Survival

Chapter 48

As Rapunzel walks down the school halls, she feels refreshed. She was actually able to get some sleep last night. Somehow, Elsa did not have a single nightmare. She actually slept through the night.

When Rapunzle woke up to get ready for school, she found Elsa in bed with her eyes closed. Not a single peep. Progress.

It is currently lunch time––her favorite time of the day. As she walks to the cafeteria, she feels the weight of everyone's stares.

That is still something she has to get used to. The judgment of other people. It is not so much that they are judging her, but judging Elsa now that she lives with her family.

Word got out rather quickly about what happened to Elsa. Also, Rapunzel was not there when it happened, but apparently the police showed up one day to school and questioned a lot of people regarding Elsa and Luke. They even searched his locker only to not find anything in the end.

Everyone was still terrified of all of it. Some are still having a hard time taking in the fact that Luke––the star of the school, the handsome, intelligent, and athletic superstar––was capable of such a thing.

It made Rapunzel furious. Furious that everyone was busy worrying about Luke and his fake image and how he fooled everyone, rather than what happened with Elsa.

If Elsa ever comes back to school, she is going to be under the scrutiny of the whole school.

When Rapunzel first arrived on campus, people whispered as she walked past. They still do. But that first day she will never forget the words people whispered.

"The girl who was raped now lives with Rapunzel and her family."

"I would never be able to handle that. Can you imagine how much work it would take to care for someone like Elsa? I would never have the patience."

"Elsa was raped, abused, and almost killed. It was going on for years. Why didn't she just call for help. It's like she wanted to get raped."

It took all of Rapunzel's will not to punch those people in the face. It was very hard.

As she walks to the cafeteria and ignores everyone, she grabs her lunch and spots her friends at their usual seat.

She sits down and digs into her ham and cheese sandwich, brushing her golden hair out of her face so as not to interfere with the food. She glances at Jack as he slowly eats his food.

Rapunzel is still not used to it–-Jack's sudden shift in mood. She has asked him relentlessly if he is alright, but he brushes her aside.

"What are you guys doing this weekend?" Hiccup asks curiously, pizza in hand.

Rapunzel answers, "I need to help around the house. I can't hang out this weekend."

"I'll hang out with you," Merida cuts in, her red and curly hair, tied into frizzy ponytail for change. "It will give me a chance to escape by brothers."

"Okay," Hiccup states, a smile forming his lips, "What about you, Jack?"

Jack looks up from his tray. "What?" he dumbly asks.

Hiccup rolls his eyes and repeats, "I said if you want to hang out with us this weekend?"

Jack frowns and says nothing. Hiccup opens his mouth to throw an insult at him, but then Jack answers, "I can't. I'm busy."

"Busy sulking," mutters Merida sarcastically.

It's not like Jack is hiding it. Everyone knows why he is such a mess lately.