Chapter 24: Normal

I woke up the next morning the same way I had fallen asleep last night. With Jack running his fingers through my hair and my head on his chest with my hand clutching at his shirt. I smiled as I snuggled closer to the cold boy and caused him to chuckle.

"Good morning," said Jack.

"Morning, " I responded as I took in his scent.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he took my chin and tilted it so that I was looking at him.

"Much better now that you're here," i said with a smile. I wasn't just saying that either. I actually felt better both physically and mentally because he was here. His cold skin numbing the pain from my throbbing head and I felt better mentally because I knew for a fact that he was safe as oppose to the uncertainty that I would have been feeling if I would have still been in he lair. So, yes, I felt much better.

I looked down at myself and saw that I still wore Jack's hoodie. I smiled and played with the long sleeves. I felt Jack's muscles flex as he bent down to whisper in my ear, "I could get use to seeing you in blue."

He pulled away with a smirk and I looked down at the hoodie with a smirk of my own, "So could I. In fact, I'm keeping this."

Jack threw his head back as he laughed and I looked up at him with a a serious expression, "I'm being serious, Jack. You're not getting this back."

"Real funny, Scarlett," said Jack with a hint of sarcasm, "Come on. Give it back."

"No, sir. This wonderful piece of clothing is mine now," I said with a smirk.

"Scarlett-" started Jack before I shushed him and placed a hand firmly on his chest to keep him down as I propped myself up on one elbow. I looked over my shoulder at the cave's entrance and listened intently. I peeled the bright blue hoodie off of me quickly and then removed my black jacket. In the distance I could hear the steady drumming of a group of guards foot falls.

"Do you hear that?" I whispered to Jack quietly. Despite my hand being on his chest, he still moved and lifted himself onto his elbows as well.

"Yeah," responded Jack as he also looked at the cave's entrance.

"Get your staff. If all else fails, we fight," I whispered as I continued searching the cave's entrance incase I saw a guard. I felt Jack shift from under my hand and then felt his nearness as he moved closer to me. He rested his staff on my hip with the hook of the staff aimed at the cave's entrance. The guards foot falls grew louder and I turned to face Jack quickly, "Do you trust me?"

Jack looked away from the caves entrance and to my face for a moment before nodding. I smirked and said, "Good."

In that moment the guards footfalls were louder than ever and I bundled up Jack's hoodie and shoved it at him before taking my own black jacket and covering Jack's stark white form or at least, the lower half of his stark white form. Most of his torso was still showing because I was considerably shorter then him and therefore my trench coat covered only up to his waist.

"Scarlett?" said Jack in confusion and I shushed him again. Quickly I bent down and wrapped my arms around his larger form and covered as much of him as possible. It was in that moment that I remember the off white bandages on my head. I cursed inwardly and clutched myself closer to Jack in hopes to conceal us both into the shadows with all of the black that I was wearing.

The guards were walking past the cave and I felt Jack snuggle further into me. I held him close and waited anxiously for the guards to pass. I could feel my heart beat painfully quick in my chest and the beginnings of sweat forming on my forehead for nervousness. The seconds seem to take forever as they stood at the foot of the cave. I willed myself to blend into the shadows because after all, Pitch Black is my father and if there is something good that comes with being his daughter is knowing how to blend into the shadows.

Finally, the guards decided to keep moving and walked away. I made sure not to let go of Jack until I couldn't hear their neighs or footfalls anymore and let out the breath that I hadn't realised that I'd been hold. I allowed myself to relax and Jack and I slowly detangled ourselves from each other. We took a moment to let our brains catch up with our bodies as we sat up.

I looked up at the amazing white haired boy and as we made eye contact, we burst out laughing. It wasn't like a normal laugh in the sense of something funny had been spoken but instead it was a laugh to release nerves. It took us a couple of moments more to catch our breath and collect ourselves.

"That was intense," I commented as my laughter died down.

"Agreed!" said Jack as he pulled me in for a hug, "I thought that we were done for!"

I pulled away from him and pouted playfully, "Don't you trust me?"

"Nope," responded Jack just as playfully.

"Well, then excuse me as I go cry in a corner," I said dramatically causing Jack to laugh. I moved to stand and Jack wrapped his arms around my stomach, pulling me back down to let my back rest against his chest. I looked at Jack from over my shoulder and asked, "Yes?"

The question was more or less an invitation to see what he wanted or to see what he was thinking. Jack responded by saying happily, "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Okay first things first do you forgive me for not telling you who I am?" I asked.

"No. No, I don't Scarlett," said Jack sarcastically.

"Don't sass me boy," I warned playfully and Jack laughed. I got back down to business, "It looks like father's still after us but when I left he was pretty weak. So, I guess the next thing to do is talk to the other guardians and get them to understand that I don't and never have meant any harm."

"Sounds good to me," said Jack as he nuzzled into my hair, "where do we start?"

I chuckled, "Which guardian won't kill me on sight?"

Jack laughed as well and pulled away from my hair to rest his chin on my shoulder, "I'd say Sandy."

"Then we find Sandy first," I said with a smile. I tried once more to stand up but Jack still had his arms wrapped around my stomach and tightened his grip as I tried to move away, "Um, Jack?"

"Yes, Scarlett," came Jack's innocent reply.

"Let go?" I asked.

"Um, no," said Jack. I could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"And why not?" I inquired.

"Because I'm comfortable."

"Comfortable?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

I drew in a deep breath, "Jack,"

He hummed in response.

"You're an idiot," I said with a chuckle as I tried once more to get out of his arms.

"Hey!" he yelled as he tightened his arms around me again. I couldn't shake the feeling of how things are finally getting back to normal between Jack and I. It made my heart soar and made me feel like maybe, just maybe, I can prove myself to the other guardians as well. Jack use one hand to ruffle my hair and promptly sent my curly hair flying into my face. Jack's laughter filled the cave and I found myself smiling despite my hair being unruly and everywhere.

"Thanks, Jack," I mumbled sarcastically as I attempted to bring my hair back and away from my face.

"You're welcome," he said happily as he purposefully ignored my sarcasm. I sighed and shook my head disapprovingly with a chuckle. When I was finally able to pull my hair back into a quick braid before Jack could do anything else to mess with it, Jack had taken to entertaining himself with blowing air at my ear.

"Jack," I whined as I let my head fall back against the annoying, yet amazing boy's shoulder.

"Alright, alright," said Jack as he surrendered and understood that if he continued to mess with me that I would either snap and punch him or scold him for wasting our time. He let me go finally although I immediately missed his cool skin holding me, not just because it was refreshing in a sense but because it was him. I figured, however, that we had to keep going and find Sandy which was fine by me.

I stood up only to find Jack's arms snaking back around my waist. Although the difference this was that he wasn't hugging me from behind. Instead, he was facing me and I looked up at him in surprise. How had he moved so quickly and how had he managed to put on his hoodie without me noticing? All of my thoughts were lost to however because he sent me one of his dazzling smiles and I completely lost my train of thought and he handed me my jacket with his free hand while keeping the other firmly around my waist. As soon as my jacket was on, Jack snaked his other arm back around my waist and a look of utter fondness crossed his features.

"Shouldnt i get my knife?" i asked quietly.

"I think you'll be fine," responded Jack,"do you trust me?"

I didnt hesitate for a moment as I answered, "Yes."

Carefully, I felt my feet lift off of the floor and Jack flew us out of the cave. My heart rate double as we flew higher into the air and my arms made their way around Jack's neck to further secure myself so that I wouldn't fall. The wind blew loudly as Jack flew us away from the forest where we had settled last night.

"So where do we start?" I asked over the wind.

"Let's try at the pole and if all else fails, we can at least talk to North," Jack yelled back over the wind.

"Are you sure about this?" I yelled back. I wasn't going to lie, North is huge and intimidating. So if something went wrong and North did attack me, I'd be screwed because I know that if he attack I wouldn't fight back. I don't think that I could attack the guardians even if I tried.

"Yeah," responded Jack, "It'll be fun."