Love Thaws: Melting

Damsel in Distress

"I just love your hair!"

"I know, so pretty! I used to have platinum blond hair when I was... four. But it darkened," a brunette piped up.

"And your eyes are so pretty," gushed another.

Elsa had a feeling they were doing their best to welcome her. She shyly glanced down at her plate a murmured a 'thanks.'

"You know, I have a cousin who used colored eye contacts."

"Oh, what color?"

"Purple. But it looks a little off, since she has brown eyes."

"Yes, I heard blue eyes works best for colored contacts."

And just like that, they had changed the subject. Elsa nibbled at her cookie. A woman smiled and laughed, baring her teeth, stained in red. Elsa eyed her own punch and decided not to drink anymore. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned.

Jack smiled down at her. "Do you want to feel ogre snot?"

Elsa wrinkled her nose. "Ogre snot?"

Jack nodded and smiled again. He was so handsome. "Yep."

Elsa pushed the chair back, the wooden legs scraping against the tile flooring loudly. Jack took her hand and led her to a table, each with a plastic black cauldron. Elsa began to peer inside, but Jack stopped her.

"You're supposed to feel and then guess."

Elsa nodded and put her hand in the cauldron labeled, 'Brains.' It didn't feel anything like Elsa imagined brains would. "Spaghetti covered in oil."

Jack stuck his hand in too, gently nudging Elsa's. "Feels like it."

Elsa put her hand in the next one, labeled 'eyes.' She wrinkled her nose as she felt slippery, slimy balls. "I'm... not sure."

Jack touched the 'eyes' too before peering into the cauldron. Elsa looked too. It was a bowl full of peeled grapes. Elsa was surprised she hadn't guessed something that simple. She cautiously stuck her hand into the next one, the 'ogre snot' Jack had wanted her to try. She frowned. The substance was cold and goopy. She shuddered and drew out her hand, severely hoping it wasn't ogre snot. She peered in with Jack and frowned. It was green goop.

"What is it?"

Jack lifted up a glob of the substance to his nose. "Hair gel."

"It comes in green?"

"Apparently."

There were three more: witches' fingers, maggots and bugs, and a hand. The witches' fingers were bumpy, with what felt like a hard fingernail at the end. Jack pulled one out, revealing a baby dill pickle with a pistachio shell stuck on one end. Elsa was becoming bolder as she felt the 'maggots and bugs.' She was relieved when she peered in, finding that it was rice and raisins in oil. Elsa felt around in the last one. 

She couldn't feel anything at first, so she stuck her hand down deeper. A hand grabbed hers. Elsa inhaled sharply and yanked her hand away. She clutched the hand to her chest, her eyes wide. Jack gave her a confused look. He stuck his hand into the cauldron. Then he began laughing. Jack turned towards her and bent down. His lips touched her ear. Elsa had to concentrate to hear what he was saying.

"There's probably a person under the table."

Elsa nodded, surprised she didn't think of that herself. A man walked by them and Jack tugged her to him, wrapping his strong arms around her tightly so their bodies were pressed together. Elsa gave Jack a confused look. He'd been like this all night.