Author's Note: Firstly, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou for reviewing, I can't even express my gratitude except by posting more chapters! Secondly, first day of summer break! Woop! Yesterday didn't count because I had to go back to the damn school for one of my friends' graduation ceremony-thingy, so that day was invalid. Anyway, I have the chapter after this one written up already, which will probably be uploaded around noon tomorrow. I'll be able to work more on this a little later in the week too :D Yay for no school!
Enjoy!
*WARNING: This chapter contains (oh no!) cursing. : | Don't worry, next chapter is where shit hits the fan rating-wise. :D
There was a startled jump from everyone in the room when the blurry ball of blue (accompanied by a number of disoriented elves nonetheless) crashed through the door and rolled a little ways before managing to skid to a halt in the center of the room. The tension had yet to dissipate even after the Big Four realized that it was Jack; if anything, it intensified.
"Ow! Oww-Dingle!?" Jack exclaimed to the equally dizzy elf who, despite his current disposition with the battered spirit, used Jack's shoulder to pull himself up. After taking a second to regain his balance, only to fall back down once again, he shot Jack an apologetic grin, the bell atop his hat chiming faintly as he shrugged. At the sight of the elves faux innocence, the winter spirit couldn't help but chuckle and momentarily forget that he'd just been caught eavesdropping on the other Guardians.
"I'm gonna get you for that, short stuff," he taunted playfully, grabbing Dingle gently by the middle and setting him upright; the quirky elf shot a thumbs up to Jack enthusiastically before spotting the four Guardians behind said spirit of fun, and all traces of his previous joy had diminished.
"Jack?" North asked tentatively to the boy who was still sitting on the floor with his back facing them.
Jacks joyous feeling fled as Dingle's did, first replaced with a sense of uneasiness and worry, then with an unfathomable anger that took all of his effort to conceal. He pulled himself up on two weak uncertain legs as he responded sardonically, his back still turned to the four, "So, uh, what was it we'd be talking about?" he asked nonchalantly, brushing himself off and straightening out his hoodie. "Nightmare sand?"
North took a step forward to place a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Jack, we-"
"Oh, wait!" Jack laughed sarcastically as he flipped around and ran his hands through his hair, his staff long forgotten. "No, it wouldn't be we, now would it? No, while you guys were gossiping, I was kept busy, wasn't I?" He spoke these words scornfully with a look of disgust upon his face, glowering at every one of the spirits as if to emphasize his sense of betrayal, as well as to see just how mad they were at him.
To his surprise, the only angry face in the room was North's, and his face wasn't angry per se, it was one that you could interpret as that stern look you received from your mother after being caught sneaking into the cookie jar late at night. Tooth looked panic-stricken, staring at the ground as guilt consumed her startled expression hungrily. Sandy still looked surprised, staring at Jack with wide eyes and an agape mouth.
Bunny's surprise diminished long ago. He was completely expressionless.
"Jack, listen!" North began, only to be cut off by him once again.
"And to think, of all the things you four could talk shit about, you choose to talk about me?" The guardians (not including Bunny) winced under the harsh words; they've never heard Jack swear before. Jack paused before shrugging and pinching the bridge of his nose, his other hand clenched into a tight fist. "Actually, it's not that surprising at all. I really should a seen this coming earlier,"
Not really knowing what else to do, North sighed deeply and looked at Jack sullenly. "Jack, we are not doing the gossiping." He took another breath and continued hesitantly. "We talk of your current condition, for you are not well and-"
"All right, first of all, I have no condition for you guys to talk of, okay? And second, I am well, I'm just fine."
"It might seem that way… if it has been ongoing for extended periods of time. But we are concerned with how your new Guardianship might be stressing the-"
By this time, Jack's face was contorted with fury and disbelief. "I don't know where you've been this whole time, but in case you have yet to notice- here, let me spell it out for you." He sneered disdainfully. He motioned to his blue hoodie. "Nothing except this has changed about me in the past 319 years. That being said, do you honestly think that whatever it is you four have seen after spying on me will just go away overnight? I hate to rain on your parade, but it's here to stay." Jack took a step toward North threateningly, spewing words that were drenched with repugnance.
"I'm not helpless. I can handle myself. I don't need to be fixed."
Jack really didn't expect Bunny to come to his aid at this point, much less participate in this conversation at all.
"North, maybe Frost is righ'."
The Guardian of wonder seemed taken aback as Bunny continued. "I'm startin' ta think tha' maybe we're jus' overreactin' a pinch." he gestured to Jack. "I mean, he's gotta point, he's not helpless and I don' think tha' hoverin' ova him like this'll do any good. Hell, we're underestimatin' him, mate! If he says he can take care of himself, then let 'im."
Jack's mind was reeling with confusion as he saw Bunny look at Sandy questioningly. "Wha's your say in this, Sandy?"
Personally, Sandy took pride in his astounding ability to read others' thoughts. It was one of his many methods for tapping into children's dreams to monitor their fear levels. Using this method, he could determine exactly how much fear resided in the dream, which would help him decide whether or not he would intervene or just wake up the child and start anew. It was a profoundly useful tool, even when he read thought that he really wouldn't have liked to read.
It was especially useful now, seeing that Jack didn't know of it and Bunny could use it to his advantage.
I have a plan. Tha bloody anklebita won't admit somethin's wrong unless we prove it ta 'im. Trust me.
Sandy complied, trusting that the Guardian of hope knew what he was doing.
Sandy looked to be deep in though, contemplating this as he inspected Bunnymund's face before vigorously nodding in approval. While Bunny motioned to Sandy and looked at North with his 'I told you so' look, Jack remained silent. To be honest, he expected them to be angry for spying on their conversation, but he soon came to realize that he had the right to be angry himself since they were the ones holding confidential meetings – about him – in the first place. And he was livid, his insides churning and his fingernails digging into his palms as the fist tightened. Bunny was dead on; they should've been laying off, shouldn't have kept a secret like this in the first place.
But Jack knew Bunny. He wasn't one to simply admit his mistake out of the blue like this, much less try to redeem it. He especially wasn't one to stand up for Jack, regardless of the other Guardians' presence. So why was it that when the Pooka explained his reasoning to North and looked to Sandy for confirmation, he felt a twinge of unease, a sickening sense of anxiety welling up in his stomach? Was it just that he was so unused to Bunny going out of his way for him? Or was it that unmistakable twinkle of deception in those green eyes as they stared into Sandys'?
I don't want to be here, a voice in his mind said harshly, causing him to interrupt North and Bunny's ranting.
"Um, okay, well thank you for absolutely nothing," Jack stated with an emotionless tone, ignoring the dizziness that slowly crept into his sight. "Except maybe for dropping my IQ down 20 points with all of your delusional bullshit, sooo if you don't mind," he carefully knelt down and scooped up his shepherds crook. "I have other trauma symptoms to carry out." And with that, Jack flew out the window with only one destination in mind.
Jack's feet didn't even have the opportunity to touch the ground in the small city of Burgess when the boomerang slammed into his chest. The impact sent him backwards quite aways and he nearly toppled over after planting his feet on the dirt in his woods. His free hand clutched at his chest in shock as the air refused to reenter his lungs after the blow, and by the time he managed to catch his breath, the Pooka had hopped entirely out of the tunnel a few yards in front from him.
"Hey, what gives!?" He demanded angrily, upset that Bunny had not only seen him get the breath knocked out of him so easily, but also because he followed him back from the pole.
"I have ta talk ta ya, mate." Bunny replied coolly, withdrawing his other boomerang and pointing at him with it. "So dont'cha even think abou' makin' a break for it,"
Jack gripped his staff tighter. "Excuse me, but were you not the one in there that was just talking about not hovering!?"
"Oh yeah, you're welcome for gettin' the others off ya back, by the way."
"Are you seriously telling me that you pulled all of that out your ass?"
"Maybe. Ya looked like ya coulda used some backup back there,"
"Well I didn't. I'm not a baby, I could've handled myself."
Bunny crossed his arms at this childlike response and shot the boy a doubtful look. "You an' I both know there's somethin' wrong with ya. Ya weren't like this back in '68. And even if ya were, it wasn't this bad. It's gettin' worse."
Jack aggressively ruffled his snow white hair, pacing furiously and, out of pure annoyance, let out a long droning groan. "Uuugh, what are you? Blind!?" He stepped closer to Bunny with an infuriated scowl written upon his face. "Look! Look at me! I'm just fine! What do I have to do to prove that to you!?"
Bunny twirled his boomerang in his paw and spoke nonchalantly. "…Fight me."
Jack was taken aback. "What?"
"Well, you're sayin' ya just fine," Bunny explained, almost sounding bored as he prodded in Jack's direction with his boomerang. "An' ya faught pretty well back in '68 I recall, almost gave me a run for mah money, ta be honest. So why not 'ave a brawl? Think of it sort of like a game. I never really gotcha back for snowin' out ma Easter anyway." he gestured to the frozen lake beside them. "You an' me on that ice over there. An elemental battle: ya got winter, I got spring. If you win, you would've proven yourself, thatcha just fine, and we'll leave ya be."
"And if I lose?" Jack spat before he could help himself. He focused completely on Bunny when he said the word game; he just couldn't stop himself from asking. If it was a game, he would have to accept. And he wanted to know the terms.
"If you lose, then ya gonna come back ta the Pole with me and let us help you."
Jack snorted at this comment and tossed his staff back and forth between his hands. No, I won't say no just yet, this sounds interesting… "Alright, what determines the loser?"
"Which eva spirit can't get back up on their feet in ten seconds."
Easy, Jack pondered, shooting an uncomfortable look at the lake. "Not on the ice…"
"Why not?"
"Because. That's why." Jack said harshly to the Pooka, and after seeing that the bunny's expression hardened angrily, he sighed and shook his head. "It's for personal reasons."
Much to his surprise, Bunny didn't persist. In fact, he looked at Jack almost with a look of understanding.
"Righ' here, then." Bunny tapped his foot on the ground, and a number of vines erupted from the dirt and formed a circle around the two, the perimeter being about twice the size of the lake.
Bunny looked to Jack impatiently.
"So do we got a deal or not?" he asked.
Jack pondered this. Okay. Elemental battle, winter vs. spring, sorta like the one we had in '68. I can do that. I win, I get these guys off my back, but if I lose, they'll- NO. No, don't think about losing, you whupped that sorry rabbit's ass last time, this is gonna be a piece of cake. Just wear him out. That's a lot harder than it sounds, no doubt. The freakin' bunny's built like a ninja… a nature ninja… heh, alliteration. Focus, Jack! Are you really gonna risk having to be babied by these guys for the rest of eternity?
Well, if winning meant never having to put up with their babying ever again…
Jack's contemplating expression changed into that of stubborn determination, and he positioned his staff defensively. His voice came out as a hushed, hesitant whisper.
"Deal."
Author's Note:
How I love the cliffhangers :D The next chapter's a fight scene. I love fight scenes too, as you'll notice once I pull my head out and upload my Below Freezing story. Again, thank you for reviews, please leave one, I wanna know how I did on this chapter. THANK YOU FOR SHOWING MERCY TO MY SOUL :D. I WILL EDIT LATER, BUT I HEAR THUNDER SO I DON'T REALLY WANNA RISK IT.
We're gonna see what goes down next chapter… You don't piss Jack off.
…
Heh, piss Jack off. XD God I don't even try and I'm a perv.
Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna go watch Looney Tunes until the power goes out : )
969~696