*Rapunzel's POV*
I woke up at 6:30 feeling sad. I know it happened a few years ago, but it still hurts. It still brings down my day.
Today's the day Eugene's mom died.
I got ready for school like usual and saw Mom ready for work in the kitchen. "Hello, flower." She greeted, placing a kiss in the top of my head.
"Hey, Mom." I softly sighed, giving a gentle smile. I had to be strong today. I had to be here for Eugene.
"Sorry, I'm in a hurry today. I have to meet with a client at 7:30 this morning. Help yourself to a bowl cereal. Tell Eugene to have his dad and him over for dinner tonight." She explained as she poured herself a cup of coffee. I sat down at the table, resting my head in my hand.
"What time?" I asked, slightly yawning.
"Well, I won't be done until around 5. I'll still have to come home and make dinner which will take about an hour. So, I guess around 6:30." She said as she grabbed her folders and car keys.
"Okay. Is it okay if I have the boys over tonight and later Elsa?" I asked, hoping she would say yes. I had a lot of things to do. Things that I've been planning with Pascal.
"You can have the boys over till 5:30. Can't you have Elsa over tomorrow?" She asked, raising her eyebrow at me.
"Why?" I groaned, slightly tossing back my head. I needed her tonight.
"Rapunzel, I have to talk with Eugene's father over some very important things." She sighed, her tone warning me to drop it. To keep her from becoming upset, I let it go. There was no point to argue, especially today.
"Okay." I frowned, slightly drooping my head.
"Now, I have to go. I love you!" She exclaimed as she kissed me on my head again. Once she left, I quickly made Pascal and myself some breakfast. I gave him an orange slice and I made myself a bowl of cereal. I quickly ate it and grabbed my backpack.
"Bye Pascal! Be good!" I commanded as I locked the door. I heard him squeak goodbye as I shut the door. I drove to the school and ran to my locker. For the first time, Merida was there the same time I was. Usually, she almost late. "Hey, Merida!" I greeted as I twisted my lock.
"Hey, Rapunzel." She replied, giving me a slight head nod.
"How's it going?"
"Alright. You?"
"Average." I answered, slightly shrugging my shoulder. Merida gave a slight smile. Suddenly, she saw something in the distance that made her smile. I turned and saw Hiccup walking towards her. He made eye contact with her and kept walking. She blushed into a deep red, looking down. "Are you two dating?" I teased.
"Wait!? No, no. We're just friends." She decided, shaking her head at me. Fear was growing in her blue eyes, signaling that I was right.
"Liar!" I laughed as I grabbed my books.
"What?! No, I'm not." She fired back, anger growing in her tone. I decided to let it go. She obviously did want to tell me.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." I smiled as I shut my locker. She looked shocked that I found out. I quickly ran to Eugene's locker and waited for him. I had texted Elsa that tonight wouldn't work and I hoped she would understand. Suddenly, I felt someone touch my shoulder. I looked up and saw Eugene with red eyes.
"Hey, Rapunzel." He greeted in a fake smile.
"Did you get any sleep?" I asked worried, gently brushing his locks from his brown eyes,
"Yeah, it was just hard to get up this morning." He chuckled, trying to brush it off. The more I looked at him, the more my heart ached for him. No one should have to lose a parent this young. I quickly kissed his cheek.
"I'm always here." I declared, hugging him. He gave me a tight hug back. I rested his head on my shoulder, taking a deep breath. "You can always text me." I whispered.
"Yeah, I know." He roughly replied. I glanced up, seeing everyone giving us looks but I ignored them. They didn't understand and I didn't care about the rumors. We let go and he opened his locker.
"My mom wants you and your dad to come over for dinner." I said, trying to change the subject. I didn't really want today to be depressing. And I didn't want to make him cry here in public. He has his image to uphold after all.
"My dad?" He asked, cocking his eyebrow at me.
"Yeah, she said she needs to talk with him about something. I don't know what it's about." I explained, slightly furrowing my eyebrows. I was confused as well. I wish I could know what it was about, but Mom would never tell me.
"I know what it's about." He declared, his voice slightly upset. It rubbed me the wrong way.
"Care to explain?" I asked, my voice sounding hurt.
"Rapunzel, you're not that dumb," he fired back, anger in his soft voice. "You know what's about. She saw the house last night." He explained. I stopped, suddenly realizing what he was getting at. It made sense now.
I looked up, about to speak, but he cut me off. "Let's go to math." Eugene said grabbing his books.
"Wait, hold on," I said, I quickly wiped his tears and tried to make it less noticeable. If you didn't stare at Eugene, you wouldn't notice. "Okay, now we can go." I said. As we were walking, he grabbed my hand and gave it a quick squeeze.
"Thanks. For everything you're doing." He softly thanked, still facing forward.
"I'll do anything for you." I replied. I quickly bit on my lower lip. I can't believe I just let that slip.
"Thanks." Eugene chuckled, looking down at me
"I mean it." I said looking him in the eyes.
"I know." Eugene smiled, kissing me on the cheek. We sat our books down and walked to meet Jack and Kristoff.
"Hey, Eugene." Kristoff and Jack greeted. They know what happened today. I mean, after all, we've been friends since forever.
"Hey, guys. Where's Tonya?" Eugene asked confused, looking around.
"She wouldn't understand what's going on, so I told her to go talk with her friends," Jack replied, shrugging his shoulder. "And I know how you guys feel about her."
"How do we feel?" Eugene asked, giving Kristoff and me a worried glance.
"Oh, come on, anyone could tell that you guys hate her." Jack laughed.
"We don't hate her." I lied, trying to deny it. I know Jack likes her and I don't want him to stop dating her just we dislike her. Actually, I kinda do, but I don't want Jack to be sad so I kinda have to deal with her.
"Seriously? I saw you cheer at the movie theater when I told you guys she was sick." Jack grinned. We all awkwardly laughed. It was almost time for first period, so we left to our classes. Then I remembered that I forget to tell the boys about tonight.
"Hold on, Eugene. I'll be right there." I quickly said. He nodded his head and continued walking. "Jack! Kristoff!" I yelled. They quickly turned around and ran to me.
"What's wrong?" They asked, worry in their voices.
"Did you buy everything I sent you?" I asked, glancing back and forth between them.
"I never got a message." Kristoff replied, pulling out his phone. I let out a soft groan, trying to rattle my brain over what I wanted them to do.
"Okay, you two need to buy candy, pop, anything that you know Eugene would love. After school, meet at my house. We're going to watch the slideshow, and give Eugene tons and tons of love, got it?" I quickly explained. Every year, we watch a slideshow showing all the pictures of his mom. It makes us sad, but helps us remember her.
"Okay, alright." They agreed, beginning to walk away.
"Kay, bye!" I replied as I ran to catch up with Eugene. As I reached him, I grabbed his hand.
"Hey. What did you have to tell them?" He asked. I could tell he was desperate to get everything off his mind.
"I invited them to join us after school." I replied as we took out seats. I almost fell asleep when the bell rang. Eugene and I quickly grabbed our books and ran to our lockers because we were excited for science.
*Elsa's POV*
I walked into school later than usual because Anna's car broke down so I had to give her a ride. Yes, we each have our own cars. My parents are doctors so we have plenty of money. As I walked to my locker, I saw Rapunzel at Eugene's locker. They both looked sad about something. Before I could even think about what they could be upset about, Merida ran up to me. "Elsa. You won't believe this!" She yelled dragging me to my locker.
"What is it, Mer?" I asked. I was worried that something bad happened to Rapunzel and Eugene. If Merida thought it was bad, then it was extremely terrible.
"Rapunzel figured out I was dating Hiccup!" She whispered into my ear. Okay, I guess if she thinks it's bad it's actually not that bad.
"How?" I questioned, slightly surprised.
"I haven't the foggiest idea." Merida said stunned. We walked to history and just hung out there. Soon class started and I was excited to learn more about the French Revolution. Too soon, the bell rang. I slowly packed up my stuff and walked to my locker. I was dreading science because I knew Eugene was going to bug me.
I walked in and took my spot. I looked up and saw Rapunzel give Eugene a quick hug and a sympathetic smile. What's wrong with them? Usually they're bouncing off the walls with happiness? As soon as Eugene saw me, he gave me his signature flirty smile. I glanced at Rapunzel and saw her smile.
"Hey, Elsa." Eugene greeted, sliding in beside me.
"Hello, Eugene." I replied, staring forward. I wasn't going to look at him. That would just give him more power. And I couldn't give him that.
"Soo, still up for Friday?" Eugene asked, bouncing his eyebrows at me.
"Maybe next week."
"It's a date!" Eugene grinned.
"Eugene, I didn't mean it literally." I chuckled, now turning to look at him.
"I know. Goodness, Elsa, take a joke." Eugene teased, slightly bumping my shoulder as Mr. Johnson walked into the room.
"Okay, get back with your partners. Today we're going to do a lab. You'll need safety googles, lab coats, gloves, a bunsen burner, and tongs. The instructions are in a pile up here. Someone from your group will have to grab it before you start. The elements are in the back of the room. Please be careful, we don't want another accident again, right Eugene?" Mr. Johnson commanded.
"Correct!" Eugene smirked. Mr. Johnson smiled and came around to help us. Rapunzel grabbed the instruction and supplies as she walked past them.
"Hey, Elsie! Did you get my text?" Rapunzel asked, pulling in her goggles.
"Hey, Punzie. What text?" I asked, pulling back my hair.
"What is wrong with my phone lately?" She asked herself. "Anyways, I can't have you over tonight, we're having Eugene and his family over for supper and my super strict mom doesn't really like people over after 6:00 unless she knows them." Rapunzel explained as she put on her coat.
"That's okay. I understand. Well, let's get started on this project." I smiled. We burned lots of elements. Well, only the safe ones to burn. I noticed Rapunzel would glance back at Eugene every once in a while, so I decided to ask her about it, since we are friends now.
"Is everything okay?" I asked.
"Huh. Oh, yes of course, it's just." Rapunzel stuttered.
"Just wait?" I asked.
"Don't you remember eight grade?" Rapunzel questioned, her green eyes burning into my soul like the magnesium we just lit on fire.
"Not really." I lied. Eight grade was a rough year for Hiccup. Of course I remember it.
"Well, Eugene's mom died from cancer and today's the third year since she passed away." Rapunzel sighed, looking back down at her paper. She pushed up her goggles and quickly began writing answers down on her worksheet.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." I quickly replied, covering my mouth. How could I forget? It seemed so selfish to forget about a classmate's parent dying.
"No, it's okay. You were being a good friend, making sure I was okay. Just, don't bring it up to him. He wants to seem tough, like it never happened. But, we all know he's just hiding his feelings behind a smile." Rapunzel smiled sympathetically.
"Wait. In eight grade?" I clarified. Was it really then? Right around the time Hiccup was bullied?
"Yeah. Why?" Rapunzel asked, glancing up at me.
"Do you remember when Eugene used to bully Hiccup?" I asked nervously. I didn't want to bring his up, but I had to know. Maybe it was linked.
"Yeah, we tried to get him to stop but like I said, he wants to seem tough. So, he did what seemed tough, beat up people. He feels bad about everyday, but doesn't know how to say it." Rapunzel awkwardly explained.
"How's it going girls?" Mr. Johnson interrupted as he read our paper we were writing our reports on.
"Really good." Rapunzel smiled, happy that he changed the subject.
"Good, keep up the good work." He smiled as he walked to the next group. Soon we had to hand in our reports and put everything away. The bell rang and Rapunzel ran to Eugene's side. So that's why he bullied Hiccup.
*Jack's POV*
I was up late last night studying for horticulture. I'm getting a C in that class and my parents aren't too pleased. I quickly took my seat in that class. I looked towards the door, expecting to see Tonya, but saw the blonde I ran into yesterday morning. She does look pretty cute. She took the only open seat which happened to be by me. "Hey." I greeted.
"Hey." She blushed.
"What's your name?" I asked. She looked familiar, besides seeing her from the other morning.
"Oh, it's Elsa." She answered, brushing her light locks out of her blue eyes.
"Elsa?"
"Elsa Arendelle. You?"
"Jack, Jack Frost." I grinned, leaning back in my chair.
"Okay class, get out a piece of paper. Pop quiz!" Ms. Rieger declared, a smirk on her lips.
"That's what I forgot to study last night!" Elsa groaned, hitting herself on her forehead.
"Number one. What's the name of this flower?" Ms. Rieger asked as a flower popped onto the screen. Elsa slightly muttered under her breath each time a new flower appeared. It was kinda cute.
Soon, we handed in our quiz. I felt like I aced the quiz. I gave her a smirk as she took our papers. "The rest of class is yours." She puffed. I decided to talk to Elsa and learn more about this blonde.
"So Elsa, who do you hang out with?" I asked, leaning my arm on the top of the chair.
"Merida, Hiccup, my little sister Anna, and just recently Rapunzel." She answered, folding her hands over her lap. She was so polite and used her manners. It was slightly weird and adorable all at the same time.
"You know Rapunzel?" I asked, her name bouncing out at me.
"Well, who doesn't?" She chuckled, shrugging her shoulder.
"Yeah, she's super friendly." I laughed.
"Or as Eugene would describe her, a sweetheart." She corrected, sparking my curiosity again.
"You talk to Eugene?"
"Yeah, I have to sit next to him in science."
"What else does he say about Rapunzel?" I asked, wanting to know how he felt about Rapunzel. I knew her secret and I wanted to be able to tell her how Eugene felt. Maybe she just needed to take her chance now.
"I don't know, he usually just flirts with me." She answered.
"Just a warning, it's easier to say yes and wait until he breaks up with you." I explained. Maybe once he breaks up with her, he can finally realize that Rapunzel is the one he needs and deserves.
"That's so funny. Rapunzel gave me the same advice." Elsa laughed.
"Really?" I questioned.
"Seriously!" Elsa laughed. I chuckled, brushing my locks out of my eyes.
"So Elsa, I don't know much about you. What's your favorite color?" I questioned. If she was friends with Rapunzel, then I wanted to know more about her. Not because I genuinely liked Elsa or anything.
"Blue."
"Dark or light?"
"Both." She grinned.
"Same. Your turn to ask me a question." I explained, gesturing to her. She smiled, brushing her blonde locks from her face again.
"What do your parents do?"
"My dad is a very successful auto dealer and my mom is a stay at home mom."
"Nice. My parents are doctors."
"That stinks."
"Why?" Elsa asked, furrowing her eyebrows at me.
"You can't pretend to be sick when you don't want to go to school!" I explained, slightly chuckling. Her face softened and she smiled at me.
"I actually like school, so I would never have that problem." Elsa smirked.
"You're one of few, Elsa. What's your favorite season?" I asked. Most people I talk to say summer because school's out, but I could tell she wasn't going to say that. She was different. A good different.
"This might seem weird, but I actually like winter." Elsa blushed.
"No way." I said stunned.
"Yeah, I mean the weather's cold, but it doesn't really bother me and-"
"No, I mean no way, as in I can't believe we like the same season!" I laughed, cutting her off. Immediately, the bell rang, telling us class was over. "Want to sit by me tomorrow?" I asked.
"But, what about Tonya?" Elsa asked, glancing around, fear growing in her blue eyes.
"She'll be fine with it." I lied. I knew Tonya would freak out.
"Okay. See ya Jack!" Elsa said. Something about this blonde made my heart flutter. Am I getting feelings for her? I pushed these thoughts aside. Come on Jack, you have a girlfriend. But your friends don't really like her. Would they like Elsa? I knew I would have to talk to someone soon. I wondered who could help me with this dilemma when I saw the perfect answer. Rapunzel.
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Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Are my chapters getting too long? Thanks for reading!