An ROTG Story

~Little Wonders of Winter~

Disclaimers: I do not own Rise of the Guardians, or any other characters that may be similar to it. I'm just an ordinary girl writing a story.

"How do I know who I am, if I don't know who I was?"~Jack

Prologue:

It was mid January. The ice was starting to melt and the streets pooled with water. The winter air that made puffs of chilly breath clouded his eyes as he rapidly rode his bicycle home. It was silent that night, only the clinking sound of the blades of his skates propped inside his hardly-filled bag, made the noise around the block. It was cold. It was dark. And he was scared.

Thirteen-year old Jack felt the tingling sense of pain from his past still haunting him. Instinct told him that he should hurry home; danger was ahead. But he was unfortunately untold of its cause. He could only find a flicker of relief, a sense of hope, in the bright glow of the moon. But alas, even the moon was beginning to hide behind the clouds.

The creaking of his bike stopped in from of their house. The lights were out. He heaved a heavy sigh. That was a good sign. Maybe his father was out tonight, and hopefully, wouldn't notice Jack had left too that afternoon. Slowly, he opened the door and went inside, carefully closing the door with a click, trying hard not to disturb anyone else around the house. He stopped by the stairs, now that he had time to relax, he hadn't noticed he was parched. Sighing, he went to the kitchen and opened the light. Walking lazily towards the refrigerator, he grabbed a glass of milk, quenching his thirst. Just then a cold shiver ran down his spine, and big loud footsteps followed behind him.

This was not gonna be good.

"You're late." A bulky figure moved in from the kitchen door. Uh-oh. "You're late." The male figure repeated sternly. He sluggishly walked towards the kitchen counter, holding an almost empty bottle of beer, and finishing it up with a huge gulp. As soon as he breathed out air, the room filled with the worst scent of alcohol mixed with something else he wouldn't want to know. Jack flinched as its odor passed his nose. An ugly sight it was to see: his own father holding that bottle, eyes filled with tiredness, so black and baggy, and brown hair messed up and uncombed. But it would be useless of Jack to just point it out to him, let alone groom him, so in the end, he just kept quiet about that topic.

"It's only 7 pm. There's no school tomorrow." The thirteen year old protested, tightly clenching his fists.

"Where had you been, Jack?"

"Outside." Obviously. The white hair almost smirked at his own joke, but the sound of glass breaking on the floor of the kitchen stopped him otherwise, and instead made him jump back.

"I know you've been outside." His father struggled to keep his patience, "I asked where?"

"Dad, I-"

"It's that damned ice skating rink again, isn't it?"

"What? I mean, No! I mean I… Yes dad." Jack admitted at a loss. He had been in the rink the whole day actually, driving his feet too hard on the ice, just to forget everything from that day, so desperately trying to forget something else, but instead, he carelessly forgot the time and came home later that he would've liked. His father crossed his arms triumphantly.

"I knew it." He replied, shaking the empty bottle. "I told you not to go there anymore."

Jack didn't know what else to throw into his dad's face in defiance, so he just gave up thinking with an enormous exhausted sigh. "Dad, I'm tired. Just let me go to sleep." Jack knew that the conversation was going to end badly anyway, and instead of just being punished for sleeping in from of his drunk dad, he'd rather deal with this argument when he was less tired.

The said man took another bottle from the nearby wooden cabinet and opened it. Jack was quiet. He did not want to stay there any longer, but he refused to walk out on his father especially in his drunken state. The last time he left without permission, got him on his father's bad side, a place he'd rather avoid now. The said male took a swig, exhaling another intoxicating breath. It hurt the teen to see his own father like that. It really did. Finally, the adult started to talk again.

"Go. Leave me." his father waved him off, walking back inside the living room. "First your mom. Then your sister. Now you. Soon Jamie will follow as well, won't he?" He coughed painfully, Jack instantly felt the urge to help his father up, until he heard a heartless laugh follow. "So, go. What are you waiting for? GO!" the old man shouted with anger and bitter disappointment in his voice.

Jack had a pained look on his face. Before his father could understand what the heck he just said to his own son, the boy had run out through the kitchen's back door, carrying his bike, and going for the road. He wanted to go away. He wanted to go way from his dad.

But where? He hadn't discern the hot bitter tears oozing out of his eyes. Luckily, no one else was there to notice.

A screech came from his back. Then the smell of smoke and rubber. He turned back on his shoulders to look, the blinding white light following him. His father was insane, Jack processed in his mind. His own father was drunk, and driving, and chasing his bike with a car!

"Jack, I'm sorry!" The said man shouted. The car was swaying dangerously from side to side. All signs telling he was drunk real bad. "Oh, God." Jack retorted, rolling his eyes sceptically. Wheeling his bike, he made a powerful turn and passed his father's car to the opposite direction. He thought he had escaped, for now.

He saw his father's mouth move as he passed by the car's window. His father was screaming, yet the words still didn't process in his mind. He wondered what his father was trying to tell. Everything happened so fast. He heard the shriek of rubber wheels trying to break, and a large glass shattering afterwards. There was red all over the place. Looking through his dead father's eyes, he knew then what his devoted father had been trying to tell him:

"Jack, I'm really sorry. I love you, son."

Monday: the ringing of the school bell signified something big and really changing for him. 17-year old Jack Frost squeezed the strap of his blue bag hanging on his back as he entered the school campus. It looked a bit older than it should've been. And it appeared smaller that he had thought four years since he last saw the place. But still, it was nice to live back where he used to be. Where he should be. Where he will be.

Written on top of the building in white-font: BURGESS HIGH SCHOOL.

He wore the most reasonable and comfortable clothes he had for that day: Hooded, cerulean blue sweater outside, with a thin white shirt inside, black denim pants, and his proverbial blue shoes (though he rarely uses it at home). He laid down the wooden skateboard he brought with him. It was as blue as his own eyes (and his shirt, and his shoes). And it was decorated with specific, small patterns of snowflakes. He took a step and skated his way into the hallway. New he was to the grounds, no one else cared or bothered him skating his way around, no one recognized him, even though he knew some of the kids' faces around. Because the lot resembled a lot like their parents, whom Jack knew because of his parents and friends. He shoved his hands inside his pocket, searching for the blue marble he had kept inside and playing with it using his fingers. It was going out more smoothly and peacefully than Jack had imagined on his first day of school. Keyword: WAS.

"Hey, watch where ya goin', ya clumsy tyke! " An Australian-accented teenage guy punched his fist through the air greatly exaggerating the mistake Jack must've done. It was a simple accident really: he had carelessly reeled his skates and stepped on the strange dude's foot.

He looked back to the said guy, still riding the skates onward. "Sorry!" Jack responded with a salute and smirking, as if he meant to do that. Which he knew he didn't but expected that he would. Seriously, as if it wasn't on a regular basis that somebody gets shoved or stepped on the foot inside a crowded hallway of a simple public high school. Sheesh.

Jack could've sworn he heard the guy grumbling some foul words. He guessed someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. But he didn't mind. He focused on trying to find the guidance counsellor's office, which he found located at the end of the hallway to his left, near the student's library and the science laboratory. In placards, written was the name : Mr. Emmanuel R. Moon.

Manny! He knocked on the door twice. A soft deep voice gave him permission to come in. He simply walked in, his skates tucked behind his right hand, blue hood up, and his other hand inside his sweater's pocket still rolling the blue marble inside. "What now?" the bulky man with square glasses did not look up from the book he was reading. As Jack expected from an old family friend.

"Hi Manny." Jack responded as he took down his blue hood revealing the pure-white hair he had. As if on cue, the said old man looked up annoyed at first at the disrespectful tone sent to him, when he caught the blue marble Jack flicked to him, and the hair the old man had longed seen. It took the man more than a couple of seconds before his widened eyes returned to normal.

"Jackson." As calmly as he could, the guy retorted back to the said student.

"It's Jack. Long time no see." the playful boy wandered around the office looking through the picture frames surrounding the place.

" You have no idea. How have you been?" Manny faced the boy standing up, regaining his stoic composure.

"Fine, I guess." Jack heaved a heavy sigh. "Everything's going along fine now, although I might still vanish a few number of times here and there."

"I wouldn't be surprised by that. It's been four years since you left. My, it looks like you've grown quite a height now." Manny placed his hand on top of Jack's shoulders, the touch was friendly, and comforting in some weird way. "How was the trip?" Mr. Moon smiled.

Jack shrugged. "Tiring. I'm still trying to find a way to-"

"Escape?"

"Repent."

"For what?"

"Mistakes. Regret ." Jack thought for a while, a good-humoured beam was on his face."Maybe just trying to get off Santa's naughty list."

Moon replied with a chuckle. "Hey, it wasn't all your fault." As soon as they both understood what that exactly meant, there was a moment of silence. Manny managed to break it. His smile was gone, but his face was still softer than Jack had been prepared to answer. "What did you get?" behind the glasses, Manny's face asked.

"Nothing." Jack clenched his fist under his sweater's pocket. He tried to let off a light-hearted laugh, but he didn't feel like it. And he knew breaking down in front of his teacher was still not an option. "It's almost finished. I'm near to paying off everything. I'm almost free. "

Manny gave the boy a light, fatherly hug."Good for you. It was quite fast for you to have done off everything quite fast even. Maybe after everything, you'd be able to get Jamie back, and go skating again-"

"Hey, don't even go there, four eyes. I promised myself four years ago I'd quit. And I am not going back from my word. As for Jamie, he hasn't seen me yet, and I'm probably not even legal to take him home yet."

Even at the harmless, yet insulting, name calling, the adult chuckled. It was one of the things Jack liked about him."Still, there is no harm in trying so. Oh, and the lake's frozen already since it's already winter. And well, you did enter late in the middle of the school year. Speaking of which, are you sure you can catch up to the classes?"

"Yeah, of course! Which reminds me why I came here. I'm asking for the schedule of classes. I'd paid off the tuition fee. And," he handed an envelope to the said grown-up. "Here's the money I owed you and your family a few years back. Thanks again."

But Mr Moon didn't accept it. "It was nothing. Please, just use that to finish off everything you need." Then he took a sheet of paper from the drawer. "And here is the schedule. I've arranged with the teachers to give you a couple of hours early on dismissal in the afternoon, so you can prepare for you-know-what. You'd better hurry, YOUR class is about to start in ten minutes, and you still have to find the classroom."

"Oh SHOOT!" Jack grabbed his bag from the table and reflexively snatched the schedule from the teacher. "Thanks again, teach."

"And Jack!" the old man flicked the blue marble back to the young boy. "Be careful. And you might still need this."

Jack smiled as he caught the sphere with his right hand, and smiled back shouting "Thanks, Manny!",afterwards putting back the blue hoodie on.

"It's Mr. Moon, in school." Manny hinted. Jack, chuckled.

"It would be an awfully bad impression if you started late in class, my boy. " Moon thought to himself as he started his boring job of arranging the personal files documents of the senior students, finding Jack's own papers and chuckling to himself.

After Jack found out where his first period Homeroom class took place, he instantly felt giddy as he entered the classroom. He wasn't late at the very least. He found a spot at the further right corner of the room, nearest to the window being painted by the cool winter season with frost and droplets of ice.

The class was noisy, and no one noticed the new boy walk in, impassively. From the corner of his eye, he saw from the farther side of the room the same Australian grump talking to a colossal brown-haired guy whom he assumed from his accent was Russian, a blonde boy almost half the other guy's height nodding continuously, and a fashionable female with jet black hair streaked with multi-tropical coloured highlights beaded on one side.

The white-hair had just taken his seat, when a guy came running from the door announcing that the teacher is coming, all was busy trying to find a decent seat. He chuckled. He imagined them like lost bees trying to find their hives. Upon arriving, a short gentle-faced teacher with blended black and brown curly hair that reached down to the middle of her back smiled genuinely. Her body looked so small and frail as if by a simple puff of the winter wind could take her down.

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Ms. Goose."

"Okay, let's start with our agenda for today." She placed a stack of uniformly-coated notebooks on the table. "Here are your journals. Please distribute." A couple of students reached out and shared the job. The class was whispering louder and louder by the minute. By the time the students finished handing out the materials, people were looking at him in a weird manner, snickering. While waiting, Jack saw the teacher looking at him… Winking? She knew he was the new student, and most probably tell everyone else. Oh crap.

"Class, now that's finished," Jack slowly pulled his hoodie ever downward to his face, as if it could hide his existence, hoping the teacher wouldn't do as he think she would. "We have a new student. Jack, please step up." More snickers. He thought so. Grunting annoyingly, he walking with his hands inside his sweater's pocket, rolling the marble side to side.

"Please, kindly introduce yourself to the class." Ms. Goose requested. Jack looked at her as if saying 'do I have to?'. But the teacher as false modesty, knowing him for a long time now,. "Class, quiet please, listen to person speaking in front."

There was a dead awkward moment. Jack sighed. "Hi." He started off. "My name is Jack Frost. I'll be studying in this school for the rest of the year." Obviously. "Looking forward to being your acquaintance." He walked eagerly back to his seat, when the window blew hard into the classroom, and knocked down his hoodie, exposing his albino hair.

Half of the class gasped in awe. Jack quickly recovered the hoodie, and placed back to his proper seat. The female teacher began to talk about important school announcements afterwards.

"This is going to be a long, long day." Jack told himself.

Okay, maybe it was partially his fault. But at least it wasn't entirely his. Mr. Nightlight was kind of nice, for a math teacher. The class was told a week earlier that a quiz was to be prepared, but from the looks of the class, no one really, prepared. Not even Jack. But, he didn't really mind his grades. While being handed out a paper with a title in bold capital letters: TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS- QUIZ, he was merely scribbling numbers (that were talking) at the bottom part of the paper.

When he finished answering the problems he lay down his head to the wooden desk and waited for the teacher to take his papers. "Welcome to Burgess High." The brunette adult whispered to the boy's ear, followed by a welcoming smile.

After the teacher checked the paper, he saw a smirk itching the said adult's face. He let the teacher finish of the papers of the other students before announcing: "Seems like some of you got high scores in this test." Oops."Which means you're ready for another." He heard students telling themselves please no, please no. "Class, get ready for an exam next meeting. " He saw most of the students whining in a low voice.

He never knew his score, but assuming he was the one that got the highest, he mouth a small sorry while hiding under his hoodie. Yup, he's got to stop being such a math whiz.

After his last class, he finally felt the need for fresh air, and freedom. Skating his way out, he felt something vibrate near his thighs. Cellphone.

"Yup, talk to me." He answered. Barely letting the guy on the phone answer, he retorted. "Hey, Jo, I've got the money, I'll pay back as soon as possible. What-? Oh, thanks. See you when I see you."

He let out a tired sigh. Listing everything in his head, he had three other things to do that day: leave his school things at home, deposit some money in the bank, and hunt for a damn decent job.

Oooy, here comes another long job-hunting day.

~~(=*=)~~

A/N: I'M ALIIIIIIIIVVVE! Whoo! I forgot how it felt like to finish a first chapter. So fulfilling. Anyway, hi guys, and gals. Long time no write. I'm probably not new in fanfiction, but I sucked at writing before, so don't read my other works!

I was really inspired to write something Modern AU about ROTG, since reading some others were not as fulfilling in the end. I hoped you enjoyed my first eber long chappie! I'm sorry, I use a few 'harsh' words, couldn't explain it in an ordinary way. But hey, I'm just a teenager.

Oh, and just to remind you guys, I don't update regularly, cause I don't have continuous internet connection. Awww.

Plot development: Comments? Suggestions? Violent reactions? PM me, guys.