Oh my...it's been awhile, hasn't it?

I wish I could give you all some grand excuse about why it took me so long to get this up, but honestly there is none. A lot of big events did happen to me recently (I got a job! Yay! I have a brand new niece! Yay!) but these things didn't really prevent me from writing. In the end, it was my laziness, insecurities with this chapter, and distractions that stopped me from getting this out sooner. (DAMN DISTRACTIONS!)

So from the bottom of my heart, I apologize for the wait. For some reason, when I was writing, this chapter gave me the hardest time (even though I think it's one of the least exciting). I'm working on the characterizations a bit more, so please tell me what you think of everyone's personality, especially Jack since he is the star.

And thank you all so much for the reviews, likes, and follows! It's so very encouraging and I appreciate ever single one! Thank you!

Now, on with the story!

-ATWGB

Chapter One: Once Upon A Time

It was some time after the third buzz of his alarm when Jack jerked awake, his dark blue eyes wide as he stared at the ceiling.

Something was…off.

When he finally sat up in his bed, sheets twisted around his waist and tangled in between his legs, Jack could sense a subtle shift hanging in the air that twisted and brushed against him a little too intimately. It was like the haunting prickling feeling of deja-vu, or a dream he didn't to see the end of.

It made his toes curl and goosebumps rise on his arms.

In a bed across from him, Jaimie Bennett grunted and turned over, burying himself further into his blankets.

Jack couldn't explain it even if he wanted to; something just wasn't right. But nothing sprang to mind; there was no trouble he was in or things he had to remember. And as far as he knew, none of his pranks had recently fallen through.

And despite Winter Break being right around the corner (which, hello, best break ever), he knew he had school today, regardless too the ache in his body telling him to sleep another five minutes.

Jack waited a moment longer before shrugging, trying to forego the ominous feeling as he stretched his arms above his head, groaning as bones popped and skin shifted. He wiped the sleep from his eyes as he tried to focus on the varying creatures of black that stood unmoving around their dark room. With a yawn, the teenager stood and walked to the window, opening the shades. Sunlight flooded the room and banished the shadowy creatures back to the nightmares they originated from, turning back into furniture he recognized.

"Mm, no." Another moan came from Jaimie's bed at the sound of opening curtains. There was another shuffle of cloth as the boy hid himself completely under the covers.

Jack looked out into the front yard of his home and the street beyond to see if anything was amiss, giving him concrete evidence to his intuition of universality askew-ness. But where he thought he should see fire trucks blaring or mayhem a-brewing (or, in the insanity of his mind, giant aliens descending down in horrific parades, disintegrating any and all in their paths), Jack saw their neighbor Mr. Joyce shoveling snow out his driveway as Pippa, the girl who lived two blocks away and made amazing brownies, walked pass him with her two dogs.

Nothing out of ordinary.

Jack huffed, resigning to the fact he was not going to figure out the mysterious feeling anytime soon (which, maybe, wasn't anything at all). Instead, he moved over to his dresser to pull out his clothes for the day.

And just like that, with the sound of the sliding wood of his opening drawer, the Bennett home suddenly sprung to life; movement and laughter and a dog barking filling in the unnoticeable white noise of before. Outside, birds abruptly began to chirp, as if they had forgotten earlier, and a honking car blared in the distance. It suddenly alarmed Jack of the long moment of near-complete quiet he sat in before and prompted him to then wonder just how long—

"Jaimie! Jack! Wake up boys!"

Jack rubbed his eyes a second time that morning with a groan. This was way too much internal introspection this earlier in the morning. Regardless of whatever the universe was trying to tell him, Jack didn't feel like the world was any worse for wear; he decided to throw the creepy feelings away for his familiar brazen attitude. A grin spread on his face as he began to think about the mischief he would bestow on his little town today.

Strangeness and the like should be left to bad teen romance novels.

"Jack! Jaimie! C'mon! Breakfast! I made pancakes!"

Besides, he had more pressing manners to attend to.

"Breakfast?" Jaimie sat up, hair a mess and brown eyes wide. "Did she say breakfast?"

Jack barked out a laugh before taking off his shirt.

"G'morning ladies!" Jack shouted with a twirl, dancing into the small kitchen with his trademark smirk. The female Bennetts suddenly looked up from their tasks, gracing the exuberant teen with a smile. Behind him, Jaimie followed along with much less cheer, grunting out an unceremonious 'hey'.

"Morning you two. Go sit and get some pancakes before they get cold," Mrs. Johns-Bennett—ah, or rather Ms. Bennett now, right?—said before returning to the laptop sitting on the countertop, her face screwed in concentration as she typed. Beside her, the younger of the Bennett children sat at the dining table, munching happily on several pancakes, cut up neatly on her plate. Jack slipped into the seat between her and Jaimie.

"Morning Sophie," Jack said, looking over to the small girl sitting across from them. Sophie Bennett squealed a "Hi Jack!" before diving back into her own breakfast.

"Yo squirt, don't choke," Jaimie commented as he finished stacking his own plate. Jack was grabbing his second flapjack when Jaimie began shoving his own food into his mouth.

"Gee, I wonder where she gets it from. Good to see a son appreciate his mother's cooking to the point of suffocation, though," the teenager remarked with a grin, patting his back lightly. Jaimie swallowed and rolled his eyes.

"Ha-ha. Jack Overland-Frost, everyone."

Jack slowly nodded and bowed to the imaginary applause before laughing.

"So, questionable table manners aside, what kind of crazy are we getting into today, family?"

Ms. Bennett ("Jack, you can just call me Ann. It's fine.") suddenly shut her laptop close, moving over to aid her daughter before she choked on her meal. "Hmm, as I recall, you all have school. I have a couple of errands to run and things to take care of anyway, so it would be great if you three would actually stay there today."

"Aw, but Ms. Be-er, Ann, it's just the last week of school before Winter Break. They don't even expect us there," said Jack as he dosed his pancakes in syrup. He loved these pancakes, but lately, they were always a bit too dry.

Ann spared Jack a wry smile before wiping Sophie's face with a napkin, an action the girl groaned through. "Well, nothing like going above and beyond expectations, huh?"

Jack sighed—worth a shot, he thought—before taking his first bite. Jaimie gulped down his juice, forcing the rest of his food down his throat before turning to his friend.

"Hey, are we still on for tonight?"

The teen suddenly smirked, school misery forgotten. "You know it. Claude and Caleb finally decide to come?"

"Yeah. They're going to meet us there."

"Um, what's this?" Ann asked as she scooped what little left of Sophie's food in the trash; the small girl whined for more.

"Mom! I wasn't done!"

"You might not be but your uniform is. Now, what are you two talking about?"

"Nothing Mom, just a small hangout with Monty and them, y'know," Jaimie answered, waving his fork and nearly hitting his sister with drops of syrup. Appropriate then for Sophie to begin chanting the phrase "Jaimie's having a party!" very, very loud.

"Well? Is it a party?" Ms. Bennett's voice seems to cut through her daughter's impromptu song, as unforgiving as her stare. Jaimie seemed to shrink a bit under the gaze, but mercifully, Jack took the reins before either of them would be found out.

"It's really just a hangout, promise. We're going to Cupcake's house and play video games and eat pizza 'til we pass out," Jack lied smoothly. Jaimie's face seemed to heat up slightly at the name of his friend, but he still nodded enthusiastically to Jack's explanation.

"And why am I just hearing about this now?" Ann folded her arms as she stared evenly at the two boys.

"Jaimie's having a party! Jaimie's having-"

"Sophie, hush!" And the littlest Bennett did (with a pout).

"We made plans yesterday, after school. Forgot to mention it yesterday, sorry," Jack continued, voice deceivably smooth as he continued retelling his fictional tale. Ms. Bennett looked at the two of them for another beat, eyes narrowed in suspension before she turned and put Sophie's dish in the sink.

She didn't notice the two boys sighing in relief.

"I better not hear about you two going into that forest, I mean it," Ann finally said over her shoulder, cleaning her hands.

"'Cause if I do…"

"We won't even look at a tree tonight, ma'am. And when I pass the ficus in the hall, I'm going to completely turn the other cheek," Jack responded cheekily, complete with a mocking frown and a standing salute, his eyes dancing with tease. Jaimie guffawed around another mouthful of pancakes.

Ann gave Jack an unimpressed stare before moving behind Sophie—who had taken up playing with her silverware—and covered her small ears with her hands.

"Being a smart ass doesn't really suit you as well as you think, Jack," she said, low voice dripping with saccharinity.

The entire kitchen went completely silent and still for one long moment before Jaimie threw his head back and laughed, loud and sincere. Jack, however, sat there with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, looking between Jaimie, his mother, and the blissfully unaware Sophie.

"Now, you two finish up and get ready, please. The bus will be here soon." Only then did Ms. Bennett removed her hands and, dropping her silverware toys in the sink. She gave both boys a kiss on the forehead before picking up Sophie and turning to leave, Jaimie still laughing uncontrollably.

Mother and daughter disappeared into the hallway, Sophie's questions trailing behind them. Jack was still in shock even after the departure, looking at his friend as Jaimie began wiping tears out his eyes.

"Did she just—did your Mom really—"

"She's got your number, Jack," Jaimie finished with a smile, stuffing the last of his pancake in his mouth.

"It's too cold!" Little Sophie cried, stomping her feet as she pulled at her brother's arm. Jaimie sighed as he held her small, cotton-covered hand tighter.

"No duh, squirt," Jaimie said, unamused as he scanned the snowy suburban landscape one more time for the school bus. According to his watch, it was 7:25 AM, and the bus should have been there at least 5 minutes ago. They were going to be late, again…

"I thought you loved the snow, Soph?" Jack asked as he crouched down next to the girl, tossing and catching a newly made snowball in the air repeatedly. Sophie made a face and stuck out her tongue.

"Only when I can play," she responded, pulling on her scarf. Jaimie chuckled beside her.

"Yeah, below 10 degrees really loses its magic when you're waiting for the bus."

"Aw, you two are no fun," Jack said with a pout he wouldn't acknowledge, standing and chucking the snowball behind him. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "It isn't even that cold."

"Mhm, whatever you say, Frosty. Sorry the rest of us aren't made of ice," Jaimie said, jumping lightly from foot to foot. His sister soon followed his example.

"Where is that stupid bus?"

Jack blew a raspberry. "Snow is fun at any temp, you just gotta know how to—uh oh."

The teenager halted his rant, shifting his hands in his pockets before removing them and patting his front coat down.

"What happened?" Jaimie asked as he and Sophie stared at the teen, who was now digging in his backpack.

"I think…Oh man, I left my necklace in the house," Jack groaned before swinging his bag back on his shoulders. He stood for a moment, gauging his time to retrieve it, before spiriting back to the house.

"Jack!" Jaimie called after him. "The bus will be here in a minute! Leave it!"

"I'll be like ten seconds! Hold it!" Jack yelled back before running up the steps of the porch. Jaimie huffed and turn around, staring at nothing with a sour expression.

"I just don't get why he can't remember things tha—oof!" Jaimie's mumbles were cut short as a snowball hit him squarely in the back of the head, nearly knocking him over. He rubbed the sore spot before whirling around to the culprit.

"Jack Frost!"

"I'm sorry, couldn't resist!" Jack laughed, returning back the porch's steps. "I'll be back in like two seconds!"

"Just hurry up!" Jaimie shouted sourly after his retreating figure, ignoring the loud giggles coming from the small girl next to him.

Without much stealth or finesse, Jack entered the house, walking through the small foyer and thumping uncaring up the stairs to his room. He quickly grabbed the necklace off of the counter and made the move to run back down stairs and out the door. When he reached the bottom step he turned to scream a quick goodbye to Ann, but paused he noticed the back door opening. He was going to say something—something stupid, he remembers—when he notices the Ms. Bennett's face.

Two clear tracks of tears cupped her round face, her eyes swollen and red. She sniffed a bit, wiping her nose on a napkin she was carrying. From the angle he stood, Jack could easily see her but knew she couldn't see him, which is why he nearly jumped a hundred feet into the air when she spoke.

"I don't know what to do, Mom!"

Ann turned her back to the hidden teenager, revealing the cell phone she held to her ear. On the other end, Jack could vague make out the muffle sounds of another woman talking back.

She walked into the kitchen and then into the living room, gone from his view and suddenly prompting Jack to decide about his impromptu spying. He knew he should just turn around and walk out the door, close it quietly and return to the bus stop. Whatever Ms. Bennett was upset about, it wasn't any of his business. Besides, he should be respecting her privacy.

"I'm almost out! He isn't going to give us anymore!"

But…

Jack crept closer to the archway that separated the living room and the foyer, hiding behind the wall and watching Ann began to pace back and forward, getting more hysterical.

"He says he'll take me to court if I ask for another loan!" She suddenly paused, with the faint mumbles on the other line.

"I can't afford this house on my own, Mom!" Pause, this one longer than the last.

"He tell them I'm being negligent with the kids, but he's the one—!" Pause.

"Well what am I going to do? I can't ask Jack to leave, I don't even want him to! We love him here…"

(This made Jack's heart flutter with a familiar feeling. He was wanted, despite newly discovered circumstances)

"I told you, they aren't going to hired me back! And I tried the supermarket! I just-I can't keep going on like this!"

By this point, Ms. Bennett was openly sobbing, barely making pass a couple of words before the rest were caught in her throat. Jack continued to stand in the shadows of the arch, pass the point of uncomfortable and unsure what to do.

"Jack and Jaimie are sharing a room and I had to convert half of Sophie's space into a storage room. Mom, they love it here and I can't…I just can't."

Ann's knees buckled and she fell to the couch, wiping her eyes her sleeve and forgoing the forgotten napkin. Jack heard quiet on the other line before another soft mumble. Ms. Bennett gave a pitiful chuckle.

"Mom, we can't live with you, there isn't enough space. Plus Bill would hate all these kids in the house, you know that."

It was then Jack decided he had heard enough. As quietly as he could, he turned to make his wait out the door, but failed to sidestep the small table near the door. With a grunt and a nearly broken ficus pot, he alerted Ms. Bennett of his presence.

The quiet sobbing stilled before a hesitant "Hello?" rang out.

"It's me, Ann," Jack said, sighing as he returned to the archway and finally putting himself in view of the woman. He shoved his hand in his pockets, dark blue eyes looking everywhere but the crying woman in front of him as he sheepishly answered her unvoiced question. "I…I left my necklace upstairs. Came back to get it."

Ann stared at Jack for a beat longer than he was comfortable with before she cleared her throat. The mumbles on the phone got a bit louder then.

"Mom, I'm going to call you back," she said before hanging up her cell, placing it beside her. She stood then, looking at the floor as she wiped her face.

"You heard most of that, I guess," Ann stated, nearly inaudible, and the teen felt his hair stand on end. The blood rushing to his head was so loud he was surprised she didn't notice it.

"Y-yeah, sorry…Ms. Bennett, look, if you need anything, you know I-"

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin when the woman rushed forward, wrapping him in a tight embrace.

"Oh Jack, I'm so sorry about this morning," Ms. Bennett said, her voice watery and breaking again. "I've been so tired and so, so stressed, and I took it out on you and I shouldn't have. I'm so embarrassed."

Jack stood there frozen, unsure what to do. His limbs hung uselessly by his side, and in his stuttering mind he vaguely wondered if this was the reason for the feelings he had earlier. By time his brain finally begun functioning properly again and his hands began to move to her back, Ann had moved away, her back to him as she searched for her napkin.

He watched her as she searched, her sniffles filling the air, and reached out for her. A part of him hoped that, maybe if he hugged her properly, her tears and fears and problems would all just disappear and they could stay in this house and be one happy family and not worry, because they was everything he had now and—

"It's okay, Ann. It's-I'm sorry," he said instead, retracting his arms and squeezing his left gloved hand with his right. Why was he apologizing? He just…felt it was best to say sorry now, to do anything that might fix this and keep his new family his new family intact.

Ann was smiling when she finally turned around, big and bright and heartbreaking. She opened her mouth to say something, but the breaking of a large vehicle outside and her eldest child's shout stole her chance.

"Jack! Hurry up! Now!"

The teen blinked and like that, the surreal spell was broken, and Jack suddenly fell like he was dragged back down to Earth face-first.

"I…uh, um," he stuttered out with a grimace, looking around and not focusing on anything. Should he stay and comfort Ms. Bennett? No, he should go, this wasn't his business. But she was crying. He can't leave her while she's crying—

"Jack."

Ann's voice cut through his thoughts like lights through a fog. He lifted his eyes to hers, face unsure. She simply shook her head in the way all mothers do—unbelieving and amused—before clasping Jacks shoulders and turning him around, gently pushing him towards the door.

Jack was already outside when Ms. Bennett spoke again, her voice already back to normal.

"Have a great day Jack. Try not to get into too much trouble today, yeah?" she said with a smile. Behind Jack, Jaimie yelled his name again.

"I will…I mean, I won't, um, you know."

Ann laughed, a bittersweet sound that danced in Jack's ears. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead once more before leaning towards his ear.

"Let me tell them, okay?" she whispered softly. "I appreciate you, Jack Overland-Frost."

Jack pulled away from her and nodded. He gave Ann a small smile and a soft "bye" before running back to the bus.

"Finally, geez!" Jaimie cried when the older teenager finally boarded the bus. Jack nodded to the driver—a small woman with short hair who grunted irritably in reply—before sitting in the seat across from the Bennett children. Thankfully, there were only two other students on the bus, so Jack was spared an unimpressed stare from everyone except Jaimie.

"What were even you doing? I called you like three times! Ms. Gilda almost left!" Jaimie lamented as doors shut and the bus took off. Sophie stared into Jack's face, noticing his blank expression.

"Jack?"

The teenager blinked, shaking his head and coming out of his daze. He smiling at the girl, who only looked back in confusion. At the lack of the sarcastic response, Jaimie realized the problem as well.

"Hey…I'm not mad. Whatever, I mean, you got here…Jack, you okay?"

"Jack, what did Mommy want?" Sophie asked. Jack bit his lips before smirked at the siblings, old glint of mischief hiding well the melancholy in his eyes.

"She just told us to have a great day."

Drama-bomb!

Please let me know what you think! I appreciate the feedback/critiques. And I promise the next chapter will definitely not take as long.

Thanks!

-ATWGB