Easter, 1968

Hopscotch.

It had all started with hopscotch.

Jack had only been passing through the small town of Franklin, with no intention of stopping, when he caught sight of a young girl below him. What is she doing up so early? Jack glanced toward the sky. The sun hasn't even risen, yet. I mean, I know it's Easter, and all, but still. . . Jack's thoughts trailed off as he drew closer.

She was a small girl, about 10, Jack would guess. He settled on a nearby rooftop that gave him the perfect view of the blonde child, watching as she bounced through a hopscotch court. Jack smiled softly, but couldn't rid himself of a sick feeling that had crept its way into his gut.

"Hopscotch, huh?" Jack said, mostly to himself.

A sobbing breath escaped the girl.

"Wind, take me closer." Landing a few feet away from the court, he observed his new person of interest. Her eyes were red and puffy. Her breathing labored.

Jack frowned. "Whoa, hey there. Is something wrong?"

The girl continued playing hopscotch alone, her eyebrows furrowed.

Though Jack didn't know it yet, his center was fun, and he recognized when someone was attempting to have it. Even if that someone was failing miserably.

Snow. Jack could not think of a single thing as fun as snow. "Alright, girl, we're gonna cheer you up, okay?"

The girl didn't respond.

Jack pushed off the ground, freezing the moisture in the clouds and creating snowfall. He didn't dare to make enough to do more than lightly frost the town, as the spring spirits wouldn't be too pleased with him interrupting their season. That should do it.

Returning to the girl, Jack grinned widely and waited. When the first snowflake nipped the tip of her nose, she raised her eyes, laughing in disbelief. "I didn't know it was supposed to snow today." Her voice was as small as she was.

"Those weather people don't exactly control the weather, do they?" Jack chuckled as the girl played her game with a little more joy.

"Ellie?" An even younger child approached in her night dress, rubbing her eyes. 'Ellie' halted her movement.

"What is it, Alice? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"You're not in bed," The younger yawned.

"That's true." Jack jumped in the conversation, pretending they could hear him.

Ellie was quiet.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Alice pushed.

Ellie nodded. Alice shuffled toward her sister, wrapping her arms around Ellie's waste. "I had a bad dream, too."

Jack's heart ached. Without thinking, he reached toward the two girls, gasping when his arms went straight through them. Oh, yeah. I forgot.

Ellie pulled away from the hug. "Play hopscotch with me. It makes it less scary."

Jack knew he should have found the idea odd. Children usually go to their parents when their scared, right? Despite how he should have felt, the two girls' game made perfect sense to him.

But it also made him sad.

"I should get going. You two have fun." Jack tried to leave, but his feet felt frozen to the ground, while his eyes refused to leave the playing children. She kind of reminds me of my sister.

Wait. Sister? Where did that come from? I'm not even human, how could I have a sister? But he could almost see her. Almost. I must be going crazy.

Jack rubbed his temples, balancing his staff beneath an elbow. An emotion washed over him. One he couldn't quite place. It wasn't the usual loneliness. It wasn't the anger, or even the guilt he often found himself experiencing. What's going on? Though he couldn't decide on an emotion, something was missing. Yet, he also felt that a heavy weight was placed on his chest. What a contradiction, Winter wanted to laugh.

Jack failed to notice that the already chilly temperature was dropping dramatically.

He pulled his hood up and sat down exactly where he was standing. Without looking up, he addressed the Man in the Moon, "At times like this, it would have been helpful if you had told me more than my name." The boy's fingers fiddled with his staff.

The wind picked up its pace.

There's nothing wrong. Jack closed his eyes. Ha. If that were true, why do I feel like I just fell off a building?

The snow fell more heavily.

Who is that girl I thought of?

The trees iced over.

I don't even know what she looks like. Have I met her before?

The wind's whisper escalated into a howl.

Maybe I can find her.

A voice rang out in the back of his mind, You won't. This shocked Jack's eyes open, as he realized the voice was his own. The words were filled with such anguish, Jack nearly cried out himself.

When the world came into focus, Jack actually did cry out.

The small flurry he had meant to create was no more. The spirit of winter could hardly breathe as his snow whipped in the wind, blocking any clear vision. What Jack could see, was all covered in ice. In frost.

No.

The boy ran his fingers through his hair. It's spring. This isn't supposed to happen. What have I done?

The girls. Jack desperately scoured the hopscotch court and its surroundings. A sigh of relief. They must have gone home.

Jack waved his staff around him, trying with all his might to suppress the blizzard. But that was not within his capability. Winter didn't hold back snow, it released it. And now it was releasing a storm of the white flakes during the wrong season.

No, no, no. This can't be happening. Stop!

"Wind, help me!" The wind obliged, lifting Jack up, but even it could do nothing in the face of the blizzard. As soon as the winter spirit was held in his friend's grasp, he was yanked away, tossed into the treacherous storm by winds that weren't his.

A few terrible minutes of no control left Jack crashing into an elm, hitting every branch on the way down. Each of the tree's limbs pierced his skin, the impact of the iced ground blurring his vision.

Jack stumbled up, refusing to let his own element beat him. But his efforts only seemed to increase the intensity of the snow storm. Tears stung Jack's eyes, but he blinked them away, refusing to let them fall. Scowling, he threw his beloved staff with as much strength as he could muster. Useless stick.

Frustrated and tired, Jack collapsed under the elm tree, ignoring the agony that both ripped at his skin and gnawed at his insides. Wanting to escape, to disappear, he drifted off to sleep, just as the sun began to rise.

"What. Did. You. Do."

Jack opened his eyes groggily, searching for the source of the growl. Ugh. What happened? The boy winced as the memories of recent events rushed back.

"Do I need tou say it again, Frost?"

Oh, great. The Easter Bunny decided to visit.

E. Aster Bunnymund leaned closer to Jack, whose head still rested on the trunk of the damaged elm tree. "What do you think you're doing messing up my holiday."

Messing up his… It's Easter. Jack wanted to bang his head against the tree. Can this day get any worse?

Apparently, it could.

"You selfish drongo! All my googies are frozen solid! Not that that matters, as I doubt any of the kids will be able to come out anyhow when they're snowed in." Every word stabbed into Jack like a knife.

The winter spirit was not in the mood for this. "Look, it was an accident, okay?"

There was no mercy in Bunny's eyes. No hint of anything but anger. "Heh, you call this an accident?" The pooka gestured to the snow that covered every inch of Franklin. "No, you're just trying to cause trouble and ruin everything I've worked for."

I'm trying to… In that moment, Jack forgot about the two girls playing hopscotch. All thoughts of the girl he couldn't quite remember escaped him, replaced with hurt and anger at being blamed without being allowed an explanation.

Jack leapt to his feet, feeling insecure without his tossed-aside staff, but not willing to back down. "Because everything revolves around you, the Easter Kangaroo, and I make it the single goal of my life to get in your way." Jack let out a haughty breath. "And you're calling me selfish?"

"First of all, Bunny, not Kangaroo. Second. At least I have important responsibilities to take care of. What do you have?" Bunnymund jabbed his paw at Jack's chest. "You have the cold. You have destruction."

Jack shoved the pooka's paw away from his chest. "First of all," He mimicked Bunny's choice of words. "Says the one who hides eggs for a living. And to the kangaroo thing, have you looked in a mirror, recently?"

"At least my eggs don't make people miserable."

"Debatable."

"But have my eggs killed anybody?"

Jack paused. Logically, he knew that the deaths caused by winter weren't his fault. The nagging voice in the back of his mind, however, was not one to listen to logic. But what if it is my fault. Jack took a deep breath. "Winter is part of the balance of the seasons, Kangaroo. Sure, it can be harsh, but that isn't my doing."

Bunny raised his eyebrows, pausing almost for as long as Jack had before responding. "Keep telling yourself that."

The two glared, both refusing to be the first to break eye contact. The contest could have lasted seconds, or minutes. It would have lasted longer if Jack hadn't given in. "Whatever." He turned his back, heading towards where he thought he threw his staff.

"If I ever catch you causing trouble again, I will not take matters so lightly!" Bunny shouted after Jack. Trust me, I won't. "And make sure you don't let me set eyes on you again!"

Jack whipped around toward the Easter Bunny, but the pooka was already hopping away. Don't let him see me again? Jack couldn't help but wonder, If humans can't see me, and those like me won't see me, then who is there left?

Flashforward, 1 week after the first guardian meeting

Jack sat on a branch of an elm tree - the same one he had crashed into years earlier. Franklin sure hasn't changed much.

Ever since the last guardian meeting, Jack had avoided thinking about the guardians at all. The winter spirit spent most of his time visiting children, specifically the Bennetts, and bringing fun with him. It wasn't until he realized the second meeting was starting that he allowed himself to consider the words said by the other guardians and himself.

You're not one of them. Pitch's voice echoed in Jack's mind.

The more I'm around them, the more I think it's true.

Jack shook his head. I'm such an idiot, wallowing in self-pity. I'm a guardian! I protect children! But he couldn't rid himself of the feeling that he still didn't belong. I should probably get to the meeting, before the others freak out.

They won't even notice you're missing, the doubt in Jack's mind whispered.

And so, Jack stayed in the tree, silently hoping they would notice, but feeling sure that they wouldn't.

"Oi, Jackie."

Jack cringed, reminded of the events of '68. "Need something, Kangaroo?"

Bunny sighed, "You know we have a meeting right now, don't you?" Jack nodded. The Easter Bunny gazed about the trees and buildings, recognizing them immediately. "Didn't expect you to be here." An awkward silence rested between the two.

"Aw, get down here, will you? I'm not climbing the tree." Fun obeyed, sliding down the wind. He sat at the base of the tree, refusing to look at the pooka. To Jack's surprise, Bunnymund plopped down next to him. He would have laughed at how ridiculous the rabbit looked had he not been expecting a scolding.

Jack was uncomfortable. They had been sitting for a good five minutes, and still the overgrown bunny-rabbit hadn't said a word. Is this some sort of new guilt method? Make me apologize without being asked to? A few more moments of silence.

"I'm sorry for not showing, okay?" Jack spoke quickly. "There, can we get going now? This is getting uncomfortable."

Bunny stared at the boy, incredulously. "What? You don't have anything to apologize for! Except for maybe a few… nevermind. I'm gettin' off topic."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Jack asked, eyes narrowed.

Bunny just shook his head. "Eer… I guess I'm sort of… trying to... " He sighed. "I may have been a little harsh on you last week." Jack stared, dumbfounded. Was Bunny trying to apologize?

"What for? It was all true."

"Naw, it wasn't true. You were the one who saved our tails, after all."

"Sure," Jack didn't sound convinced. "And who paid you?"

"Paid me?"

Jack laughed. "There is no way you came because you wanted to."

Bunny looked down, wincing. "Well, Sandy may have been awfully convincing."

"What, Sandy told you off?"

"Sandy doesn't need words to be scary, Jackie." Bunny said, with all seriousness. They both shuddered. Then, they were both chuckling.

"He can be pretty intimidating, and I just met him two weeks ago." Like that time with Pitch. Wouldn't want that turned against me.

"Trust me mate, you haven't seen him when he's really angry." Bunny's eyes followed a trail of dream sand in the distance that seemed to say, 'You better be doing what I told you to do.' "And he was definitely angry today."

Jack brought his head up, almost hitting it on a tree branch. "But why would he be angry? And why did he send you after me, in the first place?"

Bunny's ears drooped, any amusement that had previously been in his eyes wiped out. What did I say, this time? "He was worried about ya when ya didn't show up. He thought that maybe ya were a little more upset about last week than ya let on."

He was worried? Jack half-smiled, hoping it was true. "Don't you go doing that, Jackie."

"Doing what?"

"You look like that's the most surprising thing you ever heard." Bunny's paws were in fists at his sides. "We were all worried about you. Even me."

"Why?" I just missed a meeting. No big deal, right?

"W-why?" The Guardian of Hope closed his eyes, trying to keep his breathing steady. "What if Pitch came after ya? What if ya - oh I don't know - pulled a prank that got ya into something?" Jack physically deflated. So that's why. They don't think I can handle myself.

"I can feel hope, Jack." Bunny mumbled, quietly.

Alright. "Yeah, that's your center."

"I mean, I can feel your hope, Jack." Jack didn't respond. "And it keeps inflating and deflating like a balloon." Jack started doodling in the dirt with his staff. "Am I the reason it keeps deflating, Jack?" The winter spirit shook his head, vigorously. "But I'm part of the reason." Jack's silence was confirmation enough.

Bunny switched tactics. "How old are you, Jack?"

"Three hundred and..."

"No, the age that matters. How old were you when you became Jack Frost?"

"...fourteen." Bunny sighed deeper than Jack had ever heard him before.

"You see? I'm supposed to guard hope in kids. Not doing that great, am I?" Where is this going? "I'm sorry. There, not saying it again. Now let's go." Bunny stood up. Jack didn't move. "Come on, Jackie. You'd think that after being alone for so long you'd enjoy the company." Bunny had meant it as a joke to get Jack moving, but Jack placed his head in his hands.

"I know. I just don't get it." Why don't I want to go?

"Frost?"

"It's like, I don't want to be alone. I really don't. But being around you guys makes me realize how different I am, and it makes me feel even more alone." Jack scoffed at himself. Did I really just say that? Should I pretend I was kidding?

Jack looked up at Bunny, fully intending on shrugging off what he had admitted, but Bunny's eyes were… different. They looked sorrowfully at him. Is he pitying me? I don't want his pity. But they also seemed understanding. "It get's better, Jackie."

The joke Jack had prepared to lighten the mood faded from his lips. How can he say that so easily? "How do you know?"

Bunny opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it. He flattened his ears, looking to the sky at something Jack could not see.

Focusing on Jack again, his ears perked back up. "'cause I know everything, ya drongo."

Jack smirked. "Of course you do." And you're hiding something, but I won't pry.

Hope playfully pushed Jack's head forward. "Now let's get back to the meeting before Sandy and the others have my head."

Jack stood, stretching his arms. "Alright, Kangaroo." Fun gazed at Bunny, competitively. "Race you." He took off in the wind.

"Didn't I tell you to never race a rabbit?" The pooka tapped his foot on the ground, disappearing into one of his holes.

Maybe Bunny isn't quite as bad as I thought.

Maybe.

A/N Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and/or reviewed! It really helps to get support, and inspire me to keep writing. This one is a lot longer than the first chapter, and I hope you all liked it! Have a great day! :)