Vibrant Grays

Twelve Grays

"Mr. Hatter?"

Marcus Hatter turns away from the TV. "Yes, Miss Elsa?"

Elsa feels out of place in the office. She can see how bright the colors are even when they seem gray to her. Without her colorful Mad Hatter uniform, her clothes are only gray, blue and white, sometimes black. Today, she is wearing a white shirt, a black vest and leggings. She's too flat to be at the office where it looks like a rainbow monster threw up.

"You think I can replace Snow for the weekend? She called me, she's sick. She'd be back by Tuesday," Elsa says, sitting on one of the ice cream chairs. "Can I fill in for her shift tomorrow night?"

"That means you have to work until closing time," Marcus says. "I know you can handle it. I'll give you her shift."

Elsa smiles and then says thank you. She's almost out of the painted door when Marcus stops him. "Why do you want to take her shift, Miss Elsa?"

Instead of saying that she really wants to see Jack again because colors are slowly returning to her through him, she lies, "It's more money, Mr. Hatter. And, I need it."

"I thought the Arendelles were fairly rich," Marcus wonders out aloud.

"Well, we keep the money in savings and use them to pay for electricity and water and things like that. I use the money I earn here for other personal stuffs, sometimes food."

Marcus smiles. "That's good going there, Miss Elsa. Do greet Miss Anna for me."

"I will, Mr. Hatter."

Elsa leaves the office, turning at the color wheel clock on the left wall, and sadly notes that they are still just 12 grays.
:
"I broke up with Hans," Anna says over dinner.

Elsa's spoon clanks loudly against the bowl of soup. "What?!"

"He was using me, so he could... you know... Anyway, I broke up with him." Anna seems too small and fragile revealing it, Elsa doesn't see one bit of her strong and confident younger sister.

"He was bad for you, as I said. This... is the result of you not listening to me." She feels the need to say that, because that's what parents will say. But, the parent facade soon slips away when she sees Anna on the verge of crying. "Anna... he was just a guy. You'll find someone better."

Anna meets Elsa's eyes, surprised, and her green eyes sparkle and even she can see it in gray.
:
"What's your favorite color?"

"Gray."

"Why?"

"You don't need to know."

"But I do."

"You don't."

"How about I tell you my favorite color?"

"What's the point of that, Jack?"

"I don't know. But I'll tell you anyway, it's blue. Or white?"

"Make up your mind."

"Blue, definitely blue. Now, tell me why gray is your favorite color?"

"I used to do art and I liked with playing the color gray. One color and yet so many shades of it. You got that?"

"Yeah. You never told me you're an artist, Elsa."

"I'm not. Go away, you're disturbing my work."

"Yes, Your Majesty."
:
Jack becomes a part of Elsa's Solar System. He comes to Mad Hatter's Tea every Wednesday and Thursday. Sometimes, when his sister, Piper, needs some break from school, they visit at Sunday. All of those days, Elsa is in. His friends, Tara 'Tooth' Ianna, Sandy Mann, Klaus North and Ben 'Bunny' Maud, come with him sometimes.

"You're becoming a regular," Elsa comments, looking at the familiar face of Jack Frost. Today, his eyes, hair and his skin are colored. It's been like that for three weeks. His skin, which doesn't have that much of a difference to its gray counterpart, first started having color a week and a half ago.

"Glad you're keeping count." Jack smiles in that annoying way of his. Elsa doesn't like smiling, and yet she's talking to a perpetually smiling man.

Elsa fights the urges to roll her eyes. "The regular?"

"I don't have a regular, Elsa," Jack reminds her.

"Then the best seller of the week?"

"Sure."

"You should have a card, a membership card," Elsa suggests, ringing Jack's order. "Has many benefits."

Jack's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea, actually."

Elsa fetches the membership application and a pen. She hands it to Jack who accepts it with a big smile. He finishes signing it and then gives it back to Elsa with an even bigger smile, if that was possible. She mutters a thank you, packing Jack's treats.

"For the go?"

"Yes."

Elsa doesn't look at Jack because her eyes hurt when he sees someone who smiles too much. The colors, that belong to Jack only, seem to mock her. It gives her hope that when she looks at the mirror she can see blue eyes looking back at her. Were her eyes blue? Oh, it is. Well, according to the 16 pack colors that Anna owned when she was four.

"Thanks, Elsa," Jack says and she looks up, just to check if there are more colors. There are none. Disappointedly, she watches Jack leave the cafe.

After a few blinks, Elsa swears she sees a blue hoodie.