Chapter 1
A/N: Hi peeps! This is my first time writing a fanfic so please don't throw me to the...whatever you were planning on throwing me to. Anyway, please enjoy! I really wanted to write a fic with an avatar so here it is, and I rated it K+, the rating might change to T because I'm super careful BUT there won't be any language I promise, I'm a clean writer. There will be a relationship, only as best friends though, I'm not much of a shipper, even though I am a *coughJackfangirlcough*. Without further ado, here is my story.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC's.
"Jack!" Rose Bennett called up the stairs. "Jack are you coming?" She heard scuffling upstairs, then a muffled, "Yeah mom, just trying to find my pocketknife..." Again? That makes three times this week that she's lost it. Rose sighed. Jack was so hard to figure out. She had an odd mixture of sporadic elegance and craziness, summed up by what Rose liked to call "tomboyish grace" in everything she did; but her confidence all but disappeared when talking to new people, and even when conversing with ones she knew well, she put on a mere shell of confidence. She had a very small circle of people that she would actually open up to and share with, consisting of her family and two of her closest friends, Misty Wolf and Peyton McKinley. Rose wondered if Jack's great-grandfather Jamie was becoming one of those trusted people. Meanwhile, upstairs...
It couldn't have been yesterday, it just had to be today. Why do I always lose something at the last minute?! Jack backed out of her closet, where she had been face first in the clothes on the floor, looked at her bedroom clock, and scowled. "Time to go in 3 minutes. Well this is a nice way to leave my room; spotlessly clean..." She groaned inwardly at the mess she had made of her space during her thorough combing for her swiss knife. I usually make it a point to keep my clothes in my closet, but oh well, we have to go now. Well, maybe I could find the time to put a couple things back. She picked up a T-shirt and gasped. "Mom, I found it!" She snatched up the knife and shoved it in the pocket of her jeans, which matched her blue and white shirt. Her outfit complemented her tricolor eyes and waist length long blond hair, which she had cut short bangs into, falling neatly (or, like today, not so neatly) onto her face. She grabbed her backpack as she ran downstairs.
Seeing Jack come down the stairs, Rose hurried out to the car and got in. A couple minutes later, Jack joined them. "Alright, is everyone accounted for?" Jack sighed, but then laughed at her dad's sarcasm. "Dad, there's only three of us-you know that, right?" John did a dramatic impersonation. "Well, you can't be too careful with this family, who, in case you forgot, has a private reputation for forgetting everything, people included."
"I have to agree with your dad, honey. He's right," Rose said after the round of laughter had subsided. Jack, still chuckling, became mock serious and said, "Oh well, I suppose so," then she turned genuinely serious; "If only you don't forget me." Tears came to her parent's eyes. "Jacqueline Iclyn Bennett, don't you ever say that again-" Rose stopped, her voice trembling. John finished for her, "We love you and we will never leave you no matter what you do or what happens to us; we are family, and family never forgets their own." On a lighter note, he added, "You can't get rid of us that easily; you know that at least." He was glad to see that he had been able to coax a small smile from Jack. During this, John had started the car and they had begun their trip to Jamie's. The ride there was uneventful, all of them being too occupied with their own thoughts for conversation.
Jamie was waiting for them. "Hey guys, how was th-" Jack tackled him. "Whoa! Can't you give an old man space to breathe?" He pretended to shake and lean on an imaginary cane for support. Rose laughed. "You're hardly old, Grandfather." "Yeah," Jack chimed in, "I wouldn't call 83 old-not when it comes to you at least-you're too spry for that."
Jamie joined in the merriment. "Ever the flatterers, I see. But come in, come in, you must be freezing. Winter in Burgess isn't winter in not-so-north North Shore." John replied, "But shouldn't it be you we're worried about freezing? I mean, not to contradict these beautiful ladies, but you are getting on in years, and there is a saying that goes something like, 'the older you get, the higher risk of exposure;' thus, you are the most likely to catch cold of the people present."
"Well, no..." Jamie muttered something under his breath. Rose and John both said in unison, "What?" Jack's keen ears had caught it, but she decided to keep it to herself until she could ask him later, when they had a moment alone. "Nothing-it was nothing. Do come in."
They were stamping their shoes free of snow and mud when the phone rang. Jamie answered it. "Bennett residence. Yes. Yes, we would love to. Thanks Claude, 'bye." As soon as he had turned around, Rose asked, "We would love to do what, exactly?" Jamie got an excited twinkle in his eye as he said, "That was one of my neighbors, an old bachelor named Claude, who lives with his brother, Caleb. They were childhood friends of mine. They called to say that the lake nearby has just frozen over, and that we can go ice skating tomorrow if we want." Jack could hardly contain herself. "Ice skating? Did you just say ice skating? I've wanted to learn for so long! Mom and Dad even bought me my own skates this year, so that when we're up here, I could actually learn!" Then she calmed down. "Sorry; that's a passion of mine."
Jamie smiled knowingly at her. "I felt the same way when I was younger. I had the best teacher anyone ever had when I learned to skate; maybe, just maybe, you could get a lesson or two from him too." He looked excited for a moment, but then his face fell, as if remembering something. "What is it, great-grandfather?" Jack had seen it, and doubt flashed across her mind.
Jamie changed the subject. "Now Jacqueline, I am going to tell you something, and you have to follow what I say. Alright?" Jack furrowed her eyebrows, but relented. "Alright." He was serious. "From this point on, you are to call me Jamie." He smiled. "Now that that's over with, how about sleeping arrangements? John and Rose, Jack can stay with me, if you like. Unfortunately, I only have one spare bedroom, and a small one at that, so...she would have to be alone." John and Rose exchanged a series of pointed expressions, which ended in John replying, "We already reserved a room in the next city, so we would be fine with that; Jack can stay here, if she wants." They all turned to her. Rose asked, "Do you, Jack?" She thought about it, then said, "Yes, I do; thanks, Mom and Dad."
"Well, it's late; we should probably go and check in to our hotel before they cancel our reservations-it's a ways down the road." They turned to leave, but Jamie stopped them. "Shouldn't you have dinner before you go? You must be hungry after your long drive here; I can-" "No, it's okay, we ate on the way. Thank you anyway, though. 'Bye! See you tomorrow! Be safe, Jack. And don't let him spoil you!" Both parents continued giving instructions until they had gotten in the car.
Jack and Jamie waved goodbye, then went inside. Jack raised her eyebrow at her great-grandfather. "So. Were you going to explain what you meant when you said, 'It might have something to do with spending time with a certain winter spirit'?" Jamie started. "You heard that? Since you ask, I'll tell you. But first, we need to make some hot chocolate. This will take a while."
A/N: Jack's middle name, Iclyn, is said "Ice-lin". If you haven't guessed, Jacqueline is my avatar ;) (and the bangs look like Jack's from the movie.) Also, I'm going to drop the "great-grandfather" part of "great-grandfather Jamie" because it was just way too long. There is the first chapter! This is going to be a longer story than I thought, but I promise I will finish it-even if it takes me a few years! I am so excited about this! Please R & R!