Frozen Heart
Chapter 11
It was no secret that, whenever Jack went on certain out-of-town visits, she would come back almost giddy.
No one slipped on a well-placed ice slick, or got hit upside the head with a snowball, or even had their drinks frozen solid so their tongues stuck.
Of course, not a single person wanted to look a gift horse in the mouth, but the question still nagged at them.
What in Fiore had Jack Frost so head-over-heels, anyway?
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Jack, of course, knew exactly who had caught her attention so thoroughly.
She could admit, most of the time, that the kids weren’t the only reason she visited Oak Town so often.
It had been a surprise, the first time, to see someone standing on the sidelines.
Most adults tended to willfully ignore her interference, and even the shyest children were often roped into a game with time, but him…
There was just something about him that caught Jack’s attention, beyond the red eyes and pierced face, and held it.
Not that the guy was hard on the eyes, at least in her opinion.
But Jack had always been good at seeing past people’s masks, at noticing the little things some were unwilling to show.
She had seen Natsu’s strength, and Gray’s haunted memories; Erza’s overwhelming guilt, and Makarov’s heavy heart; and seeing Levy’s bright heart was enough to pull Jack back from her travels any day.
So sure, he seemed plenty wild and intimidating, but there had been a glimpse of light hidden underneath that Jack could not ignore.
It brought her to Oak Town time and again, hoping to see him and make sure that light was still there…
Eventually, the change became too hard to disregard.
Her mood dipped low whenever he failed to show up, and he always seemed relieved when she came back after more than a few weeks.
Even without having met face-to-face, they had fallen into a routine of sorts, and the thought just made Jack smile.
It was more than someone like her could ask for, most days.
No one slipped on a well-placed ice slick, or got hit upside the head with a snowball, or even had their drinks frozen solid so their tongues stuck.
Of course, not a single person wanted to look a gift horse in the mouth, but the question still nagged at them.
What in Fiore had Jack Frost so head-over-heels, anyway?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack, of course, knew exactly who had caught her attention so thoroughly.
She could admit, most of the time, that the kids weren’t the only reason she visited Oak Town so often.
It had been a surprise, the first time, to see someone standing on the sidelines.
Most adults tended to willfully ignore her interference, and even the shyest children were often roped into a game with time, but him…
There was just something about him that caught Jack’s attention, beyond the red eyes and pierced face, and held it.
Not that the guy was hard on the eyes, at least in her opinion.
But Jack had always been good at seeing past people’s masks, at noticing the little things some were unwilling to show.
She had seen Natsu’s strength, and Gray’s haunted memories; Erza’s overwhelming guilt, and Makarov’s heavy heart; and seeing Levy’s bright heart was enough to pull Jack back from her travels any day.
So sure, he seemed plenty wild and intimidating, but there had been a glimpse of light hidden underneath that Jack could not ignore.
It brought her to Oak Town time and again, hoping to see him and make sure that light was still there…
Eventually, the change became too hard to disregard.
Her mood dipped low whenever he failed to show up, and he always seemed relieved when she came back after more than a few weeks.
Even without having met face-to-face, they had fallen into a routine of sorts, and the thought just made Jack smile.
It was more than someone like her could ask for, most days.