..

So sorry for the long wait! p_q

I am going through a big (but really exciting) transition in my life and had to put writing on the back burner.

But I am continuing this story, no worries there!

I think everyone is well-deserving of a good read.

Please enjoy xx

Meet the Spirit of Love

~B~

Grappling to pull myself out of Bunny's hole for what seemed like the hundredth time, I brushed the snow off of my winter coat and turned to head down the steps that led to the entrance to North's factory. Although, I was secretly thankful that Bunny had gotten the kinks out of his transportation process. I would rather take a little dirt and snow on my jacket than being flung out in the open at terminal velocity any day. Once the opening drew closer the tunnel would slope gradually, slowing my speed, until I had to crawl and pull myself out.

After walking inside, I greeted Borgis the Yeti and continued on into the hallway that led to the quarters North had constructed for myself and the other believers. It was habitual at this point. So much so that the North Pole had lost a bit of its wonder for me, but only because being here meant that I didn't see Jack as often anymore. Once in a while, he would come by, but only to sprinkle sand in my eyes and make sure I was asleep. Hopefully now that it was transitioning into autumn, I'd be able to stay where I was and he could stay with me like he used to.

I opened the door to my quarters mentally exhausted and ready to sleep. Ever since I started college, I felt overworked and overstressed. And unlike my friends, I didn't even get to go out at night.

"Hey there, Jamie," a voice rang from inside, causing me to look up in surprise.

"Cue?" I exclaimed as Cupid was the last person I expected to see in my quarters. Granted, it wasn't technically mine. There were several beds placed in here to house any of the believers that needed to stay here.

But I hadn't seen Cupid since my first encounter with zim several months ago. As usual ze was wearing some crazy fashion of the week and zer white-blonde hair rained messily down past zer shoulders.

"Well don't look so surprised to see me," Cupid retorted making me realize that the shock had lingered too long on my face. "You're not the only ward who resides here."

As if she was being summoned, Rei strolled out of the adjoined bathroom tying back her long, black hair. She was dressed for the day, since she lived in Japan and her days were opposite of mine.

Her almond eyes brightened upon seeing me and she exclaimed, "Hi Jamie!"

"Hi Rei…" I said as I watched her pack her overnight bag. I glanced briefly at Cue before stating, "I didn't know Cue was your Guardian-"

"Ah. Ah. Not technically a Guardian," Cue corrected me while raising a finger. "But we're normally gone by the time you arrive."

"And Cue does not always come to escort me back," Rei added while gesturing back to the freakishly tall spirit. "Only because autumn is here and it's darker now."

"Right…" I said remembering with disdain that the days have been growing shorter. I haven't had the ability to hang out with my friends as much, since I've had to leave earlier to come here.

As Rei was continuing to pack up her things, she looked up across the room and asked politely, "Hey Cue, can you hand me the book I left on the desk?"

I looked to my right to see the desk and in an effort to be helpful, I took two steps over to pick up the book and hand it over to Cue.

Cue smiled kindly at me and reached out to take it, but while doing so, zer fingers briefly brushed against mine and I felt a faint static shock.

Retracting my hand, I looked up in surprise and saw as a slight smirk drew up a corner of zer mouth.

"Sorry about that," ze uttered in a low tone as zer startling blue eyes flashed up to meet my own.

Then as quickly as the exchange took place, ze just as quickly turned and walked the book over to Rei, who smiled and thanked the radiant spirit before shoving the book into her backpack, obviously not taking any notice of the odd interaction even occurring.

"Well, I best get going," Rei stated as she slung her book bag over her shoulder and picked up her small duffel bag in the shape of a kitten's face.

She walked away from her bed and into the aisle to leave. Cupid gently placed a hand on her back and escorted her out. "See ya Jamie," Rei exclaimed as they walked past. However, Cue never met my gaze, and instead held that faint smirk as ze strolled by.

"Bye…" I said uncertainly.

…

…

~F~

For the first time in...forever…I felt…overworked.

On top of having to do my job, I had to babysit Andy the Aussie every night and then promptly whisk across the planet to visit Jamie. I couldn't always make it. North or one of the Yetis would have to put him to sleep in my place. But, thankfully, the seasons were changing and I could return to just having Jamie as my ward while Andy whisked his butt to the North Pole.

That's not to say I disliked Andy in any way. He was alright. Creative. Wanted to be a pilot. Had a thing for Legos. It's just that I already had a lot to do before he came into the picture. And on top of that, I had promised Jamie I'd visit him.

But I arrived too late, not even getting to briefly say hi to him. By the time I rushed in, he was already fast asleep in the dormitory.

Dragging myself out of the room feeling utterly deflated, I quietly clicked the door shut behind me and collapsed into one of the window nooks that lined the remote hallway. North had added the dormitory to this addition, since it was secluded and far away from the cacophony of noise the workshop made…mostly due to the elves flipping out and causing something to crash or explode. To this day, I have no idea why North keeps them around.

The sun hung low on the Arctic horizon. It wouldn't set…not quite yet. Even during the winter, the North Pole would remain secure. There was enough light and magic locked away here to fight an army…which we weren't sure whether it would eventually come down to that.

I exhaled deeply and rested my forehead against my knees. I didn't want it to come down to that. I wasn't even alive as a human the last time the other Guardians waged war against the Fearlings. I don't even think North was alive…

Either way, it was something we wanted to prevent at all costs. Sandy said the best way to do so was to protect the older believers at all costs. If the Fearlings got a hold of them then-

Suddenly, I heard the dormitory door creak open to see Jamie step out. He was dressed in his regular clothes instead of his pajamas as I had expected.

"Jamie…how are you awake?" I asked in utter confusion, since the dream sand made it nearly impossible to wake up.

He yawned widely and scratched the back of his head as he said a tired voice, "I was never actually asleep. I was trying to wait for you." Then he smiled at me kindly and walked over before sitting down next to me on the padded window seat.

"You shouldn't do that…" I responded half-heartedly. Part of me was extremely flattered that he wanted so badly to see me, the other was worried of what would happen if he fell asleep without the dream sand.

"Yeah…but I wanted to," he muttered before looking down at his lap and smiling slightly. Then he glanced back up to me and said, "Did you want to go for a walk in the caves?"

"You should really get to bed, Jamie…" I said, albeit even I heard the hesitation in my own voice. I missed him. I missed spending actual time with him, like we used to.

"It's Saturday tomorrow," he pointed out. "I can sleep in as long as I want to."

Watching him for a long minute, I finally sighed and gave in.

"Yeah, alright."

…

…

I waited a minute for Jamie to grab his coat and then we walked out to the entrance we normally came through before entering the caves immediately beyond them.

"Here, follow me," I said before leading him off a path to the right and through a narrow tunnel.

"I already know about this place," Jamie said as he pressed himself against the ice wall to shimmy his way along the passageway.

"How?" I asked curiously while looking back at him following me. There was still plenty of light that shone through the cave from the outside. Intermittently in the ceiling would be a hole that cast a steady beam of sunlight, which refracted off the ice to reflect around most of the stony, icy interior.

"Because sometimes I don't always go right to bed," he stated mischievously while grinning over to me.

I smirked back at his comment before continuing to squeeze myself through the tunnel. It wasn't long before it broke open into a flat expanse. Jamie pulled himself out right behind me before releasing a sigh of relief.

"You alright?" I asked grinning at him.

"Oh yeah," he replied nonchalantly. "It's just a little easier for you since you're smaller."

I shot a wave of snow dust at him before walking off across the rough, icy expanse. Despite that, I still heard him chuckle and follow behind me.

At the edge of the expanse was a sharp drop off that revealed an immense cavity of icy cliffs. This place was another of my favorites, since the holes in the ceiling were smaller and more frequent. They speckled in light that refracted off of everything in thin beams and created small pools of color against the icy cliffs.

Jamie stopped alongside me and sighed in content. Then he plopped down on the cold stone and lay down to gaze at the ceiling with his arms folded up to support his head.

Deciding to follow his lead, I sat down cross-legged next to him and laid my staff next to me.

"I'm glad you waited for me," I admitted honestly. "I feel like I've barely seen you all summer."

"Yeah, I was starting to figure you liked this Andy kid more than me," he jested while smiling broadly at the ceiling.

"Oh shut it," I laughed, "I already told you you were my favorite kid."

"So you did miss me after all," he said while suddenly sitting up and leaning toward me with that smug grin on his face.

At first I didn't want to answer him. Didn't want to give into his pride. But the truth was that I did miss him quite a bit. Time didn't seem to exist when I was with him. I could sit next to him all night while he slept and feel as though only seconds had passed. Whereas anytime I was away, I found myself constantly calculating when I'd see him again.

"Yeah, fine," I murmured, "I did miss you."

"Heh," he puffed, "Not sure I believe you…"

Geh he's annoying sometimes…

My forehead wrinkled at his admission of doubt. But then I realized he was just toying with me. Trying to egg me on.

Snickering once, I dropped my head and rubbed my lips together. I knew what he wanted at this point. What he always wanted, even though he would never ask for it.

Before my own thoughts could intervene, I leaned up into him and connected my lips with his. He flinched at first, but then relaxed into me, his breath steaming across my face in the icy cold. I could tell he didn't actually expect me to do it. I didn't even expect myself to do it.

My thoughts fell silent. The only thing I focused on was him. On feeling his lips pressing gently against mine. It was soft…carefree. I didn't feel like I did before. Maybe because I started it…

My curiosity getting the better of me, I licked his upper lip teasingly before nipping the other and tracing my tongue along it. Jamie instantly tilted his head and opened his mouth, inviting me to him. Pushing against him, my tongue danced with his, twisting and sliding as he welcomed me eagerly. His eyes were closed and he sighed deeply as I slowly traced his tongue with my own. Then I felt him reach up to hold my neck before pulling me into him as if urging me to be closer. He leaned backwards and I followed suit, supporting myself over him as I continued to explore his mouth. I felt a fire burn in my chest that was unfamiliar to me. Not like before…I liked it.

Fire…

Wait a minute.

Wrenching myself up on my hands and studying him closely, my suspicion fully came into focus.

Jamie was cold…Even if his skin would be chilled by the outside temperature, his mouth wouldn't be.

Shoving myself up and grabbing my staff, I swung it to fling an icicle at the imposter and jumped several feet back.

"AH! Hang on a sec!" the imposter yelled while dodging my icicle at an unnatural speed and leaping away. As I suspected, the figure of Jamie had vanished and in its place stood Cupid, with zer long hair heavily mussed and still wearing Jamie's clothes.

I didn't want to hear it. Swinging my staff around, I sprung into the torc and launched several more pointed icicles and a whirlwind of snow at zim before landing on my toe just enough to plant my staff in the ground and leap high into the air.

But the moment I did, I realized that Cupid had vanished.

Letting myself fall to the ground, I rested crouched, listening, both hands clutching my staff.

"Can you just hear me out?"

Whipping around and shooting an array of ice shards at the direction of the voice, I realized that ze was not there. Cupid was really fast…

Jumping backwards until my back met the wall so ze couldn't sneak up on me again, I stood semi-crouched in a ready stance.

A high-pitched whizzing met my ear and before I knew what had happened, two arrows had flown toward me and pierced my shirt above the shoulders and at my upper arms to nail me into the rock wall.

Using what limited mobility I had, I raised my staff to aim in the direction the arrows came from, but another arrow grabbed my sleeve to restrain my hand by my shirtsleeve, with another quickly following to trap the other against the rock wall the second after I moved it.

Furiously panting, I tried to wrestle myself free, pulling my body from the wall as hard as I could…

"Oh come on Jack…Do you really think you can beat me? I am older than you after all…" Cupid sneered as ze walked forward from behind a small outcrop.

With my mouth pressed into a hard line, I glared at zim as ze approached. Being dressed in Jamie's clothes, ze looked more masculine than feminine. But that could also be very well due to zer ability to change face.

Cupid walked up to me with an apologetic smile on zer face and asked condescendingly, "If I release you, will you promise to hear me out?"

Despite wanting to shove an icicle through zim, I didn't want to keep feeling like an animal in a hunter's trap.

Without relaxing my glare, I nodded my head slowly. Cupid then snapped zer fingers and the black arrows dissolved into the air as if never having existed in the first place. I stood up straight to face the deceptive fraud.

Cupid watched me with a blank expression, as if studying me, then ze suddenly said, "The boy really loves you, you know?"

I breathed angrily through my nose for a few seconds, not feeling like Cupid deserved an answer from me. But I decided to add stiffly, "He's told me."

"But-" ze started to say.

However I interrupted, "Where is he?" I growled.

Cupid suddenly looked surprised at my accusation and responded, "Asleep under the dream sand. Just like you saw him. You…You don't actually think I would hurt him, do you?"

"Suddenly I don't know what you are capable of."

"Oh come on, Jack," Cue replied casually as if they were old friends goofing around. "I'm the spirit of love. I wouldn't do something like-"

"WHY did you BRING me here?!" I yelled unable to hold it back any longer. I wanted to wipe the floor with Cue. I knew I couldn't kill zim, I just wanted to fight zim. I wanted zim to feel as humiliated as I felt.

But Cupid didn't answer at first. Ze just stared at me blankly as if waiting for me to calm down, which wasn't about to happen. The rage still boiled underneath my skin despite zim waiting.

"To talk," ze answered simply.

I almost laughed out of astonishment. "That's your idea of talking?"

"Eh…no…" ze said as ze reached up to scratch the back of zer head out of humility. "But I will admit that you are a better kisser than you give yourself credit for," ze added while laughing a little.

Great. Since I let my guard down around Cupid, ze probably knows everything about me. Or…actually I wasn't sure how Cupid's power worked…I hoped that ze didn't know that much…

"What do you want?" I repeated, the anger still evident in my tone.

"Jamie loves you, Jack," ze reiterated as zer mouth fell into a small frown. "I don't intervene unless I think it's important…But we both know you love him back."

"It can't work, Cue," I firmly stated while letting one hand go of my staff and standing it up alongside me.

"Why did you kiss him then?"

"I didn't," I argued stubbornly. "I kissed you because you made me." Cupid was the spirit of love, who knew what tricks ze had up zer sleeve.

"No I didn't," Cupid parried while resting zer hands in zer pockets. "That was all you. I didn't even know you were going to do that based on Jamie's memories of you."

"Don't you dare touch him again," I growled again as I clenched my fist at my side. It made me livid to think that Cupid had seen all of Jamie's thoughts and memories of him and me.

"Ooooh, did I really make you that mad?" Cupid chirped as that smug smile returned to zer face and I felt the magic tingle at my fingertips, just itching for me to relinquish it on this cretin.

But then Cupid's face grew serious again as ze added softly, "You're more human than you give yourself credit for, Jack."

"What?" I found myself bursting the thought out loud.

"You're afraid to get close to Jamie because you don't believe yourself to be like him."

"No," I argued angrily that Cupid had the gull to psychoanalyze me. "I can't get close to him because I'm his Guardian."

"Oh please," Cupid laughed once before adding, "Like that has ever stopped any of them before."

It took me a few moments to realize what ze meant. But out of the need to hear zim explain, I asked, "What do you mean?"

"Look," Cupid said firmly, "Don't worry about them. What Jamie feels for you is genuine and it's beautiful. I would rather shoot myself in the foot than see him suffer because you chose to ignore him out of personal insecurity."

"I wouldn't mind seeing it," I snarked in reference to zim shooting zimself in the foot.

Cupid grinned at me again. "I'm sorry for tricking you and letting you kiss me while believing me to be Jamie."

I couldn't say that I forgave zim, but I still appreciated the apology nonetheless.

"However," ze added while a small smirk drew up the corner of zer lips, "I could feel your thoughts and emotions during all of that. That's how I know you're more human than you think you are."

And with that, ze winked at me and turned zer back to me as ze swaggered away. "I'm going to leave Jamie's clothes back in his room. I promise I won't meddle like this again."

And then in the blink of an eye, ze was gone.

…

…

~M~

Urgh…I hated studying. We were all currently huddled up around the tables in the dorm's common room trying to be responsible and most of our work done so we could go out tonight with a clear conscience. A friend of ours was having a party at his house and invited all of us. And even though it was Saturday, I generally found it harder to have fun when I was constantly thinking of all the work I had to do. It was also easier for all of us to focus in the common room, where most people came to do work, because normally we would revert to playing video games in our living room. Today wasn't as crowded as usual, since not as many people studied on Saturday. But there was still a decent amount here to not make us feel like complete losers. Although, the common room did get warm since the heaters started to kick on. We had to open a window and let some of it out. Fortunately, we at least had a decent view of the sunset falling toward the distant treeline.

I glanced up at Jamie to see him with his side to the table and resting his legs on another chair in front of him while holding out a small paperback to read. I already knew ahead of time that he wasn't coming out with us. He always went straight to bed since we started school. Earlier on he would stay out with us for a little while, but he'd always come up with an excuse to head back early. Eventually, I tried to pry the truth out of him, since I noticed him acting strange ever since he and Pippa broke up last year. He told me that he was on medication that caused him to feel exceedingly drowsy after taking it.

A tremendous part of me suspected that was bullshit. But I never tried to question him further about it. It wouldn't surprise me that he was taking pills for something, after all, he was really broken up after Pippa. And really, if he didn't want to tell me then it was none of my business.

"Hey Monty," our flatmate Tyler asked, "Did you figure out the fourth problem yet?"

"Uh…yeah. Let me see what you did," I said before reaching over and taking Tyler's notes from him. Tyler wasn't the brightest, but he did try. Our other flatmate was Ashley, which made me really happy. It actually worked out that Jamie and I were able to pair up with him in the newly built dormitory. Everyone who lived there was grouped together with three other people, who each had their own small bedroom and a conjoined bathroom, but each grouping all shared the same living area. Still…as far as dorms go, it was very nice. At least we didn't have to share a cramped room with a roommate.

After taking Tyler's paper, I started to proofread the math problem and see where he got stuck.

"Here," I said as I rotated the paper to face him and pointed at the offending line, "You forgot to-"

"WHAT?" Jamie suddenly shouted as he crashed backwards out of his chair and onto the floor. He lay there dazed for a minute staring blankly in front of him, before snapping out of it and realizing that we and everyone else in the common room were staring at him.

"Jamie…are you alright?" I asked him suddenly concerned about needing to treat him for a seizure.

Shaking a little, he pushed himself forward before attempting to stand while using an arm to support his weight on the table. "Y-yeah…" he stuttered. "I…must have fallen asleep for a second." Then he turned his head and stared like a deer in the headlights at nothing in particular.

"Jamie." I repeated firmly while trying to get his attention. He turned his head to look at me still maintaining the shocked look on his face.

"You sure you're ok?" I reiterated now questioning his sanity.

"I'm fine." he said suddenly more sure of himself. "But I'm going to head back," he declared as he sloppily gathered everything he brought in a pile to pick up. "Gotta…go to sleep," he added and I knew that meant he was going to take his medicine and be out of commission for the rest of the night.

"Alright…" I said as I watched him awkwardly pick up his stack of stuff and grab his backpack. "Do you need anything?"

"Nope," he replied curtly. "I'll be fine. I'll just see you guys in the morning."

And with that he briskly strode out of the common area and turned to head up the stairs.

"What the fuck was that about?" Ashley asked as perplexed as I was.

I stared off at the steps for a second before responding, "I have no idea…"

Wooo baby. What's going to happen next? xD

I'm excited.

Are you?

Leave me a review and let me know!

Actually evakname's review gave me the motivation to leave the procrastination station.

So reviews will bring a promptly posted chapter this time around *dramatic wink*

Special Thanks To:

FyreFly1990, PeppermintCrazy, mikihanonichigo, crazypaaanda, Riverxx, martinezabelina18, Mizaki-kun, bookMichael, KuraiYuki-chan, evakname, Kalistrazan, Faery Dreng, and SlashFicFan for your follows/favorites!

Kigen Dawn: still don't trust Cupid? xD Who knows...ze might have helped out after all.

EmJx: Yup! There are older believers and they do have a purpose. I'm introducing OC's for them since they have to be from around the world...And we all know Hollywood isn't the best at creating diverse characters xD And it wasn't really Jamie who Cupid messed with lolololol. I'll try and update soon! Since I've been looking forward to the next one for quite a while now...

Mysterie1985: Yuupp, Jack definitely needed a wake up call xPP But I love how clueless Jack is. How clueless they both are xD Glad you're still reading! Hope you liked this one.

Andrew008: Aw, no you're wonderful. Do you still like the new characters? xD I hope this helps make your day better!

evakname: Like I said, holy mother of a nutcracker, that is a REVIEW. haha. Thanks again for motivating me to get off my butt and keep writing. You're fabulous. But what I didn't tell you yet was that your philosophical ideas all crossed my mind when creating this. So you're not just making it up! You're getting on muh wavelength ;D Mental illness was definitely something that crossed my mind, hence why I have Sophie being perceived as being schizophrenic. And now Jamie is letting Monty think he's taking medication for something as well. It'll evolve a little more as time goes on, if you pick up on anything else I throw out there, let me know! I like hearing when people read into the ideas I'm throwing out there :3