A/N: omg so while i was on vacation i got a few emails from people reviewing my first fanfiction and all i do is just asdfghjkl because i wrote that fic when i was in my 'fangirl stage' and im sill getting people telling me how good it is ;A;
Chapter Thirty Seven
Jack hadn't done much for the rest of Friday. He just spent the rest of the day in the attic, contemplating on what Mr. Moon had told him. His friends didn't come by the orphanage either, probably busy with school.
It was Saturday and Jack was spending it on the roof again. He was on his back with his hands behind his head, aimlessly gazing up at the snow-white clouds drifting above him. It was the only white substance in abundance anymore. There was hardly any snow around town that hadn't melted yet and any large quantities of snow was held in the trees. A few patches of grass were here and there but in other places like the park, where it was out in the open, it was still under a blanket. The park was so far away from town, far away from exhaust caused by cars or heated buildings.
Jack wished that spring wasn't approaching so soon, he liked the cold.
There was all sorts of activities you could do in the snow. Snowball fights was what Jack liked the most, but other games like sledding and ice-skating was fun too. Except he right now he was alone, and playing by yourself wasn't as fun as playing with your friends. He couldn't have a snowball fight by himself anyway.
But Jack didn't make any plans for today; he wouldn't be going to the carnival with his friends until tomorrow. They'd be going on Sunday for convenience, when there wouldn't be a heard of people running around and packing into rides like a can of sardines.
Tomorrow, when the circumstances were right, Jack would try to advance out of the friend zone with Tooth. He didn't care that she just saw him as a friend, she may be the only person he has chance with.
There was an enormous ferris-wheel at the carnival, one that could be spotted from miles away. Jack wanted to ride it with Tooth, that way there would be no interruptions when he made a move. She couldn't possibly say no while they were sitting together on a ginormous ride. Unless…she turned him down. Then the rest of the ride together would just be uncomfortable, not to mention their friendship after that. But Tooth was a cool girl, and Jack was sure that she wouldn't let a little bump in their friendship ruin anything between them.
Jack transitioned to a standing position and leaned against the chimney. He stared off at the forest, overviewing the lake. With the weather beginning to warm up the lake would start to slowly thaw, thinning the ice. It was a shame it was too late to skate on it now, skating on the ice was so relaxing.
While Jack became lost in his thoughts he didn't notice that North's van was driving towards the orphanage. He wasn't looking at the road, just focusing on the lake.
North pulled up and parked in front of the orphanage. When he unlocked the doors everyone inside clambered out. They felt guilty for not seeing Jack at all on Friday, but they had to do homework after school and arrange time schedules for tomorrow.
"So does Jack really live in the attic of this place?" Aster asked, since this was his first time visiting Jack at his home. "Seems kinda depressing if you ask me."
The entire building seemed to be made of wood with peeling paint coating the outside. There were a few kids playing in the front lawn, most likely some of the orphan children that lived there, and they were laughing while playing in whatever snow was left.
"They don't seem to mind how the building looks." North observed. He thought about organizing a fundraiser later on to help repair the orphanage so that it didn't look so sad. He was handy when it came to working with wood, he should be able to make the orphanage look as good as new in no time.
Instead of just leaning against the chimney, Jack was actually crouching on top of it now. He didn't have to worry about somebody lighting a fire, the fire place was broken and has been off limits for years. The only danger to Jack would be falling off the roof.
He decided to look down to see what was going on and saw North's van. What was that doing here? Jack hadn't even noticed that his friends had arrived nor did he expect to see them today. Their reason for being here was without a doubt to check on him, and Jack could see all four of his friends walk to the front door of the orphanage. They must have not seen him on the roof. "Hey you guys!" he called down. "Hey!"
Jack watched them react to his voice and laughed at how lost they were looking around to where he was. Not once did they think to look up to realize that he was actually over their heads. They were so misguided that it was amusing. "I'm up here! On the chimney!"
When they finally looked up to see him perched on the peak of the orphanage, Jack could hear Tooth gasp but he only smiled and waved. This was their first time seeing Jack on the roof of a three story building, and he was doing it without any kind of support. He was just sitting on the short chimney and acting as if this was all casual to him. As a matter of fact, was causal for him. He'd been going up on the roof for years.
"Jack, what are you doing up there?!" Tooth yelled up to him. "Get down before you get hurt!"
There was a look of distress on everyone's faces at seeing Jack so high up. Even Aster looked like he would make a mess in his pants if Jack fell. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity to scare them, Jack agreed to climb down. "Alright, here I come!"
Jack jumped down from the chimney and landed on the roof. A few times he pretended to stumble or slip, smirking at the reactions his friends made, until he made his way to the drainpipe. Jack lowered himself to the ground and walked over to where his friends were. All of their mouths were wide open at what he just did. All except North, who had seen Jack climb the drainpipe last week. He was just surprised that Jack had gotten so high up on his own. Jack however, was smiling. "Okay, I got down from the roof and here I am. Happy?"
Sandy gave him a thumbs up, impressed at how nimble he was when getting down, and Aster just crossed his arms while mumbling something under his breath. Tooth however; she was just relieved that he had gotten down without harming himself in any way.
"But I have to admit," Jack said while turning to Aster. "I'm surprised at you Kangaroo. I thought you were going to faint like an old lady when I grabbed the drainpipe."
"Rack off Frost." Aster retorted coldly. He was annoyed at how careless Jack was when climbing down. Pretending to slip up, just because he wanted a few laughs! "Bloody show pony."
"So you were impressed"
"No, I wasn't. What were you even doin' up there in the first place?"
"Why did you guys even come here in the first place?"
"That didn't answer my question."
"I answered your question with a question. So why don't you guys answer my question and tell me why you're all here?"
"We came to see how you were doin'."
"Really, now?"
"Yeah."
"Well…you're here now."
"Yeah, and you seem to be actin normal. So why don't you tell all of us what you were doin' on your roof in the first place? And don't even think about changing the subject again."
"You're pretty nosy for, Kangaroo."
Sandy tugged on Jack's hood and caught his attention. When Jack turned to him, Sandy pointed over to Tooth, who was giving him an easeful look. "We're your friends, Jack." she calmly said to him. "And you can tell us anything that's on your mind."
Jack was silent as he was surrounded by his only friends in existence. They were all focused on him, not even flinching when a cold gust of air whisked past them. Not even Aster seemed to be bothered by it. Jack began to chuckle at them.
"What is it?" North asked, clueless at what Jack found so humorous all of a sudden. They were here to see if he was okay, not stand around and watch him laugh at who knows what. "Does everyone have trust issues with me?" Jack joked at them. "Seriously, all of you are acting like there's some dark secret full of angst hidden deep down inside me that I'm hiding from everyone. Do all of you think I'm lying every time I respond to something?" There was still a toothy grin on Jacks face. "And then you guys go on and on about how your my friends but have you forgotten that I'm your friend too?"
With Jack smiling as if there was nothing that could ruin this day, his cheerful mood quickly spread to the others. North was the first to be affected by it. "You know what?" he beamed at the rest of his friends, his tone jolly. "I think Jack is right! We're all friends here, why not trust each other?"
"See? North has the right idea in his head. And we're all here right now, why don't we all do something fun together while the sun is still up? It's a Saturday after all, and I didn't see much of you guys on Friday."
It was amazing how quickly Jack had changed the subject again. North, Aster, Tooth, and Sandy thought that they would be comforting him while he opened up. Instead, he was talking about having a good time together.
"What do you suggest we do, then?" Aster asked. "Because-AGH!"
Jack laughed as Aster brushed the snow off of his face. Just because the snow was melting didn't mean that you couldn't have any snowball fights, and Jack loved snowball fights. Sandy was laughing as well, and ducked when Aster threw a snowball at Jack, who ran out of the way. The clump of snow ended up hitting Tooth, who smiled and made a snowball of her own.
A domino effect escalated and before they knew it, the five high school seniors were running around throwing snow at each other. It was all just for fun, and nobody was really aiming at anyone in particular. They were all just laughing and aimlessly throwing snow at whoever crossed paths with them. And it all started with Jack throwing one snowball at Aster.
Jack climbed up one of the trees and shook one of the branches. A pile of snow fell on Sandy's head and Jack laughed about it, until Sandy got North to form an alliance with him and the two of them ganged up on Jack together.
From inside the orphanage the group of friends could be seen playing in the half-melted snow through the window. The caretaker of the orphanage stood by that window, gazing at the white haired boy who was the spark of fun within the group. Mr. Moon said no words, but simply just thought to himself. He knew what was really going on, and Jack should enjoy his time here while it lasts.
OoOoO
Days had turned into months. Three months, to be exact.
Tooth sighed to herself and marked the calendar hanging on the wall. The grid was their only record of how long the guardian of fun had been asleep, and it was painful just to look at it. In all of their years of being immortal, none of them have ever had to deal with a spirit in a coma before. The longest any of them have been asleep was only for a few days after working hard.
"Is he still asleep?" North asked, walking into the room where Jack was sleeping. Tooth was by his side, watching for any hints of consciousness, but today was the same as any other day: nothing.
"He hasn't even moved." she responded. "I know that he's breathing, and that he's alive but he's just…frozen."
"Manny hasn't said anything new either. Just the same old 'he's not ready yet to be woken up' mumbo jumbo. I just wish he would let us know that we can do more for Jack than just sit here!"
"What about Sandy? Did he find anything out?"
North grimly shook his head and took a seat next to his fellow guardian. "I don't even know if Sandy expects anything new to come up. Every time he tries to figure something out about this mess, he just comes up empty-handed."
"And Bunny? Did he ever find out if Pitch has anything to do with all this?"
"He's been to Pitch's lair every time he's near the Burgess area. According to him, Pitch isn't even strong enough to put a spirit to sleep for so long. Not even Sandy is capable of making someone go comatose for three months straight."
Tooth grabbed Jack's hand. It was amazing how cold he was, almost as if he was dead, but the hummingbird fairy hybrid prayed to the moon that it wouldn't come to that. As long as his chest rised with every silent breath he took, Jack was alive.
A tap at the window jostled the two guardians and directed their attention to the sandman outside. "Afternoon, Sandy." North opened the window for his comrade and the golden man drifted in on his dream sand. "Did you happen to see Bunny on your way here?"
Sandy shook his head and created a model of Burgess over his head.
"He's in Burgess?"
The town vanished as Sandy gave a nod of his head. He peered over Tooth's shoulder to see Jack asleep in the same bed that he's been unconscious in ever since day one. It was so haunting to see Jack like this. Day in and day out his piercing blue eyes would remain shut and his body was as frozen as the ice he used to make.
They were growing anxious again, but they must not lose hope. Even if the actual guardian of hope wasn't present with them, they still had to believe that Jack would open his eyes again.
/
"What's wrong, Abby? Is there something out there?" Jamie moved to the window to determine what his dog was growling at outside. He didn't see anything suspicious, until he saw a figure blaze past the trees. He gasped and stepped back from his window. "Did you see that Abby? It could be him!"
Jamie bolted out of his room and ran downstairs. He put on his winter jacket and boots before sprinting out the back door. "Jack? Is that you?" He looked in every direction but saw nothing but bare trees. "Jack?"
"Nah, mate, it's just me."
"Bunny!"
Jamie turned around to see none other than the Easter Bunny standing behind him. He wasn't Jack Frost, but it was still a pleasure to see him. "Hi, Bunny! What are you doing here? It's winter and Easter isn't for another season."
"I'm just passing through is all."
"Oh, then can I ask you something?"
Bunnymund already knew what Jamie was going to ask about. Jack hadn't been to Burgess in months and winter had begun days ago. With the spirit of winter stuck at the North Pole, there wasn't anyone to frost the town over. Not a single snowflake had fallen since autumn ended, and it was an abnormal act in the town of Burgess.
"What is it, Jamie?"
"Well…it's just that I haven't seen Jack for a long time and I was wondering if you know where he is? Is he doing some guardian stuff?"
"Yeah, he's…really busy right now. Frostbite's dealing with all that global warming nonsense."
"Really? My dad said global warming is nonsense but my mom is worried about it and people have been saying California and Florida are going to be underwater soon. Is that what Jack is doing? Freezing the ice caps?"
"Listen, Jamie, I'm kinda in a hurry right now to get to the North Pole and-"
"Why are you going to the North Pole? I thought you didn't like the cold."
"It's guardian business. We're havin' a meeting."
"Oh. Well, if you see Jack can you tell him that we all miss him here? We haven't had a snow day for a while and snowball fights aren't as fun without him."
"Sure thing, Jamie."
The young believer waved goodbye to the Easter Bunny and watched him hop down a rabbit hole. A flower popped out of the ground where the tunnel had closed up and Jamie glanced at it before going back inside. He was disappointed that Jack's guardian duties was preventing him from making it snow in Burgess, but it must be important if it kept him away for so long.
Jamie turned around and walked back inside his house. He passed Sophie in the hallway, who had ran down to see what was going on. "What's happening?" she asked. "It's nothing, Sophie." Jamie answered. "I just saw Bunny in the backyard."
"Bunny! Hop hop!"
"Right...hop hop."
"What about Jack? Where the snow?"
"Jack is busy saving the world from global warming. Now, you should get going to bed, Sophie. Otherwise Mom will come and yell at both of us."
"But me not tired!"
"Just go to bed, okay?"
Jamie was disgruntled. He knew that Jack was tied up with saving the world, but couldn't he at least send a cold front to Burgess? From the looks of the recent weather patterns, it seemed like Jack wouldn't be making it snow any time soon.
/
Bunnymund hopped through his tunnel to get to Santoff Clausen. His chat with Jamie had made him late, and being late was the last thing that he wanted.
The last time Bunny had seen Jack was yesterday when he was still asleep, but that didn't mean he couldn't wake up today. Jack could wake up at any second, and that idea is what had kept the Pooka so hopeful for the past three months.
All odds were against the guardians on this one. Manny wasn't providiing any assistance to them and they hadn't come up with a new idea in months. The only thing that they could do was visit the sleeping winter sprite every night only to see that he was still sleeping.
Bunnymund opened up another tunnel and stood outside North's workshop. It was freezing cold, but he didn't have time to complain as he hopped to the building at once. He entered the same room that he's been visiting for days and saw that the rest of the guardians were already assembled at Jack's bedside. "How's Sleeping Beauty?"
"Still the same." North answered. "What about Burgess?"
"I tell ya, that place is just plain weird to be in right now. I can't remember the last time I saw it without snow during winter. I didn't even see any frost on the windows."
"Did you see Jamie?"
"Sure did. He was wonderin' why Jack wasn't there, so I just told him that Jack was busy with global warming and left. But if this keeps up, I have a feeling that Burgess won't get any snow days this year."
Bunny crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He'd never admit it, but he actually missed being ticked off by Jack. There wasn't anyone around to spread frost and life was too dull without the guardian of fun around to cause mischief.
Whatever Jack was doing, they all hoped that he would stop so that they could hear his laughter again.
OoOoO
"See you guys tomorrow!"
Jack stood in the front lawn of the orphanage and waved goodbye to his friends. They had spent all day playing in the melting snow, and Jack still had snow in his hoodie from when Aster hit him from behind. It was fun having a snowball fight with his friends, now they were being carried away in North's car. Jack wished that the day hadn't passed by so fast, but he had tomorrow to look forward to.
The sun had set and Jack retreated back to the orphanage. He was tired from playing outside all day, and going to bed seemed like a good idea in his eyes.
When Jack changed into his sleeping attire he was ready for bed. Hew as about to climb under his bedsheets but was halted when he heard Mr. Moon coming. "Jack? Can I have a word with you for a moment?"
Jack groaned. "Right now? I'm about to go to bed."
"Don't worry, this won't take long."
Mr. Moon climbed up the ladder and joined Jack who sat on his bed. "If this is another thing about what goes on in my head while I sleep, then can't it wait until tomorrow?"
"I think it would be best if you heard this now."
"Fine, go ahead."
Jack was slightly apathetic to what Mr. Moon had to say, but was also interested as to why they had to talk right now.
"Jack, remember when I was talking about different theories for dreams earlier in the week?"
"You mean when you were going on about other realities? Yeah, and I still have no idea what you meant by that."
"Well, there is another theory that I would like to enlighten you on."
"What is it?"
"It's the idea that certain dreams can actually foreshadow future events."
"Wait, first you tell me that dreams are like another world, and now you're telling me they're hints for the real world?"
"Under the current circumstances, yes."
"What circumstances? And how do you even know about all this dream stuff?"
"Let's just say that there is a lot that you don't know, Jack. But, I would like you to think about everything that I've said to you so far. It will only make it easier for you to realize what's going on."
"Can't you just tell me? Or at least stop talking in riddles? You've stumped me on what I'm supposed to figure out."
"This is something that you must find out yourself, Jack."
"But-"
"Goodnight."
"Wait! I still don't know-"
Mr. Moon closed the latch to the attic as he departed, leaving Jack alone once again. "But that was just pointless!" Their talk lasted no longer than a minute, and all Jack could do now was think about his dreamt up fantasy world. From what he has seen so far, it was aligned with his actual life, and now Mr. Moon presented him with new information that only made it more complex.
What are his dreams trying to tell him? What do they mean? And how is he supposed to figure them out?
Mr. Moon didn't help at all. He just left Jack with more questions than answers.
Jack shook his head. Thoughts like this would make him go crazy! That is, if he's not already there. But it was late at night and Jack desperately needed to go to sleep. As he rested his head on his pillow, he wondered if any dreams he may get tonight would mean anything.
A/N: you guys are making a 14 year old girl cry with your kind words. I don't know what happened to me on vacation, but after coming back I'm just...not the same author I was last week. You have no idea how sh*tty i felt when writing this chapter. But what's scaring me the most is how I'm feeling about this fic in general. I haven't even finished writing this thing yet and i've been working on it all summer.
And I have all these other great ideas for fanfictions after this one but I can't start them yet because I want to get this one out of the way first.
when I first started writing this fanfiction, I felt confident and I was super pumped about it. But now, there's just this little voice in my head making me want to delete everything I have ever done but I would never do that to you guys. I love all of you and I would never delete a fic that people are interested in.
but I don't know if it's the plot, or what's going on right now, but I have just lost my ability to actually write passionately for this. I REALLY want to finish this but every chapter I post just reminds me how much this fic is dragging on so either way I'm just having a constant battle with myself :'(