Blink.

His eyelids refused to open. That's okay, he was exhausted anyways. He forgot why, though that wasn't important. All Jack was concerned about was his need for sleep.

Blink.

He can't go to sleep. The momentum is gravitating him downwards in a sense so uncomfortable he cannot ignore. Groaning, he attempted to roll to his side, to be pulled back against a solid surface. He turned his head to see what was pulling him back and gasped.

A knife was what was holding him up against the walls of log. Normally in a situation like this, his staff would've be right in his grip and he would have froze the knife in place; but his staff laid on the wooden boards about a feet away from him. The panic inside of him rose as he anxiously kicked behind to free the knife's grasp. He kept kicking and pushing – but it was no use! By now Jack was so frustrated and upset and desperate and done. "Hello?" he beckoned.

No response.

"I know someone's in this house? If you could just – ah – help unpin this knife maybe I can explain why I'm here?"

Still no response. The winter guardian was about to give up when he caught a glimpse of a dark mist – dark mist that belonged to the one and only Pitch Black. Panic arose inside of him once again as the black shadows approached closer and closer… and gently dropped the blade holding him up onto the floor! With a silent thud, Jack landed face first on the planks of wood but sprung up immediately.

"Wha – what's going on?"

No. No, he wasn't allowing any more of those filthy black shadows attack the weak. It's about time Jack took charge of something he was nowhere responsible for.

He scampered into the room the gust of black dust withered into only to find – Bunny's assumption correct. Looks like someone had been too occupied with their own lives to keep track of dates. Sprawled on an overslept bed was Arrow; her blonde tousled hair wrapped around her framed face and her nose just peeking out from underneath those locks. Jack wished he could admire the peacefulness of her spirit for just a few more seconds, but those black swirls surrounding her bed were picking up its pace. The young guardian had no time to waste.

He grunted as he aimed his staff and ignited his power to freeze those demons. Just in one moment, the sand froze together and surrounded Arrow's bed frame, as if it was protecting her. With another wave, of his staff the sands broke down and vanished into thin air.

Relief washed over his pale face. For a split second he was convinced he would die and no one would know except Arrow if she woke up. Speaking of which, she isn't awake yet…

Jack violently shook the senses out of her, but whenever he let go her limp body dully hits the surface of her mattress.

"God…dammit, why isn't she waking up?" Even after an entire year of interacting with other people, Jack's still not used to talking directly to humans – or living things to be exact. Feeling hopeless, he cups her baby smooth cheeks in his hands and rubs them with his two thumbs. The corners of her mouth twitch. Must be the cold, he thought. Other than that, no sign of movement. It was strange seeing his friend like this. Normally, she'd snap right awake, as if she was never asleep in the first place. He would feel her energy bounce off the walls, or slowly sifting along the air, but not this time. This time, he felt nothing. This time, the only life scattering around the room was his. Just like old times.

His cold feet mindlessly shuffled themselves into the open-spaced kitchen to rummage for something to eat; his taste buds were tingling. The winter guardian settled with slicing himself some cucumbers and squeezed a blob of white salad dressing – whatever that was – onto a plate. Silence flooded the entire cabin for several. Long. Minutes. And it was going to stay that way for several more.

Crunch. "And this one's Bunny, hey man, you don't seem to be hearing well, are you missing an ear?" Jack nibbled the tip of a slice of cucumber. "Well now you are!"

He picked up another slice with sharp edges all along. "Tooth, my friend, we've known each other for quite a long while now. I think," he sighed before continuing, "I think it's time one of us sacrifices their life for the other. Sorry Tooth, it's not going to be tonight." He faked a chomp and chewed the fairy shaped cucumber slice with an open mouth. Hey, don't judge, there's no one to be with!

There was one slice left on the plate. One that resembled a shitty apostrophe. "Arrow, I'm sorry I can't carve a braid with my canine teeth. But at least you're still –"

"Awake."

The amount of time it took for him to drop that slice of legume was immeasurable. The time it took for him to register what just happened was immeasurable too, god he felt so stupid. Leaning against the wall was her, a ghostly expression taking over her usual beauty. "Arrow, you woke up," he breathed out.

She didn't say anything else except reply with a millisecond smile. It wasn't a proper smile, either. It was those smiles that don't reach the corner of your eyes; so fake yet so real. Oh no, he knew that smile anymore. It was the smile sad people gave when they were about to cry. One's eyebrows will slant down diagonally, as if one were laughing but the face they make is just a mask to hide how much they want to cry. They need to cry. What felt like a millennium, she finally reached the stool across from Jack and made her first eye contact with him. But Jack didn't see the regular sharp pupils. Her eyes looked much softer, foggy, as if pain was blinding her to see the answer in front. The usual banter, complaints, cheers, and random conversation never hit Jack. Arrow's expression was drained. Her arms rested on her lap where a sweet innocent schoolgirl would place them. Shoulders were hunched forward. Head lowered. Casual breathing.

Then the waterworks hit.

There wasn't a warning or anything. The only thing which happened in between was the eye contact that half-scared the crap out of the young winter guardian. Now one of his new and closest friends was biting her lip so hard to hold in the tears he was frightened she'd rip her lips open.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't cry. What happened? What did you hear?"

"Nothing," Arrow shook her head profoundly, chuckling, "Nothing, it's stupid."

"If it was stupid, you wouldn't be looking like a fresh corpse."

"Ew."

"Now that's the spirit. All you need is some of my witty remarks and you're yourself again. Now, tell me what happened."

"Jack…" She whined.

"Tell me." Arrow raised her head so she could glance at the window.

"Sorry, I just can't look at you and say this – ahem – okay, I heard her voice."

Has it been a while? I hope not! How many of you saw the Catching Fire trailer? Oh my god I'm so excited.

Okay, it's almost 1AM on a schoolnight…I'm off to bed. See you guys the next time I see you!