frigid {jack frost}

e i g h t

~these are becoming shorter and shorter because the end is near, if you were wondering.. x

e i g h t

"You'll never leave me, will you?"  Elsie's pig tails whipped to the side as she turned her head, staring up at her father with her big brown eyes. Those eyes seemed to always limit the sternness her father was supposed to give her, but he couldn't help it- they were too darn irresistible.

"Never! Where would you get the idea that I would ever do such a thing?" The aging man, already having patches of grey at his roots, asked incredulously. He reached over and pulled his daughter close, allowing her to lean on him for support. You never knew when one of them might unexpectedly tip over the tree branch, no matter how many times they've been up there.

"You know," she sighed, snuggling into her daddy's big chest, her ears focusing on the steady heartbeat she loved to hear. It soothed her and reminded her that she was alive, and that even though the news of her father's cancer still nudged her mind every so often, she knew he was alive, too. The cancer wasn't fatal, thank goodness, because they found it in an early stage, but El hated to think what would've happened if she hadn't noticed how pale her father started getting. He was tan, unlike the olive skin she got from her mother, and he had dirty blonde hair, unlike the red curls she had gotten from her grandfather. Still, their eyes matched, and that was what connected the two at first glance.

"Yes, I know," he nodded, pushing her bangs behind her ear, "I know."

February 25, 2013

When Elsie was little, her father and her would go out to the backyard and climb up the tree, planting themselves on the same branch every time. They'd always pick the leaves and tear them apart, creating images with the pieces, or use the stems to make a sentence. They'd look out for caterpillars and lady bugs, even squirrels. One time, they found a hole stuffed full of acorns during the winter, which clearly stated the obvious to El: they had a family of squares living in their tree. She would leave bottle caps full of water in the hole, even some peanut butter once and awhile, and it thrilled her to see the water and the small peanut treat gone the next morning.

It was just one of those things you did as a child and passed as a normal thing every other kid did, but when you look back on it, you know it's just something special you and your parents had. Sure, it was a daddy-daughter thing, but sometimes her mom would join for the heck of it.

Elsie especially loved all the times they'd sit there until sunset, watching the orange sphere fall behind the trees, dipping into the ground before the beautiful multicolored sky switched into a deep and magnificent blue. The stars wouldn't come out until later, but that never discouraged Elsie. She just waited, chatting aimlessly with her father about his work, her days at school, or even the little surprises her parent always set up for the other. It was fun, trying to help her daddy decide what to do every morning for her mommy, but the awesome part was watching her mother walk into the kitchen and kiss her father in thanks.

El always wanted something like that.

Something that would erupt into kisses and hugs, maybe even those secret glances and smiles her parents shared that she saw all the time.

That something is called love, but for her entire 17 years, she's never come in close contact with it.

Until now.

 "What do you mean, it's impossible to count the stars?" Jack gaped, turning his head so he could see Elsie better. The grass pricked his skin, reminding him of how she made him feel, as he moved to lay on his side.

She didn't move a muscle, just continued to stare up at the vast and brilliant night sky, her eyes dancing all over the shiny spots placed in it. She didn't dare lock her line of sight with Jack's, afraid of the outcome. Blushing, even more goose bumps, and stumbling over her words would be the conclusion, but she didn't want to drop any clues like that. She hoped he didn't notice the wiggling she did as she lay there, getting a pound of butterflies dropped into her stomach every time he said something.

"It is," Elsie chuckled, shifting to lie on her side, too, taking the risk of meeting his eyes. They were shaded over from the night's darkness, but the crescent moon hanging above lit half of his face, creating shadows of his nose and eyelashes that cascade against his cheeks. They weren't very far apart, but neither was going to take the ultimate chance of getting rejected by scooting closer.

Jack continued on to explaining how he could count the stars, starting to point and count them himself. El laughed and punched his shoulder lightly when he said he might need some help, but she began counting the other half of the sky. It was a good moment, lying on the pointy green grass in Jamie's backyard, attempting to count the gleaming stars dangling in the dark blue painting. Over all, the day had been good. Great, even.

That morning, Jack had flew over early and woke Sophie and Elsie up by tapping the glass, ready to do something fun. After breakfast (which turned into quite a messy kitchen, so they had to clean up most of the meal time), they went ice skating again and then went for a walk in town. It was funny watching Jack mess with people on the street, but somewhere along the way he had gone too far with an old man trying to carry something across the street. El managed to calm him down and they headed back towards the Bennett's house. A lunch (with help from Jack) and a movie or two later, Sophie was bathed and dressed in her pajamas. Jamie played monopoly with them for awhile until he, too, got tired. After the two siblings gave the 17-year olds (well, one is simply stuck at that age, but what does it matter?) tight squeezes and was put in their beds, they went to the backyard to cool off.

It ended up being weird conversations and pointless puns, but Elsie loved every minute of it.

So did Jack, and the fact he could come back tomorrow and do the same thing over again warmed his heart up a little bit more after the fact El looked absolutely gorgeous under the night sky.

"Okay.. maybe we'll finish this another day," he chuckled, folding his arms behind his head. From the corner of his eyes he could see his crush copying his actions, so he chuckled again.

"What?" She grinned, turning her head so she could see him clearer, much like what Jack did minutes ago.

"Nothing, nothing," he smiled, turning his head, also, so he could stare into the hazel eyes he grew to love. "Nothing at all."

She wanted to respond with something cheesy, something to relieve the tension that has been building up, but nothing came to mind. Nothing at all.

Her grin transformed into a small and subtle little smile, one that Jack had trouble making with his ear-to-ear, lip-thin smirk. He was just too happy at the moment, being so close to the girl he had accepted as his first love (well, as far as he knows; he might have loved someone in his past life). She tried not to be as happy, not wanting to give off any hints to the boy she couldn't move away from. Elsie wanted to scoot over, of course she did, but she couldn't, she just couldn't.

They continued to stare, straight through the others' eyes, listening to their short puffs of breath and the quiet howling of the wind. It was as if even the breeze knew what was going to happen, so it quieted down and brushed their skin, creating more goose bumps to add onto the other ones.

Yet, Elsie didn't see it coming.

"We should.. we should probably go in," she whispered, afraid to speak any louder.

Jack was supposed to say, "Okay," and be disappointed that she ruined the moment, get up, and leave her confused to why he was acting so down. He was supposed to frown and shuffle his feet when she pointed her thumb to the door and said she was going to check on Jamie, because in reality, he would've known she just wanted to avoid what would've came next. He wasn't supposed to stay silent and continue to gaze deep into her eyes like she never said anything. No, he wasn't even supposed to begin leaning towards her.

But he did.