To We Believe. Thank you for your review, I'm flattered that you stayed up so late to read this, thanks!
I'm sorry to say that this story is almost over, just two more chapters after this. However! There are two more stories involving these characters ready to go, as well as a plethora of one shots and crossovers. It shall be gone over in more detail when we get to chapter 40.
If that's a reference then I'm afraid I don't get it, but if it isn't, I get Jackie on my team!
Jackie: Wait, what?
Me: Don't question it, make snow!
Jackie: You internet people are really strange...
Anyway, on with the story! XD
"Jackie!"
"Yep, that's my name. Or do I have to chuck another snowball to make sure it sticks?"
Jack let out a relieved laugh as I struggled into a sitting position. He used his staff to push me into the position.
"What happened? How did I get here? And how come I can't sit up on my own?"
Jack sat back on the ice next to me. "I was hoping you could answer some of those for me."
I frowned as I tried to remember.
"The last thing I remember... Penelope...PENELOPE!"
I made to jump to my feet, but my legs just didn't want to co-operate as I landed with a thump on the ice.
"Take it easy." Scolded Jack.
"What happened to her? There was an arrow and..." I looked at Jack, who had a sympathetic expression on his face.
"No..." I breathed, "Please no."
"I'm sorry."
I hung my head and just let the tears flow, I expected a rush of ice or something as well, but I felt so tired, as though all my energy had been sapped away by something. Even those snowballs had taken more energy than usual.
Jack wrapped an arm around me as I cried.
"What else do you remember?" He asked, hopefully trying to get my mind off the current subject.
"Not much else. There was a roaring noise and I could feel some kind of pressure building, after that, nothing."
Jack didn't say anything.
"So, you've got nothing?"
"Well, I think you freaked at again."
I leaned my head back and groaned.
"Oh great."
"Well, I can't really blame you this time. I had a similar incident when Sandy died."
"But, Sandman's not dead." I said, confused.
"He came back, it's a long story."
I hurumphed, then asked, "So what happened with you?"
"I essentially sent an ice blast up a wave of Pitch's sand, I wasn't really thinking straight and I think I passed out for a second. Next thing I knew I was in North's sleigh."
"Good to know I'm not the only one with control issues."
"That was one time! You've got several under your belt."
"You've had more practice than me!"
We glared at each other for second, then broke into laughter, which led me to grasp my stomach in sudden pain.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, must be left over bruises from the fight." I said, trying not to let the pain show in my voice.
"You're wearing armour."
"Stops lethal injuries, bruises still get through."
"So where did you get it from?"
"That's a long story."
"Well, I doubt we're going anywhere for a while."
"Alright, it went like this..."
I explained the events leading up to the fight, Jack was a good audience, gasping in all the right moments.
His face turned to scowl as I outlined Pitch's actions, which turned into a laugh when I left him pinned to a tree.
"I bet he wasn't happy about that!"
"I bet he wasn't." I agreed, "I didn't exactly hang around to find out."
"Anyway, carry on."
He was interested in the activity of HOG and kept on asking for more detail on what happened down there.
Dawn was starting to break when I finished and Jack had an expression on face that was unreadable. From there he filled in the bits after the fight to how I got here and why I was here instead of a hospital, and my heart rose when I heard he and Jamie have been waiting for me.
"So, I've been out for a week?"
Jack nodded, "Yep, I wasn't actually sure if you were going to wake up."
A small smile went across my face.
"Thank you, for staying."
"No problem. Heck if I didn't you'd have been harassed by reporters trying to work out why the lake is frozen in July."
My face paled as I realised what had called them there.
"Oh no! How long have they been coming?"
"They've been coming everyday for the past week, and when I got here it looked like they'd been there a while."
"No no no NO!" I cried, my hands coming up to the sides of my head in panic.
"Jackie, we can sort this out. It'll work out, but now you need to calm down, you're still weak."
I recovered my breathing and looked at the ice I was sitting on, my hands dropping to my sides.
"Hang on, how did you know to come here?" I asked, feeling the heat of the early morning.
"I heard that the frozen pond from someone who'd thought I'd done it."
I could tell that he didn't want to go further into who had told him, and let him continue.
"I figured that something must have happened to you, so I came back. I couldn't stay long with this heat, but I came back every day, trying to find out what happened."
"Well, now you know."
We sat in companionable silence for a bit as dawn began to break over the trees.
"Say, you know how I've said that Jamie's been here as well?" Said Jack after a bit.
"Yeah?" I said looking up.
"He'll be here in a minute, how about we have a little fun..."
A smile appeared on my face as I got what he was on about.
"Let's do it."
When Jamie approached I was laying down on my back with my eyes closed, trying not to grin.
Jack was sat next to me and greeted Jamie as he walked up.
"Hey there."
"Hey, no change?"
"Nope, still out."
I heard Jamie let out a sigh and I could feel his position through the ice as he sat down. Peeking through my eyelashes I saw that he was now sitting by my other side.
Carefully I formed a snowball and launched it at his back.
Jamie shot up from his sitting position and looked at Jack.
"Was that you?"
"Was what me?"
"That snowball. Hey!" He cried as I sent another to his back. Jack couldn't keep it in and started laughing.
"What's so funny?" asked Jamie, and I couldn't hold it in either and started giggling as well, no matter how much it hurt my stomach.
"Jackie?" He asked, partially confused and partially hopeful.
"Sorry Jamie, I couldn't resist." I said, still giggling as I opened my eyes.
"How long have you been awake?"
"A few hours."
"Did you know?" Jamie asked Jack a little accusingly. Jack put his hands up in surrender.
"I did, sorry."
"Oh come on you guys!"
"If it makes you feel better, she pulled the same trick on me earlier."
"It was your idea to do it again!" I said.
Jamie's indignant face was just too good and I laughed again, ignoring the pain in my stomach. After a while Jamie began to laugh as well.
Once we'd recovered I started to get myself into a sitting position, Jack once again helping me up. I turned to Jamie.
"So, how's it been in Burgess since I ran off?"
Jamie settled down next to me and started to explain.
"Well, quite a few people have been trying to work out how you did it. Most of adults think you had some kind of device that makes artificial ice, although there are few people who think you have powers. They called some news channels, who've been here at the lake, waiting for you to show up again."
"So people, aren't afraid of me?"
"No, they think it was some kind of elaborate hoax and that you've been hiding at your house. The fact that your parents haven't been letting anyone in to the house only supported that theory."
I winced at the mention of my parents. I'd more or less turned my back on them when I last spoke to them, and no doubt they've been trying to get hold of me.
"Do my parents know I'm here?"
"No, I figured they'd be so freaked that they'd try to get you to hospital, which according to Jack would be the worst thing to happen."
"I need to talk to them." I said, trying to get to my feet, but my legs still weren't strong enough and I collapsed on the ice again.
"Why?" asked Jamie, leaping forward to try and catch me.
"I was... I said something I shouldn't have. I need to make it right."
Jamie jumped to his feet. "I'll go get them!" With that he ran off.
Jack looked at me. "Are you sure about this? I'm not going to be able to convince them to leave you alone."
"I blew them off last time they tried to help; I need to make it right." I repeated.
Jack helped me back into a sitting position and we waited for them to come back.
I never really noticed, but now I've realised that I started off three chapters in a row with Jackie's name being yelled, the third being the next one.
In other news, for those with a DeviantArt account, I have set up a group! I'll leave a link to it, but a word of warning, I am a whole arc further ahead in DeviantArt than I am here, and I'm uploading one shots that take place after the second arc. If you want to read ahead, fine, if you don't, you have been warned.