"So, a kiss?"
Jackson's face burned. He had hoped Jack would have forgotten his promise to explain what a kiss was, but he knew that was hoping for too much. Jack seemed to have a memory like no other. He remembered everything. What a child said in passing, a coughing fit Jackson had the other day, a tune Jill hummed absently. There wasn't a thing that got past the spirit and sometimes that wasn't exactly a good thing for Jackson. Like right now. Jackson didn't want to have this conversation. Nope, not one bit.
"A kiss is… a gesture of affection." Jackson started uncertainly. "You kiss your family and your lover or partner. By partner, I mean someone you are married to. You show them you care. It's… not normally passed between friends."
"But, I saw Annie and William…. William kissed her. Here." Jack pointed to his cheek. "They're friends, right? They're Smaller Ones. They are too young to be lovers, like what you described twelve moons ago."
Jackson wasn't quite sure how to explain that. "It was… it was probably a dare from the other boys." Jackson reasoned with difficulty. "Or because he likes her. He's too young to understand love, but that doesn't mean she doesn't get him flustered. It happens sometimes when you're young.
"I mean, Michael tried to steal a kiss from Jill. Luckily, she's not ready for any of that yet. She decked him, right in the jaw!" Jackson swung his arm, grinning. He was proud of Jill when she told him this story. "Boys like to tease the girls, you know? So a little boy will run around and try and kiss a girl on the cheek. But girls normally don't want any of that unless they like a boy, too. Girls are smart, Jack. They know they're too young for that kind of stuff and try and stay away from it. They know they have very little time to just be… children. Boys just all want to grow up and be like their fathers."
"But not you," Jack interjected.
"Nope!" Jackson shook his head. "And I tried teaching them to just enjoy their childhood, but sometimes, they don't listen to me."
"So… um…" Jack shifted his stance uncertainly. "I shouldn't have done that last night?"
"No," Jackson replied perhaps a bit too hastily. No. Wait. That wasn't what he wanted to say! Jack flinched at Jackson's tone. Oh no. Jackson didn't mean to sound like that. "Uh… it's just… you um… You only kiss people you love."
"Oh," Jack nodded as if he understood. His creased brow and frown told Jackson otherwise. "What's love?"
Jackson held his head. Okay. This was too much for him. His head ached and how the hell was he supposed to explain love? He gave up. Nope, he would not be able to explain this one to Jack. Jackson wasn't even sure what love meant, how could he define it? "You know what? I don't know, Jack. My head hurts."
Jackson felt a hand on his head. He glanced up to Jack who's eyes were gentle and smile understanding. He wrapped his cold arms around Jackson's shoulders and Jackson felt heat rise to his cheeks. Oh Lord, stop that. Why was he doing that?
"Sorry, Jack," Jack murmured. "You don't want to talk about it. I get it. We don't have to. Just tell me when something makes you uncomfortable, okay? We don't have to talk about it."
He never considered Jack would be fine if Jackson left anything unanswered. Jack was always questioning and Jackson wanted make sure the spirit was just as educated as he was. He wished he could offer more. He wished he could tell Jack everything but… When Jackson didn't quite understand a subject, it made it hard to explain anything. This particular subject was difficult. Jackson had never any interest in intimacy nor love. He didn't want to start thinking about it.
"Thanks…" Jackson snaked his arms around Jack's back. This was good. This was nice. He smiled into Jack's shoulder, inhaling his crisp scent. He smelt wonderful. Like fresh snow and clean winter air. It was strange. The boy wasn't as frigid as he usually was. Jack's touch was like ice but at the moment he… he felt as cold as a child that had been playing in the snow too long. He was (dare he think it?) warm. His arms tightened around Jack, savoring the abnormal temperature his friend was.
Jack's fingers brushed through Jackson's hair. Jackson looked up and they met with matching grins. Pulling apart they ran onto the pond to skate. Jackson was renewed with the assurance that Jack would be fine if Jackson didn't disclose everything. Jackson and Jack were able to drop serious topics at the drop of a hat and bring smiles to the other. Jackson was happy for this relationship he had with Jack. He hoped it would never change. Not ever.
The next week, though. It brought something new that Jack Frost had never seen. Green buds sprouting through a very light dusting of snow. Wet flakes that were heavy as they melted before hitting the ground. The ice on the pond was so thin Jack could see the water beneath. Jackson didn't dare take a step on it. Jack could see the villagers doning lighter clothing. Jackson explained that this was called "spring."
Jackson explained to Jack that there were four seasons. Summer, autumn, winter, and spring. It wasn't always cold. It became warm and brisk and chilly and unbearably hot. That the ground wasn't always white and that most of the year it was green. Jackson explained the seasons and their purpose as best he could to Jack. He didn't understand the science behind it. He knew spring was growth. Summer was for crops. Autumn was time for harvest.
And Jack Frost knew winter.
"… Death."
"No," Jackson grabbed Jack's arms and looked him in the eye. "No, winter isn't death. Winter is sleep. Winter is a rest for the world. A much needed sleep to re-energize and work through the rest of the seasons."
So spring began. Jackson was terrified Jack might melt. Much to both of their relief, that wasn't the case. When the snow melted, Jack had become frustrated when he could not conjure any more. It would be mush or rain. Jack snapped at the winds when they giggled at him, telling him to try again in November.
As the air got warmer, Jack got colder. It made it increasingly more uncomfortable to so much as stand next to Jack. The biting cold that was coming from him was like laying in the snow for too long. It felt like frostbite. It was possibly because he was a being of winter and had to keep himself cold. But Jackson was sure that couldn't be it because when Jackson would smile at the other, suddenly he wasn't so cold.
Jackson pondered if this had anything to do with his emotions. Like when it started to snow when he was upset. Instead, he couldn't make it snow, so the cold would just build up… Was that that case? And if it was, what had Jack so upset?
When all the snow had melted and the flowers were beginning to bloom, his mother requested that everyone help clean out the cabin. Each room, they moved all of the furniture outside to clean it and knock all of the dust out of it. Spring cleaning, his mother called it. It was a yearly tradition. She would wash all of the sheets and Jack and James would scrub the floors and walls and windows.
They weren't even halfway done when Johanna called for lunch. Jackson and James set down the armoire from James and Johanna's room outside and Jackson leaned against the wood, exhausted. James, Jill, and Johanna went inside. Jackson told them he'd be in shortly. Jack had come to see what they were up to and he wanted to let him know there wouldn't be much time for games today.
As Jackson looked up, he stopped. The mirror. Jackson hadn't looked in a mirror for a good long time. He hadn't seen his own reflection besides distorted views in ice and the windows. He didn't quite remember what he looked like. Jack had come up behind him. Jackson only noticed because that only further stunned him.
"What's this?" Jack asked.
"A mirror." Jackson replied, his jaw growing slack. In the mirror, Jack stood beside him. He could only now see what he hadn't noticed since they had met. Their reflection. Their appearance. They… they…
"What's it do?" Jack curiously moved, trying to trick the boy in the mirror.
"It shows what you look like." Jackson explained. "See? That's… that's you. And this… is… It's me."
"That's me?" Jack's eyebrows raised. "Huh…" He looked from his reflection to Jackson. "We… we kind of look alike, don't you think?"
Jackson touched his face and looked from Jack to the mirror. That wasn't possible. But how? Why? Why had the moon created Jack in Jackson's image? What the hell was going on?! The only difference was their hair and eye color. Everything else was exactly the same, even the dishevelment of their hair. Every freckle, as light as they were. Every shape, contour, and dimple. Wait, there was one more difference. Jackson's skin was a healthy, flushed color. Still slightly pale from winter. Jack was pale with skin of ivory.
"Why?" Jackson breathed.
"Maybe this is why you're the only one that can see me." Jack reasoned. "Because… we're connected somehow."
"You mean like… we're the same people?" Jackson furrowed his brow. Somehow… that sounded right. He wasn't quite sure why, but it did.
"Or there was something about you that the Moon liked." Jack shrugged. "And he borrowed it. Or copied it. Or something. You were around longer, right? So… what if I'm based off of you?"
Jackson couldn't understand it. He didn't know what this meant. He looked up towards the sky, now wanting to ask the Moon questions himself. What was Jack and why did he look like Jackson? Now that Jackson thought about it, they even sounded alike. What was it about Jackson that the Moon saw and wanted to replicate into Jack Frost? That missing limb… hold on… it made sense now.
"No, no… you're… you're a part of me." Jackson realized. "It must have been… when I almost drowned." Jackson looked to Jack. "I almost died in that pond. You were born in that pond. Something happened… I don't know what, but… maybe I left something in that pond or the Moon took it, I don't know what. But…" Jackson clutched his hair, trying to understand. Everything felt like it was correct. It did. And that scared him. A piece of himself had been personified and given a life of it's own.
"Jack?" Jackson looked to the porch where Jill waited with a piece of bread. "Who are you talking to?"
"Nobody." Jackson shook his head. "Just… your big brother acting crazy again." He forced a grin and glanced to Jack who urged him to go inside with his family. Jackson followed Jill inside, plastering on a silly smile and put on his usual ploy. The rest of the day was spent finishing the cleaning, Jackson finding a way to fool around with every chore, Jack laughing the whole time.
Then Jackson realized what had Jack down. Winter was over. His method of interaction had vanished. The only way he could join in the games was with snow and frost. Now that it was difficult to produce, it made it nearly impossible for Jack to join in the crowd. It wasn't the time for snow. Jack Frost no longer had a place among them. But where could he go? Jackson had no answers.
Jackson wondered why it was they looked alike when he finally had the chance. He needed to think. This was all too much. He was thinking of begging the Moon for answers himself. There was a connection, that much was certain. They were linked somehow. He wasn't sure how or why, but he was going to find out if it took him the rest of his life.
Were they the same person? Was Jack Frost a part of Jackson Overland? Or perhaps… What if Jack Frost had actually always been around? Just… dormant? Was Jackson actually made in his image?
Or maybe Jackson was just insane. What if Jack Frost really was just a figment of his imagination? He knew kind of what he looked like since the last time he had looked in a mirror. He knew his brown hair spiked just so because that was just the unruly way it grew. He knew he had brown eyes and a square chin. Details were muddled, but maybe somewhere in his subconscious, he remembered exactly what he looked like and projected it into Jack Frost.
Jackson's head began to hurt again as he shared his thoughts with Jack. Once again, Jack wrapped his arms around Jackson to comfort him. It was okay, he assured the brunette. They didn't have to think about it. They didn't have to worry about it. Just because they discovered they shared similar appearances didn't mean anything changed. Their friendship would stay intact. Nothing changed.
Jackson leaned into Jack's strangely warm grip and smiled. He was content here, in Jack's arms. His worries were washed away and he glanced up at the Moon that began to rise just above the trees. He was so grateful for this friend that had been gifted to him. For whatever reason Jack Frost was created, however he was made, maybe it didn't matter. Even if all of Jackson's worries were because of this boy, it didn't matter because Jack eased him.
That's right. Jackson never had to think as hard. He never freaked out like this. He never worried about anything before Jack Frost. He was never scared or never had to think too deeply and never left with unanswered burning questions. Life was simple. Life was easy, aside from the constant nagging to stop slacking and grow up.
Jackson crawled into bed next to Jill late that night. His family had all fallen asleep by the time he came inside. He looked up as the spirit stood beside him who had placed a hand on his head. Jackson smiled up at him. He didn't think he'd forget his own appearance anytime soon. Now that he had his own personal mirror. The thought made him snort a bit. Jack ruffled Jackson's hair and wished him sweet dreams.
Jack peered over at Jill curiously. He reached over and grab at something above her head. Jackson's brows furrowed in confusion, but Jack left his unasked question unanswered. The spirit brushed his hand over something, as if he was petting an invisible animal. His hand lowered and hovered over Jill. He hesitated before placing a hand upon her forehead.
Jackson and Jack looked to each other, eyes wide in shock. Jill… he was tangible. Jack was able to touch her. But it seemed… only while she was sleeping? What did that mean? Jack quickly pulled his hand away, his gaze darting from his hand to Jill. Jackson sat up. Jill most certainly did not notice Jack before. In fact, several times today she had run through him. So why was he able to touch her as she slept?
"I'm going to… I'm going to check something." Jack nodded. "I'll see you later. Sleep well." Before Jackson could respond, Jack flew out the window.
Now more things to think about. More strange events and more strange discoveries about the being that was Jack Frost. Would Jackson ever figure out what he was?
A/N: Ugh... another chapter that took way too long to write. ;-; I don't know why. It's difficult to write for this story. I've got SO many ideas for later, but just getting there is the problem. I'd like to develop the relationship instead of diving right in.
Thanks for the support, guys! I'm super happy to hear from my readers! Thanks Kadge Rose-Feather and thunder angel13 for reviewing!