Jack lay on his bed, staring at the snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. Apparently he had made these when he was a child and never took them down. He blew hair out of his face and watched as the snowflakes spun slightly with the movement of air. If only he could remember making them. Jack held out his hands in front of them and inspected them. Just a few months ago, from what he can remember, he was able to create wonderful creations just from a flick of his wrist. Now all he can do is write essays, not too well, either. He glanced over at the calendar hanging on his wall. It was the middle of October, the time when Jack Frost would start spreading his creations across the northern hemisphere. But not this year. This year the world may be without Jack Frost because he doesn't have his powers. He can't do anything except go to school and do homework.
Jack closed his eyes, feeling suddenly exhausted from the events of the day. It was a Wednesday, the day to go see the shrink, and that meant school was tomorrow morning. Jack wanted nothing more than to stay home, or what everyone kept telling him was his home. Just to stay in his bed forever and never move again. His sole purpose in life was to bring joy to children, but now what? What was his life? Why was he here and why can't he remember? And why does North keep saying he was his nephew? He is the freaking spirit of winter! What was he doing here?! Just sitting around when he could be outside, flying through the air, the wind blowing around his ears, feeling like he weighed nothing at all.
Jack snapped his eyes open after what seemed like a few seconds, but, after inspecting his alarm clock, were actually a few hours. It was 2 am, the time when Jack was supposed to be in bed, sleeping, then getting up at 6:30 am to be at school. But, Jack was not feeling up to the usual ritual tonight. How about a little fun, to lighten the spirits instead?
Jack ran over to the window and gently pushed it up, then popped the screen out. A simple maneuver at this point, after the dozens of times he had done it before. Just something about being cooped up in a house that set Jack on edge. But the crisp night air, as it nipped his cheeks, made him feel free again, almost like the winter spirit he could swear he was, if it were not so blatantly obvious that he was a human now. He jumped the few feet to the ground and ran to the forest behind the house, his footfalls silent from his graceful movement and bare feet. He ran into the trees, never looking back at the house, and laughed mischievously when he made it to the pond in the middle of the woods, a good few hundred feet back.
Jack made his way to the edge of the pond after making sure he was alone and peered in, hoping to see his reflection, but was disappointed when he could see none from the lack of light. It was always so peaceful back here. Jack came here when he felt like being truly alone, and that was often. But tonight, Jack realized with a flinch of horror, he was not alone.
"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" A voice came from a foot behind him. Jack jumped and spun around to be face to face with a young woman, an inch or so taller than him. She was not threatening, but her sheer presence shocked Jack enough to through him off balance and right into the pond.
As soon as Jack hit the black water he panicked. He had never been a swimmer, and for good reason, seeing as in his life as a seasonal spirit, drowning was his choice of death. Jack flailed around for a few seconds, trying to find a form of support in the murky shallows of the pond, but only helped to cover him even further in the mud and grime. After a minute of struggling, a hand reached out and grabbed him by the hood of his jacket, pulling him out of the depths.
"Hey, whoa, it's alright. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you alright?" But her question was left unanswered as Jack ran from the scene, not entirely sure where he was headed, but anywhere away from that situation. After a few minutes, Jack had to stop to catch his breath. He was caked in mud and sopping wet and freezing. After his heart rate slowed a little he began to shiver. That was another thing he hated about being human; he could actually feel the cold, and it was not pleasant. But, who was that lady? Jack shrugged and sat down in front of a tree, feeling exhausted once again. He leaned back and went over what the woman had on. He may need this information later, in case she a murderer or something. Well, if he was sure she was a murderer, he probably shouldn't be leaning against this tree, but should be heading home, whichever direction that was in. But, the lady was wearing, what, knee high boots and jeans and had brown… black hair? Maybe. But she was wearing a jacket? Purple or-
Jack swatted at something that was tickling his cheek and rolled over, only to find no support and fell unceremoniously to the ground. He pushed himself back up, his joints protesting the effort and his clothing moving stiffly. He glanced around and saw that he was in the middle of the woods. The sun gleamed down at an acute angle and made the leaves it touched a brighter shade of-
Wait. Sun. Leaves. Oh crap.
Jack pushed himself from the ground, his chest aching with the effort and the air in front of him showing his breath. Once off of the ground and with a sense of direction, he began to make his way back to his house, while trying to piece together what had happened last night. Let's see… house, homework, pond, girl, running. That woman. Jack felt suddenly relieved that the woman was not a serial killer, because he just passed out in the middle of the woods in the open. A bear could have eaten him! No, wait, not around here. Not the very dangerous kind, anyhow.
Jack let go an aching sigh of relief when he saw his window still open and climbed through with a bit of effort. His bed became the only destination in mind as soon as the window was closed, but, as luck may have it, his alarm clock went off a second before his mud encrusted head hit the pillow.
With a groan and some reserves of willpower, Jack pushed himself from the bed, turned his alarm off, and made his way over to the bathroom to clean up. Today was going to be a terrible day.