the great Santa Clause in person at last.
February 11, 2013
Elsie Abernathy's mind was elsewhere as she dressed her little cousin for a day out in the cold, and that anyone could tell by the way she constantly put one of Sophie's arms or legs in the wrong clothing item. Her thoughts were drowned in anxiety and concern. How was she supposed to convince the 2-year old that Jack Frost was real? What if she doesn't want to believe and Jack is left sad?
Sophie Bennett was completely oblivious to the fact her oldest and coolest cousin wasn't in the right state of mind. She corrected El when her head was put in the arm hole of her rainbow sweater, but she didn't think anything of it.
Jack Frost was still in the house, admiring how homey and pleasant it looked. Sure, he'd been in here a few times, but more so in his pal's room. His eyes, the color of a nice and chilly blue, were scanning the living room to keep his brain active and away from the topic he was highly curious about. Because of that, the frozen boy found himself in front of the picture frames on the fireplace and the ones dangling in a pattern on the walls. He noticed how happy they all looked, the three members of the Bennett family, in each photo. Sometimes there'd be relatives or friends in the captured moments, including a line of pictures of Elsie in them.
Instead of the distanced glint in her eyes, there were happy shimmers and dancing emotion, right there in her deep brown peepers. Jack knew why, but he didn't understand. He admitted that to himself.
Jamie Bennett was sitting in school, doodling on his notebook, sniffling from the cold. He always wondered why his teacher liked to keep the classroom freezing when it was already the same way outside, but so did his class mates. They all just brushed it off and brought heavy jackets to the less than attractive room they spend hours in. His mind was jumping to get the 10-year old out of the math lesson, so he kept himself busy by drawing pictures of him and Jack, him and Elsie, Jack and Elsie. Jack and Elsie? Jamie wondered curiously, peering down at the sketch he had so effortlessly created. He didn't even think about what the picture meant, it just seemed natural to think the two of them were already best friends. The brown-headed artist hoped they were, at least.
Now, Elsie's nerves were pricking her skin as she sat on the bed with Sophie. She had to do this before the blondie would bounce off and get horribly distracted. It was just so hard. How could she approach this correctly?
An idea popped into her mind, pushing its way past all the nagging thoughts and to the front of her conscious. Are you stupid? It seemed to whisper, How did you get Jamie to believe?
"Right," El mumbled, adjusting herself so she was facing her small cousin, brewing up a couple clever snip-its from Jamie's adventurous story. "Soph, I think you deserve a story from all that fairy work. Must be tiring!"
That comment got Sophie's attention, causing her body to twist towards the tall red-head. She nodded vigorously, giggling slightly at the giddiness bubbling up inside of her, but also glad that someone understands how tough it is to be a fairy princess. She thought no one would get it!
Jack was making his way down the narrow hallway, wondering what was taking the girls so long. He was getting bored- that much was true. His feet created frost on the wooden flooring with every step, but it melted away quickly after his foot was lifted. The sudden sound of Elsie's smooth and intriguing voice caught his ear, making him lean over to press the side of his head to the door. What he heard made the edges of his lips stretch into a small, genuine smile.
She was explaining simple things, using her famous hand motions and sound effects. She told Sophie how Jack threw a snowball in the boogeyman's face to save Jamie, how he helped Jamie maneuver through traffic with ice, how he made it snow in Jamie's room to make him believe again. Everything seemed to relate to Jamie, but only because Sophie would understand better. Elsie was realizing, while telling these short tales, that Jack didn't just make it snow every winter. He saved children. He saved Jamie.
For that, she was thankful.
In the end, El was worried Soph might not believe. That those stories wouldn't change anything. And truthfully, it looked that way until a toothless grin spread across the little girl's face. Giggles erupted and a happy, bouncing, and very much excited Sophie proved that she started to believe. And to think, all it took was a few short stories.
So, after introducing the purple clad girl to Jack (which included even more giggles and his new nickname), the three of them- two bundled up in sweaters, mittens, and earmuffs while the other one was in his signature outfit- strode out the back door of the Bennett's house with a sled and skates in tote. Jack had to actually convince Elsie that: one, he wouldn't ever, ever, ever let them fall in the pond, and two, that Sophie wouldn't possibly get hurt during anything he had planned. Truthfully, he didn't have anything planned. He was going to wing it, like he usually does.
The trek to the frozen-over pond was a little longer than the one Jamie had made that past January morning. It was only because Jack Frost was constantly trying to hit Elsie in the face with a snowball, soon getting Soph into thinking it was okay to do the same, so basically the two had teamed up on the poor 17-year old. It turned into an ever-lasting snowball fight full of laughing and victory dances, but also sweet revenge when someone boasted too much. Jack managed to make it snow in this one area, and that itself flickered El's amazement, but she took no mind to it all. He was the winter spirit- of course he could do that.
"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.