Heyyy... guess what. I know something yall don't know (if you know what song that's from, you get an internet cookie)! I. Just. Posted. A. New. Story! It's... well, it's right here. I had this thing on my iPod for awhile, but now... well, I copied it over. Long story short, I have a Rise of the Guardians fanfiction! So... lemme tell you right now that I don't own Rise of the Guardians. Oh. And do I have to say that every chapter?

Right. ANYWAY, here's Chapter One of Distrust! Reviews are like my lifeblood. So please review - even if it's criticism, I'll take it. *grins*

-SM

Chapter One: The Bennetts

"Wha...? JACK! GET DOWN 'ERE RIGHT NOW, FROSTBITE!"

A mischievous smile played at the corners of Jack's mouth as he flew from the Warren as fast as the Wind could carry him. Freezing all of Bunny's egg paint solid didn't sit well with the Guardian of Hope - even though there were still months to go until Easter came, and the abused paint wouldn't take long to thaw in the spring-like temperatures.

Bunny was probably going to pulverize him next time they met...

But his expression. Manny, it had been priceless. The way his furry face had contorted in anger, his whiskers quivering with rage... Ah, it was beautiful.

He was on his way up to North's workshop, where he'd be safe from Bunny's impeding mood swings, when he saw a billboard advertising a concert. It said something about a "Christmas Special," but Jack's attention was focused on a picture of a girl with familiar mouse-brown hair, and sparkling eyes that reminded Jack painfully of better days.

She reminded him of someone... but who? As he pondered that, Jack flew to the college gym it was being held at.

The windows were open in order to let cool air in the building, so the white-haired teen slipped through one of them and landed on one of the beams in the rafters of the gym, knowing no one would see him away. A hot, stuffy gym offering contemporary music was hardly a place for a kid. Still, he could only imagine the conversation between child and parents.

He raised his eyebrows multiple times as he heard the stuff they were singing about - although half the time they just talked to the beat of the music, calling it "rapping."

No one saw him.

After two horrendous hours, an announcer came onstage and said it was time for the Christmas Special, Chestnuts Roasting, by the New Horns.

The lead singer was the girl on the billboard - and she had an extraordinary voice for a fifteen year old. Paired with that, she seemed kind of mysterious - shy and bashful normally, but very outgoing when she sang - and when she did sing, she sang like music was everything.

That was the last performance.; and it left Jack in an awed state.

The crowds of people that had come to hear the young woman sing dispersed after a couple hours. The girl herself had patiently waited backstage for something - although what exactly, Jack wasn't sure of. All he knew was that she intrigued him.

A heck of a lot.

He was floating over the hundreds of folding chairs, feeling decidedly bad for whoever had to clean up the mess, when she came back out.

He sucked in his breath as she glanced at the mass of chairs, then up at the rafters where Jack was hovering. He grinned at her, and even waved, but her gaze passed right over him as if he wasn't there. The winter spirit couldn't fight the ripple of sadness that washed over him as her eyes missed him, even if she was already matured.

She sat down with a heavy sigh t the edge of the stage; Jack could practically feel the waves of loneliness and sadness emanating off her, which mirrored his own feelings.

She muttered something under her breath about "Gramps," and Jack assumed he heard her wrong, because he thought he heard his own name. But then she began to sing.

Jack wasn't sure what language it was, but it was beautiful. His eyes widened as he heard his name repeat in the song, which she sang in a mournful tone. For Jack, everything disappeared except the girl and her amazing voice, as she continued her sad rhyme.

After the song ended, she bit her lips and brought her knees to her chest, wrapped them in her arms, and buried her face in her knees.

Jack's eyes narrowed as he wondered what she had sung. He wet his lips, then flew down next to her. He landed and walked up to her quietly, clutching his shepherd's crook in a death grip, like it was his lifeline - which he supposed it was, seeing as how it was his only escape route if anything went wrong.

Heedless of the countless bad outcomes, he moved his arm to drape it over her shoulders comfortingly.

But before he could, she muttered, "Gramps... I'm so sorry. I stopped believing just like you said. And now you're gone..." Jack momentarily froze as she gulped and went on. "I am so, so sorry for calling you a fool, Gramps. I really do love you... And I wish I would have spent more time with you before... the accident."

She was outright crying now. Jack felt like an intruder, but the next words washed over him icily.

"I'm so sorry," she said in a broken voice, "for blaming Jack Frost. I..." she faltered for a moment, then took the plunge - even though she didn't know he was there. I know how much he meant to you, and... It was wrong of me to accuse him - it's not like it's his fault winter is so harsh..."

Jack let out a half-choked sob. Only one man had still believed in him as an adult. It was no wonder her brown hair and sparkling eyes looked familiar. She was talking about Jamie. Jamie Bennett, his first believer. The first mortal to see, touch, hear, and interact with Jack Frost.

He grew old; yet still never gave up his belief in the Guardians. It was something that young kids either looked up to in admiration, or something they looked down upon.

But now... dead?

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

Jamie... Jack knew he was old, but surely not that old...

Right?

The girl, immediately after he sobbed, had shot to her feet and spun around. She looked at him - yes, at him - and her eyes widened in shock.

"Jack... Frost?" She spluttered.

Only one thing to do... Jack gave her a crooked smile and bowed, dramatically holding his right arm out - the one with his staff. "At your service, Miss Bennett."

She gasped and turned away from him. "You..." she whispered. "You heard all that?"

Jack smiled, a touch ruefully. "Even the song."

"Rhyme," she corrected distractedly. "But... why are you here?" Her voice turned bitter. "Don't you have, like, snow days to spread, and blizzards to create? Shouldn't you be turning winter into the harsh, dangerously beautiful season that it is? Killing innocent people and leaving them to lay there, frozen solid?"

Her words were like a punch in the gut for Jack.

"I was actually here to get away from everything and enjoy myself," he said, trying to justify himself and block out the images his mind was making. "I was with the Easter Bunny... Uh, helping him paint the eggs for Easter. I was the billboard advertising this concert thingy, and decided to try it out." He spread his arms out in a and-here-you-have-it gesture.

"Go away," she said, waving him off with her hands. "Just leave me alone, Jack Frost. You killed my grandpa, and with my luck I'll probably be next."

"What?!" Jack cried. "I didn't kill anyone!" She cocked an angry eyebrow at him, knowing that the words rang false in his ears, too. "Not on purpose, at least," Jack added, some of his previous anger fading.

"Sure," she said sarcastically. "The all-powerful Spirit of Winter didn't send the cold weather our way, and definitely didn't didn't create the snow and ice everywhere."

Jack frowned. "Well, it's hardly my fault Jamie slipped. And, even if he did, he;d kill me for blaming myself.' Jack smiled ruefully, remembering all the fun times he used to have in the snow with Jamie and Sophie. "Jamie loved the snow... I still remember the snowball fights we'd have with the neighbor kids. They were great..."

She looked at him carefully. "How do you know his name? I never mentioned it."

Jack blinked.

"Jamie - your grandfather - was my first Believer." Seeing her blank expression, Jack started telling her about the Guardians; how they could only be seen by kids who Believed in them, how it was their job to protect all the kids on the planet, and fill them with Wonder, Dreams, Hope, Memories, and, Jack's specialty, Fun.

Soon he was talking about Pitch Black, and telling her about the horrible battle between the Boogeyman and the Guardians.

"No way!" she laughed, as he talked about North. "Santa Claus is Russian?"

"Yep."

"And the yetis make the toys." She shook her head in mock disbelief.

"Yep."

"I can't believe it..." she muttered jokingly. "It's like everything I knew and grew up with... was lies!"

Jack grinned at her. "Yep," he said happily.

"You're horrible," she laughed.

"Absolutely terrible."

They sat in a friendly silence for awhile, each waiting for the other to speak first. It'd be a gross understatement to say the young woman was startled when friend came up behind them and tapped her shoulder lightly.

The friend hadn't meant to scare her, but she was so deep in thought that she screamed - causing Jack to dart out of his sitting position and into a battle stance - and she jumped up, spinning around to face her fellow band member.

"Julie!" she cried, flinging a hand over her racing heart. "You scared me!

"No kidding," Julia muttered under her breath. "You okay, hun?"

"I'm... fine," she said, casting a sideways glance at Jack. "I am now, at least."

Julie paused. For a moment, she thought she had felt a cold breeze against her neck. It almost felt like breath. Then she discarded the notion with a shiver and said, "Good thing. Joey said we're hitting the road in a couple hours, so we should probably go pack. C'mon, honey."

"Thanks, Jack," was the last thing the other girl whispered before allowing Julia to pull her away from the seemingly empty gym.

"You're welcome..."