The events that took place following Ky's defeat went by like a blur. The Keepers of Ice had taken over the huge icy castle, but its origins were still unknown. Ky and the members of Order had been locked up behind bars, and even though a few had managed to escape the castle before being captured, Stone had told David not to worry about a few runaways. "Without a leader, they'll be powerless," he had told him.
David suspected the real reason Stone was not worried about them was because there was a good chance that they would run into some snow golems. On that same day, David remembered going to bed early as he was too exhausted to think straight. He had been woken up early the next morning by his guardians, with Uncle William telling him it was finally time to go home.
After the Keepers of Ice had thanked them for their assistance with their fight against Order, Stone had thrown a magical pebble onto the ground, opening a portal that led to Earth. Specifically, it would return them to the same location they had been before entering Polarfrost. Estella had offered to return her spear to them, but Rafael stopped her and told them that they could all keep their weapons in case they ran into trouble back on Earth. David was thrilled to be able to keep his battle-axe and shield, but Aunt Yvonne told him that he had to keep it somewhere safe, and only use it in supernatural emergencies.
When they had entered the portal and returned to their homes, David immediately checked his phone for the date and time. To his surprise, only hours had passed back on Earth during his time and adventures in Polarfrost. It was only five in the morning, and he remembered somebody saying about how time worked differently in Polarfrost. It also reminded him a lot of 'The Chronicles of Narnia' and he smiled at that thought.
❄ ❄ ❄
Someone tapped on his shoulder. He stopped rummaging through books in his locker and turned to meet a smiling blond-haired teenager. "Hey, what's up Jackson?"
"G'day David! How was English?" Jackson replied automatically.
"I just had maths actually. It was pretty boring."
Jackson chuckled. "Anyway, here you go," he handed him a small card.
"What's this?" David took the card and started reading the text. His eyes widened. "You're having a birthday party this Saturday night?"
"Yup, and you're invited! I'm turning sixteen, so I'm having a big party to celebrate at my place."
David was shocked. He could not recall the last time he was invited to a birthday party. Well, a birthday party that was not his sister's. "Wow um, thanks for inviting me Jackson... I really appreciate it. But just out of pure curiosity, how many people did you invite?"
"Um, about half the year level actually," he said sheepishly. "I invited your girlfriend too."
David coughed. "My w-what? I don't have a girlfriend."
Jackson laughed. "Whatever you say, Dave. Well, catch you later. And you better come to my party."
"Of course! I'll see you later." As his friend walked off in another direction, David finished putting his books away, grabbed his sandwich and headed outside. It had been about a week since returning home from Polarfrost. He and his sister had kept their weapons safe just as Aunt Yvonne had told them too. Cody, Estella, his sister, and himself had decided to keep their wild adventures a secret and try to live ordinary lives. Ordinary... ordinary? The word felt strange in his mind because deep down, he would never really live an ordinary life even if he tried. Something told him that his adventures in Polarfrost were only the beginning of his extraordinary life.
Shaking his head, he decided to focus on the weather. The sun was shining brightly, its gentle rays illuminating the school grounds. He walked to his usual spot—an isolated area near the back of the school with shady trees—while taking bites out of his lunch. Although it had simple wooden benches lying around, barely anyone entered this area as it was far away from the school gym, oval, library and canteen.
As he approached the area, he could make out a figure sitting on one of the benches. He walked over and sat next to her like he did every other lunchtime. "Hey."
Estella smiled at him. "Hey! How was class?"
"Pretty boring. How about yours?" David took a bite out of his sandwich. He and Estella often met up at recesses and lunchtimes in this area. Since neither of them appreciated crowds, it had become their private spot—a special school zone appointed only to them. Them, and the wandering school janitors who sometimes mowed down the grass in the nearby area.
"I just had science and it was pretty fun." She giggled, causing David's heart rate to quicken "Fun because we had a science test, and I'm pretty sure I aced it."
He raised an eyebrow. "Only you would find enjoyment out of quizzes and tests." For the past week since their return, David and Estella had exchanged rather normal conversations as neither of them had brought up anything relating to their time at Polarfrost, as if it was just a dream and nothing more. Their friendship and bond had strengthened to the point where they had become best friends in such a short time, and even though David had started to fall for her, he just could not bring himself to telling her about how he really felt in fear of making their friendship awkward. "Hey, did you receive an invitation from Jackson?"
Her eyes lit up. "Yeah! You're going right?"
"Sure, how about you?"
"Only if you are," she said with a wink.
"C-Cool." He cleared his throat. Is she flirting with me? He felt butterflies in his stomach. He breathed deeply, desperate to change the subject. "So, do you think they'll invent flying cars in our lifetime?"
❄ ❄ ❄
His watch indicated that it was 7:14 pm. Crap. I'm going to be late! He quickly changed, grabbed his phone and headed outside, where Uncle William had been waiting patiently for him in the car. "I'm heading to the party now. Goodbye Aunt Yvonne!" he called out before closing the door and getting into the car. His sister was already inside and sitting in the front with his uncle.
"What took you so long?" she asked.
"Sorry, I lost track of time."
"Okay, who do I drop off first?" Uncle William asked as he started the car engine and took the wheel.
"Jackson's house is only a few blocks away from our house. Plus, I'm running a little late, the party started fourteen minutes ago," David confessed sheepishly. His sister had also planned to meet up with her two best friends and boyfriend at the movies tonight, but her movie would not start for another hour.
"Then let's drop you off first, David." Uncle William started driving whilst Stacey switched between radio stations in her search for what she considered decent music, most of which David did not appreciate.
He stared out the window and was glad there were few cars tonight. The last thing he needed was heavy traffic. David had already given Jackson his birthday present on Friday, as that was his actual birthday and he hoped he liked it. They arrived at their destination moments later and Uncle William parked the car just outside Jackson's house. Boisterous electronic dance music could be heard from inside and there were a few people in the front yard eating slices of pizza with a drink in hand.
"Thanks, Uncle William. I'll text you when the party's over." David took off his seatbelt and reached for the car door.
"Okay David, have fun! And the party better be over before midnight," Uncle William said with a smile.
David closed the car door and watched as they drove away. He waved at his sister from the footpath, who waved back at him frantically. He approached Jackson's house and realised he was feeling a little nervous. He knocked on the door and Jackson appeared a few seconds later.
"Hey bro! You're late." Jackson's gaze quickly swooped over his neatly combed hair and casual but neat clothing choice. "Nice clothes... you do know it's a party, not a school dance right?"
David noticed that Jackson was wearing shorts, a singlet, slippers and a ridiculous party hat. "Oh... it's my first time going to a party in Australia. I didn't know about the um... dress code."
Jackson laughed and gestured for him to come in. "No worries mate. Come right in, there's food in the kitchen and console games and a movie in the living room. Make yourself at home."
"Thanks." David walked in and could smell great food from the kitchen but his ears were plugged from all the loud music. "Are your parents home?"
"Nope, they're working late tonight for night shifts. As long as we don't thrash the place, they won't mind us partying until midnight." A group of people were calling Jackson's name from the front of the house. "Well, catch you later... looks like they want to tell me something."
David headed towards the kitchen and noticed that his friend lived in a pretty big house. There were groups of teenagers hanging around the hallways and some even in the kitchen. Three girls were chatting loudly in the corner of the kitchen stuffing their faces with pizza. He recognised most of them from his year level but did not feel comfortable with approaching any of them.
Some waved at him and he waved back, but as he was not hungry, he decided to head towards the living room. There were about seven teenagers occupying the couches and chairs and watching an action movie on TV. A few gamers huddled around Jackson's Xbox with their eyes glued to the screen like zombies. He especially avoided Miranda when he spotted her in one of the other rooms sitting with her friends.
"Hey, you came!" a voice yelled from behind him.
David turned and found himself facing a beautiful girl in an orange dress. Her lips looked redder than normal and her cute dark brown eyes were staring at back at his. "E-Estella?"
"How do I look?" she asked whilst twirling around gracefully. "I hope I didn't overdo it with the dress. I normally don't wear dresses."
"Uh, you look great." His cheeks reddened immediately.
She laughed and grabbed his hand. "Follow me, I want to show you something." She led him out of the living room and past the hallway. They then entered a room at the back of the house, where there was a door that led outside. She opened it and proceeded to Jackson's backyard with her grip still on his arm.
It was starting to get a lot darker and a beautiful sunset lay before them, causing the skies to reveal wonderful colours of orange and red. "Isn't it wonderful?" she was staring up at the sky with awe.
David stood beside her. There was no one else in the backyard and the clamorous music faded in the background. He enjoyed the breeze and looked up to the sky. "Sure is. I haven't taken the time to observe a sunset in a long time."
"Me too," she admitted. They watched quietly as the sun continued to fall below the horizon and it soon became dark. The stars in the night sky were starting to become visible. "Do you want to go back inside?" she asked.
David shook his head. "Nah, I'm not a fan of loud music. And I'm not really hungry. You?"
"I prefer to stay out here." She smiled. "There's a bench over there next to the fence with some trees. It'd be just like our usual spot at school." She led the way and David followed her.
They sat down on the bench and searched the sky for more stars. "Hope you're not afraid of the dark." He told her.
"Of course not. By the way... that was some adventure, huh?"
"Sorry, adventure?" David suddenly remembered. "Oh, you mean Polarfrost?"
Estella laughed. "Yeah. We never talked about it in school, but I couldn't stop thinking about it every day. It was scary, fighting Order and Ky, but it was kind of fun too."
"I agree. It was out of this world, but I definitely learned a lot about who I am."
Whilst shifting position, her hand touched his, and she pulled it back quickly. "Oops, sorry."
Although it was dark, David could see that she had looked away in embarrassment. His heart started beating fast again, and he could not stop staring at her. There was no one else around as everyone was inside partying and the silent darkness was not helping either. Here's my chance to tell her I really feel, he thought. "It's okay," he told her. No not that! Just tell her how you really feel. "Your hand feels nice." He slapped himself mentally. You idiot!
Estella looked up. "What?" she asked with a confused tone.
David sighed and looked at his feet. If you can use glaciers and ice shards to defeat bad guys and a crazed maniac like Ky, you can definitely do this. "There's something I want to tell you." He knew that he could not keep it to himself any longer, especially on an opportunity like this. He had been excited about the party all day, but only because he knew that she would be there.
"Sure, what do you want to tell me?" she stared at him intently.
He could not return her gaze without thinking straight, so he stared at the ground. "The thing is, um," he sighed. "The thing is, I l-like you. Like, a lot. Like—" he looked up and saw her staring at him with the biggest smile he had ever seen. He could not believe that he had finally divulged his true feelings for her.
She leaned closer towards him, allowing him to smell her sweet fragrance. "I like you too," she replied, almost as a whisper. "And not just as a friend."
David's mind was thrown into chaos—the kind he did not really mind. His heart and stomach were doing strange things and he felt so overwhelmed with joy and relief that he had to remind himself to breathe. She reached out her hand again and touched his. And he held hers.
She scooted closer to him until their arms were touching and rested her head on his shoulder. "Sorry, I'm cold."
He grinned. "Yeah, sure." His mind raced with so many things that he wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her about how he had fallen for her during their time in Polarfrost and how their adventures had only pulled them closer together. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she is, how her adorable eyes would always make him go nuts and how he was glad to have met her on the bus on the way to camp, which seemed like a lifetime ago.
Instead, he decided to keep his mouth shut for now and just enjoy the moment they shared together. With his fingers intertwined and head rested on hers, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to savour every second of this blissful moment. The night air felt cool but perfect and the two lovers held each other in their precious embrace, neither of them caring about the party or the amount of time they were spending in Jackson's backyard.