It had been a minute ago when I finished telling a story to the children when I felt a familiar coldness, Jack's presence. I could hear a catch in my breath at the sight of him; nervous excitement began to fill my being. His skin had collected snow on it, and his hair still had that frost sheen.

"Whoah, did you get yourself all dressed up for me?" Jack looked at me in amazement, if not a bit exaggerated.

"Keep dreaming, sugar." I snorted.

He sat on the bench beside me, located at the furthest facing the stage, most of the people was looking at the stage.

"And you're bare feet!"

"Obviously" I raised an eyebrow at him

"You're copying me!" He tried imitating a high pitch between a moan and a squeal, to which I laughed with surprise, dissolving the consciousness that started to settle in me.

"Anyway, let's go!" He stood up and offered a hand to me.

"Go where?" I took his hand.

"Are you forgetting that I'm supposed to be courting you?" He had a playful smile on his lips.

"It's kind of hard to forget when I can't stop myself from thinking of you."

He had an unreadable look in his face that I replayed what I just said.

Fudge! That sounded crappy, sappy, corny and desperate.

I withdrew my hand from his and looked sideways when out of nowhere my mom had dragged me away from Jack and was heading towards the stage.

"Mom, what are you doing?" I hissed.

"You're going to sing, darling!" She gestured to someone and before I knew it I was up on the stage in front of the whole town, with a microphone in front of me, my heart started hammering against my chest, my mind in a panic.

I looked at the crowd, this is not my audience, I'm a storyteller and kids are always the audience I've ever had. This crowd has old people, middle-aged people teenagers and kids. I looked at mom, I don't know for support or something else, but she was busily chatting up with other mothers. Not caring at all whether I'd want reassurance or not, she knows I'm not good at this, I keep messing up, she knows this, my fear of disappointment, that I can't live up to her expectations.

And then I felt a cold hand entwine my right hand, at first I flinched but then I got comfortable with it. You'd think a hand of a winter spirit would be anything but comfortable; instead it was just like any hand that indicated of a person who stayed out too much in the cold.

The sight of a hand holding an invisible hand must be odd for the townspeople but I couldn't care less. I smiled at Jack's direction, giving his hand a squeeze and he squeezed back.

I look at my mom and all that she had said the other night, all about everything these past few days not being real, about me being a liar and about my stories being a pack of lies.

"Lies are just stories and stories are all that matter. We all tell stories, maybe some more truthful than others, but in the end the only thing that counts is what you can make people believe." I kept my eyes on my mom, she slowly turned her head to me and I got her attention.

I broke eye contact with my mom and looked in the eyes of my audience, and what I saw in some are confusion, some awed, some angry, some amused, some curious nevertheless I got a feedback from my audience.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Yes.

If Alice had been the one courting me right now or asking me out, I would have said that three letter word without missing a beat. Unfortunately I'm the one who's wooing her and I know I'm the one who's supposed to be serenading her right now but right now as she held my hand singing the first stanza of the song, I listened to the sound of my heart beat drumming a race.

O Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
from glen to glen, and down the mountain side.
The summer's gone and all the roses falling;
It's you, it's you must go and I must bide.

The song was also a story, makes sense when Alice is a storyteller. It's about farewell by the one who stayed, and the first stanza can weave thousand of pictures flash in your mind, weaving a story. To an elder parent, this song could be about seeing a child grow up and having to let them go.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow.
And I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow;
Oh Danny Boy, oh Danny Boy, I love you so!

To a middle-age person, this song entails the story of waiting, either for the child to come back or a lover. I could hear slowly and softly the townspeople were humming along with her.

But when ye come, and all the flow'rs are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be.
Ye'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me.

The third stanza definitely would hook up any age here listening to the song. A time limit, regrets, and the two words: too late. I looked at Alice, her eyes telling a story on their own. And I swear, I swear as she looked at me for who knows how a million moments passed, she knew my serenading plan for her and a hint of challenge whether I could top off this one.

And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me;
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For you will bend and tell me that you love me;
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me

I could've just flown her away from here, but then I couldn't. Not because I was conscious of a news about a teenage girl flying mysteriously breaking the law of science, I couldn't care less about that but no, I had to watch her, breathe in her appearance, her tousled hair, her eyes, her lips; everything about her.

Just then a feeling of hollowness engulfed me, drowning me, at the same time, a feeling of filling magnetizing fullness expanded throughout my body. I felt warm, when instead of I should feel nothing. My consciousness of the air currents lessened, my body had felt gravity partially weighing me down, and lastly, I felt wrong but at the same time I felt alive. Not alive like alive as a spirit but as someone seeing me.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Suddenly I felt the hand I'm holding, grow warm, but I dismissed it with my own warmth affecting Jack's hand. And when I finished singing I turned my head to Jack's direction, barely even hearing the claps and whistles. I felt my heart jump out too much with half shock and horror.

Holding my right hand was not only Jack but also Jake. I didn't know this was possible, but of course it was since Jack had said that normally teenagers and adults and even some kids who doesn't believe in his existence would just pass through him.

Jake's appearance was still the same except I could see Jack in his features, wherein Jake's eyes had been dark, a ghost of eerie, icy blue eyes shone through. They had exactly the same height, almost the same features, and two of them standing in one place in front of me, gives me a double vision.

Thankfully, or not, Jack had stepped back, clearly mirroring the shock in my eyes.

As if on cue Jake bent down in front of me on one knee and took a pair of gray shoes with glittering bows, the shoes I had thrown at him.

"You know for a storyteller your memory is…" He trailed off and then continued "Fist of all, Cinderella was not supposed to ran away from the prince leaving the pair of shoes behind."

When he took my left foot and slid on the first shoe, I got over my shock.

Knowing full well and aware that the microphone is in front of us, the townspeople could hear whatever we would say,

"Uhmm you could get up now Jake, I can wear the shoes on my own" I protested meekly, embarrassed with the all eyes from the audience on me.

But Jake ignored me and put the other shoe on my other foot, "Second, Cinderella ran from the party, not to the party"

I looked at Jack with panic and I saw him glaring a hole at the back of Jake, how was I gonna explain this to him? That Jake is just a guy that's putting on my… shoes? Sounds wrong even though that's just it, that's just the truth! Ahhhh hell!

Jake stood up. "And third, it's not even midnight."

Before I knew it, Jack had stepped in the exact spot of Jake, and I could see that ghostly sheen of frost on Jake's black hair. And in a perfect unison with both voices the wind brought to my ears,

"Shall we dance?"

This was so wrong. Undoubtedly and undeniably wrong. Alarm bells are ringing inside my head. I stepped back but Jack/Jake (Jack&Jake) had a close distance from me that his palm was already on my back.

"You're not trying to be a killjoy now, are you?" They both asked

I closed my eyes trying to remember who's saying that line right now, who's in control, but then I decided I needed to get away from him/them as fast as possible.

"It would be rude and not polite to leave the festival without you celebrating it without a dance." He/They pouted.

The one in control must be Jake.

He leaned in and whispered in my ear. "As far as I can remember, it was you who taught me polite manners."

And it's all I can do to stop myself from shivering.

This is Jack.

And Jack is a spirit.

He had just possessed Jake.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Author's Note:

BOOOOM! There ya go! Ya though I wouldn't update, didn't cha? Well you thought wrong! Sorry I wanted a little suspense because I just joked last chapter that I was leaving, and I wanted you to doubt a bit, but hey I'm here.

This chapter is my Christmas gift for you, hopefully I can update more often.

To Jack Frost fan:

Hey there! How'd you like this new chapter? Hahaha I swear we're going to the serenading part but for now let's just make their lives interesting! And btw: did Jack Frost visit you?

To alonealexabluerose:

Thank you for your constant and ever support! :D I really really appreciate it!

To Cheshire cat:

Yep! First of all, Alice doesn't care about Jake even if her mom calls Jake asking her out to the festival is a date. She was just using Jake as a cover up for the storytelling. Whoah! Jack the snowman and Jake the dog? Shall we have a poll about this? Hahaha I for one vote for the snowman!

To ALL READERS:

Thank you for your support and may you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Please please please let us all wish for a memorable occasion and I wish that I can have a heck of am inspiration to connect my ideas.

WE HAVE 5,887 VIEWS SO WE SHOULD ALL GO MWAHARHARHARHARHAR

I love you!