I'm so so so sorry guys (I bet you're all getting tired of me saying sorry). I've had major writer's block and my part time job now takes up my whole life. Geez, they should just hire me full time since I'm always there.
Oh, and if anyone is wondering where I'm getting my Australian slang, I'm getting it from a random sites that show up when I googled 'Australian slang'. I hope it's somewhat right because I have no idea of where else to go.
Shout out to my reviewers: SmallLittleCagedBird, DeathlyIceMaiden
, The Dreamer17, Applejax XD, .Princess, wafflescoco, Batfreak02, finalfan21, AliceNotInWL, Typewriter101
Underline: Bunny's slang
Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians.
Bunny's POV
It was long after landing in the warren that Genie fell asleep in my arms. Strange, she had so much energy when we left, guess everything finally caught up to her and she fell asleep from mental exhaustion.
Her arms were no longer around my neck; they were now folded gently over her stomach. Her head laid against my chest, her mouth open slightly. Her chest would rise and fall with every breath. Her hot breath against my fur was given me these strange shivers I've never felt before.
Is it wrong that I think she fits perfectly in my arms, as if they were made solely to hold her?
We finally made it back to the cabin, with a bit of maneuvering I was able to open the door without waking up the beaut in my arms. I did debate if I should dress her in her pajamas but I don't think she'd be happy with me in the morning. I still remember when Jack saw her naked, and she was mad as a cut snake.
Instead, I just settled her down onto her bed and pulled the sheets over her. I was about to walk away until I found myself suddenly studying her features more intensely; I'm a fruit loop to do this but at this moment, I don't care.
Her skin is so white and it felt so light against my fur, meaning it was soft. Her cheeks had this slightly hue of red and her lips were a light pink. With her hair fanned out on the pillow, she looked like an angel, so spiffy.
Before I knew what I was doing, I had leaned closer and closer to her face until I was just inches away. Never noticed before that she smells like cherry blossoms, Jack did mention that's the perfume she likes to wear.
Jack knew a lot about her, since he was practically stalking her for while. Whenever he talked about her to me, I never listened before. It was so silly to me how he could be obsessed with a girl that would never see him.
I was wrong. Here I am, in love with her, and I still don't know much about her. It doesn't stop me from She suddenly let out a soft sign, making me back off in fear that she was waking up. I waited for while until I was sure that she was still asleep. Any closer and we would have kissed.
It was my one chance; I'll never have 'nother. Just one pash.
So what stopped me from making a blue? The thought of hurting them: Jack, my good mate, and Genie, his girlfriend. For now, the best thing for me to do is be away from her for a while.
So with that, I turned away from her and headed out; needing to clear my head.
It's silly for me to think anything could happen, she loves Jack and we're not even the same species.
I'm a pooka and she's a human.
Pookas, it's been a while since I've thought of my race. Things were a lot easier back then, not that I didn't love what I do now. But it'd be nice to have another pooka around to interact with.
It's been so long, I don't remember much of my family or my friends, and did I even have those? From what I remember, at young age, we are taken and trained to become warriors. It wasn't easy; those that didn't make it there were assigned to other things.
Of course, I was a natural and raised my rank in a short amount of time. It was so time consuming that I didn't think about things like love. Maybe that's why I'm feeling this way, it's a desire I've put off for so long.
Things had gone so good for my race that none of us saw what would happen next. One day, a mysterious figure had appeared in our village and without a word, started to whip us out one by one. I had been in charge of the main Calvary; we were the last resort if it got bad.
And it did get horrible.
My entire race was gone, in one day. I still remember lying on the ground, soaking in my own blood and the blood of my brethren; their eyes were void of life.
To this day, I still can't get that image out of my head.
The figure that destroyed us all left, thinking that he had left no life in the Pooka race. That mongrel!
I had felt my time coming to an end until my miracle: the moon's light moved to shine down directly on me and I heard his voice, the Man in the Moon.
That's when I learned of Pitch Black. He was spreading his fear over the world, making it unsafe for the little ankle biters. He asked me if I'd join up with his Guardians, to fight off the darkness before the world would lose all its hope. I didn't even need to think about it, my answer was yes.
I became the Guardian of Hope.
I didn't want anybody to go through what I had to go through. Manny understood how I felt and gave me my new life. It wasn't long after that I meet up with his already chosen Guardians. It was so easy to get along with the three of them; they accepted me with open arms.
I owe them my life, I owe Manny my life, and I also owe Jack my life.
This walk helped to calm my nerves; it made me refocus on my job at hand, and that's the promise I made, to protect Genie. I won't let Pitch destroy her hope; she's to be a part of the Guardians one day.
I decided to return to the cabin, just to check if she's still sleeping. I still kind of feel bad for leaving her last time when North called me to that bloody freezing terrain.
I'm stoked to see that she was still out as a light; her mouth was slightly open and it was drooling. Yup, she'll be rapt in the morning.
I was getting ready to walk out when I started to hear this small voice in the back of my head, it was telling me to not leave her alone tonight. Normally when that little voice talked, it was right so I'm not gonna argue with it.
I decided to take a seat at the table; I wasn't going to get that close to her again. I crossed my arms on the table surface and laid my head down on them. I didn't think I was tired but I was wrong: fatigue had taken over.
Genie's POV
Man, why did Bunny have to be so warm and comfortable? When he cradled me in his arms like that, it made it hard to stay awake. I was planning to talk to him once we were alone; I needed to know what was bothering him earlier before the whole Manny thing happened.
I know Manny told me to pretty much let it slide but, I'm a chick, I can't let things slide so easily. Plus, it bothered me that Bunny wouldn't look me in the eye anymore when we talked. I felt like he was avoiding my gaze.
Back to now, I definitely wanted to sleep longer; I could still feel the effects of yesterday on my body. It was total exhaustion but this damn nagging feeling in my chest won't go away so with a deep regret, I pulled myself out of dreamland.
Slowly, my eyes started to flutter open; only to be close after getting hit with bright rays of sunshine.
I hissed like a vampire and pulled the covers up to cover my eye.
"So not a morning person." I mumbled to myself. I started to blink rapidly, trying to get rid of the black spots from being blinded by the sun. Once that was accomplished, I lowered the blanket slowly, letting my eyes get use to the light this time.
When did I get in bed? And why am I still in my clothes from yesterday?...Bunny must have placed me here, and he didn't want to anger me by seeing me naked.
Would I have been mad if Bunny decided to change me…..probably. I'm very self conscious of my body. Plus, I already had one Guardian see me in the nude; let's not add another one to the list.
With a deep sigh and a good stretch, it was time to start the day. I almost asked myself where Bunny was until I saw him fast asleep at the table next to the bed. I stepped out of bed and got closer to him, taking a seat in the chair to his left. I could hear the faint sound of snoring coming from his mouth; plus, a slightly whistle that came out through his teeth. I was so close that when his nose twitched, his whiskers were tickling my cheek. Wait, his nose twitches too?!
Oh my gosh! This is too cute! He really is like a little bunny!
I wish I had a recording camera right now. It was so hard to look away from this adorableness; it was also nice to see this warrior rabbit at ease while he rested.
I've noticed how even if he's just talking to the guys, he was also so tense; he didn't want to let his guard down just in case he had to spring into battle in mere seconds.
The twitching in his nose suddenly stopped, he must be waking up now. Darn, it was cute while it lasted. He lifted his head off his arms, his ears bending and moving in random directions, I wonder if that's his way of stretching them.
His arms straightened out across the table and his fur stood up while he stretched his upper body. In the middle of yawning, I saw him wince a bit, his hand coming up to his neck. Was he in pain?
"Does your neck hurt?" I asked. He was definitely not expecting me. In a flash, he had jumped up onto the table, a boomerang in his hand, ready to fling at me.
As a reflex, I screamed loudly, covered the top of my head with my arms and closed my eyes. If the boomerang was flung, I didn't want to see it and I didn't want to receive any kind of brain damage.
"Genie?" I opened my eyes and slowly started to lower my defense.
"Yes, it's me. Please don't hurt me." He spun around on the table, making sure there was no one else in the cabin.
"Ah, forgive me." Once he was sure the place was secure, he placed his boomerangs back in his straps and stepped off the table; he sat back down in his chair and went back to the task of massaging his sore neck.
"No, forgive me. I hate when people first talk to me when I wake up too. I never expect it. " I fully lowered my arms onto the table; my fingers were twitching a bit from my aftershock.
"It's not that. Just forgot where I was for a second." I saw him apply more pressure on his neck, trying really hard to get that knot out of his neck. Obviously, it wasn't working. He showed no signs of relief.
"Need some help?" I stood from my chair before he could answer; even if he says no, it won't stop me.
"Nah Sheila."
"I'm not taking no for an answer." I walked around his chair till I was right behind him. "Besides, I need to make it up to you." I shooed his hand away from the spot on his neck, replacing it with my own.
"Make what up to me?" It wasn't hard to find locate the knot and it was no wonder he was having a hard time. Not only was the knot pretty big but it was also tough. How could he have slept in that position all night?
"For whatever I did yesterday." He tensed up from my answer. Good thing he couldn't see that I was smirking, I knew something was bothering him. "Hey, don't do that. Trying to relax a muscle here."
"You didn't do anything."
"You're lying. Seriously, this morning was the first time you looked me in the eyes. I mean, before I closed them when you were getting ready to attack me."
"I said I was sorry." I shook my head and concentrated on the knot. It wasn't getting any better so I had increase the pressure. I took my hands off him for a second, rubbing them together to cause friction, results in warmth.
"So what did I do exactly?" I placed both my hands on that one spot on his neck and applied a good three-fourths of my weight onto it.
"Crikey!" Yeah, it hurts like a bitch at first, but soon, the relief comes in. Sometimes you just got to show these knots a little tough love.
"This is what you get for sleeping like that. Hopefully, you've learned to not do it again." The knot finally started loosen, the muscle was relaxing itself now. With a few more rubs with my magic hands, it was complete gone.
"To answer your question, you did nothing." Ok, so the massage didn't work. I'll just have to be up front with him. I moved away from his and went to retake my place in the chair. Once settled, I pulled my chair closer to him, until our knees were touching.
"First off: that's complete bullshit. I know I did something. Second: move your head side to side, up and down, and then roll it slowly. It'll help the muscle." I crossed my arms across my chest, I'm going to get him to tell me what happened if it's the last thing I do.
He decided not to argue and started to do the stretching exercises I told him to do. We sat in silence for a few minutes; he was trying to see if I was going to let this matter go. I just continued to stare at him.
This was the method I used on Jaime and Sophie when I knew they were lying. They would eventually crack under my stare and confess to whatever they did.
"It's stupid but when you ran to the fireplace at North's, I reached for you but you pushed me away so…" No, I want to know what I did before all that. Geez, I guess I better take what I can get, it's a good start.
"That was you?! Crap, you have no idea how bad I felt about that. I'm so sorry." He was taken aback by my sudden outburst but I was so happy that he finally told me one the issues that was bothering me. And I am upset with myself for being such a jerk to him.
"Don't worry about it." He stood from his chair, feeling relieved from his neck pain. "Why don't you get dressed? I'm sure Jack is looking forward to seeing you."
Jack's POV
This is torture. It's just pure torture. I'm Jack Frost, I'm not meant for manual labor like this. I make snow and ice, I bring joy to children's faces, and I make Genie feel things that no other guy has accomplished…Ok, that last one isn't my official job but you get the point.
So why am I here, at Groundhog's place, hitting the damn ice with the end of my staff while Mother Nature is practically on my back, bugging me for some answers about Genie? Seriously, she's right up against me.
I'm here because North forced me!
I had tried to sneak away after Genie left. But before I can make it a few feet away, North had opened up one of his snow globe portals, grabbed onto my hood, and threw me in.
"Are you done yet?" Groundhog's deep voice was faint behind the perfectly sealed shut door. I had done this a while back, so it had accumulated more ice from the cold days.
"Keep in mind that I pretty much have no idea of what I'm doing." Again and again, I hit the ice with the end of my staff; the damn thing just won't crack. Why is Bunny here helping me too? He's the one who asked me to freeze the door, something about Groundhog playing a trick on him so this was revenge.
"You've been at this for 3 hours and I really have to pee!" Ok, that was a little funny I couldn't help but laugh.
"I would be done sooner if Mother Nature over here would help me out!" I yelled in her face, making her finally back off a few inches. Hasn't she ever heard of a personal space? She was right up in my personal bubble.
"I'm only following North's orders. He told me that you had to do this all on your own. And we all know that I always do what my big teddy bear says." She looked off into space and sighed, no doubt images of North were floating through her head. She's had a crush on him since way before I knew them. How do I know? Tooth told me. Her and Mother Nature are pretty good friends.
Now that I think about it, they'd actually make a pretty cute couple.
She was tall enough; she reached the bottom of North's chin when they stood face to face. She had short curly bright red hair that fell to the top of her shoulders. And very bright green eyes. Seriously, the colors of Christmas; can it get anymore perfect?
She wore a crown of various flowers on her head and a bright pink dress with a green vine circling her waist. She also liked to go barefoot, said it helped her get closer with nature. Plus, it was just more comfortable.
Can't argue with her there, I still refuse to wear those blue shoes the elves tried to give me my first day.
Giving out a groan of frustration, I stopped hitting the ice with my staff. It obviously wasn't working so I needed another idea, so Plan A was out the door.
Let's try plan B: I placed the staff against the tree Groundhog lived in; and took a few steps back.
"What are you doing?" Mother Nature questioned me.
"Like I said before, winging it." I've learned a few more tricks with my power. My palms faced outwards, a light shade of blue light started to illuminate from them; basically, I was charging all majority of my power into this one attack.
Yeah, I'm that desperate.
I threw both my hands forward, sharp shards of ice flew out; the sounds of clashing ice echoed loudly around the forest. A few terrified birds flew out of the trees. I could only hold this for so long; it kind of took a lot of energy.
So what was the result? Not even a scratch. If I wasn't trying to break it, I'd be pretty proud of how strong it was.
OK, Plan C: Drop down on all fours and feel around the forest floor, there had to be something sharp around here somewhere. Where are the rocks when you need them?
"You didn't answer my question earlier Jack" Oh no, she's going to start up again. Due to being pre-occupied earlier, I had been avoiding her questions. Well, that's part of the truth: she'd been annoying me since the beginning so I thought ignoring her would be the best way to get her to shut up.
Apparently, I was wrong. It only made her question me more and more. I will forever remember this lesson about women for years to come.
"I wanna know too!" Great, now she's got the Groundhog doing it. Have I mentioned how much I hate this?
Wait a minute, Mother Nature was one for gossip, she couldn't resist. With my brains, it shouldn't be that hard to manipulate that.
"So you won't go against North's word?" I asked Mother Nature.
"Of course not." She scoffed at the thought of betraying him, crossing her arms over her chest to prove a point. I got up from my knees and sat on a small tree stump, my elbows leaning on my knees.
"Not even if I answer every little question you have of Genie?" I can literally see the agonizing struggle she was having with herself. She started pacing in circles around the tree, pondering this sacred question: Does she go against North or does she help Jack in exchange for gossip?
"What do you think Groundhog?" Why is she asking him? Who cares what the Groundhog thinks?
"Well, North will forgive you…" Oh yeah, I care what Groundhog thinks. "And I admit, I'm super curious about the girl crazy enough to date that idiot."
"Hey, I can do without the insults." I change my mind again, I don't care what he thinks or says.
"Then again, I'm sure she'll be around for a while so we can just meet here then." Oh no, she's not getting out of it this easily.
"Who said I was going to introduce you guys to her? You both haven't been so nice to me lately." Her face said it all; she knew she was losing this argument.
"Darn it, I'm dying to know what she looks like. You've got yourself a deal." Hook, line and sinker, sucker. "But you better not leave after this; I still need some help with spreading winter. This old gal ain't what she use to be."
What she talking about? She's immortal; this chick has been the same age since the beginning of time.
With it now decided, Mother Nature placed her forefingers and thumbs together, forming a small circle. From there, bright rays of sunlight shot out straight to the ice. If I'm right, the intense heat will cause the ice to slowly melt. Right on cue, I saw droplets of water falling from the ice.
Eureka! It's working.
"Details now!" And now I uphold my part of the bargain.
"I first saw her while hanging around Jaime's house. For some reason, I just couldn't get her out of my mind. For days, I went to see her, but it broke my heart when I thought she'd never be able to see me since she's an adult. That didn't stop the feelings. Next thing I knew, I followed her to her college and continued to watch over her. Through this, I learned that I'm actually a pretty jealous guy, whenever I saw any guys looking at her; I threw some hail their way. Ha, they thought they were going crazy."
"How'd you finally meet here face to face?"
"Don't get your hopes up, it wasn't romantic at all. In fact, Jaime and I were very close to losing her that day. Pitch thought he could attack Jaime in his sleep, since I always stuck close by; I was able to get there fast. It shocked me when she heard my voice and turned to look at me; when my eyes locked with hers, I knew, I couldn't let go of her now."
"That's the first signs of love right there." Mother Nature was smiling so big, she kind of reminded me of that cat from the Wonderland movie. "Ok, now tell me what she looks like."
"Uh, hm, she's about 5'3"-ish, definitely shorter than me. Has very long dark brown hair, soft to the touch. She's very curvy and has good assets, if you know what I mean. Oh, that reminds me, I still have her bra that I stole from her"I'm wondering if I should give that back.
"You stole her bra?!" Wow, when someone else says it, it sounds horrible.
"Pervert!" There are times when I really hate that Groundhog, super thankful that Manny never made him a Guardian. I don't think I could deal with him 24/7.
"Keep quiet hog, this is getting good. Please continue Jack." She continued to shot the ice with rays while keeping her eyes right on me. They were practically sparkling with excitement.
"Yes, I still have her bra. Anyway, she's got dark brown eyes that anyone can just get lost in for hours and they glisten when she's smiling or laughing. Her cheeks always have that light shade of red that gets darker when she's embarrassed or blushing. And her lips are light pink. They are so soft also, perfect for kissing."
I had gotten so lost in my description of my girlfriend, I hadn't realized that Groundhog was already out of his hole and standing by Mother Nature's side, both of them were staring intesenly at me.
I thought the hog had to pee, why's he just standing there?
"She sounds so beautiful." Mother Nature squealed in excitement. "I can't believe my little Jackie poo found himself a pretty girlfriend." She jogged over to me and pulled me off the tree stump. She brought me into a back crushing hug, swinging me side to side. .
"She sounds hot!" Groundhog just had to put in his two cents, didn't he?
After a few seconds of this powerful and slightly painful hug, Mother Nature finally released me; my body was still feeling the effects, I couldn't stand straight and I was stumbling around.
"Yeah, I hit the jackpot."
"Oh yeah you did. Jack, you gotta let me meet this girl." Is he serious? No girl can resist the charm of the 'cute little groundhog'. He always uses it to his advantage; when the crowds gather for his shadow day, if he doesn't run back into the hole, he'll scurry over to the prettiest girl in the group and rub himself like a cat against her leg.
They tend to find it cute, but I find it disgusting.
"No way."
"Scared I'd steal her away from you?"
"You may be cute but I'm what they call, a heart throb. She'd choose me over you in a snap. "
Mother Nature was fed up with hog teasing me. She started to kick him to the side, out of our direction.
"Go do your business and leave Jack alone." He started to grumble a few words I couldn't hear but am pretty sure they are cuss words. He finally ran to another tree out of our range.
"Sweetie, you're off the hook with me. Go be with your girl, I can never stand between true love."
"Before I go, I was wondering if you can do me a little favor, it has to do with flowers."
"Want me to whip up a little bouquet for you?"
"Yeah actually, some purple lilacs, if you don't mind." While she did her thing, I walked to get my staff off the tree. Thank God this is finally over! And I only had to do half the work. Mother Nature soon thrust the flowers into my hands.
"What are those?" I motioned to the pink flowers she combined with the purple.
"Arbutus flowers, I gave you the pale pink kind because I think it goes better with the purple."
"I'll trust your judgment on that."
"They also have a very special meaning. Be sure to look it up before you give them to her. Now get out of here."
"Thanks again. Oh, laters Hedgehog."
"I look nothing like a hedgehog!" He yelled out at me while I flew up into the wind. I was close enough to hear him say that he hates me sometimes. Don't know why, I'm very loveable.
The long ride home gave me a chance to think. I don't want to just present these to her, I want to romance her. Like a date or something. Wait, that's the perfect idea, a date. Yeah, I'll set it up in my room, with a table and candles and home cooked food.
I don't really know how to cook but it can't be that hard.
The wind placed me on the ledge of my window, it was already open. I'm so excited to get everything ready. Before I ran out, I placed the flowers softly on my bed; I didn't want to damage any of the petals with my running and I didn't want the elves to take them.
"Jack!" North called out to me when I strolled into the work room.
"North, what's up? Good new, Groundhog is out of the hole and Mother Nature let me off the hook."
"She what? But how?"
"Just a few answered questions about a certain girl. Heads up, she may stopped by one day in hopes of seeing her." And you, but I didn't tell him that.
North brought his left hand up and started to rub his forehead with his thumb and forefinger; he only does that when he's really stressed. That only meant one thing, something happened, something bad.
"What's going on?" Instead of answering me, North just turned and motioned for me to follow him. So I did. The elves and the yetis moves to the sides to let us pass without interference, they never do that. Now, I have that bad feeling in my chest and stomach.
We walked until we came to stand in front of the only open door down this hall; there I saw him, Sandman, laying flat on the bed. He had some holes in him, where the particles of sand were missing.
"Sandy, what happened?" By the time he opened his eyes, I was right next to the bed. He didn't have much strength to stay awake; but he still wanted me to know one thing. The sand around his head slowly moved to create an image. I did have a hunch it was him but I was praying it wasn't. It didn't work.
"Pitch Black." I whispered his name, my voice filled with malice. He tried to take Sandy away from us again.
"He stronger now." North stood next to me, both of us looking down at our friend. He smiled at me before he closed his eyes to rest. Whichever part of the world was sleeping was not going to get good dreams tonight.
If we're lucky, it won't turn into Pitch's playground; they'll instead sleep in silence. I hope it's that one; it's better than the first choice.
"I still don't understand. How?" I kept my voice low, not wanting to disturb Sandy.
"Genie's fear" North grabbed onto my shoulder to lead me out of the room, he made sure to turn off the lights before closing the door.
"Jack, Bunny will be by with Genie any moment. I calling meeting with him and Tooth."
"And I won't be part of this meeting cause you want me to keep her occupied, right?"
"Try to keep her on that side of home." He pointed in the opposite direction, where we had originally come from. "Do whatever you must."
"I was actually planning to do that before all this." North gave me a puzzled look. "I found her flowers and I was going to make it like a first date."
"Anything you need help with?"
"Yeah, you got anything in your kitchen besides sweets?"
Genie's POV
I made sure to make my bath a quick one, it didn't take that long since I wasn't washing my hair today. And Bunny had already filled up the tub for me.
My outfit for today consisted of dark jeans that were decorated with random white lace holes; they didn't look like that at the beginning. I had tripped so many times and managed to tear them at the thighs and at the shins. I don't know how the shin ones happened but I am gravity challenged.
They still fit and were too good to get rid of, so I just got some white lace and sewed it into the holes. People actually thought I had bought them.
My shirt was simple enough, a light grey and blue long sleeve sweater with a slight low cut in the front.
After quickly styling my hair into a loose side braid, I was ready to go. Or so I thought
I had already had one foot out the door when I noticed something poking out of my luggage on the side, that dreaded black book, Pitch's.
Shit, I need to get that back somehow. North hasn't said anything to me so he must not know they are gone, right? Or is he someone that does know and just let's you wallow in your guilt until it eats you up on the inside and then you have no choice but to confess?
Yeah, my nerves were in overdrive, to the point where I was pacing back and forth in front of the door. I even started to nibble on my nails.
Come on brain, think, think, think of something. Well, I could always just walk into the place with the books out in the open….but for some reason; I don't think that's a good idea. So I ran over to my luggage and started to dig through it, trying to find something that could help me.
In the upper right corner of the bag, I saw some kind of thick black string; everything was in the way, so I just grabbed as much as I could and threw it in some random direction around the room. With everything out of the way, I saw what the string was attached to.
"Seriously, I packed this?" It was my purple drawstring backpack. How on earth did this get in my luggage? I must have grabbed it while not really paying attention; Jack was in my room distracting me that night.
But this was the answer.
In a flash, the bag was opened and the books were stuffed in, along with a notebook and my pen pack. If anybody were to ask, I packed a notebook and my pens because I'm a writer; it wasn't a complete lie. That was one of my two career choices.
I swung the bag onto my back and was out the door, quick like a bunny.
After a quick jog, I had arrived at Bunny's side; he was waiting at the same hole we came down from last night.
"What took so long? I was starting to think you slipped in the tub or something."
"Eh, it wouldn't be the first time."
"You're bringing a bag with you?"
"My writing skills might be slipping. I'm hoping while I'm there, I can get some inspiration."
"Trying to be a journo, ey?"
"I don't know what that is but I'll still say yes."
"It won't work. From what North told me, Jackie's got a little prezzy for ya." It didn't take a genius to figure out what a prezzy is; what kind of presents did he get me?
"Did you hear what kind of prezzy it is?"
"All I know is that it will take all day." Oh man, what does Jack have up his sleeve now?
"I'm still taking my bag." He shook his head at my stubbornness. Hey, I have a mission to complete and I can't let Jack get in the way of it. Bunny bent down to place an arm behind my knees and back, scooping me up into the same position I was in last night.
"Don't fall asleep now."
"Then stop being so comfy." He was now jumping up the tunnel, being careful to not smack me against the wall. A hole soon opened up to North's place, and we shot through the floor like a rocket. North was already waiting for us.
"Welcome back!" Bunny placed me down onto the floor, one of his paws remained on my back.
"G'day mate."
"Hey North, how's it…" North interrupted me before I could finish my sentence.
"Go go Bunny, I take over from here." I felt a quick pat on my back before North grabbed onto my arm and lead me down a hallway. And he was moving us pretty fast; I've almost tripped over my feet a couple of times.
"What's going on?"
"I been asked to escort you to very special surprise."
"You're in on this, too?" Jack was just getting everybody to participate in whatever he was doing. So it's not just Manny that's pushing us together.
We finally stopped in front of a room, I remember it, it's Jack's room. There, he pulled the bag off my back; it took all my might to hold in my gasp.
"It will be next to door inside. Ready?"
"I would be if someone told me what was going on or at least give me a hint." I got no hint. North covered my eyes with one of his hands before opening the door with the other; I heard him drop my bag onto the floor. He was now guiding my every step into the room. We stopped after a few steps and he pushed down onto my shoulder. I felt my heart jump from the sudden drop until I landed in a chair.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack; you could have just said sit."
"You worry too much. I take my leave now. Don't open eyes till Jack say so." He moved his hand away from my eyes slightly, making sure I had my eyes closed before moving completely.
"Jack's in the room, right?"
"Yeah, I'm here." A sense of relief washed over me once I heard his voice. The curiosity of what was going on was getting worse.
"You're not going to scare me, right? I don't like things popping out at me"
"I'm not that mean. So like North said, don't open your eyes until I say so."
"Fine fine." He must have given North the ok to leave, I heard the door close. So now we're alone.
"Can I open my eyes now?" I felt a sudden gust of wind pass behind me along with pair of cold hands that crept slowly from behind my neck down to my chest. This was giving me goose bumps from the anticipation and the cold.
"How'd you know that blue is my favorite color?" He leaned forward to whisper into my ear.
"I didn't but now I do. Thanks for telling me that, so can I open my eyes now?"
"Hold on." He grabbed onto my chair and rotated me slightly to the left. "Ok and now." I took a deep breath before opening my eyes, a gorgeous bouquet of flowers were placed in front of my face.
"Oh my gosh!" Wow, that was a shocking surprise. Looks like he accomplished his goal of finding my favorite flower.
"For you beautiful." I reached out to grab the bouquet from his hands, bringing it closer to my face to smell the amazing floral scents. Jack stood to the side of me, with excitement clearly on his face.
"I love them, these are gorgeous. But what are the pink flowers? I've never seen them before."
"Well, Mother Nature helped me assemble the bouquet, and she threw those in; told me they are called 'Arbutus' flowers and that they have a special meaning behind them. I had to look up what it was since she wouldn't tell me there. Did you know that purple lilacs mean 'first emotions of love'?" I just nodded my head for him to continue.
"Well, the arbutus means and I quote the book 'thee only do I love'. But in modern terms, it means I love only you."
I was trying really hard to not cry in joy. No one has ever done something so sweet for me like this. And instead of being able to go to the store, Jack had to travel to find these. But I also feel a twinge of sadness mixed in. I keep hearing him say that phrase and everybody else is always reminding me about it.
To be honest, I don't like it.
"You really need to stop saying that." This was a horrible thing for me to say to Jack after he gave me these flowers. But I've always been a blunt person and if Jack is serious about this relationship, he needed to know my exact feelings.
"Why? I want you to know how special you are to me."
"I hate to tell you this Jack, but I don't believe that two people can fall in love in, like, 3 days." I do like him a lot, but I can't say that I love him. I saw him getting ready to say something so I cut him off to finish my statement.
"You've gotten to know me over a longer period of time, so I understand why you feel that way. But I barely met you. Yes, Jack, I think you're very sweet and I do like you a lot; but I don't feel like I know you enough to say I love you."
He stood there for a few seconds before moving to sit across the table….Whoa, I just realized that we're sitting at a small table in his room. There was a plate in front of me, covered with one of those silver dome things.
He also planned a meal for us?!
"Didn't you and Jaime use to talk about me though?" He asked me, and he was right. I always use to joke with Jaime that Jack Frost was responsible for the nips on our noses that caused our colds. And the day I got back, Jaime was going on and on and on about Jack.
"Don't be mad, but the one thing I use to tell Jaime was that you're the reason we get colds."
"You wouldn't get a cold if you wore sweaters outside instead of strapless dresses." I was a bit confused at his statement, until I remember that one Christmas card we shot out. "Yeah, I saw that picture of you guys. Not saying that I didn't like that dress, I really hope you still have it so you can wear it for me one day."
I better not tell him I do still have it.
"First, I blame my mom for buying me that dress. And second, your legend isn't as well known as the others, no offense."
"Thanks for rubbing that in." He mumbled sarcastically. And I was getting ready to rubs some more of it in.
"Jaime did talk a little about you the day I got home, but I wasn't really listening."
"You didn't listen?"
"When you have two younger siblings that love to talk, you learn how to tune them out so you can keep your sanity. Don't judge me. But back to the point, I don't know enough about you to say that phrase."
"It's never too late. I made you dinner and we're all alone. So why don't you get to know me now?"
Pitch's POV
I couldn't contain my excitement with my new found power; the damage I had cause Sandman was exhilarating. I didn't even feel the need to continue with my nightmares, there was a feeling of satisfaction that ran through my body.
I wasted no time in getting my night terrors back home; my remaining nightmares had trouble accepting at firs; that changed as soon as they attacked one of my nightmares, dismembering it in front of the others until it was nothing but a pile of black sand.
They had asserted their authority among the pack, letting them know they were the alphas. Well, technically, I am the alpha. They all answer to me and only me.
Looking around, I realized that there was one more thing I had to do before I went to claim my girl; prepare our room. Of course, I didn't need to sleep so I didn't have any rooms But I know she will; although, she won't be getting much sleep for the first few day.
My lair is a complicated labyrinth that can be changed upon my command. So even if she were to somehow escape the room, she'll never find her way out. And I'm sure she won't want to get lost in the labyrinth, who knows what dangers will lurk there?
It didn't take long for me to create a room for us; I made sure it was big enough for her to roam around in. The only things she'll really need now is a bed and some dressers for her clothes. None of which will be difficult to get. You'd be amazed on how much you can steal with you travel by shadows.
There is a furniture store located not far from here; it should have everything I need. In a matter of seconds, I have blended in the shadows of my home and appeared in the store. I was a little taken aback by some of the displays; some of these beds had horrendous covers.
After a quick stroll, I saw the exact one I wanted. It was one of the displays so it already came with covers and pillows; I was delighted to see that it was adorned with grey and black silk blankets.
With one push, I had moved the bed into the shadows, making it appear directly in the room I had chosen.
I didn't care what kind of cabinets I got; they all do the same job. I choose 3 dressers and one cabinet that were pure black.
All was now assembled in the room; I'll go over the arrangements later. My heart was beating faster with anticipation. Soon, I will go to where she is and take her. That night, I'll pound into her over and over in our bed, claiming her as mine.
How good are the acoustics in here? Will her screams and moans of pleasure be loud? I want my future prisoners to hear every little thing I do to her; making them feel like failures.
How will they feel when they realize they have let down the Man in the Moon, the children of the world, and most of all, Genie.
Especially Jack, he'll be devastated. And will also be the most fun to torture. I'll put him in the prison closest to our room; he'll hear us for sure. He'll hear her scream my name.
If he had joined me like I requested earlier, I probably would have given him a chance to also 'play' with our guest. But it's his lost.
She'll be all mine. Not much longer until I can go take what is rightfully mine.
Genie, I'm so excited to see you. Are you as excited to see me?
Genie's POV
The whole date was going pretty well….except for the food. Jack told me that he worked super hard on dinner; he hasn't cooked much before but he wanted today to be extra special.
Truthfully, I could tell he doesn't cook.
I don't know how he found all the ingredients in North's kitchen but he somehow managed to whip up an Italian dinner: spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread, and a side salad.
But like I said, I could totally tell it he doesn't regularly cook. The noodles were still kind of crunchy and some were sticking together, the meatballs were so overcooked that they were tough to chew, and the bread was burnt on the bottom.
The only things not 'messed up' were the sauce and the salad. Of course, the sauce was from a jar and I'd be shock if he somehow messed up the salad.
"Was it good?" Jack asked me, he was slightly bouncing in his seat, waiting for my answer. I couldn't say it was bad since he worked so hard so…
"Better than good, it was delicious." Yes, I lied through my teeth. Maybe it wasn't the right thing to do but I wasn't about to hurt his feelings like that, since I already kind of hurt them earlier.
And good thing I ate every little crumb, he wouldn't have believe me if I left anything behind. I hope none of this gives me an upset stomach later.
While enjoying our food, Jack found it necessary to throw out random facts about himself, in hopes that by the end of the day, I'll come to love him.
I had learned that his favorite food is mint ice cream, which made me cringe on the inside since I can't stand mint flavor things. It was kind of funny; I never tasted anything mint flavored when I kissed him. It better stay that way.
When I asked how he even got food since he was homeless before, he told me that he would steal food from unsuspecting adults when they weren't looking. But he didn't try the ice cream until he started living with North.
His favorite animal is a penguin; His favorite place to visit is Antarctica, because it's always cold there.
He considered Jaime one of his best friends since he was the first child ever to see him. But he had liked being around him way before that. Since Jaime was always reading random mythical books, Jack enjoyed being around him to hear the tales. Especially since he hates reading.
He told me that out of all the Guardians, he liked Bunny the most. When I asked why, he said it Bunny has the same amount of wit that he has, so they're able to tease each other so easily; and also that no matter what, Bunny would always have his back.
"So, anything else you want to know about me?"
"I'm content at the moment." I know there's still so much more to know about Jack; and I am very excited to learn more as time goes on. But my mind keeps travelling back to the same question I often ask myself, when all of this is over and I'm safe, would we continue this relationship?
I'll be back with my family and he'd have to stay here. We wouldn't be able to do the regular things that couples normally do without me looking schizophrenic.
A funny image popped into my head: I love bowling, what would people think if I took Jack bowling? They'd see the bowling ball float and throw itself down the lane. The kids would yell "It's Jack Frost" while the adults would pull them away from my direction.
I'm sure Jack would have a hoot with all that.
I was brought out of my thoughts by a sudden force moving my chair; I was so caught up in my funny thought that I hadn't noticed Jack moved. Now he was standing in front of me, and slightly bent over to where we were face to face once again. But he wasn't staring at my eyes; he was looking at my lips.
"Do I have something on my lips?" I moved my hands up to rub around my mouth; it'd be pretty embarrassing if I'd been talking to him the whole time with sauce at the corner of my mouth.
"No." His right hand came up to grasp my chin gently, his thumb lightly tracing my bottom lip. He moved closer and started leaving butterfly kisses that started from the corner of my lip, to my cheek and ending at my ear. I couldn't stop the unexpected shiver that ran through my body when he reached my ear; I guess that's a weak spot for me.
"Can I kiss you?" He whispered.
Why was he asking me? He never did that before. Then I realized, he wanted me to make the next move. Well, I must respond to his request.
I pushed my chair back slightly, giving me some room between him and me. I stood to my full height and slowly, wrapped my arms around Jack's neck, pulling him closer to me. I could clearly see the victory in his eyes.
His arms wrapped around my waist, resting on the small of my back, pulling me even closer, I didn't know that was possible. Our bodies were molding against the other.
I closed the rest of the distance between our faces; my lips smashed against his in a flash. He stumbled back slightly from the force; we didn't know how close we were to his bed until his knees buckled forward when we hit the edge.
Since we were wrapped in each other's arms, he brought me down with him onto the mattress. His back was now on my bed with me right on top of him; his legs were still hanging over the edge.
I removed my arms from his neck and placed on the bed next to his head, pushing myself up a bit with my forearms.
"You ok?" I didn't know I had put that much force into my kiss, it was so awesome; it knocked him off his feet.
"No time to answer." One of his hands moved up from my lower back to my head, pulling it back down to meet his lips once again. My arms gave out on me, making me put all of my weight on him.
I felt him bring his legs up to push against the mattress, moving both of us further up till we were fully on the mattress. He must have amazing lower body strength to move both of us that way.
Our mouths moved in perfect harmony, our tongues battling the other for dominance. How did he become such a good kisser in a short amount of time?
The hand on my head moved to remove the band that kept my hair in a braid. I pushed myself up once again, breaking out kiss.
"Hey, I braided my hair for a reason." The remaining hand on my waist joined the other in unraveling my braid, my hair now spilling out in random directions.
"Yeah, for me to take out. Thanks for making me do more work." Once the braid was completely gone, he ran both of his hands through my hair.
He didn't pull me back down to him; instead, he leaned up to start kissing my neck. His hands started to move downward, until they came to rest below the bottom hem of my shirt. I'm starting to hear that little voice in my head, it was telling me to stop.
"Um...Jack." He mumbled against my neck, too lost in his own haze of pleasure. The vibration from his mumble caused me to let out a soft moan. Upon hearing that, he felt encouraged to go even further. His hands suddenly slipped underneath my shirt and started to feel up my skin.
"Whoa." I fully extended my arms, pushing myself up from his body. I rolled off him and the mattress, resulting in me landing on the floor, face first, hard.
My nose started to throat from the pain, but I needed to stop that before he went further. Yes, it felt so good; it felt amazing to feel him touch me like that. But I couldn't let him go further.
"Genie, are you ok?" I started to push myself up off from the floor, his hands came to grab onto my waist to assist me.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Just had the air knocked out of me and might have broken my nose.
"Why'd you do that?" I had no good answer to that question.
My eyes darted around the room, looking for what; I don't know, preferably, an answer. That's when my eyes landed on my bag; it was still next to the door where North dropped it.
My mind started to formulate a plan. Earlier, I had noticed that Jack's room doesn't have a restroom. I can use this to my advantage.
"Because I have to use the restroom. You know, when natures calls, you have to obey." I tried to move towards the door, but the hands that were still on my waist tightened, stopping my movement.
"Are you sure you're ok? That was a hard landing." He pulled me back against his chest, his now wrapping all the way around my waist.
"I fall a lot, its fine. Please, I really really really need to go."
"All right, go before you pee your pants. The one in your room across is the closest one." He released my waist, letting me speed off to the door. Lucky for me, he had turned around towards the table to started gathering up the dishes.
I scooped down to grab on my bag, open the door, and took off sprinting down the hallway. It won't take long for him to notice that I didn't go to that room. If he asks why, I'll just use the excuse that I couldn't get the door open.
And if it is open, I'm screwed.
It didn't take long to reach the work area; the yetis were concentrating on the toys while the elves were concentrating on trying to make bows. Thankfully, none of them noticed me as I ran past them.
My lungs were starting to burn a bit from the sprinting, I've always hated running, so I always avoid it at all cost. How can people do this for fun?
I began to slow down when I got closer to the door, trying to control my loud panting. Since I have no idea where North or Bunny is, I have to keep as quiet as I can.
The door to the library was full open and there was no North in sight. Yes, good luck has finally come my way.
Quickly, I opened my bag and grabbed onto the black book; I just shoved it into a random spot. I don't remember where its exact location was. North will notice that it moved, I hope he blames the yetis or the elves.
I breathed a sigh of relief, so thankful that I got it back. Since North actually gave me Jack's book, I'll give it to him in person when I see him. Just act like nothing weird or bad had happened.
Now to begin my journey back to Jack's room. I waltzed into the hallway, feeling light as air since that book is gone. Once in the hall, I noticed the room right in front of me was slightly ajar, a light shining bright from the gap.
I wasn't going to pay to give it any attention and just continue on my way until I heard voices, a deep one and one with an Australian accent. Oh shit, they were right across the hall. I really hope they didn't hear me.
Then I heard a female voice speak up against the others. Why is Tooth here? I thought she was constantly at work and only came when requested.
Against my better judgment, I snuck closer to the door; I rested up against the wall right next to the hinges and placed my ear close enough to hear their voices. It was a little hard to decipher at first but with a bit more concentration, I could understand all of their words.
"Sandy doing better." That voice was North's. What happened to Sandman? Can it be that serious to have all the Guardians here?
"What are we going to do? Should we tell Genie?" Should they tell me what? What's going on? Why does Tooth sound so nervous?
"No."
No? If this has to deal with me, don't I deserve to know? So this is why Jack set up that lunch date, he was keeping me away while the others discussed whatever it was about me that needed to be discussed.
"She deserves to know." Bunny was arguing with someone. Oh yeah, Bunny's on my side. It's official; he's my new best friend.
"It just cause her more fear if she knew that Pitch is stronger and might know her location." My hand opened suddenly, dropping my bag with Jack's book onto the floor. My eyes had widened, my mouth fell open, and my heart rate and breathing increased drastically.
I felt a rush of air on the side where the door was, the figures that were inside had rushed out to see what that noise was. I didn't even turn to acknowledge them, my eyes were fixated on the wall, my mind reeling with so many thoughts and my body was frozen in place.
"What's she doing here? I thought Jack was keeping her busy." I don't know who was talking and I didn't even care.
"Jack, I told you to keep her in room." Jack's name was mentioned, he must be here now.
"She said she needed to use the restroom, how was I suppose to know she'd come over here?" I felt him brush up against my shoulder; he was standing on the other side of me.
Even thought I was surrounded, I felt alone. I heard no more noise and I felt nothing. They were right, the news did cause me more fear. I'm scared, I'm terrified, and I'm any other word that's the same thing as scared.
Someone moved to stand in front of me; giant hands grabbed onto my shoulders and started to shake me. It was North, no one else has as big of hands as he does.
"Genie, answer me." His voice made a switch go off; I suddenly could hear and feel again. I wish I couldn't though. Gathering up my remaining strength, I looked up at North; tears falling from the side of my eyes.
I wasn't even aware that I had started to cry. I didn't feel like I was, but there were tears. My voice was struggling to come out, it felt like my throat and my mouth had gone completely dry.
"Is he coming for me?" Somehow, I got that sentence out; but it didn't sound like me. This voice sounded so small, weak and vulnerable.
I kept my eyes on North; no one around us had dared to speak. They all looked to him, to see what he would decide to say. His eyes didn't hold that cheerful spark right now; it looked so different. That's when I noticed, he held a look of sadness.
He nodded. There's my answer.
All my muscles suddenly gave out on me; my body was falling to the floor. Four pairs of hands shot out to grab onto me, none of them let me go. My head suddenly slumped back and my eyes shut themselves, leaving me in pure darkness.
Was this my future?
This is the longest chapter I have written to date; it's my way of apologizing for taking forever! I really hope I haven't lost my fabulous readers.
So here are translations:
bloody: very
make a blue:make a mistake
mad as a cut snake: very angry
fruit loop:fool
journo:journalist
mongrel: despicable person
pash: a long passionate kiss
prezzy: present, gift
rapt: pleased, delighted
spiffy: pretty
I apologize for any spelling and grammar mistakes. I finished writing this as 12:16 am and I need to wake up for work in 6 hours. So I was kind of rushing.
Please leave a review, they help to inspire me. Have a good day!