.:10:.

He tried to tell himself he wasn't avoiding her, but after the fifth day he couldn't deny it anymore. Jack Frost avoided the neighborhood the Bennett's lived in, he avoided their school, he even caught himself steering clear of Burgess itself a couple of times. He knew it was stupid, but he finally admitted to himself that he was embarrassed that he had gone to Sophie for comfort. He was a Guardian, he shouldn't be going to a teenage girl to make himself feel better about his life. Lately Jack had noticed just how much time he spent either thinking about Sophie or actually hanging out with her.

Jamie was like a brother to him, they were best friends and he trusted him with anything. Sure, it was kind of weird that he started out older than Jamie and now the boy was older and more mature than him, but he didn't think his immortality should be a barrier to their kindred spirits. He knew the day would come when Jamie wouldn't be there anymore, but he also knew that he couldn't be sad about it so long as Jamie was happy with the life he had. It was natural for humans to get old and die, it was just how things were. But when he thought of Sophie he felt different, like he wasn't sure if he could handle it if she got old and died. He couldn't imagine not having her to turn to in two hundred years. What he felt for Sophie was different than what he felt for Jamie, and it scared him. He had known her since she was a toddler, by all means he should think of her as a little sister, but he didn't. All he could think of was how beautiful she was becoming, and how her hair sparkled, and how talented she was with a camera, and how much she loved his snow. He wanted to make it snow forever, just for her, because he knew how much she would love it.

And so he had secluded himself to this grade school on the far side of town. It was all the closer he could bring himself to visiting her when these thoughts were muddling up his mind. He wanted time to sort himself out, but at the same time he was battling urges to go and see her and convince her to abandon any plans she'd had and run off to play in the snow he could make for her. He sighed wistfully to himself and batted at the snowflakes swirling lazily down around him.

"There you are."

His gaze snapped down toward the ground, and he realized in a mixture of horror and joy that she had found him. He stared dumbfounded from his seat on the top of a ten foot wall. Sophie smiled almost coyly at him and cupped one hand over her ear. Glancing around, Jack noticed several dozen people nearby, some of which had noticed the girl talking to a wall. It was an impromptu snow day, and parents had been called to take their children home early before the snow piled up.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously, looking a little hurt. "Are you mad at me?"

Several people were staring at her now, and Jack started to get nervous. He didn't want people to spread rumors that she was totally nuts, just because he'd hurt her feelings and she'd had to hunt him down and corner him in public. Last he'd heard, she had friends and a life and several more years of high school ahead of her.

"Uh, Soph? People are staring…" He said urgently.

She turned and her eyes widened a little, then she giggled and put her fingertips to her lips. Pulling her hair back, she pointed to something in her ear and several of the concerned parents laughed in amusement before turning back to their children. Jack tilted his head curiously and gave her a suspicious look.

"I'm going for a walk, do you want to come with me?" She asked sweetly.

Jack tapped his staff against his foot a few times, then nodded and slid down the wall to land beside her. She started walking, waving politely to a few of the parents that apparently knew her. Jack fell into step beside her, forcing back the knot trying to form in his throat.

"I missed you the other day. I thought you were mad at me and left." She said quietly. Jack's throat went dry, and he struggled to clear it and think of something to say.

"No, I just.. had some crazy Guardian stuff to do." He said lamely.

Sophie rolled her eyes, obviously not believing him for a second. He waited, but she didn't try to call him out on his lie. He thought quickly and changed the subject, hoping he could distract her long enough to avoid any awkward explanations.

"So, bluetooth, huh?" He asked. Sophie flashed him a sly grin and nodded.

"Yea, my mom gave me her old one." She said proudly.

"That's pretty clever, now people won't think you're psychotic." He said cheerfully.

Sophie smiled and laughed, and Jack felt warmth try desperately to fill his chest. He shivered at the sensation, hoping any sudden body heat he experienced didn't make him sick.

"Where's Jamie? We should go sledding before the streets are empty and boring." Jack said quickly, trying to distract himself.

Sophie stopped and turned to him, a little color brightening up her cheeks.

"Actually, I was hoping maybe we could just hang out. Like, the two of us." She said quietly.

His heart thundered suddenly in his chest, and for a few long moments he was frozen, unable to think of a response or even a reaction.

"Uh, yea. Sure." He heard himself say. Sophie beamed happily at him and continued walking down the street. It took him a few seconds to get his feet to move again.

She ignored him for a while, with a knowing smile tugging at her lips. He tried a few times to ask her where they were going, but she never answered. It was a little bit of a walk, but eventually they reached the edge of the sprawling forest and she ducked under a few low branches and set off through the trees. Jack was quick to follow her into the snow-laden trees, happy to be out of town again.

He had given up asking her questions and simply followed her silently as she tried her best to walk through the snow covered forest. He made a show of hopping around her gracefully as she tripped and slid through the snow, and when she got a chance to shove him off a log she didn't miss it. Her laughter chimed like music in his ears, and as he gazed up at her from a snow drift his gaze softened happily. He quickly shook it off and bounded after her as she continued on without him.

Sophie finally seemed to get tired of walking and plopped down in a pile of snow against the trunk of a large tree. She sighed heavily, then looked up at Jack and motioned for him to sit beside her. He happily obliged, and as he settled comfortably into the snow she pulled something from her pocket and unwound it. He immediately recognized it as an mp3 player and a set of earbuds. He'd never actually used one himself, but he had seen hundreds, if not thousands, of children using them.

Sophie held one of the earbuds up expectantly, and after a moment Jack turned his head slightly and allowed her to carefully put it into his ear. He wanted desperately to shake his head, but he refrained and comforted himself by staring at her like a trusting puppy. She laughed again as she put the other earbud in her own ear, then leaned her head back against the tree and hit a few buttons on her mp3 player.

Music flooded into Jack's ear, and he did his best to try and relax. He couldn't remember the last time he listened to music, and the longer he listened the more he felt himself getting lost in the rhythm. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the tree, smiling a little to himself as Sophie's head lolled to the side to rest lazily against his shoulder.

The beat of the music started to pick up, and he wondered if it was a random playlist or if she had chosen these songs specifically. He had a sneaking suspicion she had planned this when her fingers brushed lightly over the back of his hand. He inhaled sharply, his eyes sliding open to stare off into the snowy forest as he slowly turned his hand toward her and opened his fingers. She slid her hand into his and he knew she was smiling.

He gazed up at the snowflakes falling softly between the branches of the trees, and wondered just what he thought he was doing.

A/n: I don't know what you guys like, but I was listening to Phillip Phillips' Home when I wrote this.