Hi! It's Willowleaf the Jedi here with a new chappie... and a special guest star! Introducing: Jack Frost himself!

Jack: We're safe, right Willowleaf? I'm willing to stay out of the way of those fangirls... what they did to Leo Valdez was plain scary.

Me: *laughs good-naturedly* Yeah, this is a private place. It's just us, my laptop, and the Nowhere Boys on the TV.

Jack: *smirks* Nowhere Boys? Next obsession, am I right?

Me: Shut up Jack! Just... say something to the viewers, so we can get the story started.

Jack: Um... Stay in school... and eat your vegetables?

Me: Ugh. Remind me next time to get a smart guest star. Well, guys, just ENJOY!


Jay's POV:

Jay, I thought you would listen to me.

But I am!

I told you: Leave. Jack. Alone!

No!

How could I call you my daughter?


I woke up sweating.

This was the second time I had the same dream. My father was trying to back me out of befriending Jack. Which I really don't get, because Will told me he never even talks to his godly parent. In a situation like this, I wish I was Will.

But what I really don't get: Why I'm arguing with Helios. Maybe I should just leave Jack Frost alone. But why can't I?

His presence hits too close to home.

I mean, he's somebody I kind of grew up with! I believe he's real and everything! He reminds me too much of my childhood friends.

I change into my camp clothes, then turn on my phone. It's eight am, Sunday. A free day for me to do whatever I want. I step outside into the bright sunlight, searching for something to do. I walk towards the dining pavilion.

I meet Nico and Will there instantly. Nico smiles warmly at me. It's nice to see a smile on his face. Will seems to notice his smile, and soon we're all smiling. It's weird, how smiles can be so contagious between friends.

But Will's smile seemed to fade when he notices something behind me. I turned around, and of course, there was Ash, standing a few feet away. Will and Nico seemed to be at a silent war with Ash. I remembered Will and Leo telling me about how Ash was like Drew, but I didn't care. Ash was cool.

I waved a goodbye to Will and Nico and hopped over to Ash. "Hi!" I said, putting myself into my acting-self.

Jack's POV:

I was sneaking into the dining pavilion when I spotted Jay. With Ash. Again. I kind of hoped Jay wouldn't see me, so I flew up and watched the campers from a few metres above. Jay didn't notice, thank whoevers out there.

I can't hear Jay and Ash's conversation, and I don't want too. Jay's putting up an act, what's the point of eavesdropping on fake gossip or whatever? I just watch them. Jay reminds me of Jamie, for some reason. It's like I'm in the same room as the female, more reasonable, and older Jamie.

Nico's POV:

I never would have thought that Jay, the newest camper, would turn out to be one of my closest friends. But she is, and I love her.

She reminds me of Bianca. It's like seeing her again. It's like she's always been there. Like she never died.

I think the war against Gaea has changed me. All of the campers, actually. Any bonds that were forged before are now, well, almost indestructible. I've found myself opening up to Will and Jay. They turned out to be amazing people.

Last night, Jay had found me crying in the woods. When she asked me what was wrong, I'll admit: I lied. I was more worried about my crush on Will, then nightmares. but at first I was scared. But I trust Jay. She actually tries to find time to talk to me. I told her the truth.

The feelings that came afterwards were hard to explain. My heart had been hammering in my chest, hoping she'd understand. I was sending tiny little prayers to any god or goddess I thought could help.

They helped. Jay understands. She's happy for me.

Rethinking that moment, I want to cry again, even if Will is right in front of me. If Jay hadn't come to the camp, who would've been there to comfort me? I still might have been bottled up, insecure Nico di Angelo. The thing is, I don't want to be that person anymore.

These thoughts occupy my head as I eat at the dining pavilion. I spot Will, his sunshine-smile lighting up the Apollo table. I sit alone. Since Jay doesn't have a table, she's aloud to sit wherever she wants. She's sat with me, maybe once or twice, but she usually sits with Ash.

I try not to internally combust with anger.

Ash is popular. She has a lot of brothers and sisters to sit with. I always find myself wishing for Jay to sit with me when she chooses tables. My luck almost never holds.

I stare down at my food. A burnt waffle. Two grapes. I don't feel like eating.

Nico, get a grip, I thought to myself. She spent the evening talking to you and Will. She spent the night in the woods comforting you. She's just trying to keep the balance between Will and you, and Ash.

I still don't think I'll ever like Ash.

I take a few measly nibbles from my waffle. Then I pop the two grapes into my mouth.

That's all the nutrition I need for today.

I head out of the pavilion as calmly as possible.

Jay's POV:

Out of all the friends I've ever had, Nico and Gabby fight for first place for: person with the hardest to read emotions. Seriously. It's hard to read their emotions. Gabby seemed to have peer pressure problems though, so I guess the prize belongs to Nico.

I mean, I see Nico a lot. I can tell he tries to keep a blank expression. But when he breaks down, he really breaks down. The only real time I've seen Gabby break down was over multiplication tables in fourth grade. He had been extremely frustrated, and I could see his real emotions. He looked like he wanted to cry.

The only time I've seen Nico break down was last night, and he brought with him a flood of tears. It was definitely something compared to Gabby's battle with multiplication.

Maybe I should sit with him, I thought as I joined Ash and her siblings. He might want more guidance after last night. But there was this nagging voice in the back of my mind that sounded suspiciously familiar. It's Nico. He wants to be left alone.

I followed that voice, but after a while I started regretting doing so. Nico was sitting alone, while Ash, being the wet sponge she is, soaked up all the attention. I was going to go to Nico, but then I realized he had already left.

I couldn't help but feel guilty. Ash wasn't even really paying attention to me. I was treating Nico unfairly. Even though he trusted me to keep his secrets, I wasn't the perfect, ideal friend.

Guilty.

Looking back, I think that I should have listened to Will and Leo. Maybe they were my true friends. Maybe-

"Hey Jay!" called a chirpy voice from above.

Jack.

I glanced at Ash, trying to ignore Jack's icy breath as he breathed down my neck. "Um, I'm going to go now. Bye Ash!"

I headed out of the dining pavilion, Jack following after me. "What do you want Jack?" I asked; feeling a bit relieved from leaving the pavilion and escaping from Ash. He smiled. "It's next time now! I want to tell you the rest of my story!"

I tried for a smile. "Sure, I guess. Where?" I asked, not wanting to be seen talking to myself. Jack led me towards the archery arena. We both hopped onto the short wall. I sat down, watching Jack walk atop it like a person in the circus. "Where were we?" he asked calmly as snowflakes slowly fell to the ground.

"Um… We were talking about the other Guardians."

"Oh yeah. Well, there's me, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the Sandman."

"For some reason, it's hard for me to not believe. It all seems so real."

Jack jumped up excitedly, doing a back-flip in midair. "Exactly! You're a believer, someone who can see us Guardians because you believe! You're probably the oldest believer to ever live."

I smirked. "Do I get an award for that?"

Jack laughed. "Sadly, no." he sat down next to me. "Us Guardians… we're not just people, er, and animals who sit down and bribe children. Each of us has a centre- something that we have and that we protect in children."

"… What's yours?" I asked, wanting to hear more and more of the story.

"Fun. I protect the fun in children."

"How about the other Guardians? What do they protect?" I asked, emphasising 'they' so Jack wouldn't start talking about himself.

"Santa Claus protects all the wonder. Bunny protects hope. Tooth- memories. And of course, this one is kinda obvious, Sandman protects dreams."

I nodded. "It sounds amazing." I commented honestly. It really did seem amazing.

Jack grabbed my hands and pulled them into his freezing ones. I resisted the urge to sneeze in his face. "It is! And one day, if I can ever get out of this camp, maybe I can show you around Santa's workshop!"

I shook my hands out of his roughly. "Whoa Jack; let's not get ahead of ourselves. I really only had a friendly conversation with you yesterday." I stuck my hands under my armpits, suddenly understanding the meaning of frostbite actually hurting. I cocked my head to the side, suddenly remembering something. "Wait... why did you say 'if I can ever get out of this camp?' Are you… trapped here like Mr. D?"

Jack coughed, probably ignoring the fact that he had no idea who Mr. D was. "I kind of got… placed here. By the other Guardians and the Man in the Moon. He's just-"

"Don't ask me how, but I know who the Man in the Moon is. I think he's from some comic…"

"Well, OK. I was placed here by them, because they thought that I needed to 'find my fate.' I don't get what that means, and the other Guardians don't get it either." He pouted, looking awfully mopey. I never thought something could bother Jack that much. "The Man in the Moon won't tell us what's going on. It's the worst."

I rubbed my hands together, watching as a few snowflakes fell around us. Jack must really be sad. "Um… Jack, I guess it's OK. You have Baby Tooth with you… And… and me too."

What is wrong with me? From being kind to him, then angry, then awkward, now… kind again?

Jack glanced at me happily, opening up his arms to give me a hug. I shifted away from him. "Sorry, no hugs. Even friendship has its limits."

He wriggled his eyebrows, strangely reminding me of Leo, despite the fact that the two were complete opposites… sometimes. "So were just friends? Aw, c'mon. Everybody loves Jack Frost."

I groaned. "You know, I thought you'd be cooler, figuratively and literally. But flirting… Any guy who flirts can be labeled as a jerk."

Jack laughed, clutching his stomach and nearly falling off the wall. "I'm a jerk… I'm a total JERK!" His staff clattered to the ground, and soon I was laughing too. I don't really know why though. Maybe it was just the way he said it, as if he was proud of it.


Lunch time.

The time to regain friendship.

As the dining pavilion filled with campers, I tried to spot Nico. He was at his usual table (Duh!), alone. As always.

I grabbed my food and joined him at his table. He looked up from his plate (which contained… drumroll please… one grape), and I could tell he was trying to not act relived.

"So the odd friend is back. You know, sometimes you're like a wildcard. Sometimes you stick up for us, and sometimes you stick up for Ash. Why don't you just choose your friend group already?"

I tried to get the anger bubbling up in me to subside. "Nico, why can't I just hang out with both groups of people? Have you ever thought about that?"

More guilt.

Nico paused to look at the grape on his plate. "Maybe I shouldn't of told you what I told you last night." He muttered crossly, averting his eyes from mine. I could tell he was mad. I was mad too. Anger was suddenly becoming my worst enemy.

"Nico, why does everyone in this dang camp have a problem with my friendship choices?" My voice was getting louder and louder, but I couldn't care less. "You, Will, Leo, even Calypso! Even Ja-" I paused, trying to keep my sanity. "Why can't you just accept the fact that I want to be friends with Ash too?!"

Heads turned towards the Hades table, watching as me and Nico stood up and argued with each other. Nico's lips formed a hard scowl. "We can't accept it because we know it isn't you! Holy Hades Jay, you have your head in the clouds!" My face heated up, not wanting others to notice this. Luckily, the whole of the Aphrodite cabin was missing (maybe having before-lunch makeovers). But I could spot Will's face, a look of disapproval etched into his handsome features. I couldn't tell who the disapproval was for, but there was a 99 percent chance it was for me.

"You know, Nico, I want to be able to understand and talk to you guys, but now I'm wondering if YOU want to do the same!" My voice was at that point where it's high-pitched with anger.

Nico looked like he was going to say something, but I opened my mouth first. "You know, the only reason I came to sit with you was to apologize. But CLEARLY, you don't want any of it. Maybe I should just leave you alone forever. MAYBE, I'll just stick with Ash, who actually wants me to be her friend!"

That was when I realized I crossed a line. But my anger was far from subsiding. I grabbed the grape from his plate and threw it at his pale face, hitting him square in the nose. He flinched. I heard some campers giggle, while others booed and jeered. I glared at Nico, only just realizing what I had done. I could tell Will was trying to shoulder his way through the campers to get to us, but Nico and I just continued to glare at each other.

Just to bother the two of them, I ran off just before Will could catch up. I tried not to burst into tears as I ran into the woods.

Jack's POV:

I didn't see Jay after lunch. I wasn't entirely worried, because I knew Jay could handle herself, and that this was place was safe. Apparently, nothing could get in. Oh wait…

I needed something to keep me occupied, so I looked around for Lily. I remembered seeing her being carried into the Big House, and I haven't seen her since. I was feeling pretty guilty.

I slipped into the Big House as quietly as I could, even though half of me knew there was no point. I wandered around a bit, looking for a place that they might have placed Lily in. Like… an infirmary?

Found it.

I entered in to the infirmary. Suddenly I was feeling a bit scared. It was dark. It felt lifeless, but I could see Lily's sleeping form on one of the beds. The curtains were drawn closed, and again, more importantly, it seemed empty. It reminded me of Pitch's lair under the bed, where I had found all the little fairies and memories hidden underground.

I walked over to Lily's sleeping form. I stood over her, trying to tell if she was OK. The reasonable part of me was praying she wouldn't wake up, because this might look extremely creepy.

She took that exact moment to wake up. Lucky for me, she didn't wake up like Jay did, scaring the wits out of me. Her green eyes fluttered open, and we locked eyes. She looked ready to jump out if her skin; she was actually that startled. "Lily!" I exclaimed, relieved that she was awake. A huge weight was suddenly lifted from my shoulders.

She sat up, trying to catch her breath. "Jack Frost… Well you're a sight for sore eyes." She put two fingers to her wrist, as if she was checking for a pulse. "Do you remember what happened in the woods?" I asked softly, hoping that she had some explanation. But I don't think that one of the side-effects of old-age is getting possessed.

The nymph took in a deep breath, swinging her legs off the bed. "I… I remember falling. Then I was paralyzed, and I couldn't speak. I was scared, Jack! We're all in grave danger…"

Great. Grave danger. Just what I need.


Me: Was that cool, or was it just OK, or just... unthinkable? Tell me in the reviews!

Jack: You're too soft. Why don't you tell them something like... if you don't get at least... hey I don't know, two or more reviews, I won't be back, or there won't be anymore other guest stars!

Me: Um... OK. I guess. What he said. Guys, I guess it's time to say goodbye to Jack.

Jack: You're so pessimistic. After this, I think I'm going to try and force you into the snow.