I'm Lin, and this is my first time writing fanfiction.
It's mostly about trying to quit, and I'll try not to be graphic with the self-harm parts.
Disclaimer - I don't own Rise of the Guardians.
~RotG~
Jamie Bennet and his friends still believed in the Guardians even as they became teenagers. It was hard not to believe in the Guardians when the Guardian of Fun visited the kids of Burgess whenever he could.
Jamie was known as the last light, a good student, a caring brother and son, and he was often told by many adults that he had a "bright future ahead of him."
But he never told anyone about the secret eating away at him.
As Jamie grew up, life started to take its toll on him like it does to most teenagers and kids. Even the strongest could lose their way not matter how much they try not to. And Jamie had tried so hard not to lose his way, always keeping his friends and family in mind. But he soon learned that once you start something it can be incredibly hard to stop it.
It was easy, hiding his scars. His best friend was the embodiment of winter, so he always had an excuse to wear a jacket or long-sleeved shirts around him. Jamie's mother had to work, and Sophie was often too busy watching tv, doing homework or - when she grew older - talking to her friends and spending time with them instead of at home with her big brother, who needed her more than he wanted to admit.
If Jamie's mom or Sophie ever thought anything seemed different about him, they never mentioned it.
And while Jamie was relieved that his family never found out, he was completely caught off guard by the one person who did.
"Hey, Jamie, I was in the area and decided to - " Jack flew through Jamie's open window suddenly, and Jamie froze with the blade in hand. Jack stopped, slowly realizing what was going on. " - drop by..." He trailed off.
The two teenagers stared at each other with expressions of shock and fear.
Jack Frost had spent three hundred years alone and knew what it felt like to be invisible and not good enough. And because he knew what it was like, he had always tried his hardest to be there whenever Jamie needed him, to make sure he never felt alone. And to realize his best friend was hurting without him realizing it shocked him. He was confused and almost as upset as Jamie when his little brother choked out what had been going on, when and why he'd started self-harming.
He had no idea what to say or how to help him.
How did I never notice? Jack wondered frantically, hugging his younger friend tightly as Jamie started to cry.
"Are you angry?" Jamie asked him nervously once he'd calmed down a long while later. He was exhausted from crying so much and hadn't been sleeping well before Jack found out.
"Wha - ? No!" Jack said, quickly, shaking his head. "Jamie, I could never be angry at you. No, I'm not angry."
"I can't stop," Jamie hiccupped, wiping his eyes - for tears or from exhaustion, Jack wasn't sure. "I've tried to stop, but it's been hard..."
"Hey, don't cry," Jack said, softly, "I'm here for you. I'll help you stop if you want me to. I'm always here for you, Jamie, so - so you can always count on me, okay? Don't worry." Jamie smiled sadly and nodded. "And next time you ever wanna do this - " Jack waved a hand helplessly, but Jamie understood what he meant. " - we'll have a little fun instead. Okay?"
"Okay," Jamie agreed, then sighed.
Jack smiled at him reassuringly. "Let's get you cleaned up, then you can sleep." Even if I have to go halfway across the world to get Sandy's dreamsand, you're gonna get a good night's sleep tonight.
Jamie let Jack tell the other Guardians, all of whom were shocked but willing to help.
On Jamie's worst days, Tooth showed Jamie's his best memories of childhood.
Every night, Sandy sent him sweet dreams to help him sleep well.
North and Bunny invited Jamie (and Sophie) to help design new toys and patterns to keep Jamie distracted. They also helped him to remember the wonder in the world and to never lose hope.
And Jack kept his friend busy with all the snow days spent with their friends. Jack also listened whenever Jamie needed to talk after long, hard days at school.
It would take time before Jamie would no longer need to self-harm, but they were all willing to stop and talk to their favorite teenager if it meant helping him in even the smallest way.
One morning after Sandy had left but before Jack came to visit, Jamie had listened to something on the news that depressed him enough to want to self-harm again after being clean for a few months.
Jamie tried to focus on the most recent memories Tooth had shown him, but he quickly found himself in his room, digging through the messy room trying to find something - anything - sharp to stop the burning need to cut.
He had just found a pair of scissors when there was a crashing noise outside his door and a muffled "Ow!"
Jamie dropped the scissors and ran out to find Sophie kneeling beside a mess of scattered papers and markers as she tried to gather them all back together.
"Sophie? You okay?" Jamie asked as he kneeled beside her. She nodded, blushing. "What happened?"
"I fell," she mumbled, embarrassed. "I wanted to draw Bunny's Warren for the art contest at school, and I tripped."
Jamie helped her pick up the art supplies and held them out to her as they stood up. "I'm sure you'll win," he assured her, forcing a believable smile. "So don't worry about it. If you rush through it, it might not come out as good."
"I know," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Thanks." She took the supplies and went into her room.
Jamie started to go to his own room when he nearly slipped on a stray marker. He picked it up and was about to return it to his sister when he noticed the color.
It was a baby blue marker with a swirly design that reminded Jamie of Jack. Thinking of all the Guardians' hard work to help Jamie stop self-harming, he suddenly felt a rush of guilt and shame. They tried so hard to help, he thought sadly, and I was about to throw it all away.
Then, holding up the marker, Jamie felt the old need to self-harm and decided to try something else.
Smiling to himself, Jamie returned to his room with the marker and sat on his bed and looked out the window for a while to let the need slowly fade a bit. Not seeing his friend in sight, Jamie pulled up his sleeve and began drawing swirls and snowflakes over his scars instead of making more. Over the worst scars, Jamie wrote in large letters,
"I believe in Jack Frost."
~RotG~
I tried to be vague about the cutting part, but I'm not sure if I did such a good job. And, Jess, if you're reading this... I TOLD YOU IT WAS SAD! So I'm sorry if I depressed you with this.
