A/N: Agh, I should probably post this now I've already made so many revisions and I think it's about time you guys got an update and—whoa. Deep breaths. Calm down there, self. No run-on, panicky sentences for you. xD

Eh, I feel like this chapter's a little weird and/or kinda off. (._.) But even so, please enjoy! :D

Disclaimer (x2 because I forgot it last chapter): I do not own RotG.

Resemblances

.

Chapter Summary: Jack had never realized how similar Jamie looked to his little sister. It's only coincidence, right?

.

Foggy, blurry, fast-moving shapes
Suddenly solidifying into warm brown eyes
Long brown hair
A kind smile
An exuberant laugh—
One that calls his name.

Jack tilted his head as Mother Nature's words whispered in his ear through Wind, telling him what places needed snowstorms. And a grin spread across his face when he was told that the northeastern United States was due for a snow day or two . . .

"Wind, take me home!" Jack yelled, his grin still on his face as he bounced slightly on the electrical wires, frost beginning to coat them.

The winter spirit whooped loudly as he soared through the air, countless snowflakes along for the ride. The darkened sky quickly blended to a bright blue as Jack arrived on the East Coast, continuing upon his course. He flew over his pond, down the streets, and slowed, landing lightly on the steps in front of Burgess Middle School. He reached to tug on the handles of the door, but much to his annoyance—they were locked.

Jack's grin quickly faded into a frown. He then turned around and flew up, glancing quickly into each window, searching for Jamie. The windows were locked tight, and Jack's irritation was steadily growing. And not for the first time, he wished that he could phase through the glass like Baby Tooth. It was something that they could do so that they could enter a child's room more quietly and not wake them up.

And this was something that really irritated Jack. Spirits were only invisible/intangible to humans, not objects or animals. A locked door would keep him out, he could set off a car alarm . . . it annoyed him so much.

There was something strange about the human brain, Jack mused, twirling his staff absentmindedly. Maybe there was something in there that couldn't process the unexplainable, hence the reason why it was mostly children who comprehended the idea of belief.

As Jack tugged at each of the windows, frost began covering the handles, making him jerk his hand back. Once, he glimpsed Pippa and Cupcake sitting quietly in a classroom, probably taking a test, but no Jamie.

Maybe he's at lunch? Jack wondered, beginning to feel like giving up after his countless fruitless attempts to break into the school. He checked one last window just for the heck of it, and that was where he found his first believer.

The teacher was lecturing about some sciencey thing that Jack couldn't make any sense of, and Jamie looked as confused as Jack felt. The words were muffled and unclear, but as the teacher kept talking, a look of understanding began to grow on the younger boy's face.

The kids were all writing in their copybooks, taking notes, but then they began gathering everything together as the bell rang. Jamie looked like he was hanging back, and Jack hovered outside the window as the boy began talking to his teacher—probably about the lesson that he was just taught.

But after about two minutes, Jack started getting impatient, and so he rapped on the window, trying to get Jamie's attention. Both the teacher and Jamie turned to stare at where the noise came from, and the eleven-year-old's eyes widened considerably upon seeing the winter spirit floating there.

"Must've been a bird," the teacher said sympathetically, turning back to Jamie. "Poor thing. But off you go, James—you don't want to be late for lunch."

"Uh, yeah. Thanks," he replied uncertainly, glancing back every once in a while at the window. "See you tomorrow!"

The teacher left, and as soon as the door closed, and Jamie was the only one left in the room, he dropped his books and ran over to the window, pulling it open. "Jack?" he whispered urgently. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm joining my friend for the last few hours of school before a snow day cancels it tomorrow," Jack said simply, wriggling through the slim space between the window and the outdoors. "You know, stuff like that."

"Well, um, sure," Jamie floundered, clearly at a loss as what to do. "You can sit with me and the others during lunch. We'll just give you an extra spot on the bench, okay?"

"Okay!" Jack agreed cheerily, swinging his staff so that it rested on his shoulder. "Now lead the way . . . James."

"Jack!" Jamie protested, whacking him with his copybook.

Jack laughed.

Jamie gathered his books from his locker, mentally reciting his schedule for the afternoon. He had Social Studies, Math . . . his face then lit up when he realized what he had at the end of the day. He had Art.

"Uh, let's go, Jack," Jamie said as he turned to face the winter spirit, his lunchbox hanging from his arm as he adjusted the books in his hands. "The cafeteria's downstairs."

Jamie felt a little weird being shadowed by his somewhat invisible best friend, but he appreciated the fact that the Guardian decided to show up and visit . . . even if it was at school.

They made their way down the stairs and through the cafeteria doors. Jamie's eyes swept quickly around the room, searching for a familiar face. He then relaxed when he saw all of them sitting at the table next to the stage, waiting for him with curious looks upon their faces. The eleven-year-old then hurried over and sat down next to Pippa, who leaned over and whispered, "Um, Jamie, you know that Jack Frost is next to you, right?"

"Yeah, he showed up during science and made Mrs. Campbell think that he was a bird," he whispered back. "He says that there's gonna be a snow day."

"Cool," the girl said appreciatively.

The rest of lunch went by a little uneventfully, save for the shrieks of the third graders from across the room when they discovered that Jack Frost himself was in their school. Jamie found himself mobbed at the end of the period, and he grabbed Jack's arm to avoid being torn away from the group.

Jack had flown up to avoid being passed through by some of the other children, and since Jamie was still holding his hand, so he ended up floating a few inches off the ground . . . thank goodness for oblivious teachers.

The six friends then walked upstairs with everyone else to go to their next class, all too aware of their "invisible" friend trailing them.

"Jack, are you going to be following us all day?" Monty whispered, looking up at the boy.

"I think so," Jack replied, still casually floating above them. "I'm gonna be here for a few days to set down a few snowstorms, anyway, and I was bored, so I decided to come see you guys."

"It's gonna be fun, Monty," Jamie promised, looking at his blonde friend. "After all, Jack's the Guardian of it."

"If you say so, Jamie . . ." the bespectacled boy said uncertainly.

The next two classes passed by, for the most part, relatively smoothly. Jack was a perfect not-student, sitting quietly in the back and only occasionally walking up to the front of the room and making faces behind the teacher. Jamie and his friends were fighting the urge not to laugh whenever Jack did something like that, and apparently some other kids in the room saw Jack, too, given the barely-concealed grins on their faces.

Jamie was glad that his friend was gaining so many believers, plus the fact that he still always made time to see him whenever he wasn't busy with his Guardian duties or as the Spirit of Winter.

And pretty soon, it was time for Art—Jamie's favorite class. His teacher was this wonderful lady who supported everyone's artistic ability, and she always tried to help everyone improve.

Jamie had taken to sketching some scenes of the battle with Pitch that took place earlier this year, on the night of Easter, and now that Jack was actually here to be a model for his art, Jamie thought that everything would be much better.

"Okay, class," Ms. Jacobs said brightly, "since we've just finished that big project, I think it's about time that we do something fun! Choose something to draw—it can be an object, your hand, a person . . . the possibilities are endless! We're going to keep working on it for . . ."

Jamie quietly reached out for one of the bigger pencils and erasers in the middle of the table as Ms. Jacobs spoke. Art was a homeroom class, and the boy was thankful that all of his friends were in it, and that they could also understand exactly what it was that he was drawing. They were also allowed to choose their seats, so the six of them (plus Jack) had migrated over to their usual table when they arrived in the room.

"Hey, Jack," Jamie then said a little shyly, "do you mind if I draw your staff?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure," Jack said distractedly, reaching for the aged stick that had been propped against the edge of the table. "Oh, and do you think I can draw something, too?"

"I think so," Pippa said, flicking her pencil back and forth as she looked at her paper. "But won't it be a little weird to see a floating pencil in an empty seat?" Her brows furrowed. "What would it even look like to someone who can't see you?"

"I dunno, but it'd be the best thing ever!" Claude cheered, while his twin nodded vehemently in agreement.

"Just do whatever you want, Jack," Cupcake said, not glancing up as she sketched the rough outline of a horse.

"I will, then," Jack decided. "I have the most perfect idea."

The next forty or so minutes consisted of Jack working furiously on whatever it was that he was drawing, and Jamie penciling in details of Jack's staff on his paper. The staff had a pretty easy shape, and it only needed a few shadows here and there to make it look older and more realistic . . .

Jamie reached for a sky-blue colored pencil to draw some of the ice designs that curled in and around the staff, and as he did so, he caught a quick glance from Jack, who was across from him.

Before he started drawing, Jack had instructed that no one look at what he was doing, and so the six of them obediently kept their heads down, working diligently. Jamie was curious, but out of consideration for his friend, he kept his focus on his own drawing, deciding to ask about it later.

When the bell rang, signaling the end of the period and soon to be the end of the day, Jack quickly creased his paper and tucked it into his hoodie pocket, getting his staff off the table.

He waited patiently as Jamie and his friends packed up, and joined them as they walked out of the school.

"I'll see you later, guys," Jack said as they sat under a tree, the kids waiting for the bus. "I still have to lay down a few inches of snow around the area. I'll be back tomorrow to hang out with you guys—promise!"

Jack pushed himself off of the ground and was about to call Wind, but Jamie then suddenly stood up and hugged Jack tightly. "Bye, Jack," he whispered, fisting the blue fabric of the winter spirit's hoodie.

Jack's eyes had widened, surprised at the sudden contact. It was so reminiscent of that first hug, on the cool surface of Jack's pond, where he had been sworn in as a Guardian. But he smiled, turning around to face his first believer . . . his best friend. "See you, Jamie," Jack said softly, crouching down and hugging the child just as tightly.

Night was falling when Jack came back from making a storm a little down south of where Burgess was. Wind was sure to push it up the coast early tomorrow morning, making a clean, efficient snow day for the inhabitants of the town.

Jack landed on a tree branch that overlooked his pond and sat down, his legs swinging freely in the air. He hung the crook of his staff on the branch, then took out the piece of paper that he had worked on in Jamie's art class. He unfolded it, still struck by how much Jamie resembled her. It was the eyes and the quirk of their lips when they smiled. Jack was sure of it.

He had been drawing from memory, from the memory-dream that he had the night before. Jack smiled nostalgically, tracing the smiling face, the bright hazel eyes, the straight brown hair that he had an urge to sweep behind her ear . . .

Tears welled up in his eyes and he roughly wiped them away.

He missed his sister so much—and that dream only served to remind him of how far away she was. Jack didn't even know who she married, or if she even moved away from Burgess, so there was really no material object to remind him of her.

And so he drew her to the best of his abilities. As he stared at the pencil strokes that made up the face of his most precious person, he spoke. "H-hey, Em," he croaked, staring up at the sky. "I remembered some more last night. We were dancing in the town square, and you had the most beautiful smile on your face. You looked so pretty that I thought I would have to fend off the other boys with Papa's staff," he joked. "I had promised to myself the night you were born that I would protect you and keep you safe. And I know that I said I'd play so many tricks on any boy that tried to court you, but I really wish that I could've been there at your wedding, little lady. I would've been the loudest in the crowd."

Jack smoothed out the creases in the paper before continuing. "A snow day's due for this area tonight. I went to visit Jamie and his friends at their school, and I just realized how similar the two of you look. How strange would that be, to have my best friend be your great-great-great-whatever-grandson? But I guess that could be wishful thinking," he said, laughing softly.

He stood up, grabbing his staff and placing the drawing back into his hoodie pocket. "I'll tell you if I remember more, okay? I'll come back soon. Promise."

The next day, Jamie scrambled out of bed and peered out his window, pressing his hands on the cool surface. He gasped in wonder upon seeing drifts of fluffy, white snow blanketing the streets, houses, and trees, and a smile began to unconsciously grow on his face. And when he saw Jack making a snowman in the front yard, Jamie's grin widened, making him tap on the glass excitedly.

The winter spirit paused in his snowman-making, distracted by the sound. Jamie tapped on the glass again, and Jack turned to the source of the noise. A smile appeared on the winter spirit's face when their eyes locked, and Jamie waved at him, Jack waving back enthusiastically.

The boy soon blew out of his front door—not before being stopped by his mother with his green hat, of course—slowing to a stop in front of the Spirit of Winter.

"Hi, Jack," Jamie said breathlessly, looking up at him.

Jack smiled and reached down to adjust his hat. "Hey, kiddo."

Guest Responses:

Pippalina: Haha, you're welcome! I really loved that idea, too. And it is a little concerning how the other seasonals can't protect him anymore—I know that Flora's not too happy about that. I sort of implied that it was also part of the price, and I think it's really cool how Jack is the bridge between the two main types of spirits. I mean, he's Mother Nature's Lieutenant, plus a Guardian under the Man in the Moon. As for Autumn and Summer, I think that I have ones chosen for those roles, but I still have to do a little more searching/poking around to really be definite on the two. Any suggestions? And Flora's so great. She's like the older sister I never had (I'm the oldest, so I also kinda put myself in her position, with my little brother as the model for Jack when she got all fierce and protective, haha), and I'm imagining the other seasonals to be the same way too. No one messes with their family! Oh, and wow, this is really long, but you had a nice, long review which I loved reading, and so you get a long, detailed reply. :)

Regality: I was hoping that the ending would draw out a few laughs from a few of you, and it looks like I succeeded. Yayy! :D And a half-birthday is six months (so basically half the year) after your birthday. So for example, if Jamie turned twelve on September 15, he would be twelve-and-a-half on March 15. Hence the term "half-birthday." Does that make sense? Sorry if it doesn't. ^^; It's just something fun I thought I'd put in.

Crossover Junkie: Oh, well, happy day of birth to your niece! :D And thanks so much—glad to know you like them. :)

Angelicat2: Well, pi day is an annual thing. 3/14 is always pi day. It's just that math people were freaking out because 3/14/15 were the first few numbers that made it up. Hehehe . . . these are the first few looks in the random, insane mind that is mine. xD

Fandomcrazy: I enjoyed your snoopy dance. xD And I also like when the Guardians get called out for ignoring Jack's predicament for so long. It makes for such fun (or angsty, depending on the writer) writing. xP

Oh, goodness, so many reviews! I nearly cried tears of joy when I saw them all. You people are lovely. :3