A/N: Blehh, had a hard time coming up with a title for this one...might change it later. Anyway, enjoy, and as usual constructive feedback is always appreciated! :)

Nightmares of Past I

"Wow, can you believe it's still snowing?"

Jamie lifted his head from his textbook and turned to look out his window. Chocolate brown eyes widened in surprise as he spotted a certain winter spirit looking quite comfortable on his tree branch. As if sensing the attention, Jack turned to meet his gaze, grinning widely as he waved hello.

Jamie rolled his eyes but waved back, making sure his friends didn't see. He'd told Jack about his late night study group every Wednesday, but it seemed the pale haired Guardian had forgotten. Now he had to figure out a not so obvious way to get his friends out of his room...

As he waited for a reasonable time to bring the study session to an end, the brunette's mind wandered back to his friend's innocent observation, which made him wonder something else.

Why was Jack still in Boston?

Normally it wouldn't have bothered him if it weren't for the fact that he knew Jack wasn't tending to other parts of the world as was his duty. Sam, who still had family in Chile, had mentioned it was still almost as warm as summer there. When he'd asked Jack about it, the Guardian had been surprisingly evasive, and had quickly (and quite obviously) changed the topic. Jamie hadn't given it much thought at the time.

But then he started noticing things...small oddities every time Jack came to visit. Like the way he'd occasionally stare off into space, eyes unfocused as if he were lost in his thoughts. Or the fact that he'd been visiting almost every day now, which was definitely a record. But what unsettled him most was the way Jack seemed to linger when it was time for him to leave - not because he wanted to stay longer and spend more time with him as Jamie would have liked, but almost as if he was afraid to leave.

It was as if Jack continued to visit him - shirking his winter duties in the process - in order to keep his mind off of something else. In fact, the Guardian had started acting strangely ever since that one conversation they'd had about Jack's sister so he suspected it had something to do with her. What frustrated Jamie was that the winter spirit acted as if nothing was going on, acting completely oblivious whenever Jamie tried to ask what was wrong.

Well, tonight would be different. Seeing that his friends had finished the current chapter, Jamie quickly took the chance to give a huge yawn. "Wow guys, it's getting pretty late...want to call it a night?"

Thankfully, it actually was late enough that everyone readily agreed. Jamie resisted the urge to fidget as his friends slowly took their time packing their things, lingering about to chat. By the time they'd finally filed out of his room, the brunette was so wired from his impatience that he nearly ran to his window.

"Hey Jack...were you waiting long? I told you I had a study group Wednesday nights, remember?"

"Oh right, I forgot - sorry about that." The winter spirit grinned as he jumped into the room, clearly not very sorry at all. He tossed aside his staff and immediately jumped into Jamie's bed, snuggling into the blankets.

Jamie smiled at the adorable sight - for some reason, Jack had taken quite a liking to his bed. He wondered why, considering it was a standard dorm mattress, and thus not exactly the most comfortable in the world. Well, he certainly didn't mind - it was a little warm today, and a winter spirit rolling about in his sheets would chill them quite nicely.

Remembering his plan, the brunette adopted a look of determination as he crawled onto his bed as well. Before Jack had the chance to sit up again, Jamie quickly positioned himself directly above the other teen, hands on either side of Jack's head. "Jack. Tell me what's wrong." He said firmly.

Blue eyes widened in surprise before narrowing again as Jack chuckled. "What are you talking about? Nothing's wrong."

"Yes, there is. Stop pretending, do you really think I can't tell? Something has been on your mind, and I know it's bothering you somehow."

Jack laughed again, moving to rise and gently push the brunette out of the way. But Jamie refused to allow the issue to be pushed aside again, and he quickly grabbed two cold wrists and held them down against the mattress.

"Jamie, what are you doing-"

Jack cut himself off, holding his breath as the brunette slowly leaned in until their lips were mere centimeters from each other. Just when he thought the suspense would kill him, Jamie whispered, "I'm not letting you up until you tell me." Jamie grinned as he moved his face away, a mischievous look on his face.

Feeling cheated somehow, Jack rolled his eyes. "Funny, aren't you. But if I recall right, you've never won against me in a wrestling match. Sooo you should probably let go."

"That's because you just make yourself too cold to touch, not because you're stronger than me. And this time, I'm ready for it."

"Uh huh, okay sure. Really Jamie, let go." Jack insisted, beginning to squirm. True to his word, the blankets underneath his captive wrists began to show signs of frost and the winter spirit grinned in triumph, expecting Jamie to release him.

To his surprise, those warm hands only tightened, even as a flicker of pain flashed across Jamie's face. Jack immediately stopped smiling and returned the temperature to normal. "Stupid! What are you doing, do you want to get frostbite?!" He shouted. By now, he started to struggle in earnest, though it did nothing against the strong hands holding him down. "Dammit Jamie, let go!"

Jamie quickly obeyed, startled by the shout. He sat back, surprised and hurt, as the Guardian quickly leapt up, grabbed his staff, and zipped out the window without so much as a proper goodbye.

It was only few minutes after Jack had left that Jamie realized something. The Guardian was no stronger nor weaker than himself when it came to raw, physical strength. So why had it been so easy to hold him down?