Hey guys, so I've just recently watched ROTG and the fact that I've decided to write a fic for something so soon after becoming interested is pretty rare for me, so I hope this comes out alright.
IMPORTANT: Do keep in mind that this chapter is mostly focused on Julie's characterization, so there isn't much action. That'll start in chapter 2 which will be posted at the same time as chapter 1.
With that said, enjoy chapter 1!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Rise of the Guardians, I only own Julie and Kira.
Chapter 1
Pitch Black sat in complete contempt in the middle of his lair, next to the newly illuminated globe.
After his nightmares had latched onto him and dragged him back underground, all he could remember were the countless hours he'd spent being alone, terrified (though he'd never admit it to anyone), and completely miserable, awaiting the next wave of terror that came from the shadows.
His nightmares had been utterly relentless, their thirst for pure and raw fear consuming their entire beings. With the loss of fear from the children, the only fear suitable enough to feed on came only from their master. And feed they did.
For months, he was forced to endure their tortures, their hunger for his fear never satisfied. For months he lay alone, trapped, unable to see and could barely move as he was constrained to relive the horrors of what happened after the Dark Ages, when he practically didn't exist.
And with those months spent in isolation, his hatred for The Guardians grew to become something almost inhuman.
As of now, he didn't want them to just disappear after the fear consumed their beloved children. That didn't mean anything to him anymore.
As of now, he wanted The Guardians slaughtered. He wanted to soak in their waves of unimaginable fright as the floors were painted red with the blood of hope and wonder. He wanted to hear their hoarse cries for mercy as he tortured them, making them feel exactly as he had felt all those years ago. It wasn't enough to simply allow them to vanish anymore.
The revival of his anger had cursed the nightmares away, his last ounce of strength being to grab hold of the shadows and extract the fear they had taken from him. The fear was strong and powerful, allowing him the privilege to sink into the darkness that surrounded his lair and bast in the glory of the little strength that it gave him.
His own fear, however, wasn't nearly as strong as the raw obscenities brought by the shallow fears of a child.
To regain his strength, he would need nothing short of a pure and terror consumed host, most definitely a child, for their fears were the easiest to manipulate.
And lucky for him, he knew exactly the child that would serve as his personal host to hold the fear he was going to take.
His revenge on The Guardians would come soon enough, but first, he believed that someone else was worthy of his attention.
The Last Light. The small, wide eyed little boy who had refused to stop believing in The Guardians was to be dealt with first. And Pitch would make sure that his visits to the child were far from pleasant.
If the boy hadn't been afraid before, he most certainly would be now. The thought made Pitch flash a sharp smile into the darkness.
Little Jamie Bennett would be consumed by the fear. Pitch was certain of that.
Julie Jordan sighed in discomfort as she stood, frozen, on the snowy sidewalk in front of the overly packed coffee shop. She could feel her fingers becoming numb underneath her new blue mittens, and she found herself continuously bringing her hands to her neck, trying to keep them warm. She sniffled loudly, the freezing air not helping her runny nose as she wished that she would've packed more tissues in her purse.
"God would it kill to be on time?" Julie grumbled in her head, checking her watch for what seemed like the thousandth time.
She'd only moved to Burgess two weeks ago to start her college education, and in that little time, she'd quickly realized that there was no way she would be able to pay the rent for her apartment by herself. With no job and no clue about the town she was residing in, she had no choice but to look for a roommate, which was the reason for her current predicament.
"This Kira girl better have a good reason for being late," She grouched, looking over her shoulder to stare longingly into the warmth of the coffee shop. She realized she could just walk though the door, but with her luck, she knew if she went inside, the girl would probably miss her and leave.
"This would be so much easier if she would've at least told me what she looked like," Julie sighed, letting herself be negative. For the past week Julie had been exchanging phone calls with a girl named Kira with whom she had met online. Apparently she had been living in Burgess for half a year and was now looking for a new roommate after a falling out with her last one.
With only a total of about 3 phone conversations, Julie had learned that Kira was studying to be a cosmetologist at a nearby school which she attended 4 times a week. She also had gotten a job at a diner down on Maybelle street as a waitress, so she was able to pay the monthly rent along with anything else she needed to take care of herself, like food for her new kitten ShereKhan.
In all, this Kira girl seemed to be somewhat on track, so Julie had decided to call a meeting in person to finalize any decisions with the apartment, seeing as though she was in no place to be picky with her countless choices of potential roommates. Julie's current exhaustion level also caused the need for someone else to be living with her.
Ever since she was 10 years old, Julie had been terrified of being left alone in the dark in the fear of what could be lurking there. After her father was sent to the emergency room during...the incident, she found that sleeping without someone watching over her was almost impossible. Owning an apartment on her own definitely had its perks, but it was also quite obvious that she hadn't been sleeping very well at all.
Julie shivered again before checking her watch. It was 4:32, a half hour past the time Kira had told Julie to meet her. With an angry scowl, Julie turned to start walking back in the direction of her apartment before she felt someone bump into her.
"Oh crap, I'm sorry!" A light voice chimed.
Julie quickly flipped her long, wavy brown hair out of her eyes to see the gorgeous blonde girl who'd crossed paths with her.
She could only gawk at the girl's appearance. She looked to be around 21, only 2 years older than Julie, with crystal blue eyes, perfect sun-kissed skin (even though it was the middle of winter), with a pair of heart shaped lips that adorned her doll like face. Upon standing so close, Julie could even smell the light hint of Chanel No. 5 the girl was obviously wearing.
"I-It's fine, it was my fault," Julie muttered, embarrassed, cursing her luck. The girl only shrugged.
"Forget it, it happens to me all the time. I'm Kira by the way," She smiled, sticking out a perfect manicured hand for a handshake. Julie felt her eyebrows jump.
"Oh really?! I'm Julie, I'm pretty sure we talked on the phone about the apartment...?" Julie said, gently shaking Kira's hand, afraid that if she shook to hard her delicate fingers would break.
"I thought your voice sounded familiar," Kira said knowingly. "Why don't we go inside and talk, it's freezing out here."
"You don't say." Julie thought with a silent scoff, before turning to follow Kira into the coffee shop, but quickly stopped.
"Uh isn't it kinda crowded?" Julie asked uncomfortably. Kira only blinked prettily.
"Oh don't worry I'll get us a table," She said casually, grabbing Julie's hand and dragging her inside. She immediately felt as if all eyes were on her when she was pulled inside the shop among the many disgruntled customers who were stuck waiting in line. She felt herself wanting to shrink.
Julie had always been somewhat of a shy person, which was the reason why she had very few friends growing up. It's not as if she was incapable of having any social skills, in fact, she actually loved talking to those who would happily come and want to strike up a conversation with her.
Though in this day and age, however, unless she were to grow a few inches in her bust and behind, no one her age would openly give her the time of day for such things. Being an only child, she found that she was more comfortable talking with adults anyways.
"You know, we could just talk somewhere else, maybe-" Julie started before she was interrupted.
"Um hi excuse me?" She heard Kira suddenly ask a group of boys her age chatting loudly at a table. Upon seeing Kira, their chatting turned to silence, giving their full attention to the flawless girl in front of them.
"Do you think I could maybe have this table? There's nowhere to sit," Kira pouted, shyly ducking her head, allowing her soft blonde hair to fall slightly in her face.
"Y-Yeah sure," One of the boys gawked, eyes wide. Julie watched in amazement as Kira batted her eyelashes and gently kissed the boy on the cheek.
"That is so sweet, thank you," Kira gushed, but Julie was pretty sure the boy didn't even hear her, for he was too shocked. Without another word from him or his friends, they quickly left the table, eyes wide and cheeks red.
"Oh my God! Dude she freaking kissed you!" Julie heard one of the boys exclaim a little too loudly as he and his friends left the coffee shop.
Kira didn't seem phased by any of this and happily plopped down into one of the empty seats. "You just gonna stand there?" She joked. Julie couldn't find the words to reply, so she simply sat down opposite of the beautiful girl.
In all, Julie felt nothing short of ridiculous sitting across from someone like Kira.
"So I'm pretty sure I've told you pretty much the basics about me and about the kind of money I'm bringing in. I know it's not a lot, but I'm sure we can both pay off the rent with both of our jobs," Kira started with a kind of "let's get down to business" tone.
Julie immediately felt her cheeks flush at Kira's mention of a job.
"I'm, uh, actually in between jobs right now..." Julie murmured, feeling even more ridiculous. She watched with worry as Kira's perfectly shaped eyebrows raised.
"Oh..." She said quietly.
"But!" Julie rushed before Kira could say anything. "I've posted an ad online to babysit and I also give piano lessons, so-"
"Whoa, hon, take it easy," Kira laughed, eyes sparkling. "I was just surprised is all. You look like the type of girl who would have all kinds of places begging her for work."
Julie felt her eyes soften at that, all disdain she held at Kira for being late, slowly melting away.
"You know, if you need a job, I could probably talk to my manager about a position for you at the diner if you want?" Kira continued. "Even if this roommates thing doesn't work out," She added after a moment.
Julie's smile spoke a thousand words as she nodded. Kira easily flashed a smile in return.
"So how about you huh? You're just starting college right?" Kira asked.
"Oh yeah, I'm majoring in music since I want to be a pianist. My dad's making me minor in criminal justice, though, since he'd rather see me spend my time trying to become a lawyer like my mom was," Julie explained, happy that she was feeling so comfortable with Kira. She was surprised to see Kira listening contently instead of checking her manicure.
"I feel for you about the whole 'My parents want me to be this' sort of thing. You see, my parents wanted me to be an engineer, but I'm a dud when it comes to math, so for me, it was out of the question" Kira laughed, making Julie smile in agreement. Math was never really her thing either.
"It took some convincing, but they finally agreed to pay for my schooling. Even though your parents may not be in favor of it, I say keep up with what you want to do. I, personally, think it's amazing you want to pursuit a career in music since I could never learn to play an instrument growing up no matter how hard I tried."
Julie felt her heart swell at Kira's thoughts on her career choice.
"Thanks," Julie mumbled shyly. Kira only nodded with enthusiasm, flipping her perfect hair out of her face.
"So are you interested in seeing the apartment before anything is decided for sure or...?" She asked, making Kira's eyes light up.
"You know, everything you told me about it over the phone is enough for me. I'm really in no place to be picky, so if you're cool with the whole thing so am I." Kira said.
Julie felt herself falter for a moment, her over thinking side of herself contemplating the outcomes of her decision, but she quickly pushed her wandering thoughts away.
"Yeah, it's fine with me," She smiled, making Kira squeal and nearly leap across the able to engulf Julie in a hug.
"I can already tell we're going to be really great friends!"
"I really hope so," Julie thought, returning the unexpected hug with a gentle enthusiasm.
Half an hour later, Julie waved goodbye to her new roommate after giving her the extra key to the apartment. They had scheduled a meeting with Julie's landlord for later that week to finalize the agreement in writing.
Julie hugged her white coat closer to her body as she stepped back out into the cold, sipping at her hot coffee. She smiled. Maybe now she could finally get some sleep!
With a final sigh Julie began the short trek back to her apartment before a sudden buzzing in her back pocket caught her attention. Half expecting it to be Kira, Julie answered her phone nonchalantly.
"Hey."
"Oh, hello?" A woman's voice echoed through the receiving end of the line. Julie jumped, and looked at the caller ID. Unknown number.
"Hi..." Julie said again awkwardly.
"Is this Julie Jordan?" Julie faltered, debating whether to say yes or not.
"Yes this is Julie," She finally decided.
"Oh good, I was worried I had the wrong person for a moment," The woman laughed. "My name is Elizabeth Bennett, and I just saw your ad online for babysitting. I was wondering if maybe you were free to sit tonight? Our regular babysitter just canceled on us last minute...again."
Julie felt her eyebrows jump in surprise. Sure she put the ad online, but she didn't think she'd actually have people calling her since she was so new to town. Maybe her unlucky streak was finally coming to an end!
"Of course, I'd be happy to sit for you," Julie smiled into her phone, suppressing a loud sniffle.
"Great! I only have two kids so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Do you think you could be here by 5:30? My address is 24 Strathmore Drive," Mrs. Bennett said.
Julie checked her watch. It was already 5:16.
"Yeah, if I run," She thought sarcastically.
"Sure I'll be there by then," Julie nearly sighed into the phone, checking her snow boots to make sure her shoelaces were tied before she started running.
"Great! Thank you very much Julie, I'll see you at 5:30," Mrs. Bennett chatted. Julie only murmured a polite reply before hanging up the phone to look up directions on how to get to the Bennett's house.
"Well, money's money," Julie sighed to herself as she reluctantly threw away her half full coffee and began to run in the direction her phone was telling her to go.
She sure hoped that Mrs. Bennett was right about her kids not being a hassle. At the moment, she really couldn't afford any trouble.
So that's chapter 1, probably a little boring, but at least you know a little bit about Julie now. If you still have questions, I can think of a few off the top of my head, they will most likely be explained in later chapters if I get that far.
IMPORTANT: Just to be clear, the story takes place in the winter, around 8 months after Pitch was defeated in case anyone was wondering.
Only a little Pitch action I know, but don't worry, there will be more of him very soon;) By the way, how did you like how he was portrayed? Too dark? Not dark enough? Let me know because I'm kinda flying blind on this one.
Chapter 2 is probably being published at this moment, so if you like, go ahead and push the next button and I'll see you in a sec:)