Okay, I lied. I had to take my laptop with me to sort out a hacker issue, which I couldn't do at home because the internet is rubbish!
I wish that my day with HOG was nearly as fun, but it was a go over of the rules. In my head I counted how many I'd already broken.
1. Don't show off your powers- broken
2. Don't tell anyone outside of HOG about your powers- broken
3. Try not to use them frivolously in public- broken
4. Do not discuss your connection to the Guardians outside of HOG- not broken.
5. Don't tell anyone about HOG- not broken.
6. Do not arrange to meet a Guardian unless in a dire emergency- yes, because that's likely to happen.
Well, I could have done worse. I didn't tell them of course, why would I? I wasn't stupid.
I sat through a meeting while they still insisted that these Guardians still exist, I wasn't ready to go that far.
But finally it was over and after an agreement to meet back the next week I was already daydreaming about meeting Jamie.
We had another snowball fight and started building snowmen, by hand this time.
"Hey, Jackie?" Jamie asked as he was rolling his snowman's head.
"Yeah?"
"Jack told me that he likes to come here sometimes."
I suppressed the urge to sigh. It was bad enough that HOG were getting on my case about this; I didn't need a kid to as well!
"Well, I've never seen him."
"Do you believe in him?"
The tricky question.
"Well, I don't know. You're not the only one telling me he exists, but I'm just, finding it difficult."
What made me say that? A simple yes or no would have been fine!
"Then that's why! You can't see him because you don't believe."
"Well, I don't really know what I can do about that." I said as I put the head of my hand built snowman on the body.
Jamie paused for a second to think.
"Say, can we come back later tonight? We can wait for him."
"I don't know, what about your parents?"
"Oh who cares?!" He cried excitedly, an enthusiastic grin on his face. "You've gotta meet him! He'll be really happy if you could see him."
"I don't..."
"Come on, please?"
He looked so pleading and hopeful that I didn't have the heart to say no. And I'd already broken several of HOG's rules when it came to Jamie, what was one more?
"Alright, we'll come back later."
Of course we didn't see him when we snuck out later, but it was nice to just talk about stuff. Jamie told me about his family and school friends, I mainly listened, as I didn't have much to say on that. It was just my parents, and at school I sat in the library. For once it was nice to say the real reason, I didn't want my powers showing. The excuse we gave the school was that I had asthma, which was brought on by physical activity. Utter rubbish of course, but that did mean I could get out of P.E.
It reached about four AM when we were both yawning and we decided to call it a night.
I made sure to walk him back and help him get through his open window. After bidding him good night I made my own way back.
"Good Morning."
I came to halt and slowly spun around to try and face the voice. I couldn't determine the age, but the voice definitely belonged to a girl.
I was walking back through the forest on my way home, so all I could see where trees and shadows.
"Who's there?"
Instead of answering my question, the voice asked a question of her own.
"Do really think you should be with Human Order of Guardians?"
"Wha- How do you know-?"
"You don't really believe what they spout out, do you?"
"Well, I-"
"I can't blame you I suppose, they are the only people who might understand what you're going through, but they're all adults, can they really understand?"
The voice seemed to be moving, so I kept spinning trying to find it.
"Wha-? Who are you?"
"Just someone, someone who could be your friend."
"What's your name?" I asked, trying to get some control over the situation.
"My name doesn't matter right now. If you change your mind about them, I'll be here..."
"Hey, wait!"
My only answer was a distant owl hoot.
I spent several nights a week with Jamie, waiting for Jack Frost. He never did show up, unsurprisingly, but it was nice to talk with someone and to not be afraid to use my powers. He started telling me about his other interests, things like mythical beings and UFOs. He was a strange boy for sure, which might explain why he wasn't freaking out about my powers.
The strange voice often turned up, offering the same thing. The scary thing was though, the more I listened, the more I liked what I heard. The offer to get away from here, not being afraid of my powers showing, it seemed so tempting. Then my mind would go to my parents, and Jamie, I couldn't just up and leave them behind.
I hadn't expected it to go sour so quickly.
At the HOG meeting two weeks later I immediately knew something was off. Everyone was there earlier than normal and each had varying expressions on their face.
Tina looked disdainful and tutted as I walked in. Billy looked plain angry, but Sally's
was the most painful, she just looked so disappointed.
Nigel had a neutral expression, but from the others reactions I guessed that he wasn't happy.
"What's going on?" I asked once I'd registered their expressions.
Nigel opened his mouth, but Billy took a flying leap from his chair and landed in front of me, his nostrils flaring in anger.
"What's going on?! I'll tell ya what's going on kid. The same day we told you the rules, you went and bloody broke 'em!"
"What?!" How had they found out? It was just me and Jamie, right?
"Billy."
Billy gave another glare in my direction before heading back to his seat, allowing Nigel to approach.
"I know you're sceptical about us, but the rules are important. For everyone's safety."
"How did you even know that I broke them? There was no one else there!" There was no going back from that statement.
"No one else?"
"Well, one person, but I didn't tell him about you guys."
Nigel sighed, "How did you meet this person?"
"He lives in the area so-"
"He?" asked Tina.
"Yes, His name's Jamie."
"Of course it would be a boy..."
"He's a kid!" I countered, "there's nothing like that going on!"
"We received an tip off from another member of HOG." Said Nigel bringing the attention back to him.
"They reported seeing you and a young boy sitting by the lake, supposedly waiting for Jack Frost to show up, and you using your powers in front of him."
I felt the blood drain from my face, I hadn't told anyone. So someone had seen, that meant someone knew, and if someone knew then...
"Jackie, the floor!"
I looked down to see that the floor around me had become coated in a thick layer of ice.
I swallowed and tried to bring to back in, muttering my mantra, but my panic was too great. Visions of pitchfork mobs and barred doors filled my mind.
Billy jumped onto another seat as the ice overtook his and the others began to back off as well.
"Oh Christ! I think we overdid it guys!"
The ice had begun to spread at a worryingly fast speed as Jackie's face became filled with horror at whatever was in her head.
Tina looked in panic as the ice touched her previous chair and instantly wrapped it in ice.
"Someone calm her down, or we're all going to become ice cubes!"
Sally nodded and used her powers to float off the ground over the ice. She floated in front of Jackie and waved her hand in front of her face. Getting nothing Sally floated around her, trying to assess the situation. Jackie's body was tense, and if her face said anything, she was terrified by something. What she needed was some kind of comfort.
With that determined Sally went back to the front of Jackie and wrapped her arms around the terrified teenager, pulling her into a hug.
Something uncomfortably warm shocked me out of my fear filled visions. My eyes focused on reality and I realised what had helped me get some control.
"...Sally?"
"Right here."
Despite the heat from her body, there was something comforting about the hug, and I felt calmer. My breathing calmed down and I no longer felt my heart pounding.
"Thank you."
My eyes scanned the hall, seeing how far my ice had reached and the reaction that it had on the chairs.
Feeling infinitely calmed by Sally's presence I reached out to the ice and drew it back in.
The ice creaked in protest, then all in one big rush it flooded back in, causing my hair to fly upwards from the force.
Sally let go and floated to ground with a small smile on her face. I had a feeling that she knew exactly what I was imagining.
I looked around the rest of the room. "Sorry, I, I'm sorry."
"Jeez, did we freak ya out that much?" Asked Billy, still perched on the top of a chair.
"No, I was freaking myself out. I thought that if someone had seen me use my powers then..."
"We've been there." Said Sally, still with her small smile.
Nigel, who'd taken refuge on the stage, walked forward and leapt off, landing in front of me.
"Now that's over, the matter still stands. I'm not stopping you from meeting the boy, God knows you need the company, just be careful showing your powers. He already knows so there's no point trying to convince him otherwise, but no more late night Jack Frost stakeouts, understood?"
"... Alright."