I haven't read the books, so I'm going off of things that I've read randomly online and what I've seen from the movie, so I'm sorry if I get anything wrong.

~RotG~

Jack was flying to Burgess as the sun was setting when he first spotted the nightmares.

A large herd of nightmares were wandering around his lake and looking around themselves. A few of them were fighting or racing each other. It took Jack a moment to realize that the nightmares were bored and had probably been standing around there for hours.

It had been months since the last time Jack had seen any nightmares in the area. Pitch Black was never with them, but North had once told Jack that while Pitch was the Nightmare King, he wasn't always around to look after the nightmares who could "take care of themselves" when it came to tormenting children, teens and even adults.

I wonder if they're looking for me? Jack shook his head as he flew closer towards the nightmares. "Hey!"

Several nightmares looked up at Jack, surprised, then flew away. A few of them lingered, pawing at the ground impatiently. Some snorted and stared up at him before lazily wandering away from the lake in various directions.

Jack hesitated. I should go after them, he thought, biting his lip. He looked in the direction of the Bennet's house. But what about Jamie? I promised I'd be there before he got home.

Jack flew closer to the remaining nightmares, who instantly raced away. Only one remained.

The last of the nightmares looked at Jack, snorted and reared, kicking the air.

Jack landed on the lake's surface, which froze beneath his feet. He held his staff out, ready to defend himself if the nightmare attacked. "Are you challenging me?" he asked the nightmare, who screamed suddenly - and fled.

Jack made a quick decision and went after the nightmares instead of to Jamie's like he had promised. It was his job to protect children, and he knew Jamie would be okay for a few hours without him. If Jamie really needed someone to talk to, he could always go to Sophie or his mom.

Jack could only hope Jamie would understand.

As Jack chased the nightmares, Pitch watched with a smirk in the shadows before vanishing.

"Jack?" Jamie called out as he walked into his bedroom. Looking around, he realized that the window was unlocked but closed. There wasn't even a chill in the air; Jack wasn't there. He's supposed to be here, Jamie thought, disappointed. He promised.

Jamie had been having a rough day at work, and he didn't want to be alone. Sophie had sensed Jamie's mood and tried to stay home with him, but their mom had taken her to run errands, buy food and get whatever else they needed around the house.

They won't be back for another hour, Jamie thought, sighing. He opened the box North had given him and picked up the blue marker to stare at it for a moment. Where are you, Jack?

The window opened suddenly, and Jamie put the marker back. "Jack?" he called hopefully. When Jack didn't answer, Jamie began to worry. "This isn't funny!"

"Maybe not for you," Pitch replied, emerging from the shadows. Jamie spun around, startled. "But for me it's been very fun."

It took Jamie a moment to recognize Pitch. It had been years since the two had last seen each other, thanks to the Guardians.

"I don't understand," Jamie said, shaking his head. "Where's Jack?"

Pitch's grin revealed sharp teeth that made Jamie step back warily. "You should have stopped believing a long time ago, Jamie. But you didn't. Why is that?"

Jamie took a deep breath and recalled Jack's words from years before. They're just bad dreams, Jamie. "Where's Jack?" He froze when Pitch chuckled darkly. Something wasn't right. "He's supposed to be here. What did you do to him?"

"I haven't done anything," Pitch said calmly. "Jack, however, is halfway across the world. It looked like he was having fun to me. Like he'd forgotten all about you."

"No." Jamie narrowed his eyes at Pitch, who's grin widened. "No, Jack wouldn't forget - "

"No?" Pitch interrupted him, smiling. "Are you sure?" He chuckled again when Jamie hesitated. "Friends tend to forget things, Jamie. Right before they leave you."

"Shut up!" Jamie snapped, but his voice broke.

"You're afraid," Pitch stated casually, "afraid of losing your friends, your family, all of them. You're afraid that if they knew what you did to yourself - what you will do soon - that they would leave you."

"I stopped," Jamie said firmly, turning away from Pitch. He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head to clear it. "Jack, Tooth, Sandy, North, Bunny - they all helped me to stop."

"Because they owe you a debt."

Jamie spun around, confused. It took him a moment to speak. "...what debt?"

He's lying, there's no debt. The Guardians stopped me because they cared.

But Jamie couldn't ignore Pitch's words.

"The one they owe you for believing in them when no one else did. You were supposed to stop believing in them like all the other children that night." Jamie didn't have to ask what night Pitch was talking about; he remembered all of it clearly now. "But you didn't. You kept believing and even helped your friends to believe again. Now the Guardians are trying to pay you back. And once they have, they will forget about you, and you will forget about them. To them, it will be as if you never existed."

"You'd know how that feels, wouldn't you?" Jamie retorted, but then he felt guilty when he realized Jack knew that feeling, too.

A look of annoyance crossed Pitch's face, but Jamie didn't see it. Pitch regained his mask and went on with his act. "You still haven't stopped believing. And why not?"

Jamie didn't answer. But Pitch already knew the reason.

"Because you're afraid - terrified - that once you stop believing in the Guardians, you would be all alone. Abandoned by the ones you called your family. Isn't that right, Jamie?"

Jamie lowered his head for a moment, and Pitch smirked. But then Jamie raised his head again and said, slowly, "There's no debt." Pitch's smirk was replaced with a scowl. "Because we are a family. And that's never gonna change."

"Oh, really?" The Nightmare King gave Jamie a sympathetic look. "The Guardians couldn't even spare a moment for you before they found out about your self-harming. They didn't really care. Not until you needed their help. Then they all jumped at the chance to repay their debt to you."

"Stop!" Jamie's fists clenched at the reasoning in Pitch's words. "That isn't true!"

But the doubt in Jamie's voice was clear to Pitch, who smirked at the looks of confusion and helplessness on Jamie's face.

Until they realized how much Jamie was suffering, the Guardians hadn't noticed anything. They had all been too busy with their jobs/holidays for many visits until after finding out. Then the Guardians were taking time out of their work to spend with Jamie, listening to him and trying to help him out.

"Wouldn't I know more about the Guardians after dealing with them for centuries?" Pitch asked Jamie in a gentle voice.

Jamie's words were slow and held less certainty than before. "They do care. They cared enough to help me stop cutting."

Pitch looked out the window, frowning. Jamie followed his gaze but didn't see anything. Then Pitch vanished into the darkness, but his voice lingered in the air.

"They made you stop, Jamie. So the question for you is - why?"

Jack flew through Jamie's window just after Pitch's voice had faded. Jamie looked at him with wide, fearful eyes that broke Jack's heart. Jack took a step towards Jamie, but Jamie retreated away from him quickly, away from his friend. Jack stopped, confused.

"Where were you? Jack," Jamie's voice was shaky and sounded close to tears, "Pitch is right. He's completely right...about me. He's right."

"Jamie, it's okay," Jack said soothingly as he set his staff aside and took careful steps towards Jamie, like he did centuries ago when he was saving his sister from the lake. One misplaced step would break the ice between them holding Jamie up from falling into darkness - not the lake this time but a darkness just as dangerous. "Don't worry, okay? I'm here for you. We'll get through this together. I promise, Jamie. And I won't break this promise, okay?"

Jack held his hand out to Jamie, who watched him warily.

What in the world did Pitch tell him that makes him look so afraid? Jack decided that he would track Pitch down and kill him if he went near Jamie again. Then again, Jack thought, noticing that the look of fear still hadn't gone away, I might just do that anyway.

Jamie was shaking his head, but he took Jack's hand. Jack pulled his friend into a tight hug as Jamie began to cry. "I'm scared, Jack."

"I know, buddy."

I'm scared he was right about you too.

~RotG~

This one made me feel bad for Jamie. If it seemed like Jamie gave up too easily, my excuse is that we're both tired. Him from work, me from school.

My week's been okay so far, thanks to Jess taking me to see Iron Man 3 yesterday. :)

To Guest - Your review did help. I'm always worried about each chapter I post 'cause I'm always afraid no one will like them, and thanks for showing you cared.

To Spiral-Of-Fools - I'm glad you were able to stop, even if it's been just a little while. It really does suck, which is why I've been trying to quit. And it does mean a lot to me to know that I'm not alone, though it makes me a little sad. I'm mostly glad someone understands, you know? And the writing does help to take my mind off of other stuff. Thanks for being here for me...and for complimenting my story. This really does mean a lot to me.

To Zorua Illusion - I know that feeling, and thanks. I'm hoping things start to get better soon, too.

To Jess - If I haven't told you this yet, then I'll say it now. You're a great friend, and I'm grateful you've been here for me and that you care. And thanks for listening to me and reading this story. I love you too!

To FrostFan - Yeah, your review came up twice, but that's okay. It showed you cared enough to want it to get through, so I'm happy. ;) Thanks for caring and the compliments, and I'll remember that. And people really ignore your suggestions? I thought your idea was great. It actually helped this story to keep going instead of just staying a one-shot. So thanks for everything.

To smallvillephantom14 - Yeah, I've wanted to do that too, but if I did, people would flip out. I would tell my mom, but she's been going through a lot and I don't wanna be a burden to her. Once everything calms down a bit, I'll tell her. And my dad does have a temper, so I try to avoid him. He usually works at night and sleeps all day; I was just really unlucky that he was awake when I asked my mom for permission to share this account with Jess. Thanks for the advice, I'll keep it in mind. And I'm glad you liked this story, though I doubt it's one of the better ones... But thanks anyway. ;) And thanks for welcoming me to the fanfiction community, and you didn't cross a line or upset me at all. I'm glad you reviewed.

To - Thanks for all the compliments. I hope I get to meet you and all the other reviewers, too; you all sound like amazing people. I hope I can quit for good soon, and with all these awesome reviews I'm sure I'll be able to be happy again. Thank you so much.

Have a great week!