They were almost at the school when Jack felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He took it out and groaned when he recognised the number on the screen. He pressed answer and put it to his ear.
"Why are you even bothering?" Asked Jack immediately asked, not bothering with greetings.
"Jackson Frost, I presume?"
Without waiting for Jack to confirm or deny this statment, he walked inside. Jack quickly followed him, not wanting to leave the man in what was now his house.
"Who are you?" He asked before he could stop himself.
The man looked at him over his silver spectacles. "I am Mr. InMoon, but you may call me Manny."
'Manny InMoon.' Thought Jack. 'It sounds like Man In Moon. He certainly looks the part.' Added Jack mentally as he eyed Manny's white clothing.
"I'm sure you are aware of the death of the rest of your family by now." Jack felt a pang of sadness. "Your parents left the house and anything else they owned in your name, however you are not yet 18, meaning you cannot fulfill their will as of now."
"I'm 18 in 2 weeks, it's not long!" Snarled Jack, upset that this man decided he couldn't complete his parents' last wishes because he was too young.
"Yes, but you are not 18 now, are you?" Asked Manny calmly, ignoring the rude tone that Jack had used. Jack kept quiet as Manny continued his explanation. "Until you become an adult, I have organised for you too stay in the local orphanage an-"
"W..what?" Spluttered Jack. "I am NOT staying in that excuse for a building. There is nothing you can do to make me."
The white clad man frowned. "Now, Jack, don't say anything unreasonable. It's only until your 18th birthday."
"Don't care. I'm leaving. I'll fend for myself and the moment I can, I am taking back my house." He chucked his keys at the man and stalked out, ignoring the shouts from Manny.
Jack went to the store and bought a small amount of blankets, a toothbrush and toothpaste. He had school most days so he didn't need much. He would charge his phone at school and he would eat there as well. He went out to the river as the situation settled in.
He was alone.
His Pa was dead.
His Ma was dead.
His little sister was dead.
He was alone.
Finally, he screamed and cried for his dead family. The ache and pain filled his heart entirely and once the tears began to fall and the screams came from his mouth, he found he couldn't stop.
He was alone.
Since he had left his home a week ago, Jack had received several calls from Manny who tried to persuade him to take up the offer to stay in the orphanage. And everytime he had refused.
He waited as he heard the sigh come from Manny on the otherside of the phone. "Jack, you can't live on the streets. It's not safe."
"Wanna bet!?" Snapped Jack as the bus screeched to a halt. He let everyone else get off before he got off himself. He walked through the the yard, towards the school. "I've done it for a week now, what's to say I can't do it for another one?"
"Look, if you don't want to go to the orphanage, why don't you stay at a friend's place?"
The suggestion made Jack give a sharp bark of laughter. "Didn't you know? I have no friends here. My only friend was my sister but I can't see her anymore." Jack could tell he was pushing it. There was silence for a moment and Jack saw that Manny ended the call. He put his phone away and walked to class.
Bad idea.
The Big Four were the only ones in the classroom. He snuck to his seat at the back of the class and watched them, thinking. All four of them were orphans. They had all met at the orphanage and quickly became friends. They were all 18, their birthdays at the beginning of the academic year. Jack knew that they had bought a house near his own family house and lived there together. The thought that they became friends in the orphanage stuck in his head.
'No. There is no way I'm going to even set foot in that filthy hovel.'
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Aster who was staring at Jack, smug.
"What do you want?" Jack asked, his voice tired.
"Just wondering if ya actually have any other clothes. Ya've been wearing the same thing for over a week now." There was no concern in his voice. He was just trying to get a rise out of Jack. However, unlike normal where he would make a snarky comment, Jack just shrugged and fingered the locket around his neck.
Class began and Aster frequently found himself turning to look at the albino, for what reason, he didn't know. He relayed his short conversation to his friends but they just shrugged it off, believing that the teen was just being moody today.
By break, Aster had forgotten about their conversation and the four were back to bullying him.
They found him in the library, charging his phone.
"No charging phones in school." Stated North, pulling the charger off and holding the phone out of Jack's reach, gesturing to a sign nearby stating just that.
"Give in back, North. I can't charge it at home." Jack said, jumping for his device.
Sandy signed something to Annaliese which made her laugh. "You're probably right Sandy. His parents probably don't want his to add to their problems."
Jack stopped jumping and stared at Annaliese and Sandy, unable to believe their words/signs. "What?"
"Ya heard them, Frost. Yar parents don't want ya to annoy them by calling them or something along those lines. That's why ya ain't allowed to charge yar phone at home."
"I heard Flee wished she was only child. Thinks you're annoying." Added North.
Water made it's way to Jack's eyes. "Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! You don't understand anything!" He ran off without his bag and his phone leaving the Big Four worried.
"Something's up!" Said Annaliese. She grabbed Jack's stuff and ran off, trying to follow the younger boy. The three men followed her quickly. They saw Jack getting smaller and smaller as he got further away. He left the school building. Left the school grounds. The four ran after him, ignoring the shouts of the teachers.
They followed Jack into the forest and watched from behind a group of trees that were bunched close together. Jack was at the edge of one of the lakes that resided in the forest, basically wailing.
"I'm sorry, Ma!" Jack hiccupped, looking like a lost child. "I'm sorry, Pa. I'm really sorry, Flee. But I've had enough! They're unbearable! I can't even find comfort in you anymore. There's no point in me being here. They told me you didn't love me and I think they're right. If you did love me, why didn't you stay with me? Bloody Manny keeps trying to get me to either go to the orphanage or a 'friends place.'" Jack scoffed. "That last one's impossible. The Big Four keep spreading rumours about me and the only attention I get is the girls fainting when I smile at them. But I can't smile anymore! I can't fight anymore! I can't live anymore!" He pulled off his hoodie, locket and got the wallet out. Using his bear hands, Jack dug a hole and shoved the items in. He covered them with the dug up dirt regretfully, mumbling to himself about 'protecting them'. "Please forgive me." He whispered as he began to wade through the lake, going deeper and deeper. He didn't hold his breath as his face was submerged.
Annaliese, Sandy, North and Aster waited. A second. 10 seconds. 30 seconds. 1 minute.
"He's not coming up!" Shouted North. They scrambled to the lake and Sanderson stuck his head under the water, seeing the boy float deeper and deeper, not even twitching. He pulled his head out and quickly signed this to the others. Without another thought, Aster pulled off his coat and furry bracers. He backed up and then ran, jumping into the water with a gigantic splash. He opened his eyes and his green eyes spotted the albino instantly. He grabbed the boy and held him to his chest. He tried to swim upwards but the freezing water was numbing his body. He tried to shout for help but then quickly remembered he was underwater.
He felt himself start to sink when a strong pair of hands grabbed one of his arms. Aster held Jack in his other arm tightly as North yanked him up. He landed on the ground with a shivering Jackson Overland Frost on top of him.