Hey everyone! Welcome back for the second chapter. Hope that y'all are enjoying the story so far. Jack's been invited to Jamie's party, and is super excited to go. But there may be a little snag in his plans…

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"Welcome, welcome!" North boomed as Jack came in for a landing on the balcony just outside the toymaker's workshop. "How goes it with you?"

"I'm doing all right 'Santa'," Jack joked, using one of the many nicknames used for North by children around the world. He was always glad to see the old man, who had become a bit of a father figure to him, but today he was especially happy because of the news from Jamie. He wanted to tell everyone at once, however, so he asked, "Hey, are Bunny, Sandy, and Tooth here?"

"Yes, actually," North replied, looking surprised at Jack's question. "Why? Is there problem?"

"No, not a problem," Jack reassured him. "The exact opposite, actually. I've got some good news."

North's face broke out into a huge smile. "Well then, come. We will share these glad tidings with the others." He clapped a large hand onto Jack's shoulder and led him into the giant workshop.

Jack still felt slightly in awe whenever he visited the North Pole. It was like a kid's dream come true, filled with more toys and goodies than an entire mall at Christmastime. He smiled as he thought about how much fun Jamie would have in this place, and made a mental note to ask North about arranging a visit.

Soon the two arrived in the conference room. It didn't seem possible that not more than a few months ago Pitch had invaded this sanctum and almost destroyed the faith of every child in the world in the guardians. Jack couldn't help but shudder a bit and he glanced over at the large globe, now covered with tiny specks of golden light that represented believing children, just for reassurance that the nightmare was truly over.

"Jack!" Jack heard someone cry. An instant later he was being hug-attacked by the colorfully feathered guardian of memories.

"Hey Tooth," he said, giving her an awkward pat on the back as her tiny tooth fairies darted around them. At this point he still viewed Tooth as more of a sister than anything. Maybe it could eventually develop into something more, but who knew?

"G'day mate," Bunnymund called from a recliner, giving him a half-wave with one of his boomerangs and was openly smirking at the teen's discomfort. Jack just rolled his eyes at the Aussie before focusing his attention on the golden gentleman waving enthusiastically at him from his golden cloud near the ceiling.

"Hey Sandy," he called, and the little man instantly conjured up a smiley face about his head to show his pleasure at seeing him. Sandy was one of Jack's oldest friends, someone he had confided in from time to time during his long years of isolation before becoming a guardian. The winter sprite considered Sandy, or the Sand Man as he was officially know, to be a role model: someone who effortlessly brought joy to children and always put the well-being of others first.

"So," North said finally, coughing loudly and pointedly enough for Tooth to realize that the hug had been going on a bit too long and flitter away red-faced, "You said you had news for us, Jack?"

"Oh yeah." Jack nodded, pulling the four unopened envelopes out of his sweatshirt pocket. "Jamie invited all of us to his birthday party next week."

"A birthday party?" Tooth exclaimed, her feathers fluffing out in excitement. "Oh my gosh, I've never been invited to one of those before!"

"It sounds like fun," North chuckled, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I can try some of my new toy designs out with the children."

Sandy, who was of course always silent, made a golden party hat and placed it on his head, blowing into a small golden noise maker enthusiastically.

"Oh crikey," Bunnymund groaned as he opened the invitation. "A Jack Frost party? As if you were conceited enough."

"Oh, don't be such a mudstick," North laughed, pounding him on the back. "Think of all the joy it will bring to the children."

"It think it sounds wonderful," Tooth sighed dreamily, then instantly blushed again.

"C'mon Bunny," Jack said in a falsely sweet tone, "Jamie said that Sophie asked for you especially. You wouldn't want to let her down now, would you?"

"All right fine, I'll go," Bunnymund snapped. "But only for the little ankle-biter."

Jack grinned. "great. I'll let Jamie know that we'll all be attending, then."

"Wait a minute," Tooth spoke up suddenly. She was looking down at the invitation. "It says here that the party is going to be held in the backyard. That's outside, Jack!"

"So?" Jack asked, leaning on his staff. "What's the big deal? I'm outside all the time."

"But not in summer," Tooth reminded him, her big violet eyes filled with concern. "You're a winter spirit, Jack. Prolonged exposure to heat could be harmful."

"She does make good point," North said, fiddling thoughtfully with his beard. "Could this be problem for you?"

"No," Jack protested, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

"Be reasonable," Bunnymund said, getting up from his chair and hopping over, his usual bantering tone gone. "I know that this probably means a lot to you, but you can't go risking your health just to go to some party."

"It's not just 'some party'," Jack replied hotly. "It's Jamie's birthday and I intend to be there. I already promised him that I would go, and I don't plan on disappointing him."

"But Jack," Tooth began again. Jack wasn't listening to any more arguments, though.

"I'll see you guys there—as long as none of you chicken out," Jack called over his shoulder as he took off down the hallway, feeling a mixture of anger and, unwanted, fear churning in his stomach. It wasn't until he was almost back at North's private workshop that he realized Sandy was following him.

"Please tell me that you're not going to try to talk me out of this too," Jack groaned. To his surprise, Sandy shook his head "no". "What then?" he asked, cocking his head curiously. Sandy pointed upwards, making an image of the moon.

"The Man in the Moon?" Jack guessed. "He has something to say?" Sandy nodded emphatically. "Okay, what did he tell you?"

Sandy brought up a picture of a little boy who looked a lot like Jamie standing in the middle of a party. A larger figure, assumedly Jack, flew down into the party. A big sun rose up above the scene, it's harsh rays beating down until the larger figure collapsed to the ground.

Jack swallowed convulsively. "Does this mean…if I got to the party, I'm going to die?"

Sandy considered this for a moment, then shook his head.

"No?" Jack felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Then what—"

Sandy conjured up a different scene, which showed the Jack figure standing at a crossroads. Both paths went off into the distance, their destinations obscured.

"So does this mean I'm going to have to make a choice?" Jack asked, "about whether or not I'm going to the party?"

Sandy started to nod, then stopped. He held up one finger and nodded, then two and shook his head "no".

"So yes to the first part, no to the second," Jack guessed. Sandy gave him a thumbs-up. "Well that doesn't make much sense," Jack complained. "How am I supposed to make a choice when I don't even know what I'm choosing about?"

Sandy patted his hand, looking up at him with sympathetic eyes. "All right, so I am supposed to go to the party." Sandy gave a small shrug, then tapped Jack gently on the top of his head, then on his chest. "You're saying listen to my head and my heart?" Jack sighted. Sandy gave him one last nod, then smiled encouragingly at him and floated away.

"All right then," Jack said quietly, feeling a small surge of courage. "I'm going to make that party, no matter what comes."