*~*Chapter 3
"I'm sick and tired of it!"
Jack closed his eyes, stung from Jamie's words. Leaning his neck back, he head rested on the top of the couch cushion. "Jamie.."
"No, shut up! How would you like it if I kept taking off all drenched in tears everytime YOU kept trying to ask me what was wrong?!"
From his gigantic chair, North's eyes widened at the harshness in Jamie's language. Bunnymund pinched his nose and shook his head.
Jack just kept silent. They four sat around North's fireplace, Jack on the couch farthest from the fire. They all seemed bent on knowing what was wrong with him. After over three centuries of being ignored, he was expected to blurt everything he was feeling to everyone he cared about? Nuh uh. That might be good for other suckers, but not him.
Looking up to the window he flew in by, he contemplated flying off again. But now that more of the Guardians were involved, North being one of them, running away and hiding would only complicate the problem. After all, he knew he had to come around again sometime; and after another running away fiasco, by the looks of their faces, suddenly reappearing again in the future probably wouldn't be received as merciful. Kicking his feet up on the length of the couch, he sighed. He would just have to reassure them that he was fine, and then they'd all move on. Jamie was stubborn, but he would be convinced eventually. He rubbed his temples as he decided he needed to be more careful with his emotions. These days he was around people who cared about him.
"Head hurt?" North asked.
"Nah..." then he thought better of it. "A little.. Staying up all night in a cave wasn't the smartest idea in the world." Crap.
"You were in a cave all night?" Bunnymund observed in a voice softer than Jack was used to.
"Uuuhg, guys it's okay. Trust me, I've slept in many caves. It's nothing new." He decided to try to switch tracks. "Anyway, I'm here now, safe and sound, and everything's good."
North's face was scrunched in thought. "Vy are you so upset then, Jack?"
He played with the tassels from the blanket that draped over the couch. "I just had a rough day yesterday is all. Don't you all ever get down in the dumps?" He looked up to each of them.
Their demeanor melted to one of shame. Bunnymund looked to North, who hid his face. Jack had never really mentioned much about his past, but they got the jest that it wasn't fun to talk about it. The winter spirit usually only showed troubled signs when obvious things about his past triggered it. Jamie, knowing as much-or little rather- of Jack's past as the other two did, joined them in their slight embarrassment.
Bunnymund was first to speak."We're sorry, Buckaroo. We just wanted to let ya know that we're here for ya."
"Yeah, vwe're sorry if vwe threw de salts in vwounds," North softly grumbled.
Jamie didn't say anything. He simply looked away, biting his lip.
Jack blinked slowly. That went easier than he thought it would be. He chocked it up to them probably getting tired of chasing him in circles. "Oh. Well.. Okay. You guys are fine, I swear."
Jamie sharply turned his head to the side. Jack knew he was biting back saying something. "Jamie..?"
He watched his friend's jaw muscles twitch as he slowly looked at him. The instant Jamie saw his eyes, the child snapped. He ran to him and grabbed his torso, burying his face in Jack's chest. Jack was stunned from the sudden affection, but overcame it and wrapped his gangly arms around the younger teen. In many ways, Jamie was still the little 10 year old that jumped on the bed with robots and missing teeth. Granted, they both still jumped on the bed, but only after drinking tons of energy drinks. Gently sitting him up, he held him at arm's length, hand on his shoulder. "Listen..You're like a brother to me. You know that I would kill myself before I would let anything hurt you, right?"
Jamie wrinkled his nose as he sniffed. "Yeah.."
"And you know that I trust you, like any good friend does. And because I know you trust me, I don't want to break that trust either.. Right?"
He sighed. "Right."
"Right. Good... So Jamie, like I said before. We all have things that we just don't share with everyone-"
"But I'm not just 'everyone', Jack."
"I know." Jack faltered a bit, his heart beginning to throb again at Jamie's forlorn expression. "I know.. You're still my little guardian, right?" A halfhearted smile rose to his lips.
Jamie couldn't help but smile himself. "Yeah.. Since day one." He scratched his neck. "I've never stopped being that."
His words hit Jack like a brick wall. He took a firm grip on the reins of his emotions and yanked back, with all his strength. His eyes lowered.
"So, what am I supposed to do now, Jack? If you won't let us help you, then what are we supposed to do?"
Jack looked up to the Guardians at present, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. They sat in their own seats watching, ready to be there for anything that was needed. It occurred to Jack that they were giving up precious amounts of time at this moment to sit with him. "Just..." He paused to chose his words carefully. "Just be there. If I need anything, I'll know where to go to." He offered them a weak smile.
Letting his words soak in, they breathed a sigh. The tension in the room lightened as Jamie and Bunnymund stood up.
"Well... I should be getting back," Jamie said reluctantly.
North stood, giving the kid a pat on the back. "You're vwelcome anytime!"
"Jack?"
Jack stood from his seat, ready for anything that Jamie wanted him to do. He was met again with a hug. "Sorry for fighting the whole visit."
Jack shrugged, ruffling the brown hair. "Aw heck, it wasn't the whole time. Remember the eggs and the water fight?"
Finally, a bright smile grew on Jamie's face. "And I'll never forget it!"
"I know what you're thinking, but don't worry. I'll be around again soon. I promise." Jack smiled, winking.
"Good," Jamie confirmed, taking his place by Bunnymund. "School is gonna start up soon again, and we will need some snow days to top off the spring semester."
Jack bowed. "At your service, Sir."
Jamie laughed and saluted him. Bunnymund gave them a nod and tapped the ground. "See ya around, Frost. North."
Jack slowly waved as the ground opened up to a hole, Bunnymund and Jamie slipping down it from sight. The hole closed up and they were officially gone. Huffing what sounded almost like a moan, Jack went back to the couch and fell onto it. North watched him carefully. "You comfortable, no?"
Jack gave a hum in agreement, closing his eyes for the first time in two and a half days. Normally he wasn't so tired, but the recent events had taken its toll on him. He could feel North's eyes on him as the burly man started towards the next room.
"If you need anything, please, let elves know. They get you anything."
Jack hummed again, his mind slipping off into unconsciousness.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*G*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The voices wound their way into his conscious, stirring his mind awake despite his attempts to block it out. Dang yetis. Couldn't they see he was lying there asleep? Grabbing a pillow from the foot of the couch, he slammed it on his head, grumbling. Being awake made the familiar weight of guilt flood his mind. He just wanted to sleep. To rest and... Not think of... Anything... Just to sleep...
Was that a girl's voice?
Jack shot up, blinking the sleep from out of his eyes. He strained his hearing to listen to who was talking. They were by the front door he could tell, the voices floating from that direction into the room. He heard footsteps as they came closer.
"Yes, is very good you come here!" he heard North booming.
"Well, I wasn't quite sure though. But having run into Bunnymund, he told me you were the one to go to."
Jack allowed his muscles to relax as he lay his head back down on the couch pillow. It was probably just Tooth. Taking the other pillow and covering his ear again, he twisted onto his stomach into a more comfortable position.
"Oh yes, I've always believed in Jack Frost since I was little."
He shot up again at the sound of his name. Blinking, he immediately saw the source of the voice. North had led a girl into the room. A young woman kind of girl..
Her blonde hair flowed down her back. Auburn highlights streaked from the top of her head and descended, eventually disappearing. Her skin was as pale as Jack's, but her face held an eminent beauty. He felt his eyes began to travel her body, but then caught himself. The girl didn't seem to notice. She covered her hand up and giggled, making a confused smile pick up a corner of Jack's mouth.
But North's amused expression caught the corner of his eye, and he noticed that the girl was laughing at something. Looking up as far as his eyes could, he noticed a few strands of the longer parts of his hair sticking straight out. His smile was lost as he realized how messy his hair must be. He brought a hand up and gave an annoyed grumble, pressing it down as hard as he could over and over. But each time he felt his hair bounce back to the same position. Huffing, he rolled his eyes and planted his face back into his pillow.
"He's been sleeping since dis smorning," he heard North whisper very loudly. Oh nice, North. Give her the impression that he was a bum.
"I envy him. I could do a little sleeping too myself about now." Her voice was soft and calming. Jack quietly sighed from within his pillow.
"Vwell, my dear, we must make accommodations. PHIL!" Jack winced at North's sudden yell. "Get DOWN here! Meanwhile, why don't you go sit here by the fire, hm?"
The Russian lead her into the room. Jack could no longer hide from her since she sat on North's chair, directly across from him. He figured that having his face smashed in the pillow was probably rude and sat up. North took the blanket that hung from the back of the chair and whipped it out, guiding it down to rest on the girl. Burying her face under the blanket, he heard her exhale loudly a couple of times in an attempt to get warmth under the blanket faster.
"Vwould you like cookie? We have mountains of them!" North offered her.
"That's sounds lovely. If I could get that with a glass of milk?"
"Anything! I'll be back!" North stomped by Jack, winking at him. Jack stared after the man, mouth slightly ajar. When he was gone, he turned awkwardly to the girl.
Closing his mouth, he swallowed. He had never seen her before, not as a human or as a legend. His mind went through the spirits list, going through the names one by one, none of them matching her face. He cleared his throat when he caught himself staring again.
"So. Hi... I'm Jack Frost."
She smiled, "I know! I've believed in you since I was eleven."
"Eleven?" Jack repeated. Wow, late bloomer. "Why eleven?"
"Some kids at school kept saying things about you. Everyone suddenly started talking about there really being a Jack Frost who brought the snow and created the snow days. It made sense once I thought about it."
"Huh!" Jack sat up further, criss crossed. "That's cool."
She shrugged, tucking some hair behind her ear. Gosh, her skin was pale. "So, what's your name?"
She blinked slowly. "Venia."
"Venia,"Jack repeated, then chuckled. "Interesting."
"Yeah... I didn't exactly pick it."
He cocked his head to the side curiously. "The Man in the moon?"
He watched a few strands of her hair fold over on itself as she nodded. "Yup."
Jack played with his hands, trying to think of something else to say. He didn't want to overstep something personal, and neither did his curiosity want to leave him without knowing about her. Jack looked up to see her taking in the room, her eyes wide. It reminded him of the first time he came to North's place. He could not stop gawking at the magic of everything. Venia appeared equally excited, her lips parted in awe, making soft gasps when she beheld something new.
She looked so beautiful... Reminding him of the frozen beauty that died by his hands. But that frozen flower was tanned with raven black hair and piercing green eyes..
A flashback of those eyes staring at his emotionlessly as they closed grabbed his sudden change to a better mood and threw it to the ground, beating it to shreds. The throbbing return to his heart, and he suddenly felt very tired again. Turning away from the woman, he began to lay back down on the couch, turning with his face inward.
"You okay, Jack?" He heard her voice ask.
His heart froze. She barely knew him, why should she care? "Yeah."
"Okay.. Sweet dreams."
Closing his eyes and welcoming the dark oblivion, he inhaled deeply. "Sweet dreams, Venia."
*~*~*~*~*~*G*~*~*~*~*~*
Hee hee... And the tale continues...
And btw, North's accent is rediculous to write. Haha! If you have problems with it, let me know and I'll change something.
Don't hesitate to review! I love any of you who take the time to. :)