Everything was silent except for Jack Frost's hurried breathing as he sat perched on the windowsill of Jamie Bennett's bedroom. Jack eagerly watched the clock on the bedside table as it turned 11:59.
It's almost time, he said to himself, hands trembling with excitement. He reached into the pocket of his hoodie for probably the five billionth time that night to make sure that the round object that he brought with him was still there. Of course it was.
Calm down, Jack, he whispered as he ran a hand through his frosty-white hair. He's going to love it and we're going to have an awesome day.
Jack took one last deep breath and then the clock turned 12:00. He summoned forth a great thrust of wind and pushed through the window.
"Happy birthday!" Jack screamed as loudly as he could muster.
Jamie shot up from his slumber and fell off the side of the bed with a resounding wham.
"What's going on?"
"Oh shoot, I'm sorry!" Jack rushed over to help Jamie off the floor. "I didn't mean to scare you so mu—"
"Jack!" Jamie yelled as he hugged the guardian of fun as hard as humanly possible.
A stunned Jack returned the hug to his first, and of course favorite, believer.
"Happy birthday, buddy. I had to be the first one to tell you. Otherwise, what kind of guardian would I be, eh?"
"It's so cool that you're here! Did you bring me a present? Well, even if you didn't it's still great that you're here and we can play games and celebrate with cake and ice cream and—"
"Whoa, tiger. I know you're excited to finally be eleven years old and all, but your mother and sister are still sleeping."
"Oh yeah," Jamie whispered. "Mom gets mad if I'm not quiet at night. Last time I got up in the middle of the night for a glass of water she yelled and said that the Boogeyman would get me."
Jack let out a quiet chuckle. "Don't think he's going to be bothering anybody for a long time."
"Yeah…hey, you never answered if you got me a present!"
"I may or may not have," Jack teased.
The frown and following over-exaggerated groan from Jamie made Jack laugh even more.
"Aww come on! You can't just tease me like that!"
"I might give it to you if you ask nicely."
"Oh please, oh please, oh please, I'll be good for the rest of the year, for the rest of my life even!"
"Fine, fine. Close your eyes and hold out your hands."
Jack couldn't help but smile when he saw how excited the eleven year old was. He had always been the guardian's favorite child. What wasn't there to like? He was Jack's first believer, he had helped the guardians defeat Pitch, and he was one of the best people to have snowball fights with (even though Jack always won anyway).
Out of his pocket Jack pulled a snow globe that he had specially made for Jamie. He had had the Yetis work on it for weeks for it to look just right. Perfect carvings of the four original guardians made up the wooden base, along with an inscription of Jamie's name. The globe itself contained an exact replica of Jamie's house, complete with miniature figurines of his mother, sister, and dog out on the front lawn. Suspended above the house was Jack holding onto Jamie while they flew through the air with gigantic smiles on their faces.
Jack placed the globe in Jamie's hands and hoped with all his soul that the younger boy would like it.
Jamie pried his eyes open and let his mouth practically fall to the ground.
"Oh my gosh. This is so cool, Jack! Is this really my house and my family and us flying?"
Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "Sure is, sport. I special ordered it from the Yetis at the North Pole. You really like it?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Jamie yelped.
The muffled voice of Jamie's mother resonated through the bedroom. "Jamie, dear, what are you doing up?"
The young boy quickly blurted out, "Jack Frost came to surprise me on my birthday, mom!"
"That's nice dear, but it's late. Go back to sleep before the boogeyman gets you."
Both boys started laughing and Jamie managed to squeak out, "Ok mom, sorry. Love you!"
"Love you too, dear."
"I told you to be quiet, Jamie."
"Sorry. I couldn't help it. This is the best present I've ever gotten."
Jack couldn't help but blush a little. Nervously rubbing the back of his neck he said, "It's nothing, really. It's just a snow globe."
"It's not just a snow globe, Jack. It's a snow globe that you gave me. That's what makes it so special."
"Thanks, Jamie. You're the best."
"No, you're the best, Jack," Jamie responded as he hugged the guardian again.
"Hey, do you want part two of your birthday present?"
"What?" Jamie said pulling away slightly to look Jack in the eyes. "There's more?"
"Of course there is. The first birthday I spend with my favorite believer is going to be epic."
"Awesome! What's part two?"
Jack leaned in close to the young boy and whispered, "We're gonna fly."
Jamie's eyes widened and he let his mouth drop for the second time that night. "For real?"
"Yeah, bud. But you've gotta promise not to tell any of the other guardians. I'm not really supposed to do stuff like this but I figure, what good is it being the guardian of fun if I can't do anything actually fun with kids?"
"I promise I won't tell anybody."
Jamie rushed over to the window and started to climb out. Jack quickly ran in front of him and put his hand out to stop the boy.
"Hold on, Jamie. You do realize that it's the middle of the night and snowing and you're going to be flying through the air with somebody naturally cold anyway, right?"
"Oh. I was just really excited to be able to fly."
"Don't worry; we'll fly as soon as you put on some warmer clothes."
While Jamie was at the closet getting his coat Jack perused the bookshelf that was lined with encyclopedias of fairy tales, myths, and legends. What an inquisitive little kid, Jack thought. On the side of the bookshelf there were a bunch of school assignments (all with A's of course) and some drawings that Jamie had done. Boy, for an eleven year old Jamie sure is talented. Crayon drawings of Santa, Tooth, Bunny, and Sandman looked like they were done by a professional. But…there was no such drawing of Jack.
The frost spirit shook his head and turned away. Maybe he just hasn't gotten around to one of me yet.
"I'm ready, Jack."
Jack shook off his doubts and smiled brightly at Jamie.
"All right, let's go then." Jack walked over to his younger friend and lifted him up on his bed. "Get on my back and make sure to hold on tight. We don't want you falling off, right?"
"OK, I'll be careful."
Jack's heart surged as he felt Jamie climb on his back and wrap his arms around his neck. The slight warmth that Jamie emitted was not something Jack was used to, but it was comforting nonetheless.
"Come on, wind! Let's go for a ride!"
A forceful gust of wind scattered papers around the room and lifted the duo up in the air. Just as Jack was about to surge forward a piece of paper caught his eye. It was a beautifully drawn picture of Jack and Jamie having a snowball fight.
He didn't forget me!
With a renewed sense of confidence, Jack surged forward with Jamie on his back.
"Woohoo!" Jamie yelled. "This is amazing!"
The two glided over the snow-covered town of Burgess. Jack went as high as he felt comfortable with his passenger and asked, "Do you think you're ready for a loop-de-loop?"
"I don't know, Jack. I don't want you to drop me."
"Jamie, do you trust me?"
"Yeah…I trust you."
"Let's go then!" Jack made a giant loop in the sky while leaving a trail of icy crystals in his wake.
"This is great, Jack! It's so beautiful up here!"
Jack chuckled as he spoke, "You haven't seen anything yet!"
