A/N: hey do you guys know whats fun? roleplaying. now that is fun :)

Chapter Thirty Nine

They were seated in the front row, close to the stage. An acrobat dressed in a tight, shiny costume was just wrapping up their performance and took a bow as the audience clapped. There were at least over fifty people in the audience, all of them watching the show with interest.

Jack was sitting in between North and Sandy. Tooth was to his far right, but he was too concerned about Sandy to even think about her. Sandy was the second closest friend he had, and Jack would remain cautious around him until the day was over.

"What act do you think is up next?" North asked out loud to all of his friends. They were sitting in a line on his right, wondering the same thing. North looked to Jack, who just shrugged. He didn't know what act was up next either.

A large and burly man stepped onto the stage holding a large wooden plate. He set it on the stage so that it was upright and a woman made her appearance. She was wearing another shiny costume, but hers was tighter than the others and it was more fitting. The man strapped her to the plate, and Jack realized that the female performer was being shackled onto a wheel.

The burly man left the woman incapacitated on the wheel and left the stage without a word. Another man walked out, but he was much younger and was wearing a black cape that fell to the floor. He was most likely the next act. Clearing his throat, the man made his announcement. "Welcome, everybody! You may be wondering why I am here, standing in front of a beautiful young lady who's strapped to a wheel behind me,"

Jack leaned back in his seat. This was probably going to be another magic act. It wasn't that he was apathetic about magic tricks, but he found it repetitive to include two acts under the same classification in one show. A motor backstage began to hum and the wheel began to spin with the woman rotating along with it. He couldn't see her face clearly, but Jack could tell that she looked worried. What role was she playing?

The main performer pulled a cart covered by a black tarp in front of him. "Before I do anything further, I should introduce myself, shouldn't I?" With every passing second the wheel turned faster and faster until the woman bound to its surface was nothing but a blur. The performer took no notice, and continued with his introduction. "My name is Corbin, and I am a knife juggler and thrower!"

Corbin swept the black tarp off of the cart to revel five, razor-sharp throwing knives. Each blade reflected the spotlight shining on the stage, making Jack cringe. Sandy was sitting in the front row; a few yards away from where a man would be throwing piercing projectiles threw the air. He even had a cape, a hazard that's eligible to cause its wearer to stumble. Jack flashed a hint of dismay at Sandy. If Corbin -the knife thrower who also juggled- misdirected one of his knives, there was a chance it could launch into the audience and impale Sandy. Based on the contrast between his dream and his fear, Jack didn't know if he was being careful or fearful.

Corbin picked up all five of his knives and began to juggle them. The wheel with his assistant was till spinning behind him, waiting for the knives. "Now if you pay attention, you should know that you should never try this at home. Playing with knives is dangerous."

Jack anxiously watched as Corbin juggled four knives in one hand and shot the fifth one at the wheel. Its blade dug into the wood five inches away from the assistant's head, joining her in the spin cycle.

"I already introduced myself, but my assistant who I'm lobbing my knives at is Christa. She's nineteen years old and still young, so let's hope I don't miss." Corbin smirked at his audience, acting like a true professional. He juggled multiple knives in one hand while building up suspension over where on the wheel it would become planted. In Jack's case, he was always on the edge of his seat and hoping nothing would go wrong.

Another knife was shot through the air and hit the wheel close to Christa's throat. Two knives thrown, three more left. It was only three, nothing to worry about.

Two knives danced between Corbin's fingers as he threw the third knife, not even looking in the direction of Christa and the wheel. The sharpened blade split the wood and became stuck in the space between Christa's left arm and her head. There was no pattern in where the knives landed from what Jack would tell. He just knew that each knife struck an area on the wheel close to a vital limb. His eyes averted from the show and back to Sandy. The mute was just as engrossed in the act as the rest of the audience was, meaning that he wouldn't want to miss anything. If Jack tried to pull Sandy away from the show now, he would only be shoved away. His paranoia would do nothing but annoy Sandy.

With one knife being flipped in each hand, Corbin faced the audience. His fingers were unharmed by the knife blades while his cape flowed to the ground. "For my last trick, I'll be throwing these two knives at once, so be sure to pay close attention!"

The act was almost over and Jack could feel himself beginning to relax. All that was left were two knives that would simultaneously be thrown, easy enough.

Corbin walked around the stage with the knives in continuous motion and his cape fluttering behind him. He was still facing the audience when he walked towards them, not realizing where his cape had gotten tangled. "Now I-" He grunted as he tripped over his cape, dropping one knife and launching the other at the audience. Gasps from the crowd followed.

/

"Bunny! Bunny!"

"You want those?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, Sophie." Aster pointed to the set of bunny ears and the gamekeeper took them off of the shelf. After half an hour of chasing down his little sister and playing with her, Aster was spending his time playing the carnival games with Sophie. They had just won the basket toss game and Aster crouched down to hand Sophie the prize he had won for her. "There ya go, Sophie. Whaddya think?"

"Bunny!" Enthusiastic about her newly won bunny ears, Sophie plopped the fuzzy accessory on her brother's head. "You're a bunny!"

Aster let out a small laugh. "You want me to wear these, don't ya?"

"Yeah! Be a bunny!"

"Heh, alright." With gray, fuzzy bunny ears on his head, Aster scooped up Sophie. "We should probably go searchin' for the others now. What do you say?"

"Let's go! Go! Go!" Sophie pointed off into a random direction and Aster walked towards it, not knowing where he was going. Sandy had sent him a text about twenty minutes ago about some sort of show that they were going to go see, so Aster would head there.

/

The tent where the show was held in was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Nobody said a word, shocked over the knife thrower's slip-up.

The stray knife was jutting out from Sandy's backrest, surrounded by wide-eyed members of the audience. But none of them were as shocked as Sandy himself, who was pulled away from the knife at the last second by Jack. Even though a knife was hurdled at Sandy, Jack wasn't as surprised as everyone else. He was relieves.

He was relieved that the mishap he's dreaded all day finally happened. It was all over, and he was able to save Sandy from a cruel fate unlike in his dream. "You okay, Sandy?"

Sandy blinked away whatever shock was in his face and took a few deep breathes, giving Jack a thumbs up. He was a bit shaky-they all were- but that didn't prevent Jack from dragging Sandy out of the tent. North and Tooth rose out of their seats and followed after them.

They all stood outside the tent, chatter from within audible enough to understand. But they were out, Sandy escaped without a scratch, and Jack had never been so happy in his life. His dream was right, a sharp projectile would be shot at Sandy today and Jack changed the outcome by pulled his friend back. He was okay, Sandy was okay, they were all okay.

"Oh gosh! I cannot believe that that just happened!" Tooth's body was still trembling with shock as she kept glancing from Sandy to Jack. "Do you know what could have happened? That knife almost hit Sandy! Are you okay?!"

Sandy's personal space was invaded when Tooth embraced him, glad that he was alive. "And Jack! You saved him!" Jack almost choked when Tooth hugged him, and was finally able to breathe when she let him go.

"How are you dealing with this, Sandy?" North asked. He was just as startled as Tooth, but the welfare of his old friend came first. Sandy responded with another thumbs-up that was similar to the one he gave Jack. He felt as if a fire inside of him had just been extinguished. The danger was gone, but the pang of adrenaline still remained.

Jack felt the same as Sandy. His back was to one of the many booths and he watched as his friends got over the fact that Sandy was almost died.

"What about you, Jack? How are you holding up?"

He didn't hear them. A new thought popped into his head that returned Jack to his panicked state of paranoia.

What if this wasn't what his dreams were warning him about?

There was an awful lot of lacking similarities between his dream and the show. Pitch wasn't there, Jack wasn't too late, and having a knife speeding at your head was too different from being shot from behind. If Jack's new theory was correct, then Sandy may still be in danger...

"Jack!" Tooth nudged her spacing out friend on the shoulder and his thoughts were thrown off track. He shook his head before answering. "What is it?"

"You looked troubled. Are you sure you're okay? You were sitting really close to Sandy when that knife flew at him..."

"I'm not frozen with shock if that's what you mean. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"I...really don't know how to explain it."

"Well, why don't we go play some games to get your mind off of it?" Tooth rotated to Sandy and North. "What do you guys say? Wanna play some games? We can always walk around the carnival too. Aster and Sophie still haven't shown up yet."

Everyone agreed with Tooth and carried out her suggestions. No one brought up the show while they aimlessly walked through the carnival. They didn't want to mingle on it any longer and all of them knew it was best to busy their minds with useless chatter so that they'd get over it. Easter was a week away, and making plans about what to do after Easter was always a topic of discussion.

The group of friends did anything to try and forget what had almost happened to Sandy. They rode the merry-go-round, played a couple of games, and North gave away every prize he won to smaller children. Each child he presented a prize with was elated, and North smiled at their reactions to his gifts of kindness. It was as if they were opening their presents on Christmas morning.

Jack's attention would constantly flip on itself. One second he could be freaking out about what might happen to Sandy, and then the next he would grow flustered whenever he got close to Tooth. If only Aster was here, then they could argue or become competitive over pointless carnival games. North and Sandy could compete with them too.

"Where do you think Aster and Sophie ended up?" Tooth asked. She saw how the day had shifted from morning to noon. Time certainly flew by when you're having fun. "When do you think we'll run into them again?"

"Probably soon enough." Jack answered. "I bet they're just playing kiddie games and going on kiddie rides. Sophie would love them." He smirked at the thought of seeing someone as tall and as gruff as Aster accompany Sophie on a ride meant for four year olds.

Tooth was walking behind Jack and placed one hand in her pocket. She carried the dolphin charm she had Sandy make for Jack everywhere with her, waiting for the right opportunity. Tooth desperately wanted to present Jack with the charm. His birthday may be two weeks away, but that didn't mean that he couldn't receive an early gift from one of his friends.

Looking around at the various tents and stands, Tooth saw a kissing booth and directly across from it was a pastel purple tent. It was etched in gold and black embroidery with a sign hanging in the front that read:

Rose Lalonde
Seer of Light
Fortuneteller

It was a fortune telling tent. Having her future sure sounded interesting, so why not go? Tooth brought the question up to her friends. "Hey guys, I'm going to go check out the fortune telling tent over there."

"Okay." North shrugged at Tooth. Having his future told wasn't as appealing to him as winning prizes to hand out, so North decided to just keep observing the other games.

"Have fun." Unless Jack could drag Sandy into the tiny fortuneteller tent, he didn't want to risk going in there alone with Tooth. He'd rather keep an eye on Sandy than sit alone and be nervous next to the girl he had a crush on.

Sandy just waved at Tooth. The boys didn't seem to be all too interested in accompanying her to the tent, so she walked over to it alone. Tooth saw herself as the only one who wasn't apathetic about getting her fortune told, even if it was all a scam. Almost all fortunetellers and psychics were frauds.

The purple flap on the tent was pulled back and Tooth saw all sorts of orbs scattered inside. Candles and paper lanterns lined the perimeter while purple throw pillows decorated the ground. There was a woman sitting in the middle of the dimly lit tent, most likely the fortuneteller.

Tooth took in the color choice of the decor and noticed how everything was either black, a shade dark of purple, or gold. The only other clashing color was the fortuneteller, who's outfit was made of orange, yellow, and a hint of light blue. "Are you Rose Lalonde? The fortuneteller?"

Looking up from the incense she had been lighting, the fortuneteller stared up at Tooth. "Yes, can I help you?"

"My name is Tooth, and I was wondering if you could tell me anything about my future."

"Anything in particular?"

"No, not really."

"Then take a seat." Rose gestured for Tooth to sit down on a throw pillow in front of a small, wooden table. Tooth obeyed and sat in front of Rose, finally seeing her up close.

Rose had light blonde hair that fell to her chin and was tucked behind a headband. Her lips were outlined and smeared in black lipstick and Tooth noticed that her eyes were an amethyst shade of purple. She considered that Rose was wearing colored contacts; it made her look more mysterious just like the orange veil in front of her face. What also stood out was the outfit that the fortuneteller wore. Instead of some flashy, bold costume, it was more of a dress. A slit ran down both sides of Rose's orange dress to reveal her blue leggings. There was a yellow sun embroidered on Rose's chest, representing light.

"So, Tooth, are you sure that you aren't searching for anything in particular?" Rose rested her arms on the table and slouched forward. "The usual inquires I am frequently subjected to typically involve events that will happen within the next twenty four hours."

"Uh…"

"Would you prefer to select a card?"

"A card?"

"Yes. There are signs and symbols printed on my cards that you will subconsciously select without knowing what they hold. I will then reveal what the card contains and inform you based off of what the card's topic is."

"Really? You can tell that from just a simple card?"

"I'm not a seer for nothing, you know." Taking out a deck of cards, Rose fanned them out in front of Tooth. "Choose three."

All of the cards were face down with their backs shown. Tooth could not see what was on their fronts, and randomly select three of the random cards. She set them down on the small table - still faced down - and Rose put away the remaining cards. The seer then picked up one of Tooth's cards. After flipping it over, she exposed that the card displayed a black spade.

"A spade. Tell me, do you have any enemies or reoccurring antagonists? Is there anyone in your life who you constantly have strong feelings of odium for?"

"Yes, but why does he matter?" Tooth's immediate thought of an adversary was Pitch. He was a foe to not only Tooth, but to her other friends as well. Jack could have been kicked out of school because of him! Every year he would endlessly attempt to spoil any holiday plans they made and was always trying to get them into trouble."Is there something I should know about him?"

"I warn you, be vigilant around him. One thing's for sure – all he will do is cause you pain."

"Isn't that the obvious? I see him as an enemy anyway. Why? What's going to happen?"

Rose took out a white orb. It resembled that of a cue ball –one that would be found in a game of pool- but it was the size of her palm and gave off an eerie tone. A light from inside glowed within the sphere and Tooth saw that it was a crystal ball. "Can you see anything?"

"…Yes, you won't have to tolerate him much longer."

"Oh, that's a relief."

"But there is always a price to pay to everything."

"What price? Are you saying that' I'm going to lose something?" Tooth watched as Rose flipped over her second card, exposing a red heart. "The boy you have strong feelings for; value him now."

Tooth gasped and clutched her locket. Jack? "Are you talking about Jack? Why? What's going to happen to him? Are you saying that he's going to leave?"

Rose held up a hand to silence Tooth. Her bombardment of questions prevented her from concentrating. "Shush, it appears cloudy when you chatter like a monkey."

"But-"

"I may not know what will happen to him, but there is nothing that you can do to prevent it. Everything that is about to happen, everything that has yet to come, is completely beyond you. But even though is is out of your range, it's best to enjoy the journey before it comes to an end." Her eyes were blank while bringing the news to Tooth. Rose's client stiffened; her lip slightly quivering.

"You can't change fate, dear. Even if you run away it will still catch up to you." Every word Rose said shot Tooth like a bullet. According to the so-called Seer of Light, something awful would happen to Jack and she could not do anything about it. But defying fate or not, Tooth won't let Jack go.

"As for your last card," Rose turned over the last of the cards and frowned. "Oh, there is a pink diamond on this one."

"A diamond?"

"Yes,"

"What does a diamond mean for me?"

"Hmmm…" Rose consulted her orb again and became focused into what she saw in it. Tooth anxiously waited for what the fortuneteller had to tell her– her fingers tapping the table. "Do you see anything?"

"Yes,"

"And?"

"How many close friends do you have?"

"Four."

"I see. Be on the lookout for both of them, because you'll never know when and where disaster strikes."

Tooth was brought back to the scene earlier today where Sandy almost had a knife stab him in his head. The very thought that he or someone else could be in jeopardy scared her more than Pitch did. "What kind of disaster? Are my all friends going to get hurt?"

"Not all, only one. Then there's the one you love as well, but in due time. Then there's also your enemy to look out for."

"But if something is going to happen to one of my friends, which one? Who is it?"

"I...cannot say..."