Skyla is generally very open-minded. She's helpful but keeps mostly to herself. It isn't that she's a loner, she just has a packed schedule. Working at the Nephilim Café, and keeping her house-mate happy take up a lot of her time.

Not that her house-mate, Lauren, is a handful. She just knows what she wants and is very confident.

Her work hours aren't that bad. Not usually. Tonight, Daniel, the owner, asked her to take a late shift and close up which would also involve her opening up early in the morning. That would then involve her having to make the first pot of coffee and batch of pastries and whatnot.

Walking home, the area was calm. The roads were lit by street lamps, and the wind was warm. The late-night businesses were far behind her now, only the occasional car went by. It was far from winter; that was easy to tell. No snow would be coming in for months.

Skyla smelled of coffee as she always did after a full day at the café. Lauren would be mad if she dragged the smell inside, but how would she really avoid something like that? 'Lauren's probably used to it anyway'

They were friends now, but before living together they had barely said a few words to each other. They were up to a couple of sentences a day now, and steadily working their way towards full conversations. Mostly about shopping, or cute boys... Mostly Lauren did the talking, being the socialite everyone knew she was.

A fresh, cold breeze found its way through Skyla's long sandy-brown hair, making her shiver. 'Where did that come from?' Pouting, she quickened her pace, hoping to dodge another one. Nearing the house the winds came at her with dropped temperatures not unlike ones she would expect of Autumn, or even Winter.

"This is just ridiculous," her stormy grey eyes swept over the house impatiently and she stumbled through her purse for the keys. 'At least the lock isn't frozen over'.

The porch light being the only one on in the entire house, Sky figured Lauren must have gone to bed already. Making her way through the dark house, Skyla was careful not to bump into anything. It wasn't difficult; she'd had to do this countless times before.

It wasn't a large house, anyway. 3 bedroom, quite modern. Luckily Lauren had agreed to let her stay for a manageable price. It was her parents place after all, she'd only invited Sky to live with her when it got too lonely. Lauren, though always the center of attention and admired by all, was not fond of living with anyone. When she found out Skyla had been looking for a place, and kept to herself while working long schedules at the Nephilim, Lauren knew Sky was her best option. Even if she couldn't pay the asking rent.

"It's freaking cold in here, too," Sky complained aloud, deciding to check the thermostat in her room. The door to the bedroom, as usual when her house-mate had had people over, was shut tight. It was more of a respectful thing on Lauren's part than actually caring if someone snooped through Sky's belongings.

Reaching for the door-knob, she double checked to make sure the other rooms had been closed off and no lights were kept on. Once she was certain, she turned the knob and-

The room was freezing! Rushing to the thermostat, she checked to make sure the arrow pointed to its usual setting. When she was sure it was where she'd left it, Sky nudged it a bit to get the heat circulating again. 'It never gets this cold in here, what did Lauren do?'.

'It must be a prank' her inner victim replied, 'check the mattress for ice packs'.

Ignoring the minor case of psycho she was having, Sky didn't bother getting changed out of her work clothes and climbed under the soft covers. Luckily she'd had time this morning to make her bed or they'd be all over the floor.

Finding comfort quickly, she turned her head towards the window and closed her eyes. 'Finally; warmth. Thought I'd never say that in the middle of Summer...'

At ease, finally, she breathed out in relief. The sound of the heater reached her ears as it soon filled her room with warmth.

When the heater turned off, satisfied with its effort for the time being, Sky heard another noise at her window. Though it sent a chill down her spine, she figured it couldn't be anything other than that annoying tree outside, losing it's branches against the house again.

But as she listened, it sounded more like something freezing. 'Please don't be The Day After Tomorrow! Jake Gyllenhaal was totally hot in that movie but I'm nowhere near the New York Public Library and would not benefit from that at all!'

Pulling herself together, and gathering as much courage as she could muster, Sky opened her eyes. Looking straight at the window, she thought maybe she'd fallen asleep at some point. Some guy, With white hair and the coldest blue eyes she'd ever seen, was freezing her window using some staff and looking very focused on the lock.

'It's a dream', Sky assured herself, 'he doesn't exist and it's all in my head.'

Her confidence faded when she saw the lock break and him grinning triumphantly. Moving silently he swung the window open and, checking the floor for obstacles first, jumped inside on quiet feet.

'Bare feet. It is a dream! Even in Summer no one just goes around in bare feet! It's not safe and definitely not very sanitary.'

Keeping her eyes locked on him, being careful not to move around or make any noises, Sky watched as he looked everywhere but the bed. He hadn't seen her yet.

'I'm mostly hidden by the covers. If he hasn't seen me yet, there's no way he will from that side of the room. If he moves for the door, I'll jump out at him. Lauren is dead asleep by now; I'll have to take this guy down on my own'

Sighing loudly, the intruder touched his staff against a chair in the corner. Frost exploded from it, the chair becoming like ice itself. "She's forgotten me. Forgotten ME! If it's because she doesn't believe any more .. I can make her believe again."

Skyla, becoming both more afraid and less patient every moment, eased her legs closer to her chest, her arms lifting the blankets slowly.

"Maybe a snow day, like back when she was 12! Haha, she was so glad she didn't have to take that test!"

Still watching him as he searched the walls for memories only he could see, Sky let her feet slowly and awkwardly find the floor. She'd never really had to be sneaky but as with anyone her sensible paranoia had had her playing out scenarios such as this in her head on nights she couldn't sleep.

Well, not exactly like this.

"Or maybe... Maybe some ice figures! She probably still likes turtles."

'What is this guy talking about'? He still wasn't turning toward the bed. Crouching down and grabbing the best weapon she could reach (a pencil she'd dropped a couple of days ago), Skyla stayed as quiet as she could. 'He probably wouldn't hear me over his own voice anyway'.

"I wonder if she'll want to meet the others. There's no way I'm letting Tooth near her, though. ...Or the kangaroo. I just hope-" he cut off as Skyla charged at him, letting her footfalls be as loud as they needed to be.

"What the-" he expertly dodged the pencil, letting her reach too far forward, momentum taking its toll on her balance. Without another thought he pushed her against the wall, holding her there with his staff. Eyeing each other carefully, neither moved.

"Who are you" he finally questioned.

"I'm the person whose room you just busted into!" she struggled against the pressure he was keeping against her, "Who are you?!"

"Hold on. YOUR room? Lauren lives alone," the pressure increased, "Don't lie to me. I won't let you hurt her!"

The staff turned ice-cold, freezing her veins and making her numb. It was getting harder to breathe, coming out in short gasps.

"I'm.. Not... My name's Skyla! Please..."

His eyes widened and he backed off slowly, like he just realized what he was doing. First his body then, just slightly, his staff.

Taking the chance, Sky slid to the floor, trying to get distance between herself and those piercing blue eyes of his. Coughing, she let her own eyes wander the room. Even with the heater going again, the room was still barely gathering heat. The chair had only barely begun thawing.

Those blue eyes found hers as he crouched down to her level. "Skyla... This really is your room?" she nodded, "I didn't know Lauren had someone living with her."

"She... Gets lonely sometimes"

He nodded then, face mirroring his understanding. "I'm Jack. Jack Frost. How can you see me when even she doesn't?"

Skyla met his question with only plain confusion written across her face.

"I guess you wouldn't know, anyway. Are you okay?" Skyla nodded, looking straight into his eyes, "I was only trying to protect her. Well, and myself, after you came at me with... Was that a pencil?"

"Yeah... I sort of grabbed the closest sharp thing I could find." watching as he laughed, she unwillingly let out a small chuckle of her own, "What is so freaking funny about that?! I thought you were going to kill me! And Lauren!"

His face turned serious again, "I would never. She's the reason I'm here. I want her to believe again, and I need to find out how to do that."

"...Lauren?"

"Yeah."

"You want her to believe in you? Jack Frost?"

"Yeah. What's so funny about that?!" Sky was having a hard time breathing again. She hadn't laughed this hard in a while, and that only made her laugh harder. Jack frowned, "If you made a joke in there somewhere, you should really let me know. I'm all about jokes."

"It's... It's just... HAhaha" holding her side, Skyla fell over but did her best to explain, "Jack... FROST! You don't really know her well, do you? Haha!"

"I know her! What are you talking about? ...Stop!" reaching out and trying to hold her still, his lips turned to a thin smile, "Just tell me what is going on, would you?"

Calming down a little, Sky confided, "She's... She's basically your number one fan! Of course she believes in you!"

"...Really? I thought..."

"Well, you thought wrong"

Jack, obviously relieved, commented, "Then why can't she see me? If she still believes then..."

"She believes. She does. Lauren's never told anyone about it after she became miss popular, but you've always been in her thoughts... And, I guess, her heart. But SWEAR you won't ever let her know I told you this!"

"I won't tell her. But only because I'm invisible to her and... Because I owe you one for hurting you like that."

"Right. About that. It's kind of freezing in here. Lauren's told me enough so I know it's your fault. Can you... Ease off or something?"

Smiling again, the Winter Spirit relaxed a bit, "It's not going to warm up very quickly, though. Get a sweater or get under the covers before you get sick."

Standing up slowly and moving toward the closet, Skyla decided just putting on a sweater might be less awkward. Choosing something big and warm, she stood not far from Jack and looked at him seriously, "Why are you here? You said you're here to get Lauren to believe, but why... HERE? In my room? Freezing my chair?"

His smile grew, "I thought, if I could show her something of what I could do, she would remember the times we had. I just... Want her back. You know? Have you ever felt like this? It's weird to me."

"...No, I've never felt like that. Good for you. It might be fun so... I guess I'll help. If I can. But what do we do until then? You can't stay here."

"What do you mean 'until then'. Let's wake her up now! Get this done tonight!"

"No, we'll let her get some sleep. I'll think about it tonight, then tomorrow... Wait, I have to open up tomorrow..." Sky looked around tiredly, "Lauren will be around all day, promise you won't try anything. I don't want you to freak her out."

"Okay, fine. I've waited this long. But what were you saying about opening up?" he moved slightly towards her. Sky backed up and he just let out a short laugh, "You're blocking the exit, you know"

"Oh, sorry," she moved aside, "Yeah, I have work tomorrow. Really early since I have to unlock the doors and make some of the day's inventory..."

Looking at her oddly, Jack started toward the window. He stopped just beside her, "It sounds like you're doing that all alone."

Skyla sighed, "I'm used to it. I don't mind; the Nephilim is a comfortable place to be lonely in," Seeing his confusion she added, "The Nephilim Cafe. It's where I work."

"Then let me come with," he grinned, "If you'll be alone, you don't have to worry about anyone thinking you're talking to yourself."

"I don't worry about that. So, wait. No one can see you? I mean, I know children can. Lauren told me"

"Only children who believe in me. No adult should be able to. But, you're technically an adult, right?"

"Yeah. I'm 19."

"19? That's weird. I thought you were... 18 maybe. You shouldn't be able to see me at all."

"Lauren's 19."

"..." he didn't seem shocked; it was more like he didn't want to hear it, "I know. I just hope... Well, I've found one exception. I'm hoping she's the other."

"Well then," Sky smiled, "Get out. I leave at 6, you can follow me from here, right?"

"Yeah," he floated towards the still open window, "I can do that. Thanks for believing in me. I mean, in your own way," and flew out into the night air.

"Jack Frost, huh? I hope you can make her see you again" with that, she closed the window. 'I'll need a new lock for this... Well, there's probably no point'

NOTES:
Reviews, reviews, reviews! Please!
I have a few of the other chapters already written, but I'm going to space them out a bit. So depending on the feedback I get, there could be another chapter in a couple days.
Thank you for reading!
Love y'all *hearts*