Jack Frost hated errands.

It wasn't that they took too long. No, it wasn't even that he didn't get much back from doing them. It was the fact that they were always waiting to be completed, and if he didn't do it, then nobody would.

"North," Jack groaned, attempting to look as annoyed as possible. "Why don't you do it?"

"My, my, Jack! I am too busy! Christmas is just a full moon away!"

The white haired winter spirit struggled not to roll his eyes. It was always the same excuse- Bunnymund had eggs to tend to, Tooth had teeth to collect, Sandy had nightmares to scare away. And North? Well, there was just no use in arguing with the guy.

"This errand thing doesn't exactly take that long," Jack complained. "You can do it- I did it last time!"

"And it would be much appreciated if you did it again." North nodded, ignoring Jack's exaggerated shoulder slump. "Cheer up! Christmas- it's very soon, yes?"

Jack leaned against his staff, careful not to get in the way of the many yeti's struggling to find the perfect bow for whatever present they were wrapping. "I'm starting to think ou only keep me around for errands." he joked. North let out a big laugh.

"No, no, my boy! You are Guardian because you are capable of handling these things!" he boomed, scaring half of the elves. "Now, about what I need you to do..."


Rikki

"Y'know if you actually smiled for once you'd be much better to hang around with."

I glared in the direction of the voice. Colette Kingston. My best friend, if the title still counted. Ever since we were little we'd known each other like the backs of our hands.

"But then I wouldn't have anything to annoy you with." I shot back, earning a dry laugh from her. Together we sat on the dock bridge, legs dangling and the tips of our trainers skimming the water.

Colette was probably the only person I could trust. I had a hard time opening up to people, which she knew and very well respected. It was always how things were with us two- I kind of just tagged along with everything she wanted to do. Not that I didn't have my own backbone; it just seemed easier to do things that way.

"I saw him again last night," she said, barely audible yet it caught my attention. "He flew past Gracie's window." Gracie was her eleven year old sister.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Forget it, Col," I said. "He doesn't exist."

"How are you so sure?" she asked, eyebrows raised. "You've never seen him."

"Exactly."

"You don't have to see things to be able to believe in them!" she argued. "I know he's real. Just like the Easter Bunn-"

"The Easter Bunny? Really?" I asked, a look of disbelief on my face. "Colette... those things... they're all just myths our parents tell us when we're kids to make the world seem not so bad. They're not real. If they were, don't you think they'd be all over the news?"

Colette shook her head, blonde curls gently resting on her shoulders. "That's where you're wrong, Rikki," she said. "Only people who believe in them can see them."

This time, I couldn't help it. My eyes rolled back and I let out an exasperated sigh. "Whatever."


After I left the dock and said bye to Colette, I decided to bide my time at home. It was getting late, anyway. My parents were out, and I had no siblings to worry about, so I just got changed and went straight to bed.

I was just about to close my eyes when I heard the faint sound of wind rustling. The windows were closed, so I was more than curious as to why they were so loud.

Tiptoeing, I made my way towards the window and drew the curtains. My eyes immediately shot to the lock. Closed. Sealed, just like I left them earlier on. No trace of ever being open. A line of frost was expanding from the handle to the actual glass, which made me a tiny bit confused. I was just about to forget it all and go back to bed- until I looked up.

There, on the opposite side of the window, was a guy. Clad in a frosted dark blue hoodie; hair the whitest thing I had ever seen. His skin was almost translucent, to the point where it was actually kind of terrifying. But that wasn't the worst part- oh no.

The guy was floating.

I jumped back just as the his eyes widened. A bright yet dark blue, hinting signs of childishness and regret and pain and probably other things I couldn't exactly register at the time. It seemed as if we were both taking in each others appearance- that, or he didn't expect me to react in the way that I did.

"You..." he said, his voice muffled. "You can see me?"

And that's when I briskly drew the curtains back, separating any forms of contact between the pair of us.


The next morning was a blur.

I tried to ignore what happened last night. The wind, the guy, the frost on my window. Even the fact that it was snowing much more than yesterday, forcing me to wear two layers and boots. I'd called Colette the minute I woke up, wanting at least a subtle distraction, and we were both meeting at Barista's- a local cafe in which Colette worked.

The second I got through the door, the strong aroma of roasted coffee beans and burnt cookies hit me like a wave. Colette was on baking duty- which was unfortunate for the earlier customers, but very beneficial for her. She didn't even have to do much, yet she somehow manage to burn every single thing that was put into the oven.

Apron and cheesy 1950's waitress hat on, Colette made her way towards me. "I swear," she said, as we both slid into an empty booth. She gave an annoyed wave at her co-workers, who looked more than angry at the fact that she was taking her lunch break six hours early. "The manager doesn't know the difference between a diner and a bankrupt cafe. I mean, look at this thing." she irritatedly moved the cap, sighing as it fell back to its original place.

I suppressed the urge to laugh. I had a job myself, but being 16 meant that I had very limited hours. Colette did too, but she did extra hours for no pay- something about not wanting Barista's to close down.

"So," she said. "What's up?"

"What do you mean?"

"You never get up unless you have to." she laughed. "It's 8am. On a Sunday. You have no work, and you look like you've just seen a ghost."

I pursed my lips. "Not a ghost."

Colette nodded, faking knowing exactly what I was thinking of. "Ah, I get it. There's a new guy in town, isn't there?"

I shook my head. "No, no that's not it. I just... saw some guy."

"Who?"

My shoulders slumped. There was really no easy way to tell your best friend that she might be right about a floating guy in a blue frosted hoodie, tapping on your window. Yet another thing she could say "I told you so" about.

"I don't even know if I saw him right. I mean, I could have been sleep deprived," I babbled, even though I knew there was no chance of that. "It could have just been hallucinations. I might have been drunk, even though I didn't drink yesterday, there could still be a possibili-"

"Woah, slow down!" she said, looking slightly panicked. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you can say it out loud without having to pause for breath every five seconds."

I gave her a sheepish look, and she nodded at me to carry on.

"Col," I sighed. "I thought about what you said last night, at the docks."

Colette Kingston flashed a smile at me, a big and bright one that knew she was right all along. "And?"

"And," I carried on. "I think I'm starting to believe you."


This chapter sucked and I'm sorry for that xD I honestly am incapable of properly introducing characters. The next chapters will be better, I promise :)

-lmaojackfrost