Hello to everyone!

First, I really want to apologize for false hopes and the mistaken updates. And, of course, taking SUPER TOO long to update; school's just cramming my writing schedule. I promise that I'll try not to make it happen again!

Second, Thank you for the wonderful suggestions! I wish I could use all of it in the park scene, but I couldn't. So, I just have to put the others throughout the story or I can alter it a little bit. Thanks again!

Third, I wanna say sorry if the words in this story is too deep for you. It's just the way I write, mostly if its a romance/drama genre or the chapter just happens to be very dramatic. So, I'm really sorry. (Though, I'd be willing to explain the meaning of the words if you'd like.)

Lastly, I'm just so flattered for the amounts of views, reviews, favorites and follows this story has gotten in THREE chapters! Thank you so much! It means a lot!

So, Don't be afraid to write a review, or to give it a favorite or a follow. Criticisms and compliments are welcomed.

Anyways, enjoy the long-awaited fluffy park 'date' chapter!

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rise of the Guardians, Frozen, Disney, Dreamworks or any other movie/characters that would be mentioned in this story.**

Taking Chances

Chapter 4: Memories and Revelations (Part 1)

It was now the afternoon on this wintry Sunday, and there were 3 days left until the awaited day of presents, saccharine and merry-making would come. The different Christmas relations that decorated the snow-covered city of New York was truly a remarkable and magnificent sight to behold. The thin miniscule twinkling bulbs of colorful light illuminated the streets, the sweetened smell of candy canes and fresh gingerbread lingered under the noses of each sweet-toothed child, beautiful snowflakes precipitated from the clouds to stay on one's nose and eyelashes, and sounds of the angelic voices of carolers singing joyous Christmas songs resonated throughout the frigid atmosphere. Elsa was peacefully sitting on a park bench, watching the jolly Christmas season circulate the Winter Solstice Sunday in New York City. She arrived in the park 30 minutes early, desperately nervous to have a normal heart-to-heart colloquy with Jack that pertain to that night and their amiss friendship. As Elsa waited for Jack to arrive, she busied herself by watching the children play around in the powder snow by conducting surprising snowball fights, stretching their tiny limbs to imprint small snow angels on the ground, and building cute little snowmen with top hats and carrot noses. The fun emanating from the children gave her an amiable grin, and a senseful tinge of youthful longing. After a couple of mere minutes reminiscing her childhood, a soft and cold entity unexpectedly came in contact with her right cheek.

Realizing that a stray snowball has been thrown to her face, Elsa's peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Jack constantly laughing at the surprisal of her snow-shrouded appearance. Wiping the cold matter from her pale face, a devious smirk lay on her lips. "Two can play it that game, Frost." Elsa whispered, scooping a huge amount of snow from the mound beside her and formed a moderately gigantic snowball.

She stood up and threw the cold ball of snow at Jack's stature of sustained amusement. It hit him straight in the face, making him lose his balance and to fall back on the pile of fresh powder snow behind him. Staring at the sight of a snow-engulfed Jack, Elsa couldn't help but to let out a loud and unmannered laugh. Covered in the frosty precipitation, Jack sat up with his arms crossed and a juvenile glare directed towards Elsa. As usual, Jack wasn't one who would give up after a fight. So, he took his revenge on the platinum blonde similarly: slinging an accurately colossal snowball straight at her, letting her receive the same circumstance he did. This was all it took for them to engage in a tenacious and invigorating snowball fight, that eventually drew a compact amount of comical attention. Between Elsa and Jack, these types of puerile incidents were very unique to their exceptional friendship. Their snowy dispute continued on for at least five minutes, having both of them to be inundated, head-to-toe, in white and flaky snow paraphernalia as they sat on the ground in a fit of inane laughter. With no knowledge of who the victor of their friendly snowball battle was, they started a friendly and cynical discord.

"I win, Landvik!" Jack pointed out, obviousness dripping from the use of his tone.

Elsa widened her eyes at his opinionated assertion. "Don't be daft, Frost! Its very obvious that I won."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Their customary and childish satirical bicker started from there; one would speak out words of ridicule and mockery, while the other reciprocated a statement of more derision. These types of childish debates between them would occur very often, but a laugh would always be the end of it all. It was times like this wherein they could be the person they want to be, while every negative thought they had, would be pushed back into the depths of their minds.

Elsa, clearly amused and in a fit of pique, eventually gave in and laid a suggestion that he might agree to as well. "Let's just say that we both win. Deal?" she suggested, holding her hand out to him in truce.

"Deal." Jack said with his ever-famous smirk, taking her frail hands in his own. He let go, and made a teasing retort. "I'm still more awesome than you, though."

The platinum blonde scoffed, rolling her ocean eyes at his straightforward conjecture. "Whatever floats your boat, Jack."

He laughed, standing up from the blanket of powder snow before assisting Elsa up on her feet as well. Dusting away the glacial talc-like matter, Jack's incompetent feautures developed into a bit of a more pensive countenance. "So, Elsa... Since we're both here now, why don't we grab some hot cocoa and discuss everything?"

At hearing the stern tonality of Jack's voice, the apprehension and contemplation that Elsa suppressed during their snowball levity swiftly dominated her once more. Elsa wasn't always one to complain, but somehow she just wished that this day would just be filled with their friendship's frivolity to ease the tension. Knowing that the situation may not be as loose as she hoped it would be, she slowly huffed out a sigh before giving him a slightly fabricated and reassuring smile. "Sure."

Seeing through her desolate barrier, Jack lightly smiled at her as he arduously tried to uplift her spirits. They then begun their sluggish stroll towards the small coffee stand in the park, hardly uttering a single word to each other. This was an unusual take on the both of them, even for the peaceful and discreet Elsa, for they customarily spent their time together in very inane, turbulent, and jest manners. Not being able to take the paltry of staying in awkward silence any longer, a puerile scheme suddenly ignited from the ludicrous aspect of Jack's mind.

Taking the plan into action, Jack playfully tapped the shoulder of an uneasy Elsa. She looked up to witness Jack with an impish glint in his entrancing cerulean eyes. Elsa arched her brow at him, a roguish tone playing upon her words. "What are you scheming about this time?"

Jack shrugged, resembling a child's vagueness. "I don't know. Let's just say that I would like to race you. And, that whoever loses, buys the ever handsome and awesome victor's drink."

Elsa rolled her pair of sapphire eyes, mirthfully smiling at him being egotistical yet very charming at the least. "Are you implying that you'll win? Don't flatter yourself, Frost."

Ignoring her snide remark, Jack just ran away from her to the direction of the stand. Elsa contemptuously gawked at his speeding form, flabbergasted that he took the first sprint without her final consensus. Not coveting to be deprived of the opportunity to win their one-sided bet, she hastily scurried to catch up with her unjustified best friend. Elsa, abruptly scrambling, was eventually able to be in time for reaching Jack's equivalent running position. Jack was truly staggered to see Elsa darting to their destination beside him. He had to admit, Elsa was quite the fast runner; considering that she was an affiliate of the track team throughout their Junior year in college. As Jack hastened his speed, Elsa turned to him with a challenging and demoniac smirk playing on her thin magenta lips. This was the prospect of Elsa that he adored the most, with her just being herself. After a few more paces of hurtling towards the coffee stand alongside each other, the platinum blonde was the eventual winner.

Jack laid down on the snow-enshrouded grass, seizing his breath as he observed in gaiety at Elsa doing a farcical and mortifying victory dance, her paying no heed to the murmurs of jocular attention coming from the various passer-bys. He was chuckling at her, clearly entertained to see Elsa's barriers crumbling down to reveal her blithe yet euphoric façade from her stoic deportment. He smirked at her in a troublesome manner; being quite the mischievous individual, he would never let this one go undefeated. Jack sat up and slowly crawled to Elsa, taking her left wrist as he pulled her down next to him in the frost-veiled ground. Elsa's earlier triumphant euphoria quickly snapped as she lay down on the flaky surface next to her conniving best friend.

"Well played, Frost. I never saw that coming." Elsa divulged the truth as she turned to her head to the right to look at the pale-haired man, surprisingly amused that she didn't anticipate that motive at all.

Jack's lips curled up into a smirk as he turned to his left, coming face-to-face with the azure-eyed belle. "Told you I was awesome."

Elsa scoffed incredulously as she rolled her ludicrous eyes at his playfully conceited presumption. Having to know him for at least 7 years, she has surprisingly gotten quite accustomed to his egotistical surmises and maladroitly devilish comportment. "f that helps you sleep at night, be my guest."

"You've always been the expert with words, Elsa." He chuckled, sarcasm dripping from his words. Sensing the derision from the between candid and irony of his impulse, she, yet again, rolled her pair of sapphires as she laughed at his choice of words. Typical Jack. As Elsa lay on the winter enshrouded ground, she was about to utter another exuberant response until Jack sat up from next to her. "C'mon, Els. Let's get those drinks and start that talk."

Elsa pouted as she lethargically tugged on the sleeve of his navy blue coat, an infantile sort of innocence emanating from her. "No..." She trailed idly, an inane timbre lacing her voice. "Let's just stay here and talk for a little while longer. Lying in the snow helps the nerves ease up on me."

Jack breathed out a taciturn chuckle, his demeanor filling with contentment just by perceiving the sight of his best friend possessing a very adorable and immature semblance during a time wherein a supposed serious aura were to dominate over them. Instead of standing to force her up, he just shook his head in sustained entertainment as he laid back down on the soft yet sleet-like snowy ground. "As you wish, princess." He replied with a cheeky smile as he was situating his lying position on the wintry surface, earning a playful glare from Elsa for quoting one of her favorite classic novels, The Princess Bride. "But, I still owe you those drinks."

"Yeah. That's because I won." Elsa said with a tinge of playful conceit in her tone, still haughtily trying to rub her victory in Jack's face.

Jack huffed in amused exasperation at hearing his best friend emphasize her repetitive reminders of narcissistic triumph. "Yeah, yeah. Don't need to rub it in, Els. I get it!"

"I know. I just wanted to hear you say that I'm right." Elsa smiled with her head held high, obviousness in her statement becoming very evident.

Jack just chuckled at her once more, but a look of seriousness veiled over him immediately after. He had to admit, being stern or serious just wasn't one of his usual fortes, but all he wanted was the answers to the questions rapidly and vaguely invading his every thought ever since that night...or the morning he woke up. Taking a deep and forbidding breath of loose intensity, he spoke in a calm and unrelenting baritone. "So, Elsa... How are the legs?"

How are the legs?! What the fuck is wrong with you, Jack!, he mentally scolded himself for starting the supposedly serious conversation with an awkward and misleading icebreaker. Nice going, stupid. She's probably feeling uncomfortable now.

Perceiving his out-of-the-blue question, Elsa couldn't help but let a disconcerting tincture of vermilion creep upon her pale cheeks. Her voice hitched in her throat, desperately trying to reciprocate some convincing words without humiliating herself. Finally discovering her lost voice once again, Elsa stammered uncontrollably as a voluptuous amount of ignominious scarlet added tint to her vermilion cheeks; making her round face red as ever. "Uh...um...y-yeah. My legs? Well, they're, er, fine. Perfectly fine. Yup. It's all good."

After Elsa stuttered out quite a gauche reply to Jack's completely out-of-line question, a blanket of awkward silence enshrouded the zephyr in between the two of them. Not one dared to speak, for they didn't desire to utter words that the both of them might end up regretting. While Elsa was in sequester with the thoughts continually invading her head, Jack mustered up the courage and audacity he needed for an informative conversation with Elsa. He took a deep and shallow breath before clearing his throat for the serious words that would escape from his tongue. "Okay. First and foremost, I just wanna say I'm sorry."

"For what?" Elsa asked, her face twisted in confusion that equates with the tone of her voice. "If you're apologizing for what I think it is, then don't. There's no need for you to sympathize for that night, Jack. It wasn't your fault, neither was it mine."

"I know that, El." Jack exhaled in a point of solicitude as small white puffs of gelid air escaped his lips. "I just want to know the answers."

Elsa turned her head on the snowy ground to divert her gaze to him, her pair of ocean blue eyes softening to a very altruistic aura. She had to admit, a mutual feeling to acknowledge has been occupying her mind since. Intensely contemplating, Jack just remained silent as he breathed in the gelid winter air while observing the variously shaped clouds up high in the sky.

The pair stayed silent. Neither of them knowing the right words to reciprocate for this matter. Elsa, acknowledging that the current situation was nowhere near a smooth route, was about to excuse herself to leave. Deep down, she never wanted to leave without their friendship's closure and without the answers to her questions, but the awkward surroundings weren't making this exchange a whole lot comfortable.

As Elsa was about to speak out a mock-up excuse to escape the uncoordinated tension between them, Jack sat up from the snow and looked down at her laying stature as he spoke to break the unsettling tension.

"Everything that you said that night. Were they all true?" He breathed out, a nervous and heart-wrenching tone staining his once mischievous voice.

Elsa looked at him, her eyes tainted with doubt and indecisiveness. Frozen and speechless on the ground, she didn't know what to respond. Should she confess all her bottled up feelings for him? Or should she tell him a deceptive truth? Either way, Elsa knew that she would still have no chance.

Hello everybody! I would just like to sincerely apologize for not being able to update in so long... I'm so sorry. The reason behind this would be because of school and personal problems. As much as I try to write an update for my story, the things on my plate doesn't seem to lessen. Once again, I'm sorry and I hope you forgive me.

Regarding the story, I decided to just cut the park date into two or three chapters. I didn't compile it into one chapter because I wanted to at least give you a little taste of what's to come in this part of the story. I will try to update soon but I'm not quite sure when I'll be able to.

Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy this small chapter. I'm so sorry and, I guess I'll see you soon.

Thank you! Enjoy!