I've been neglecting the other characters... So here's North!
~RotG~
"Jamie! Sophie!" North greeted the Bennets, who had arrived at the workshop through Sophie's emergency snow globe. When North noticed Sophie's heartbroken expression and Jamie's furious one, he asked them kindly, "What is wrong?"
"Our dad came home," Jamie nearly snapped while Sophie winced. "He was angry at us for being too loud, so we came here." Sophie's eyes filled with tears as her older brother went on furiously, "He's been in and out of our lives, and we hardly know him! And what's the first thing he tells us when he gets home?"
"Go hang out with your friends," Sophie mumbled quietly. "I can't deal with you right now."
Jamie shook his head angrily. "If he didn't want us around, he should've stayed away!"
North looked at the two, thinking carefully about the situation and his next words. "Work is stressful," he remarked calmly. "Family is much like work." He clapped his hand decisively and announced, "You need a break." He started to walk away, calling over his shoulder, "Look over here!"
Jamie shoved his hands into his pockets as he followed Sophie and North, falling behind. He had grabbed his markers before leaving the house, but he hadn't used them yet. He wanted to, needed to...
But he didn't want Sophie knowing that he needed to cut.
At North's place, it would be easy to get lost... Jamie slipped away and headed off into the opposite direction, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He wandered around on his own for a while before he finally found a quiet place to relax.
It was an empty room with a large window that took up most of one wall. He sat on the window seat and pulled the markers out of his pocket. He tugged up his sleeves and began writing absently on his skin. He was calming down, and after a while he kept drawing just out of boredom.
Nearly an hour went by, and North left Sophie with the yetis to look for her brother. He found the older Bennet drawing on his arms in a corner. As he moved closer, he began to see the scars on Jamie's wrists more clearly. He winced and shook his head. He had seen Jack's scars on more than one occasion, but he knew he would never get used to seeing them on any teen's wrists.
He glanced at the writing and was surprised to see "I believe in North" written in red marker. It was an odd feeling, knowing someone wanted to stop something as addictive as cutting because of you. He doubted he would get used to that feeling either.
Speaking of feelings...
"How are you feeling, Jamie?" North asked gently.
Jamie had been so absorbed into doodling on his arm that he jumped at the sound of North's voice, nearly dropping the markers. "North!" Jamie looked up at the older man and stood up, covering his arms again and putting the markers back into his pockets.
North smiled at Jamie's reaction, but he focused on what he thought might be on Jamie's mind. "It is fine if you are angry at your father, Jamie." He didn't add what he was thinking. Don't take it out on yourself. You haven't done anything wrong.
Jamie winced and lowered his head. "That obvious, huh?"
North nodded. "Very."
Jamie shook his head and looked out the window. "I can't stand him," he admitted, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I almost never see him, and when I do, we're fighting constantly. Mom and Soph hate it, but my dad - " Jamie bit his lip, glaring at his reflection. Why can't I be the kind of son he wants? "We don't have anything in common, and it's hard to talk to someone who thinks they're smarter and better than you." Jamie felt the urge to cut again, but he was too wrapped up in his rant to care. "He never listens to what I say, and all he ever says to me is that I'm not good enough, or he just wants me to be like him. But..." Jamie turned away from his reflection, sighing softly. He had tried to ignore the differences between himself and his father, but it was too hard to ignore that the man was the complete opposite of him. "But, North, I don't wanna be like him." He looked up at the Guardian of Wonder, who waited patiently for him to finish. "I just...I just wanna be myself. Does that make sense?"
North nodded.
Jamie kicked the ground. "Then why doesn't he understand that?"
"Sometimes people only see what they want to see," North replied calmly, "and they ignore everything else." He motioned to the snow outside. "What do you see?"
"A lot of snow?" Jamie glanced at North, confused. What does this have to do with anything?
"Ah, but Jack would see his own designs." Jamie looked back at the snow, surprised. He had forgotten that Jack designed the snowflakes. He listened intently as North went on. "Bunny would see a nuisance while Tooth would see the color teeth should be and Sandy would see a nice place to sleep. But none of them would notice that it was something Jack worked hard to make perfect."
"What do you see?" Jamie asked him curiously.
North smiled. "I see Christmas."
Jamie nodded slowly, understanding. "Okay, I get it. But...how do you make someone see things the way you do?"
"You can't."
"What?!" Jamie stared at North in disbelief. "But - there has to be some way, right?"
North shrugged as he replied calmly, "You could try, but it might not work."
Jamie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay. So how do I deal with my dad?"
"Depends," North began, but then Sophie's voice interrupted their conversation.
"Jamie! Look at this!"
Jamie didn't have time to protest as Sophie dragged him through the workshop. Several yetis had to move out of their way and made disapproving noises, but Jamie didn't notice as he began to relax and enjoyed spending time with his little sister, who was looking at everything with childish wonder.
Once the Bennets had tired themselves out, they found North again, and the three talked until it got late.
"Time to go, Soph," Jamie told her, standing up and stretching.
She shook her head, pouting. "I don't wanna go! You can't make me!" she cried, hiding behind North. North chuckled while Jamie rolled his eyes. "North, don't make me go!"
"Soph, don't be a drama queen!" Jamie scolded her, but he was smiling. She stuck her tongue out at him and giggled as she hid behind North, who was laughing at the Bennets. "C'mon, it's getting late. Mom will be home soon."
Sophie sighed heavily and dragged her feet as she walked over to him. "Fine." She yelped when Jamie picked her up and spun around with her. "Jamie! Put me down!" she giggled, then squealed when Jamie pretended to almost drop her. "Not like that!"
North and Jamie were laughing as the older Bennet let Sophie down. "Ready to go now?" Jamie asked her, trying to stop laughing.
She slapped his arm lightly. "Yeah, I guess so."
When Sophie had gone through the snow globe's portal, Jamie hesitated, then looked back at North. "Thanks for letting us come over, Dad!" he called over his shoulder and stepped through the portal before North could react.
Arriving in his room, Jamie found Sophie sitting on his bed and giggling quietly.
"Happy now?" Jamie asked Sophie, ruffling her hair.
She grinned up at him. "It took you long enough to admit it!"
"Admit what?"
"He's like a dad to you!"
Jamie couldn't deny that. "So? I need a decent father figure in my life." He paused, frowning and added, "And so do you."
Sophie huffed in annoyance and stated seriously, "I have a father figure!"
"Oh, yeah?" Jamie had a feeling he knew who it was when he asked, "Who?"
"Bunny, of course!"
Jamie smiled. "Of course!" he said teasingly. "The giant bunny who looks like a kangaroo."
Sophie grumbled under her breath. "You spend too much time with Jack." She sighed and stood up. "At least we both have someone to look up to." Her eyes flickered to the wall where their dad was sleeping on the other side. "He doesn't mean what he says, Jamie."
"Yeah, he does," Jamie said flatly, shrugging, "but I'm used to it."
"Then why do you keep fighting?" Sophie asked tentatively.
Jamie thought about it carefully. "Because...it's what's right," he finally said, looking at her. "I can't just let him push me around." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I have a few months until I turn eighteen. Just a few more months."
"You're gonna move out?" Sophie already knew. Jamie had been told several times to "just get out" by their dad, so it had probably been on his mind for a long time. Jamie nodded and Sophie nearly tackled him in a hug. "But I don't want you to go!"
"You make it sound like I'm never coming back." Jamie chuckled softly, but he hugged her back. "And we still have a few months."
Sophie began to cry as she blurted out suddenly, "I love you, Jamie." She felt her brother's arms tighten around her protectively. She hated how he was so protective of her when he had once wanted to destroy his own body because he was suffering.
"I love you too, Soph," Jamie replied softly, and Soph didn't doubt that he meant it.
~RotG~
Not sure if you saw it, FrostFan, but I started a new story (Underneath the Laughter) with your idea - the Guardians' reaction to Jack self-harming.
And this was gonna be posted on Father's Day, but then I found out I would be going to Corpus. So I decided to update today. :) I can't believe I'm already at nine chapters.
You guys are all awesome! Thanks to everyone who's favorited/following this story. :)
To Zorua Illusion - Some people really don't. You're welcome! I try my best. :)
To AngelXJackFrost - I'm glad this story could help you. And I really hope things start looking up for you.
To LaliwuvsanimeX3 - Yeah, it was. Thanks!
To Guest - Yeah, some people are. I don't either, but some people seem to find it funny. One of my friends used to write on a piece a paper "I cut myself..." and then would flip it over, and it would say "...a piece of pie."
To SnowFlower Frost - Thanks! And you're welcome!
To JayVinz - I know you! It always does that! I can never keep it too dark for too long, so it ends up fluffy. That's probably a good thing, though. And thanks! I care about you too! And all the people reading this story too.
Have a great week, y'all!
