Chapter Twenty
Looking Into A Mirror
Jack had never really tried to teach anyone something before, especially not something he had never really regarded as a skill but...it was oddly fun and almost sort of satisfying. He wasn't sure how long they had been going for but he felt like it was probably a few hours, which was both good and bad.
Bad because despite her minor progress, her inability to still spin the stick like Jack could was obviously annoying her.
Good because it meant jack actually got to spend time with her; he wanted to ask questions. He wanted answers but he felt like he might be pushing his luck. They weren't really friends, were they? Definitely not, he decided. They just happened to hang out every now and then, usually with larger groups of people.
They had hung out a bit on their own before. It didn't count though, they were practicing how to fight; or rather, Jack was, she was there to help him train.
"Jack! Look at me!" She shouted, pulling him from his thoughts; she was frowning but only for a second. Jack grinned at her, which made her smile. She was spinning the staff; it was slower than Jack could do it but, she was doing it all the same.
"See, you can do it!" Jack cheered, laughing when she lost her focus and dropped the stick onto the ground. "Sorry, but hey! You did it."
"And it only took like, four hours." She said. "I'll have to show Eros later, I'll visit him on my way home."
"Home?" Jack blurted out without meaning to. Oops.
She raised one of her eyebrows and smirked at Jack, looking a little...surprised by the sudden question.
"Yeah, what about it? You have a home, don't you?"
"I do but I didn't know if you did and I was just thinking-"
"Frost, I've got a place to stay, don't worry about it." She said gently, tucking her hands into her coat pockets and walking closer to him. "I should head off anyway, I have a feeling work will be calling shortly. Thanks for today, it was fun."
She gave Jack a quick smile before reaching out suddenly and grabbing his wrist; the sudden touch startled him, making him blink. Something felt like it was tugging at Jack's chest and when he opened his eyes again, she was gone and he was standing on a dirt path, with green grass either side, large trees either side of the path. It was late afternoon and rays of orange sunlight coming in through the tree branches cast a brilliant orange glow over everything Jack could see.
"Jack, wait for me!" A little girl called out, stepping onto the path from the trees; a lanky boy with brown hair following her. Something long and straight resting against his shoulder, held there by his hand. The boy laughed as he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, so she could walk beside him down the path. Jack Frost - not brown haired Jack - decided to follow the two down the path despite not knowing who they were, though he had a suspicion.
"Come on slow poke." The boy said, pulling the girl closer to his side.
"I am not a slow poke! You were meant to wait for me! We probably lost the others too-"
There was a shout behind them, behind Jack, and the two turned with big smiles at whoever was shouting for them. Jack let out a gasp; it was like looking at a mirror. Almost.
The other boy definitely didn't have white hair and he was wearing brown pants and a brown overcoat and shirt, rather than a blue hoodie but...that was him. He knew it had to be, because the boy had some sort of staff in his hand, which was resting against his shoulder. He could feel the tugging in his chest again as things began to blur, and the light began to become painful to look at. He wanted to keep looking at them; at himelf and her. Was that his sister? It must be. Jack let out a startled sob as he fell to his knees and caught himself with the palms of his hands so that he didn't hit the ground completely; he had to close his eyes, the light had become too much.
When he opened his eyes again, he was in the clearing again, alone; he thought at least. There was movment neabry, and he saw a pair of shoes approaching him straight ahead.
"How ya feeling kid?" Eros asked, crouching down in front of Jack. "Work called, so she asked me to come check on ya."
"S-she did?" Jack asked, staring at the ground, not ready to move in fear he'd fall again.
"Well, she told me to, there wasn't really any asking. Think you can get back home okay?"
The breeze around his face told Jack the wind would get him home okay, so he nodded weakly and glanced up as Eros stood again.
"If you're sure kid, feel free to come stop at my place if you need to crash though. It isn't far, I figure you and your stick can find it okay, yeah? Like you found us when we were doing the stick thing?"
Jack didn't need to be looking at the man to know he was smirking, it was all over how he was talking to Jack; pleased and smug. Jack groaned because of course, the wind had brought him here – hadn't it? It had known what it was dragging him into. Eros laughed and helped Jack get to his feet and only let go of the boy's arm when he trusted that Jack could stand on his own. The two parted ways, Eros leaving for his own home while Jack left for...he couldn't decide, so he let the wind choose where he would end up for the night .In the end, it decided on the North Pole.
The other Guardians were pleased by Jack's arrival, as they had been setting up for a night in the study; North had made cookies and hot chocolate for everyone and quickly got one ready for Jack as well. Bunny was the one who noticed how Jack seemed to drift off into his own thoughts, smiling softly into his mug of hot chocolate now and then.
"Heya Frosty, you alright?" Bunny asked, standing in front of Jack, who was curled up on a couch in the study. "You've been...quiet."
"I'm...fine, Bunny, really. I just...had a funny day, is all." Jack said, looking up at Bunny.
"What did you get up to?" Bunny asked, an eyebrow up.
Jack opened his mouth and was saved from the conversation by alarms going off, a red light coming from the globe room. The Guardians moved quickly, knowing they needed to rush. They didn't have time to spare when it came to alarms, not anymore.