Chapter 2

She glanced up at the clock.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Asides from the rhythm of the clock hands ticking, the room was silent. Outside it was dark. Had been for quite some time too. The lights within the room were switched off, curfew already in place. Still, she couldn't sleep.

That part of her life never did get easier, even after all those years. She sighed closing her eyes. If only it would come soon.

A cool breeze sneaked through the gap left by the semi-opened window, tickling her neck. Emily shivered, pulling the duvet closer. Wrapped up in the old, faded grey cloth, she turned around. There was no way she'd fall asleep at this temperature. So unwillingly, she stepped out of bed, careful not to wake the others in the room with her footsteps, reaching out to the window.

Though once she had reached it, her body halted.

'Well, this is new.' Awe and shock moved as one through her mind as she studied the silvery patterns that had decorated the window. It hadn't been there earlier in the night, or at least, it didn't show as prominently. Several smaller flakes and crusty frost seemed to form a massive snowflake on the bedroom window, blocking the street which stood beyond that window almost entirely from view.

She shook her head then, remembering why she had gotten out of bed in the first place. It would do her no good if she got caught sneaking out of bed past curfew, especially if she failed to do what she sacrificed her sleep for. With the right hand, she reached out, ready to shut the window, but the frost stopped her. It seemingly crawled closer, invading her room, leaving a trail of crisp snowflakes on the inner side of the glass. Pulling back, [Y/N] reversed. She watched it cautiously, backing away into a corner of the room.

'What on earth?!' Her eyes widened.

With a mind of its own, the frost transformed into the shape of something else. A kitten. Silver and white, looking as though it may leap away from the glass at any given movement. It left the girl blinking, though her arms remained protectively in front of her.

Perhaps she had managed to fall asleep after all. Perhaps this was just a wacky dream; wishful thinking.

And within a few unbelievable moments, the picture really did jump out of the page- or rather, glass. Soundlessly, it pounced in her direction, before scampering through the air, slowly transforming into a three-dimensional being. An entity incapable of sound, but it could move, no, run. Rushing in circles around her, playfully jumping into the air, as if pouncing for invisible butterflies. It made her laugh, her armour now slowly fading away as she turned her head, tracking the kitten with large brown eyes. Within a few seconds, she couldn't push back a laugh, as the kitten stepped closer, its silver nose crinkling up as if it were trying to capture her scene, before shivering a little and reversing shyly.

Yet, as she reached out to pet it, the magic diminished. One stroke and the image above her broke, into a million tiny pieces, several dazzling snowflakes suddenly falling around her. She gasped, as first upset for the lost kitten, but soon found her self, inexplicably giggling as the frigid particles landed on her form.

Emily reached out a palm, catching the soft snow as it fell. In the least, it retained its coldness. Something that still made sense in this world.

'Beautiful...'

"I'm glad you liked it," a male voice suddenly spoke. A little smug, a little pleased, cheerful in fact.

But what was a male doing in her room? In an all-female orphanage?

It didn't take too long to find Emily's address. He'd spotted her with the groceries, walking up to the large building. She seemed almost discouraged at the thought of entering as she looked up, above the doorway. Although Jack had no idea what those funny shapes spelled out - he was in truth, illiterate, but he'd rather melt than admit this weakness - he had a vague idea that this place wouldn't be quite like Jamie's home, in Burgess.

He left her there, deciding to come back later. Nothing personal, but he was still rather hesitant to talk to her. Besides, he'd promised Jamie Bennett another snowball fight. Not that he'd let his ass get kicked anytime soon.

So when he'd returned, to find her surprisingly awake, whilst the rest of her family seemed to be asleep - a strangely large family, considering there were five other sharing that room and then another six in the other room - his interest may or may not have caused the window to freeze up a little. Intent on fixing the mistake, he tried to turn her shock into awe, hoping to see her smile again. What sort of spirit of Fun would he be otherwise?

What he didn't expect was for her to hear him again. Perhaps that first time, she really had been hearing things. Both fortunately and unfortunately, no. She did in fact, turn around once more to try and find him. Displaying much the same expression as last time. Chocolate coloured eyes looking in his direction, unblinking, which made him wonder if perhaps she could see him this time too. It was then, that he found himself liking her eye colour. Or in fact, everything about those unique orbs.

"My name's Jackson Overland Frost," he introduced himself, hoping she'd hear that too.

"A-as in, Jack F-f-frost? the one who brings-" she stammered out, in a disbelieving tone.

He nodded vigorously. "Yes!"

He watched her close her eyes. Did she doubt him? She blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. Slowly opening her eyes again, she tilted her head. In shock, she raised a hand to her mouth before she could utter a single word. So he stepped closer.

"Can... can you see me?" he reached out to her.

A nod confirmed it, making him grin widely. She flinched away though, as if scared.

"Y-you're... real..."

"Yup. As real as the frost on your window and as alive as you are... well, kinda', anyway," he assured her, placing an arm on her shoulder. She shook her head, immediately backing away as if she were the kitten, a kitten, who didn't want to get petted. Perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised. She was a teenager and as much as he wanted to see if his hand would go through her or stick, he was a stranger. Older humans knew better than to trust strangers and whilst Jack praised their sense of self-preservation, he cursed it now.

Up close, she was around his age, at least physically. Her medium length, brown hair was now a little ruffled, perhaps from an attempt to fall asleep to no avail. Her pale, lightly freckled skin was mostly concealed with a bland choice of nightwear, a pair of pink pyjamas hanging loosely from her frame. It didn't quite suit her, but all the same, her appearance mesmerised him. Now, if only she would stay.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you," he reassured her, with a smaller smile, dropping his arms at his side.

"Y-you... you can't be real..."

He frowned. "What...? But... I'm standing right in front of you! Why can't I be real?"

"This... this..." she dodged another few words, turning on her heel and walked out of the room. He could hear the stairs creak beneath her feet, as she dashed out of his proximity. But he refused to let go; to give up on another believer.

Thankfully, she was rash enough to run outside into the snow, alas noticeably cold, as she shuddered. He had to applaud her determination though, as she continued to run, a panicked part of her mind probably believing that this is just a dream and that she would wake up soon. "Wind, follow her," he spoke, before ascending into the air, following the girl. She didn't get far, only a block away, he'd managed to get in front of her, landing just a few centimetres from her leading to a crash.

"Sorry!" she cried out in panic, before looking up and realising that it was him.

"Not this time," he muttered as she was about to run off again. Pulling her towards him, he ignored her struggle. He smirked a little. "A little cold for a midnight jog, don't you think?"

And when the logical side of her finally took over her body, her face flushed red and she looked up at him sheepishly. "Y-you..."

"I'm really. And I'm not going to hurt you. Now for the last time, would you just accept that I exist?" he looked down at her. She seemed to refuse to talk as if deliberating something far more important. Or perhaps she really was insane. After all, how much more could he do to prove that he's real? Still, he accepted the silence and took her hand. "I'll take that as a yes."

She didn't squirm this time, only looked down at the ground. Feet. Two pairs precisely. Not very interesting. So apparently he would have to try harder to retain her attention.

"How about you go back home?"

"It's not that much of a home. Just a house," she murmured, still look down.

"Still better than freezing out here," he argued, although he was confused about her answer.

"Why are you out here?" she retorted.

"Don't feel the cold. But you do." His gaze trailed down to the goose-flesh on her neck and around the collar. "Clearly." He smirked. "So how about you go inside, get some rest and warm up?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What d-d-do you care?" she inquired with a slight jitter.

"Why shouldn't I care? I'm a Guardian."