This is based on the Rise of the Guardian comic Hidden Truths and Other Stories.
Jack wasn't in a patient mood. Since coming back to Burgess in the fall after they defeated Pitch, he had gotten used to Jamie and his friend coming here at the slightest snowfall. Jamie would come running right away, with his boots unlaced and still zipping his coat. The other took longer, but they almost always came and they could have a giant snowball fight or go sledding. That felt so strange, to have people acknowledge his existence without him having to really do anything other than show up and bring snow with him. It was addictive. Even if it was just a small group of kids, they came here just to see him and no one had ever done that before. It had snowed in Burgess more often this year than any other year.
Jack waited all of five minutes before deciding to investigate what was taking Jamie so long. He knew the kid wasn't at school. Maybe he was over-doing it. Jamie would get bored of playing in the snow. It was a good thing his mother had brought him on that cruise early in the winter. It kept him from being tired of Jack before now.
He could see Jamie's boots still sitting by the door when he peered through the frosted glass, but the kid was nowhere in sight. Jack checked his bedroom's window next. He found Jamie there, sitting on his bed in his winter coat, an expression of excitement lighting his face. He was fumbling with a book in his lap, a roll of tape lying next to his foot. Curious, Jack pushed open the window and crouched on the sill.
"You know you'll freeze when you go out if you wear your coat inside, right?"
Jamie gasped when he heard Jack's voice. His head shot up, eyes wide, and he shoved the book under the covers, kicking the tape off the bed. It wasn't the most inconspicuous way to hide what he had been doing. It only succeeded in making Jack even more intrigued.
"Oh, Jack! I was about to go out. Like, right now."
"What's that book?"
"What book?"
Jamie gave the most unconvincing look of wide-eyed innocence Jack had ever witnessed. He could see him push the book deeper under the covers.
"You're an awful liar. Come on, if you don't show me, I'm going to assume it's something dirty."
Jamie's innocent look turned horrified.
"I-it's nothing like that! I'm nine!" he sputtered.
"So why won't you show me?"
"A-all right. But you have to promise me you're not going to make fun of me."
"What? But making fun is my whole reason for existing!"
"You know what I mean! I'll show it to you, but not if you're going to mock me."
Jack jumped from his spot on the windowsill to land on the bed. It didn't even dip under his weight. He knelt in front of Jamie and gave him the wide smile of an expectant child.
"All right. I won't."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Jamie fished the book back from underneath the covers. Jack moved around to sit next to him so he could see it better. He recognized the big red book.
"Oh, it's your evidence book."
Jamie gaped at him.
"You know about that?"
"Sure. You think I wasn't hanging around before you could see me? You showed it to your friend Monty, once. I was outside the window."
Jamie's eyes widened. He flipped the pages quickly to a photo of a frosted window.
"So that's where it came from. The frost just appeared there! It was you!"
"Of course it was me, who else would it be?"
Jamie averted his eyes. "I... didn't even know about you back then. I believed in everything, but I didn't even know about you."
Jack ruffled his hair. "But you know, now. And you believe. So, what else do you have in there?"
Jaime returned to the first page, where a quarter had been taped. The piece of evidence had two captions, the first one, "toot fayri", was scrawled in crayon. The other one had been added later: "Quarter from the Tooth Fairy. When: date unknown. Where: under my pillow."
"That's my first quarter from the Tooth Fairy. I never spent it, not that one. It was a proof that she was real and that was worth more than a quarter."
"So you've been looking for clues for a long time, eh?"
"I knew they were real, but no one would believe me. They all thought I was just being silly, believing in fairy tales. I wanted to prove them wrong. But I never really got anything more than hints. And fake stuff." Jamie sighed and turned the pages to a photo to what looked like squirrels tracks in the mud. "I thought those were from the Easter Bunny. But they're not. He's a lot bigger. And I don't suppose that's real yeti hair, right?"
"Looks like cat hair to me. But so what? You were looking and that more than most kids. You can't investigate something without a few false leads. And you did find us. And if you want, I'll get you some real yeti hair."
"Really?"
"Really. So, what were you so exited about earlier? Did you just find some of Santa's beard stuck in one of your Christmas gift?"
"That would be so cool!" Jamie beamed for a moment before blushing. "Uh, no. That's not what I found."
Jamie turned the pages again and showed the newest one to Jack without looking at him. The Guardian had to bite his finger to keep from laughing when he saw the blue thread taped to the page. "Thread from Jack Frost's shirt," he read aloud, "When: March 21st. Where: On the sleeve of my coat. Looks legit. You got me convinced; I must exist."
"You said you wouldn't mock me."
"I'm not mocking you. But it might not be enough to convince someone else. I'm kind of predisposed to believe I exist, you know?" Not that he had never doubted it. "But I think I got something for you."
Jack jumped down from the bed and rummaged around Jamie's desk. The kid followed him, holding his book to his chest, his eyes eager.
"Like what? I can't keep one of your snowflake in my book."
Jack found the scissors on a pile of white squares of papers. Without explanations or the slightest hesitation, he sliced through a lock of white hair and held it out to Jamie. The kid gaped at him like he was crazy.
"W-why did you do that? Now your hair looks all funny."
"Don't worry, it'll grow back before the end of the day. It always does. Must be a spirit thing."
"Really? Cool! I'll put it in the evidence book. They'll have to believe me, now!" Jamie ran to where he had kicked the tape earlier and fixed the lock of hair to a new page before grabbing a pen and scribbling frantically.
"So, if you're done gathering evidence of my existence, are you coming outside, now?"
I might post a bit more frequently for a short time, since I have a bunch of easily written short story planned. I won't start posting the next arc until it's fully outlined, so it shouldn't slow down too much, unlike the previous arc. So I might be back to regular updates, but motivation is still an issue.
I changed the cover again, because I get bored with my covers quickly.
