"Um… I- I gotta go" Jack said nervously. But before he could get away, he felt a hand over his shoulder.
"Come on, Frostbite. A bit of water is not going to kill ya" Bunny said.
"That's what you think" Jack thought. He sighted.
"Look guys, I know what you think. You think that I don't know how to swim: I do. You think I'm afraid of water: I'm not. I just don't feel like getting into it, all right? How hard is for you guys to understand that?"Jack said while avoiding eye contact.
"Then what is it, Jack?" Tooth asked.
Now Jack really wished they would stop asking. He let out a frustrated sight and tried to walk away (key word: tried).
Before the winter spirit knew what was going on, North had grabbed him and started to walk towards the ocean.
"North?! What are you doing?! Put me down!" Jack pleaded.
"Common Jack, ve are just going for a little swim" his fellow Guardian answered.
"NOR-" Jack started, but before he could finish, he was already in the water.
Jack´s mind immediately went into "instant-panic-mode". Memories from 303 years ago were making a mini marathon in his head. The lake. Ice skating. Ice cracking. His sister. A little game. A splash. The cold. The darkness. The fear. The moon. Air.
Air.
He needed air.
Suddenly remembering his swimming lessons, Jack kicked his legs towards the surface, just to find North looking at him with a little smirk on his face.
"That. Was. Not. Funny." He said; face red and trying his best to hold back tears.
"Vhy not? You came into the surface" North asked, not noticing Jack´s reaction.
"Oh really? Well, what if I had hit my head against something?" Jack snapped.
"But you didn't. Nov, try to have some good time" North said.
Jack just rolled his eyes.
"Well, I least I'm still alive" he thought. That was a comfort.
"Um… Jack?" Jamie´s voice came from behind him.
"Yes?" he asked while quickly whipping the tears that were appearing in his eyes as he turned around.
"What was that all about?" the kid asked.
"What do you mean?" Jack said pretending confusion.
"Don't lie to me Jack. You know perfectly what I am taking about" Jamie said.
"Kid, believe me when I tell you: you wouldn't understand" was all Jack told him.
"Then help us understand Jack. If you tell us what's wrong, we can help you" Tooth said as she swam towards the two.
"NO! THAT'S THE THING! YOU JUST CAN'T! IT NEVER HAPPENED TO YOU!" Jack screamed. Jamie and Tooth were taken aback from the sudden outburst.
"What do you mean with "it never happen to us", Jack?" Tooth asked, while getting close to him.
Jack mentally smacked himself.
"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!" he said to himself. Before the other two could even ask, he got out of the water and disappeared near the picnic site.
Tooth was confused. Why was Jack acting like this? Didn't he trust them with whatever his secret was? Doesn't he trust her, after all these years?
"Um… Tooth? I don't understand. What's wrong with Jack? Jamie interrupted her thoughts. She sighed.
"I really don't know Jamie. I really don't know" she said worried.
No one at the beach had seen a little figure lurking in the shadows of the trees. It had the shape of a horse, a black horse with golden eyes. The Nightmare had been watching the whole scene and disappeared in the shadows. Oh, his master would just LOVE to hear about this...