Okay, let's calm down. This is not exactly a 'date' date, just a meeting where I will be asking Elsa about everything I wanna know about. Yeah, that's it.
And I'm completely gonna forget about what we almost did yesterday. Not that it meant anything to me- did it mean anything to me? I mean-
"What the heck are you doing out here so early in the morning?!"
Jack jumped, startled by Flynn's sudden appearance, before he leaned against the supper hall's door again.
"I'm heading out," Jack answered. "Oh, and I'll be borrowing your motorbike for today."
"Wait, seriously?" Flynn raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't informed about this. Are you going with Kris again? Because Elsa really didn't tell me."
The brunette eyed his clothes, and Jack merely raised an eyebrow as he checked himself. He was wearing skin-tight black knee-ripped jeans, a black T-shirt, his usual black leather jacket and black boots. His silver hair was messed up in its own unique way, his duffel bag was on the ground next to him and his black steel staff was right next to it.
"Well..." Jack trailed off.
"That's because I'm going with him myself," a familiar voice interrupted them and Jack felt his heart skip a beat as Elsa calmly walked over. Memories of the previous day rushed to his head but Jack forced himself to concentrate.
He noticed a change in her clothes, and raised an eyebrow appreciatively as he checked her out. She had swapped her usual maxi-skirt and long sleeved tops for something more different, which consisted of black jeans, a plain white T-shirt, a blue jacket, a baby-blue scarf loosely wrapped around her neck, and black boots. Her hair was in its usual bun and her right hand was holding on to a blue shoulder bag.
"Wait, what?!" Flynn blinked in utter confusion, taking his seat next to Punzie as the three of them reached their table, where the others were already seated.
"That's right," Elsa nodded professionally. "Frost here asked me if he could visit any higher places for practice and that he was sick of being only in the rink and the mountain grounds where we raced, and I know that both Kris and you have business to attend to so I told him I'll be accompanying him for the day."
"Seriously?" Everyone blinked in shock, before they quickly turned to Jack, who was surprised about her explanation, but nodded nonetheless.
"Huh, hard to believe Elsa actually agreed to accompany you," Kristoff snickered.
"Unless you forced her to," Merida narrowed her eyes at Jack.
"You think she would even consider if I forced her?" Jack asked.
"Nope," Flynn piped in.
"Besides," Rapunzel drawled, her expression turning sly, "You both are gonna be spending time all alone."
"Oh yeah," Anna grinned before her expression changed drastically to a serious one as she turned to Jack, "Hurt my sister in any way, and I will break you."
"Calm down," Elsa rolled her eyes.
"Other than that, enjoy your date well," Anna teased.
Jack just sighed, determined to not let the previous night's events change his behaviour around her, especially after seeing how she acted so nonchalantly.
.....
"So, shall we go?" Jack asked, getting up as everyone finished their breakfast.
"Of course," Elsa nodded, lifting her shoulder bag.
Jack collected his own bag and staff before he received Flynn's bike keys and turned to wave goodbye at the others.
"Take care, guys," Rapunzel smiled at them.
"Don't fall off a cliff and die Frost," Flynn grinned.
"Be careful Elsie, if he decides to become naughty, just break his jaw," Anna said, staring seriously at Elsa face.
"I intend to," Elsa smirked, eyeing said guy who backed away with his hands raised in surrender. "Let's go."
The two of them walked to the motorbike and Jack handed her a helmet before he turned to talk to her.
"Are you sure this is okay? I mean, what if Manny asks about you and gets to know that you're out with me? Wouldn't he- you know, get the wrong idea?" He asked her, holding his own helmet in his hands.
"Manny left to visit a nearby town last night," Elsa replied, her voice kind of muffled by the helmet, though Jack knew she was smirking.
"Okay then. Don't blame me if he comes after you for leaving the rink with me," Jack muttered, wearing his helmet before he got on the bike.
"You were the one who wanted me to take you somewhere, so technically it's still your fault," Elsa grinned.
"But you're the one guiding us to wherever we are going and I'm just gonna listen and drive so it's you who's taking me." Jack protested, making quotation marks in the air with his fingers.
"But you're the one riding the bike which means you're the one taking me somewhere," Elsa argued back.
"Whatever, just get on already," Jack muttered. Elsa swung her leg over the seat and sat down comfortably, and Jack raised an eyebrow when she placed her hands on his shoulders. "You know you can just put your arms around my waist."
"I wouldn't even if I was falling to my death," Elsa rolled her eyes.
"Fine by me. But it wouldn't be my fault if you fall off the bike," Jack commented as he started the bike.
"Just get over it already," Elsa hissed and just like that, they set out.
Elsa calmly guided him through the woods, and Jack tried his best to memorize the way as they reached the main road. She gave him directions and hit his back or arm when he messed up. Jack didn't stop protesting but listened to her nonetheless.
And since they were wearing helmets, Jack couldn't hear her properly so she had to lean her head close to his ear. So basically, she was pressed against him and a part of his brain kept pointing this out, and Jack kept ignoring it as he drove diligently.
And soon enough, they reached a road which led into the forest on the other side of the road, and Elsa told him to go that way and they stopped when they reached a board which read, 'Welcome to the Winter Falls'.
"The what now?" Jack raised an eyebrow as Elsa got off the bike.
"Park the bike somewhere and take your bag. We'll be walking from here onwards, its just a short distance," Elsa said, removing her helmet and fixing her hair.
"Um, sure," Jack muttered before he parked the bike between the trees and bushes and hid both their helmets in the trunk of a nearby hollow tree, before he grabbed his bag and walked over to her. "So the waterfall we're heading to is called the Winter Falls?"
"Yes, but to be honest, I wouldn't even call it a waterfall. It's just a medium-sized stream flowing through a mountain and falling down on some rocks and continuing on. But there is a pond right below it and the whole area is surrounded by rocks so its really beautiful," Elsa smiled.
"How do you even know about this place?" Jack asked, walking alongside her through the woods and he heard the water falling in the distance.
"It used to be a really well-known tourist spot back when my parents were teenagers, but over the years people stopped coming here. But my father loved this place too much so we kept visiting on a regular basis, and soon enough the people who were running this place also left, leaving it open for all. So, here we are," Elsa explained.
"I... was also wondering," Jack started, hesitant whether he should proceed with what he wanted to ask, "is it just me- or are the customers at the rink kinda very less? Because from when I arrived, you haven't exactly had even a single customer so..." He trailed off awkwardly.
Elsa stayed silent for some time, and Jack panicked for a second whether he angered her. "No, it's not just you," Elsa spoke, causing Jack to internally sigh in relief. "Since the rink is too far inside the forest, we have completely stopped receiving customers. The only reason we're able to live something close to a comfortable life is because Manny has plenty of other occupations, and he earns almost 60% of the money we use.
"And then there's Mr Dunbroch, Mr Corona and Kristoff, all of whom visit the nearby town for work. Kristoff leaves in the morning and comes back in the evening, but the other two men come by the rink thrice a week to visit us and their respective families. I guess that sums up about 30% of our income." Elsa explained.
"Um, I know you know that I was eavesdropping on Manny and Anna's fight the other day, and she mentioned that you are the reason everyone's able to live comfortably. What did she mean by that?" Jack asked.
"So you remembered huh?" Elsa looked down at the ground, never stopping their walk as she continued explaining, "That isn't exactly true. I work to keep us comfortable as well, but my work would be the remaining 10% of our income. It's not that big of a deal. I just work for my father's friend but I try my best to stay in the rink for as long as possible because when Manny is not present, the responsibility of the rink shifts to me."
"What kind of work do you do?" Jack questioned again.
"Nothing much. My dad's friend is the President of an association of a group of sports grounds and pieces of equipment, ranging from your normal roller skating rinks, playgrounds and ice rinks to official stadiums of massive games like soccer and cricket. I work under one of the different departments. I manage most of my work here in my house, but sometimes I would have to go to the next town for meetings and such. That's all," Elsa informed.
"Damn, that's a hell lot of work right there, is that all you do?" Jack asked.
"Yup, and other minor stuff like managing our bills, seeing after the water supply and all that is also my responsibility. So yeah, that's pretty much my life here in the rink," Elsa gave a sad smile.
I'm kinda having the feeling that she's hiding something... Jack thought to himself.
"Well, anyway we're here," Elsa said, gesturing to the scenery ahead.
Because of the serious conversation they were just having, Jack had almost forgotten about the waterfalls and just blinked at the scenery before him.
Being an international racer, he's been to many places and has seen many more beautiful places but those were all completely man-made. And standing here at the Winter Falls, Jack felt a smile creep onto his lips as he looked around and took in the beauty of nature.
Just like Elsa had mentioned, there was a clean pond surrounded by huge rocks, and a huge mountain was at its side. There was a cave sized hole in it and water poured out of it and joined the pond. Jack also noticed two small changing rooms at a side of the pond just behind the bushes from where they stood, and noticed the 'Male' and 'Female' boards on the doors respectively.
"This isn't exactly a river so where does the water go after falling here?" Jack asked, his curiosity starting to take over him.
"The pond is quite deep and there's a hole and an underground stream which connects this place to a river...which is somewhere I don't know," Elsa recalled.
"Something the great Elsa doesn't know? Jesus Christ, the world is gonna collapse!" Jack grinned.
"Knock it off," Elsa playfully glared at him, shoving him a bit before crossing her arms. "So what do you think we do now?"
"Huh?" Jack blinked.
"You wanted me to bring us here, dummy. So what do you wanna do now that we've reached our destination? We can go around the rocks, climb them and sit up there to talk about what you wanted to know," Elsa suggested.
"Pfft, where's the fun in that?" Jack snickered.
"Well, what else do you wanna do?" Elsa raised an eyebrow.
"Snowflake, we're at such a beautiful pond. It would be a waste if we didn't take a dip," he grinned.
"Nope," she flat out rejected. "Not doing it."
"Aw come on!" Jack started whining, dropping his bag on the ground before he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her. "Dont be such a killjoy."
"You can whine all you want but we aren't gonna go swimming," Elsa huffed.
"Snowflake, you owe me a favour." Jack pointed out. "Which means you have to listen to my requests."
"But I am fulfilling your favour by being here in the first place!" Elsa argued.
"But- I even helped you with the pipes by flying you to the ceilings! So that's another favour!"
"I didn't even ask you for help! You just randomly grabbed me and flew me around!"
"But you can't deny the fact that I helped you!"
There was silence for a few seconds before Elsa finally groaned in defeat. "I'm only doing this because of that one reason," She grunted.
"Po-tah-to, po-tah-to, just get changed already!" Jack pushed her to the female changing room before he closed the door.
He heard her mutter something under her breath but ignored it as he picked up his own bag and walked into the male changing room, and quickly changed into a simple black T-shirt and black knee-length shorts. In all honesty, he would've just jumped into the water wearing his shorts -since he didn't have his swimming trunks- but he knew Elsa might freak out if she saw him shirtless so he decided to throw on the T-shirt as well.
Jack placed his staff and duffel bag in the corner of the changing room and headed out. He looked around and noticed that Elsa wasn't out yet, before he walked over and sat on the edge of one of the lower rocks, dipping his feet in the water.
Aah, it's so cold...
Jack leaned his head backward, enjoying the coldness in his feet as he closed his eyes in bliss. He perked up when he heard the door opening and turned around to see Elsa wearing a dark blue tank top and a pair of white shorts which ended right over her knees. She kept pulling her tank top down as she walked out, looking a bit uncomfortable.
"You look cute," Jack smirked slyly when he saw the light blush on her face.
"Shut up. Its been a while since I wore clothes like these," She muttered under her breath, sitting down next to him and plunging her feet into the water. And just like him, she instantly relaxed and slightly swayed her feet in the water.
"It feels so cold and good!" Elsa grinned, leaning down and scooping some water in her hand.
"See? And you were so against swimming," Jack rolled his eyes.
"You said swimming, not relaxing on the rocks with our feet in the water," Elsa stated, pulling her legs out of the water as she stood up on the rock and walked around to stand behind him.
"So?" Jack raised an eyebrow, staring right ahead at the lake.
"So..." Elsa trailed off, bending and placing her hands on his shoulders and Jack went rigid when he felt her breath right by his ear. "I think it's only fair if you were the first to go down."
And with that, she pushed him into the water.
Jack spluttered as he came up, only to find Elsa laughing her head off. "You sly little fox," Jack smirked quickly raising himself out of the water.
Elsa turned to escape but Jack was already in front of her, sweeping her into his arms.
"I think it's fair if we both take a dip together," he grinned deviously before he jumped off from the rock. Elsa just screeched in surprise, catching her breath in as they went down the pond.
She quickly resurfaced and wiped the water on her eyes. "Couldn't you at least give me a warning before jumping into the water with me?"
"You didn't seem to have any problems when you pushed me in!" Jack accused.
"Whatever, your expression was worth it," Elsa smirked, before she scooped up some water and threw it at his face.
And just like that, they continued playing in the water like kindergarten kids, their nonsense of a banter never stopping throughout.
"Now you've done it!" Jack warned when Elsa pushed him backward. He took a deep breath before dipping into the pond and swam deeper, smirking to himself when he spotted her feet.
"What are you doing?" Elsa asked, looking around and searching for him. And before she knew it, something grabbed her leg and yanked her down. Elsa forgot to breathe and the water took no time to enter her mouth and nose.
She started choking, getting that worst feeling one gets when underwater. Strong arms grabbed her hips and brought her up, and Elsa choked and struggled to breathe once out of the water. She pushed him away from her and her temper increased even more when she heard laughter.
"Why you little-" Elsa started but she started choking again.
"Are you alright? I could always give you a CPR right now."
Elsa had her eyes closed, but she knew he was smirking.
"No thank you," Elsa grunted, finally getting over the chokes. "And wipe that smug look off your face. Seriously, all I did was push you back and the next thing I know is that I'm getting dragged into the water by a madman," she rolled her eyes.
"Hey, I'm not a madman! And its called revenge," Jack stated.
"Whatever," She muttered under her breath.
Jack's eyes widened when she raised her hands to untie her bun, and he realised that her tank top was clinging to her body, not leaving much to the imagination.
Well, hello there...
"Eyes up here, mister," Elsa warned, glaring at him as she finally left her hair free.
Jack looked up with a flushed expression, and it only grew worse when he saw her usual tight bun now left out free to cascade down her back. Her hand reached up and pushed her bangs back and Jack just continued staring, gulping for no reason.
"What? Is there something on my face?" Elsa asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion.
"Wha- no, no, nothing's on your face," Jack replied, shaking his head violently.
Elsa just stared at him in suspicion before she shrugged to herself. "Well, we better get dressed. It's already evening," and she quickly swam to the edge of the pond. She planted her hands on the rocks and dragged herself up, feeling the weight of her wet clothes.
Meanwhile Jack stayed right in his place, staring at her as she raised herself up, extra water escaping from her clothes and dripping down her body.
Damn...
"Are you coming or what?!" Elsa called out.
Jack snapped out of his daze and quickly followed her, internally scolding himself for staring at her so shamelessly. He was unaware of the fact that her icy blue eyes were staring at him as he climbed up the rock, his own clothes clinging tightly to his body. Both of them entered their respective changing rooms.
Once outside wearing his previous outfit and feeling partially dry -his hair was still wet-, Jack looked around and was surprised when he found Elsa already waiting for him in her previous clothes, except her scarf was stuffed into shoulder bag.
"So, how about we eat something while sitting on the higher rocks? We didn't exactly have lunch," Elsa suggested.
"Sounds good," Jack commented and they gathered their bags.
Jack asked her where they were gonna be sitting, and Elsa pointed at the highest rock, telling him that the peak is actually flat and perfect to relax during the evening. She started explaining to him that they'll have to go around the pond and they would see the rocks aligned in a staircase kind of manner, and Jack just rolled his eyes before he grabbed her bridal-style and flew over to the top.
"You do know that I'm completely capable of walking up here, right?" Elsa asked as he set her down.
"Yup," he stated, not bothering to explain himself. Elsa just raised an eyebrow at him, before she sat down on the rocks.
"Let's eat," she announced, pulling out two Tupperware boxes from her shoulder bag. She gave him one before getting a water bottle out of her bag.
"Is that a bag or a four-dimensional pouch with infinite space in it?" Jack joked.
"Are you referring to Doraemon?" Elsa narrowed her eyes.
"Of course I am! That is one of the best anime for children!" Jack stated as he opened his box. His stomach whined for food when the smell of Rapunzel's signature pie reached his nose. He quickly dug in, not minding that he was eating in front of Elsa.
"You're not a child, Jack," Elsa pointed out, eating her own pie, but more gracefully than him.
"I used to be a child, and Doraemon was always every child's dream. I mean, who wouldn't love to have a cat robot from the future as their friend, and have it help us with literally anything and everything with such cool gadgets?" Jack argued, finishing up one piece before he reached out for the second.
"Doraemon literally shows how a boy is getting bullied, has a crush on one of his classmates, and how helpless he gets when his cat friend isn't around to help him. Moreover-"
"Do NOT insult the great series! Doraemon is an anime that shows the true meaning of science and friendship," Jack cut in. "And besides, I didn't know you watched any anime."
"Anna and Rapunzel might have made me watch a few," Elsa shrugged.
"Like?" Jack asked.
"Hm, I don't exactly remember but I think its name was Attack on Titan or somethi-"
"Hold up right there!" Jack held a hand up, effectively silencing her. "You watched Attack On Titan and you're telling me you don't remember it well?! Disgrace on you, disgrace on your cow!" Jack huffed.
"Well, excuse me," Elsa huffed, "besides, I don't even have a cow!"
"Yeah, yeah, let the excuses keep coming," Jack rolled his eyes.
"It's not my fault you happen to be such a big anime fan," Elsa crossed her arms.
"It called an Otaku, honey," Jack corrected.
"That's actually supposed to be an insult in Japanese," Elsa pointed out.
"Otaku means someone who's obsessed with computers and stuff and is basically a nerd. But it is also refers to big fans of the anime and manga fandom," Jack stated like a huge scholar.
"I'm surprised you even know about it," Elsa smirked to herself, closing her now-empty box and shoved it inside her bag.
Jack gave her his as well, and the two just turned towards the pond and sat in silence.
"You were right, this place is awesome to just relax in the evening," Jack smiled, feeling the cold evening breeze brush past his face.
"This was always my favourite part when we used to come for picnics. We would just sit here and relax, and Anna would sometimes fall asleep in my dad's arms," Elsa smiled to herself, bringing her knees up and hugging them before she rested her chin on her knees.
"So I guess this is a good time to start with the stories," Jack suggested.
Elsa stayed quiet for some time before she slowly nodded.
"Here we go."