"Jack!" Arrow beamed at him. Her hands were shaking and she nearly dropped her mug of apple cider. The winter guardian does not comprehend what is in front of his eyes. A few nights ago, he encountered a sweet young lady walking on a lonely sidewalk of Burgess in the middle of the night. Now, not only has the sweet young lady transferred into some sort of spirit, she was acknowledged as Cupid as well. Wait a minute...
Walking on the streets by herself fearlessly, almost unaffected by his cold wind, obligated to believe in him, but most of all her name is Arrow, as in the bow and arrow…
It all clicked together.
Nervously, Jack stepped towards the immortal, squinting at her like an unidentified object while she kept her focus on him. Her facial expressions changed from content to irritated. "I'm immortal get over it," she snapped.
"That's why you're obligated to believe in me, you're Cupid," Jack worded breathlessly just when another thought popped in his head, "Wait – where are your bow and arrows?"
"I –" Arrow seemed hesitant to answer, "it's in my room," she sighs.
The winter Guardian took no notice of her annoyance and continued rambling. "Wow, I always thought Cupid was a boy. Or a baby at least," he chuckled. "You could have just told me who you were, but noo, 'I'm so mysterious, I let everyone believe my name is Arrow-'"
"That's because my name is Arrow!" She snapped. Half the room turned their heads, including Sandman. Christmas Eve is supposed to be a time of fun and joy! But these two spirits were ruining it. Sandy gestured at them to banter in one of the guest bedrooms so no one would notice the negative air spreading across Santa's workshop, however of course, they don't see him. Well, Arrow did. She just did not bother to follow his instructions.
"Look, I work way too hard every winter for some delusional, young immortal girl to throw lies in my face. The solution to this is simple: Just admit you're the symbol of Valentine!"
Her eyebrows drooped with pity. "Jack, I must not tell lies. I really, am not Cupid."
The young spirit glared at her. "If you're not Cupid, then who are you?"
Green-eyed blondie's look of pity disappeared immediately as she throws her arms up in frustration. "Have you not been listening the whole time?" She groans. "My name is Arrow. I don't like when people call me Cupid because I am Arrow. I'm working as Cupid, but at the end of the day, I identify myself as Arrow."
Gripping onto his staff for support, Jack leaned forward frowning. "I'm gonna need you to elaborate on that."
The blonde bombshell inhaled a deep breath as if she was about to explain herself, then took it back and folded her arms. She uncrossed her arms and let another groan escape. "Can we talk about this later? After the party's finished? I haven't been to North's since the last holidays and would like to interrogate the leprechaun for my constant bad luck." Without even given a response she sipped her apple cider and stormed off.
"Whatever," Jack shrugged it off and froze an elf before he introduced himself to other protectors of the Earth and reunited with Tooth.
"You've got to give Arrow some space Jack, she protects herself with a witty demeanor because of reasons," Tooth mentioned.
But Jack couldn't get his mind off of Arrow. The immortal was hiding something from him that everybody else seemed to be in the know of. The white-haired boy sat glumly on one of North's staircases with one knee up, perched his staff on the floor and became – once again – invisible in the crowd of spirits.
It seemed like eternity before eleven 'o'clock struck and the invitees bid their farewells while ones who stayed wished others a good-night. Unlike the rest, the winter Guardian slipped in between anyone who was blocking his pathway. He needed to find Arrow – or Cupid's – bedroom.
From a pedestrian's perspective, all the doors were equally the same. That is, you could only tell whose room is whose by reading the labels. Turns out the guest bedroom floors were divided by seasons, and it took Jack four seasons to realize the pattern.
One of the doors the young boy found on the winter level labeled "Cupid". "& Arrow" was messily carved underneath the label. Must have been the work of the Yetis, Jack thought to himself, this must be her room. The door was not fully closed; she must have been expecting him. Gentle enough not to wake anyone else up, he rapped on the mahogany and awaited permission to enter.
"Come in," a muffled voice from behind said. Jack silently slipped through the gap left open and twisted the doorknob back into the dent. Arrow was not wearing the white dress she wore an hour ago, instead she changed into another set of white robes. She did not acknowledge the Guardian of Fun and continued staring out the window since he walked in, so the winter spirit assumed this meant to make himself feel at home. Without making a single noise, he tiptoed to the edge of her bed, careful not to step on any creaky floorboard.
Once he smoothened the bedspread and sat down, one did not wait for further instructions. "Care to explain this whole Cupid/Arrow dilemma now?"
Cupid/Arrow crinkled her nose. "You're not one for small talk, are you?"
"I – I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put it like that –" Jack began to stammer but the girl interrupted him mid-sentence.
"Me neither." This time she looked at him while saying it. "I mean, I don't like small talk either."
They watched each other for a few moments, mentally exchanging apologies plus a feigned smile.
"Anways, let me begin."