Sophie's way of grieving was to listen to sad songs that reminded her of her friend.
"It's like cutting for her, right? It helps her to cope," Jack commented suddenly as they listened to the song play from Sophie's room.
Jamie shrugged helplessly. "Mom says it'll make things worse for Soph, but she doesn't listen." He thought about it and added quietly, "But, yeah, I guess it's better than cutting."
"What can we do to help?" There has to be some way, right?
"She won't listen to us," Jamie pointed out. "I've tried talking to her, but she just tells me to leave her alone."
"Maybe she'll listen to Bunny? Or Tooth?" The Guardian of Hope wasn't too busy yet, even if winter was almost over.
Jamie frowned. Only Jack knew about what had happened to Sophie's friend. Tooth knew something bad had happened, but she probably didn't know the details.
It wouldn't hurt to tell the Guardians, right? Then Jamie realized that Bunny would probably kill them if they kept something like this a secret. He nodded. "Okay. Let's go."
An hour later, Sophie was sitting in bed, wiping away more tears as another song played.
Sophie pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly as more tears fell. She wasn't really sure why she was listening to sad friendship songs over and over. She just felt...like she had to, for Charlie. Maybe it was a kind of punishment, for not talking to her as much as she should've.
Sophie suddenly realized that she didn't want to be alone for much longer.
There was a familiar thump and a soft, "Soph?"
Sophie looked up at the last Pooka, who looked concerned.
"You okay?"
Sophie stumbled off her bed with a sob and hugged Bunny tightly. He was caught off guard but hugged her back.
"I heard what happened. I'm - "
"Don't." Sophie began to cry again. "I don't wanna hear that yet."
Bunny understood, and Sophie knew he would. She had heard about his past through the other Guardians. Bunny would understand the grief she felt the same way Jack could understand how Jamie's suffering.
Bunny picked her up carefully, and she cried into his shoulder, clinging to her dad as the song played on.
Jack leaned against Sophie's locked door and reassured the older Bennet, "She'll be fine, Jamie. She's a strong kid."
Jamie nodded absently, not believing him.
For once, Jack felt like hitting his friend. Why won't you cheer up? She's fine now, see? She's gonna be okay. But Jack resisted the impulse.
Instead, he created a snowflake and held it carefully in his hand.
It was almost spring, which meant winter would be over soon. But that didn't mean Jack was going to leave Burgess quietly. He intended to leave the kids laughing and having fun, not sulking and depressed.
"Cheer up, Jamie," Jack told him, then released the snowflake. It wouldn't work on Sophie until she had moved on, but it would work to distract Jamie for a while.
"What - ?" Jamie blinked, then he shook his head. He tried to elbow his friend, but Jack laughed and dodged him.
"C'mon, Jamie, keep up!" Jack flew out into Jamie's room. But Jamie already knew Jack was going outside, so he ran downstairs to grab his jacket and shoes.
Sophie didn't hear the noise - she was sleeping. But Bunny heard them and rolled his eyes with a slight smile.
It was pretty obvious that Jamie was feeling helpless, and the Guardians were worried that he would start cutting again. But Jack was determined to make sure Jamie stayed strong.
Bunny laid the sleeping girl down and tucked her in. Jamie would be fine with Jack's help, he decided. It was Sophie who needed him now.
Jack was hiding in a tree near his lake, tapping his staff against the branches impatiently.
"Jack!" Jamie appeared and looked around. "Where are you?"
Jack made a snowball and threw it at Jamie before hiding in another tree. Jamie stumbled and spun around, trying to see where Jack had gone. He shook his head in amusement. "Coward!" he muttered under his breath, then raised his voice as he shouted, "This isn't fair, Jack!"
Jack landed silently behind Jamie and threw another snowball at him. Jamie yelped and turned around to glare at Jack, who grinned innocently.
"What's up?"
Jamie was brushing the snow off and threw a small handful at Jack. "You tell me. You're the one who dragged me out here."
Jack laughed. "You came out here on your own." Jamie threw more of the snow at him as he added, "You looked like you needed to relax."
Jamie rolled his eyes. "So you... What did you do?"
"I used some magic to make you have a little fun." Jack shrugged. "I've used it hundreds of times before, so don't worry."
Jamie took a deep breath. Well, it did help. And it wasn't too bad, I guess.
It occurred to Jack that Jamie might not like the idea of magic being used on him without permission. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, "If you're mad - "
"No, it's fine," Jamie told him calmly. "It's your job, right?"
Jack smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, it is."
They both looked at the darkening sky.
Jamie sighed. "Mom's gonna be home soon." As they started walking back to his house, Jamie suddenly declared, "I'll race you."
Jack smirked. "Okay."
"But you can't fly," Jamie said firmly, "and no tricks."
"What? Why can't I - ?"
"Go!" Jamie grinned and took off.
Jack stared at Jamie in shock before grinning and running after him. When he had caught up to his little brother, he yelled at him, "Cheater!" Jamie only laughed.
The two tied and laughed as they walked to Jamie's room.
Jamie checked on Sophie to make sure she was okay. Bunny was gone, and Sophie was sleeping. Jamie smiled and went back to his room, where Jack was looking at the sky with a frown.
"What happened?" Jamie asked him curiously.
"I don't know. Is Bunny still here?"
"No."
Jack groaned. "Great. I guess I have to go. Baby Tooth will stay here to watch over you two. Okay?"
"Where are you going?" The fairy from the other day landed on Jamie's shoulder, and he greeted her with a soft, "Hey."
Jack winked at them. "To Neverland."
Jamie snorted quietly. "That makes so much sense coming from you."
Jack laughed and stepped onto the windowsill. "I'm going to North's, but I'll be back soon. See ya later!" He jumped out of the window and flew away.
Jamie looked at Baby Tooth, who shrugged and chirped.
"I've already told him that I don't need a babysitter," he mumbled. Baby Tooth smiled and patted his shoulder.
~RotG~
Can you believe I almost put this thing on hiatus? And Bunny actually appeared! Whenever I try to write his accent, it comes out more Southern. :( So I tried to avoid that.
Thanks for being here for me, you guys, I really do appreciate it.
To Zorua Illusion - Thanks, and I'm hoping so.
To Heiwa no Hato - I'm glad it helped to make you more aware. I'm always trying to be nice to everyone 'cause you never know what they're going through. And this story made you cry? I'm sorry. But I'm glad the emotions get through.
To AngelXJackFrost - To be honest, I wanna cut, but then I've realized my friend wouldn't want that. So I've been using the markers whenever I get a chance. And it really does sum it up.
To Guest - I'm sorry about your feels and your heart. :)
To Jess - You're an awesome friend, and I know you're right. I remember that too. :) Thanks for being here, Jess, and I'm always here for you too. Don't forget that.
To smallvillephantom14 - Thanks for being here for me.
