Jack had officially decided that he hated dressing up. Both he and the other guys had found suits in their closets and Jack was 100% convinced that his was slowly trying to strangle him. The blue tie around his neck didn't help either.
Another thing that didn't help was the fact that after Tooth had left; he couldn't stop wondering if she had managed to tell the truth to Rosi and Amanda. And if she did, did they believe her?
"Vell, a party before going back to normal, I think it's great!" North said as he fixed his tie in the living room.
"Speak for yourself North. I'm counting the hours, the minutes and the seconds ´till I have my fur back on" Bunny growled while fighting with his suit.
"Wonder what's going to happen to this place after we leave" Jack asked distractedly as he looked around the place.
"Probably it is going to its original state of decay and abandonment" Sandy guessed.
"Huh" was all that Jack said. His mind had drifted back to Tooth, as he thought he would soon see her back in her original form. Jack was definitely not going to admit it, but he thought that she looked more beautiful with her feathers and wings.
"Are we ready to go, then?" North's question wrecked Jack´s trail of thoughts.
"Yeah" he said.
A feeling inside of his told him that this night was going to be great. But also (and he didn't like it) he had the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
The place where the S. A. W. farewell party was being rivaled that any chosen for a high school prom. A thousand balloons and paper decorations were hanging from the rafters. There were four tables full of fruit punch and treats. Kids, teens and parents were dancing and enjoying themselves.
It would be a lie to say that Jack, North, Bunny and Sandy were not amazed.
"Hey guys!" Jamie called while waving at them. Behind him was the rest of the gang. He, the twins and Monty, like the rest of the boys in the party, were wearing tuxedos. Cupcake and Pippa were wearing dresses, but Pippa seemed to want to rip her dress off.
"I can't believe my parents made me wear a dress!" she whined. The rest laughed.
"Hey, have you guys seen Tooth, Rosi and Amanda?" Jack asked. Jamie frowned.
"No, we were going to ask you the same, actually" he said. But before anyone could say anything else, Rosi appeared behind them.
"Relax guys, we are here" she said smiling as they turned around. Rosi was wearing a one shoulder purple dress with sparkles at the shoulder; her hair loose and in curls. Amanda was wearing a pink dress with butterfly sleeves and blue sparkles decorating the end of the dress; her hair was fixed in an elegant braid. And Tooth… Tooth's sight took Jack's breath away. Her dress was knee length, just like the other girls at the party, but the color was the same as her feathers. A golden necklace decorated her neck; and her hair was curly and in a bun. She looked beautiful.
Beautiful. The word ran in Jack's mind. He realized that for the entire week he couldn't stop thinking that she was. Oh hell…not only the entire week, but for the last two years.
"You girls look amazing" North said in behalf of the other boys.
"Thank you Nicolas… or should I say Santa?" Amanda said with a little smirk in her face. The four male Guardians and the Burgess gang opened their mouths in shock. Tooth giggled.
"So they believed you" Bunny said to Tooth, who nodded.
"And I told them everything. From Pitch to our powers and abilities" Tooth said.
"Wait… when did this got decided?" Monty asked.
"Today, Monty. We have become friends and we didn't want to hide it from them" Tooth said.
"Speaking of hiding things, I haven't say hello to any of my other friends. See ya!" Rosi said a bit quickly while giving a knowing look to the Burgess gang, She dragged Amanda by the arm.
"I'm a bit hungry. Later!" Bunny said.
"Me too!" North and the twins said.
"Me three!" the rest left, leaving Jack and Tooth alone. The two just stood in front of each other very awkwardly.
"So… umm… you look beautiful" Jack said to her, attempting to break the silence.
"Thank you. You look very beautiful too" Tooth said before realizing it came out wrong.
"I mean handsome! You look very handsome!" she quickly said, blushing. Jack laughed.
"It's okay, I get it" he said smiling at her. She returned. The two of them reverted to awkward silence. They didn't know that the exchange was seen by Rosi and Amanda from the distance.
"Oh man, we need to think of something. They are on the 'awkward silence stage' that you told me about" Amanda said.
"Don't worry, I've got this" Rosi said. She walked to the DJ and whispered something in his ear. The music suddenly changed to a slower, romantic tone. She returned to her friends' side.
"Now we wait for the magic to begin" Rosi said as she watched the two love birds.
"Oh, ladies and gentlemen, we have a romantic take on the music! Chose a partner for the dance!" Jody said with a microphone.
Jack looked at Tooth.
"May I have the honor, Fairy Queen?" he asked as he held his hand. Tooth was surprised.
"You may, Prince of Winter. Although I must warn you, I don't dance very well" Tooth finally said with a nervous smile as Jack took her to the dance floor.
"Don't worry, this is also my first time dancing" Jack said with a grin. She laughed. The music changed to the sound of "At the Beginning" from Richard Marx & Donna Lewis.
We were strangers, starting out on a journey
Never dreaming, what we'd have to go through
Now here we are, I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you
Tooth put her left hand in Jack's right shoulder before her right hand into his left and intertwining their fingers as he put his right hand on her waist. The two of them then started to move slowly while trying not to step into each other feet.
No one told me I was going to find you
Unexpected, what you did to my heart
When I lost hope, you were there to remind me
This is the start
They grew more confident on their dancing. Both of them were smiling as Jack twirled Tooth around the floor.
"I thought you said you were a terrible dancer" Jack said.
"Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing" Tooth said with a smirk.
"Maybe we are just too terrible and none of us have noticed" Jack said with a grin. She laughed.
And life is a road that I wanna keep going
Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
"Tooth? Mind if I ask you something?" Jack suddenly asked.
"Not at all" she replied.
"If you had feelings for a friend and you don't know if that friend likes you back, what would you do?" he asked, barely in a whisper, as he was afraid of asking the question. Tooth looked a bit surprised. Was he referring to her? Rosi and Amanda's comments on Jack liking her ran through her head.
"I think that you should tell her. Maybe she has friends… who have noticed that she likes you back" she answered truthfully as she cast a quick glance to Rosi and Amanda.
We were strangers, on a crazy adventure
Never dreaming, how our dreams would come true
Now here we stand, unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you
Jack smiled.
"Well I have known this girl for three years and when I met her, she had heard all about me. But I knew nothing of her. And then she turned out to have the key to something I was missing, and after a few shenanigans that ensued, I had the missing thing. And then I got the chance to know her better and she became one of my best friends" he said looking at Tooth directly into her eyes, which widened in realization.
And life is a road that I wanna keep going
Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
Tooth drew herself closer to Jack.
"Well, that is quite the coincidence, because I also know a guy who didn't trust anyone because he had been abandoned by the world for a long time, and it took a lot of effort from me and my friends to make him trust us. And she became a very good friend of him, to the point that they were there for each other when one of them was broken" she said while keeping the eye contact.
Knew there was somebody, somewhere
A new love in the dark
Now I know my dream will live on
I've been waiting so long
Nothing's gonna tear us apart
Jack's smile grew bigger, knowing who Tooth was talking about. He drew her even more closely, to the point there faces were very near each other, both of them gazing into each other's eyes. Their dancing steps were now slower, yet still passionate. They didn't noticed the other couples that were dancing had noticed their exchange and they had stopped dancing once they realized what was about to happen.
Their friends were watching the exchange between the two excitedly.
"Don't you think that this is almost exactly like in the fairytales?" Sophie asked to her big brother.
"I don't know Sophie. Tooth is certainly not a damsel in distress" Jamie said with a grin as he looked at his best friend.
Jack and Tooth leaned closer and closer to each other, Jack's hand brushing some of Tooth's hair out of her face. He cupped her face in his hands and Tooth leaned in, their lips brushed and…
And life is a road that I wanna keep going
Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
… they were kissing passionately, this time without interruptions.
In the end I want to be standing
At the beginning with you...
The sound of people cheering broke them apart. Well, that and the mighty need to breathe. They could not help but smile like goofballs and they did not care when their friends start screaming "FINALLY!".
Everything was perfect… until the power suddenly went down.
Children immediately panicked as they tried to find their parents in the dark. North, Bunny and Sandy grabbed the Burgess gang close, as well as Amanda and Rosi. Jack instantly held Tooth close to him.
Out of nowhere, something started to knock out some adults and teenagers. Jack struggled to see in the dark what was causing such a commotion, but it was impossible. Then, the sound of a horse caught his and the rest of the Guardians´ attention. Suddenly something hit him in the head. While he fought to avoid unconsciousness, he heard a terrified scream next to him.
"TOOTH!" The lights immediately came back.
Tooth was no longer in the room. Instead, in her place stood a half-burnt note.
"If you want to see her alive, come to the place you refuse to let thaw"
Jack burst through the door, ignoring his friends´ frantic calls. He arrived at Overland Lake in a record time, but Tooth wasn't there.
"TOOTH! WHERE ARE YOU?!" he screamed in despair.
"Now, now, there is no need to shout" a voice that Jack knew too well said behind him.
Slowly turning around, he gasped. In the middle of the lake stood none other than Pitch Black.
A.N: I DON'T OWN "AT THE BEGINNING"