Promises to Keep

Short thing I'm writing to run down my high on Rise of the Guardians. Will be short installments. Used a prompt generator and received, "If I were a superhero, I would be…." Can't say it's my best work, but please enjoy.

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1. disbelieve

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"There's no such thing as heroes," Jack once told Jamie.

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Their first meeting comes as a sprawl across ice-slick pavement and a handful of ruined comic books. Jamie's just spent three weeks' worth of allowance at the bookstore, only to watch the maturation of fine ink and print turn to papier-mâché in the slush.

He's caught between the silent pooling of tears and a quick-burning outrage when the stranger he bumps into bends down and picks up the ruined books, pale fingers smearing red and bending the covers.

"Sorry, I didn't see you coming," the hand says, before Jamie looks up and realizes it's coming from a boy as pale as freshly fallen snow. He's got the bluest eyes Jamie has ever seen, clear and bright. He gapes for a second before finally remembering that his issue of "Tooth Fairy vs. the Mouse Thief" is dissolving into a pile of pulp under his left hand.

"Aw jeez," Jamie sighs. It comes out lighter than he's really feeling, a soft lilt on quiet wind.

"Sorry," the other boy says again. His stunning eyes flick back and forth across the several magazines in his hand, contemplating their dampened covers. "Really into superheroes, huh?"

"Yeah!"

Jamie shows the soggy Tooth Fairy comic to the stranger, feeling the pages wilt in his hand. "They're really amazing! I always watch when they're on, and I own all their comic books and action figures and I'm going to have a superhero party for my birthday!"

The stranger chuckles, though it seems mirthless as he stares into the dull eyes of the Tooth Fairy staring excitedly into some unseen camera as she wallops a giant mouse. "Can't say I'm that into them myself, actually. A bit too goody two-shoes for my tastes. No fun at all."

Jamie almost lets the comic book drop from his hand. Someone who didn't like the supers? He's never heard of anyone like that!

"You have to come to my house," Jamie says, grasping onto the frost-slicked sleeve of the other boy's hoodie. "You'll see! I'll show you my whole collection!"

"Ahaha…yeah, no." The boy tugs his sleeve away and presents the other scattered books to Jamie's expectant face. "No offense, kid, but it's just not my thing. And aren't you a little too happy to be letting a stranger into your house?"

"What?" Jamie grabs the stack without thinking, thrusting them under his arm to hold them while he gesticulates the exact amount of indignation he's feeling. "C'mon! You don't look like you own a white van or have candy or anything-" The other boy rolls his eyes and raises his staff (and just why does he have what looks like a crummy old Shepard's crook with him anyway?). "The supers are the coolest thing ever. They fight bad guys and save cats in trees and they help people!"

By the end of his outburst, Jamie is red-faced and starry-eyed. The other boy is tipping his staff back and forth, looking about as fascinated by the conversation as he would watching paint dry.

Jamie waits patiently for the stranger to concede, though he starts to doubt when the other just taps the staff gently to the ground and leans on it, a quiet smile on his face.

"You know, your face gets all red when you think about it. It must make you really happy." At Jamie's fervent nod, he continues. "Maybe there is something more to them that I'm not seeing. You obviously see it.

"But for me? Well…there's no such thing as heroes. Not when you're someone like me."

Jamie gets this disappointed look on his face, somewhere between confusion and having his heart rent. The other boy smiles wider before tapping the boy's nose with a finger colder than ice and then walks away.

Jamie is quiet as he thinks about how incredibly lonely that boy looks, with a ragged hoodie and ragged pants and a ragged smile while he admits that he can't believe in someone saving him. The frost lacing the covers of his soaked comic books goes unnoticed under his arm.

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Any good? I have the next part written, and it should be posted soon. Thanks for reading! If anyone can figure out where the title is from, please tell me. Fairly famous poem, y'know! With absolutely no bearing on the plot. XD