Skyla rolled over again as Jack opened the window. She'd been tossing and turning all night, unable to stay calm. Something had been going on with him, she knew that. She could feel it. He didn't know she was awake and carefully closed the window behind himself. It was already starting to get light out; he'd been out all night. She closed her eyes as he turned toward her and she heard as he walked over beside her. She heard the flutter then crinkle of a piece of paper as he crushed it in his hand. His foot steps, quiet as they were, echoed in her ears.
He walked around the bed and threw the paper into the trash before walking back to his side of the bed. Sky was tempted to turn over and look at him or to say something but as he slipped in beside her and wrapped his arm around her, she decided against it. He nuzzled her neck and whispered softly, "I love you. I'm so sorry" She tried not to tense up. It didn't mean he had done something wrong, it could just mean that he was sorry for leaving. He sighed softly and pulled her close.
She finally made it back to sleep half an hour later, and when she woke, Jack was softly telling her it was time to wake up. "Mm" she mumbled sleepily, "Let me sleep a little longer."
"Sky, you've slept in long enough. Wake up."
Skyla opened her eyes and saw him leaning over her, a grin on his face. She couldn't help but smile back, "I love you"
His smile faltered a moment then it came back brighter than before and he kissed her cheek. "Love you. Now get up. Big day!"
It was her turn to let her smile brighten. "We're moving! Into our own apartment!"
"You're getting ahead of yourself, aren't you?" Jack hopped up and stood on the bed, holding out his hand, "We have to get through the day first." Skyla took his hand and let him pull her up. For a moment she bobbed awkwardly on top before gaining balance again. "There you go. You need to learn to balance, Sky. Especially for ice skating. You do realize it's a single bladed boot, right? Harder to move in than high heels."
"You've walked in high heels?" She nearly laughed at the mental image. The heels she pictured him in were dark blue, lightly sparkled, and about 4 inches. Close toed. They almost suited him.
"Hey, stop picturing it!" he laughed, jumping slightly to get her attention. His hand squeezed hers a moment, "It was only for a little bit- I-I mean-"
"Really?! You did! WOw, can I-"
"No. Never again" he answered dryly.
Skyla rolled her eyes and let him help her down off the bed. She crossed to one of her identically sized pale blue suitcases and dug through one of them, smiling down at her favorite pair of jeans. She dug a little deeper and pulled out a few more things to complete her outfit, looking through layers of different fabrics and colors. Flipping the suitcase shut, she walked into the bathroom to get changed. The grey v-neck sweater did nothing for her, and matched her eye color too much, but she decided not to bother with it.
"I like that sweater on you." Jack announced when she walked out of the bathroom. "I think you look great in anything."
She smiled at him and threw her pajamas over the suitcases to walk over to him. "You're the sweetest" Skyla put her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him. At the last second he turned his head and her lips caught his cheek. She wasn't upset, she just kissed his cheek again and pulled back to meet his eyes, "Love you"
After a moment he replied, "Love you" and kissed her nose.
"Hey, let's play a game."
"Nooo!" he groaned, "I barely survived our last game!"
"Shh. We're playing this game." She rested her head against his shoulder, "Actually, it's a riddle. If you can answer it, I'll give you a gift. How about it, Jack Frost? Think you can manage a bit of fun today?"
"Who do you think I am?" He asked, laughing, "Yes! If I'm going to win something, I want to play. What's the riddle?"
Skyla kissed his neck and rhymed, "It's not always easy, but it's worth the effort, a place for uneasiness, a place for comfort. If you asked me then, I never knew, if you ask me now, the answer is you."
Jack thought for a minute, "Is that all?"
"I could add a thousand verses, but that's the gist, yes. So? Any guesses?" she took a step away from him, putting her hands on her hips and an oh-so-happy-with-herself smile. on her lips. "Or am I going to have to wait a while?"
"Hey, let me think!" he frowned at her but his oh-so-adorable thinking face came back. "Give me some time, alright? I'll get it by the end of the day!"
After lunch, Jack still had his thinking face on. Skyla had gotten the call from Gavin and had to drag both the suitcases and her Winter Spirit boyfriend to the apartment. Up the stairs, down the hall, on the left, and the door was open for them already.
Jack floated in first to take a look, "You really did clean it? Wow- Oh! Is this Gavin?" He looked into the bedroom on the left and groaned, "He's shirtless again"
"Gavin!" Skyla called. He walked out of the room, shirtless like Jack had said, and they smiled at each other. "Are you excited to move out?"
"Yeah! Moving out isn't the best part. Moving in with Jane is what I'm looking forward to. What about you?"
"Super excited." they met halfway down the hall and Gavin gave her a hug. Jack made an impatient noise and Sky quickly let go of Gavin. "You should put a shirt on."
Gavin blushed slightly and nodded, "Alright, I will! Hey, take your coat off. Make yourself at home! It is yours now anyway." Skyla did as he asked and threw the red coat over onto the dark-brown couch he'd promised would stay, along with most of the other furniture. "Grey. I have a sweater exactly like that! Well, a bit more male" he winked and walked back into the bedroom.
"Do you think he does it on purpose?" Jack asked, "The shirtless thing, the hug, the wink. Doesn't he have a girlfriend?"
"He does" Skyla whispered, walking into the living room, "He's just... He doesn't mean to be flirty. He's having fun, leave him be."
"Alright!" Gavin walked past her and flopped on the couch. Like he said, he was wearing a grey sweater, v-neck, very similar to hers. "What do you think?"
"I think we match." she laughed, sitting beside him. "Have you taken all your things to your new place?"
"Yes. Why? Eager to kick me out?"
"Very" she answered, nudging his shoulder, "No, but, I want to get settled as soon as possible. And... did I mention my super incredibly, super hot, super fun, boyfriend will be moving in, too. He is also super jealous sometimes-"
"Hey!" Jack protested, floating in front of the two.
"and I want him to get comfortable soon, too." She leaned back and stared up at the spirit. "I want this to be our home as soon as possible, you know? He travels for his work so..."
"Really? I thought he was a babysitter? It doesn't matter. Yeah, I just want to do a final once over. Make sure I have everything."
"How many once overs have you done?"
"About twelve" he rubbed the back of his neck, "I feel like no matter what I'm going to be leaving something behind. And... I guess I will be."
"That friend you moved here with." Skyla smiled at him, "You're not leaving him behind, you know. He's with you, isn't he? The memory? He's with you, you just have to remember him. Cheer up, okay?"
He looked over at her and put an arm around her shoulders, "I know. Still sucks. Jane understands, she'll help me through." He grinned, "Of course I'll cheer up! I always do! So you didn't tell me much about that boyfriend of yours. Is he good enough for you?"
"What do you think?!" Jack laughed, "I'm the great Jack Frost!"
Skyla ignored him, "I love him. I don't know if either of us are good enough for the other, but we're together. And, most of the time, we're happy. We're still in the early stages, so there's a bit of arguments. But we get past it and are slightly stronger each time. I love him. I mess up a lot, but I still try. He does, too. Mess up, I mean." She and Gavin laughed while Jack protested. She ignored him and continued, "He's the greatest. I couldn't explain him if I tried. He's the funnest person I've ever known, smart at times, sweet. Romantic in small pieces, though it's even more against his character than when he's sad. You know that one person who you could never picture crying because they're always just so happy and laughing..."
"Everyone knows someone like that. I'm glad you love him, I'm glad you have someone. We both have someone! We'll never be alone again!"
"I never said I was alone."
"No, you didn't. No one does. But I can tell" he leaned in and whispered, "We all have our secrets, right?"
"What did he say?" Jack asked. "Skyla, what did he say?"
She stood up and Gavin followed her, an innocent smile on his face, "Well, I should get out of here. The keys are on the kitchen table along with all the information you'll need about the neighborhood. You might not need it with your local boyfriend moving in..."
"Like I said, he travels." she tried not to think too hard on what he'd said. Of course everyone had secrets, he probably didn't mean anything by it. But still, it worried her. What sort of secrets did he have? "Thanks for all the help."
"Hey, it wasn't for you. You're welcome though." He hugged her again then headed for the front door.
"Finally" Jack sighed.
Once again, Skyla ignored him, "Are you leaving already? What about your thirteenth once over?"
"I think twelve was enough. I should go meet up with Jane."
"Alright. Umm, I guess I'll see you around?"
"Yeah." he grabbed his coat and shoes from the small closet behind the door and slowly put them on. "I'll text you. Good luck with everything. Whatever that is."
"Okay?" she answered. "Thanks for the apartment?"
"You're welcome." Gavin grinned at her before jumping back into the hallway and closing the door.
"I like him. He's energetic." Jack announced.
"Yeah, he is energetic." She turned to face the apartment, gesturing for the spirit to get out-of-the-way. "Two bedrooms. The one on the left has a nice view of a brick wall so I'm thinking the one on the right for us. Unless you want your own room" she joked, glancing at him.
He took her hand and walked towards the bedrooms. In between the two doors he looked left to right. "Hmm. Right, you say? We'll have to move the mattress over. Uhh, about that-"
"It's not old, don't worry. The two were going to move in here but then they needed to help with the rent at the other house... So, it's new stuff. Even the couch and kitchen table... Blablabla. We just need sheets... And blankets... And other living stuff... Feel like doing some shopping?"
"Shopping? Today? That doesn't sound like fun."
"Fine" she told him, pulling him into the bedroom she'd chosen. There was a single wardrobe, it looked out-of-place in the plain room, a closet on the left beside the door, both for linens and clothes, and on the far wall was a medium-sized window, heavy white curtains covering it. "The other dresser can come in here, I think. I'm not sure what to do with the other room though. Are we ever going to have visitors? I mean human ones. That actually sleep and stuff."
"Probably not" he answered, letting go of her to spin around in the center of the room. "It can be a stuff room. Just put stuff into it. Like ice skates..." he stopped spinning and looked at her, grinning.
"Right. Back to the present point. Shopping. I need to. You can choose what you would like to do. If you're not with me I might buy everything in purple... And I might make new friends without you."
"You already have, Sky. And you always will. Because anyone your age won't be able to see me. No, I don't want to go shopping. I'll go though. And later tonight you're helping me with something. You might not like it..."
Skyla stepped closer and put her hands on his shoulders, "Whatever you need; I'll help you." she smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. Pulling back, she hoped he would kiss her back, but he stepped around her and out into the hall again. After a moment's hesitation she followed, "Did you forget to ask me for something or is whatever you want in the living room?"
Jack stopped in front of the patio door and thought for a moment. "I want to send e-mails to Lauren and Brandon. I need my own account."
"Oh." IT was not what she expected, so she opened and closed her mouth a few times before saying, "Okay. Umm, sure. Lauren, I understand. Brandon? Why do you want to e-mail him? Need some advice on how to deal with me?" she joked, stepping up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and blew air over his face.
"Maybe" Jack joked back. "Maybe I'll just brag that I won."
"Please don't. If you do-"
"I won't, Sky. Just once?" he jumped as she pinched him, "Ow! Okay, okay. There are just a couple of things I want to ask him. That doesn't make you uncomfortable does it?"
"Not... really? I guess I want you two to sort of get along. And if anything happens you probably should have a way to tell him. You know, in case I can't or don't want to."
"Nothing's going to happen to you." he turned around and pulled her arms down, his hands tangling with hers. "You're safe. I'm safe. Everything is going to be fine from now on." His smile came back and he kissed her forehead, "But if you choose not to talk to him again I don't mind"
Skyla laughed softly, "That's not going to happen. Sorry." She looked into his eyes, a million questions running through her mind, as usual, and moved closer. Her lips were an inch from his when he turned slightly, her mouth only catching the corner of his. She whined, "Jack! Why won't you let me kiss you?"
"You've kissed me plenty." he answered, sounding only slightly guilty. "Sorry, Sky. I'm having a bad day and I don't want you to catch it."
Confused as ever, Skyla dropped the subject. If it was just for the day, if he would be more open and comfortable tomorrow, then today didn't matter. He was still there, and he still loved her. They've already gone over the kissing isn't everything argument and she didn't need him to bring it up again. So she let it go, letting him leave his way while she went her own. She had grown up things to do while he had forever young things to do. They would meet up later. Whenever that was.
