Alright, Chappy is currently passed out from exhaustion on the ceiling fan again so that means I have about 10 minuets before he wakes up and either finally snaps like a twig and kills both of us or he goes on a bender and drinks an entire liquor store with Castiel. So I am going to make this quick and pray I pass out again myself and am saved the trouble with dealing with a hungover plot-bunny with access to high powered military weaponry and string cheese.

If any of you have read my latest update of my story 'You'll Never Know' then you probably already know about all this but I'll give the shorter version here as well while my brain can still function properly.

I am so truly sorry it has taken this long to get this up for all of you, seriously I can't say that enough. I entered into the IB program at school this year which basically just means I'm taking all advanced and more or less college level classes as well as an outside of school Japanese class. I have been so busy over here I have only gotten a few hours to write anything of my fanfiction sense August and I'm kinda slowly dying inside.

I promise I will do my best to update as often as I can but until I somehow manage to get all of this stuff in my life all settled out (assuming I don't drop dead from over-exhaustion first) the updates are going to be pretty spread out and again I am truly very sorry for all of this. :(

But I believe I have kept you all waiting more then long enough. As always I do not own Rise of the Guardians or The Guardians of Childhood book series, they belong to William Joyce and DreamWorks and this story was adopted by me from the original fantabulous author Starskuls. I hope you all enjoy! buig3bfhkvbfiueqpeqtbhgeytjuk7im*passes out at desk with a face-plant into my keyboard*

Spirit -not so- Well High School

Chapter 21: Regret

The hallway emptied with the sound of a slamming locker door as Aster sighed and shrugged his backpack over his shoulder with a glare at the tile floor. "Damn it…"

School had gotten out and most everyone had already left about fifteen minutes ago, leaving him alone in the now silent hallway just outside the art department of the school on the second floor as he turned and headed for the closest staircase near the entrance of the building.

He had been asked to stay behind after class to help the teacher for a few minutes with cleaning up some paints and brushes that she had dropped and spilled everywhere, when everyone else had bolted for the door the second the bell rang and some jerk ran into her and didn't bother to stay and pick up his mess.

Aster had been more than happy to help, it's not like he was in a hurry or anything and school was shorter today anyway because of the block scheduling.

Though in all honesty he really only did it because he thought it might clear his head.

Which of course would have been just too bloody easy. He mused with a scowl, rolling his eyes and grinding his teeth in frustration that had been steadily building over the past two days.

He had momentarily thought that doing a menial task for just a bit would help just numb his head for a few damn minutes and make him forget about, well , everything! But apparently that had been too much to ask.

The second he was almost done picking up all the brushes off the floor, Miss Autumn just had to come into the room to talk to Miss Sascha, and spotted him.

And proceeded to ask him about Jack.

"Because obviously the little show pony and I are just as close as North and cookies." He grumbled bitterly.

Why the hell did she think he would know anything?! Clearly she either didn't remember the first day Jack got here and the whole 'Frostbite' incident or she remembered it perfectly and thought that now he and Jack were 'bestest buddies' now because the kid had bailed him out of detention.

Yeah. And Tooth was planning to go on a sugar binge this weekend.

She had asked him a few questions concerning the white haired teen, wondering if he knew what was going on with the kid but he had told her he didn't.

Because he didn't!

It's not like it was his fault! He didn't know what was going on with Jack and he was going to keep telling himself that he didn't want to know until he was able to fully slip into denial and actually believe that load of crap. Because he didn't care and that was all there was to it!

Or so he kept on telling himself.

He refused to accept the fact that he was both curious, concerned and… guilty. His macho ego complex getting in the way of fully admitting to himself that he was actually really regretting what had happened and what he had said now that he had had a few days to cool off and actually replay the exchange over in his head a few hundred times.

But his walls of 'I don't give a damn' were actually really starting to crumble around him.

Ever since that whole… fight? Situation? Complete and total batshit bout of insanity? HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL THIS WAS!

But ever since what happened at the rink, he had been even more pissed off than usual and was having a constant battle of epic proportions at the center of his soul as to whether or not he should give a crap about what had happened. Though in all honesty, it wasn't all that surprising given the current circumstances.

Sandy, Tooth and North had all been avoiding him since it happened, not saying even a single word to him and only sparing enough time whenever he saw them to send him a glare. Not that he cared- again, so he kept telling himself- he could care less if they ignored him! If they wanted to get all pissed off because of some stupid fight then that was their problem, not his!

He kept saying that over and over again in his head, trying to actually convince himself of it along with everything else he wanted to believe about this whole bloody mess.

He was sure it would just pass over. Everything would be fine in a few days and everyone would forget about it.

That's what he had thought when he had come to school Tuesday morning after the incident at the rink and he had been determined to keep thinking that about what happened… But now he wasn't so sure.

He had been totally sure at first, figuring everyone just needed to cool off and forget about the whole thing. But that had been over two days ago now.

And that would have been fine with him! It's not like this was the first time they had all had a sort of falling out. The last time was when his and North's typical 'Christmas vs. Easter' fight had gotten a little more out of hand then normal and they hadn't talked for nearly a week before Tooth and Sandy finally lost it and made them talk it out and make up.

This time however, something was wrong.

The fight had been on Monday, and it was Thursday. School had already gotten out for the day and after tomorrow it would be the weekend. But that wasn't the problem.

The problem was that Jack hadn't been to school since Monday.

Aster had figured when he showed up to school the next day after the fight that Jack was just running late when he didn't see him in class since the kid was usually one of the first ones there from what he had seen. But then Jack just never showed.

Then, just to top it all off, Sophie had come home that evening after her lessons at the skating rink sulking because Jack hadn't been there to teach class that day.

He had been shocked first when Jack hadn't been there the first day, and then even more so when Sophie told him she hadn't seen Jack either. But he had just brushed it off and figured it was just a onetime thing and that the show pony was just sick or ditching or something or that he was just being a baby because of what happened the day before. But when the second day came and he still wasn't in class he suddenly found that he wasn't that sure.

Then of course when Aster had come in today and not seen that annoyingly familiar mop of white hair he started to get just the slightest bit-

No! No way in bloody hell I am not concerned for that dill!

And of course now dealing with an even worse case of denial than he already had been.

A lot of people had taken notice of Jack's absence and some of them had- because apparently no one in this Godforsaken small town high school had anything better to do with their time- of course started gossip and rumors and questions as to why the new kid (or 'school freak' as a lot of people oh so kindly decided to call him) had suddenly up and disappeared for no apparent reason.

Every time Aster would step into a class he shared with Jack or was walking down the hallways he'd hear one or two small groups of people talking about it.

It took nearly every ounce of willpower he had not to tell them all to piss off and start throwing punches despite the fact he claimed he didn't give a damn about the guy.

However, most of the whispers had apparently already subsided due to a situation he had heard about concerning Tooth blowing up at a group of people- apparently a few of them being jocks from the football team- when she overheard them talking about Jack in, well, the typical way people tended to talk about him in and she kind of lost it.

From what he had heard North practically had to hold her back as she moved in to defend Jack and give those jerks a piece of her mind and they had all been shocked and scared enough to back off.

Seriously Tooth may be a bit on the smaller side and acts all sweet and happy all the time, but you do NOT want to piss her off. Aster had learned that time and time again over the years.

He had to wonder if too many people would be giving Jack trouble when he came back to school after that.

If the show pony even does come back…

Aster violently shook his head to silence that damn voice in the back that had been giving that crap commentary since this whole thing started as he pushed through the large metal door at the front of the building and stepped out into the cold.

"Bloody hell, why can't it just be spring already?!" He snapped begrudgingly, pulling his coat tighter around himself as he felt a shiver go up his spine when the cold wind suddenly blew into his face.

It was just over two months from Easter and, of course, there was still nearly a half a foot of snow on the ground that would likely be more than replenished by this time next week. Aster silently cursed, wishing winter would just freaking get the hell out of here in time for spring so it would actually be relatively warm on his favorite holiday like it was in most of the rest of the country. Of course he had to live in Pennsylvania, where it snowed and was freezing cold for half the year instead of some place hot and nice.

The Australian teen sighed heavily as he rubbed his eyes tiredly, accidently letting his mind start to wander again momentarily, at this point too tried to try and keep his thoughts under complete lock and key.

"He's a better big brother than you could EVER be!"

Aster suddenly winced as Cindy's words suddenly pounded into his skull without warning as his mind briefly flashed back to everything she told him that day before he could stop himself.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?! DO YOU?!"

"There is nothing, NOTHING you could have possibly said that could have been worse to say to him than that!"

"He's a better big brother than you could EVER be!"

The girl's variable screams were echoing in his head, every syllable of her words making him cringe as his ears started to ring slightly and he again shook his head roughly to try and banish his thoughts - a task which turned out to be fruitless.

Aster felt a growl rise from his throat as he glared daggers at the snow covered ground. His jaw clenching painfully and made him cringe as he raised his hand to rub his still aching jaw.

That punch Cindy had given him was honestly some kind of miracle; it hadn't been enough to leave any sort of mark though he had absolutely no idea how that was possible. Considering it had felt like he had been slugged by someone North's size.

Damn, that Sheila has one hell of a right hook…

It really hadn't left any sort of mark other than a little reddening around the side of his jaw that went away after a few hours, but even two days later it still hurt like hell to chew anything and clenching his jaw wasn't exactly a picnic either.

He shoved his hands farther into his jacket pockets and shuddered as the freezing wind swept across the back of his neck as his mind momentarily drifted back to the sensation of guilt that 'wasn't' currently making him feel like the biggest dick on the planet.

How could he have said all that stuff? He didn't even know if half of it was true or not. He had just been so angry and he let his temper explode at the guy after he finally went over the edge.

But then there was that whole bloody situation with Tooth from just last week that had somehow completely managed to slip his mind the second he had blown up in Jack's face. And now that he thought back on it, he felt even worse.

All Tooth had done was ask about the bloke's family and he had turned into a freaking statue. But the second she mentioned him having a sibling he acted like he had just looked Death in the eye and then gone into some sort of minor coma before turning tail and running for the hills. Only to end up avoiding all of them like the bloody plague for the next week until Sandy had called them off and managed to get him to listen. (ironic as that may be)

Aster felt another growl begin to climb up his throat before the voice of a screaming girl in his head suddenly changed.

"Ya'd be a failure as an older brother anyway!"

The Australian teen suddenly felt his breath strangle in his throat as his own voice suddenly shot through his mind, his eyes going wide as he remembered the sudden change in expression on Jack's face when he had said that.

He remembered the way all anger had suddenly just vanished from the kid's face, the way his eyes suddenly just seemed to darken and go dull as pain flashed through them like lightning that he had just been too damn pissed to notice when it was happening right in front of him.

The more and more Aster thought about it the less he was able to convince himself that he wasn't sorry or that he didn't care because the truth was he did regret what had happened. He had just been so damn pissed off at the bloody little show pony for what he had said about Sophie that he had just lost it and hadn't even thought about what it was he was saying despite everything that had happened the week before.

Aster would be the first to admit that he had a temper about as long as a lit matchstick and he was a complete hothead who tended to live by the code of 'punch first-ask questions later'. This hadn't exactly been the first time he had blown up like that when someone successfully managed to push him over the edge- which obviously wasn't that hard to do.

Still though, it had been a long time since he had completely lost it like that, and it never had this kind of…repercussions before.

Aster sighed heavily, reaching up to run a hand over his face and try to work some of his stress induced exhaustion out of it. It didn't work.

But what was he supposed to do about any of this crap anyway? First of all he was never the type to just come out and apologize for anything; he had a reputation to maintain here! But it wasn't as if he could exactly do that at the moment even if he wanted to anyway, what with Jack suddenly disappearing from school after all.

He momentarily thought to check the rink, but quickly tossed the idea out the preverbal window when he realized that if Jack wasn't even at school today the chances of him being at the rink were slim to none and another sigh broke the tense silence of the frigid afternoon air.

"Shit…" Aster muttered. There wasn't anything he could do. Jack wasn't at school, the others wouldn't even talk to him and only spared enough energy to glare at him whenever he tried to talk to them.

He was royally screwed.

The teen let out a small, sarcastic chuckle as he looked down bitterly. "Yeah, to put it lightly." He muttered. " I'm not 'screwed'. I'm bloody fuc-"

However just before Aster was able to finish his thought he suddenly paused, cutting himself off and stopping in his slow tread toward home as something suddenly entered into his peripheral vision. His eyes widened slightly as he raised his head;

Only to find himself looking at a familiar blue hoodie.

Aster felt his body tense slightly as shock all but came up and slapped him across his face as he looked across the empty street and saw the signature mop of white hair that peeked out from under the hood of his jacket and instantly screamed the name 'Jack Frost' in his ear like a freaking bullhorn.

Aster didn't know whether to be shocked, relieved, or just plain pissed that he had run into Jack like this. Well, technically he had just noticed him from the other side of the road, but still!

The hell is the show pony doing out here anyway? He thought absently, his eyes following the white haired teen as he passed in the opposite direction. The kid's hands were stuffed in his pockets as he walked, keeping his head down and looking at the sidewalk and his hood over his head as if he didn't want anyone to see him.

Well if that was his plan it was just working marvelously now wasn't it?

But seriously, just what was he even doing out here anyway? He wasn't at school the past three days, but then just casually decides to go for a stroll down Main Street?

Yeah. Not bloody likely. He thought with a small scowl but he still looked at Jack questioningly.

Yeah okay this wasn't actually Main Street and there was absolutely no one around. It was slightly odd considering school had just gotten out and this place had at least a few people around shopping at this time of day, but Aster didn't give that much thought.

Still though, if Jack was just ditching or playing sick the past few days what the hell was he doing out here anyway? Wasn't he worried about running into a teacher or something? And didn't he say he lived outside of town and almost never came here except for work? And where the hell did he even think he was going anyway? There was nothing the way he was headed. Just what the hell was going on with this kid?

All of these questions as well as at least a dozen others were tumbling around in Aster's mind as he watched the other teen suddenly turn and disappear around the corner of a building at the end of the street.

Aster stayed where he was, not moving to call out to Jack and internally debating on whether or not he should just turn back around and forget he ever saw the kid and just go home. It's not like he really wanted to talk to him and he was probably the last person on planet earth that Jack wanted to talk to right about now.

But the questions of just what the hell was going on and where Jack was going kept flashing through his head as he looked off in the direction the white haired teen had vanished with a scowl.

There really wasn't anything that way. This was as far East in town as you could really go before you hit the woods or the old-…

No way… He thought as his eyes widened slightly when he realized there actually was something in that direction.

"But why the 'ell would Frostbite be goin' there?"

An even more curious and questioning look etched its way across Aster's face as an entire new set of questions suddenly racking through his head before he shook his head angrily and his glare returned.

No! No he didn't care! Not one bit! The bloody little show pony could do whatever the hell he wanted and Aster couldn't give less of a damn!

The Australian teen repeated this over and over again in his head as if it were some kind of sacred mantra as he tried to force himself to look away and keep moving forward. Fully intent on going home and forgetting this whole mess and convincing himself it didn't matter.

But sadly he couldn't get more than three steps before his feet suddenly seemed to stop wanting to listening to him and he came to a complete stop as that question once again repeated in his head.

Why the hell would Jack be going THERE of all places?

Aster remained where he was for a good 60 seconds, trying again to force his thoughts aside and keep moving forward but he remained firmly in place before he suddenly looked back to where Jack had disappeared with questioning eyes.

"… Damn it…!"

Before he could once again try to stop himself or say he didn't give a damn Aster suddenly found himself turning around as he began to move forward, momentarily forgetting he didn't care about what was going on as he began to follow after Jack to figure out just what the hell was going on.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Toothy, please you must try and calm down a bit. I know you are angry with Aster but you are not acting like yourself and it is honestly starting to scare Sandy." North said to his friend who was currently fuming in front of him as they walked down the sidewalk towards the library and diner a few blocks away from the school.

Making a point to ignore Sandy as the shorter boy glared up at him with an unimpressed scowl.

Tooth suddenly paused for a moment, nearly having North walk straight into her and making him backpedal slightly to avoid trampling her.

With a heavy sigh that would have probably been seen as just dramatic to anyone who didn't know the current situation she and her friends were in she turned back to give North and Sandy an apologetic look. "I know…" She said.

"It's just that this whole thing has gotten me so frustrated! I know we all promised not to talk to Aster until he apologized to Jack and learned his lesson but…!" She trailed off, not really knowing what to say about the whole thing.

North and Sandy shared a look before North stepped forward to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know Toothy, but everything will return to normal soon. Aster is just as stubborn as a rock. It will take time."

"I know that North." She said, letting out another sigh. "But what about Jack? I mean, you saw the way he looked when Aster said all that stuff, remember? He… He was… I don't even know how to describe it North! He looked like Aster had all but stabbed him! And he hasn't been at school sense! I mean do you think he would have actually-"

Tooth was suddenly cut off before she could finish her thought, her eyes wide and voice slightly shaky as both hers and North's attention were brought to Sandy who had pulled on her sleeve to get her attention and was now holding up his notebook for them to read off of.

'We understand Tooth.' They read. 'But there isn't really anything we can do about it. All we can do is wait until Jack comes back and try to talk to him, hope Aster swallows his pride and actually apologizes to him, and if he doesn't North can slam him into a wall and you can scream his ear off until he does.'

Both Tooth and North couldn't help but crack a small smile at that last bit as they knew it sounded like a joke but that Sandy was actually being serious.

"But, what about Jack?" Tooth said, her smile dropping back into a frown as she looked at her friends uncertainly. "I mean, have either of you two even heard anything about him?"

Both of the boys shook their heads, almost forlornly at the girl as Sandy began to write something.

'Aside from all the rumors and idiotic comments coming from everyone else that you promptly put a stop to by scaring the crap out of the school's best running back, no. I haven't heard anything.'

Tooth felt her face flush in embarrassment as she remembered her little freak out where North had to literally hold her back from punching that jerk for what he had been saying about Jack. She was normally so peaceful but the second you start bad mouthing the people she cared about you had better start running.

North shook his head as well. "I actually went to ask Miss Autumn about it today during lunch."

This made the others perk up slightly as they looked at him expectantly.

"What did she say? Is he sick? Is he hurt? Did she say anything- how could you not tell us?!" Tooth said, once more starting to lose it and North had the right mind to take a few steps back and raise his hands in defense before Sandy tugged at her shirt again and she calmed down with a blush and a mumbled apology.

The Russian teen shook his head sadly at his friends. "Sadly no. She didn't know anything either." He said.

"She merely said that he had been called in sick the past few days and she herself was actually starting to get worried. Though I really don't think he is sick, my belly is telling me it is something much worse."

"He hasn't been to class in three days. Could what Aster have said really done something that bad to Jack? And with what Cindy said…" Again she trailed off.

Everyone stood silent for a moment, remembering what the girl had said about Jack being a big brother.

And also of course just how much his expression had changed when Aster had brought up the topic. He looked like he was ready to be sick… or more like drop dead.

"Do you remember last week? When Jack had avoided us?" North suddenly asked, drawing the attention of his two friends as he looked down thoughtfully.

'Uhhhhhhhhh. Yeah. Kinda hard to forget that North.' Sandy scribbled down on his paper before holding it up to show them.

North shook his head, momentarily thinking that anyone who ever said writing can't convey sass obviously never met Sandy. "No, not that part. I mean before that." He said, causing the others to look at him curiously.

"When you were talk with him Tooth, when you were asking him questions about his family he had seemed pretty nervous."

Tooth nodded, still feeling guilty for that even though she hadn't known she was doing something wrong.

"But if I remember correctly it was only when you asked if he had any little brothers or sisters that he actually seemed to panic." This caused the other's eyes to widen in sudden realization and Tooth's hand slowly went to cover her mouth.

"And then again when Aster mentioned being a big brother…" She muttered, this information only making her feel more guilty over what happened the week before and North nodded sadly.

Sandy quickly pulled back his notepad to scribble something down again before showing it. 'So you think that whatever this is has something to do with Jack's siblings?' He asked silently, though he already knew the answer.

Again North nodded. "I believe that is what makes the most sense. But I could be wrong."

Toothiana suddenly moaned, her hands covering her face as exhaustion suddenly seemed to slap her upside the heat. "What are we going to do guys? This is bad. Like, really bad! We can't just sit around and do nothing forever! We need to do something!" She said, throwing her arms out in exasperation.

"I mean I know we promised not to push Jack on the issue and leave him alone about it, but this is really starting to freak me out! I know he just transferred here, but I think we're the only friends he has and after what happened I'll bet he doesn't even want to be friends! I wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to speak to Aster again and he probably doesn't exactly think the best of us right now either! I mean Jack probably doesn't even want to-… Jack?"

North and Sandy felt their eyes- that had already been steadily widening as Tooth all but began to scream at the two of them- suddenly narrow in confusion as their friend suddenly cut herself off with a look of shock written across her face.

Both of the two boys looked at her questioningly before they turned around and followed her gaze and felt their jaws drop slightly in shock.

The very boy they had just been discussing had come out from seemingly nowhere, no more than 50 feet away from the group, as he stepped out into the street and onto the crosswalk that lead to the other side of the road. His hood was up and his head was down but that didn't cover the glimpse of white hair that fell over his eyes and instantly informed the others of who he was.

The term 'speak of the devil' came to everyone's minds momentarily as he walked right passed them without even realizing they were there.

"Jack…?" Tooth said, still in slight shock from the boy's sudden appearance. "What is he doing out here?"

Neither of the others had any kind of answer to that and just continued to watch silently as Jack disappeared around the corner of a building on the other side of the road before all of their eyes suddenly went wide as another person entered their line of sight.

Aster.

They saw their friend come around the same building Jack had before, stepping into the street, and by the look on his face he was all kinds of pissed off.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?!" Tooth whisper-screamed as she shook North's shoulder and she suddenly began to panic as she watched Aster cross the road and disappear in the direction Jack had vanished.

"You don't think Aster would try anything foolish do you?" North asked, honestly hating the way he was even suspecting his friend doing anything, well, like he was thinking he might do. He knew that Aster was really a great guy but he was pissed right now. Bad things happened when he lost his temper and all three of them hated to think about what could happen if he and Jack started fighting again.

Before either North or Tooth could fully respond to what was happening Sandy suddenly shot forward after the two retreating teens.

"Sandy?! Where are you going?!" Tooth called after him, making him stop for just a brief moment to shoot a look over his shoulder that no one needed a written note to be able to read.

I'm going to keep Aster from being a complete ass again and then I'm gonna talk to Jack! Now are you two coming or not?!

North and Tooth just stood there for a minuet as Sandy again turned around and started off after Jack and Aster before they both shared a look and Tooth crossed her arms with an unsure expression.

"This is going to get worse before it gets better isn't it?" She asked, getting her answer when North only cringed slightly before both of them ran forward.

Correction. This was going to get much, much worse.

*alarm goes off and is quickly silenced by the use of my .45 and a silver bullet as I startle awake* A-And that concludes the chapter! I hope it was worth the wait everyone. Again I am really sorry it took so long and I will try my best to update when I can! Please let me know what you think and tell me if you have any suggestions or requests in a review or PM.

Until next time people!

A man walks into a bar. The universe implodes from the weight of the possible punchlines.

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