... He Loves Me (COMPLETED)

•Chapter Twenty-Three•

•Chapter Twenty-Three: Snow Day•

•Elsa•

Jack and I stand in the small crowd, hand in hand. We're all at the airport waiting for Jamie's flight; everyone came to say goodbye. Even though I'm going to miss them, I find it easy to smile and laugh along with everyone else. Maybe it's because I finally have every reason in the world to be happy.

"Hey, thanks for watching me over the summer, Elsa. It was a lot of fun." Jamie comes up and gives me a last hug.

"I'll miss you, Jamie. Feel free to come visit next summer." I say.

Jamie subtly glances at Emma and smiles. "I'd like that."

Jack takes that as the perfect moment to interrupt, acting a lot older than he is. "Hey, you better watch yourself, young man."

Instead of being intimidated, Jamie just grins. Jack loses his tough look and shakes his head, finally just commenting about how Jamie better keep in touch. Everyone else continues hugging and Aunt Clara and Uncle Clark repeatedly come over to thank me and Anna for everything we've done. While they do that, Jamie sneaks a little away with Emma so they can say goodbye. Jack and I exchange glances, but mostly just smirk. I spent the entire morning walking around with Jamie because he wanted to get Emma something "to remember him by". It looks like she likes it.

"Do you want to do something after this?" Jack leans close, reaching for my hand again.

I glance around at everyone else. Everybody else is busy in their own conversations. Obviously he just meant me and him, but it's hard to get used to the idea that we're... Together.

"Like what?" I ask, turning my full attention to Jack. Without warning, I sneeze for the thousandth time that morning. Ever since yesterday, I haven't stopped sneezing and my nose is raw.

Jack frowns. "Maybe we should stay inside. It sounds like you have a cold."

"I've never had a cold in my entire life! We can do something outs-" I am cut off by another sneeze, causing my head to be thrown forward, not helping my headache. Despite feeling stuffy, I try to continue. "It's the first official snow day of the season! We can't stay inside all day."

"I don't know, Els, I don't want it to get worse..." Jack continues to frown at me.

He could be right. But I don't like the idea of being sick and ruining the first snow day, so we can't stay inside! "I'll be fine! I promise."

"There's a lot of fun things we could do inside." Jack still seems unconvinced. He gently rubs his thumb across my palm, so softly I'm not sure if he even knows he's doing it. The gesture makes me shiver, at the worst time possible. Jack keeps up his serious, concerned face and I know I'm not going to win. I never do when it comes to arguing with Jack.

"I don't want to ruin your day by making you stay inside with me."

Jack shakes his head, finally smiling just a little. "But I'd rather be with you than outside!" He leans in to me as he says it, but I back up. The last thing I want is for both of us to be sick.

I sigh, staring out the window. The snow is falling gently, though a few hours ago it was so thick they almost had to cancel Jamie's flight. Everything outside is covered in white, as if somebody dumped powdered sugar all over Ostersund. It's the soft, sparkly kind of snow that makes you want to both stare at it forever and step all over it. It's a dark day, seeing as the sun is hiding behind miles of thick clouds. Thankfully, the cloud cover actually makes it warmer. The trees are barely moving and everything seems magically still outside.

I turn back to Jack and do my best to out on a good begging face. "Please, let's just go outside for half an hour! If I'm not feeling well then we can come back in."