Snowflakes Fall and So Did I

~CHAPTER 68~

~Friday Evening~

My sister, cousin, and I arrive at Jack's house right on the dot. According to Bunny, rather than have Jack, Jamie, and Sophie move in with North, North thought it would be too stressful and confusing for his three grandkids, and had moved in with them instead, leaving his house to Bunny and Tooth. Most teenagers would be thrilled about having the house to themselves, but Tooth said it was too quiet to her liking without North's old school music playing and Bunny even acknowledged that he misses bickering with the old man.

North was all smiles when he opened the door and invited us in. In the past, I would have been weirded out by being in my principal's home, but because of Jack, he literally became family to me. I never knew my grandparents, so he filled a void I didn't know was there. And when he hugged me, I hugged him back extra tight. We haven't spoken at school about anything at all, and I doubt we were going to speak of it now in front or near the kids, but I knew from the way he hugged me that he's there for me.

Because it's just as Tooth had said. North is family. She is family. Bunny is family. Jamie and Sophie are family. Jack is...family. He's one of the most important people in my life, and I have so many of those now. He's what feels like home. And even though that home is in bits and pieces, I have to have hope that it can be rebuilt. I have to be like Anna and Rapunzel; optimistic. Because being the opposite is so draining. I'm exhausted right now, but I'm here for Jamie.

"Thank you all for coming," says North as he shuts the door, "the others are in the living room. Jamie though is upstairs in his room. He won't come out for anyone. His door isn't locked, but we don't want to intrude. We're waiting for him to open up."

Sounds exactly like me.

I glance at Anna, who I knew was thinking the same thing, and when she sees my gaze, she gives me a sympathetic smile. Oh, yeah. She definitely thought the same thing.

"He doesn't even open his door for Jack," North continues, sadly. "Though granted, Jack only tried three times. To Jack, who remembers himself being 14, Jamie is 8 years old. It's strange to him seeing his little brother four years older. It's even stranger seeing himself four years older. We've tried catching him up on everything about his siblings and even you, Elsa, but to Jack it's like giving him a lecture at school. You can give him all the information you have for a test and he can take all the notes he can for it, but once the test arrives he won't recall a thing. Or something like that. I'm not good at metaphors or analogies or whatever they're called."

"But because of this," he continues, "Jack hasn't been his usual self and has become a stranger t Jamie as well. It's been really hard these last few weeks. He was very fond of you though Elsa. I'm pretty sure he had a cute little crush on you. Would you mind trying for us?"

"Trying what?" I ask, confused. "Trying to get him to open up? I...I don't know if I can. I've been in his exact spot before and I never opened up to anyone, even Anna–"

"It's true. Can confirm," she pipes in with a nod.

Ignoring the spike of guilt, I went on. "I mean, yes, I did open up to my uncle recently, but that's because I've gone through a lot of growth. I know we came here for Jamie to help cheer him up, but I didn't know I had to be the one to get him out of his room. And as someone who isolates herself as well, I promise you, the only thing he wants right now is to be left alone. I know it's not what he needs, but it's what he thinks he needs. If none of you are able to succeed, what makes you think I can?"

North's gaze softens and he puts his hands on my shoulders. "It's as you said, Elsa. You've been in his position before. I've heard a lot about you from your aunt and uncle and Jack and Rapunzel. I've seen how you've changed from the beginning of the school year and I know the beginning of this one reverted you back to isolation for a while, but you still opened up rather quickly, according to your uncle–"