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Chapter 11: Blackout

Jack was casually walking around in his home, smirking to himself. His mother, noticing the smirk and the finger he held in front of his mouth signaling her to be silent, she shook her head in amusement of her son's antics before going back to what she was doing. Jack continued onwards towards his unsuspecting target on the couch. His target? None other than his beloved little sister, who was currently lost in her favorite cartoon.

He silently inched closer to her from behind, before he with a quick move, swooped down and grabbed the now squealing Emma up in the air, swinging her around before he put her back on the couch, joining her and started to tickle her. Emma's joyful laughter echoed through their home, causing smiles to form on everyone's lips. For them, this was a regular thing that happened every day, but nonetheless, it didn't lessen the happy feeling they gained from it.

"Jack, stop... can't… breathe…" Emma managed to say through her laughs. Jack stopped and put on a face of innocence, knowing fully well she couldn't be mad at him whenever he did. She put on a smirk and prepared herself for an attack, she jumped towards her brother, with the intend of payback. Jack expertly dodged her attack, and quickly turned around and countered with another round of tickles, submitting Emma into another uncontrollable laugher.

When he finally let her escape, she pouted at yet another failed attempt to catch him. "Damn, you're too fast" Jack just chuckled at her, before pulling her into a tight but loving hug "don't worry, you'll catch me someday" before any of the siblings had the chance to say more their Mother called from the hallway "Emma it's time to go" Emma's smile faltered, not wanting to leave her brother. Jack noticing this, pulled her into another hug and petted her hair soothingly "Don't worry Em, I'll be here when you get back" She just nodded and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she reluctantly headed out to join her parents.

While their mother helped Emma get her things, their father went over to the sofa ruffling his son's wild white hair, that was still slightly wrapped up by the bandage covering the cut he received earlier that day "sure you're going to be okay while we are gone this weekend?" Jack smiled widely and nodded "I'll be fine, besides Tooth will be checking up on me" his father chuckled. They all loved Tooth and she had pretty much become a part of their family since she and Jack met, they weren't surprised when they became a couple, having expected it would happen, but that didn't change the fact they were overjoyed by it.

They asked Tooth to check in on Jack while they were away on a business trip. They were taking Emma to stay at a friend's house for the weekend, knowing it would be a bad idea to have her staying here alone with her blind brother. Of cause they aware of the fact that he was fully capable of taking care of both of them, but it was still better for both of them, as there was no point in making things harder on Jack by having him take care of his sister as well. While they were, a bit reluctant of letting Tooth look after Jack while they were gone, considering they were a couple. They knew they were both responsible enough to not do anything stupid, besides they didn't trust anyone else to do it.

The doorbell rang at that moment and Jack was about to get up and answer, when his sister yelled, "I'll get it!" she opened the door and immediately hugged the girl outside, which she happily returned. Tooth chucked as she said "hello to you too, Emma" Emma broke out of their hug and took Tooth's hand, dragging her into the living room. "Jack, your babysitter is here," Emma teased, with a huge smirk on her face. Jack frowned, faking annoyance and was about to pay her back for that comment, when Tooth beat him to it by scooping Emma up and holding her tight so she wouldn't be able to escape

"So, I'm just a babysitter, huh?" Tooth said, her voice full of laughter, as she placed her lips on the neck of the 8-year-old and blew as hard as she could, making her squeal in mirth as she tried to wriggle her way out of her grip. "Sorry Tooth" Emma managed to squeeze out in between her laughs. It was then their mother came back into the hallway "Hello Mrs. Frost" Tooth greeted her and she smiled back "Hello dear, thank you for coming." Tooth just smiled back "It's no problem. I know Jack can't cook to save his life." She joked, causing them both to laugh "Hey! I've gotten better" Jack frowned as he walked towards them. "Sure you have, son" his father retorted "I sure love 'burned to a crisp' scrambled eggs" he said with as much sarcasm he could muster, causing his son's frown to deepen and glare at him making everyone else burst out laughing.

The three of them left after that, the two teens stood waving in the door as they did. As soon as they were back inside, Tooth pulled Jack into a tight hug "I missed you!" she whispered. Jack chuckled lightly, returning the hug "you saw me less than 3 hours ago, when we walked home together. Remember?" Tooth frowned, faking anger "that was 3 hours ago" she answered stubbornly, Jack just smiled fondly back at her "well then let me make it up to you" he said as he pulled her into a soft kiss which she immediately melted into. "Guess you're forgiven" she whispered after they broke apart.

"Come, there is something I wanna show you." He said with a huge grin as he took her hand and dragged her with him to the attic. The two teens loved the attic it was full of fun and exciting new things. There was always something new to discover every time they went up there, but this time even Tooth was surprised yet excided by what he had found. "I found this about a week ago, I thought you might like it," he said with a huge smile, holding up an old looking guitar. His smiled turned a bit sheepish and his cheeks turned slightly pink as he continued, while rubbing the back of his neck "It's pretty old but it still plays pretty well. I didn't tell before now, because I wanted to surprise you by learning a few songs first" Tooth's face immediately lit up "really!" she said in both disbelief and excitement.

Jack sat down and started flawlessly playing 'nothing else matters' by Metallica. Tooth's Jaw literally dropped, but remained silent until the song was over. "How? How did you that? You said it had only been a week since you found the guitar" she managed to say in her awe, as he stopped playing. He managed a weak smile, embarrassed "I listened to the song and adjusted myself to each tune, doing so finding the correct guitar grips" Tooth wore a face of sheer awe. "Do you know any other songs?" he started chuckling "of cause I do, after all what else can I do for fun when you're not around" he said with a smirk, making Tooth blush.

Jack continued playing for Tooth for the next hour, both of them singing along to the tunes he played. As much as they enjoyed this, it was starting to get late and it was time to cook dinner. Even with Jack's very lacking skills in a kitchen, they managed to cook themselves a delicious meal. They happily chatted little nothings while they enjoyed their dinner. They were just about to clean up after their meal, when everything turned black.

Tooth let out a startled gasp. There were no moon or stars out tonight as the sky was covered with thick clouds, leaving the room pitch black. "Tooth? What's wrong?" Tooth following the sound of Jack's voice desperately trying to locate him. "I'm not sure everything just went black? I think it might be a blackout since even the lamps outside are off. Not even the moon light is out, I can't see a thing." She chuckled nervously trying to mask her fear. Before she got the chance to say anything else, she felt two hands cupping her cheeks lovingly, she felt lips slightly brushing against her own for a second before they leaned in for a kiss. When the kiss broke, she heard Jack's quiet but loving voice right in front of her. "Don't be afraid, I'm right here"

Her fears immediately evaporated as if it had never been there at all. "Let's get you upstairs, I'll take care of the clean-up. Sound good?" she just nodded, she let out a surprised yelp when she was suddenly lifted off the floor, bridal style, by a pair of strong arms. "It's easier like this," he said with a deep blush, which made him grateful for the blackout so she wouldn't notice. Tooth clung onto him as if her life depended on it, as he carried her effortlessly up to his room. He gently place her on the bed, "wait here, I'll be right back. Okay?" he said gently stroking her cheek "okay", she whispered back. She heard him walk away and her fear came rushing back with vengeance, paralyzing her.

All of a sudden, a bright light came into the room, a camp lamp held by none other than her Jack. "Is this better?" he asked uncertainly, unable to tell if his 'light source' was actually effective, as he couldn't see it for himself. As his answer, he was immediately knocked down on the floor, by Tooth ramming into him to give him a hug. "Yes, thank you" she whispered into the front of his blue hoodie. After Tooth calmed down, the two teens moved back into the room to sit on the bed bringing the lamp with them. The lamp didn't provide much light, but it was still far better than the pitch blackness of before.

The two teens silently rested against the wall, Tooth cuddling up against Jack, starring into the dim light of the lamp. Jack held her tight in his arms, his head resting on top of hers, his hand stroking her soft hair soothingly. "I must seem pretty silly to you" Tooth voiced her thoughts "why would I find you silly?" he questioned yet not letting her go. "For being scared of the darkness like that" she continued "oh that." he said mostly to himself, pausing before he continued "it's okay to be scared, everyone else would be too." "But not you" she interrupted.

Jack let out a sigh "that's only partly true. For me, it's all I've ever known, it's as much of a source comfort as much as it's frightens me." "What do you mean?" "Just because I'm familiar with the darkness, it doesn't mean I can't be frightened by it. Just like someone walking alone, in a dim lightened ally and you start hearing strange sounds you can't place. You become uneasy, paranoid and frightened. It's just like that for me too, maybe slightly worse." He paused and slightly broke out of their embrace to 'look' in the eyes "I would never find you silly for doing something that is completely normal." He pulled her close again and they sat like that, in comfortable silence, relishing in each other's company, until sleep claimed the two of them.

A/N: hope you enjoyed this fluffy, lovey dovey chapter. felt it was necessary, it is a romance after all ;) hopefully i'll get next chapter done soon, until then enjoy this extra long, cheesy chapter