Summer (On Hold)

Chapter eleven

Jack's P.O.V.
They finally let go of me when they swung Punzie in the water. I ran up to the edge of the pool. She surfaced, and I held out my hand to help her out.
Pitch and his crew, apparently bored already with the situation, went inside and everyone else followed. Punzie came out sputtering water out of her mouth. Once she managed to stumple out, Punzie shook her hands and tried to shake some of the water off.
"You okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine. That water is just really cold." She wrapped her arms around herself.
"I'm sorry about that. Pitch can be a real jerk."
"Yeah he always had it out for me I guess. Ever since I humiliated him in a school play in first grade." She half smiled. Together we walked down the street, away from the very cold water, as Rapunzel put it. After a while of walking she said, "So... Where are we going?"
"Its a surprise." I paused. "Actually we need to stop at my house first. Then we will go to the surprise."
We stopped at Punzie's house so she could change. Girls take a long time. Anyhow, she came out in a white dress and brown boots with her hair hanging down, now dry. Then we continued walking.
Once at my house, I headed straight for the garage. I punched in the code in a little white box. It slowly lifted open to reveal an old beat-up blue truck.
"You have a car?" Punzie asked.
"Yeah. It was my dad's. I got my license a few months ago. Officially sixteen."
"I won't be sixteen for a couple of months. I will probably have to buy my own car." She smiled. "Did your dad get a new car?"
An uneasy yet familiar feeling spread through me. I tried to hide it, but I must have made a pained face, because Rapunzel looked confused, then realization crossed her face.
"My uhh... Dad died...a few um... Years ago." I mumbled. It was a touchy subject. She could tell I was uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry Jack." She stepped closer. Punzie looked like she was gonna cry herself and she didn't even know what happened.
"He um... Drowned. He fell in.. in a frozen pond..We were ice skating and uhh it was thin ... Thin ice." I barely managed to say, holding back the tears like I've done for so long.
Suddenly, Punzie is hugging me. I'm stunned by her sudden action, it takes me a second to hug her back. She pulls back and her cheeks are rosy.
"I'm.. I'm sorry Jack. A-about your dad." She tucked her hair behind her ear.
"It's okay. You uh..ready to go?" She nodded. We jumped in the truck and I backed-up out of the drive way.
"Soooooo... How's it going?" Punzie said, trying to start a conversation. I laughed.
I replied, "Fine. How about you?" I smiled. She returned it.
"Absolutely amazing. Where are we going exactly?" She questioned.
"I can't tell you, but I bet you'll love it."
"Do I need a blindfold?" She joked.
"No." I laughed, "you can just close your eyes when we get close, but if you want a blindfold, " I paused. "It can be arranged."
Her jaw dropped in amusement. She eyed me suspiciously.
In the next few minutes, we listened to some music. Taking turns finding songs on my iPod. I started to notice the little things about Punzie. Her thick blonde hair, not a single tangle. Her rosy cheeks and pink lips that smelled like honey. Her bright green curious eyes. The few freckles upon her nose. Her sweet voice singing along to each song. How she didn't have a single imperfection.
I can't. I can't fall for her. I'm dating Tia. My friends wouldn't approve. Tia and I were practically set up, the whole school pretty much assumed we were going to be together. I don't even remember asking her out. How did that happen?
We were almost there. I told her to close her eyes. I stopped the truck a few minutes later, and got out. I opened Punzie's door and took her hand. She eased out of the truck, but tripped and fell into me. I almost fell, but I stood mu ground. Her cheeks turned bright red. She straightened herself, eyes still closed. "Sorry." Still holding hands, I guided her. We were at a head of a hike trail at the base of a very large hill. Its not quite a mountain. It was luscious with all sorts of animal and plant life. There were many hike trails here, and we were at one of the less known ones. My favorite one. I led her to the back of the truck, which was parked in a clearing. I helped her into the bed of the truck, and sat her down on the roof. From where she sat, she would be able to see the large forest with hiking trails and the colors of the sky. Complicated swirls of clouds made it a picture perfect moment.
I sat myself on the side of the bed of the truck. "Okay. Open your eyes."
"Oh! What a cute dog!" She squealed.
"Wait what?"