Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians.

Hello, I'm a RainbowSnowcone shipper. I apologize for any grammar mistakes. I am new to the Rise of the Gaurdians' fandom.

Thanks to whoever may read, review, or favourite the story.

PART 1

Thia knew her mother was right, no matter how much she wanted her to be wrong. Yes, her blood pressure had gone extremely high, and perhaps she had started to feel her passion for figure skating slink off, but...still, her mother could've told her this was coming.

Seriously?

She was going to be a figure skater who had a partner; it was going to be pair skating. What happened to all those things her mother had told her? "Sweetie, it's good to be independent. You get your freedom that way, and you don't have to rely on anyone but yourself."

Now, she wasn't going to be a single (independent- ha!) skater. She was going to be with a guy who was probably going to act like a major ass, and she would never conquer her goal, which was winning a gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games.

She'd been figure skating since the age of four, and had won a couple figure skating competitions here and there when she started competing when she reached the appropriate age to start doing so. But in her hearts of hearts she knew she wasn't reaching—and hadn't reached—her full potential; it felt she had gotten herself nowhere. There was a time when she considered dropping out of the sport, and trying something else like dancing. But after winning a junior competition, and thinking of the look that probably would've been on her mother's face if she had brung her such news, she didn't quit. Besides, Thia felt like figure skating was the only thing she knew, and was good at.

Yet, she started to think that figure skating was something she didn't see herself doing by the time she was thirty despite the dream she had. Thia wanted an ordinary job, like dentistry. Especially when her full first name had the word 'tooth' in it, Toothiana. But a million times had she pushed those thoughts aside, and focused on her skating.

"I can't believe my mother is forcing me into this change," she said to herself, ignoring her throbbing feet as she glided them on the ice. "I was doing just fine as a ladies' single skater." Not only was it this abrupt change in her skating career that was making her mood dark, but it was also the fact that she was skating in new ice skates. Yes, she was aware of the fact that that was a dumb thing she pulled. In less than a day was she going to be meeting her skating partner for the first time, and if, quite possibly, the coach (she had yet to meet too) was going to already make her and the partner practice and begin, she was going to look really stupid, because if her feet weren't going to be getting used to these skates anytime soon, soon - as in tomorrow! She was going to be tripping in her skates, and making stupid mistakes. But the reason why she was breaking in new skates NOW was because she had left her old ones on the bus two days ago, and the rest is history. Rashmi (her mother's name) had been so disappointed in her for being so irresponsible, but nonetheless, despite the many lectures and warnings Thia was given, Rashmi bought her new skates.

Thia had to sit down right this minute. Her heel on her right foot was beginning to bother her. She wasn't even used to these skates, these were way different compared to the brand and type of skates she was used too. Did her mother really know her own daughter?

"Why did I have to lose those skates?" She asked herself. "You are so stupid Thia, I can't believe you're even smart enough to consider a higher education." She then sighed miserably and cursed herself.

"Thia!" Rashmi had said to her, pointing to the computer screen. "A woman named Helena Overland sent me an email. She replied to the message I had posted on the message board on Silver Skates dot com."

The teen had rolled her eyes, and walked away from the archway and to her mother. "Mom, you seriously aren't going forward with this, are you?"

Rashmi ignored her and started to read the email out loud.

"Dear Rashmi Mamori,

I'm sending you this email regarding the message you had posted on Silver Skates dot com. You had stated that your daughter Toothiana was looking for a skating partner. I have a son, his name is Jackson, who used to skate when he was younger and had lost interest, but now I feel as if figure skating should become an interest to him again. Reason being, he used to be quite the trouble maker when we lived in Michigan, and now that my husband has moved us to Toronto, I want him to start on a clean slate. And I think figure skating will help him do that. Please don't let his lack of experience be the reason you reject my offer. He's a fast learner, and is a great skater. Please get back to me regardless of what your response may be.

Sincerely, Helena Overland

"Mom," Thia moaned in exasperation and acute distress, "if my partner has a lack of experience in figure skating, then I'm definitely whooped. Mom, do you seriously want to see me fail?"

Rashmi laughed. "Toothiana, you're being dramatic. This woman said her boy was a fast leaner, and had done some figure skating in the past. Besides, it's a win-win for me and her. Her boy stays out of trouble, and you have a skating partner."

The teen girl huffed, "But he's from The States."

Her mother sighed. "Thia, don't you say that. You're dad would be disappointed in you if he heard you say that. You can't judge someone based off of where they're from, besides, you might make a new friend."

Thia grew frustrated from the memory, and rubbed her throbbing ankle. Her mother didn't understand her at all. Because of that very fact, she felt herself thinking about her dad Haroom. She wished he was here, but that could never be. She knew in her gut that he was in a better place now, but she wished right now he was here. Giving her some encouraging words, or perhaps trying to talk her mother out of switching her to pair skating.

"Thia." It was her dad's familiar voice. She was looking into his kind eyes. "Dad?"

"You're going to be alright," he reassured her. He wore the same jacket he always wore, the same shoes, and his posture was all the same. "And, it will get better. It's God's will."

"But..." She looked down at her foot that had some new blisters, "but I'm not even sure I'm good at this anymore..."

"You are. You will be." With those words said, Haroom soon faded from her imagination.

Thia still didn't feel confident. She was scared, anxious, and stressed out. She wasn't ready to meet Jackson, nor the coach. If all, she thought to run away.

But it was pretty much just herself and Rashmi. She had no friends in particular, or any places in mind, to run away to.

/

After she left the ice rink, she took the bus. When riding on the bus, she took out some peppermint Pru gum from her athlete bag, and crammed the five square pieces in her mouth. Mmmm, she thought, heaven. She had her eyes closed, and just let her mind go blank for a couple seconds. She didn't think about Jackson, skating, nor her sore ankle. She didn't understand why peppermint gum had this effect on her, but she thought it rather pitiful.

Just then, she was getting a phone call. It was Rashmi. "Thia!" She said, sounding neurotic. "Please, go and buy some food. Oh, and buy some homo milk (Whole milk)!"

Thia sighed. "Why? I was coming home. We can buy some food and milk tomorrow. Besides, don't we still have some backbacon, and brown bread."

"Thia that isn't part of your diet," her mom said, "and did you forget? Aster's plane will be landing in an hour!"

"You said he wasn't coming till next week."

"Toothiana, just buy the milk and food. Think of something, eh?" Before she hung up, she said, "Oh, and I'm heading over to pick up Aster now, so please have the food prepared by the time I get home. The house is clean, and his room is prepared...but, please have the food ready."

/

One hour later...

Thia bought poutine, butter tarts, Nanaimo bars, and some salad. Sure, it would be an odd dinner tonight but she could care less about meeting a guy from Australia. She wasn't even sure why her mother decided to host an exchange student.

But now that she thought about it...how could she have forgotten about the Australian coming? She had helped her mother set up the foreigner's room. It used to be the guest room, but now did it look like more of an actual room. Thia and her mother had given it a boyish look; the walls were painted a dark blue, the twin sized bed was a dark blue as well. A book shelf, a mini fridge, and a television had also been added to the room.

Thia set the table, and started to arrange the food on the plates. Would this guy even like poutine, and salad? She shrugged and continued to put food on each plate.

After the table was set, and the food was put out, along with the dessert. She went into her bedroom, and decided to rest for awhile. She took off her runners, and got in bed, under her pink plush comforter. She sunk her head in a feathery pillow, and was soon enough catching some Zs.

"Thia! Toothiana!" Rashmi patted her on the arm. "Toothy!"

The figure skater sat up slowly. "Mom, I'm tired..."

"Why did you buy poutine?!" Rashmi whispered harshly. "Why not something a bit more fancy, or Australian-like?"

Thia moaned. "But mom, you told me to buy some food, and that's what I did. Please just leave me be."

Rashmi nudged her daughter. "Thia, get up, Aster's in the kitchen right now, waiting. You should be glad he loves salad. But still, such a poor selection in food you made."

Her mother left the room, and Thia put back on her runners and brushed out the tangles in her hair that had formed when she had gone into a deep sleep. She reminded herself to dye her hair back to black, because she didn't want Jackson, or her coach to think she was weird, or this rebel. Even though she had really started to like her dyed ends that were an assortment of colours, especially pink.

When she walked into the kitchen she saw a boy about her age. He was wearing a bunny hug, joggers, and some Adidas. He was attractive she could see; he had Gray-black hair, bushy eyebrows, and his skin had a tan to it. Almost the same shade as hers. He also wore a scowl on his face. She rolled her eyes mentally at the fact that he didn't appear like a happy person.

Thia sat down across from Aster. "Hello, Aster Bunnymund. I'm Thia." She reached out her hand to him to shake, but he scoffed. "Nice to meet you Thia," he only said, and proceeded to cram some more of the salad in his mouth. "These chips and gravy are cold."

She awkwardly lowered her hand to her lap, and looked at her mother who gave her a disappointed look.

"So, Aster," Rashmi said, "Are you in any sports? Have a hobby?"

The Australian smiled at her politely, and held a thinking face expression. "I like to paint, collect things, and hunt every now and then...I like the wildlife." He got another helping of salad from the bowl in the center of the table. "Oh, yeah, and I speed skate."

As Aster took a sip of his water, he failed to notice Thia's surprised look. "You're a speed skater?!" Incredulousness was evident in her voice. "But you're from Australia, I don't get it..." She trailed off when he gave her a glare.

"Yeah, Canuck, I'm an Aussie who speed skates," he said curtly. He picked off the carrots from his salad, and ate them separately. "But, you never heard o' Steven Bradbury?"

Thia shrugged. "Sure...But I would think you're a surfer, or whatever Australians do."

Before Aster could even respond to her ignorance, Rashmi interjected. "Aster, you're a speed skater, eh? Thia here, figure skates, tomorrow she'll start pair skating."

"Oh, does she now?" Aster chuckled, surprised. "I would've guessed dancer. But I was close. Why you switchin' to pairs?"

Before Rashmi gave him the reason why, Thia responded quickly. "Just felt like it."

She then asked, "Why did you think to sign up for the student exchange program?"

"Oh, you know, academic credit..." He said nonchalantly. "And I'm a speed skater, so Canada fits. Also, I feel as if I need to just be somewhere different, see a different part of the world, before I am certain on who I should be, and in someway, it brings me hope that I'll be okay in this crazy world, ya know?"

Rashmi smiled at the teen boy. "How insightful Aster."

Thia couldn't help but smile at his response, before shoving a couple fries in her mouth; finishing up dinner quickly.

She wanted to be up and at 'em tomorrow morning. Before school, she was going to be up at 5, and then head over to the rink, and it would be 5:30. School began at 8:00, therefore she'd be able to practice for an hour before Jackson and the new coach came, and it would be approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes left of practice when they would arrive.

But she did fear that, because of Jackson's lack of experience, the practice hours and herself waking up early would all be in vain. For once, she thought herself, can I not stress, and overthink?

People say that pair skating is like a marriage. If she didn't get along with Jackson, would she have to see him everyday? Ugh, just the thought of having to tolerate a person who doesn't give a crap about you (feelings are returned), and you both would argue all the time, yet having to spend time on the rink, and go to ballet classes on the weekend.

"Excuse me," she said getting up. "I'm full, and I need to go brush...so...g'night."

Rashmi and Aster responded with a "good night", and soon fell back in conversation when Rashmi asked Aster, "So, what's it like in Australia?"

Thia brushed hard, flossed, and used some whitening on her teeth. Fearing that the brown gravy may have stained her teeth (Gravy, in fact, doesn't stain teeth). Thia, routinely with precision, brushed, flossed, and whitened her teeth. She then took some black hair dye out of the pantry. She'd bought it today when she had to go and buy food. With a frustrated sigh she began the process of dying her hair. At one point did she have to get out the bathroom so Aster could take a shower.

Dying her hair was a slow process. She even sang a little to herself, if you have minute why don't we go, talk about it somewhere only we know?...

She watched a little television in the living room.

Eventually, the process of dying her hair came to an end, and she was more than glad to go to sleep.

She could only pray that tomorrow the meeting would go well.

/

Jack frowned as his mother handed him the pair of skates. Again, was he being reminded that he was going to be figure skating tomorrow with some girl he didn't even know. When his parents had told him they had found him something to do in Canada, he about threw a conniption when they told him it would be figure skating. Man, what the guys would say if they found out he was doing figure skating.

"Jack, are you kidding me?"

"Dude, you gotta get outta there now! That's ballet, but on ice. Girly, man! Girlyyyy!"

"Jack, you're a prankster, notta effing pretty skater, whatta flake!"

Jack put his hood up from his blue bunny hug and walked outside. "Damn, figure skating," he cursed quietly. He knew why his parents were doing this to him. After two incidents with trespassing and stealing down in Michigan, they were probably having a hard time figuring out what they should do about his behavior now that they were in Toronto.

Yet, he didn't want to do this skating-thing because he thought about his sister Sara, who wanted to be a figure skater when she grew up.

"Jack, I want to be a figure skater!" She would proclaim everyday when they would go and skate down at the lake, that had frozen over. "Especially, an ice princess! I can jump, and twirl on ice! And you could lift me Jack!"

But now Sara, and that dream of hers was gone.

He sighed miserably as he walked to catch the bus. He was going to go to an ice rink that was for the use of recreational skating.

Canada...was new to him. But in a way, he wasn't feeling homesick, nor did he feel like he didn't belong in such a diverse place, but whether he wanted to admit or not. He felt lonely, but he wanted to be alone for now.

He needed to be.

How was that going to work, though? He was going to be in pair skating.

Yet, they most likely didn't go to the same school, especially if they didn't live near each other.

It was just as simple as that.

He wasn't going to be the girl's friend. Besides, she was probably stuck up; all female figure skaters are. He knew it could be a misconception in itself, but he'd rather not think about how at fault he could be.

Jack about missed the bus, but got on just in time.