Crimsonwings92: Oh dear me! Thank you all for being oh so very patient. I know it's been forever, two weeks give or take, but I was in College Finals Hell Week: studying, writing essays, taking quizzes, finishing projects, reading numerous books, meeting with study groups, the whole shebang. Fun, huh? Anyway, major thanks to my reviewers for the third chapter: xxxFrostLoverxxx, Durimu for the constructive review that she left me, that was super nice of her to do, one of the Guests, secret lovers, and Bandia! You guys are awesome and this story is going to continue because of you and all of you that are following it or favoriting it! So here you go, an extra-long chapter, chapter 4. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Rise of the Guardians is not mine.

A Frosty Season

Chapter 4: It Took A Week

Friday afternoon, just before 3 o'clock; the clouds in the sky blocked out the sun and brought with them the cold breeze to make you shiver. It hadn't snowed for a couple of days, but the snow that had already been there in Traverse City hadn't melted either, leaving everything coated in a thin blanket of white and cold. Trees had lost their leaves and the barren branches remained perches for birds going through the last preparations for the long winter ahead while also providing a breathtaking scenery of a winter fantasy world available to all those that could appreciate it. Maya was not one of those people at the moment for she was cuddled up inside her grandmother's house with her back to the scenery and her eyes focused on her computer screen.

"So come on, what you think? Yes? No? Do I need more gel?"

"I think you look ridiculous."

"Well who asked you?! Don't know a good hairstyle when you see one!"

"Why the hell is your Jersey accent thicker?"

"My cousin came out from Jersey to spend Christmas with me and the fam."

"Should've known it was Vinny."

"Yeah, my cuz is a cool cat! You know he's real gorilla now."

"…What?"

Maya was alone in the warm abode, her mother and grandmother having taken Malcolm for the day for a play date with someone's kid in order to give her some peace and quiet so she could catch up with her homework from her school in California; her teacher's had been nice enough, before she left for Michigan so early before the holidays actually started, to give her all her assignments that would be due prior to Christmas vacation so she could get it done and send it to them through email. It honestly didn't take her that long to get most of it done and she soon found herself with some free time which then led her to video-chatting with her best friend, Anthony who, apparently, had decided to stay home from school that day.

"A gorilla. You know what a Jersey gorilla is, Maya!"

"I don't know Jersey lingo, Tony!"

"A gorilla is a big-muscled man."

"Vinny is a big-muscled man? I don't believe you."

"Hey, hey, hey, how you doin' there Maya?"

"…Oh my god, Vinny."

The ebony female's eyes narrowed humorlessly when a second person joined their webcam conversation, a very tanned teenage boy with abnormally large muscles for his thin frame entering the room and practically putting his face right in the camera. Both cousins were rocking the Blowout, their sideburns shaved off and their hair blow-dried up in a spikey do with loads and loads of hair gel to keep the locks in place. They were also wearing identical, gray wife beaters and basketball shorts. Maya couldn't believe what she was seeing, but decided to ignore it for the sake of her sanity. Vinny's face almost filled up her computer screen as he looked, or tried to look, at her with a sexy, sultry gaze and pouty lips.

"So, uh, Maya…when you gonna stop playin' hard to get and be my little Guidette, huh?" he asked her, puckering his lips as if trying to entice her with a kiss.

"Let me think about that. Hmm-never," she answered sarcastically; she had never really liked Vinny for the sole reason that he was a player, a womanizer, and so very full of himself.

"Ah, Maya. Baby girl, love button, sweetie pie, you wound me," the born and bred Jersey boy rattled as he held a hand over his heart.

"Damn. I was going more for murder."

"Hey cousin, you and I will hit the gym later, alright? Me and Maya havin' a conversation over here," Anthony cut in before Vinny could say anything else that would just add to his best friend's irritation.

"Yo, sure thing, Tony! No problem! Then maybe we'll hit the club or something and fist pump like champs. Jer-sey! Jer-sey! Jer-sey!" the taller cousin chanted as he and Anthony fist pumped together, both males laughing and fooling around for a second longer, while Maya watched with narrowed eyes, before Vinny left the bedroom.

"What has he done to you?" she asked once they were alone, shaking her head with her chin planted in the palm of her hand.

"It's all good, besty. He's just helping to bring out my inner Guido that I left in Jersey all those years ago. Gonna help me score some chicks," Anthony replied with a confident smile.

"There ain't a single girl in California that's going to want you looking like that," Maya pointed out.

Anthony just waved it off, "So, uh, tell me more about this Jack character that's got yo' panties all wet."

THUD!

There was a resounding noise that echoed through the room and straight through the microphone on her laptop after Maya dropped her head onto the surface of the table; "I can't believe you just said that to me," she mumbled, feeling like her energy was slowly leaving her.

"Come on, come on!" Anthony pressed, ignoring her complaint, "What is it with this Jack Frost cat? Is he cool? Is he suave? Is he slick? Is he built? What's his deal?"

"Should I even continue this conversation with you? Because I feel like you're not going to take it seriously at all and make fun of me," Maya shot at him, lifting her head again to cast him a withering glare, "You always get like this whenever Vinny visits you."

In that second, something seemed to flash in Anthony's eyes and that over-confident smirk he had been working up until then just vanished from his face and a look of remorse replaced it. He cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter before he spoke again, his accent not as thick as it was just a moment ago.

"I'm sorry, Maya," he said to her, making her blink and then smile warmly, "You're right, I do get pretty weird whenever Vinny comes over and the last person I should be getting weird with is you, being my best friend and all. Forgive me?"

"You know I always do," she answered him, happy to get her companion back even if it was only for the moment until Vinny made a reappearance.

"So, this Jack guy," Anthony started again, calmer than before, "What's been going on with him? Last time you told me anything about him was on Sunday. Something about him showing you how fun winter can be or something like that?"

"Yeah, he swears all up and down the street that the snowy season is the best season of the year," Maya recounted, twisting her hair in her fist and then lifting the curls above her head before letting go to let them fall over her shoulders again.

"Black people and the cold just don't mix," the boy joked, pulling a giggle from his best friend.

"Right? That's what I've been trying to tell people!"

"What's he done so far to prove his point?"

"He's spent the whole week trying to convince me, that's what he's done so far. Like Monday for instance…"

The park was lively as always that Monday afternoon and children, ranging from toddler years to teen years, were scattered about and enjoying a little leisure time before the older kids had to go home to complete their school assignments. Maya was among the older kids that had gathered out in the middle of the small field that separated the playground from the slope down to the lake; she was bundled up warmly, but loosely in preparation for the activity she was going to be engaged in. Good idea, too, for she was now practically running for her life in the midst of a snowball war. She dodged the clumped substance left and right as teenagers that she didn't even know targeted her and took aim. Pretending that it was a dodge ball game, she ducked and swerved to avoid being hit before scooping up her own clump and flinging it in some random direction in order to feel like she was at least defending herself from the attack. She took a few seconds to revel in the success of hitting someone, a cry of surprise rising up from the gathering of young bodies, before she took off again when about five of the strangers turned to her with ammo at the ready.

Just as she turned, someone flew past her in the opposite direction with his arm raised above his head. Jack threw snowballs at the teenagers, his friends from his school, one after another to confuse them. When they were distracted by the slush to the face and turning on each other while laughing, the white-haired male grabbed hold of Maya's hand and ran for a snow dune that was built prior to the snowball fight. Laughing, he dove behind it for protection and pulled her along beside him; his laughter, so boisterous and full of glee, was almost contagious and Maya let slip a small chuckle that caught his attention. He turned to her fully, eyes bright with excitement and face practically splitting in two from the smile stretching across it.

"See? Isn't this fun?!" he asked her.

She looked at him for a moment, almost stunned while her eyes shifted back and forth, before she shrugged, "Um…sure. We can say that."

She looked over the top of the dune to make sure that no one was sneaking up on them, sighing silently in relief when the rest of the teens appeared to be distracted by each other. Jack, catching on to the unenthusiastic tone, frowned slightly as he put his hand on her arm.

"We could…wait, you aren't having fun?" he inquired worriedly.

Maya sighed to herself and looked at him apologetically, "Honestly, not really." Jack blinked and felt his heart sink a little bit at her words as she continued, "I appreciate you trying to think of something enjoyable to involve me in, but I don't even enjoy being out in the snow for too long let alone be pegged by the stuff by some stranger I met all of twenty minutes ago."

"Well…yeah, I guess that's true," he mumbled while rubbing the back of his neck meekly, "But I just wanted to show you how fun it is to do something like this with your friends."

"These people aren't my friends, Jack. I don't have any friends out here," the girl stated, the discouraged look on his face making her regret saying anything, "I just went along with it because you looked like you were having a lot of fun…and I didn't want to hinder that."

Ice blue locked with hazel green and the two teens stared at each other for a second before Maya smiled passively and stood up from their hiding position. She walked around the dune and made to get back into the fight, despite how much she dreaded being hit by the snow, when Jack's voice stopped her again.

"Maya, hang on!" He followed after and stood in front of her, his cheeks seeming to become redder from embarrassment, "Uh, I guess I didn't think this one all the way through…I'm sorry. This…was a failure, wasn't it?"

The girl looked at him, but before she could answer, as snowball came flying their way and hit Jack square in his face. Maya practically fell to the ground laughing as her companion stood there with his eyes screwed shut while the cold substance turned to slush on his skin.

"No, not a complete failure! Hahahahaha!" she doubled over, holding her stomach.

"…Really? A snowball fight?" Maya just shrugged her shoulders, not having any words to give him while Anthony just sighed and scratched the back of his neck, "Well…no one said a guy's first plan was the best plan."

"Oh trust me, it gets better."

"Is that sarcasm I detect?"

"Well, on Tuesday…"

Since the snowball fight was a bust, Jack had devised another plan to fully convert Maya into loving winter. Tuesday afternoon, the same time as the day before, the girl found herself four blocks down from where she lived at a different park per request from Jack. This park, though with a smaller playground, had a larger field and a rather steep hill that flattened at the bottom before leading right into the street. There weren't that many cars that passed by the hill, but the ones that did all seemed to like speeding in that residential area and that alone made the girl nervous.

Reason why? Because today, Jack decided that they were going to go sledding with the same kids from his school that had participated in the snowball fight on Monday. Maya had actually been sledding before, but that was when she was younger and her father had gone with her down a much smaller hill at her uncle's house in Maine. She hadn't engaged in that activity since then, going on ten years now, but here she was about to be thrown into it.

"Hey, Maya! You ready?" Jack questioned as he popped up next to her with a sled big enough for two under his arm.

"I…I don't know," she replied slowly, eyeing the hill warily as well as the traffic down below.

Jack smirked as he got closer to her and playfully asked, "What, are you scared?"

"What if I am?"

The question was so sudden and so honest that it threw the boy off momentarily, Maya's big hazel eyes staring him down and waiting for his reply. Recovering from the shock, he smiled gently at her and took her smaller hand in his as he set the sled down at the edge of the hill.

"You'll be okay, I promise. I'll be with you and I won't let anything happen to you," he assured her, lowering himself down so he was straddling the sled and guiding her to sit behind him.

Maya had enough modesty to blush at the sight of his broad back in front of her and felt her cheeks heat up even more when she wrapped her arms around his waist and felt the prominent muscles on his abdomen. She leaned closer, her front pressed against his back with her face almost buried in his silky white hair, and nearly jumped when Jack hooked his arms underneath her legs and pulled them firmly against his sides so she was almost straddling him. She was then so very aware of the fact that she was clutching on to an extremely attractive boy who smelled crisp and fresh…like the first snowfall.

"Hold on tight," Jack muttered for only her to hear, cutting into her thoughts before he grabbed the rope and pushed off down the hill.

Maya's voice caught in the back of her throat and she gripped him tighter while he yelled in joy as they rushed down the hill towards the bottom. The frigid wind whipped at her cheeks and made her eyes water as her stomach churned the faster they went; it was like a cold and icy roller coaster ride. She felt like they were picking up speed the closer they got to the bottom and her fear spiked when they approached the street going much too fast for her liking.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" she yelled, her cries causing Jack to promptly stick his foot out to skid to a stop, the two teens halting right at the edge of the sidewalk.

The girl rolled off the back of the sled and tried to get to her feet before she stumbled from her weak knees and fell. Jack was next to her in an instant, calming her nerves that were obviously rattled.

"Hey, hey, take it easy, Maya. It's okay; relax a little bit," he told her, keeping a firm hand on her shoulder since she kept trying to get up on her wobbly legs.

"Sorry…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell," she apologized quickly, feeling foolish for losing her cool, "I-It just felt like it was going way too fast and I panicked!"

"Woah there, Maya, it's okay. Take your time." His deep voice was soothing and his smile was so warm and understanding, "I told you I wasn't going to let anything happen to you. You're okay."

The girl felt the anxiety that had built up just melt away from her as she finally settled down and took a deep breath to calm herself. His gaze never left her face and his hand on her shoulder was hot yet comforting. They stared at each other for quite a while, as if lost in their own world, when Maya heard two things happening at once: another teen was coming down the hill at a fast speed on a sled and a car was zooming around the corner. Looking up towards the street, she realized with fear evident in her eyes that if neither the teen nor the driver slowed down, there was going to be an accident.

"HEY! Hey, stop!" she screamed as she jumped up and ran onto the sidewalk towards the car, waving her arms to warn the driver of the kid coming down the hill, Jack and all the other youth joining her to prevent the accident.

The kid wasn't paying attention to the obvious danger he was about to find himself in and it looked as if the driver wasn't going to be able to stop in time. Maya shrieked and turned into Jack's chest with her hands over her eyes just as the kid's sled bolted out into the street, just inches in front of the car; the driver slammed on the breaks and narrowly missed hitting the teenager who then proceeded, in his own stunned state, to hit the parked car on the other side of the street. That boy's body made impact with the vehicle, hitting it so hard that not only did he jerk up and almost go flying over the top of the car, but he left a massive dent in the back door on the driver's side. Hearing all of these sounds, Maya looked reluctantly to see what damage had been done before sprinting over to the boy who now lay unconscious on the side of the street with his sled cast haphazardly to the side.

"He's knocked out and there's a bump forming on the side of his head!" Maya called to the others.

"Someone call an ambulance! Quickly!" Jack ordered before he ran across the street to the girl and the unconscious boy.

He slid in next to her and stared at his friend who's head was supported in Maya's lap; "He might have a concussion, but he should be fine as long as he gets help as soon as possible," she commented, keeping the kid's head as still as possible, "…so much for sledding."

Jack looked up at her guiltily just as she lifted her head to regard him. He braced himself, as if she were about to hit him, and asked, "Failure?"

Maya gave him a half-smile and shook her head, "It was a nice thought."

"So some tool nearly died? Yeah, nothing says snow is fun like a cracked skull on the asphalt of the street," Anthony stated sarcastically, using his own webcam to look at his hair and pat at the spikes.

She giggled into her hand and shook her head at the memories, "That wasn't his fault, but I don't think I'll be doing any sledding in the future because of what happened."

"Please tell me it actually does get better at some point," he practically pleaded with her, dragging his hand down his face in dread at what else she was about to tell him.

"Um…all I can say is that it doesn't get worse," she replied with a shrug as she began to relay to him the events of Wednesday.

By this time, Maya was actually looking forward to doing something that afternoon, right after 3 o'clock, and was not disappointed when she got a call from the ever handsome and charming Jack Frost who asked her to meet him, once again, at the park. Honestly, she might as well build a house over there since she seemed to be spending more of her time there then she did at her grandmother's house at that point. Jack had promised her that there would be no fights and no sledding accidents this time around since what he had planned would leave no possible room for that to even occur. What Maya picked up on, though, was his failure to mention that there would be no more SNOW this time around, but she came this far so she might as well see what he had put together.

When she arrived at the park, she saw the boy that had made himself rather comfortable in her life…and he was the only one she saw. It was just him this time; no strangers that she called his friends were anywhere near them. It was just her and Jack this time…now her curiosity was piqued.

"Um…" she mumbled, looking sideways at his beaming face, "So…"

"We're going to build a snow fort!" he exclaimed, answering her unasked question.

She looked at him and took a deep breath, "Okay…why?"

"Because you can let your imagination run wild! Think about it; you can make it as big as you want, as wide as you want, put as many rooms in it as you want…the possibilities are endless!" he raved enthusiastically, already starting to gather piles of snow together.

Slowly, because it was taking a while for Maya to wrap her head around the concept, her hazel green eyes rolled up towards the sky and locked on to it as if to say 'why me?' However, Jack seemed very excited by the idea of building a snow fort, the child in him coming out with a vengeance, and the girl was finding out very quickly that when he got like that, she just couldn't say no. So, with a deep yet quiet sigh, she braced herself and jumped right into the project. In a way, she treated Jack's enthusiasm the same way she treated Malcolm's; humoring him in order to keep him happy. The two teens moved and shoveled and pushed and piled pound after pound of snow into one area before they began actually forming it into some semblance of a fort. They were working for close to three hours on the project, getting about half of it done when, yet again, something completely unexpected ruined the fun.

There was excessive barking and it had been going on for a while now, but the teens had only ignored it since it remained at a distance. However, when it began to sound like it was getting closer and closer, Maya just had to look and see what was going on. She gasped sharply, the sound catching Jack's attention as he, too, looked around the wall of the fort to see what was happening. That's when they saw a large, white and brown dog running at them with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. He was sprinting through the snow and heading straight for the fort, barking to the high heavens.

"Maya, look out!" Jack yelled as he grabbed her and pulled her out of the way and into his chest, both of them looking on in surprise as the dog jumped right at the fort and barreled through it.

The structure went tumbling down instantly, covering the canine as it rolled around in the white substance happily, and barking in joy before popping up out of the pile and looking at the adolescents standing off to the side. Jack groaned in agitation and threw one hand in the air while the other kept a hold around Maya's shoulder.

"Are you kidding me?! Of all the things to happen! This was literally supposed to be fool proof!" he cried, looking down with a furrowed brow when he heard an eruption of giggles.

Maya had her forehead pressed into his shoulder and her hand on his chest as she giggled humorously. She lifted her face towards his and he could see the bewilderment in her eyes, the same bewilderment that he felt in the face of yet another plan going completely wrong due to unforeseen circumstances. He couldn't believe that this happened and she couldn't either, the turn of events making for a very funny conclusion. He soon chuckled, though in defeat, and shook his head.

"Failure?"

"At least we tried," she consoled him, patting his back as the both of them turned back to the dog that had begun rolling around in the snow again.

"That thing just plowed right through the fort we spent nearly THREE HOURS making! I just couldn't believe the rotten luck Jack had," Maya giggled amidst Anthony's loud chortles as the boy couldn't contain himself in the face of such hilarity.

"I'm sorry, besty, I'm sorry! I don't want to laugh, but it serves him right!" he declared, letting off another laugh, "You don't ask a girl to let you romance her during the winter season and then turn around to say 'oh, we're going to build a fort!' That's lame!"

"He's not trying to romance me," Maya insisted with a shake of her head.

"He is too trying to romance you!"

"Not after what happened yesterday."

"Oh God, do I want to know?"

"I think you do. It's kind of funny…in an ironic sort of way."

Maya simply refused to leave her grandmother's property that Thursday afternoon and told Jack as much the day before after they returned from the park following the 'Dog in Fort' fiasco. She was tired of travelling out in the snow like she's been doing, especially since she never liked to do it in the first place, and told him that if he had another plan up his sleeve then he better do some revising to it to keep it close to home, which, much to her amazement, was exactly what he did.

"Okay, this time, there is absolutely nothing that can ruin this! No fights, no cars, and no dogs! Today, Maya, you are going to realize the joy of winter!" he declared, looking right into her eyes as he stood in the middle of her front yard with a proud look on his face and his fists on his hips.

Again, the girl couldn't help but notice how he failed to say 'no snow'. "Please don't tell me we're making another fort," she sighed while coming down the stairs of porch.

"Nope! We're making something even better." He took her hands in his and quickly pulled her out into the middle of the yard, "We're making snowmen!"

Maya stopped and stared at him, "…Did you say snowmen?"

"That I did. We're going to make as many snowmen as we can with the amount of snow that we have," he explained as he smiled warmly at her, "Have you ever made a snowman before?"

She placed her elbow in the palm of her hand to hold her arm up while planting her cheek in her other hand, taking a moment to go through her little box of memories in her head; "Mmmm…I think I might have once when I was little, but I can't remember that well," she finally answered.

Jack's eyes lit up and he jumped excitedly, "Well then, it's time to make some new memories. So let's get started!"

Again, there was that excitement that made the teen boy quite adorable yet irresistible and Maya couldn't deny him. She dove right into the project with him once more and spent the next couple of hours in the front yard rolling up several piles of snowballs into various sizes, stacking them one on top of the other to make the bodies. It was tougher than Maya remembered it to be, but she continued to try and give it her all even if she did look like a fool when she continuously failed in creating the perfect shape like Jack so effortlessly did. He noticed her struggle and went to help her, but only after taking a moment to admire the determination on her face and how adorable she looked whenever she fell or tripped or made a mistake. Pretty soon, they had three snowmen built close to one another and nothing disturbed their activities; so far so good and it was here, without realizing it, that Maya actually started to enjoy herself. It was just her and Jack out there, building these icy people and it was her that had all the attention from him. His smile was continuously warm and encouraging and his blue eyes, no matter how many times she caught him, were always staring right at her with a sweet and gentle light in them. Yeah…this was turning out to be kind of enjoyable.

Then this happened.

"Wow, we did a pretty good job," Jack praised them both once they had completed their project; both boy and girl stepping back to get a good look at the finished product.

"Yeah, I have to agree with you on that one," Maya replied with a smile as she took out her cell phone and snapped a quick picture of the snowmen, "This is definitely going in the memory file."

The boy turned to his companion, a hopeful look in his eyes as he asked, "So…did you have fun?"

She faced him, smile still in place, and opened her mouth to reply when she stopped and her face grew blank as she strained her ears to the noises around her. She heard…something; it sounded familiar and she furrowed her brow as she listened harder. Jack watched her closely, frowning a little in concern.

"Maya, is everything okay?"

"…Do you hear barking?"

They looked at each other, both listening hard and sure enough, the sound of a canine barking started to get louder and louder with each passing second. They whipped to the gate in front of the lawn and were shocked, almost horrified, to see a large white and brown dog sprinting from across the street and over to Maya's grandmother's house. The girl narrowed her eyes as she took a few steps closer towards the gate.

"Is that the same dog from yesterday?!" she gasped, letting out a shriek when the dog actually jumped over the gate and then bolted for the snowmen she and Jack had just finished putting together.

The white haired teen quickly pulled her out of the way and they both, just like the day before, stood by in a daze as they watched the pooch knock over their creation and roll around in the pile. That was…just terrible; Jack swore silently in his head that someone somewhere was out to destroy him and any chances he had with Maya. The girl in question, unable to contain herself, just doubled over and laughed at the coincidence of it all. Jack just had the worst luck; that much she learned from the past four days.

Anthony and Maya were silent, the boy looking at his best friend through the webcam with an expressionless face while he took in all that he heard. His best friend, one leg propped up on the seat of the chair she was occupying and her arm resting against her knee with her fingers to her lips just smiled humorously and giggled.

"Was it really the same dog?" Anthony asked, earning a nod from the girl.

"It was really the same dog. When I called the owner to come and get him, she said that he was known for jumping into anything that looked like a pile of snow."

"Does that include a pile of crap?"

"I didn't bother to ask. I just wanted that dog out of my life," Maya replied while breaking into a fit of giggles, "Poor Jack, he tried so hard."

"Man, like I said, I don't even feel sorry for him. All of those ideas are so childish! All I know is if there's a girl I'm interested in and I want to convince her to cuddle with me when it's snowing outside, I'm not going to throw a snowball at her," Anthony ranted, waving his hand as if dismissing all of Jack's hard work.

"Jack's not interested in me," Maya shot back at him, her expression very serious.

"Are we honestly going to have this conversation right now?"

"He's not!"

"Look, Maya, I know for a fact that you are not dumb or stupid and even though you are the biggest virgin in every aspect of the word, even you gotta see the signs. What dude that just wants to be friends with you will go so far out of his way to prove to you that winter is awesome for lovers, huh? Granted he failed at that and miserably, he still tried," the boy reiterated, sounding as wise as he always did when breaking things down for her.

Maya was silent as she thought about it, looking down and all around the room in thought. The corner of her mouth twitched up just a little, but it didn't go unnoticed by Anthony who then smiled victoriously and leaned forward.

"Come on, Maya, I see that smile you're trying to hide," he teased her, trying to coax it out of her as she fought it, "Come on, I can see it getting ready to break through. Don't try to fight it…Don't try to fight- there it is! There's that smile!"

A bashful grin bloomed over her pretty face and the dark-skinned girl covered it with her fingers as she giggled and looked down, her best friend only laughing mirthfully when he pulled the action from her. Maya shook her black curls out of her face and set her hazel green eyes on the computer screen again as she replied to him.

"I'm not assuming anything because I refuse to be embarrassed if I'm wrong," she retorted, grabbing hold of her long curls on one side of her head and then pulling it under her nose.

"I don't think you're wrong." Anthony's words caught Maya's attention as said girl released her hair and interlaced her fingers together over her propped up knee and then rested her head on them, her eyes still gazing at her best friend, "Now, I'm not there to make a full assessment of the situation, but from what I've heard so far this guy sounds like he likes you a lot and you seem to be interested in him as well. I'm not going to push anything, but I will say that I think you if let things continue to flow the way they are, then you'll have a happy ending. You deserve that much, Maya."

A pretty little smile touched her lips and her hazel green eyes, very big and doe-like, gazed at her best friend as she swayed back and forth a little bit with the movement of her leg; "Thanks, Tony. I know I could count on you to clear things up for me," she said to him with gratitude.

"…Uh, yeah, no problem. That's why I'm the best friend, remember?" he replied after a moment's delay for it was in that moment that he saw what Jack must've seen the very first time he laid his eyes on Maya: a beautiful, cute, special girl with a sweet disposition and who was definitely worth getting to know. Anthony blushed when he realized that he was looking too deeply into his best friend and shook his head clear.

"Anyway, I meant to ask you at some point, but how is Malcolm doing?" he inquired, leaning back in his computer chair and patting gently at his spikes again.

Maya's eyes seemed to have grown just a tinge darker with a mixture of sadness, frustration, and irritation, "He's okay. He's happy, you know?"

Anthony nodded, "Does he ever ask about…you know. Her?"

Maya shook her head as she chewed on her lips; "Have you guys heard anything from her lately? I mean, has she been by the house or anything to see him?" he queried.

"No, she hasn't been by the house, not to my knowledge. And we haven't heard anything from her…but we have heard about her activities from other people that are on the lookout," Maya answered, staring at a single spot on the table, but not really focusing on it, "She's pretty much just partying and doing whatever she wants…got into the habit of doing drugs, too. She just abandoned him like a pair of old shoes."

Anthony shook his head in bewilderment and sighed deeply, "Man, that's cold on so many levels. I feel bad for Malcolm."

"I do, too, but it doesn't matter 'cause with the way things are looking now, he'll probably be coming home with us. Forget how she feels about it."

They lapsed into silence as they thought about the burden little Malcolm had to suffer through, a burden that only a few select people knew about. There was a reason that Malcolm was never left alone at any given point and why someone was almost always at the house keeping an eye out for anything to be troubled by. They had to protect the boy, at least until everything got settled. About a minute into her thoughts, Maya's cell started vibrating and it startled her out of her reverie. It was a text message…from Jack. Without her even realizing it, a goofy grin spread across her face as she opened the message and began to read it; the action was not lost on Anthony who smirked slyly at her.

"Looks like someone's new boyfriend is texting her," he teased her, making kissy-faces at her.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Yet."

Maya glared weakly at her best friend before going back to the message, her smile returning again, "He's asking if I can meet him at the park again today because there was something he wanted to show me."

"Well, then, I guess you'd better get moving. Don't want to keep Mr. Sexy waiting too long," the native Jersey boy badgered his friend, earning a pointed look from her as she stood up from her seat.

"Whatever. Say hi to our friends for me, yeah? I haven't been able to really talk to anyone else but you and I don't want them thinking I'm ignoring them," she instructed, bending down to look into the camera, preparing to log out of the web chat.

The boy on the other end nodded, "Yeah, I'll do that. They keep asking about you, so they'll be happy to hear that you're at least still alive and not frozen in an ice block somewhere. You are coming back to school here, right?"

Maya shrugged, "I don't know; I hope so. Right now, everything is on the fence so I can't really say."

"Fair enough. Talk to you later, Maya. Stay beautiful."

"Always. Later, Tony. Stay…Jersey…I guess."

The boy laughed humorously at her parting words before Maya logged out and closed down her laptop. She texted Jack that she would be at the park soon and started to get ready for whatever it was he had planned. While picking her clothes out and staring at herself in the mirror, trying to decide if she should try to do something with her curly hair or just leave it as is, she wondered what it was that he wanted to show her. Then she began to wonder why he was going through all of this trouble; it couldn't have been because he wanted to prove a point. Getting someone to like winter as much as he did didn't seem like it would make top priority on Jack's list of significant things to do, especially when it's someone he's barely known for a month. Granted that she rather secretly enjoyed spending all that time with him, she just couldn't help but wonder why. Did he really like her in that sense? In the way that Anthony said? Was it possible that she was actually able to attract a sweet, handsome, decent guy?

Maya shook her head of her thoughts, feeling the tips of her ears starting to burn from her presumptions. She didn't like to assume anything when it came to romance and herself because, according to human nature, she would start acting differently based on those assumptions and if they were wrong…well, she could do without any more humiliation than was absolutely necessary in her life.

'Let's just see where today leads us, shall we, Maya girl?' she thought to herself, looking her image over in the mirror and deeming her appearance presentable enough to step out into the world.

Texting her mother to let her know that she was meeting with Jack, locking up the house, and leaving the key in a secret spot for them to find, the girl began her walk to the park with a little more pep in her step. It took her the allotted fifteen minutes to get there and when she did, she looked around at the near empty park since it was getting too cold for children to be out there without getting sick, but failed to see Jack anywhere. It was well after 3:30, so he should have gotten there before her. Just when she was beginning to think that maybe she had gone to the wrong park, she received a text message again from the boy and it told her that he was down by the lake. Hazel green eyes snapping over to the frozen body of water, her body unconsciously tensed up and her breath hitched in her throat.

What the hell was he going to do with her today?

"It's okay, Maya…it should be completely frozen by now. It's nearly zero degrees out here. There's nothing to worry about," she tried to persuade herself as she began slowly trekking through the field and down the slope to the lake.

She paused for a mere second when she found herself standing in front of the ominous looking body of water, flashes of the day she nearly drowned flitting through her mind. Before she could scare herself into retreating, though, she felt someone come up from beside her to place one hand on her waist and use the other to lightly hold her fingers. She jumped at the contact and hopped away out of reflex; once she felt she was a safe distance from the person, Maya turned around to see Jack watching her with amusement in his eyes.

"Hey, Green Eyes, did I scare you?" he asked her teasingly, chuckling a little when she narrowed her eyes at him and cocked one hip to the side while placing her hand on her waist.

"You wish, Frostbite," she shot back, "I wasn't scared…just surprised."

Another chuckle, but no more playful banter. Maya looked once more to the icy lake and involuntarily gulped as she turned to Jack; "So…what are we doing here?" she asked him quietly, fiddling with her fingernails though her arms remained at her sides.

The boy beamed a bright smile as he raised two sets of ice skates to show her, one pair visibly bigger than the other, "We're going ice skating!"

"…Say what now?"

"I don't know why I didn't think of this before." Ignoring Maya's question, Jack took her hand and lead her over to a fallen tree log where he made her sit down, "Ice skating is the best kind of fun you can have during winter! No snowballs, no forts, no dogs, no sledding out into the open street where there's a major possibility you can end up with a concussion."

"How is that kid doing by the way," the girl asked once Jack took a pause.

He smiled at her, "Better. He did have a concussion, but it wasn't as severe as we thought it was going to be. He'll be just fine."

"Oh," she nodded her head and took the ice skates that were handed to her.

She robotically put on the ice skates that ended up being a perfect fit and wondered how he knew her shoe size and when he got that information. Maya didn't have any more time to think on it when Jack grabbed her hands after she was done tying the laces securely and pulled her up from the log before leading her over to the lake. He stepped out first and did a few circles effortlessly, but she stayed on the shore, her blades embedded in the snow, and watched him warily.

"Come on, Maya!" Jack urged her, waving her onto the ice while he did a figure eight.

She didn't move and continued to stare at him, her eyes flickering down to the ice every now and then with a cautious gleam. The white haired teen stopped when he realized that she wasn't moving and faced her fully with a curious expression. He skated just a little bit closer to her, close enough to see the emotions flitting across her eyes, and saw the fear and apprehension as clear as day on her face. He suddenly remembered the day they first met and smiled gently at her before turning and skating out into the middle of the ice. He coasted over the surface, doing a couple of jumps and spins, all while Maya watched with tensed shoulders, flinching whenever his feet hit the ice with a little more force from the jumps. After testing the surface, he glided back over to her and gave her an encouraging smile that had her heart hammering in her chest.

"It's okay, Maya. The ice is safe; no thin spots, I promise," he coaxed her, holding his hands out for her to take, "I won't let anything happen to you, not again."

She stared at his hands before her eyes travelled back up to his face where they locked with his gentle gaze; "Trust me, Maya. Believe in me," he whispered the words, his smile becoming bigger when she tentatively put her hands in his and allowed him to slowly glide her out onto the surface.

The lack of stable Earth to stand on caused Maya's heart to palpitate and she clutched Jack's pale hands tightly, preventing him from even fathoming the idea of letting her go so she could skate on her own. Didn't matter much, he preferred to hold on to her like this; it gave him a reason to stay connected. The girl stumbled a little, but Jack was quick to duck and catch her before she fell, pulling her flush against him as he chuckled.

"Don't worry, Green Eyes, I got you," he whispered warmly, squeezing her hands for reassurance.

His promise covering her like a protective blanket, Maya took a deep breath and stood straight to try and get her balance underneath her; "I-I-I haven't done this in a while," she admitted, though with a hint of embarrassment as she looked away, "The last time I went ice skating was when I was ten. That was seven years ago."

"Don't worry about it," Jack told her, already moving one foot behind him and prompting May to follow, "I'm right here and I'll show you how."

The girl gasped slightly when they began moving, Jack sliding his feet back rhythmically and Maya following after him clumsily while her eyes remained glued to her feet to ensure herself that wouldn't miss a step. She was actually becoming embarrassed due to how amateur she looked compared to his graceful movements. Although he didn't say it, the teen boy found his companion quite adorable as she stumbled along to his lead. She wasn't composed like she usually was and her hazel eyes were wide and dark with anxiety as she completely put her trust in him; this gave him the perfect opportunity to play hero.

"Just keep sliding your feet, Maya…that's it. Follow my lead…don't rush it, okay? Go at your own pace and find your own rhythm. That's it, you're getting it! See? You're skating!" he instructed her, a grin spreading across his face when she finally found her footing and started gliding in time to his movements.

Jack let go of one of her hands, but kept a firm grip on the other as the two of them skated together for quite some time. The anxiety was soon replaced by wonder and happiness, Maya actually looking like she was having fun as her feet moved effortlessly over the ice. Her eyes strayed over to the boy beside her who kept a tight hold on her hand, his gaze locking with hers just seconds later and in that moment, it felt like it was only the two of them lost in that frosty, iced world covered in snow. The trees were the only witnesses to their fun and there was no other sound aside from their own laughing and breathing. It was quiet and cold…beautiful.

It was beautiful.

The girl slowed to a stop in the middle of the lake and gazed up at the world around her. She still didn't fully get it…but she was willing to admit, now, that she understood just a little bit more why Jack loved winter so much. She still didn't like the snow or the cold or the shivering that came with being hit with a snowball and feeling her clothes get wet, but being with Jack like this, here…it almost made it worth it.

There was a slight tug on her hand, "Maya?"

Bringing her gaze down to eye level, she found Jack staring at her with a mixture of curiosity and worry on his face. He tilted his head to the side a little and his brows furrowed attractively as he peered into her face.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, his face inching closer slightly.

She blinked her hazel green eyes and gave a soft giggle before she nodded her head, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just…I was just thinking…that winter is…pretty nice."

Jack's eyes became cartoonishly big and his mouth fell open a little; it was comical to look at. Maya laughed freely and shook her head as she glided around Jack playfully before stopping in front of him again.

"I'm not saying I love it. In fact, I can still do without the snow and the cold and the slush and the shivers…but, this right here…with you," she gave his hand a small squeeze and his cheeks grew red from more than the cold as she smiled at him, "this is nice. That much I have to admit."

With that, she let go of his hand and glided back towards the shore, all the while wondering if what she said and did was too much. Deciding that her feet were starting to hurt too much for her to walk back over to the log in the skates, she sat right on the edge of the lake and began untying them. They had been out there skating together longer than she thought and she wanted to call it a day. Jack followed and sat beside her quietly, taking the skates she had discarded to the side and tying the laces together to make them easier to carry. The dark-skinned girl smiled gratefully at him before her eyes strayed once again to the barren trees above them. The air was sweet and quiet, the magnificent white beauty offered to them finally stealing her breath away after trying for so many years. She leaned so far back that she ended up lying on her back while staring up at the gray sky that looked about ready to started sprinkling new snowflakes upon them. She smiled carelessly and inhaled deeply; this was all before her vision was filled with Jack's face as the boy placed his hands on either side of her head and hovered above her. Her breath was caught in her throat when she realized the position they were in and how close he was. Jack's snow white hair swayed with the gentle winter breeze, the pale skin of his cheeks and ears and nose grew pink from the cold kissing them, and his beautiful ice blue, outlined by long and curly black eyelashes, were bright. In all her life, of all the boys to approach her, Maya had never seen anyone as gorgeous as Jack and she realized that right in that moment.

Her heart nearly stopped when he leaned in closer still, his nose bumping against hers just as it's done plenty of times before. Was he actually going to kiss her this time? She didn't know if she wanted him to or not. She jolted when his lips just brushed over hers, a ghost of a touch that was in no way a kiss, before he stopped, stared into her eyes, and then pulled back reluctantly.

"So when do you deem it appropriate for a guy to steal a kiss from you?" he asked her smoothly, his deep voice like rich, melted chocolate.

Without thinking and with an added twinkle in her eye, she grinned and said, "You mean my first kiss?"

Blue eyes blinked blankly at her retort, Jack having to take a moment to think about what she just said before he gasped and sat up fully; "Your first kiss?" he repeated incredulously, watching as she sat up as well, "You haven't been kissed before?"

Maya shook her head, not looking the least bit shy or embarrassed by her admittance, "Nope."

"…I find that hard to believe."

"I haven't," she insisted.

"That just seems impossible." Jack scratched the top of his head, a brow quirked up in thought, "I mean…guys must be chasing after you all the time."

Maya shrugged, but looked away modestly at his words, "Well, I wouldn't say they were chasing me and certainly not all the time, but there have been a few that wanted to kiss me."

"And what happened?" he inquired.

"I didn't let 'em," she answered with another shrug, "I didn't want to just kiss any guy that asked me, especially since it was going to be my first kiss. A lot of my girlfriends think I need to stop being so picky and just let it happen, but I can't help it if I don't like the guy like that. It's my choice, anyway."

Her companion watched her face silently for a moment before he asked in a hesitant voice, "Would you let me kiss you?"

Maya blinked and looked away shyly this time, but she promptly answered, "If I didn't want you to…then I would have stopped you when you tried it earlier."

Jack's heart leapt inside his chest and it filled with a bursting emotion that he could hardly contain, but forced himself to lest it scare her off. Unconsciously, he reached out and took her face in his cold hands, feeling her shiver from the contact since she was already so warm, but she didn't pull back. She really would let him kiss her and he wanted to…oh, how he wanted to. He leaned in close once more, his eyes straying down to her full, pink lips. Their lips almost touched, but again, Jack stopped just before they made real contact and sighed quietly.

"I want to kiss you…I really do," he whispered, gently tracing her bottom lip with his thumb, "but it's your first kiss, so I want it to be special."

"You know, a girl doesn't like it when you tease her like this," Maya retorted in aggravation, feeling like she was being toyed with.

Jack chuckled and, instead, moved up to press a sweet kiss to her eyelid. That was enough to placate Maya's irritation for it was so gentle that she could feel the sincerity in his words and his actions. He wasn't playing with her, that much she knew for sure. The boy shot her a smile once he pulled back and gently caressed her cheeks with his thumbs before standing up and making his way to the log to get their shoes. They got their shoes on silently and Jack swung the skates over his shoulder before offering his hand to the girl he had come to secretly treasure. She got to her feet and bounced in her boots to make sure they were comfortably enough for her aching feet. Then she began walking away from the lake with Jack right beside her, her cheeks heating up again when he slipped his hand into hers and interlaced their fingers together. She wasn't sure what that meant for their relationship, since he did it quite often enough anyway, but she wasn't going to complain or make the situation awkward; besides, it felt nice to have his large hand holding her smaller one. It was warm and she felt safe like this. As they began their trek up the slope, a curved stick carelessly thrown to the side caught the girl's attention and she stopped to see what it was. With a small gasp, she reached down for it and found it to be the same staff that Jack had used to pull her from the icy lake all those weeks ago.

"Hey, look," she said as she lifted it up to show her companion, "This is that same staff you used to save me. Funny, I thought it would have broken that day from all the strain we put on it."

"Well, the wood is pretty sturdy," Jack lamented as he took the staff from her hand and tested its resistance.

He then looked at Maya with a thoughtful expression on his face before taking a few steps back from her, giving them quite a few feet of space. The girl watched with curiosity reflected on her features as Jack reached the curved end of the staff towards her and hooked it around her waist. With a firm tug, he effortlessly pulled her towards him, Maya flying forward with a sharp gasp until she landed against his hard chest. His chuckle reverberated through her body as she looked up into his smiling face, Jack peering sideways at the staff in his hand and then looking down at the girl in his arms.

"Yeah, that'll do it," he commented, only confusing her all the more, "Now I know, no matter how far away you may get from me, I'll always be able to catch you and pull you right back into my arms."

Had she heard that line from anyone else, Maya would have thought it was cheesy and would have quickly run away before the guy could utter another word. However, coming from Jack, it sounded…true. Like a premonition or a prediction of the future; the fates of their cards or something astrological like that. Deciding that now was not the right time to be thinking of how ominous his words sounded, she simply shrugged her shoulders and giggled.

"Maybe. Who knows? Only time will tell."

"Only time," Jack repeated, taking the staff that he now intended to keep in one hand and Maya's hand in the other. The duo then left behind the frozen lake, the secretive trees, and the memory of their strengthening relationship that could only get better from here.

End Chapter

Crimsonwings92: I. Loved. Adding Anthony. I have no idea where the idea came from, but all I can tell you is that I was sitting in front of the computer, wondering how to start this chapter, and then it just hit me! 'I think I'll make her best friend a guy from New Jersey!' Hahaha, I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next time, you lovely people! Ciao!

P.S. My heart goes out to the poor families and friends of the victims in the Connecticut massacre. Those kids did nothing to deserve what happened to them and the gunman has what he's got coming to him, whether in this life or the next. My prayers and condolences.