It was past midnight before the spirit showed up in Skyla's room. The first thing he did after putting down his staff was hold up the note and read "'we need to talk'? Yeah, we do"
"..." Turning to the night-stand and flicking on the lamp there, Skyla sat up in bed. Waiting for him to say something, she stared at him. Playing with her hair she finally started instead, "So, tonight's topic? Any suggestions?"
"You have a topic, I think. Let's start with that."
"The Guardians, then" she decided, remembering the things she'd gone over in her mind. Questions, answers, key words. It was all coming back to her bit by bit.
"Didn't Lauren tell you about them?" he shook his head, "Ask her."
"I need you to tell me something I doubt she knows. I need to know what you've told them about your relationship with Lauren."
Jack's face lost all expression as he stilled, "What makes you think I've told them anything."
"I know you've told at least Bunnymund." she told him, standing up, "I heard you talking one night. In the park. Seriously, what the hell were you saying to him?" she advanced a couple of steps, keeping her eyes locked on his.
"I didn't say anything to him. He doesn't-"
"Don't lie to me, Frost!" she shouted, frustration coming back to her, "I heard you! What you said to Bunnymund, and after, what you said to the Moon! What did you mean by all of that?!"
Stepping back and putting up his hands, Jack smiled, "Woah, there. Calm down, Sky. I didn't know your dreams were so vivid"
"I don't dream." she moved another step closer, "And I definitely wouldn't dream about that. Please," she forcefully calmed herself, "just tell me."
"It isn't what you think." he started, "Whatever you heard, it was nothing."
Skyla, completely unconvinced, closed more distance and put her hands on his shoulders ignoring the chill radiating from him and making him look her in the eyes.
"Okay, maybe it was something," he said softly, "The kangaroo knows more than the others. Or, he should, if he's listened to me and not told them about my... concerns."
"Why haven't you told me? I thought we were in this together?" she asked, a frown across her face.
Moving her hands from his shoulders, Jack held them at his side, "You've helped enough, Sky."
"I told you I would help you to the very end. No matter what. That involves keeping me in the loop, got it? So keep talking, I want to know more."
"...Are you sure?"
She nodded, and he lead her to sit on the bed as he paced around. 'There's that thinking face again.' she thought, gripping the edge of the bed. It's what she wanted, but now that she saw how much thought the spirit had to put into it; she was getting worried.
"It's true I came back for Lauren. It's true that I love her" he started, "It's also true that something else is going on. You already helped about as much as you possibly can, so I won't ask any more of you. If you can just trust me, then that's all I need. Lauren is in no danger; I promise you. Nothing is going to happen to her. The only one who is in trouble is Me."
Slowing his pacing, he looked over at Skyla to see her reaction. She didn't have one. Not for several moments before it sunk in and her confusion stretched across her face. "You're... in trouble? Delinquent trouble or..?"
Jack shook his head, "The other kind. The kind that, if it gets any worse, I'll leave right away. I'm not putting either of you in any danger."
"So, this trouble... It involves Lauren?"
His steady pacing continued, "Yeah. Well, maybe. It's gotten complicated."
Skyla nodded, "That's why you told Bunnymund-"
"Yes. That's all I can tell you. For now," he added before Sky could argue, "So can we move onto another topic. Maybe something about you?" he asked, moving to the window and looking outside.
"What did you have in mind?" Playing with her hair she thought to herself 'this won't end well, will it?'
"That guy you're dating. It's official now, so I hear"
"...Yeah."
"Hmm. Sorry I freaked you out yesterday. You know I get protective. Are you sure he's worth it?" he shook his head, "Never mind. Oh, and," reaching into his sweater pouch he pulled out the bracelet and looked at it, "This should be okay now. You know what it is?" he asked, turning back to her.
Shaking her head, Skyla smiled, "Really cold?"
Jack smiled back, "It's connected to me. In a really weird way. That's why it got so cold. Again, sorry."
Standing up and walking over to him, she took the bracelet and turned it over a couple of times, "It will only give me frostbite when you're having an emotion, right?"
"A strong one, yes. I didn't know it would react like that, but now I know better than to direct my-" he hesitated, "My emotions towards you. Especially while you're wearing it."
Slipping it around her wrist, Skyla admired the design like she had the first time 'connected to him, huh?'
"Still like it?" he asked.
"Of course" she replied, looking up and into his blue eyes, "If it's connected to you, and can sort of feel your emotions, then does that mean you can feel mine too?"
Reaching for her wrist, he examined the bracelet; thinking face on. "I don't know. Maybe we should try it out? Try having a really strong emotion."
'Try?' she thought to herself, 'I'll do more than try. I have enough emotion stored up to drown in'
Stepping back, she fidgeted with the bracelet for a moment trying to decide what to focus on. With a full spectrum of emotions and some plot in most of them, it was a very difficult decision.
"Okay, here I go" she finally said. First, she just stood there; watching Jack to see if anything changed. After a few moments, he just shrugged. Amping it up a little, Skyla closed her eyes and concentrated on something she'd buried deep down for so long. The helpless fear that used to gnaw at her every moment.
She directed it towards him, like she was trying to tell him everything she'd ever feared. Then she didn't need to concentrate at all. It came flowing back all on its own, and she let it. It was a familiar feeling, no matter how she dreaded it. And she let it go. Seconds, then minutes, passed. "Skyla" She heard her name called distantly.
When frozen arms wrapped around her, she snapped back. Pushing her fears back like she'd practised a thousand times over, Skyla smiled, "Did it work?"
"Idiot. You're such an idiot." he told her, tightening his grip, "It worked. I felt your fear. Skyla, if I ever feel something like that from you again- I don't know what I'll do."
"...What was it like?"
"It started with a spark. Then it was like being sucked into a nightmare. Believe me; I know what that's like. I'll notice your stronger emotions, Sky. If you try to throw something like that at me again, it can only be in an emergency. Got it?"
Nodding against him, she hugged him tighter, "Sorry."
"If you're okay; it doesn't matter. Are you?"
"Yeah." she said after a moment, "I'm okay. I can control it"
"Promise?"
"Yes. I promise."
He let go of her, slowly, and looked her in the eyes, "So I probably shouldn't get one of those for Lauren"
Skyla laughed, pushing him away slightly, "She would probably handle it differently."
Grinning, Jack once again lead her over to the bed, "You should get some sleep, Sky. I didn't mean to keep you up this late."
She nodded, climbing under the covers, "I have a shift tomorrow. I'm singing, if you wanted to come."
His blue eyes lit up, "I'll be there! Might show up early, if that's okay? I mean, unless Lauren-"
"Yeah, yeah" she cut him off, "Whenever."
"...Are you sure you're okay?"
"Mhm. Definitely."
"I guess I should go then" he said, turning away.
"wait" she grabbed his arm, keeping him there. "Oh" letting go, Skyla looked away, embarrassed, "Sorry. I, umm... Don't want you to go. But I know that's crazy," she quickly added, "Never mind."
"I'll stay if you want me to, Skyla. You can ask me to."
'Dammit. I should never have let those stupid fears out. I am an idiot.'
She heard him move away and turned back, shocked. Then she saw him sit on the floor and relaxed. "Want a pillow or anything? I don't know how comfortable the floor is for you"
"This is fine. Get some sleep. Are you leaving the lamp on?"
"Mind turning it off after I fall asleep? Sorry to be so high maintenance-"
"It's fine. Do you need anything else?"
"..." thinking for a moment, Skyla joked, "Tell me a bedtime story?"
"Only if it can be one about me" he laughed, and Sky grinned.
"What better story than one about the great Jack Frost?"
The spirit dove right into a story he must have told a thousand times and Skyla paid as much attention as she could before slowly drifting off to sleep.
Another dreamless sleep, as she was thankful for.
When she woke up, as early as she usually did despite the late night, Sky first saw that Jack had actually stayed the night. "Good morning, Frost" she said to him, grinning.
"Morning, Nolastname" he mocked from the same place on the floor.
"I told you; it's just Skyla. Your attempt at humour is cute, but call me by my actual name, would you?"
"hypocrite." he murmured
Crawling out of bed she told him, "Sorry to make you spend your night in here. Didn't really think it through, I guess."
"You're welcome, Sky" he replied, standing up. "Can I ask something? About what happened?"
Skyla looked at him curiously before her phone made that popping noise and she got a text.
"You should probably answer that," he told her, "This early in the morning, it has to be important"
"Is that sarcasm?"
"Only a little"
Smiling, she picked her phone up from the night-stand. As she thought, it was Brandon.
{Good Morning, Angel. Big show tonight!'
'You're going to make me nervous.}
Sitting up, Skyla finally rubbed the rest of the sleep from her eyes, "It's Brandon" she told the spirit and he nodded.
{If you faint, I'll catch you'
{Just kidding. You'll do great. I know you will'
'You're so sweet}
{Only to you'
"Skyla, you're blushing. Isn't it too early for that?" Jack asked. His back was turned while he was grabbing his staff from beside the window.
"It's never too early to be happy." she replied, sending another text to Brandon and telling him she'd text him later.
"You got me there. I better get going"
"Wait, what were you going to ask me?"
"It's not important. See you later, Skyla" he said and opened the window, jumping out as a gust of wind came to pick him up.
"..." she moved over to the window to close it, and noticed the slight chill from the bracelet she hadn't taken off, "It was important, wasn't it?"
After that, her day was mostly plain. Lauren had an event to go to that day to support one of her friends, and Jack didn't come back. The only company she had was the occasional text from Brandon. Even those slowed down and eventually stopped as he got busier at work.
Skyla caught up on her favorite shows, went on a long walk, and did what she could to pass the time before she had to go to work.
She went over the conversation she had with Jack Frost over and over. She wondered if there was another way it should have been handled or if they would ever have a normal conversation away from the circumstances surrounding them. They'd managed it shortly a couple of times, and Skyla hoped they could again.
While she hadn't asked all the questions she meant to; she found out what she needed to know. 'He said he loves her. Whatever way he meant it, he still meant it. And Lauren is not in danger. He promised.
'The only reason he's told the other Guardians is because he's in trouble for whatever reason, right? He doesn't think Lauren is really involved in that. Maybe...'
Trying to connect the dots, Skyla eventually made her way to the Nephilim. It was work as usual for a while. She'd tried to pay attention to the bracelet. Having a connection to the spirit was both odd and comforting.
'Now that I think about it... has the connection been like that since he first gave it to me? Did he know the whole time what I was feeling? He said only when it's a strong enough emotion but...'
Daniel called in Jen eventually, to have someone to cover for Skyla while she was up on stage and such. Sky took the chance to do a quick sound check. Taking the signal from Daniel, she announced the specials.
Stalling for time, she made a few jokes. They were well received, and the mood lightened noticeably. When Brandon walked in, she quickly hopped over.
"Hey" she greeted him, "You actually showed."
"Of course." he told her, "I wouldn't miss it"
Shifting on her feet for a moment, Skyla looked up into his brown eyes and smiled, "Think Daniel would freak if I kissed you?"
"Probably." he smirked.
"Actually," Daniel walked up, "I would be pissed. What happened to just being friends?"
Skyla turned to look at the boss, and Brandon put an arm around her waist, "We were just friends. Then I asked for more. Sorry, Daniel, I've fallen for your angel."
Skyla blushed beside him and waited to see what Daniel would say. His face was expressionless and he was lost in thought.
"Skyla, it's your life. My warning still stands. If he hurts you; then it becomes my problem. No kissing in the Nephilim, got it? No one wants to see that; and especially not me."
Nodding, the two watched as he left before turning back to each other. Brandon spoke up first, "He really cares about you."
"Yeah. It's been like that since he first gave me the job. I was really pathetic back then; how could he not be nice to me? Now it's just... It's like he's my older brother or something."
"You? Pathetic?"
"Very." she confirmed, laughing softly. She guided him over to a table and grabbed him a drink, "Show's starting in a bit. I've gotta keep busy though so just sit here, okay?" he nodded and she looked around for a moment. Leaning down she quickly pecked him on the lips before rushing away.
Dressing up as 'Angel', Skyla left the ribbon with her purse. It was always a good luck charm, but she didn't want to wrap it around the bracelet in case she wouldn't notice if the chill came back. Having it anywhere else wouldn't work with her outfit.
When she made it onto the stage, Daniel introduced her. Looking around the small crowd, she saw Brandon close to the stage smiling up at her. A bit farther back, Jack and Lauren were watching her, too.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Angel. If it's alright with you, I'll be singing tonight. Please bring any requests to one of your servers. I will accept a couple of them." It was her usual greeting.
Starting out slowly, she tried to avoid dividing her attention between Brandon and the other two. 'Give the rest of the crowd some attention'
When a request from Lauren came to 'sing something for us' she hesitated. 'What could that possibly be?'
Going through a hundred songs per second in her mind, Skyla picked one seemingly at random. Selena Gomez had a few good songs. One of them was A Year Without Rain. 'Might as well' she thought.
Shining a smile towards Lauren to tell her it was her request, Skyla began the song. The two were standing at the back so Jack didn't have to worry about anyone walking through him. They had their own little world back there, and Skyla almost envied them. They were laughing and smiling; enjoying each others company. Both probably only half listening to Skyla's singing.
When at last the song was coming to a close, Skyla looked back to Brandon for a moment. All of his attention was on her. Blushing a bit, she glanced back at the two in the back. Lauren was entirely focused on Jack, but he was cheering for Sky.
Smiling, Lauren dragged his attention back to her and pulled him back down. Barely a moment later, she hooked her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his.
Looking away, Skyla backed away from the microphone slightly as the crowd cheered. She didn't notice them as her heart beat faster and she swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Th-thanks, everyone! I'm going to have to end my show here. Goodnight! Please come to the Nephilim again!" she said to the crowd and smiled, walking off the stage as calmly as she could.
In the back room, Skyla finally noticed the bracelet. Hanging her head in her hands she realized the spirit would notice something was wrong. Forcefully slowing her heartbeat back to normal, she quickly got changed behind the divider. Letting her hair hang loose, Skyla left the ribbon in her purse. She hoped no one would ask her about it.
'Especially not him', she thought, 'especially not when I don't even know what happened.'
The bracelet had a chill to it by then, and she wondered if it was only because he knew something was happening with her.
'Or maybe it senses those kinds of emotions, too. I really hope not'
Texting Daniel to say she was leaving, she rushed out of the back room and quickly made her way to the front door. Outside, Brandon caught up with her and offered to walk her home. Apologizing for leaving without a goodbye, Skyla accepted.
He did most of the talking, and Sky just listened. Occasionally agreeing or disagreeing with him, she held his hand most of the way. Something to keep her grounded so her thoughts couldn't completely carry her away.
At the door he asked her what was wrong but she quickly brushed it off saying she was tired. It wasn't really a lie. She was tired. Exhausted, really.
He kissed her and said goodnight. Telling her to text him in the morning, he said one last thing before leaving:
"Skyla, I know when something's wrong. I'm here when you need me; so call me tomorrow after you've had some time to think, okay? I- I do love you, Sky. Remember that."
NOTES:
Sorry
this update took forever
I hope the chapter is okay
Thanks for reading!
Review, review, review!
Love y'all *hearts*