Megan stepped out of her car, just as a gasp of cold wind slid across her face, blowing her curls away with it. She immediately grinned. Winter was here. It was always her favorite time of the year. She was born in December, when it always snowed. She closed her eyes and breathed in the magical scent of snow. She stood silently in her driveway with her eyes closed, letting a minute slide along. Slowly she opened her eyes and let them adjust to the darkness all around her. She looked to her left and then to her right, just her. She sighed a bit before locking her car door and heading inside.

The screen door slammed shut behind Megan as she barreled out of her family's home. Her dad was quickly on her heels.

"You will be going to college, young lady. I didn't spend my life slaving away behind a desk for you to suddenly decide you would rather work at the Walmart for the rest of your life!"

Megan ignored her father and continued walking down the sidewalk. A few blocks away was the community play yard. It was dusk now and as usual, all of the younger children were home for the night. Megan took her place on a swing and let the tears fall. Her father just didn't understand that she didn't know what to do with her life. She was only eighteen and she was scared. She sniffed as she felt something cold touch her nose, her spirits were suddenly lifted as she looked into the crystal blue eyes of Jack Frost.

"Why so down?" He asked her, leaning against his large staff that he always carried with him.

Megan wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. "It's my dad. He wants me to make all these life altering decisions and I don't have the answers. I don't know what to do."

Jack sat on the swing next to her, "What about all of your drawings?"

Megan looked at him curiously, "how do you know about those?"

Jack chuckled, "I've seen you sit at this park day after day, year after year. Drawing in your notebooks. You're very good, you know."

Megan couldn't help but blush. She felt ridiculous crying in front of Jack, but he always seemed to be around at the right moment in her life. When she was picked last for snow ball fights, when her parents separated, when her parents got back together, even when she broke up with her first boyfriend. Jack was always around, and the reason Megan loved snow.

"There is an art school that accepted me. I didn't tell my dad because he thinks art isn't something I can make a career out of." She shifted her feet in the snow.

"Well that's great!" Jack exclaimed, jumping off of the swing. "You should tell him about it, I'm sure he'd be happy for you, Megan. Where's the college?"

"California." Megan smiled up at Jack, but a tear escaped her eye and slid down her cheek.

Jack's smile faded slightly, "California isn't so bad. A lot of sun." He reached forward to brush the tear off of Megan's cheek. With magic, the tear formed into a snowflake and fluttered into the air.

"California is across the entire country. I would be leaving my entire family, all of my friends," she paused, not sure if she should continue, "...and the snow."

"Well it's not like you'll never visit! It won't be so bad. You'll see." Jack stepped forward and leaned on one knee, their heads now level. "You'll go off and become a great artist, I know you will. No sense of wasting your talent in this small town."

Megan smiled, getting lost into the icy blue eyes in front of her. "I don't want to lose you." She felt silly, but for eighteen years Jack had been there. Every winter, like clockwork.

Jack chuckled and shook his head, "You never will. I'll always be here." He told her as he pointed directly to her heart.

Megan knew it was time to make some grown up decisions in her life, but she wanted to keep some of her childhood forever. "Promise?"

Jack nodded, his grin never leaving his lips.

Megan returned the smile before leaning forward and pressing her lips against his. His mouth was cold, but her entire body stayed warm. They both stayed like that a moment before Megan pulled away, "Thank you, Jack." While she still had the nerve, she got off of the swing set and walked away.

It was the last time she ever saw Jack Frost.

The warm air from the house kissed Megan's cheeks delightfully as she stepped inside, removing her coat and shoes.

"Meg? That you?" Her husband, Collin, rounded the corner, a dish towel over his shoulder. He smiled at her, "the kids are in bed and sound asleep! Your dinner is in the oven still warm, just finished the dishes, and I am super dad." He leaned forward to peck her lips.

Megan chuckled, "thanks, babe." She followed her husband back into the kitchen, "snows coming tonight, school will probably close tomorrow." She told him casually as she retrieved her dinner.

Her husband shook his head, "How do you always manage to tell? I swear you were a weather girl in another life."

Megan laughed out loud, "No, just always fond of the snow, that's all."

"Well in that case, I'm going to go put the car in the garage." Collin places the towel next to the sink and grabbed his keys from his pockets. "Want me to grab the winter gear while I'm out there?"

"Yes please." Megan took a seat at her table, watching the snow begin to fall outside of the window. She still loved snow, as she always had. She came home every winter break from school, but he was never there. Eventually she stopped focusing so hard on Jack, and more on her adult life. She opened a studio in New York, met her husband, got married, and had kids. But every winter her happiness was dampened ever so slightly by the reminder of a promise broken twelve years ago.

Just as Megan had predicted, a fresh blanket of snow coated the ground outside the next day. Her two children, Addilyn and Mason, were bundled and out to play before 10 am.

Megan sat by the window with a cup of coffee watching her kids play outside. Addy was five going in fifteen, just like Megan at that age. Mason was four and loved to explore and get into everything. Together, the two were unstoppable and had to be watched 24/7.

Currently they were attempting to build a very lopsided snowman. Addilyn seemed to be intent on explaining to Mason how it needed to be done, while putting forth no effort to help. Megan squinted and leaned closer to the window, was Addilyn talking to someone else? She immediately stood, her protective instinct kicking in. As she looked around she couldn't see anyone. Still, she opened the sliding glass door and called her children.

"Addy! Mase! Come in and get warmed up before lunch!"

The children immediately ran towards the door, Addy paused briefly to wave toward the snowman. As she stepped inside she had a smile on her rosy face.

"Excited about your snowman?" Megan asked her daughter as she shed her many layers of coats.

Addilyn shook her head, "Jack said that he needed a hat!"

Megan's heart thumped in her chest, "Whose Jack?"

"Jack Frost obviously!" Her daughter shook her head, as if her mother knew nothing before running off down the hall towards her room.

That night Megan laid in bed, listening to the steady snore of her husband next to her. Thoughts and memories of Jack Frost plagued her mind. Why couldn't she see him anymore?

Finally, Megan decided she couldn't sleep and slid out of bed. She quietly walked downstairs, slipping on her snow boots and heavy jacket. She headed out of the back door and into her back yard. With the back light cut on, Megan could see back to her children's swing set. She pushed off the snow and took a seat on one of the swings. A smile came to her face as memories flooded her, all of her times on a swing set while telling her deepest secrets to Jack Frost. Again, Megan closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "I know you're out there." Megan whispered into the night.

A chuckle caused Megan's eyes to shoot open. There in front of her, after so many years, stood Jack Frost.

He was just as handsome as she remembered, his icy blue eyes almost glowed in the dark, cold air. His smile made her stomach drop. It was like time never passed, she was a young girl again and in love with a snow god.

"You told me I would never stop seeing you!" She told him sternly.

Jack laughed and shook his head, "No I told you I'd always be around. In your heart. YOU'RE the one who stopped believing!" He accused.

She looked at him angrily, "No I didn't!"

"You did though, you questioned yourself. You questioned me. I was there, every winter watching you."

Megan suddenly felt like crying, "You watched me?"

Jack nodded, his eyes of ice bore into her own brown ones. "You were the only girl that ever kissed me."

Megan blushed and looked away. "I've missed you."

Jack laughed, "I've never been gone, Megan."

Megan glared at him, feeling young again, she gave him a slight shove, "Shut up, you know what I meant."

"She's exactly like you, you know." Jack walked over to the swing set and gave the now empty swing a push.

Megan knew he was referring to Addilyn and smiled, "yeah, I know."

"Poor girl."

Megan scoffed. "Lucky girl!" She insisted. She walked over to Jack with a glare on her face, "and don't you dare kiss her either!" She demanded.

Jack laughed, "you kissed ME!" He argued back.

Megan joined Jack's laughter. She felt lighter, as though time never passed. It felt good. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Jack's waist, squeezing tight. She didn't want him to disappear again, she needed to know it was real. Jack returned the embrace, burying his nose in her hair, causing a chill to race down her spine. She felt Jack chuckle under her cheek.

"You're going to catch a cold out here in your pajamas." He told her, but made no attempt of letting her go. "You haven't changed a bit, Megan. You've only grown more beautiful. And you've become as successful as I thought you would."

Megan smiled and looked up at Jack. "Really?"

Jack nodded, "really."

Megan leaned forward, placing an innocent kiss on Jack's lips. "Thanks, Jack."

Jack took her hand and led her back to her house. She hasn't noticed until that moment that she couldn't quite feel her toes anymore.

She reached her back door and turned to Jack, "will you disappear again?"

Jack smiled, "that's up to you, but I'll always be here." He placed a finger over her heart. "Now go get into bed and go to sleep."

Megan hugged Jack tightly one last time before disappearing into her home and snuggling up with her husband. Jack was right; her life had turned out pretty amazing.