;guess who awkwardly learned Jack is only 14? Guess who's going to keep pretending he's 18 for the sake of the story? Yup, yup I am. As always I own nothing just the plot and OC's;
"Alright, alright!" Jack laughed jumping onto the table. "Draw me like... This!" He stuck out one arm holding his staff and puffed out his chest while scrunching up his face in concentration.
"So you want me to draw you like one of your French girls?" She asked chuckling while she scribbled down a rough pose of the Winter spirit.
Jack furrowed his eyebrows. "What?" He asked stepping off the table. Maeve only laughed harder. "Nothing." She sighed. "Inside joke."
They had been at this for 2 hours, just horsing around, Jack making several mini ice sculptures or telling stories in extreme detail for Maeve to draw. She probably filled up two sketchbooks by now.
Jack shrugged and walked to the window. "My turn." He said pressing his thumb against the cold glass. Frost grew from the point where his finger had touched the window into a miniature outline of Maeve.
Jack made the mini-Maeve pull off the glass into a small glowing blue figure. She jumped off Jack's hand and ran around the room with a trail of frost following her.
Maeve spun around on her stool and laughed as her mini-me ran and jumped around the room. "That's amazing!" She exclaimed setting down her sketch book. "You make me feel terrible about my window art." Maeve hopped off her stool and joined Jack at sitting in the window frame.
"It's nothing special." He said while mini-Maeve hopped on his shoulder. "Are you kidding? That's awesome! Beats my paintings any day." Maeve said.
Jack smiled. Floral patterned frost started to grow over glass. Maeve looked at them with awe and ran her pointer finger over the frozen glass.
"Do you make these patterns on purpose?" She asked drawing a rather detailed butterfly in the frost. "No. They just form that way." Jack said as he watched her.
Once Maeve finished drawing, Jack made the butterfly come to life, similar to how he had made mini-Maeve, and they watched it fly around the room.
"So... What would you like to do now?" Maeve asked as the butterfly burst into fresh falling snow above them. The winter spirit shrugged.
They sat in silence before Jack decided to spike up conversation.
"Why'd you do it?" He asked out of the blue. "Do what?" Maeve asked hugging her knees to her chest. "Dye your hair." He answered pointing to Maeve's 3 random blue green and yellow strands of hair popping out of her mass of chocolate brown.
She laughed and pushing her hair behind her ear. "Honestly? I don't even like having my hair dyed. My little sister, Amelia, did it. See her friend gave her a hair dying kit for Christmas last year. My mom wouldn't let Amelia dye her hair, so she talked me into letting her dye my hair."
The 17 year old laughed a little at the memory and shifted herself so her back was resting against the window.
"The box said it was washable, which was an obvious lie." She laughed. "The look on my mom's face was priceless when she realized it wouldn't wash out. She offered to take me to a salon to get them dyed over, but Amelia didn't want me to. She says they make me look "pretty"." She said using air quotes.
Jack raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. It was like Maeve was calling herself ugly. Why would she insult herself?
"Why do you keep them then?" Jack asked. "If you don't like them and can get rid of them?" Maeve shrugged. "Guess I just can't say no to my little sister." She replied.
They slipped into silence again. Maeve played with her hands before asking: "yesterday you said I could see you and you celebrated because I believed in you. Can't kids see you too?"
Jack shook his head. "No. Well, the past 40 years they could-" "wait, wait, wait." Maeve interrupted. "40 years? You look like your 18." Jack laughed. "40 years isn't that much saying I'm over 340 years old."
Maeve stared at him surprised trying to process what she had just been told. Over 340 years and still looked 18? What would the girls at her school give to have that power.
"As I was saying," Jack continued. "No one knew I existed. Meaning they didn't believe in me so one one could see, hear, or touch me."
"I'm...i'm sorry."Maeve muttered not really sure how to respond. "It's alright." He said looking out the window. "I got used to it after a while."
Maeve felt both sympathetic and upset for Jack. Going 300 years with no one knowing you existed, no one to hear you out or to comfort you. Just loneliness. She wondered how Jack was still sane.
Curiosity taking over Maeve asked: "how did people start seeing you? If no one knew you existed..." She trailed off realizing it must've been hard on Jack whenever he remembers not being seen.
The winter spirit's expression didn't change. He just nodded and answered: "40 years ago, when I became a guardian, protector of children by the way, we got into a battle for the protection of children. But they stopped believing. The last child on the planet who believed was the first to see me."
"Who was the kid? I mean what was their name?" Maeve asked. Jack smiled. "You probably know him. You actually see him everyday." He teased. Maeve elbowed him on the knee. "Quit teasing and tell me already!" She demanded half-laughing.
"Jamie Bennett." He said smiling. The 17 year old blinked at him as if making sure she had heard him correctly.
"my dad? My dad was they first kid that ever saw you?" Maeve half laughed surprised. Jack nodded. "How is he by the way? I haven't seen him since he was 17."
Maeve took a moment to snap out of her surprise and answered: "He's good. He teaches at the elementary school. He also helps at my mom's hospitals day care part time." She told him. "Can he still, you know, see you?" She asked out of curiosity.
Jack shrugged. "I don't know. Honestly, I don't think he can." He replied.
Maeve nodded and looked at the floor. She wondered what it would be like only existing for people who don't even believe in you.
;thanks for reading and please leave a review!;