Chapter Two

No child in their right mind was up at this hour, but Jack Frost hardly slept anyway. Jack had to discover everything for himself, and this seemed no different. Could he fall in love? It was a human thing, and he was once human, like North. As Tooth said, everyone had something. Jack was never cold in an emotional sense, so he thought for the most part, if love is a feeling, then he should be able to find someone.

Jack stopped for a moment. He wasn't even sure if that's what he needed or wanted. He found himself out of place among Mrs. Claus and North. It'd been over 300 years, and he'd always flown solo. Perhaps it was time for a change, however small. It wouldn't affect the children much, Jack would still be out here and there letting the children have some fun.

Maybe he was just too carefree for love. Santa only worked one day a year. The rest he spent inside with Mrs. Claus or the reindeer he kept. Jack knew he'd always be out having fun. That was his core.

"So...I just need to find someone with that same attitude so we can have fun together," Jack was talking to himself.

There was a new hope inside of him. There were plenty of girls in the world, one of them was bound to share his core belief. He knew there would have to be an understanding, a kind of trust between him and whomever she was out there, that he was a guardian. He had a job to do, but at the same time, he didn't want to be alone doing it.

Sure, he loved the children, seeing their faces after they had just had the ride of their life. And now they could see him, so he didn't have to worry about isolation. Yet, if something was still missing after that, the only thing left was love. Perhaps that would help him through his personal dramas, which he was having a lot of these days.

He was the only one who remained cold all year, so if he wanted to find love, he needed it to be in the winter time, when he thrived, where she could see him at work. That was another thing, seeing him. She had to still believe. When he was frozen in time to become immortal, he was about 17. Dangerous age, he just realized. New children were born everyday and some "grew up" as the term went. Jamie would never stop believing, Jack knew that, and for that reason Jack thought for sure there was someone else who would feel that way.

300 years of experiencing people, Jack thought he'd find someone who would still believe, maybe strongly enough to consider him as...a personal guardian to her. The lights remained to cover the globe that spun in Santa's factory. Pitch was gone, and now Jack felt to some degree that all he had to do now was build up something for himself and protect the children.

He began with the seasonable winter continents. Maybe there was someone there who liked the cold. At the age of 17, Jack didn't know how people could suddenly move from place to place. That was usually his job.

There were a few girls wide awake, beginning their banquets for the evening already. People had this odd tradition of eating a lot around the November and December months. The children talked about it all the time, about what their families made for dinner and then breakfast on Christmas Morning. Seemed like Santa got most of the attention around here. He always did.

"Come on, Mal," a voice sounded.

"Aw, but Mum, why can't I jus' go and an' play with the other children in th' morn?" the girl complained.

"Mal, this is your first year, in a few days, you'll be an adult and you have to start taking responsibility for the Christmas dinner and brunch that's tomorrow," the voice must have been her mother.

Jack peered in the window to see the two in the kitchen. He'd landed in Scotland, and he could already tell there was arguing in the air. That seemed rather common.

She had red hair, Mal, and her eyes were green. She wore a red dress that didn't look too comfortable but she didn't put up too bad of a struggle in it. There was a gold embroider to it, and Jack found the home to be quite cozy. There was a fireplace going in the family room too, and Jack felt a little out of place spying on them.

There was a shattering sound, and Jack turned his head to see the broken jar the mother had dropped.

"Oh, drat!" the mother said, a hand over her probably pounding heart.

"Mother!" Mal gasped. "Look!" She was pointing at him. "There's someone outside!" Jack panicked and Mal was heading for the door.

"Mal! Get back here!" her mother gasped.

"I'm sorry, Mum. Be back in a little bit!" she called. Jack froze in place as she opened the door. He jumped on the roof, but it was too late she caught him.

"Hey! Come back!" she called. Jack's head turned.

"Jack," she said. "What are ye doing?"

"You can still see me," Jack said, a tad breathless. "I didn't mean to oppose. I can see you're busy."

"Oh, naw, it's jus' my mum," Mal said. "She's tryin' to get me ta 'grow up'."

"I hope that never happens," Jack said, drawing a few icicles to hang over her rooftop. "I'm just messin' around, you know. I'll be back later."

"Oh...okay. Bye bye then," Mal replied. She sulked back inside, and he put some frost on the window. he drew a Christmas tree and some presents underneath it.

When she was putting the slices of carrots in the refrigerator, her eyes averted to the window where Jack left his picture, and she smiled, remembering her past Christmases and what she was building up. Now that she was 17, soon to be 18, Mal thought cooking wasn't so bad, but Jack's picture reminded her what Christmas was about. And so she worked.

"I don't think she'd be right," Jack said. This was going to be harder than he'd originally thought. He could fly for a year and still not find the right girl, and once he realized that, Jack became more determined. This was something else to do. He slid his way across the ocean, that was one of his favorite things to do with his staff.

The ocean was so vast that it almost never froze. Jack remembered the one year Niagara Falls completely froze, and that was a sight to see. He thought he'd never freeze that waterfall, ever. But then one year, he just did. He scaled it over and over and over again until it stopped altogether. The people marveled at that one, but he never did it again. At least, not yet. It wouldn't be as special if he did it every year, and besides, that was a lot of work!

Jack never wanted to freeze the ocean, just make his own path as he slid right along it. That was always fun, and he felt like he could run forever. He found himself running across Russia, where he didn't stop just yet. He could always go back there. For now, there were other places were it was getting a little chilly only for the time being.

He danced across the ice rinks until he came to France. Paris was beautiful, with the Eiffel Tower all decked out in bright red lights. Christmas was probably one of his favorite times of the year. He could go anywhere. Easter Sunday, he couldn't slide across the ground or freeze the ponds.

Like every year, Jack observed everything and thinking about how lucky he was to do such a thing every year. People did all sorts of things around this time of year, and the commotion was intense. Every store was crowded with people trying to get a good buy for their family members, friends, maybe even co workers. There were a lot of people in Europe, and Jack wondered through the crowds. It was still fairly early, but the sun was showing already here. Some children looked at him with wonder and amazement.

As far as the girls went, only a few could actually see him. There was one with blonde, curly hair, but since she was with her friends who couldn't see Jack, she merely glanced at him, offered a smile and then gave him a look that told him she couldn't play right now. He only smiled back as he began gliding along the sidewalks. He had something else to do.

She didn't really see him as anything past what he did as a guardian anyway. There was another that caught his eye in France. Jack knew he'd have his pick of the girls, but he was weary. He didn't want to be wrong about his choice. North chose well and probably the first time. Jack could only hope to be as wise.

A few of them just went right through him, so even though he though otherwise with the cute blonde that caught his eye, it made his selection easier. He needed a believer. In Germany, there were plenty of them. He changed his tune to be as fun as he usually was for the time being Interaction was the best thing for him.

Maybe if I just go about my core, one will just come along, Jack thought. That seemed like a fine idea. For a few weeks, Jack spent his days in Germany playing with every child and every teenager that still believed. The older kids stayed out a little later, helping him out a little when it came time to really look.

As he wondered the popular hangouts, he didn't expect to be noticed. Lots of dance clubs around for Germany. There were still teenage girls out with their friends, and so far, none were seeing him. He walked inside. It must be some kind of Christmas dance. Yes, that would explain the music and all the couples walking in. Jack frosted the windows and let the snowflakes do their work before he left the establishment.

That dance went very late into the night, and Jack decided to leave Germany for now. He skidded back to the north pole to get his sweatshirt. He sort of missed it, but when he got to his room and actually touched it, he threw in back upon the bed.

"Jack Frost!" Mrs Claus called. Jack couldn't blame her. He was in rather plain view and walking through the house. He was practically waiting for her to find him.

"Mrs. Claus," Jack said, turning his head towards the living room where she was knitting another scarf for North.

"Where have you been, child?!" she exclaimed, putting her work down and standing to walk over to him. He met her half way, letting the staff fall.

"Oh, here and there," Jack said.

"North tells me you're looking for a girl," Mrs. Claus said. North couldn't keep anything a secret. Jack sighed.

"I think it would help," Jack said. "Me...with certain stuff."

"You're lonely," Mrs. Claus observed. "It's all right, I understand."

"No you don't," Jack said. "You're not me."

"That may be true, but when I met North, I didn't care if he was a Guardian or not. I loved him. I'm sure there's someone out there for you too," Mrs. Claus reassured.

"Thanks," Jack replied. "Well, I'm still looking, so, I'll be around."

"Take some cookies at the very least," Mrs. Claus said. "I made a batch last week and I will make more tomorrow. North goes through them like cake, but I saved a bag just for you."

She sat back to do her knitting, rocking in the chair.

"Thanks," he said, going into the kitchen and retrieving the bag she told him was in her secret cabinet. Hey, she had to hide some things from North if she wanted to eat any of her goodies herself!

And then he was off again.