"You should have been there North, Sandy! It was so damn hilarious!" Jack cackled as he scrubbed the dirt and grub off of the parlor's countertops.

"Oi, Frostbite! I told you to shut up about that already!" The Australian yelled, grabbing the nearest broom in an attempt to whack the brown-haired youth.

But Jack was too fast. Moving on from one surface to another, he continued cleaning as he dodged the grey-haired man's attacks. He looked over at his two friends, who were trying to restrain their laughter.

"Ah, yes! It sounds very funny! Very funny indeed!" North joined in, holding his stomach as his laughter echoed off the parlor's walls and beyond. He slapped Jack on the back.

The shop owner's eyes strayed to Sandy, who shot him a wicked smile. The stout, blonde-haired youth gave him a thumbs up as if to say, 'Good job.'

Jack's head nodded in agreement as he looked over at Bunny with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Bunny, could I see the broom please? I need to sweep over here," Jack explained as he gestured to the dirty floor beneath him.

The Australian eyed the brown-haired youth wearily as he handed him the object. Taking the broom out of Bunny's hands, Jack spoke, "We could use a little music in here."

The shop owner's lips curled into a smirk as he pulled out his phone and shifted through his music library. Finding the one song he was looking for, he restrained himself from laughing aloud as he pressed the play button.

Bunny's eyes widened in horror as he observed Jack in front of him. "Who am I?" the brown-haired individual called out, mocking the Australian for what he did only a day before.

Holding the broom to his lips like a microphone, Jack sang, "I came in like a wrecking ball! I never hit so hard in lo – "

Knock knock!

The quartet stopped what they were doing as they turned their heads to the source of the noise. Their eyes widened, cautiously looking over at the customer who stood on the other side of the parlor door.

It was… him.

The shop owner took slow and steady steps to the door as he took out the parlor's key and put it in the lock. Turning it, the door opened and the visitor was about to step inside until –

"How can I help you, sir?" Jack hissed vehemently, barring his pearly white teeth as he blocked the entrance. He enunciated sir, not wanting to pronounce the man's real name.

"Now, now, Jack. That's no way to treat a regular customer," the man in question tsked, his disapproval evident.

"And besides," the older gentleman added as his features twisted into a vicious smile, "it is ten-o-clock after all. Maggie Moo's is open for business." The black-haired man sneered, side-stepping Jack as he moved into the parlor.

"I'd like an espresso macchiato please," the older male hissed with the same amount of venom that Jack had shown him only moments before.

"Yes… Pitch," the shop owner muttered as he shot the gaunt individual a repulsive glare. He hated the man and his very existence, and he was not going to let his feelings of hatred and rage get swept under the rug. He was going to make his feelings known.

The shop owner walked to the back part of the establishment to prepare the order. Meanwhile, Bunny, North, and Sandy gathered around the tall character, scrutinizing him in every way they could.

Bunny ground his teeth together as he looked Pitch in the eye. "Why do you keep coming here?" the Australian spat, his brows furrowing together in anger. "Jack's made it very clear to you – he's never going to sell this place."

"Ah – I wouldn't be too sure of that," Pitch drawled as he licked his lips. He smirked. "I came by today to offer him the largest sum of money yet; three million," the black-haired individual snickered, confident that the twenty-year-old shop owner would take him up on his offer.

The person in question came back, holding the drink out to the older gentleman behind the counter.

"Here you go," Jack muttered scornfully, his eyes filled with hatred. "Now leave," he commanded, his hands clenching together with such force that his knuckles turned white.

"Not yet," Pitch responded, his lips curling into a vicious smile again. "You haven't heard the latest business proposition of mine."

"Leave. Now," the parlor owner barked, holding up his clenched hand. He was about ready to punch the older gentleman until North placed a large hand on his own as if to say, 'Don't.'

Restraining himself, the brown-haired youth put the hand back at his side. He sighed tiredly, "North. Bunny. Please escort Mr. Black outside."

Pitch shot Jack a revolting glare. "I can escort myself, gentlemen," he seethed, barring his ugly yellow teeth. Before leaving the building, his eyes strayed to Jack one last time.

"This is not the end, Jack. I will keep visiting this establishment until you accept my proposition. Good day, everyone." Pitch smirked, a plan beginning to hatch in the dark recesses of his mind.

He was going to buy the parlor one way or another.

xxx

"So you see class, homosexuality is not just something that is biologically ingrained, it is something that is also influenced by the environment as well," the professor droned on.

Tooth groaned inwardly and restrained herself from closing her eyes. Her sociology professor was just so… boring. It wasn't her fault that the professor made his students fall asleep during class.

She was studying to become a dentist, after all. She only took the class as part of her university's general education program.

Drumming her fingers on her desk, she looked back and forth between her cell phone and her professor, secretly hoping that Jack would text her. They had exchanged numbers with one another after their first date.

Her wish was granted – the phone vibrated and its screen flashed, showing that it had received a text message.

'Yes!' Tooth inwardly cheered, clutching her phone to her heart quickly before opening up the text.

Hey! The text message read. Do you want to go on a date Friday night? Text me as soon as you can, princess. – Jack

Tooth blushed as her eyes scanned the last remaining words of the message. Her heart beat erratically in her chest, wishing that it was already Friday.

She replied quickly. I'd love to! But I call the shots this time. I'm already planning the date in my head as we speak. I'll meet you outside of Maggie Moo's at six. – Tooth

The young woman's phone vibrated and flashed again. Sounds good! Just don't get too excited. – Jack

The ebony-haired youth smiled, looking forward to their date already.

Hi guys! Long time no see! (hides) Sorry for the short chapter. Inspiration didn't quite hit me like I wanted it to. It'll be interesting to see how/if Pitch tries to buy Jack's business, even when he keeps refusing each and every time.

I hope you enjoyed this installment, anyway! I'll try to write the next chapter soon. Maybe I'll get the next chapter out faster if I get more reviews. (winkwink)

And now, onto some Rainbow Snowcone goodness!

SO. For all of you lovely Rainbow Snowcone shippers, one of my fellow Tumblr users managed to find an interview with Isla Fisher, Chris Pine, and Peter Ramsey from 2012. The interview was taken during the week or the week before RoTG premiered, and it has some awesome info.

Here's a little except from the interview:

Interviewer: What does the future hold for the Guardians?
Isla Fisher: I'd like to think a sequel with a bit of love story between Jack Frost and the Tooth Fairy.

So it turns out that Isla Fisher (Tooth's voice actress) ships Rainbow Snowcone! That's awesome, don't you think? If you would like to see the interview (yes, it's legit), you can visit this link: www. youtube / watch?v= 4XKzpst9FsY

Be sure to scroll to 4:23 if you'd like to see that part of the interview that was mentioned above!

I also made a gifset with all of the official Rainbow Snowcone commentary from the DVD! It's definitely worth a look if you haven't seen it yet! Go here to check it out: believeintheguardians. tumblr / post / 74038575138

Don't forget the .com after the domain name!

Until next time, take care!

Sincerely,

beyondtheskies