Sometime during the game, Anna had asked the question I was asking myself all night. How does football work? Hiccup, of course, didn't have the answer, but Jack and Kristoff did. Their explanations still didn't help, but they had their reason.
"We know more about Hockey than football," Kristoff defended.
"And we're the best ones on the team," Jack boasted. "Well, at least I am. Kristoff's okay." Kristoff shoved Jack at his tease, making the white hair boy nearly fall out of his seat.
"But you have the perfect body for football. I think you'd do perfectly well in the sport, Kristoff." Anna argued, taking me off guard, along with Kristoff. Did she just basically admit to him being hot?
"Um.....thanks?" Kristoff said, unsure of what else to say, and blushed.
"Wow, Anna," Moana teased, "I didn't know you had a thing for Kristoff's body."
Anna's eyes go wide at the realization at what she had said. "Wait what? Th-That's not---I didn't mean---Ugh whatever!" Her face was red from embarrassment, and it took all my might not to giggle at her. I did smile, fairly wide, however.
"Don't worry, Anna," Merida took over, "Hiccup has a thing for Astrid's body too. He thinks she's the hottest girl in the world."
"First of all," Hiccup started, definitely fed up, "She's not a temperature. She's beautiful, not hot. Secondly, will you quit with the teasing? You always do this when Astrid is in her uniform."
"Hey, she wore her uniform during school too. I could have teased you then, but I was being considerate." Merida defended. "I have to get it all out of my system now, especially since Snotlout isn't anywhere near."
"Sorry to jump in," Jack starts, stopping to laugh, "but was that really your response, dude?" He was talking to Hiccup. " 'She's not a temperature'. I'm sorry, and I know you've heard me tell you this before, but you're really, really lame."
I frowned at this. Wow. That was kind of rude. And Rapunzel actually thinks we'd be cute together? What on earth was she thinking?
"I'm well aware," Hiccup replied, unphased by the insult. "I just feel that calling a girl 'hot' is lame and kinda inconsiderate. Girls should be complimented with actual words like 'gorgeous' or 'beautiful' rather than 'hot' or 'smokin'. Sorry, if I'm more of a gentleman than you."
Well said, Hiccup. I completely agree.
"Oh shit," Merida commented. "He sure told you."
"Hiccup 1," Moana starts.
"Jack 0," Rapunzel and Tooth say in unison.
I was afraid that Hiccup had unintentionally ticked Jack off, but Jack laughed and reached over Kristoff to shove Hiccup, gently. "With a smart mouth like that it's no wonder Snotlout keeps picking on you. But seriously, you need help with the opposite sex. When are you going to let me help you out?"
"Maybe," I found myself boldly saying, defending the poor boy, "he should seek help from someone who is in a relationship, or who's a love expert." Not me though. Oh no definitely not. I am not at all an expert to romantical love.
"And what makes you think I'm not in a relationship?" Jack asked, sounding offended. . "Or that I'm not a love expert?" I was unsure if he was being serious or not. I can't always tell with him.
"I didn't mean to offend you if I did," I start, taking the safe route, and hoping this wouldn't take a bad turn. He is my ride home after all. "I'm just saying that...well..." I didn't know how to say my next words without offending him even more.
You're not exactly mature enough for girls to want to be in a relationship with you or to be an expert at love.
That's what I wanted to say, but I knew it would offend him. If I was told that, I'd be offended too. I was raised to keep my mouth shut if I didn't have anything nice to say, and that statement isn't exactly the nicest. I was also told to be honest, so this is where I'm stuck at. Plus, I'm assuming. He could be in a relationship and a great love expert. I have no proof that he is or that he isn't.
Tooth quickly came to my rescue though before I could finish my sentence. "Jack, leave her alone. He's just playing with you, Elsa. Ignore him."
Yeah, she doesn't have to tell me twice.
~*~
When the game finally ends, the Burgess Reindeers were deemed the winners. They won the Homecoming game, and never in my life have I ever seen a large group of teens and adults freak out. My ears are still ringing from all the screaming, especially from my cousin. Flynn was the one that made the winning point, and Rapunzel was eager to show her happiness.
As the group and I headed to the field to congratulate Flynn, Eret, and Bunny, Astrid found us and said, "Hey, Eret just told me he's throwing a party at his lake house. That's where everyone's going. You guys up for it?"
And of course, everyone was all on board. Me? Not so much.
"Let me text my mom real quick," Rapunzel says and quickly pulls out her phone to do so. I silently prayed that Aunt Arianna would say no, but unfortunately, a minute later, she had texted back her approval. "We're good to go."
Anna squealed in excitement, while my stomach churned in discomfort. Coming to the football game was a big stretch for me, now I have to go to a party? Maybe this will be good. Maybe this is God's way of helping me out. I sure hope so.
A few minutes later, Anna, Rapunzel, Tooth, Jack, and I were all back in Jack's car, heading to Eret's god forsaken lake house. Another karaoke sessions broke out between everyone in the car, but this time I was not in the mood to listen and enjoy the silliness. I was tense earlier when I had first climbed inside Jack's car, but now I'm even more tense than before. This time it's not even because of Jack; it's all because I'm attending a last minute party. I have very limited time to prepare myself for the craziness that I know is awaiting me. Oh my god, what if Anna gets drunk?
What was our aunt thinking? It's a high school party. There's going to be alcohol, and Anna is a very curious individual. She is responsible sometimes though. Should I just...trust her? Should I just...chill out and relax? What if some guy sexually harasses her? I don't think her fiery spirit will be enough for her to take him on. Oh god what am I going to do? I don't want to smother her, I want her to have fun, but I also don't want her to get wasted or harassed.
My anxiety is extremely high right now, and so many scenarios keep playing in my head. They won't stop and I'm internally freaking out. No one seems to notice, and I'm glad. I don't want anyone to worry about me. I don't want to ruin their night.
When we arrived at Eret's lake house, I was surprised to see so many people already there. I could hear the music blaring in the house from the car, and when I exited the car the music was even louder. I wonder how it sounds inside the house. Most likely deafening. We're surrounded with trees and there isn't another house for miles. It's perfect because that way no neighbors will call the cops. Which doesn't help with my anxiety at all.
"Alright," says Tooth once we were all out of the car. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom before I explode. I'll see you girls inside."
"Sounds good," says Rapunzel. Tooth smiles and salutes us before she takes off running to the house.
"This place looks amazing," says my sister as she looks around.
"Oh yeah," I say, sarcastically. "It looks very...wild."
"Wait until you see the inside," Jack comments, nearly making me jump when I realized he was standing right next to me. "It may not be as glamorous as the inside of your castle of a house, which I have yet to see, but it's freaking amazing."
Anna then took me by surprise when she suddenly grabbed my hand and dragged me forward, taking Rapunzel along with her as well.
"Okay," I hear Jack call out to us. "Just leave me behind. That's fine. It's not like I have feelings, Anna."
"Hurry up then, Jack," Anna replied to him as she dragged my cousin and I faster towards the house.
"Anna, slow down," says Rapunzel, laughing. "The house isn't going anywhere."
Anna giggled her response and only let go of us once we were inside. I noticed how a few heads turned to stare in shock upon seeing Anna and I. I knew it wasn't at Rapunzel. She must have been to Eret's parties before for her mom to simply just allow her to go at the last minute. Everyone's probably shocked because Anna and I don't seem like the kind of girls who would waste our time at a high school party. Or at least I wouldn't waste my time here.
"So this is what a party looks like," I say as we walked deeper into the house full of partying teenagers. The movies, shows, and books were right. This is exactly like all those fictional parties I would read about. I just hope Anna and Rapunzel don't make a stupid mistake like the main characters in those movies, shows, and books always do. I know I can trust them. But still.
"It's warmer than I thought," Anna comments.
"And what is that amazing smell?" Asked Rapunzel.
All three of us took a sniffed the air deeply. My mouth couldn't help but water at the realization. "Chocolate." I say in unison with my sister and cousin. We giggled together and my heart soared. It reminded me of the good old days.
I frown as the memories of my old happy life came rushing back. I miss those days so much. Things wouldn't be the way they are if I had just said no to them that night. No. Nothing would have happened had I not suggested to spin my sister on the pond. Nothing would have happened had I not accidentally let her go.
Things also wouldn't be the way they are if I hadn't had pushed them away. I've wasted so many years. If I told Anna the truth now she'd probably think my reasons for pushing her away were the most stupidest reasons ever and be, well, pissed. Things are, somewhat and slowly, becoming better between us. I don't want to ruin that. I want to fix it, to make it better.
God, I don't know what I'd do if she ever became extremely mad at me. I'd probably go back avoiding her, and truth be told....I don't want that, especially now that I have a chance to rekindle my relationship with her. Perhaps it'll be she who will deliberately choose to avoid me.
"I don't know about you, but that chocolate is calling my name," says Rapunzel. She took off toward the smell like a hound dog with my sister following right on her tail. I stayed where I stood. Anna suddenly stops and turns back to me.
"You coming?" She asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.
"I'll catch you later," I say, deciding to do some snooping around before I followed her around for the rest of the night like a duckling to its mother. "I need to check the surroundings." At the same time, I want to get away from all these sweaty and possibly drunk teens. Just for a little while before I come back to her.
Anna playfully rolled her eyes. "You worry too much."
"I think I have every right to worry," I defend myself, "This is our first high school party, and a lot of bad things can happen. Please, please, promise me you won't--"
"Take any drugs, drink any alcoholic drinks, or sneak into a bedroom with a guy," Anna interrupted, sounding only slightly annoyed. "I know, I know, I know. I promise you all of this, only if you promise to let loose and have a little fun, okay? You can trust me, Elsa."
I opened my mouth to tell her that I do trust her, but she turned around to follow our cousin before I could even speak a word. I let out a sigh and followed her, making sure that she made it back to Rapunzel's side. She'll be safe with our cousin.
Luckily for me, following Anna led me to the back doors that were right next to the chocolate fountain, along with the rest of the food. I open one of the doors, and stopped to look at my sister and cousin, who were happily piling up their plates with all kinds of treats. They didn't even notice me. Honestly, it kind of hurt that I was so easy to forget and ignore, but that was a goal of mine for the longest time, I suppose.
A second later, I pushed the door open and was right back out of the house, walking toward the lake.
I heard the people laughing before I saw them in the water. As I walked toward a nearby tree to sit down at, I noticed that Moana was among some of the people. She and the others were having a swimming a competition, which really wasn't much of a competition since she kept winning, and as I kept watching them from where I sat on the ground, I was unaware of the figure that suddenly stood beside me.
"Well, you look like you're having a blast." It's voice says, causing me to realize that they were standing there at my side and to jump out of my skin.
"Jesus!" I say, placing a hand over my heart as I whirled my head around to look up at the owner of the voice. My eyes widened at the sight.
"Close, but not quite. However, I always did think of myself as a holy man."
"Jack?!"