Last part of the Sophie arc.
Sophie hated whoever came up with the idea of mathematics. Or rather, she hated whoever decided it should be thought to children. She did not care if adults wanted to do maths. She was an open-minded person. She accepted that some people had truly strange tastes. But they should not force them on poor, helpless children. That was just mean.
She let her head fall against her textbook, trying to force the fractions directly into her brain that way. All she got for her troubles was a headache. Groaning, she raised her head and wistfully looked out the window, wishing she could be out there having a snowball fight with her friends instead of cooped up in here. But she would need snow for that and she was still waiting for it. Today was the last day of fall and there was still no snow.
Or at least there hadn't been, last time she looked out the window. But that had changed, now. She sat straighter, her eyes widening as big white puffs of snow fell outside. She shot to her feet, ran to the window and threw it open. She extended a hand, letting it fall on her fingers. She knew that snow. It was Jack's snow.
She bolted out of the room and down the stair, slipping in her haste and tumbling down the last few steps. She barely slowed down, getting back to her feet before even registering the pain where she would no doubt have bruises soon. She only stopped long enough to shove her feet in her shoes, not bothering to tie the laces. She was out of the front door in minutes, shouting something about snow to her puzzled mother.
She did end up having to stop and tie her shoes after tripping for the third time. She decided she would get there faster if she spent less time lying on the sidewalk. Just as she jumped back to her feet to sprint to the lake, she ran straight into someone's chest. A hand grabbed her arm to keep her from falling again.
"Ow! Sophie, where are you going so fast?"
"Jaime! I, er, it's snowing!"
She did not expect him to really understand what she meant and he was obviously a little baffled. But Jamie hadn't forgotten everything having to do with Jack Frost. He had only forgotten that the Guardian himself was real. He still remember how he used to get so excited at the first snow. His expression soon change to a soft smile.
"That's right. The first snow came pretty late this year, didn't it? But that doesn't answer my question."
"I'm going to the lake. To see if it's frozen."
"You want me to come with you?"
Jamie's question surprised her. She stared at him for a long moment, thinking hard. She realized that the best chance she possibly had of getting her brother to start believing again was to get him to Jack and get the Guardian to do something magical and extraordinary. But would Jack cooperate? Likely not. He had wanted this to happen. And she told Bunny she would let him forget.
"I can check it alone. But you'll come to skate with me later, right?"
"Of course. Just be careful. The ice isn't going to just freeze this quick."
Sophie disagreed, but she nodded to him anyway. She gave Jamie a brief hug and started running again. She heard her brother shout at her to slow down before she hurt herself. She ignored him. She had a winter spirit to find.
Her last sprint to the lake didn't take long. She managed not to fall or bump into anyone else. But the closer she got, the more she feared that she wouldn't actually find Jack there. Maybe he wouldn't want to see her. Maybe he was hiding somewhere. Maybe he already left. She hoped Bunny at least would be there. He could tell her if he had seen the Guardian. Hopefully, he wouldn't let him leave without saying "hi" to her. She slowed down when the small lake came in sight, hesitant to see whether or not the Guardian of Fun was there.
The lake was frozen. She saw the afternoon light reflect upon it's surface. There was no one in sight, but Bunny had settle among the trees to paint. If Jack was here, that would most likely be where. She hesitantly went around the frozen water, peering trough the branches at the spot where she had previously spoken with the Easter Bunny. She did see him there. And Jack as well, to her relief.
Despite her urge to run up to the Guardian and hug him, she hesitated again when she saw the two of them sitting on the frozen lake shore. Jack had his face buried into Bunny's fur and the other Guardian was rubbing his back to comfort him. She was obviously intruding on a private moment. The sensible thing to do would be to walk away and come back later. But would Jack still be there? Or would he leave? She was afraid that this may be her only chance to speak to him. Her decision was taken for her as they both raised their head and turned to face her. She stood there like someone who had just been caught spying.
"Oh, er, hi! Sorry to bother you. I'll go now."
"Wait, Sophie," Jack said softly. "You're not bothering anyone."
"R-really?"
"Well you sure ain't bothering me," Bunny answered. She smiled a little at that. Jack stood and walked up to her, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Sorry if this hasn't been easy for you, Soph."
The last thing she wanted was for him to apologize to her. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. When he startled, she held him tighter. Tears stung her eyes as she looked up at him.
"I'm still here for you, you know?" she said. He stared at her a long moment before giving her a hesitant smile.
"I know."
The ending was refusing to cooperate with me. But that's it for this arc! Unless I decide to write more when I come back in May. We'll see.
I almost didn't finish writing this because I got ridiculously distracted by playing Candy Crush.
