No one could shut out the raucous laughter emanating from the group of youths as they strolled along the curb, headed for an eaterie operating 24 hours a day just up ahead. Midnight was almost upon the city of Burgess, but most of the shops they passed were still illuminated and it was snowing slightly.
Jamie bounded ahead, walking backwards as he turned to face his friends. "That was a great movie! Plain epic!" he exclaimed, grinning so widely his face was starting to hurt. "Man, they did an awesome job with it! It's almost like... like we were..."
"Relieving the whole experience again?" Pippa suggested.
"Yeah, that's it!"
"I loved myself in it," grinned Cupcake. "I was so bad-ass!"
"I was too young. " Sophie made a face. "Pretty embarrassing, but hey, I was just two and I helped save Easter! Sort of."
"They made us look so cool!" enthused Caleb, indicating himself and his twin. "Though, I do wish we had more of a part, but it is 'Rise of the Guardians', not 'Rise of the Guardian-ed'..."
Monty kicked at the snow decorating the curb, hands in his coat pockets, not really sharing his friends' enthusiasm. "They made me look like a total coward!" he complained. "Wait, no, you made me look like a total coward!" He jabbed an accusing finger at Jamie, who merely shrugged, still grinning. "How could you destroy my character in that book of yours?"
"Oh, come on, pal!" Claude laughed, slapping Monty on the back so hard his glasses nearly flew off his face. "You can't deny you were pretty timid! But that's the Monty we know!"
"Yeah!" chipped in Caleb, giving the bespectacled kid a playful punch. "That's the Monty we know and love! Group hug, everyone!"
"Not in the middle of the st-..." Monty's protests were muffled as the twins pulled him into a suffocating hug and everyone else tried to wrap their arms around the three boys. Passing adults merely smiled and shook their heads, probably recalling fond memories from the early years of their young adulthood whereas teenagers either laughed at their antics or looked on with annoyance and disapproval.
"Hurry up, y'all, I'm starving!" Sophie reminded them of their original destination as she wriggled out of the hug.
Not many changes had been made to the cafe in the past few years. Jamie's mood took a nosedive as they walked in; the place brought back memories. Memories he didn't want to remember or to think about. He would've selected a different place, but it was in close proximity to the theatre, which they had just left, and the others seemed to think it was preferable. Claude and Caleb cast sideways glances at Jamie, just to ensure he was okay, remembering the commotion between Jamie and his father that had taken place.
They slid into seats at a table for six, with the twins having to draw up extra chairs from neighbouring tables for themselves. A waiter ambled over and as orders were taken, Jamie surveyed his friends' gleeful expressions and it was enough to push any horrid memories out of his mind. Much time had passed since all that trouble and Sophie seemed like herself again. Her wish for leniency for her attackers had been granted and she had been quite at peace with herself and everyone else since then. He couldn't suppress the smile that came. As their graduation ceremonies had just passed, save for Sophie's, the old gang was reunited. Though, it would have been so much nicer if Jack or any of the other guardians (though secretly, Jamie thought Jack was highly preferable) were there with them. He turned in his seat to look out of the window behind him, up at the night sky, searching for any signs of a flying white-haired, staff-wielding teenage boy. Slightly disappointed at the lack of anything of that sort, he turned back to table.
"So, anyone already engaged here?" joked Caleb, as the waiter walked off.
"Quit it, Claude, Comedy Central's not scanning the globe for you!" Pippa shot back from across the table. Several patrons at nearby tables looked up in disgust at the noise from the group which they found rather jarring.
"Did you hear about how I broke my mortarboard over his hard head?" grinned Caleb, rapping on his twin's skull.
"Oh no, not the 'did you hear's again," Cupcake feigned a groan. "We all know they don't contain an ounce of truth."
"Are you kidding? I mean, did you hear how Monty dressed one of his knights in graduation robes and made him defeat an orc in one of those battle games of his? That one is totally true!"
The nerd in question seemed oblivious to the loud conversation going on as his eyes were fixed on the screen of a television mounted nearby on a wall. "Hey, Jamie," he called, without averting his gaze. "Check out who's on screen."
Jamie followed his gaze and spotted a familiar face on the screen. It was Kendra, whom they didn't see at graduation. Dressed in a swimsuit with a towel wrapped around her, she appeared fatigued, while answering questions posed by various reporters surrounding her, but a huge smile was plastered on her face. Judging from the beads of water which she was trying to wipe away trickling down her face, she had just gotten onto dry land. Standing next to her was her father, who appeared less sulkier than usual.
"What's going on?" Jamie asked, before catching sight of a string of words scurrying across the bottom of the screen. 'Young national record-holder crosses the English Channel'.
"In 15 minutes," Monty said. "I bet you anything her dad's gonna keep training her till she can make it from England to France and back to England again in 10 minutes flat!"
"Yeah, I suppose," Jamie responded, remembering the conversation he had had with the young swimmer several years back.
The snowfall had been heavy during the period of time they had spent indoors, but it stopped when they stepped out, leaving a thick blanket of snow lying on the ground, much to their delight. "It's Snow Day! Come on!" Sophie yelled, running towards the park.
"More like Snow Night!" Caleb laughed.
"Sophie, wait up!" Pippa called, as the group made their way after their youngest member. "It's dark and dangerous in the park and we just ate!"
"Only light meals, Pippa, stop fretting," Cupcake spoke, as she passed her.
As the gang stepped into the park, a small disturbance in the air caused Jamie to look up, ultimately spying his spirit friend. "Perfect timing, Jack!" he called, flashing two thumbs-up at the flying figure, who grinned in response. Hearing his yell, the others halted in their tracks and turned, their grins widening at the sight of the guardian. Pippa's worries about armed people lurking in the darkness of the park ready to pounce out on unsuspecting victims were wiped away.
The young adults and Sophie, except Jamie, gathered up snow in their hands, forming snowballs. "Wait, just a second," Jack spoke, causing them to stop. He glanced around at the seven of them, circled around him and a wave of nostalgia washed over him. It was as though nothing had changed, when in reality, almost everything had. Almost like a parent, in his eyes, and most probably the other guardians' as well, they were still kids, brimming with joy and laughter.
"What's up, Jack? We look too old?" called Cupcake, eliciting laughs from all of them.
"We may have degrees now, but we're still young at heart!" reminded Claude, though it wasn't really necessary.
With a flourish, snowballs formed at Jack's feet and everyone with one in their hands took aim, but Jamie quickly stepped in. "Hold your fire, guys!" He ran to join Jack and seemed to gaze at everyone in turn, sizing them up. The others exchanged strange looks. Jamie finally turned to Jack.
"I've got an idea. Remember that time I went sledding all over town?" Jamie asked.
Jack smirked. "How could we forget?"
"So, how about we go sledding just in the park here?" Jamie suggested.
"We didn't bring sleds, Jamie," Cupcake pointed out.
"We could fetch them," Claude said. "I mean, we all do live nearby. And I really fancy of the idea of sledding the way Jamie did! Come to think of it, Jack, the rest of us never got a chance!"
Jamie and the guardian shared a laugh. "Alright, why not? It was fun."
At the spirit's words, the twins took off at lightning speed in the direction of their house. "Don't have a snowball fight without us!" Caleb called over his shoulder.
A snowball was immediately acquainted with the young man's retreating back, courtesy of Sophie. He paused in his run to make one and flung it back at her, before turning and hurrying after his twin brother. The snowball missed Sophie as she dodged in time, laughing gleefully.
#
"Right, we should take turns using them," Jamie said.
Cupcake held up Caleb's sled. "This thing is huge," she commented. "It can easily fit two."
"That's what I told mom, but she insisted on getting one for each of us," Caleb responded.
"Well, that's great, then. Four of us get to go at once!" Monty whooped. "I wanna go first, but not with Claude or Caleb."
Jamie turned away from his friends to face Jack who, perched atop a low tree branch, was watching the young adults argue over who was to go first on the sleds, with a small smile. Jamie ambled over and looked up at the spirit. "Pretty immature, aren't we?" he asked, smiling sheepishly.
"Immature?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "I don't know about you, Jamie, but I think 'immature' is just an adjective used by boring people to label the fun ones."
"Wait a minute, Jamie, won't our parents be awfully worried if we don't return home? I mean, it's almost half-past one in the morning!" came Pippa's worried voice behind him.
Jamie gave a snort of laughter. "Perhaps you could call them. But I suppose they'll understand. I mean, we're fresh graduates! Shouldn't we have some fun?"
A smile crept onto Pippa's face, though she retained her worried look. "Alright, but I should really head back before two."
The sleds were dragged deeper into the park, where it was darker and more trees stood to conceal them. As young adults and with Jack accompanying them, they paid no heed to the intensity of the darkness around them.
"Ready?" Jack eyed the occupants of the two sleds. Caleb occupied his own with Sophie while the other held Claude and Cupcake. "Here we go!"
A path of ice appeared beneath the two sleds and they began to slide, gathering speed. It was similar to going on a roller-coaster ride, save that they were on a sled and they were riding along ice and snow. Claude and Cupcake's sled tailed Caleb and Sophie's as they zoomed along the ice path which zigzagged through the trees. It was exhilarating though they had to brace themselves for any impact that might come from a collision with a tree. The wind blustered around them, threatening to whip away any headgear. Jack, flying alongside them, feeling happier than he had been for a period of time, was doing his best to avoid any accidents.
"This is amazing!" yelled Caleb.
"TREE!" Sophie screamed as the sled bumped over tree roots, narrowly missing the trunk.
"Wow, they really do sound they're having a blast," Pippa remarked, as the whoops and cheers floated out of the thicket of trees towards them. She cast a worried glance at the street.
"What are you looking for?" Jamie asked Pippa, while watching Monty trying to get a good look at where the others were through the thicket.
"Anyone suspicious?"
Jamie's mouth widened into his trademark grin. "Really, Pippa? I think anyone passing would be suspicious of us, standing in the middle of the park at a quarter to two in the morning."
The sleds made it out of the thicket, where the ice path pivoted under Jack's silent orders, and the sled turned, heading back through the trees to the starting point. As they were reemerging from the thicket, Caleb, who was right in front spotted his blonde and bespectacled male friend standing in their way, trying to catch a glimpse of them. "Monty! Incoming!" he yelled and watched as the other boy ran out of the way.
Jamie and Pippa's attention were redirected by the reappearance of the two sleds, with their four friends, who were then looking rather red-faced and dishevelled.
"Next!" Monty called as he clambered onto Claude's sled as he and Cupcake vacated it. "I get one all to myself!"
"Jack, Monty's being unfair!" Caleb complained to the winter spirit, like a whiny child, as Jamie and Pippa traded places with Caleb and Sophie.
The winter spirit landed lightly on the back of Claude's sled, behind Monty. "Not so unfair now, is it, Caleb?" he smirked.
"That's double unfair!" Claude called, jokingly. "He gets to ride with Jack!"
Monty let out a gleeful laugh as the sleds slid away, rushing through the trees. "Hey, Jack! Let's go backwards!" yelled Jamie at the winter spirit perched on the sled behind. Jack grinned as the path turned the sled around. Jamie had full view of enthusiastic Monty on his sled, though he and Pippa couldn't help glancing over their shoulders at what lay behind them.
"Don't worry, I've got your back," Jack called, leaving Monty's sled for a moment, zooming alongside them.
"Wheeeee!" Pippa's hair was blown into her face, but she was oblivious to everything else including the chill, as the sense of exhilaration grew. Jamie's heartbeat accelerated every time they passed a tree.
"Wow, that one nearly got us!" he exclaimed, as a tree trunk shot suddenly appeared at his side and shot past him. He tried not to lean back too much, afraid the sled might topple over and send them sprawling into the snow.
Back at the starting point, the other four were gathering snowballs. "We'll ambush them when they emerge from the trees!" Caleb masterminded. As their shouts of delight grew louder, the four ran to the opening.
"What are they doing there?" Monty yelled, noticing four familiar figures ahead. "Out of the way, y'all!"
"Who?" Jamie called.
Before Monty could reply, he was bombarded by a torrent of snowballs. "Hey!" Jack cried, though he was grinning widely. These were the seven most awesome young adults he had yet to meet.
"We're being ambushed!" Monty shouted.
"Ouch!" Pippa exclaimed as a snowball struck her in the back. She tried to gather some snow from the ground, but the sled was moving too fast. She and Jamie got acquainted with several more before the sled finally slowed to a halt. "Whose idea was that?" she half-laughed, picking up her fallen hat.
Everyone pointed at Caleb, who merely laughed, but the laughter vanished almost immediately from his face as soon as Pippa, Jamie and Monty gathered up their own ammo, and flung them at him. "Haha! Hey! Ouch! Okay, I surrender!"
"What is going on here? What are you kids doing?"
Everyone froze at the sound of the unfamiliar voices, including Jack. They turned to see two men, flashing torches at them, severe looks on their faces. They were probably cops in plain clothes. "We've received complaints from several passers-by about some sort of commotion going on here. Were you the source of that commotion?"
"Yes, sir," Jamie spoke up immediately, stepping forwards. "But isn't this park opened to the public twenty-four hours a day?"
"That's right, but we only came here due to the reported commotion."
"Oh, we were just sledding and having fun, sir," responded Cupcake, speaking up. "And most of us have just graduated, so we were just celebrating."
"Yeah, sorry about the commotion, we didn't intend it on purpose," Jamie apologised with as much sincerity as he could muster.
"What about her?" The other one pointed at Sophie. "She is obviously a juvenile out after curfew."
"That's my sister," Jamie piped up immediately. "And we both have permission from our mom to be out here. So fret not, sir."
Everyone exchanged relieved looks as the cops walked off, casting glances at the young adults over their shoulders, muttering something among themselves. Jamie checked his watch as Sophie and Pippa stifled a yawn. "Alright, I'm sorry we each only got one ride, but we really need to head home now," he told a disappointed gang. "Maybe we could do this some other day?" No one responded immediately.
"We definitely have to head home, Jamie, but I'm not really sure if we can do this anymore," Cupcake spoke up, breaking the silence. "You know, this might very well be the last time."
"Why?" Jamie asked, his brows furrowing. He cast a quick glance at Jack. The spirit didn't look as distressed, but rather, melancholic. "I mean, I know we're gonna make lives for ourselves after this, but this can't be the last time. We can still get together sometime right?"
Another long silence, one that was rather unpleasant. In spite of himself, Jamie was on the brink of tears. "We can always be young at heart, can't we?"
When no one else spoke, Cupcake finally stepped in again. "Look, Jamie, maybe. Maybe someday we can do this again. Play together, have fun. Maybe not in the snow, maybe not outdoors. But maybe we can. Just don't get your hopes too high. Now, I really need to get home." There was a short pause before she continued. "Good night."
"Good night, Jamie, Sophie."
"See you, Bennetts."
"Sorry, Jamie."
One by one they left the park, Claude and Caleb dragging their sleds behind them. Jamie merely stared after their retreating backs, with Sophie by his side. She didn't seem quite so bothered as he was.
"Welcome to a new chapter in your life, Jamie," she said, in an undertone.
Jamie glanced desperately at Jack, but the guardian merely stared sympathetically back.
Originally meant to be a joke chapter, but it turned out a little differently.
Thanks so much for all the reviews on the poll! And thanks for reading! I hope you forgive my recycling of themes and events from other chapters; I'm not much of a creative person. :-(
To Silver: Yes, I was inspired by that movie, and since I wanted to incorporate real life events, I didn't really know where else to get information on fights and the legal matters that come after except from the movie.