.:03:.

"Can she see me?"

Jamie looked up from his video game and gave Jack a blank stare.

"Pardon?" He asked, clicking the pause button. Jack fidgeted a little and made some awkward hand gestures.

"Uh, Sophie… Can she see me?" He murmured softly.

Jamie's brows furrowed and he tilted his head as he thought about it. There was a stretch of silence, and Jack started to wish he hadn't asked.

"Not that I know of… I used to tell her about you all the time, but we kind of drifted apart the past few years. Why?" Jamie watched him with curiosity.

Jack looked everywhere but at his friend, scratched his head, then pulled his hood up and clasped his hands together nervously.

"Well, a couple of times I could have sworn she was looking at me. And not just towards me, right at me." Jack said softly.

Jamie sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I honestly don't know. Maybe she can, but she's in denial. Ya know? It can be rough, knowing that something is real when no one around you believes." His voice was gentle and reassuring and he spoke from years of experience.

Jack brought his knees up and hugged them to his chest, leaning back slightly on the edge of Jamie's bed. A frosty breath escaped his lips as he sighed heavily.

"Hey, if it bothers you that much, why don't you try talking to her?" Jamie suggested.

Jack glanced over at him and nodded slightly. "Maybe…" He mumbled.

"It's just, she's kind of old to believe… I guess I feel like I'm being selfish by wanting to have friends." He added quietly. Jamie frowned at his comment and leaned forward to push him. Jack nearly slipped off the bed before he caught himself.

"Tradition or not, you have the right to have friends. This isn't the dark ages, people have the right to believe in whatever they want to believe in. I know you think of me as an exception or whatever, but if you want to know her then go for it." He said sternly. Jack stared at him with wide eyes.

"Go talk to her." He said seriously, leaning closer to the winter spirit to accentuate his statement.

"But Jamie… What if she doesn't see me? What if I was just imagining things?" Jack was starting to feel flustered.

"Then make her see you. I know you're still lonely. Sure, you have the other Guardians to keep you company occasionally, but I'm betting they're usually too busy, right? It can't be healthy for me to be your only real source of intelligent conversation. Go see her. She went shopping with her friends, she's probably heading home now. Catch up to her and get this straightened out. You'll feel better no matter what happens. That's called closure." He flashed the young Guardian a smart-ass grin and Jack's face twisted in nervous uncertainty.

Jack slowly dragged himself to his feet, glancing out the window at the darkness. He tugged a little at his hood, picked up his staff, and turned to mimic tipping a hat to Jamie. Then he opened the window and stepped out into the cold night air. He tumbled down a few feet before the wind embraced him joyfully and tossed him up above the rooftops. Jack took over from there and glided purposefully over the street, heading toward the lights of the town. He only made it a couple of blocks before he started to lose his nerve and dove for the sidewalk. Flipping gracefully in the air, his feet touched down on the cold cement and he stood there for a moment debating with himself.

He gripped his staff tightly in both hands, worrying the wood a little as he started to pace. His feet started to take him toward the center of town where he knew most of the shops were. There was no reason for him to feel so flustered, but he couldn't seem to relax. She was just a girl, one he'd known for a long time. If she couldn't see him anymore he would understand, but at the same time he was scared to feel that sting of rejection.

There were several times when he stopped and considered flying off, maybe going to Bunny's Warren and wreaking some havoc to distract himself. Each time he got frustrated and slammed his staff against the nearest object, coating it in ice. Finally he gave up and hopped up onto a tree branch hanging low beside the sidewalk. He tapped his staff against the trunk angrily, watching his frost curl up and into the bark with each tap.

It didn't take long before he heard footsteps along the sidewalk. He ignored it at first, but couldn't help but glance down the street. His heart leaped unexpectedly when he saw her, and he quickly went back to staring at the tree trunk. He cursed himself internally, wondering how one teenage girl could make him feel so unsure of himself. As the footsteps drew closer he let his staff rest gently against a branch, his eyes finally drifting over to watch her walk by.

She took no notice of him, simply staring ahead at the sidewalk in front of her feet. A braid curled down from beneath her hood, though her jacket was unzipped. Her hands were shoved in her pockets and a small messenger bag shifted against her hip. Her jeans were tucked into fur-lined boots, and Jack felt a strange sensation of loneliness well up inside him as he watched her.

He opened his mouth to try and say something to her, but he couldn't find the right words and looked down again. He squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his head back against the branch, tightening his grip on his staff. Her footsteps got closer, then she was past him, and he felt like maybe he should go for a nice long flight after this. Then her footsteps stopped.

"Jack."

Her voice was so soft he was sure he hadn't really heard it, though his eyes snapped open just the same. He shifted slightly to bring her back into view, not even daring to hope. She had stopped just past the tree, still facing down the sidewalk. As he watched, her shoulders heaved and a fog of breath escaped her lips as she sighed.

"Why do you look so sad?" She asked, turning and gazing up into his eyes.

Jack was too shocked to even bother falling out of the tree. All he could do for several long moments was stare at her, his lips parted in disbelief as it finally sunk in. She could see him, after all. All this time, she had seen him and simply chose to ignore him because what teenager in their right mind would honestly believe in Jack Frost.

He forced himself to smile and act casual.

"Just, lonely I guess." He said quietly. Sophie gave him a small smile.

"Yea, everybody's gone home." She shifted a little and tilted her head as she watched him.

"Was Jamie busy tonight?" She asked curiously.

Jack wasn't sure what to say, so he nodded and slid down from the tree. He lingered there for a minute, not exactly sure what to do next. Sophie turned back toward her house, but kept her eyes on him. Now that her secret was out, Sophie didn't seem shy about looking at him. He could feel her gaze taking in his features, and he suddenly found himself feeling a bit self-conscious. A part of him wanted to ask her why she'd pretended he wasn't there for so long, but he was afraid of ruining what could otherwise be a decent evening.

"Wanna watch a movie?" She asked. Jack was shocked, and let out a choked laugh.

"A movie?" He repeated. Sophie nodded cheerfully.

"Yea, you look like you could use the company. I know I could." She flashed him a smile, and he shoved one hand in his pocket and hurried to her side.

"Sure, sounds good." He replied happily.

Sophie beamed at him and continued home with Jack by her side. He couldn't figure out why, but he felt like he might explode. He wanted to fly around the neighborhood and bring more snow to town, maybe bury it a bit. Something heavy had lifted off his chest, and as he stood by her side he almost felt like they'd never stopped being friends at all.

Neither of them spoke on the way to Sophie's house. Jack didn't know what to say, and Sophie seemed happy enough with his silent presence. A small smile lifted the corner of her mouth, and she gazed down at the sidewalk in front of them as they walked. They didn't have to walk especially far, and Sophie paused to smile at him as they reached the edge of the fence.

"I'm gonna check in with my mom real quick and I'll be up." She gestured toward her bedroom window, and Jack nodded a little awkwardly.

He watched her slip in the front door, then looked up at the window beside Sophie's. He caught a glimpse of Jamie in the window beside hers. He gave him a thumbs-up, and Jack grinned and shook his head. Jack moved forward and jumped up, landing lightly on the edge of Sophie's window sill. The window creaked a little from misuse as he climbed inside. It had changed a lot since the last time he had been there. Sophie's bed had been pushed against the right wall, and the left held a desk and a book case. A small tv sat near the foot of her bed on a night stand, and he recognized it as Jamie's old tv from before he bought his new one. Jack moved over to her desk and looked at some of the pictures she had pinned to her wall. Some of them were of Jamie, but most of them appeared to be artistic scenes from around town. A camera bag on the floor caught his eye, and he smiled to himself.

The door creaked a little as it opened, and Jack turned to see Sophie enter the room. She sighed and shrugged her jacket off, tossing it into the corner and offering Jack a tired smile. She adjusted her hair, kicked her boots off, and put her hands on her hips.

"So. Welcome to my room." She wrinkled her nose a little and grinned. "The spirit of winter is in my bedroom." She let out a soft giggle and Jack smiled warmly.

"Yea, crazy. Never thought I'd be in here again. I don't think I've even seen your room since you were itty bitty." Jack said softly. Sophie rolled her eyes and moved across the room. She pulled a box out from under her bed and glanced back at him.

"Any idea what you wanna watch?" She asked, gesturing to the box.

Jack took a moment to lean his staff against the wall, then crouched down beside her as she started to shuffle things around.

"VHS tapes, huh? Retro." Jack chuckled softly and Sophie smiled and gave him an incredulous look.

"This from the three hundred year old creep that stalks children and lives in a tree." She raised an eyebrow at him and he leaned back as if her comment had physically hurt him.

"Ouch. And I thought it was bad when people call me 'Old Man Winter'." He muttered. She punched his shoulder playfully.

"Anyway, I can get with the times. I have my own profile on Jamie's Xbox. My hunter on Borderlands is level 27." He said cheekily, as if it was a great accomplishment. Sophie gave him a flat look.

"I see you work hard at your job." Her voice was low and unamused, but she giggled at his rather hurt expression.

He dug into the box curiously, wondering where she'd even found most of the movies in her collection. Some of them were practically antiques. Jack picked one up and looked over at Sophie.

"How 'bout this one?" He asked.

"Sure, that's a classic." Sophie snatched it from his hand and leaned down to put it in the VHS player tucked under the edge of her bed.

She clicked 'play', then climbed up onto her bed and turned the tv on. Jack watched her, suddenly feeling a little awkward. She readjusted her pillows and blankets to make a seat for him, then patted the bed beside her.

"Quit being weird and sit by me." She said with a smile.

Jack grinned at his own hesitation, then carefully climbed onto the bed beside her. He wasn't sure what the movie was even about, he was too busy wondering how his night had turned into this. Sophie had been a little hesitant to speak to him, but it was like she had gotten tired of it. Maybe she'd been waiting, trying to find the right time to say something to him. He couldn't even remember what he'd wanted to say to her earlier that evening, he'd just wanted his friend back. Even if she was much older, and admittedly much prettier, than when he'd last spoken to her.

He spent a good hour lost in thought, barely watching the movie. Her presence was more comforting than he thought it would be, now that he was here. The more time he spent with her, the more relaxed he felt, almost like he was hanging out with Jamie. A soft sound from beside him caught his attention, and he looked over to see that Sophie had fallen asleep. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and he realized she was cold. Glancing down, he noticed tendrils of frost had slowly worked their way up her blankets and onto parts of her clothing. Cringing a little, he whispered an apology and climbed off the bed.

He made a mental note to keep better track of that, then kneeled on the bed to shift her into a more comfortable position. She was a heavy sleeper, and didn't even stir when he pulled her blanket out from under her. Pulling it up to her chin, he tucked it down around her, then found another blanket and tossed that on top for good measure. Taking a moment to shut off the tv, he turned and retrieved his staff before waving goodbye to Sophie's sleeping form. The window creaked softly as he slid out into the wind's welcoming embrace, and he was off soaring into the sky to find a place to sit and think. He needed to sort out the day's events.


A/N: Not thrilled with how this one turned out, but it's close enough I guess. It started out as two super short chapters, so I smashed them together and added some filler. I wanted to wait longer for them to meet up, but I got impatient... Anyway, he picked Jurassic Park. Yup. Dinosaurs.