I felt my face hit the table again, and I heard a snicker come from behind me. I flailed an arm out in the general direction in hopes that I could grab my younger cousin and tickle him. 'Course, I wouldn't have had the energy to do that. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, but it was no use. They were still heavy from sleep, and they were close to falling.
"Shut up..." I yawned. Jamie laughed.
"Did you get any sleep at all last night? Oh, I get it, you were so excited about Jack that you couldn't fall asle-"
"Nah, that's not it, I had a nightmare, that's all..." I murmured, still trying to stay awake. Through a half-lidded gaze, I saw Jamie's eyes widen with shock.
"A nightmare?!"
"Yeah, I get them all the time, just like everyone else. It's not uncommon."
"Around here it is. For the past two years, almost no one's had a nightmare."
I looked up, suddenly wide awake. Maybe I was scared? No. Scared? Of a nightmare? I lived in a nightmare, I've gotten used to it! I couldn't be afraid of something that's not real.
"Why's that?" I asked hesitantly. Jamie was quiet for a moment before saying,
"Well, two years ago, Jack helped the Guardians defeat Pitch Black-The Boogeyman-and no one has had a nightmare since then." He hummed thoughtfully.
"I wonder if I should tell Jack..." He mused, half to himself. I waved my hands in front of my face.
"N-no, you don't have to do that! I get them a lot, I'm used to them, they don't bother me too much." Jamie frowned.
"If you say so."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
I knew he was lying, but you know, I could prevent this type of thing. When Jack comes over again, I'll just keep him from saying anything. Easy! I yawned again and pulled gently on my hair in an attempt to wake myself up. In the end, I sighed and stood up. I shook my head wildly and looked at Jamie.
"So, whatt're you planning to do today? I know that Sophie is supposed to go to her friends house, I can do that, but you need something to do." Jamie shrugged and answered,
"Jack's going to come over soon, he said he'd explore the woods with me today."
"You've lived here all your life, haven't you done that already?"
"My mum never let's me go too far into the woods."
"So what makes you think I'D let you!?"
"Because I have a feeling that you're a big softy." He grinned and I huffed. I crossed my arms and looked away, as if I was angry with him.
"You're so mean!"
.
.
.
"Fine. But I have to go with you, so wait until I get back, okay?" I consented. Jamie fist pumped the air and laughed.
"I knew you were just a mush-ball! Sure, I'll wait. Mom left the directions to Sophie's friend's house stuck to the refrigerator. I'm gonna go get ready." He dashed away and I chuckled. It was going to be a while until I got back, so he was going to be very, very hot in all those winter clothes. I walked slowly to the stairs, thankful that I was waking up, and called up to Sophie.
"Are you ready to go, Soph?"
"Yeah!"
"Come down then, your friend's waiting."
I turned back to the living room as I heard her little feet patter against the floor. I stretched and exhaled in a long, slow breath. I was still tired, but at least I was awake now. I walked to the mudroom, where Jamie had been just moments before, and pulled on my too-small sneakers and a jacket that Jamie briefly said I could wear. Sophie came up behind me, dressed in a pair of thicker pink leggings and a gray-ish red long sleeve shirt. She pointed at one of the small coats on the coat rack and asked,
"Could you help me get my coat down please?" I smiled and nodded before lifting the white, puffy coat off the rack and helping her into it. I also grabbed her snow pants and folded them, tucking them under my arm as I went to the kitchen to grab the directions.
When I got back to the mudroom, she was already in her boots and her hand was on the door knob. I laughed softly and nodded. She yanked open the door and led the way outside. I checked the directions, but the small blonde girl seemed to know the way, so I followed her down the street. I caught sight of Jamie as we passed the park. He was sitting on the bench, trying to hide a snowball in the pocket of his coat. I snorted and we continued on.
After about seven minutes, we arrived at a gray house. A little girl ran outside, her mother trailing behind. Sophie went to meet the other little girl and the mother smiled at me. I waved and asked what time I should be back. The kind looking woman said that she would drive her home, so I bid Sophie goodbye and made my way back to the park.
I found Jamie waiting by the edge of the woods, tapping his foot impatiently. Jack hung upside down from a low tree branch. The two of them were talking and hadn't noticed me yet. I smirked, reached down, and grabbed a handful of cold snow. I packed it into a tight ball, drew my arm back, and carefully took aim before sending it sailing through the air. Jack seemed to notice something and looked up, but he turned his head up just in time. The snowball smacked him clean in the face. The Spirit of Winter fell out of the tree and onto the snowy ground and Jamie whipped around to face their attacker. He grinned when he saw me.
"Did you throw that?" He asked gleefully as he held a hand out to his white haired friend. I looked up to the right and put my hands in my pockets as I walked over to them.
"No, some kid just ran by, and he was aiming for you."
Jamie tilted his head quizzically.
"Really?" I snorted at his dumbfounded-ness.
"Of course I threw it." I looked over at Jack, who was still wiping snow off his face.
"You okay?" I asked, a little guilty. However, that guilt faded away when he grinned mischieviously and a patch of ice formed beneath my feet, causing me to slip and fall right onto my butt. I yelped as I went down and glared at him jokingly. Jamie laughed as I rubbed my tailbone and picked up another ball of snow.
"Why you-"
"You think you can get me again? You just had a lucky shot!" He teased. I sighed in defeat and dropped the snowball.
"Fine. You have to help me up in payment though." He shrugged.
"Fair enough." He held out his hand and I took it. It was freezing cold. I giggled evilly and pulled him down.
"Whoa!" He exclaimed as I planted my knee on his back and rubbed snow into his hair. After a moment, I got off and brushed snow off of my borrowed jacket.
"And now we're even." I stated, holding back a smile. The spirit rolled his eyes and sat up. He looked over at Jamie and said,
"Tell your cousin to stop flirting with a 320 year old man. It's weird." I felt my face turning red and I scrambled backwards, pointing at him like he'd grown a third arm.
"You think I would flirt with a guy like you!? You're insane!" I shrieked, embarrassed. He and Jamie cracked up and I hid my face in my hands.
"You guys suck..." I mumbled into my fingers. Jamie recovered first and said, changing the subject,
"Well, are we gonna go explore these woods, or what?" I huffed and let my hands fall. I stood up and held my hand out to Jack yet again. He frowned lightheartedly and hesitated in placing his hand in mine. I grinned.
"I won't do it again, I promise." He took my hand and I helped him up. He thanked me and ran ahead to Jamie. I followed behind them, feeling just a bit left out. But I was used to this feeling, and it wasn't like they were avoiding me. They had hung out with me just moments ago. Besides, I was a girl, they were boys. It was basic science. Boys usually didn't hang out with girls.
I heard a sharp cry in front of me and I looked up. Jamie had been knocked to the ground by a clump of falling snow. I rushed forwards and pulled him up.
"Are you okay, Jamie?" I asked worriedly. He nodded and grinned. I sighed and let go of his shoulders.
"Glad to hear it." I said before falling back again. I took the chance to look around at my surroundings. Beautiful, tall oaks and maples towered around me, covered in snow and thin sheets of ices, glittering in the bright sunlight. The sun made it look like I was walking through billions of minuscule, shimmering diamonds. I took a deep breath of the clean fresh air, so different from the thick, polluted, smelly air of the cities I'd lived in before.
I loved it here. It was beautiful and peaceful, the people were nice, the air was clean and positive energy flowed through it. I felt something slide down my cheek and I touched my face. Tears dripped down my cheeks in happiness and I smiled.
I sank down to my knees in the snow and closed my eyes. The light penetrated my eyelids, creating pretty patterns and designs in the orange-yellow glow. I felt so... happy.
My eyes opened again.
I thought I'd been pretending to be happy, I thought I'd been pretending to have a good time but... was I really pretending now? Was I having fun? For the first time in fourteen years? I laughed giddily and fell back. I stared up at the blue sky and the clouds and whispered,
"I'm having fun... I'm having fun!"