Chapter 2

Jack found himself rolling his eyes at Kristoff as the man moved about with little to no enthusiasm. The two of them had been friends for years now, going back to when they were teenage boys and picking fights with girls they liked. He understood what Kristoff had been going through, but he had been going through it for the past three years and Jack felt that enough was finally enough.

Jack's life hadn't always been easy, especially after the death of his family. Losing them had been like losing a piece of himself that he knew he would never get back. He had mourned his loss for so many years and had lost who he was in his grief.

All alone and with no one to turn to, he was placed into foster care, which he immediately fled from after he realized the family that had taken him in was only in it for their own benefit.

After his escape, he took up residence in an old dilapidated shed in the woods behind his middle school.

His life seemed to be coming down around him as he continued to struggle through. He had taken up stealing and hustling just to make end's meat, and had been taken into custody several times. Each time he was released into the care of his moneygrubbing foster parents, and every time he escaped back to the shed that he now called home.

One freezing cold day, Kristoff had discovered what had been going on and that was, as they say, that. Jack was practically forced to live with Kristoff and his extended family and the anger and resentment he felt towards life slowly drained out of him until he could smile again.

Jack knew that he needed to encourage his friend to go on, but sometimes people needed a subtle push in the right direction.

Jack grinned to himself as he shot a nail into the wood less than an inch from Kristoff's hand.

"Watch it," the irate blond bristled, jerking his hand away as Jack shrugged noncommittally.

"Maybe you're the one that needs to watch it," Jack tossed back, smiling snidely at his best friend.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kristoff asked, his expression becoming dark and irritated.

"Nothing," Jack answered vaguely, continuing on in his task.

"Don't you have anything better to do than torment me?" Kristoff asked angrily as he arose from his kneeling position to pick a different spot on the roof that they were securing.

Jack glowered over at the blond, continuing on in his task before heading back down to ground level to peruse the blue prints of the humble dwelling that they were building. Construction work was easy enough and paid well for a man that barely made it through high school with passing grades; a tribute to his hard time getting over his anguish. Wiping his forearm across his forehead, Jack analyzed the drawing before him and nodded with a sense of satisfaction. They were ahead of schedule for once.

Taking a moment to breathe, Jack tried to think of some way to help his friend. After the death of his very serious girlfriend Anna he had retreaded back into a thick shell. The incident happened years ago, but he believed that the fact that the perpetrator had not yet been caught was what was eating at Kristoff so badly.

The air was beginning to cool down as night was approaching. Autumn had settled over the tiny little hamlet just outside the city and the leaves on the trees were taking on a myriad of gorgeous warm colors. Fall and winter were definitely something to behold outside of the hustle and bustle of the city and Jack found himself admiring his surroundings wistfully. It brought back memories of living out in the shed. Sure it had been cold during the season, but the cold had never really bothered him that much as long as he had his lucky hoodie.

Jack's expression became contemplative as he watched his friend work. He truly did understand the grief that he was going though, so it made getting him out of his funk that much more important to Jack. He wanted to somehow repay Kristoff for his kindness so many years ago.

"Hey Frost you got plans tonight?" came the gruff voice of one of the construction workers as he began to pack up his personal tools for the day.

Jack grinned at him as he called up to Kristoff, "I don't know. Hey honey do we have any plans tonight?!" he chuckled as he watched the blond bristle at his teasing.

"Bite me, Jack Frost!" Kristoff shot back.

"Looks like the answer is a 'no'," Jack chuckled, "why, what's up man?"

"Just wanted to see if y'all might be interested in meeting up at The North Pole tonight."

Jack raised an eyebrow at him, "The North Pole? Getting a little eager for Christmas this year?"

"No man it's a dance club!" the other guy laughed heartily.

"Oh, hey, that sounds like fun," his expression became excited as he called over to Kristoff again, "hey Kris wanna see some fine ass tonight?"

A derisive snort was all he got back for his question and Jack nodded at the man, "Oh yeah, we'll be there."

A/N: Sorry the chapter was so short, but it sets the next chapter up nicely which should be much longer. Pease review!