A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, I hope this'll make up for it. I'm kind of tired so I didn't look over it, may or may not be a bust.
Hey look! Double digits! This is getting pretty long, god, we're only halfway through! (if my calculations are correct)
Btdubs, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS. THEY WERE SO NICE AND I CRIED MYSELF TO SLEEP BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE NICER TO ME ON THE INTERNET THAN IN REAL LIFE. I LOVE YOU ALL.
So I really hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry if you don't. I tried.
Ruby heard Derek mumble under his breath, "Well that's kind of awkward," when Claire and Jack hadn't stopped staring at each other.
Ruby's mouth twisted into a frown, "Claire… um, you know, Derek is alive too."
Claire broke away from her gaze to blink at Ruby, "Derek… as in… dead Derek?"
"Is that what I'm known as now?" Derek asked monotonously, his voice tinged with annoyance.
"Yeah." Ruby said, answering both their questions. "He became a Guardian too, like Jack." Ruby saw Jack lower his head out of the corner of her eye and step away from Claire slowly, as if she were a dangerous animal about to pounce. "He can control fire like Jack can control snow."
Claire looked around, sparked with interest. "Where is he now?"
"Here" Derek stepped closer to her, even though she couldn't see him.
"He's standing right next to you,"
Claire looked over her shoulder, and jumped. "Holy shit!" she took a step away from Derek, who had crossed his arms across his chest and closed his eyes.
"It's too late for this kind of stuff," He mumbled. "Ruby just tell her about that guy that's trying to kill you so we can go." He huffed.
Claire's eyes widened at the word kill, "Excuse me?"
"Uh, yeah, so since you're bonded to Jack…" Ruby explained, Jack hadn't lifted his head to look at either of them. It was like he wasn't even there. "You're kind of in danger of, um, being killed by Jack's mortal enemy."
Claire scoffed, "And who's that? The abominable snowman? The boogeyman?" she said with mock scared-ness.
Ruby looked down, "Uh, yeah. And don't say his name, be careful."
"Wait you're scared of a giant snowman-?"
"It's the other one…" Ruby mumbled, tiptoeing around the name at all costs.
"Okay, seriously?" Claire sounded very annoyed. She looked over at Derek who was crouched on the ground, pulling up grass. "Is for real?"
"Sadly," he stated, looking at his handful of grass in rapt attention. "I haven't met the guy yet but they're all pretty scared of him so… I don't really know what to think yet."
Ruby threw her head back in frustration, "I don't think I'm getting the point across to you, Claire. This guy will kill us both, and then bring the world to eternal darkness. So what I'm trying to do is help you get aware."
Claire's expression didn't shift into that of one that was very motivated, "Whatever, what do you want me to do, sleep with a nightlight?"
"Derek's gonna be watching over and guarding us, right Derek?" Ruby looked down at him, he was making himself comfortable on the ground, splayed out as if he were about to sleep.
"Yup." He yawned loudly.
"This doesn't make me feel very safe." Claire pointed to the sleeping lump on the ground, "He can't even keep his eyes open for ten minutes."
"Just trust him," Ruby rolled her eyes at his lack of attentiveness in such a serious matter. "He'll come around in the end. Plus really all the protection we need is at night, seeing that we're in public places in the daylight, which is good."
"How long have you been at this?" Claire grumbled. "It's tiring and it's only been ten minutes."
"Just a month or two," Ruby was growing tired herself, but not from Derek or from Pitch. Claire had begun a new era of annoyance, one that couldn't even be on the same caliber as the others. "Just live life like normal, it basically will be."
"Uh, except some fairytale villain is after me now!" Claire threw up her arms in exasperation.
Ruby sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Look, I don't really have time for this, just, be aware. I have to go."
"But-"Claire began to whine about something again before Ruby cut her off by stomping away towards the parking lot. Jack followed her like a stray dog and Derek stood up and bore holes into her back. The hair on the back of Ruby's neck bristled, she wasn't sure of the feeling she was harvesting right now. Was it jealousy? Fatigue? Indifference? She couldn't place it. But something in her felt greatly uneasy, as if finding Claire might have only made the target much bigger for Pitch's aim.
"You're quiet." Ruby's obvious statement hung in the stale air around them. Jack twisted his neck to look at her, but she kept staring straight ahead at the road.
A man in a giant black Cadillac cut her off and it took every fiber of Ruby's being not to step on the gas pedal and hit the enormous car's fender.
Jack inhaled and opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but he didn't. He finally looked away from her and at the A/C controls, he twisted the knob back and forth, the vents would blast air and then stop, blast, stop. "I'm sorry." He finally said.
"Stop doing that," Ruby batted his hand away from the controls, when their skin brushed against one another's, it sent a warm feeling down Ruby's back.
"I-"he started again, looking to her as if she could somehow finish his thought. "It's hard to explain."
"I just like the air in the middle, not blasting or still. It's not a big deal." Ruby offered.
Jack fought his mouth to not smile, "You know what I'm talking about."
"So she is the one," she bit her lip, "On the upside, its progress."
"I wish you could experience the feeling of the bond," he began, like it would entail to some sort of compromise. "It's like being told you were adopted but not actually feeling that bad about it, or like being murdered by your best friend and just wanting to pat him on the back and be like, 'oh no hard feelings dude see you tomorrow.'" Ruby laughed at the odd analogy, motivating Jack to go on. "Or being told your favorite love song is about a sandwich."
"So it just feels like… mediocre?" she asked, "But I thought-"
"I don't know." He shook his head, "I just looked at her and it was like I was expected to feel all these things and nothing happened. I think I'm defective."
Ruby giggled, "As a guardian? Hmm… I always did wonder how often they needed someone who controls snow, not a very demanding job in the summer."
"Hey!" he protested, "How would you feel if I wasn't around?"
"Like a person?" she asked, antagonizing him. "Okay, I think we have a problem. We can't talk about a serious topic for over thirty seconds."
"At least you noticed," he mumbled, sitting back in the uncomfortable polyester seat. "But I don't know what she felt,"
"About the bond?" she fixed her eyes back on the road. "The same I guess? She didn't really say anything about you, she kind of ignored you."
"I noticed," he murmured. "She's kind of…"
"A bitch?" Ruby filled in, receiving a nod.
"I'm trained not to say words like that; I'm around kids a lot if you haven't noticed." Jack sighed, sitting up a bit in the seat. "But she is my bond, that's for sure. I did feel something towards her, but it was kind of…" he wracked his brain for a sufficient word. "Neutral?"
"So you just- it wasn't anything?"
"Like I said, it was like I'm supposed to feel something more than just, neutrality, but that's all it was. I'm not very good at explaining."
"I noticed," Ruby scoffed. She drove into her driveway and rested her head on the wheel for a couple of seconds before turning off the lights. "But she's still your bond, which mean's Pitch will still be after her if he finds out."
Jack nodded. "It's best to keep you two safe," he reached out and brushed the back of his hand against her soft cheek.
Ruby leaned in towards him, across the separator and wound a hand in his hair, searching those deep blue eyes for a tell. "I think…" She couldn't finish the thought, he had kissed her.
Her mouth was hard and soft as it slanted against his demandingly, her hands curled around his neck and her mouth moved against his furiously. She accidentally let out a muffled ngh when his mouth left hers and began burning kisses into her neck. She pulled his head back up, ignoring his alarmed muffle of her name, and her mouth met with his again and the kiss was deeper this time, easier, because she dominated now and reluctance and fear weren't in her vocabulary anymore.
She felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, but ignored it. Jack must've felt it or heard it too, because he broke away and stared at her pocket for a second. "Just forget about it," Ruby urged, silencing whatever he was about to say with another searing kiss.
His hands strayed down to her hips, lingering for a second before roving over stomach and lower back. Ruby let out a purr and moved her hand up his neck to his jaw, tracing it over with small kisses. Jack had to stop himself from making any daunting noises that had rose up in his throat. His hands felt the hem of her shirt; thin, mocking him.
"We should stop."
Ruby drew back and looked at him quizzically, an eyebrow raised.
"I don't want you to get in trouble with your parents," he explained, motioning to the clock on the dashboard with his head. It read April 23, 9:48.
Ruby's eyes widened, "Shit!" She unlocked the door and stumbled out of the car, immediately beginning to perspire from the amount of humidity. "I'll- I'll see you later!" she spluttered, running to the front door and forgetting to close the car's.
Jack sighed and sunk into his seat, he loved this girl. He was sure of it. But something in the back of his head nagged him. This wasn't right. He didn't deserve her, she was amazing. She put up with everything, all he had put her through, and hadn't asked for anything in return. And Jack wanted to give back to her, but what could he offer? His love? Maybe she didn't even want it? Ruby could've had any boy she wanted to, so why would she settle for someone as troublesome as Jack?
She hadn't even said anything about it, so he urged himself to let it go, but the feeling was looming around in his head like a thundercloud.
He needed to tell her how he felt, and this time, he would do it when she wasn't half asleep with half-lidded eyes. He would tell her for real. And he wouldn't run away.
"I'm almost ready." Pitch promised the dark shadow. "You have to give me more time! Please, my king, find it in your ethereal being to grant me more time!"
The dark shadow hung over Pitch kneeling with narrowed eyes, "Finding that girl…" he began. "They've practically handed their destruction over to you on a silver platter." He murmured.
The figure paced the dark room, "I'm growing anxious with you," he growled. "You don't tend to keep promises." He noted.
"I haven't had the chance to yet!" Pitch cried, "Please give me a couple more months!"
The creature let out a hollow laugh, it echoed through the empty room like ink in water. "I don't have time to wait around for you, Pitch." He turned to look at him, "But I am feeling rather generous these days…"
Pitch's eyes lit up he began spluttering compliments and devotion to the shadow, bowing his head.
"I'll give you until the end of May," the spirit decided. "And I would like to give you a small suggestion about the way you go about this."
"Anything, sire." Pitch raised his head, eyes full of excitement.
A/N: Is it hot in here or is it just me? Did that makeout scene suck? I'm indifferent and I need feedback (if you like it then you're welcome *seductive wink*) also, tell me if you want more. I'll try to figure out how the heck to incorporate it into the story.
And hey! Looky there, Pitch is almost ready to blow everyone's brains out with full frontal power at his side (which we still have no idea who is).
Anyway, I REALLY want to know what you guys think of this chapter since I took a pretty daring step here in my writing (I've never wrote something like that before). Please please PLEASE tell me what you think!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING AND REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING AND FAVORITEING AND LIVING AND BREATHING AND I LOVE YOU ALL.
Auf Wiedersehen!
(that's right. I just looked on how to say goodbye in German so I could put it at the end right here)