Disclaimer: All characters, events, and material related to The Guardians of Childhood and Rise of the Guardians are owned by William Joyce and DreamWorks Animation. Cover Art by Jake Nickleby.

Chapter One: Back in Business

Golden sand lit up the bedroom, causing the painted walls to glow a warm pink. It had been that way ever since the owner had occupied the room, and for as long as the Sandman had been bestowing beautiful dreams to the girl in the bed who snuggled further underneath the covers. She smiled softly in her sleep, images made from the golden Dreamsand danced above her head.

As one hour passed on to the next, she continued to dream of hope, wonder, and precious memories. An airy sigh escaped from her as she laid there happily, unsuspecting of the ominous figure emerging from the darkness. He was a monster of a man children believed to hide underneath their beds, ready to strike fear in their tiny, good-natured hearts. In one lifetime, he was known as a valiant soldier, Kozmotis Pitchiner. In this lifetime, the children labeled him as "The Boogeyman", but he preferred the name Pitch Black.

Pitch loomed over the girl, a wicked grin wanting to form on his lips. It started as a routine visit like any other, turning Dreamsand from golden to black. Still weak from a humiliating defeat, the dark figure lurked underneath the beds of children in hopes of finding one who was afraid. Afraid of the dark, afraid of being alone, something that he could feed off of.

He remembered her when she was younger, before his last downfall. She used to dream of riding unicorns then. Now, four years later, she dreamt of other pleasurable things, those that come with age. Teenage dreams were so peculiar. Always full of infatuation and pining... He stared at her, watching her flinch at her nightly dose of nightmares. How quickly does a vibrant dream like hers turn on her so drastically. The sight was simply delicious, and he was savoring every little bit of it.

It was because of her that he was able to retain what little strength he had. Not even that Jamie Bennett was able to give him that luxury. Jamie... That little, lying brat. He said he believed in him, only to run right through him minutes later. No matter. This was much more entertaining, watching a friend of the boy's. To make it more interesting were the hidden feelings she possessed for the other child. The nightmares he was able to create from those thoughts were simply too easy; the possibilities for tainted dreams were endless, and therefore he had reason to visit her again tomorrow night.

"Dear child, you've put me back in business..."

The skies were overcast, but all of the high school underclass students waiting for the morning bus were surprisingly in a good mood. It was only the beginning of December, but they were already excited for holiday break towards the end of the month. Everyone, except for one. Unlike the other bubbly students waiting, Cupcake stood to the side listlessly at the bus stop. Jamie noticed right away.

He strayed away from Pippa and Monty, who were talking animatedly about the essay topic in their Comprehensive English class. That didn't seem to be too much of a problem, as Jamie was mostly listening in on their conversation. It was amusing to see how passionate the two teenagers were about their academics, but he had little to contribute to the subject at the moment. They wouldn't miss him if he stole himself away from the group in order to check on the older girl.

"You okay, Cupcake?" Jamie asked, eyebrows furrowed with concern.

"M'fine," she muttered, her head remained hanging down. She couldn't even bring herself to look Jamie in the eye. "Just didn't get much sleep last night."

He believed her, at least he wanted to, but her eyes stayed haunted. Cupcake's condition worsened as the month progressed. Cheeks hollowed, dark circles underneath her eyes... It was painful to see how awful she looked. Jamie kept checking on her, asking her if she was all right, but her response was always the same.

"I'm fine."

Christmas didn't feel the same for Jamie, as he constantly fretted over how Cupcake's health would reshape without him being able to monitor her every day. Even when holiday break was over, there were days where the fifteen-year-old wouldn't come to school, and the absences became more frequent by the time it was the end of January. Still, Jamie would never fail to watch over her. No matter how redundant it gotten, he asked... until finally one day she lashed out.

"I'm fine, Jamie!" she snapped.

"You're getting worse," Jamie indicated. He was the kind of kid who was unafraid to tell the truth, so long it helped others. Cupcake was that person in need, and he would do anything in his power to relieve her of her depression. Though the polite questions of worry weren't being affective, so now he had to be blunt. "I'm worried."

"Well, don't be!" she blew up. "You think you can do it all, save everyone from their problems."

"I want to help you," he declared, unyielding.

"I don't need help, Jamie Bennett!" Cupcake yelled furiously before storming away from the defeated freshman.

Jamie mulled over a single thought for three whole days before he made up his mind. He was going to apologize to Cupcake.

"You shouldn't have to be sorry, man!" Claude protested when Jamie told his friend of his plan. "If anything, Cupcake should be the one to apologize!"

"I know," Jamie said humbly. "But you know how she is, Claude. I'd rather be the one to ask for forgiveness than to be the one to let her burn a bridge."

"Wow," Caleb breathed in astonishment.

"What?" Jamie responded, confused by his friend's reaction.

"I didn't think Cupcake's friendship meant so much to you," his friend admitted.

The youngest fourteen-year-old looked a little crossed. "Doesn't it matter to you?"

"I guess..." Caleb trailed, his eyes shifting passively away from the other boy.

Jamie sighed. He knew he should've gone to Pippa and Monty for advice instead. He knew Claude and Caleb wouldn't be very supportive. They were definitely great guys, but they didn't feel very close to Cupcake as he did. After all that they've been through together, he couldn't understand why they didn't want to try saving Cupcake's friendship.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

Cupcake stared at him, looking more surprised than angry. "What?"

"I said, I'm-" he started to repeat, but Cupcake cut him short.

"No, I heard," the sophomore said. "But why?"

"For bugging you... about... Cupcake?" Jamie's explanation faltered when he doubted that the older girl could hear him, looking lost in her thoughts.

"Sorry..." she muttered, unable to look at him. Jamie really disliked this new behavior of hers, how she wouldn't- couldn't- make eye contact with anyone when she was demoralized.

"Why don't we start over?" Cupcake snapped her head to him. He could see the faith inside her being restored through her wide, brown eyes. She broke away from his gaze momentarily, embarrassed. A light blush surfaced her cheeks to represent her shame. Jamie mustered a little smile to deflect her self-consciousness, and continued, "You think you'd want to hang out sometime?"

Cupcake slowly looked at him. "Yeah," she said softly, trying to replicate his smile. "I'd like that."

Jamie's smile grew wider, and more genuine. He could almost feel the hope radiating from her freckled, ivory skin. It was a shame that her rediscovery of hope distracted him from sensing the darkness trying to continue to overtake her heart.

End of Chapter One

Author's Note: Since I have a habit of trying to think of story ideas while trying to fall asleep, this story was the outcome of needing a nap at eight o'clock in the morning and randomly getting The Veronicas song, "Lolita" stuck in my head. Most, if not all, of the themes in the lyrics supported me into creating the plot. Even at one point, lines were extracted and used for the chapter titles. This song was on a loop while this story was written. It got a little tiring listening to it over and over, but nothing kept me more motivated than the feel of this song.

23 June 2013