AN: Okay I should have warned you guys that I'm terrible at updating, but if I did warn you, you have been warned again. I know it's been a while, but here I have provided you a nice chapter that hopefully will not disappoint to much. Let me know!

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"Thanks." He smirks.

"For what?" I demand.

"Distracting him."

"Distracting him from what?!" I don't mean for my voice to crack, but I'm getting fed up with all this bullshit. He shrugs innocently, but I give him a glower that I can only hope conveys how not in the mood for coyness I am.

"From me." He finally says simply. Realization dawns on me.

"You're Jack Frost."

"The one and only. I think." He does a wide sweeping bow, looking very proud of himself. Weird. I always pictured Jack Frost a little...older. Why would Pitch be after a teenager? He catches me looking him over and that cheeky smile emerges again. "Not what you were expecting?" He guesses, and an involuntary blush creeps over my cheeks.

"If you're Jack Frost, why is the Boogeyman looking for you? And where were you three minutes ago when I was on that stage? And what the heck are you doing in Arizona?" I list the three most pressing questions on my mind.

"Ah, down to the good stuff." He floats, apparently on the nonexistent breeze, to the water fountain in the hallway and perches on top of it, like some kind of parrot. "I'm in Arizona to hide from Pitch. Three minutes ago I was in the rafters, hiding from Pitch. And Pitch is looking for me...because I may or may not have caused a blizzard in his lair and iced over the exit." He smiles ever so innocently, but I sense an overabundance of mischievousness behind it.

"Why would you do that?" I ask, my voice a bit louder than I meant it to be. Footsteps start coming from the direction of the stage, and before I can process it, Jack has tossed some sort of glass sphere at the ground and muttered something about someplace called Burgess. With a swirl of colored lights, a portal opens which Jack pulls me through without hesitation. The feeling of being sucked through a straw and then floating in midair fills me before I crash face first into a pile of snow. Sputtering, I sit up and wipe the frozen water off my face before looking around. I'm in a small patch of powdered ice, probably summoned by Jack as a way of cushioning my exit of the portal. But beyond the snow, I see I'm in a forest. Like green trees, moss, and flowers forest! Not the stupid Saguaro Forests that Arizona is so proud of.

"You okay?" Jack's voice shocks me out of my revere and I realize I'm still sitting in a melting puddle of snow looking around with my mouth open like a fish.

"I...I don't know." I admit. Suddenly I feel very unsettled. Like everything that's happened this morning is finally catching up to me and kicking my ass. Pitch. Jack. Magic portals. Snow. This is all crazy. And I'm not sure I even believe it's really happening. I mean how can any of this be happening. "Where are we?" I finally ask, when I realize he's just staring at me. He stares for another few seconds before deciding I'm not going to have a stroke or anything.

"Burgess. My friend lives here." He motions off in some direction where I guess houses are. "I thought it would be better to talk here." He explains when I give him a confused glance.

"Talk. Talk about Pitch?" I guess.

"And you. And me." He confirms. With a sigh I stand all the way up, brushing off water and leaves before sitting on a rock.

"So talk. What is this all about? And I'm still hung up on how you could be in Arizona. Isn't it a bit hot for you?" I figure it's the easiest question for him to answer at the moment. He uses the wind again to take him to a low hanging branch, which he immediately gets comfortable on.

"Everyone assumes that because I'm Jack Frost that I can't be in hot places. Truth is, it doesn't really affect me at all. I enjoy Hawaii just as much as I enjoy Antarctica. But, only a few people know that and the others would never think to look for me there. Or...I hoped they wouldn't." He frowns.

"So you were trying to steer clear of Pitch by kicking it in a place no one thinks to look for you. And you chose the Auditorium of my high school why exactly?"

"Well it was pretty chilled, what with the industrial size AC unit you guys have." I shrug. "And I like music. So I figured there were worse places I coulda chosen." I'm not sure whether I should be insulted or not by the tone of his voice, but I just motion for him to continue. "When Pitch showed up, I thought he'd find me for sure. If he's smart enough to follow me to the exact auditorium in the exact city of the exact state, which I chose only because I thought no one would look there...well I thought I was doomed. But then you distracted him and I was able to find a little hole to squeeze into where his sand and shadows couldn't find me."

"Glad I could help." I murmur sarcastically. "Did he mean what he said? Is he going to be back for me?" I ask quietly. Jack frowns.

"Probably. But, if it makes you feel better, he'll most likely come for me first. And hey, maybe he'll forget by the time he does get me." He doesn't sound too hopeful about it though. He attempts to smile, but I don't even try to return it.

"And this is all about a prank?" I ask with annoyance.

"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. I've been trying to keep him in his lair all week." Jack sighs, like he's exhausted, and lays back on the thin branch.

"Only this week?" I question. He peeks at me from where he's dramatically reclined.

"Haven't you wondered why you can see me? And why you could see Pitch? I'm nearly 98% sure you didn't believe in either of us before today." He has a point.

"I've heard of you both, but no. I never believed in you." He winces. "What does that have to do with anything though?" I ask instead of waiting for him to theatrically explain it.

"Most of the year, no one can see us, except those who believe in us. And by 'us' I mean all immortals. Good, bad, famous, infamous. Anyone who is not mortal, cannot be seen unless they're believed in. But there's this thing that happens for only seven days of the year. It's hard to explain, but basically everyone can see everything. You can see me and Pitch, even though you don't believe in us. Most immortals hide during the Week of the Sight. But a few power hungry, attention starved souls will go out of their way to make sure people start believing in them."

"Pitch, I'm guessing." I interject.

"Yeah, Pitch. But...he's kinda the "bad guy" so the Guardians put me in charge of keeping him underground for the week." He smiles happily, but I'm a bit confused.

"Okay, who are the Guardians, and why did you piss Pitch off to keep him underground?" He looks slightly alarmed for a moment, before pacifying himself and sighing.

"The Guardians are the people who protect children and their hopes, wonders, dreams, and memories. Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman...and me." He states grandly with more than a smidgen of pride.

"And Pitch is the anti-Guardian. You wanted to prevent him from gaining too many believers so you made a blizzard in his lair and iced his exit. But he got out, and followed you to Arizona, which you went to specifically because it's the unexpected climate to hide in, and he just so happened to run into me and discover I would be a nice little toy to play with. Great." I mutter, dropping my head to my hands. I hear a rustling then suddenly there's a hand on my shoulder.

"Look, I'm sorry about Pitch. I know how it feels to be targeted by the freak. I mean he's practically my grandfather." He rolls his eyes, but I sit up a little in interest.

"Grandfather?" I demand. He flinches a bit, obviously regretting bringing that up. But I grab the curve of his shepherds crook to stop him from going anywhere. "You're not just his watcher, are you Jack?" Again he flinches.

"No. His daughter, Seraphina Pitchiner, or Mother Earth, bought my soul from the Man in the Moon so I could be reborn as an Elemental Spirit after I died. So she's my spirit's mother. Which makes Pitch my spirit's Grandfather. I mean, usually Man in the Moon decides what someone will become, but she desperately wanted me to be her Frost Spirit." He shrugs.

"Man in the Moon." I glance up, and I can vaguely see the trace of the pale sphere in the sky. There even in the day. Jack follows my glance and frowns ever so slightly, stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets. "You okay?" This time I ask.

"We don't always see eye to eye, MiM and me." He huffs. I nod slowly, and yank on his staff. He hardly seems to notice it, but looks down at me again.

"What can I do...to keep Pitch away? Now that I know he's real?" He opens his mouth to say something clever no doubt, but then closes it and rubs the back of his head, tousling that white hair slightly.

"I don't know. But I know who would know, if you're interested." His eyes light up slightly at the thought of whoever it is.

"Well, seeing as I can't really have Pitch showing up all the time while I'm at school...I guess I don't have a choice. Take me to them." I stand up, brushing moss off my bottom. But I'm surprised when he doesn't go for another of those weird glass spheres. Instead, he loops an arm around my waist and launches off the ground with a gust of the wind. Immediately my arms go around his neck and a little exclamation of surprise escapes my lips. He smirks, and pushes on faster, the wind rocketing him through the sky with familiar ease.

"Are you scared of heights?" Jack chuckles, as my grip on him gets tighter the higher and faster we go. If I weren't clinging to him for all I'm worth, I would slap the grin off his face. But I suppose I should hold off on that until my life is no longer dependent on how tight I hold him,

"No! It's just a little unnerving when there's nothing separating you from the ground but a mile of air, which I happen to fall through pretty expertly." I snarl. This time his grip tightens, pulling me, if possible, even closer to him.

"Don't worry, I won't drop you." He promises.

"Oh thank you so much for your reassurance." I mutter. His grin grows. I glance down, seeing mountains rise and fall at astonishing rates. We must be going pretty damn fast. Still, not fast enough since we're not arriving yet. "Why didn't we use your nifty portal things?" I question in annoyance as he dives into a cloud. They're not as fluffy as I imagined them from the ground. It just feels like one of those mister things at outdoor restaurants that are supposed to cool people down. Still, how many other people can say they've made a hole in clouds?

"I only have a few. They're for emergencies. And this isn't exactly an emergency." I glance at him, then at the ground that is way to far away for my liking.

"Sure. Emergencies. Where are we going again?" He doesn't answer, just nods his head towards a particularly tall mountain. I frown, but watch as we get closer. He swoops up suddenly on an air current and I can see over the top of the mountain. My eyes go wide at a giant floating castle made completely of...golden sand. Just like the kind Pitch manipulated but bright and warm. I feel happy just looking at it. Like all my discomfort with flying is just gone. Jack seems to notice from the way I relax.

"The Sandman lives here. I'm not sure if he'll be in or not, but at least we can try. And he'll have a couple more snow globes we can use to get to Santoff Claussen." He explains, swiftly using an air current to dive bomb towards the floating castle. I squeal a little, then blush in embarrassment. I haven't squealed at anything since I was like three! But Jack just smiles. He descends slower as we get closer, until he's floating gently over a balcony of sorts. I slip from his grasp, half expecting to fall right through the golden sand. But my feet only sink into the sand a bit before finding solid ground. A smile unconsciously grows on my face as I reach out a hand to one of the pillars on the balcony. The sand feels smooth, and tiny. Refined and soft so I almost can't feel it. Jack watches me with his own subconscious smile.

"It's beautiful." I murmur. His smile grows.

"Come on. If he's here, he'll probably be in the kitchen." He nods his head towards the door of the balcony. Inside I see a library of sorts, and beyond a couple of rather large shelves, I see another door. I want to know what's beyond that. Something about this place is just reducing me to when I was a kid. I always needed to know what was next. What happened after something. How far the walls of the box extended so I could push past them. Before the Night Terrors started taking their toll on me.

Jack leads the way, floating idly, never touching the ground. And he uses the wind to blow open both the balcony door and the library door. Said secondary door leads to a long hallway, that seems to curve as it goes. Both ways look identical, so I rely on Jack as he floats off to the left. It's companionably quiet as we go. Jack doesn't speak and I can't think of anything to say, so we just let it be quiet. All the way up until we stop at a door. Being the mischievous frost spirit that Jack Frost is, he can't resist a little prank. He summons some frost onto his face, making a long white beard. Then he barges through the door, surprising the small golden man who's also floating above the ground.

I gape at the Sandman from where I'm standing in the doorway. He's so...adorable! Short and stout and unbelievably cuddly looking. And he gives a big wide smile full of warmth and love as he sees Jack. Then he cracks up with silent giggles as he spies the frost beard.

"Sandy, thank MiM you're home! I found this-" He stops, pretending to just then notice the way "Sandy" is laughing at him. "What?" He asks. Sandy summons a matching golden beard for himself as a way to communicate to Jack. I smile to myself. I like the way he speaks. Without words and charismatically. It makes him that much more adorable. "Yeah, nice beard but I don't get it." Jack says dumbly. Sandy points at his golden beard then at Jack's frosty one. Jack feel his face, acting surprised when he feels the beard.

"Do you always grow extensive beards when you invade his house?" I can't stop myself from asking. Jack looks at me over his shoulder with fun filled eyes and gestures for me to join them.

"Sandy, this is Max. She's the reason I'm not playing target practice for Pitch right now." Jack tells the little golden man with a smirk. Sandy smiles really big and kicks up off the ground to hug me around my neck. "Yeah, I like her too. But, we're sorta in a bit of a predicament now. I don't suppose you have any snow globes lying around that we could use to get to Santoff Claussen quickly?" Sandy thinks for a moment before nodding enthusiastically and motioning for us to follow him.

"He doesn't speak?" I whisper to Jack as he leads us.

"Never that I've heard." Jack nods. Sandy takes us to a room with literally a thousand shelves. Reaching up and up so high that I can only barely see a circle of light from the windowed ceiling. He float around a bit, searching for something, before his eyes land on a large box about ten shelves up. He makes a big show of summoning a ladder with his dream sand and climbing up to the box. He pulls out a couple of snow globes and then closes the box again, floating down without his ladder. He gives one to Jack and one to me.

"Thank you." I smile as he gives me the gorgeous sphere. He bows low.

"You coming with us?" Jack inquires, already shaking the snow globe a bit. Sandy shakes his head, making a couple of characters over his head with his dream sand. The best I can decipher, he still has to eat breakfast, and then has some dreams to deliver to somewhere in Asia. "Well thanks for the ride." Jack winks, then tosses the globe down and grabs my hand. I wave before I get sucked in with Jack, and the last I see of Sandy is his waving back.

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Next Chapter: North and Bunny meet Max, and Pitch makes a surprise appearance in a surprise location.