To Guest 1- Because I'm nice :P
To Guest 2- I'm still working out the pairings, I can't decide what I want to do just yet. I do like Frozen, but the problem is that this is in a modern time and Frozen would be quite a while ago. I'll think about it, maybe make a few Frozen mentions of something :P
"Aliesha? Where'd you go?" Eve couldn't believe she had lost the snow fairy. She had literally turned her back on her for a second and… poof. Gone. "Lish!" She called, stomping her foot irritably. "Your mum's going to kill me! Come back!" She jumped up into the sky, switching into bat form. If she couldn't see Aliesha, then maybe she could hear her. The fairy's wings were as fast as a hummingbird's and that was easy enough to pick up on. There weren't many hummingbirds- if any- in England.
The only problem with being a bat right this very second was that it was daytime. Bats were nocturnal. The mortals believed in bats, so they could see her flying overhead and screeching. Some of the women and the odd guy immediately put their arms over their heads to protect their hair, but a bat going for human hair was a myth. One Eve had invented herself.
Eve soared past the House of Parliament and shot up, turning back into her regular form. The hearing idea would have worked had London not been so flaming busy. Horns blaring, drivers swearing, someone demanding a cup of tea and crumpets… Eve loved the British. She just hated their noise.
Having effectively lost Aliesha, Eve reluctantly resigned returning to the Tooth Palace; the rendezvous site.
With a final look over the streets and houses, Eve cursed herself for not keeping a better eye on the young teen. She couldn't see any blurs of white zipping about the roads or rooftops. Aliesha had just vanished. "Oooh, I hope she's OK." Eve complained to herself, tugging at her hair in annoyance. "You're an idiot, Eve, a complete idiot."
Aliesha was alright. She had just fallen victim to temptation. She had to see Mitchell again, even if it was for a minute. There wasn't much she could do for Cal unless Pitch decided to move him to Antarctica or somewhere not as warm as the island Sky had marked. The three warmer seasonal spirits were still searching that island, as far as Aliesha knew. Eve would have helped, but she had been put on Aliesha-duty.
A twinge of guilt nagged at her stomach and Aliesha faltered. It wasn't fair of her to give Eve the slip like that, but she couldn't resist. She just hoped that Eve didn't send out one of her talking raven/crow birds or panic or find her. If Eve knew about Mitchell…
Pulling herself back together, Aliesha set off again, flying faster to make up for lost time. He was around here somewhere... Aha!
Mitchell was in his back garden, mowing the lawn. His father was painting the fence a darker brown and his mother was pottering about on the patio, arranging and watering her flowers. Aliesha landed in the cool shade of their tree, concealed in the branches even though they couldn't see her anyway. She could see Mitchell alright though. He took after his father with the dark hair and the tall and lean build. He had his mother's eyes though and her compassion. He stopped the lawn mower just to pick a hot and bothered frog from the grass and put him in their small pond.
"Do you two want a drink?" His mother called, brushing the dirt on her hands off on her gardening jeans.
"Please!" They responded, smiling identical, polite smiles at her. She smiled back and disappeared into the house. Mitchell surveyed the fences. "You should have done them blue." He said.
"Fences are supposed to be brown, Mitch." His father sighed, smiling fondly. They had had this conversation before.
"Says who?" Mitchell challenged cheekily, examining the handle of the mower and drumming his fingers on it. "Fences aren't supposed to be brown; people are just too shy or too boring to add any colour to them."
"I am not repainting them. And neither are you," He added, half-turning to look at his son, "you are not ruining my hard work."
"I did tell you to paint them blue in the first place."
"Well, we brought brown, so they're brown." Mitchell coughed, narrowly concealing a word. "Naff?!" His father protested, throwing down his paint brush. Mitchell nodded, smirking. His father gestured at the ground dramatically, indicating the lawn mower work. "This is naff! You're supposed to go in straight lines!"
"Supposed to?"
"Oh, don't start that again." Mitchell's mother had returned, carrying two glasses of iced lemonade. "Mitch, sweetie, do you always have to go against the grain?"
"Wouldn't be me if I didn't, Mum." He grinned. "Thanks, darlin'." He said in a crude imitation of his dad, raising his glass to her. She rolled her eyes and went to talk to her husband. They had a good giggle, probably about their son's complete disrespect of how things are supposed to be.
It was another half hour before his parents decided to call it a day. Mitchell had finished the mowing the grass by that point and was watching his new frog friend swimming happily about the pond. He had filled it up with fresh, cool water and the frog loved it. "I'm going to call you Steve." Mitchell decided. "I've never met a frog called Steve. Hello."
"Mitch! Ryan's here!"
"Ry-Ry!"
"I told you not to call me that!" Ryan, one of Mitchell's best friends, appeared on the patio, looking disgruntled. He was a little taller than Mitchell with sandy blonde hair and pale blue eyes. He and Mitchell had known each other since childhood and were practically brothers.
"Exactly why I do." Mitchell replied calmly, turning back to the pond. "Come and meet Steve!"
"What?" Ryan quizzed, annoyance fading. Mitchell waved him over; Ryan rolled his eyes, but obliged. "Steve." He said, moving his gaze to follow the happy frog. "Steve's a frog."
"And he's still a better conversationalist than you!" Mitchell teased, elbowing his friend good-heartedly. Ryan slugged him in the shoulder and they started play-fighting, rather quickly resorting to childish slaps.
Ryan tackled Mitchell and they stayed on the grass, making pictures with the clouds.
"That looks like an eye."
"No it doesn't. But that reminds me," Ryan looked questioningly at his friend, "that weird feeling?"
"The one where you thought you were being watched?" Mitchell nodded. "That hasn't come back, has it?"
"About an hour ago." Ryan huffed, exhaling loudly and for quite a few seconds.
"Mitch, no-one's watching you."
"Well, you are."
"That's different, I'm talking to you."
"Still."
"Don't make me call you Titch again."
"I'm not that short anymore!"
"Mm." Ryan laughed, crossing his arms over his chest. Mitchell reached up and flicked him in the head. "Ow!"
"Ahaha, I win." Mitchell grinned triumphantly. Ryan muttered a few choice words about his friend and shifted away. "Seriously though, mate. That watching-me-feeling went away for a while, like, two weeks or something. Back now though."
"Paranoia."
"I am many things, but paranoid isn't one of them."
"No-one," Ryan repeated, emphasising each word, "is watching you."
"This is England. Everyone's watching everyone."
"Oh, you don't know that."
"No, I do. I heard somewhere that, in England, there are- on average- seven CCTV or web-cameras watching an individual." Ryan put his hands over his face and groaned. "What?"
"Where did you hear that?"
"I don't know. Somewhere." Mitchell shrugged. "This isn't a camera though, I know that one. This feels like someone is actually sitting there watching me."
"Alright, alright. Where would they be sitting then?" Mitchell frowned. Ryan was humouring him. "Come on. Where would they be?" Ryan got up. "By the pond? The tree? The house? In the sky? In your imagination?"
"You're a cold-hearted sod, you know that?"
"Yes, I've a medal saying it."
"Gold?"
"Platinum."
"Bloody hell…" Ryan grinned devilishly, pacing the garden.
"You haven't answered my question." Mitchell pondered it for a few seconds.
"In the tree."
"In the tree?"
"Yeah."
"I'm not climbing the tree for one of your wild goose chases, mate." Mitchell rolled onto his front and started plucking blades of grass free.
"You don't have to climb it. Can… can you see anything weird?" Aliesha shrunk back against the trunk instinctively and then mentally scolded herself. They can't see me.
"Not in the tree, no."
"What? You didn't even look!" Ryan pointed at the pond instead. A disapproving ribbit had Mitchell look round- he didn't trust Ryan with things like this; if he pointed at something behind you, chances are he was going to jump on you. "Whoa… did I do that?" Aliesha leaned forward, moving out onto one of the thicker branches. Her heart sank.
The pond had frozen over.
"No, you idiot. You don't have ice powers."
"I could." Mitchell replied, sticking his bottom lip out in a sulk.
"What are you, Jack flaming Frost?" Aliesha saw him then. Jack flaming Frost.
And he did not look happy.
"Technically, that's who are you."
"That's not technical, that's grammatical."
"Shut up, Ryan. You can't correct me when I'm correcting you."
"I have literally done nothing else with my life."
"You sad, strange little man."
"Wh-? Are you quoting Toy Story at me?"
"Maybe…"
Aliesha thought about flying away, but the intensity of her father's fuming eyes kept her in place. She didn't know how long he had been there or how he had found her or if he knew how long she had been here. All she knew was that she was in big trouble.
He was sat on the fence, elbow atop one of the posts Mitchell's father was yet to cut down to make the fence all level. His staff was balanced on the other shoulder, the crooked end just above his head. He stared at her for another second and then looked at the two friends bickering. Mitchell was persistent with the fact that he had frozen the pond and Ryan was trying to explain to him that wasn't possible; he was an idiot; if you could really do that, why don't you unfreeze it? Mitchell was all for trying, raising his hands and chanting a load of gibberish, occasionally throwing in 'snow' or 'ice' or 'Jack Frost'.
When it started snowing, both boys huddled together. This wasn't a game now- it was either Mitchell had done that or… or what? Why was it snowing in summer? How was it snowing in summer?
Jack hopped past the boys and up into the tree, settling next to his daughter.
"Having fun?"
"Dad, I-"
"Thought you'd give us the run-around." Jack finished for her. Aliesha held her tongue. "So, this was your big idea, huh? Have Eve come back to us saying you'd gone missing?"
"No, I-"
"We've got enough to worry about with Cal. We don't need you running off too."
"Dad, I'm s-" He held up his hand, cutting her off. He had that look on his face and she knew it was better to stay quiet. She had never seen that look towards her, not even towards Cal when he was at his most annoying. That was a look Jack reserved for someone who really rattled his cages.
It had stopped snowing and the pond had returned to a cooler, more liquid state. Steve the Frog was happy enough with this, putting the confusion behind him and paddling about. Mitchell and Ryan were debating between aliens and hidden mutant abilities.
"Which one?" Jack asked gruffly, not taking his eyes from the mortal pair. When Aliesha didn't answer, he looked round, frowning. "Which one?" He demanded.
"M-Mitchell. The dark-haired one." He clenched his jaw furiously, frost creeping over the leaves and twigs, slowly making its way to the branch they sat on and the trunk. Mitchell noticed first.
"Frost!" He exclaimed.
"Frost!" Ryan repeated.
"We're leaving." Jack announced, taking her by the arm and rising.
"But, Dad-"
"We're leaving."
"Dude, you don't think it could be Jack Frost, do you?"
"He's just a myth, Mitch, do be serious."
"I am being serious!"
"I thought that was one of the many things you weren't. Like, paranoid."
"Really? Right now?"
"Oh, sorry. How does tomorrow sound? Ten, maybe?"
"Ryan."
"Mitchell." Ryan retorted, folding his arms. Jack had taken to the air. Aliesha was trying to pull him back, pointing out that he could get two more believers if he just stayed put.
"I don't want two more believers!" Jack growled. "Especially not those two!"
"Why not?"
"You know why!"
"What?" She snatched her arm free, hovering further back. "Did Cal tell you?" He frowned again, more confused than annoyed this time.
"Tell me what?"
"Um…"
"That wasn't a bet you two had going, was it? Cal knew!" Aliesha tried to explain, but Jack cut across. "Cal knew! About him!" He waved in Mitchell's general direction.
"Dad, it's not what it looks like!"
"It's look like Cupid to me!"
"Well then, I guess it is what it looks like." Aliesha sighed. "But Dad, please, just listen to me! And don't freeze him!" She lunged forward, intent on taking Jack's staff away, but he was faster, whirling his most trusted tool out of her reach. "Cal didn't say anything to you or to Mam because I asked him not to!"
"Why?!"
"Because I wanted to do this on my own!"
"What? Fall in love with a mortal? Lish, snap out of it! He can't see you!"
"I know, but-"
"No!" Jack held up his hand again, silencing her. "No." He repeated, quieter but firmer. "We're going home and that's final."
"But-"
"Now." He glowered at Mitchell, as if it were his fault for all of this.
"Dad, don't-"
"You're not allowed to come back here."
"What?" He looked back at her. Something in his eyes softened and he lowered his staff. "Dad, no-"
"It's for you own good, Aliesha. I don't want you anywhere near him again. Do you understand?" Thick tears blurred her vision. "Lish." He didn't sound so angry now. Aliesha turned away from him, stubbornly hiding her face in her hands. She made to fly away, but he caught her by the arm.
"Let me go!"
"No." She tried to hit him away, furious. Jack didn't react to that, pulling her into a one-armed hug. She struggled for a minute, tears building up in her temper.
And then she cried.
She hadn't wanted to, especially not around him right now, but she couldn't not cry.
She cried for Cal, she cried for Mitchell, she cried. Jack didn't say anything. He didn't really have to. Later, she was grateful he hadn't let her deal with it on her own, had let her soak his beloved hoodie with her tears. He didn't get angry at her again and she was grateful for that too. After all, he was only looking out for her. Just like Cal had been.
Cal…
"Dad?"
"Mm?" He gently brushed away her tears on his sleeve.
"Cal?"
"Still looking."
"I… I just wish I could help more." He nodded in understanding.
"Come on. Let's go home." Aliesha didn't resist, but she sent a final look Mitchell's way. She couldn't be sure, but was he frowning at the sky?
Before she could figure out what he was doing, Ryan had called him from the back door and Mitchell left.
I think this is one of the longest chapters I've done for a ROTG fic :3