I'm so sorry, you guys. I've been really busy with assignments (which I am still busy with, so don't expect another update soon) and my internet is down at home and probably will continue to be so for the extended future (I'm using uni internet. Sshhh)

In any case, this is a request from SanctuaryInMusic. Sorry it took so long.

Disclaimed.

Not Spying on a Not-Date

...

"So hey, how's about a snow day on Friday – give you kids a long weekend?" Jack followed the group of teens from the trees, jumping from branch to branch with casual grace. They could hardly be called kids these days – still believers or not – but Jack still did it. Mostly to annoy them. Partially to squash the sadness that accompanied the thought that they were growing up.

"Actually," Jamie began hesitantly. The boys stopped, as did Jack. "Could you… maybe… go a little easy on the snow on Friday? Just so that we can still go out and stuff."

Jack raised a brow at the unusual request and jumped down to the pavement. It wasn't like Jamie to turn down a snow day.

"He has a date," Claude said in a conspiratorial whisper, leaning in closer to Jack.

"It's not a date!" Jamie cried, not liking the smirk that was slowly working its way across Jack's face. It wasn't a smirk he'd been on the receiving end of very often, but it was one he knew all too well, nevertheless. In short, nothing good ever accompanied that smirk.

"They're going to see that new horror movie that came out," Caleb added, completely ignoring Jamie's protest. "Does that sound like a date to you?"

"I dunno, that kinda sounds like a date to me," Monty replied.

"Not helping," Jamie deadpanned.

"Well, kiddo, if you've got a date then I'll have to go easy on the snow; wouldn't want you to have to cancel," Jack grinned, slinging an arm around Jamie's shoulders.

"It's not a date," Jamie stressed. "…And why doesn't that reassure me at all?"

"I'm wounded you would think I would do something to jeopardise your night," Jack gasped in mock hurt. Jamie just rolled his eyes. "How about a snow day on Monday, then? That way you still get a long weekend."

"Yeah!" the twins high-fived each other. "Thanks, Jack!"

"You're welcome," Jack bowed. "Tis my duty to deliver fun to the needy and deter the horrors and boredom of school," he said in a false accent.

Jamie snorted, shoving him slightly, earning a laugh from the winter spirit.

...

...

Jack landed soundlessly on Jamie's windowsill on Friday evening and peered in through the partially frosted glass. The room on the inside was as tidy as always (for a teenager, Jamie certainly didn't act like one), and conspicuously Jamie-less.

"Don't tell me I missed him!" Jack groaned.

As if having been attracted by the sound of his suffering, a blonde head peered in through the doorway.

"Hey, Jack!" Sophie beamed at him, crossing the room to unlatch the window.

Jack slipped in with a grateful smile. "Hi, Soph! How's it going?"

"Not bad. If you're looking for Jamie, you just missed him."

"Am I that obvious?"

Sophie raised a brow. "For one thing, you're sitting in his window," she pointed out. "But yes. We were all expecting you to turn up. Jamie asked me to tell you not to 'help'."

Jack chuckled. "Where's the fun in that?"

"I think he's worried you might accidentally mess things up," she shrugged.

"Ah, he has such little faith for someone with so much belief."

"But, if you're worried, they went to the cinema on Main street," Sophie said in a tone far too casual to have been anything but fake. His suspicion was confirmed when she smirked at him over her shoulder as she headed back to the door. Jack felt his own mouth twitch into a matching expression.

"Nah, I'm not worried," he waved flippantly. "I might just go frost some trees and windows or something. Catch you later, Soph!" he called, before a gust of wind swept him from the sill and up into the air above the neighbourhood.

He really wasn't worried, but there was no harm in checking up on the kid, right? Just to make sure everything was going well. Yeah. He'd go and make sure everything was going smoothly and that they were enjoying themselves. That was all. Absolutely no meddling. Nope. And, so that he wouldn't be lying to Sophie, he froze a few things on the way.

It was easy enough to check the board to see what theatre the movie was playing in and sneak in considering pretty much nobody could see him. And those that could – all kids except for a few teenagers that had started believing in him thanks to Jamie and his friends – grinned and waved but didn't hinder him.

Jack perched himself on the back of a chair in the back row and scanned the heads of the people around him, trying to locate Jamie amongst them. Ah, there he was; a few rows in front of him. Jack suspected the girl seated beside him was his 'not-a-date'. Pfft. Of course it was a date. Jack rolled his eyes fondly.

From the looks of things the movie was a short ways in, and both were completely focused on it, eating popcorn distractedly. They didn't look particularly… cosy. Jack didn't know much about dates, but from what he'd seen in movies they were supposed to be more intimate than that… right? He searched the theatre for another couple for reference, spotting two people cuddled up together off to the side. Yeah, like that.

Maybe they just needed a little help; just a nudge to push them in the right direction. Sophie's words came unbidden to the forefront of his mind. Jamie didn't want him to help. No, that wasn't it. Jamie didn't want him to ruin anything. As if he was going to ruin the night for them. Pitch might say he made a mess of everything, but he'd more than proven that to be wrong.

Mind made up, Jack subtly lowered the temperature in the theatre, causing Jamie's date to hug herself against the chill. Jamie offered her his jacket, glancing around the room in suspicion. Jack made sure to duck down behind the seats to avoid detection. He made sure to wait for a minute or two before risking a peek.

Damn, he mentally cursed when it was clear his attempt hadn't had the desired result. Well, it was supposed to be a horror movie; maybe it would do the job for him.

As it turned out, Jamie's date was apparently fearless. The whole time she'd only given a few gasps here and maybe a flinch there. Jack himself was more freaked out than she was and he'd gone up against the Boogieman, for crying out loud! He glanced over at the 'model-couple'. Yep, they were holding each other as they stared at the screen in horror, just like they did in the movies. So what was different? It was certainly something to ponder on.

Eventually the movie ended and Jack stayed hidden while the theatre was vacated before following after the mob.

"Do you wanna get something to eat?" he heard Jamie ask.

The girl replied in the affirmative and the duo headed out of the cinema and onto the street. Jack waited until they were out of sight before following. He paused where he was crouched on a well-concealed tree branch as they entered a diner further down the street.

A diner with lots of windows.

Now this could be seen as a good or bad thing, depending on where you stood. On the plus side, Jack could clearly see the two of them in their window seat from where he was not spying on them, but on the downside he couldn't give them that extra push they so obviously needed. At least, not without trying to sneak in, which would result in Jamie spotting him and yelling at him for following and 'why didn't you listen to Sophie' blah blah blah. And that would as good as end their 'not date' then and there. If not least because chances were the girl wouldn't be able to see him and would therefore think poor Jamie insane.

And so Jack was faced with a debacle. What to do, what to do? Maybe – and it was horrifying and risky – he would just have to let things play out and see how it went unattended. Even the thought of it made him grimace, but what choice did he have? And–

Wait. Hang on. Was that 'model couple' entering the diner? It was! And they were taking a seat in the booth beside Jamie's. Perfect! The kids would be able to see what proper dates were supposed to look like and they could learn from example.

Perhaps it was wishful thinking, though. Because while model-couple made goo-goo eyes at each other and fed each other fries and the like, Jamie and his not-date ate like civilised adults making polite conversation. This wouldn't do. This wouldn't do at all. Something had to be done. And if the kids couldn't figure it out for themselves, then Jack supposed it was his responsibility as a Guardian and as Jamie's friend/brother/great-great-etc uncle.

Now the only problem remained of what, exactly, he could do to remedy the situation.

Scanning the interior of the place the best he could from his position, Jack's eyes fell on something he should have expected. Something perfect.

"Now let's just hope there's a back door," he muttered to himself, willing the wind to fly him around the building, being sure to keep out of sight of the windows.

There was, thankfully, a backdoor (and upon reflection it would have been weird if there wasn't) and, even better, it was unlocked. Jack opened it only just enough to slip inside so as not to attract too much attention. Not that the kitchen workers could see him, but better safe than sorry.

The kitchen was far too hot for his liking, and Jack was more than happy when he followed a waitress out through another door and into the main dining area, being sure to keep low to the ground and hiding behind every bench or concealing obstacle he could find. Now he just had to get across the room without Jamie spotting him (or anyone else, but from the looks of things there were no kids in the diner).

But that was easier said than done. Jack was starting to wonder if Jamie had a sixth sense – always able to tell when the winter spirit was around – and Jack had suffered through several close-calls (which involved him rolling to hide beneath tables and behind customers, and on one occasion ducking into a certain taboo doorway that he should have paid more attention to before entering and of which will never be spoken again) and at least one mini-heart attack before he reached his destination and huddled in the shadows out of sight.

He cast a quick glance at Jamie and his 'not-date', noting that they were still failing at 'not-dating', while the model-couple were getting everything right to the point that Jack was starting to get embarrassed watching. Poor kids. They still needed his help. He was no Cupid, but he figured he was as close as the two lost, deprived souls were going to get. Fishing around in his pocket, he happily located several coins he'd picked up on his travels and set his plan into motion.

The jukebox was three plays for a dollar, Jack was happy to find, and he cheerily selected three songs from the list that he recognised as being particularly romantic after inserting the money, before ducking back down out of sight to observe his handiwork.

The first song apparently had no effect. Jack didn't let it bother him too much – they probably had to get into the feel of it or something – but after the second and finally the third went by without much more than a raised eyebrow and a brief glance at the jukebox, Jack was starting to run out of ideas. If not even music could save this date, what else could he do? If the model-couple were anything to go by, Jamie's date should definitely have been further along than it was.

He really wasn't cut out for this romance stuff, he realised. He briefly entertained the thought of going to find Cupid for help, but dismissed the idea quickly since he didn't even know where the guy went most of the time (and also because they weren't on the best of terms after Jack had made it his personal duty to sabotage his work on Valentine's Day after a certain narcissistic incident involving an arrow and a blindfold).

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even realise that Jamie and his date were leaving until he heard the bell on the door chime. Jack waited until they were a short ways down the street before following. There was still hope he could fix things for his first believer. And he was going to try or his name wasn't Jack Frost.

...

...

Jamie was getting suspicious. That much was obvious. True, the light snowfall Jack had conjured wasn't exactly subtle… and neither was that patch of ice he'd deliberately sent under the girl's feet so that Jamie could catch her when she stumbled… or the clearing of clouds so that the moon could easily be seen… or the various frost patterns he– well, you get the point. And now Jamie was glaring suspiciously at their surroundings, searching, Jack knew, for him. But as if he was going to show himself.

Despite the repeated failures – and there were more than he was really willing to acknowledge – Jack still hadn't given up hope that the kid's date could be saved. But he really was running out of options. And if he wasn't careful, Jamie was going to catch him.

Before Jack knew it, he'd run out of time; Jamie was walking the girl home. The winter spirit felt like he'd failed, in a way, but he decided the two of them must be super incompatible for none of his ingenious attempts to have worked. When the door finally closed and Jamie cast a knowing and pointed (although he was smiling slightly) look at his surroundings, Jack figured it was probably time to get going.

"Alright, Jack, I know you're there," Jamie called.

Jack smiled to himself (the kid was so smart) before letting the wind silently carry him away and back towards the Bennett household. Maybe he could pretend he'd never left.

"How'd it go?" Sophie asked, and Jack wasn't really all that surprised to find her sitting on Jamie's bed as he climbed in through the window, as though she'd been expecting him (which, obviously, she had).

"They're too stubborn for their own good," Jack sighed, following her out of the room and down the hall to her own.

Sophie merely smiled knowingly. "I take it it didn't work?"

"Not even a little bit."

"What happened?" she asked without looking at him, grabbing a notebook and a bunch of textbooks from her desk and sprawling both them and herself across her bed.

Jack moved to sit beside her, peering over her shoulder at her homework as he regaled her with the tale of his failed mission.

"Oh well," she shrugged when he'd finished, casually writing out one of the questions from her book without really paying attention to it. "Maybe next time."

"Maybe you should come along next time."

"Maybe. Do you know anything about the American Revolution?"

"What do you want to know?"

"We have to–"

"Hey, Soph," Jamie's head suddenly appeared in the doorway. He quickly spotted Jack and made a face that was somehow a mixture of a frown and amusement. "Hey, Jack."

"Hey, Jamie," the two on the bed greeted. Then Sophie added, "How'd your date go?"

"First of all, it wasn't a date," Jamie enunciated. "And secondly, why don't you ask Jack?"

"Why would I know?" Jack asked innocently.

Jamie gave him a pointed look.

"Jack's been here helping me with my homework," Sophie added, her expression of such genuine confusion that even Jack almost fell for it. Well, it wasn't a complete lie. He had been about to help.

"Uh-huh," Jamie said, completely unconvinced. "So all those ice-related things had nothing to do with you."

"Hey, kiddo, it's winter," Jack shrugged. "You've gotta expect there to be ice around. Kinda comes with the territory."

"That's funny, cause I could have sworn they were really bad attempts at trying to 'help'."

"Well, if I had helped, they wouldn't have been bad attempts, ergo it couldn't have been me," Jack said brightly. Again, not a lie. If he had helped they would have been good attempts. But he hadn't helped. He had failed. The two of them were just too stubborn.

Jamie clearly still didn't believe a word of it. It was understandable, really, considering the similar situations in the past the boy had had to deal with. And he knew from experience that Jack would admit nothing. (Unless he'd succeeded, in which case he would make sure Jamie knew exactly why things had gone well).

"Well then," the teen said carefully. "It's just as well it was just a couple of friends hanging out and not a date, huh?"

"Lucky," Jack and Sophie agreed.

Jamie lingered a moment longer to watch them suspiciously before ducking back out into the hallway to put his stuff away. As soon as he was gone, Sophie dropped all pretences of being productive and, snickering, high-fived the winter spirit beside her.

Guest Review Responses:

Moonumb: Haha I like playing on words :P (But you guys have probably noticed that by now). ...It sounds kinda creepy when you think about it ^^;

mERCURIALdESTINY: I don't know? It's actually kinda hard with fluff cause it doesn't have much in the way of a plot... Thanks though XD

Painapple: It's a cute image, but I don't think Bunny would be all that thrilled XD Thanks!