My predictions lead to the conclusion that this story will be 35 chapters long, or at least 30. If my updating rate continues to be like this, this will only be finished when I'm already out of school. I'll try to update faster from now on. No promises though.

Seriously though, I need to figure out a way to speed myself up. I mean, I still have a sequel I need to do... YES, THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL. NO, I WILL NOT TELL YOU WHAT IT'S ABOUT. YES, I KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO FOR THE SEQUEL. NO, I WAS NOT ALWAYS PLANNING THIS. YES, I JUST THOUGHT IT UP TWO WEEKS AGO. NO, IT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU WOULD EXPECT.

Word of advice: Like my Facebook page, and maybe you'll figure out what I'm blabbing on about. Hatsu Yukiya knows, I'll give you that. Maybe you could ask her. Whether or not she tells you is all up to her. (Psst, Julia, if you suddenly get PMs, it has nothing to do with me)

Disclaimer: I so don't own Rise of the Guardians.

"Are you sure he doesn't want to come down for breakfast?"

Jamie hesitated for a moment, and then nodded yes to his mother's question. Jack had once again insisted on staying in his room and cramming sweets into his mouth. Jamie tried to do him a favor and convinced his mom that this was something that would be short-lived, which he dearly hoped really would be.

Mrs. Bennett sighed. "Alright then. Once he comes down, could you tell him I need him to go out and buy groceries for me?"

"Sure."

When Jack came down, Jamie told him what he had to do.

"What am I, her errand manager?" Jack muttered, grumbling something while heading back upstairs to change.

Once he was at the supermarket, he wasted no time in getting what Mrs. Bennett wanted. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, because there was a girl about his age who worked part-time at the register who always flirted with him whenever she got the chance. He wasn't feeling up to dealing with her today, so he went to a different register to check out at. Of course, that didn't mean she didn't notice his presence, because she surely did. She probably would've went over to him if there hadn't a small line forming at her station, which Jack was immediately grateful for.

He was about halfway home when he saw a woman, probably around her 30's, having trouble carrying several boxes, all stacked up in a pile. He stopped walking to watch her for a minute or two, contemplating on helping her. He decided to go for it once he noticed that she almost dropped the box on top. He approached her and spoke, "Need some help?"

The woman cut even closer to dropping her boxes this time at the sound of a second voice. "Yes, please."

"So what are all these?" Jack asked, then gave a short grunt when he felt how heavy the biggest box, which was handed to him, was. He couldn't help but mutter, "And why isn't there a cart or something to carry this stuff around with you?"

"Furniture. Some of the rooms in my house are being remodeled." If the lady had heard Jack's second question, she showed no sure signs of it. "I ordered them the other day and I just picked them up."

There wasn't much talk, and before Jack knew it, they were at the lady's house, which wasn't really that far from Jamie's.

"Thanks for the help," the woman smiled gratefully at Jack as she began setting the boxes down on the front steps.

"Huh? Oh yeah, no problem," Jack shrugged, handing off the last of the boxes he was carrying to her.

"Are you a high school student? You look like one."

Jack blinked. "Uh, yeah. In the twelfth grade at Burgess High."

"Really? I have a son who goes there, and he's a senior too. He's inside right now—"

Before she could continue, the front door opened, revealing a person Jack least expected to see. Cody was the one who had opened the door, barefoot and clad in a black T-shirt and pajama pants as if he had just gotten out of bed.

"Home, Mom?" His eyes went over to Jack. "Oh hey, new kid."

Jack quickly masked his surprise and raised an eyebrow. New kid? Since when did he start calling me that?

"Oh, so you two are already friends?" Cody's mother sounded just as taken aback as Jack felt.

"We're not friends, Mom," Cody deadpanned, causing Jack to roll his eyes. "Just classmates who were forced to sit together in geometry."

Is that an insult...? Jack wondered, not knowing whether or not to feel offended by Cody's reply to his mom. But then again, this was a guy who was even more antisocial than he himself was, so he finally decided that it was just his own way with words.

While he was thinking this, Cody had went back inside and closed the door, not even looking back. His mother smiled apologetically at Jack. "Sorry about that. He doesn't mean to sound rude."

"No, it's okay," Jack brushed the apology off. "It's just natural for him, isn't it?"

Cody's mother sighed. "It is now, but he wasn't always this way."

There was a pause filled with silence. Jack eventually asked tentatively, What do you mean?"

"The past few years have been a little rocky for him. He was very sweet as a child, but ever since Carrie died, that sweetness died along with her."

There was a longer pause this time, and the older woman took it as a chance to hurry inside. Just as she was opening the door, Jack finally found the strength to speak. "Who's..."

She closed the door.

"...Carrie?"

Who the heck is Carrie? His girlfriend? Jack thought as he walked along the sidewalk to the residence of the Bennetts. No, wait, he came to Burgess when he was like thirteen or fourteen. And the twins already said he was already the way he is now on his first day here. So if he and this Carrie girl were really an item, he must've been like, what, twelve? Doesn't seem like the type to start crushing that early, so unlikely. Ugh, crap, my brain hurts so much.

"Hey! Jack!"

Jack turned his head to see he was in front of Zander and Spencer's house already, not having noticed due to his pondering about the mysterious Carrie. The twins were out in the front yard, punting a football back and forth between each other. There was a Steelers cap with the bill turned sideways on top of Zander's head.

"Hey guys," Jack greeted. "What's up?"

"Not much, just kicking this football since we got nothing better to do," Zander replied, picking said football up and fingering around with it in his hands.

"Yeah, I can see that. I was just on my way back home." Jack paused. "Hey, do you guys know whether or not Cody has had any romances before he transferred here?"

"Cody? You mean Cody Gay?" Spencer inquired.

"No, Cody Simpson," Jack deadpanned. "Yes, Cody Gay."

"Why are you always so sarcastic when I'm just trying to confirm who you're talking about so there aren't any misunderstandings?!" Spencer frowned. "Anyway, to answer your question, I don't think he did."

"Doesn't seem like the type," Zander added, not taking his eyes off of the football.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too..." Jack mused. "Look, long story short, I ran into his mom earlier and she mentioned this girl named Carrie and didn't say anything else about her except that she's deceased."

Zander, clearly picking up on Jack's train of thought, remarked, "If Carrie really was his girlfriend, she had to be around his age before he moved, which means she had to be somewhere around thirteen. Why would she be dead if that's the case?"

"Lots of ways. Car crash, plane crash, poison, natural causes, cancer, brain tumor, some other type of disease, fatal wound by shotgun or knife, drowning," Jack muttered that last possibility bitterly.

"I got the point when you mentioned poison, so you didn't need to name that many, sheesh."

"Something obviously happened to him before, and it has something to do with Carrie. There's no way he's just gonna fess up when I ask him about her. Can you guys help me with this?" Jack pleaded.

"Uh, sure," Spencer said, albeit sounding slightly skeptical.

"You seem to be very interested in this," Zander commented from the sidelines.

"So, um... Where were you yesterday?" Spencer asked, diverting the subject yet again.

Jack blinked twice, not knowing what he was talking about. "What?"

"You suddenly left yesterday. Did something happen?"

"Oh yeah, I saw Ariel and went after her."

Zander, who still was looking at his football, abruptly snapped his head up once he heard the mention of Ariel. "Did you catch her? What'd she say to you?" he asked anxiously.

Jack sighed gloomily. "She basically cut ties with me. She doesn't want to have anything to do with a guy who was gossiped about was pretty much what she said."

"And then?"

"She said we could hang out at the carnival on Tuesday, but that's it."

"Are you going to go?" Zander seemed to grow increasingly agitated as he continued listening.

"I might as well... I mean, she was nice enough to offer one last chance for us to hang out together, and I don't wanna just pass that up.

Zander stiffened, clenching his football tightly until it seemed about ready to combust. "You know what?" he said icily. "Forget it. I'm just not gonna care anymore. Go like whoever you want to like, 'cause I'm done." He turned around and trudged into his house, slamming the door behind him.

Jack stared at the spot where Zander stood only a few seconds ago, then turned to Spencer. "What was that all about?"

Spencer, who had been standing awkwardly while Zander lost his temper on Jack, said tentatively, "You...know he's a little touchy about the whole Ariel subject, right?"

"Yeah, I picked up on that when I first met her. Why?"

"She told you that they dated, right?"

"Yeah..." What was the point Spencer was trying to get at?

"Do you know why they broke up?"

Jack opened his mouth to reply but shut it again once he realized that he didn't. "How'd it happen?"

"They were acquainted with each other at first, and eventually she asked him out. Zander really did like her, but apparently she thought otherwise. Cici didn't know this, and she still doesn't, but Ariel didn't like her. Hated her, even. I'm not sure why she felt that way, but that doesn't matter much. She kind of had the impression that Cici liked Zander or something, and she was just using him to make Cici upset. Obviously it didn't work out that well since Cici really doesn't like him that way, and Ariel was about to dump him until Zander found out. So he ended up being the one dumping her."

Jack stared. Whatever explanation he had been expecting, that certainly was not it. Cici was involved with the mangle between Ariel and Jack? Furthermore, Ariel was a bitch?

"Evidently some girls don't like it when it's the guy breaking it off with them, so Ariel's trying to get back at Zander now by appealing to you," Spencer finished.

"...Why didn't you just tell me that?" Jack finally spoke up quietly. "I would've listened."

"I thought things might blow over eventually," Spencer admitted. "I was obviously wrong, considering my brother's mad at you now."

"Let me guess, he's not going to let it go the next time I see him this time, is he?"

Spencer shook his head. "Nope. He'll definitely forgive you if you break it off with Ariel. But whether or not you do that is completely up to you."

Baby Tooth, who had stayed home this time around, chirped excitedly when Jack came into the front door, but her ecstasy turned into concern when she saw that look on his face. Yes, that look. The I'm-busy-trying-to-figure-something-out-so-don't-bother-me-if-you-don't-wanna-get-a-face-full-of-ice look. Well, not that he could attack someone with ice right now, but still.

"Hey Jack!" Jamie greeted, sitting with his friends, who were visiting for the millionth time.

"Hey Jamie, Pippa, Cupcake, Monty, Kevin, Caleb," Jack replied distractedly, not even bothering to look at them as he headed up the stairs to his room.

Claude frowned. "I'm Claude."

"I'm not falling for that," was Jack's answer, causing the younger boy's frown to deepen. "Where's your brother?"

"In your room."

Jack stopped and finally turned around, with an eyebrow raised. "Really?" he said flatly, deciding that he didn't want to know why. He went up the rest of the flight of stairs, opened his door, and went in. A few seconds later, he exited with Caleb casually hoisted over his shoulder, and set him down. "This room is now occupied." Jack went back in and slammed the door.

"What's his problem?" Kevin asked after a minute of awkward silence.

"High school social problems," Jamie answered with a sigh. "Boy, I am so not looking forward to graduating from middle school..."

"Does Jack still want to eat on his own in his room? I made corndogs."

Just like that morning, Jamie hesitated. He opened his mouth to answer and was about to get the words out until Jack actually came into the room.

"I'm here. I'd rather eat with you guys anyway. It's too quiet up there," he said casually.

Jamie stared at him for a moment, but the knowing look the older boy sent him prompted him to smile. However, just to make sure, he asked, "So you're actually not going to stuff your face in your room from now on?"

"Never again."

...Excuse me, what's that? You're asking me why did this chapter take so long?

Well, if you must know, this chapter was dipshitted from the very core of the permanent stupidity that frequently lodges itself into my brain (Yeah, I'm sorry for the language, but I really do think that). If you translate that to English, it means that this chapter sucks ass, so I kept stalling on it. I tried to make it better, I really did, but this is the best that I can produce.

Also, I got absorbed in that Rio movie. I was absorbed in it before, but it faded, and now it's flaring back up again, mostly because they released the synopsis of Rio 2.

Anyway, like I said up there, there'll be a sequel. For those of you that think that a sequel isn't necessary, you're going to eat those words once you see what it's about. I guarantee you that. And I really recommend liking my Facebook page, because I talk and explain way more stuff on there. I've talked about my sequel, future stories, and I even complained about Romeo and Juliet and Tybalt's royal dickheadedness.

NEW POLL UP ON PROFILE. VOTE. Please? Remember to vote on your own this time, because I really don't want to start chewing you guys out again.

Reply time!

drawolftiger: You want the honest answer? In about twenty chapters. Possibly fifteen. This whole school stuff is part of the main plot too. So bear with me until then, please.

RandomKrazyPerson: You can hug Zander. The bazooka will appear soon. ;) ...Do you want to know something? Hatsu Yukiya challenged me to write a Jack/OC fanfic (Okay, so I told my Facebook page likers to challenge me to write a Jack/OC and then Hatsu simply obeyed. So it really is my fault). BUT I will make sure that it's not anything too lovey-dovey or fluffy. There's a lot of action in what I'm planning.

Randomness: Haha, it's okay, I didn't mind you reminding me to update, since you weren't being all whiny about it. I was mostly speaking out on Hatsu's part, since she was suffering from it more than I was.

Sorida: His hair makes Asians jealous? ...I see what you did there. ;D I've had my experience with fanfics that contain Mary-Sues/Gary-Stus, who are clearly very unrealistic people. -shudders- So I do my best to make my OCs as realistic as possible. Though I'm a bit worried that Cici might end up seeming like a Mary-Sue...

Dude: That's my writing style. Funny, disturbing, and sad.

agent000: ...And exactly how tall (or short) are you? I'm not that tall either, only 5'4". :P ...So you're nipperofnoses? I've seen you around Tumblr. I'm just very quiet on there. XD Your reviews are always so long, I can't even asdfghjk. This is why you're required to review every chapter.

YandereGoddess: Hm, nobody has been bringing up bisexual!Jack lately, so... Fine, I won't shave his head. -grumbles-

Nika Nicolette: Yes, Cici can. It'll be explained eventually.

likhitata: Well then I'm sorry that I took so long to produce such a crappy chapter. I really am. D:

Alya Starbright: I said that not everything on the list necessarily applies to Jack, and that suicide attempt thing is one of them. Jack's not going to sink that low.

nimbi-piru: I have not bought the movie yet. I'm still trying to convince my parents to take me to the store so I can get it, haha.

Review! And if you can, follow agent000's example and write a nice, long, juicy review.

And just this once, I won't mind bad reviews. That's how terrible I think this chapter really was.