𝐂𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗈𝗎𝗋ㅤㅤㅤ───ㅤㅤㅤ𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝖺 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

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▬▬▬▬▬ㅤ 𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 '𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐃'.

ㅤㅤShe felt her own heartbeat loud in her ears, faster than it would normally go, and her breaths turned uneven. Aura turned and walked away, then ran so fast the world was a blur, twirling around her vision and making her dizzy.

ㅤㅤShe got to her house and raced to her room, closing the door so hard that her mother shouted angrily at her. Aura didn't hear what she said, but the woman gave up easily on her scolding and went back to what she was doing.

ㅤㅤAura hid under her covers, her eyes wide in shock and mind so void of thoughts that it scared her.

ㅤㅤDead.

ㅤㅤDead.

ㅤㅤDead.

ㅤㅤWhat was the meaning of that word again? Aura had no idea.

ㅤㅤIt occupied her head whole and just as she was forgetting the word, it made itself known again once she blinked.

ㅤㅤFor how long did she hide in her room?

ㅤㅤWhat even was time? Such a meaningless thing. It kind if loses its importance after you spend all day hidden under your covers, not moving at all.

ㅤㅤFrom her window, Aura saw it snow, saw the rain and thunder, saw the orange leaves fall and tap on her window. She didn't feel the cold or the hot, though. She watched as more and more plates with food were pushed from under the door, making the room stink after a while.

ㅤㅤAfter there was no space to push another place, she watched her mother open the door in confusion and scream at her for how lazy she was being, for how she let all that food go to waste. No other plate came from under the door after that. Aura watched as her brothers worriedly glanced inside the room every once in a while, only to find that she never moved, and left a few snacks for her in secret, but she never ate them.

ㅤㅤDuring all of that, she didn't remember having dreams at all. Aura was too scared to close her eyes, because━

ㅤㅤDead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

ㅤㅤShe already had nightmares while awake, why would she want even worse of them while she slept?

ㅤㅤAt least she thought she was awake. Even unable to move, with an extra weight pushing her to the bed, Aura could feel everything in her go numb, from her limbs to her heart, and it was hard to believe that was part of reality.

ㅤㅤ"Go." her mother threw a bag over her body, at some point. "I need you to get me a few things. And you better do it now." she accusingly pointed at Aura before she left the room.

ㅤㅤAura couldn't move. She tried to, a lot of times.

ㅤㅤ"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." her mother frowned angrily once she checked Aura's room to find her still in the same position. She pushed the girl out of bed and got her to wobble out of the house with shakey limbs.

ㅤㅤAura almost forgot how to walk after so long.

ㅤㅤAs she walked her way to the market, a few people who knew her as "Mori girl of the library" because of how often she was seen there stopped her to say:

ㅤㅤ"I'm sorry for your loss."

ㅤㅤBut Aura didn't know what to do with that. What loss? What were they talking about? Was it about Ernest?

ㅤㅤAura only ever heard the loss speech towards people whose family died. Ernest certainly didn't share blood with her, there was no line that stitched them together. So then, why her loss?

ㅤㅤShe left everything her mother asked her to get at the door and went to the lake.

ㅤㅤWas she even allowed there?

ㅤㅤJack certainly wouldn't like her presence.

ㅤㅤAs the girl arrived at the lake, her legs finally gave in, only being strong for long enough for Aura to get to the border of the lake, where Jack sat a little far away.

ㅤㅤ"Aura?" he stared wide-eyed at the girl he hadn't seen for over a year━ Jack wouldn't say it out loud, but she looked horrible. He could see her cheekbones by how skinny her face had gotten, Aura had gained strong eyebags and her hair looked oily and way longer than he had last seen it━ way longer than Aura would normally allow it to grow.

ㅤㅤShe wasn't well, that's for sure.

ㅤㅤ"I'm sorry." was all she said, so silently, her voice cracked and watered down to a whisper.

ㅤㅤShe really wasn't well. Aura never apologized.

ㅤㅤJack frowned, he knew why she looked so exhausted.

ㅤㅤ"I"m sorry for your lo━" he started

ㅤㅤ"Don't." she raised a hand to stop him from finishing his phrase. "Why does everyone keep saying that? Ernest wasn't related to me, it's not my loss."

ㅤㅤ"Yeah, but..." Jack shrugged, wondering if he should stop talking. He didn't. "You were still his daughter, you know?"

ㅤㅤShe was still his daughter.

ㅤㅤErnest was still Aura's father, in a strange, complex way. He was more of a father to her than her biological dad ever was, and now he was dead.

ㅤㅤDead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

ㅤㅤThe word echoed many, many times in her mind, but it still took her this long to understand the hurtful meaning behind it.

ㅤㅤHer lip trembled and her vision went blurry. She let out a hic and Jack immediately turned his head to watch her with a concerned frown. Aura whimpered, and Jack didn't waste a second before he threw himself at her, tackling her in a hug.

ㅤㅤHe'd done that before, she remembered, though this time it wasn't for his comfort.

ㅤㅤThe youngest Mori sobbed loudly, and the boy by her side let her shed her tears in silence.

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ㅤㅤ𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐀 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐒, not in her whole lifetime. It just didn't feel right to force herself to do things she said she would because of the obligation of the word "promise". Aura certainly didn't like obligations.

ㅤㅤBut there were a few times where she promised herself a few things.

ㅤㅤLike when she started visiting Ernest Pritchard's grave once a week to bring him any wild flower she found on her way from the lake to her house, she promised she wouldn't miss a day. Or when she came back to making a collection of buttons ━Aura had eleven, so far━, she promised she would never stop until she could start a coat industry with the odd buttons she found.

ㅤㅤAnd although she didn't make a promise to no one but herself, she tried her best to get along with Jack ━for Ernest's sake, of course━, the boy she was once determined to love.

ㅤㅤIt was hard to love him, though. Aura was glad she gave up.

ㅤㅤTwo weeks before he had proven himself to be someone difficult when she asked him for something she really needed, deeming it as urgent before even revealing what it was.

ㅤㅤ"I want your button," Aura demanded, flexing her hand in front of Jack as he played with the button of his only coat. The button hang by a threat, even a little wind could knock it off at any given moment. "Give it to me."

ㅤㅤ"I'm sorry, but I cant give you that," he put his hands in front of the button as if to protect it from her hands. "It's the only one I have. It protects me from the cold."

ㅤㅤ"It is not even cold yet, it's only October." she rolled her eyes at his excuse.

ㅤㅤ"But it is. You have no idea how cold it gets in my house at night." he raised his eyebrows, shaking his head. "Besides, it will be even more in only a few weeks."

ㅤㅤAnd, at his insistence, she gave up trying to make the button from his coat part of her collection.

ㅤㅤThen, a day or two after that, he went to her door and asked:

ㅤㅤ"May Aura come outside to play?" with a little whitered daisy in his hand and an enthusiastic smile on his face.

ㅤㅤAura's father slammed the door shut, and she had to spend all afternoon explaining that "Jack is not a friend, he is someone who I met in school who won't leave me alone". Of course, when her dad wasn't looking, she'd make less of an effort to hide her giggles and flustered face because "Goodness gracious! Jack Overland was actually brave enough to appear at my door with a daisy and a dumb smile!".

ㅤㅤDecember finally arrived, and the cold came with it, just as Jack said it would.

ㅤㅤAura counted each and every button she had collected so far as she easily got distracted by her white breath, changed by the cold to be opaque, every once in a while. Most of the buttons she had were stolen from other people in and outside of her house, of course, but she had to start from somewhere, right?

ㅤㅤShe sat on her heels near the frozen lake of Burgess, waiting for Jack to arrive with an impatient frown on her face.

ㅤㅤAs soon as she heard footsteps behind her, she rolled her eyes without having to look back to know who it was.

ㅤㅤ"You're late." she said, a pinch of irritation in her voice. Jack winced at the sharp tone and sighed, trying to recover his breath

ㅤㅤ"I know. I'm sorry, I had to finish fixing Mr. Oxley's door." he sat by her side and laid down with an exhausted sigh.

ㅤㅤ"I have no idea who that is."

ㅤㅤ"Some rich man from town."

ㅤㅤ"Ah, then I couldn't care less." she rolled her eyes again and Jack giggled.

ㅤㅤ"Could." he corrected, but Aura only turned to him, confused. "The right word is 'could'. 'I could care less'."

ㅤㅤ"No it's not."

ㅤㅤ"Yes it is."

ㅤㅤ"But that doesn't make any sense, Jack." he shivered when she said his name.

ㅤㅤ"Yes it does."

ㅤㅤ"Does not."

ㅤㅤ"Does too."

ㅤㅤ"God, you're infuriating." Aura showed him her palm. "You'll have to pay me for giving me the trouble of getting angry in such a wonderful winter day."

ㅤㅤ"Depends," he smirked, turning his body to lay on his side. "Pay with what?"

ㅤㅤ"You know what." she smirked back.

ㅤㅤ"I'm not giving you my button." Aura's smirk fell at that. "Aura, I told you I need it!"

ㅤㅤ"Whatever." she stared at the lake with a frown, putting her buttons back on the pocket of her apron.

ㅤㅤ"Did you hear?" Jack sat up, ready to share his gossip ━which Aura noticed he loved━. "Marianne Graham ran away with the baker, Rupert Riva's dad."

ㅤㅤ"Did she?" Aura restrained herself from smiling, she remembered the two. They were the second couple she had accidentally formed when she found out about her powers.

ㅤㅤ"Are you━ Aura, are you smiling?" the Overland boy frowned, trying to catch her eyes as he smiled in confusion. "That's not good news, you know. Rupert lost his dad to a married woman."

ㅤㅤ"True love always wins." was all she answer back with.

ㅤㅤ"Huh." he nodded slowly, looking back at the frozen lake. Jack smiled all of a sudden, and that made Aura a bit nervous━ he had just thought of some crazy thing and was about to pull her along with him.

ㅤㅤAnd she was right, as he turned to her and said:

ㅤㅤ"Can you skate?"

ㅤㅤ"No." Aura shook her head. "I'm not gonna do it."

ㅤㅤ"Oh, Aura, please!" he begged, bowing down until his forehead touched the snow.

ㅤㅤ"No! I don't even own ice skates." she crossed her arms, stubborn.

ㅤㅤ"I'll get my sister's for you!" Jack grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "I'll teach you how to skate! Please!"

ㅤㅤ"Oh, alright!" she pushed his hands off, rolling her eyes. "Go get them, then."

ㅤㅤ"Yes!" in a flash, Jack had ran to his house and back with two pair of skates in his hands. He gave the smaller pair to Aura and wore the bigger one quickly as Aura took her time to tie the laces in pretty bows. As she did that, Jack hopped to the ice and started skating. "I'm always in the ice, when I have the chance to be. My dad used to bring me here as a kid to skate with him."

ㅤㅤAura hummed, then stood up, a bit wobbly as she tried to keep herself steady.

ㅤㅤ"Come on!" Jack called for Aura from the lake as he adjusted the laces on his skates.

ㅤㅤThe blonde looked at the ice and took a deep breath, it didn't look safe at all. The girl felt a shiver down her spine just imagining herself on the ice.

ㅤㅤ"I don't want to do it anymore." she decided.

ㅤㅤJack's grin fell, a confused frown took over his joyous expression.

ㅤㅤ"Why not?" he skated back to the edge of the lake━ he made it look so easy, Aura was truly jealous of his abilities. "Are you scared?"

ㅤㅤ"No." she frowned, angry that he just assumed that. Even though he was absurdly right. "...Yes. But━ But what if I fall? And if I fall, what if the ice suddenly breaks? I'll die! I'm going to die if I go in there!"

ㅤㅤThe boy laughed at her dramatization of the possibilities that could happen if she even gained enough courage to put a foot in the ice.

ㅤㅤ"If you fall," he grinned, distancing himself from her again to give a glamorous twist in the ice━ Aura admired his confidence for a moment, but only for a moment. "then you can just get back up."

ㅤㅤ"Yes, I know that, don't start saying that sappy stuff, it's annoying." she rolled her eyes and Jack giggled at her annoyance. "Isn't there any way to avoid falls?"

ㅤㅤ"I don't think so. Look, if even a professional like me can fall, then surely that's going to happen a lot to you." Aura ignored his confident attitude, instead glaring at the boy.

ㅤㅤ"That is not very reassuring."

ㅤㅤ"Okay, listen━ my point is, it's completely normal to fall, you don't have to be scared about it. You're a strong girl, you should be able to take a fall or two, right? You'll get the hang of it pretty quickly, I'm sure of it." Jack winked at her, extending his arms to try and get Aura to be more confident to get in the ice. "Besides, the ice is very thick now, there's no chance that it'll break." to prove his own statement, he stomped with one foot in the ice━ nothing happened.

ㅤㅤ"Ah━! Don't do that, you crazy boy!" Aura stared at him with wide eyes as he laughed, surprised by how worried she was for him. Aura thought for a minute before she clicked her tongue, pretending to be annoyed.

ㅤㅤ"...Okay." she smiled minimally, Jack couldn't help but to grin from ear to ear at that━ everyone knew it was impossible to make Aura Mori smile, he felt special every time she did, and she always smiled when she was with him. Her smile was gone as fast as it appeared, now Aura only had a worried look on her pale face as she stuttered in anxiety. "If I fall, you'll be there to catch me, right?"

ㅤㅤ"Of course, don't worry. Come on!" he gestured for her to skate to him, extending his arms to show that he was ready to catch her when she got there━ it would take a while, Jack was a little too close to the middle of the frozen pound, but he would wait patiently for her right there.

ㅤㅤ"Okay." Aura nodded, suddenly feeling determined, but that feeling was gone as soon as she put a foot in the ice. "Okay..." she repeated to herself, trying to calm down ━an impossible thing to do, she thought━. Aura raised a hand to Jack, calling him over with a desperate expression as one of her feet slowly slid ahead in the ice and the other stayed behind in the snow, parting her legs uncomfortably.

ㅤㅤJack laughed at her desperate attempt to reach him from where she was and skated over, holding her hand and shoulder to keep her balanced.

ㅤㅤ"See? It's not that hard." he shrugged, looking at her shaking feet with an amused smile.

ㅤㅤ"Yes, for you, maybe. You said you're always in the ice, Jack Frost, it's not fair." even her voice trembled softly. Aura breathed in and out slowly to try and balance herself in the ice, she looked at her right ━land was right there, the snow was easy to reach━. She looked at her left ━Jack was right there, holding her tight━. Everything was okay, she wouldn't fall.

ㅤㅤThen, in a sudden movement, Jack wasn't holding her tight anymore, there was nothing to her left. Instead, he was behind her, slowly sliding away.

ㅤㅤ"Wait━ no, no, no! Come back here! Come━ I'm going to fall! I'm━ I'm falling! I'm going to break the ice and I'm going to drown and die and I'll blame it all on you, Jack!" she raised her arms, trying to get steady as the brunette laughed from behind her. "Don't laugh! You━" and she fell when she tried to turn her face too much to look at him.

ㅤㅤJack's laughter died down, he stumbled for a moment, not expecting her to actually fall, and Aura remained sitting there, too stunned to move. It didn't hurt at all, it just made her head funny for a moment and her legs and butt uncomfortable because of how cold the ice was, almost gripping the skin in her hands and the thin layers of fabric in her dress and socks.

ㅤㅤAura glanced from one side of her body to the other, not daring to move her face as she did so, before she started giggling at her own fall. Jack smiled in relief when she did so, and slowly approached her to help her back up.

ㅤㅤ"I told you, you're a strong girl."

ㅤㅤ"I know I am," she turned to him with a grin, ignoring the stunt she had given just a moment before that. "I just needed to confirm it."

ㅤㅤ"What? Is my word not enough of a confirmation?" he grinned back at her, false betrayal printed in his features as he put a hand in his own chest.

ㅤㅤ"No, I don't trust you." she teased the boy, who in response threatened to release her again. "Wait, no, don't do that━"

ㅤㅤ"What?" he giggled. "Still scared?"

ㅤㅤ"Oh, go choke on a stick!" Aura showed him her tongue and Jack laughed at that.

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yay they're happy again 🥰🥰

do u guys remember that one scene in twilight where bella is just sitting in the chair as the months pass? yea that's where I based this on

I have nothing to say other than I LOVE THEM SM PLEAS

I hope you guys liked this chapter, I know it's a little short compared to the others in the fic but it's because I cut it in half, as I said I would in my profile

speaking of, if you like this fanfic, consider giving me a follow! I always post updates about the book and when you should expect new chapters! besides, I have some other books you can check out while you wait for a new update :)

hope you guys have a great day/evening/night!!! ily <3

- beex