A/N : I'm aliiiiiive!
I sincerely apologize for not updating sooner, but it's pretty certain by now that the Technology-God cursed me because in less than a month my computer, scanner and printer broke and I was very busy with work and replacing them. Not cool, I tell you, not cool.
I'll try to write the next chapter, which will be the last of this arc, faster but can't promise anything. There'll be a convention in August and I still need to prepare a lot of art for it and several people will visit me. So, I'll try my best, okay?
Silvia Moretti : I totally agree, eating popcorn on a couch with him would be niiiice. :)
Xion5 : Hahah, nope, cooking definitely isn't one of his virtues.
Duskinator : Well, the settlers came from Great Britain. Jack was born in the very end of the 17th century ( movie is from 2012, he was Jack Frost for 300 years + 18 years human life = born in 1694 ). Colonisation started in the early 17th century so the settlement must have been pretty new and even if he himself was born in America I bet there were people who knew about life in Great Britain and told the children about butlers, the queen and such.
Phantom Ice : We'll see. ;)
SaiyanPrincess : Thank you, it's so nice to write about him with all his adorableness ( is that even a word? ) *lol*
Mysteryfan17 : It's interesting that many people I know who love rollercoasters don't like circle rides because they get sick there and with me it's the complete opposite, I don't mind teacups or the likes but put me in a rollercoaster and I'll nearly get a heart attack.
Omg, not the Tower of Terror! Two of my friends persuaded my years ago to join them because, quote "It's really fun and not that bad at all!". Well, I was sitting between them and almost broke their hands in panic. :P
AngeGirlmon : He's doing his best, hehe.
Thanks to Alliprince, Q-A the Authoress, ForeverIwillGrow, sauara, Guest, cutepuppy21 for the reviews and to everyone who faved / followed this story!
A group of children was assembled around a fireplace which illuminated the late winter evening and spread at least a little warmth in the chilly air. Curiously they listened to Jack, who was sitting among them and telling exciting stories and simultaneously acting the various roles to serve further entertainment. The reactions from his young audience proved he was doing a nice job, tense silence was followed by laughter, surprised yells, gasps and smiles again. Many evenings had been spent this way, it had sort of become a habit for the children of the village to gather and see what new games and stories the Overland boy came up with this time.
While still fulfilling his duties like chopping wood and helping when it came to fix roofs, furniture or other things, Jack's main 'job' had become to take care of the children. He was like the babysitter of the village and the parents were relieved to know that someone kept an eye on their offspring and that they were safe. Though no one failed to notice that the 15-year old was pretty much acting like a big kid himself. But they trusted him, after all he was the son of his father, a man who had been one of the most popular settlers among them, and hadn't dissappointed anyone so far. And still, there were people, especially middle-aged and old ones, who shook their heads at the teen's, in their eyes, immature attitude and talked behind the Overland family's back.
But right now, none of this mattered. Cheers and the clapping of small hands filled the air as Jack's story had come to an end and he bowed down dramatically.
"Wow, that was fantastic!" a dark-haired girl squealed.
"That was your best one yet!" a blonde boy exclaimed in joy.
"Yes, I completely agree!"
"You're the best storyteller ever!"
"Of course he is, he's my brother!" Becky emphasized proudly and gazed up at her older sibling next to her, smiling brightly.
Jack returned the smile, indulging in the praise and in the fact that he managed to make children happy.
"I love your stories, tell one more!" a girl with ginger hair and green eyes begged.
"Sorry, it's kinda late already, but tomorrow is another day, right?" Jack explained with a wink and stretched his arms over his head before relaxing again, let himself slide down the log he had been sitting on and scooted a little closer to the fire, enjoying the warmth radiating from it.
There was a moment of silence before the children started smalltalk with each other, and after less than a minute the mild dissappointment about the lack of more entertainment from the teenager's side was replaced by heated discussions. Jack closed his eyes and calmly listened to what they had to say and chuckled when his sister eagerly tried to convince the others that blueberries were the tastiest berries of all. He was so relieved that he had succeeded at bringing her out of her shell, into which she had retreated after their father's death. By involving more children in their games he had slowly but surely gotten her back into social life until she behaved like a little girl was supposed to again.
"You know, I wish I had a brother like you have." the blonde boy admitted towards Becky.
Jack had heard it but pretended to not have noticed and just kept sitting there with his back leaned against the log and with his eyes closed.
"But you do have an older brother as well." the youngest Overland stated matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, but he's so boring and well….grown-up."
"Isn't he only a year older than Jack?"
"Yes, but all he has in mind are girls and lately he talks about nothing else than Caroline Jenkins, they are a couple now and ugh, it's so annoying. When I ask him if he wants to play with me he either says he has no time or that he's too old for childish games. He's no fun."
A mischievous smile formed on Jack's face, he knew that guy and could confirm that he was a real stick-in-the-mud combined with a serial womanizer.
"Oh, well, that's a pity. But just so you know, I don't share Jack with anyone, he's MY brother!"
The brother in question had a hard time holding back a chuckle.
"Oj, alright, alright, I know. But sooner or later he'll be too adult for games as well, you'll see."
"No! He'll stay like this forever, the way he is now is just fine!" Becky raised her voice in protest, her agitation alerting her older sibling who finally decided to interfere.
"Don't worry, I'll always be there to play with you. And your children…and grandchildren." Jack grinned at her with a wink to lighten the mood.
"What about your own children? Don't you want to start a family yourself?" the girl with ginger hair inquired curiously.
"Uhm, I don't know….maybe…"
"Is there a girl you like?" the blonde boy asked and smirked at him.
"What? You mean…nah, there isn't."
Jack awkwardly rubbed his neck as all eyes were focused on him. Was he seriously talking about his private life with a bunch of kids?
"That's weird, according to my brother everyone around his age is-"
"Not everyone is like your brother." Becky stifled her increasingly more annoying becoming friend.
Suddenly a high-pitched voice reached their ears and everyone glanced at the petite woman who approached their little group.
"There you are, Thomas. It's time for bed, come on, let's go home." she said to the blonde boy, earning a pitiful sigh from him.
"Already? Can't I stay a little longer?"
"No, you can play again tomorrow. And that's my last word." she said with a firm voice, not leaving a doubt that despite her fragile appearance she was someone not to be argued with.
Another sigh left the child's mouth before he bid his goodbye and just when they walked away another mother came to pick up their offspring. The remaining children decided it would be better to go back to their cottages as well, since their parents would most likely show up any moment anyway. When only the two Overland siblings remained sitting in front of the fireplace, Becky confronted her brother.
"Who says I wanna get children?"
The question caught him off-guard. With a shrug he stared at the starry night sky and then back at his sister.
"I just assumed you did…I thought every girl wants to become a mother someday."
"Well, I'm not like every girl." she smirked, causing the same reaction from Jack.
"That's right, you're a special little snowflake." he chuckled and ruffled her hair, eliciting a combination of giggles and protest from her.
"So, you don't want to have own children?"
Becky ignored him for a few seconds while she was busy smoothing her messed up hair, and then faced him again.
"Of course I do. And you'll be the best uncle ever."
Hidden between the foliage of an ancient oak tree Jack sat on one of its countless branches and surveilled the scenery below. In the distance he could hear the high-pitched voices of his sister and several of her friends, shouting and laughing as they were looking for him. After helping with the construction of a new well and playing hopscotch as well as other games with the children for hours even the energetic teen needed a small break. So he had suggested playing hide and seek, climbed onto the highest tree he could find and was now leaning his back against the rough bark, ready for a shuteye. It would take them a while to find him, at least he hoped so. But shortly after he had closed his eyes he noticed the voices getting louder as they came dangerously close towards his hiding place. Glancing down he also spotted two elderly women who took walk and almost got run over by the group of hyperactive children.
"Dear God, what is this commotion about?!" one of the ladies gasped clearly not amused.
"We're looking for Jack, have you seen him?" Becky asked as she scanned her surroundings for her brother.
Both grey-haired heads were shaken and the next moment the bunch of youngsters had continued their search elsewhere. Jack sighed in relief and was about to finally get his well-deserved nap when the grown-ups started to talk about a topic that caught his attention.
"Can you believe it, there's so much to do around the village and all that Overland boy does is playing childish games again. And that at his age, isn't he a little too old for fooling around?"
"Yes, I agree, he should make himself more useful. Did you notice that ever since his father died he hasn't gone hunting? Billy Travers has shot down his first deer yesterday and he's almost two years younger than Overland."
"I feel rather sorry for his mother, first she lost her husband and now she has to deal with a son who apparently refuses to grow up."
If Jack hadn't been so taken aback about what he just witnessed he would have thrown something at them. How dare they say all those things about him? I helped wherever he could, but of course the two old hags spent most of their time in their cottages sewing clothes or who knew what. When they finally came out for their daily walk it was usually afternoon already. They had no idea what he all did before he started playing with the children. Life wasn't just about working all day, he did what he had to do and then saw nothing wrong about using his spare time for having fun and entertaining others.
The two elderly women continued their snarky rant about how he was a big dissappointment, a scallywag and would forever have his head in the clouds. At a leisurely pace they approached the tree he was perched on and passed by. It was the perfect moment for a small and well-deserved revenge. Several feet away from the ancient oak tree one of the women yelped as something hard and tiny hit her on the head.
"Oww! What was that?" she asked her friend and rubbed her head.
"Just an acorn, my dear." the other woman explained calmly but gave a shout the moment another one landed on her ownhead this time.
"Ouch! Come on, we better walk away quickly, this tree doesn't seem to like us for some reason."
"Totally doesn't like you." Jack thought and threw a third acorn at the fleeing duo, smiling devilishly as once more he didn't miss his target.
When they were finally out of sight he leaned back against the rough trunk again and closed his eyes, ready for the nap he longed for so much. But his mind kept him awake, repeating the accusations about him incessantly. What if the two elders weren't the only villagers who thought that lowly of him? Granted, he didn't work all day, didn't join the hunts and fooled around much more than any other person at his age. But he had always assumed that was no big deal, after all he did help his mother and the other people whenever they needed him. Wasn't that enough? Was he supposed to slave away and be serious in order to get respected like his father? Yes, he enjoyed having fun and being silly. Everything else wouldn't have been him. Was it so difficult to accept him for who he was?
Jack sighed and glanced around him, trying to find something to distract himself from those unpleasant thoughts and hoping that the two old women were standing alone with their negative opinion of him.
The 3rd anniversary of his father's death followed shortly after Jack's 17th birthday. Even though the family had learned to cope with the loss and go on with their lives, this particular day always had a vibe of sadness and melancholy swinging with it. The sun shone brightly and warmly from a nearly cloudless sky. Such nice weather seemed so unfitting for the sorrowful reminders of the past. And yet, Jack saw it as perfect opportunity to lighten up the athmosphere and persuade his mother and sister to go out for a walk and collecting berries. It took some persistence to convince his mother that it was a good idea since she usually spent the anniversaries of her beloved husband's death inside their cottage, refusing to talk to anyone except her children.
So now they were all strolling through the lush green forest, Jack taking the lead while Mrs. Overland still seemed reluctant to be the slightest bit happy on this day and Becky indecisive whether she should follow her brother's or her mother's general mood.
"I discovered a bunch of huge blueberry bushes over there recently! We can bake a dozend pies with those, I swear I won't confuse salt and sugar this time!" the barefooted teen exclaimed.
Noticing that his sister was unsure about how to react he approached her, nudged her shoulder and then ran away laughing cheerily.
"Catch me if you can! Or I'll eat all those berries alone!"
"No way!" Becky blurted out and hurried after her brother, who had successfully fueled the playfulness she had tried to suppress for the sake of this particular day.
Instead of running in one direction Jack lead his younger sibling in circles and zig-zag around their mother because the grown up woman didn't join the chase and he didn't want to lose her somewhere in the woods.
"You're too slow for me, hahahaha!"
"I'll get you! You'll see!" the little girl threatened in a playful way, still giving everything to catch him.
The teen merely turned around and stuck out his tongue to challenge her even more. Watching the childish behaviour of her firstborn Mrs. Overland shook her head and let out a deep sigh.
"Jack, you can't have fun all the time."
Her son had either failed to hear it or completely ignored her and continued to tease his sister. Once more the woman sighed.
"That's enough, my dears."
Still no reaction besides him laughing louder while Becky didn't even come close to catching him.
"Jaaack!" Mrs. Overland called with a firmer and louder voice.
"Watch out for the snails, they might outpace you!" he shouted at his sister, amused by her pitiful attempts to take a hold of him.
"JACK! I said enough!"
The two siblings halted in their tracks and cringed as the stern order rang through the otherwise peaceful forest. Rarely did their mother raise her voice like this and it caused a rather unpleasant feeling in their stomachs to say the least. With wide eyes they stared at the slender woman who heaved a sigh and sat down on a nearby rock, setting her empty basket aside and burrying her face in her hands.
"Mother…I…" Jack started but was stopped by a gesture of her hand.
"I'm sorry, it's just…this day still affects me more than I want to admit. My nerves can't handle this very well and the talk of some people doesn't make it any easier."
"What did they say?" the brown-eyed boy asked hesitantly, already having a bad suspicion.
Mrs. Overland paused for a moment, obviously pondering whether to share the information with her oldest or not. Sooner or later he would find out anyway.
"Well…you know your father was very admired among the villagers. So everyone had high expectations conerning you, they apparently thought you'd become just like him. Many people here like you, especially the children, but there are a few who keep saying that you should finally start acting your age instead of fooling around most of the time."
There was an uncomfortable silence as Jack let the words sink in.
"Do you think that as well? he asked out of the blue with a hard to describe emotion in his voice.
The look on his mother's face was answer enough and yet she tried to find the right way of telling him the truth without hurting him even more.
"You know I love you, Jack. And it's alright to have fun but…you've been taking it a little too far. Can't you act a little more mature?"
It was such a humble request, and still he felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. He knew there were a few villagers who didn't exactly like his way of living but a similar complaint coming from his own mother was affecting him on a whole different level. He had always done his best to please everyone, to make his small family happy and to follow in the footprints his father had left behind. After his death he had been more mature and serious for a while, but it hadn't helped anyone and back then he had realized that it was simply not who he was. He was someone who loved to have fun and play games, not caring about how old he was. It felt good. It felt right. But for the adults around it him it felt wrong, apparently. Not normal. Not right.
Jack didn't know what exactly he was supposed to reply, he wanted his mother to be proud of him but he also didn't want to change his personality. Just as he opened his mouth, Becky broke the silence herself.
"Just because all grown-ups act mature doesn't mean Jack has to do it as well! My friends and me like him the way he is, some of them are even jealous of me because I have such a great brother."
Mrs. Overland and her son stared at the 9 year old girl dumbfoundedly. That she dared to talk back to her mother was so unexpected and unusal that they were speechless for a moment. Becky had always respected her parents but now it was obvious that she wouldn't allow anyone, not even her own mother, to reprimand her brother. Especially when he hadn't done anything wrong.
"Rebecca, I…." Mrs. Overland started and only then realized what she had just demanded from her oldest child and how uncomfortable and hurt he looked, as if he deeply wished he could be somewhere else right now.
Suddenly she remembered what he had all done for them since her husband's death, how he helped around their cottage and the village, was friendly and cooperative towards everyone and always there to cheer people up. And she allowed the gossip of a few bitter people to question her own son. He was responsible, but successfully hid it under a mask of playfulness. And whoever didn't realize what a wonderful person he was, well, it was their own loss. Her daughter was right, Jack was fine just the way he was. She loved him and didn't want him to change only to please others. She wanted him to be happy and he had to know best how he would achieve that.
"You're right…Jack, I'm sorry. The ramblings of those women shouldn't have affected me, they always have something to complain about. So… can you forget what I just said?"
Jack blinked a few times and then stared at his mother, not trusting his ears. He had expected some kind of family drama to unfold, surely not that she would give in so fast and take everything back. The anniversary of his father's death really did have a persistent effect on her, so much that even someone else's words managed to influence her more than they should. He wasn't mad at her and relieved that she had apologized, but the incident still left a sour taste. However, he tried his best to shake it off.
"It's alright, don't worry about it. I will eventually grow up, so I'm simply enjoying the years I have left." Jack reassured his mother, though he couldn't imagine ever becoming one of those serious adults.
"You'll be proud of me someday." he added hopefully.
Mrs. Overland's expression softened and turned into a warm smile.
"I already am proud of you."
A/N : I think everyone knows that when you're not completely "normal" there will be people who'll complain about it or even mock you. In the 18th century people had a shorter life expectancy than nowadays so they had to grow up faster and I can't imagine everyone approved Jack's playfulness.
Reviews very appreciated as usual! ;)
