Elsa

Nine

Moon paces back and forth in front of us, reading her clipboard and tapping the pen against the page. We're all lined up, ready to be paired off. Pierce is at the far end of the line from me, and I try to discreetly look over at him. He's staring back.

"Alright, when I call your names, go ahead and go get your skis on," she says. "Then you and your partner can go to the ski lift. Your instructor will be waiting at the top of the slope." My heart skips a beat, hoping that when I'm called, Pierce will be, too. 

She calls off a few pairs of kids I don't know, then I hear Ariana's name. She's paired with this enormous mountain man kid named Kristoff. His blonde hair is unkempt and sticks out from under his knitted hat. He probably knows how to ski really well. He looks like he grew up in an igloo.

"Pierce Black," Moon calls, and my mouth becomes dry. I try to be nonchalant, but honestly I'm pinning all my hopes on the next two words. "Rachel Gothel."

It's like a balloon popping. I completely deflate- inside, at least. I watch my roommate Punzie smile shyly at my-

At Pierce.

Since when did he become 'my' anything? I chide myself and swallow, trying to not be so attached. But there's something about him that I can't ignore. Something I'm drawn to.

He looks back at me as he and Punzie head to the barn to get their skis. I'm not even pretending to pay attention to Moon. I turn around completely and watch him leave, feeling a sudden desire to give up on this stupid trip and go back to campus and forget this ever happened-

Then Moon calls my name. Probably a second time, because it's louder and meant to get my attention. "Strömgard." I whip around. She nods towards my ski partner. "Jack."

Jack smiles slyly and doesn't even wait for me to start moving before he walks off to the barn. I'm right behind him in a second, but I stay back a step because it's awkward and I don't want to talk to him.

When we enter the barn, I plot the most strategic and inconspicuous route to my skis that would land me nearest to Pierce. I sit down across from him on an empty bench and begin strapping on my skis. I glance up at him. He glances up at me. We exchange a look.

"Need help with those straps?" Jack asks.

I snap my eyes to him, then down at the straps I've been playing with but not making any progress. "No. I'm fine." I hurriedly tighten the boot and move to my other foot. Now, this one actually is giving me trouble. I frown and try to work my way around the knot. I hear Jack chuckle, and I'm just about to say something smart when he bends over and grabs the laces from me. 

"I can do that myself," I say.

He looks up at me, tightening the boot. "Yeah." He double knots the lace. "But it's okay to need help, too."

He's trying to tell me something. About my powers. He's saying it's okay to need help with my powers.

"No." I stand. "It's not."

I grab my poles and push off towards the ski lift.

I give him the silent treatment as we stand in line and then board a lift bench. It takes a while to ride to the top of the slope, and halfway there Jack pulls off his glove. He raises his palm and forms a snowflake.

I almost choke. "Jack!" I exclaim. "Don't do that! Someone will see!"

He laughs and looks behind us, at the obscure pair of people on the bench below us and then ahead at the bench above. I can't even make out their faces.

"No one's watching," he says. He eyes me carefully. "It's okay, Elsa. Don't be so scared."

"I'm not scared," I say.

"No, you're terrified."

"I'm not-"

"It's okay."

"It's not-"

"Yes, it is."

"Stop interrupting me!" I snap. I pause, but he doesn't say anything. Just watches me. I pull my gloves on tighter and stare at my lap for a second. Then I say, "I can't afford to make mistakes. It's either keep it all in all the time, or show the world everything."

"And if you show the world?"

I think about what Pierce said. About how people couldn't keep me locked up if they tried. And now Jack was using the same argument, so I'm going to have to give him a better answer than that.

"People will get hurt."

Jack is silent. "Your powers can do more than just hurt people," he said. "There's beauty in them. You just can't see it."

"You don't know anything about me," I say. The lift slows as we reach the top, and I jump out of the seat.

"Strömgard and Frost?" a young woman says. She has a tag with her name on it, so I assume this is our instructor. Jennifer Lopez. We follow her to a slope I haven't been down yet, and for the next few hours, I focus on skiing, not Jack or my powers or what they can do.

***

I sit on the edge of my bed, brushing my hair, staring out the window. There are lots of clouds out tonight, so the snow is reflecting off of them. Punzie and Anna are gushing about their day with their partners.

"Pierce is ridiculously good-looking," Punzie sighs, flopping onto the bed.

Anna climbs up behind her. "Oh my gosh, yes. You are so lucky, Punz."

Punzie sits up and sighs. "Dreamboat."

"Smokin' hot," Anna adds.

They looks at each other and say in unison, "Stud." Then they burst into the peals of laughter for a good 30 seconds. Anna begins to braid Punzie's hair as they talk.

"He's so quiet and broody," Punzie says. I roll my eyes and try not to listen to them. I know Pierce better than they do, and here they are gushing all over him. They have no right to gush. But I bite my lip and stay silent. Let them do whatever they want to do. "And he's shredded. Like, totally shredded. He can ski like a master, which I'm like- what?? You paired him with me?? You really think I'm that good at skiing?"

"You are that good," Anna affirms. "Totally."

"Anyway, so he like helped me off the ski lift and he lifted me to the ground and I was like- SWOON!! He's so strong!! I mean, I'm not like feather light or something but he just sort of-" she gestures, throwing her arms in the air. She sighs again. "He's so hot."

I can't take it anymore. I leave the room, not bothering to grab a jacket and pretend like I'm cold.

A couple people are still in the living room playing games or sitting by the fireplace. Jack's among them, and I sigh. Pierce is nowhere to be seen. I walk to the window and stare out at the snowscape. The clouds have started dropping flakes, and it gets whiter every second. I furrow my brow. Jack could actually tell the difference between my snow and weather snow? How is that even possible?

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

I jump. Jack is standing next to me. He's staring out at the snow. I purse my lips, certain he's talking about how our powers are beautiful, not just the snow outside. Maybe I'm reading into things too much, though, because I watch him and he's just... staring. Disconnected, peaceful. Like he's just a normal person who's inside by the fireplace watching snow fall.

For a split second I imagine that I dreamed it and he doesn't have powers at all. But he looks over at me and raises an eyebrow.

"Powerful," he says. I turn away quickly and look out the window. "So," he says. "Where do you and Pierce go when you secretly slip outside?"