"How you feeling? Want to make it to the park today?"
"No, she's not ready for that yet!"
"There are benches. If she gets too tired, she can rest."
"That's beside the point. What if... something else happens?"
"That's why I want to take her to the park. It's much more private there." Jack's face was red with anger, his blue eyes were practically glowing, and I felt his anger and determination from my bed, several feet from the argument.
Ana didn't seem convinced. "It's not that private. Just a few weeks ago, there was a huge Easter Egg Hunt, with artificial eggs. Ed wouldn't like that."
"Wait, how long was I out?"
"Only three weeks and two days," Ana said, sugarcoating the shock. I knew that comas usually lasted much longer, but it was still strange to think that I'd been in one. "Anyways, not the point. The park is not a good place to tell her all of our secrets. And what if she collapses?"
Jack rolled his eyes and cast me a sideways smirk. I leaned forward in anticipation. "I'll be there to catch her. And if you don't want me to tell her everything my way, you can tell her yourself. Either way works for me. I'll be there for her through thick and thin."
"Aw," I gushed a little louder than I had intended.
Jack, noticing my gush, kissed my forehead gently. "You're blushing, Reens."
My eyes lowered in response, so I was now staring at my purple quilt. I felt the blush, now that had mentioned it, but I didn't even notice it before. "It's your fault, Jack."
"Maureen, what do you want to do? Park or not?" Ana seemed impatient, as she was tapping her foot nonstop. Click click click click click. "Maureen, focus!"
"I want to go with Jack to the park. I can make it, Ana." I wasn't really sure if I could make it, but I had to get out of the house. Most of my "walks" had been to the kitchen and back to bed. The only time I'd been outside since my coma was when I was taken home. "I could use the fresh air."
Jack smiled triumphantly as Ana pouted. She walked out of the room, probably to tell my parents where I was going and that she would make sure I was back before dark.
I leaned towards Jack. "I love you."
"What?"
"I love you, Jack. Those words saved my life." I gave him a sad smile as I said this.
He blinked in shock. "I guess they did, in a way. I said them right when they took you off life support, which is when you started talking."
"I don't 'guess.' I know they saved me. I was able to talk once you said them. You were the only person I could hear, except for one brief moment when I heard Ana, but she only urging you on, so... I don't know why I only heard you two." I touched his hand gently, letting my fingers trail along his.
"Ready to go to the park?"
I jumped at Ana's sudden interruption. I wondered how long she had been standing in the doorway, but since her secret was also on the line, I decided that it wouldn't make much of a difference. Besides, she liked Ed, not Jack, at this point.
"I said, 'Ready to go?'" Ana said irritated.
I nodded and stood a little faster than I should have. My eyes instantly went blurry and I fell back to the bed. "Sorry. Stood too fast."
Jack pulled me to my feet, careful not to step on my toes. "You're okay. I've got you."
All though he probably meant that to be literal, I thought of all the other possible meaning those words could have. Last time somebody told me that, the boy was drug out to the ocean and killed by a shark because I was careless enough to swim in the ocean at night when I could barely swim in a pool during the day.
The walk over was relatively uneventful. Occasionally I would rest until I felt my strength build back up, but that was the most eventful thing of the walk. It was when we reached the park that I began to get worried.
"Okay, we're here. What's the big secret?" I asked hopefully, yet nervously.
Jack gave me one last pleading look before continuing. "You know my name, right?"
"Yeah. Jackson Overland. You know, I once read that a boy named Jackson Overland Frost died saving his sister, which I thought was a weird coincidence." I laughed, but Jack remained silent. I eyed him cautiously.
"Jackson drowned saving his sister. They were ice skating when the ice started cracking. He pushed her out of the way, but fell through the ice and died. He woke up in the middle of the night, changed into a winter spirit." Jack looked sad as he spoke.
"Wow, you really know your history," I said.
Jack smiled, but it was fake. "The reason I know this, is because I lived it. I am Jackson Overland Frost. Most people know me as Jack Frost."
I remained silent, too scared to say anything. My boyfriend was telling me that he was the legendary bringer of winter, that I believed in since I was a little girl. While I believed in Jack Frost, there was no way my boyfriend, the boy I'd spent the past several months with, the boy who brought me out of a coma with three words, the boy who pushed me into the snow, who kissed me and hugged me, was Jack Frost.
"No way." Two words could be more than enough, I knew.
"Maureen, you have to believe me. I am Jack Frost, promise. How can I prove it to you?"
His voice was begging me to believe him without him having to prove anything. "You can... What kind of powers does Jack Frost have, exactly?"
"I can control the winter weather, ice and snow. I can fly. And I can make the perfect snowball. Trust me, it's awesome." Jack smiled warmly, even though he claimed to be the ice cold winter spirit.
"Can you fly, then?"
Jack didn't speak. Instead, he kicked up the staff I had seen him carry around since the first day I met him. "Now I can." He wrapped his arm around my waist and jumped. I thought we were going to fall onto the ground, if we made it off, but instead, the two of us lingered in the air, several feet above the ground. "Ready for some real action?"
"What?" I practically screeched.
Jack winced and I gave him an apologetic smile. "Hold on tight and don't fight me. Don't want you falling to the ground. All though Ana should catch you, right Tooth?"
She saluted him and ran into the building nearby. When she came back out, I barely recognized her. Instead of thin blonde hair, she had shiny green feathers. In the middle was a long golden feather, like a crown among the rest of her feathers. Her clothes were gone, replaced with feathers as well. She hovered slightly in the air and a small buzz came from her direction. Unlike Jack, she had wings similar to those of insects.
"I'm the Tooth Fairy. My parents were both murdered a long time ago, but they gave me my baby teeth for memories." She read my expression as confused, which I was. "Teeth hold the most precious memories of childhood. We collect them to help people remember what's important."
"We?"
She smacked her forehead and flew back a ways. "Baby Tooth, Jack's here!"
I turned to Jack. "Baby Tooth?"
"She's a friend of ours. Don't underestimate her. She may be tiny, but her beak is very sharp." Jack squeezed me slightly as if to tell me everything would be alright. I just had to trust him.
Ana, or Tooth, flew back over, followed by a smaller version of herself. Only, the smaller version was closer to hummingbird that Tooth was. I assumed this was Baby Tooth, for she nestled into Jack's neck softly.
"Okay, can we go on a full blown flight now? Or are we going to wait here all day?" Jack said.
Tooth flew over and flicked her head quickly, staring at my mouth. I smiled so she could see my teeth a little bit better. I pulled back when she reached out towards me. "Sorry, I just love teeth. Jack's are perfect."
Jack blushed and launched into the air. I looked down to see that we were very high up, hundreds, maybe a thousand or two, feet up. "Hope you enjoy the view, because I am never taking you back up here until you can fly by yourself."
"I'd be fine with landing right now, if you don't mind," I said shakily.
He nodded and started heading back to the ground. Once I felt a thump, I looked down to see that he was standing on hard ground, so I slipped from his arms. "You okay, Reens? Do you need something to clear your head?"
"No, I'm fine. Just... absorbing this information. Is there... anyone else?"
"I thought you'd never tell her. Good work, my boy," Mr. Nick said, patting Jack on the back.
I leaned back, shocked that Mr. Nick was one of them, whatever they were. Myths, legends, usually thought of as fiction. Now, I was forced to believe that they were real.
"So, who are you?" I asked, noticing that he was wearing a Russian outfit, mostly red with fur around the edges. It looked very warm, too warm the weather in Baltimore. "Santa?"
"North, actually. I go by North, but I am Santa, too."
Ed stepped forward, looking like he did in my dreams, which had started again. Sandy stepped forward, too. He looked older and was glowing golden colors. His outfit looked like it was made of sand, glittering sand that sparkled in the sunlight.
"Maureen, I'd like you to meet Sandman and the Easter Kangaroo." Jack gestured to Ed, who was shifting into a tall rabbit-shaped creature.
Ed hopped forward and Jack pushed me towards... Tooth. My hand brushed the back of her arm, and I shuddered at the feel of feathers on her arm. I flexed my hand several times until I realized that she might be insulted by my reaction. "Sorry, it's just... weird."
"Don't worry about it." She seemed very calm, despite my reaction. "Stop fighting in front Maureen!"
Welp, now Maureen knows about the Guardians. If you guys have any suggestions on how I could make the story really awesome (and I am going to add Pitch in a few chapters), please let me know. I love having input from my readers, and it really keeps me motivated.