Requested by: MysticCat and monkeygirl77

Blizzard of '13

The chilling December breeze made its round calmly through Burgess, as it did every year. Neither malicious nor merciful, the wind brushed around the bustling little city, forcing townsfolk to pull their scarves and coat collars tightly around the more exposed of their skin. As birds fluttered and huddled away from the frost that was slowly coming to a halt on the birdfeeders and clotheslines, it was clear that Jack Frost was finally done with his daily sweep. At least that's what numerous children in Burgess assumed after the spirit had waved 'goodbye' and took to the air. However, a certain child merely shook his head, knowing well that his friend would return to greet him later that night.

With the Guardian gone, so went the usual exuberant chaos. However, the afternoon and morning's playfulness carried well into the evening, as did the overall winter energy. Ah, yes, a kind of energy was certainly there.

Jamie Bennett plummeted to the ground with a breathy 'oof'. The child rubbed his shoulder and groaned as he pushed himself to his knees. A scowl crossed his features and he growled, shuffled to his feet, and turned around.

"Come on, Eric," Jamie said evenly, holding his hand out to the high schooler. "Give it back."

The teenager laughed and stepped backward out of the puny kid's reach, adjusting his frayed tossle cap and the tanned leather fisted in his calloused hands.

"Where'd you get this ratty old thing at, anyway?" Eric snickered, tugging at the hems of the old leather cloak. "Bet'cha stole it. Bet'cha not as innocent as you look."

"I didn't steal it," Jamie frowned, leaping feebly in an attempt to retrieve the cloak from the teen's grasp. "Let go of it, you'll rip it!"

"Hey," Eric's friend chuckled, hardly paying attention as a little blond-haired girl tried to jerk her coat free from his meaty fingers. "I bet he stole it from Jack Frost."

"Ooh, boy," Eric's shoulders sagged dramatically as he looked Jamie in the eye. "Don't tell me you still believe in 'Old Man Winter'."

Jamie huffed and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was about take another dive for his cloak before he realized that his right wrist was being restrained in the bully's grasp. "He's my best friend," he argued matter-of-factly. "Of course I believe in him! And he isn't old. In fact, he could kick your butt."

"Yeah? Just like he did with the Boogeyman?" Both bullies broke down into guffawing laughter, making Jamie gasp as the hand involuntarily tightened around his wrist.

The winter winds finally reached them, brushing at their clothes and even murmuring into Jamie's ear. With a connection yet to be made with the wind, the most Jamie could do was take comfort in its whispers and silently ask it for help. The bullies' laughter faded when Jamie's leather cloak was ripped out of Eric's hands, effectively being blown far amongst the towering trees of the nearby woods.

Jamie exhaled hopelessly as he watched the breeze carry the cloak up to the mountains and out of sight. Thanks, wind. Jamie's hand suddenly clenched at his sides.

With a frustrated cry that even surprised himself, Jamie lunged forward and beat a fist against Eric's upper arm. Admittedly, the bully did have a dull apology planned, but as soon as the kid weakly connected with his shoulder, he chuckled in mild astonishment before swinging his arm forward, sending Jamie roughly, but unharmed, back to the snowy ground. Exhaling, Jamie slowly leaned up to support himself on his elbows, more desperation than fire glazing his wide eyes.

Eric giggled while rubbing his afflicted arm. "Well, that was…cute." Jamie scowled again and he jumped unsteadily to his feet, making Eric's friend gape slightly. "You got guts, kid. But you got no idea what you're in for."

Snow crunching under his thumping feet, Eric stepped closer to the little boy. As the high schooler fisted and cracked his knuckles, Jamie found his glare faltering. At the extremely obvious height and muscle difference, the little kid started taking a few steps back.

The blond-haired girl struggled against the other bully still holding her back. "Leave him alone," Sophie's shrill voice yelled, her childish age slurring her L's.

Eric only laughed at this as he turned away from Jamie to walk toward the trembling little girl. "Let me guess," he scoffed. "You want to fight, too, huh?"

The trees that swayed with the evening breeze came to clean, sudden halt as the bully made his way to Sophie. The birds flitting over the park's feeders ceased their twittering and flew frantically away. The one bully scrunched his eyebrows together as the shadows under them vanished with the sun.

"Uh," the teenager swallowed when he looked up. "Eric?"

Eric followed his gaze and stopped rounding Sophie as he took in the gathering gray clouds. The clouds toiled and laced together, rumbling distantly as white, marble-sized puffs materialized. They didn't hover and dance about the air like Jack's playful snowflakes did. Instead, they plummeted straight to the Earth, growing in size and numbers.

Both bullies' hands fell to their sides as the snow fell on them and refused to melt. Sophie giggled and pointed at their heads. "Dandruff," she grinned bubbly.

"Shut up, you little brat," Eric's friend snapped, swiping the snow from his greasy hair. A gasp escaped his chapped lips when he noticed that the snow level was now almost covering his boots.

Jamie blinked, as if his anger truly blinded him for a moment, and gaped at the scene. A mass flurry plunged from the sky, landing directly onto the bullies as well as Sophie. Not to mention the whole of Burgess was also being covered. Jamie cringed and tipped his chin to the sky.

"Okay, seriously," he called out to Jack, to the wind, to the snow, to whoever. "You can stop now!"

Jamie's hollers were cut short when Eric suddenly cried out in pain. The bully reached behind his neck and pulled out something small and solid from inside his tee-shirt. Eric quirked an eyebrow and inspected the tiny piece of ice in his hand. "Hail?"

Another yelp rang out when the falling ice hit Sophie's nose. The amount of snow started matching the amount of hail and before long the bullies gave frustrated groans and ran out of the park. Sophie wasn't too far behind as she pulled her hood up, beckoned for Jamie to follow, and also made a break for home.

Jamie yelled at her to slow down, but the falling snowstorm swallowed his words as he raced after her. It got to the point where Jamie wasn't quite sure where he was anymore, couldn't even see a foot in front of his nose.

The snowfall had quickly transformed into a blizzard and while Jamie wasn't being hit with the worst of the weather, he still had extreme difficulty running through it. The wind howled menacingly in his ears and all he could see, everywhere he looked, was a grayish wall of snowflakes and hail. Jamie's sprinting gradually slowed. It was partly because he was getting tired, but also for the fact that the snow now met above his knees, almost bringing him to a standstill.

When he finally observed the sheer drop in temperature, Jamie had to resist the urge to chatter his teeth. As a distraction, he settled for wrapping his arms tightly around his chest. He realized sardonically that simply wearing a red holiday sweater wasn't exactly helping.

He tripped when his toe caught the dark surface of a moss-covered and frozen log. With a small sigh, in both relief and clumsy agitation, he rolled over and scrambled to sit up on the rotted wood. While he slowly folded his jean-clad knees to his chest, a thought crossed his mind as chills spread from his spine and over his little body. He was bonded with Jack Frost and his powers may be developing well.

But he was freezing.

So cold and all he could really do was sit and shiver until the storm died down. But as half of the log became submerged in white, he knew he'd be waiting a while.

Jamie adjusted himself to lean his head against another tree right next to him. He furrowed his eyebrows, remembering the other trees and dirt trails he had recently passed. No doubt he must've taken a wrong turn and was now somewhere deep in the woods surrounding his hometown. At this point it didn't matter. As the skies darkened into nightfall he was becoming too tired to care about the temperature, too tired to care that the hail had receded and that the snow was now pelting him rather than avoiding.

Jamie huddled against the crook of the log and tree as the bone-chilling cold tried coaxing him into a deep slumber. This encouragement was even more inviting when the wind seemed to wrap heavily around his shoulders in a certain, odd warming gesture. He hummed when the breeze stopped there as if it was gripping his upper arms.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to fall asleep during a blizzard?"

Jamie's eye snapped wide-awake and he released a sigh as he looked into those cerulean orbs. Jack, hair sticking out more than usual and clothes battering with the howling wind, stood directly in front of Jamie, pale hands fidgeting and tugging something near the little boy's neck. Looking down, Jamie's grin widened as Jack's fingers neatly tied the leather string until the cloak fit snuggly over his scrawny back.

"I saw a tree near the mountains snag this," Jack explained with the usual comical grin. "I thought you might need it for this weather."

Jamie smiled and leaned forward to hug Jack's waist, and Jack wasted no time in kneeling down to clutch him back. "How did you know to come back to Burgess," the younger boy's voice muffled into the hoodie.

"Baby Tooth was flying over the area when the blizzard hit," Jack explained. "Which, by the way, I did not cause." He waggled an accusing brow at the giggling little kid. "She flew off, found me, and told me to come here."

"Guess I kind of," Jamie cleared his throat embarrassedly. "lost control."

Jack grinned crookedly and shook his head. "There's also this," the winter spirit said when he tapped the child's temple. His smile slipped a little. "I didn't like how nervous you were feeling. I was in the middle of a snowball fight in Vermont and I almost accidentally froze a kid when your anxiety hit me."

Jamie produced a fake pout. "Replacing me already?"

"Nah," Jack rolled his eyes and smiled, dusting snow off the little kid's messy hair. "They weren't able to see me." Jack's rare distant look appeared before being replaced with its usual brightness. "So," he continued. "What's a little kid like you doing playing in blizzard this time of night?"

It was Jamie's turn to roll his eyes and another sharp chill ran over his spine, causing him to cross his arms in front of his chest. "Can you please take me home, Jack?"

"Sure thing, kiddo," Jack said before hoisting Jamie into his arms. With practiced ease, Jack kicked off the ground and up into the sky. He was about to readjust his angle toward Jamie's home until the spirit's body jerked backwards, almost slamming into a passing tree. "Hold on," Jack muttered before leaning back and spiraling to the ground. Jamie made to brace himself for the impact. However, the wind began tugging harshly against them, making Jack growl in frustration and veer sideways to land on a tree branch.

Jack gave a long whistle as he shifted Jamie so he could hold the kid on his back. "No go," he decided. "The wind's having too much fun with the blizzard; it's completely ignoring me."

Jamie exhaled and rested his chin on Jack's shoulder. "I'm sorry about the blizzard," he grumbled.

Jack looked back at him with an ever-wide smile. "You kidding?" The Guardian coughed a laugh as he jumped from the branch and floated softly to the ground. His feet trudged smoothly through the snow, as if the added layers weren't a hindrance. "This is nothing, kid! The first time I lost control of my powers I buried an entire village."

"With my luck, Burgess will end up the same way."

Jack shook his head. "You would never let that happen." Jack's walking suddenly sped to a brisk run as he weaved through the woods. Jamie was about to question him when the Guardian came to an abrupt halt. "Here we are," Jack said boisterously. Jamie squinted through the darkness, and he could just make out the opening of a small cave.

"Home away from home," Jack's words echoed through the quiet cavern. He didn't put the little boy down until they were completely inside. Jamie found his grin returning when he realized that the temperature in the cave wasn't as freezing as the weather outside.

"Wait a minute," Jamie gasped suddenly, making Jack turn to fully face him. "Sophie! Jack, she was heading home. We need to go back to Burgess. She might be-"

"Hey, slow down, kiddo," Jack breathed, letting his hand fall on Jamie's shoulder. "She's perfectly safe. When I came back I saw her on your front porch and, after she told me you were still somewhere in the blizzard, I even asked her to cover for you. Your mom probably thinks you're sleeping over at a friend's house or something."

Jamie gaped at him. "Will the blizzard really last the whole night?"

Jack shrugged as if it was no big deal. "More than likely, but I'll make sure the snow won't rise much more." A smile stretched over his lips. "Unless you want the next two weeks entirely dedicated to snow days."

Jamie smiled and gave him his thanks before leaning against the wall of the cave and sliding down to the floor. When the wind briefly entered the cave, out of habit, Jamie brought his cloak closer around his small form.

"So," Jack pursed his lips and sat cross-legged in front of the kid. "Bullies, huh?"

Jamie tilted his head. "How'd you know about that?"

"Baby Tooth saw the whole thing," Jack said. A sharp squeak emanated from his hoodie when he tried to shove his hands in his front pocket. "Sorry," he quickly apologized to the pocket.

"What was that?" Jack shifted sideways, revealing a small bunch of vivid feathers hidden within the pocket's fabric. An almost inaudible snore sounded from the feathers. Jamie chuckled. "Baby Tooth's sleeping on the job?"

Jack shook his head, matching the grin. "Even Toothiana wouldn't let her continue flying in this weather. Actually," Jack said. "If anybody's lying down on the job, it's us."

"Huh?"

"Winter spirits make blizzards just as much as they're meant to tame them."

Jamie frowned and shook his head. "But I'm not a winter spirit."

"No," Jack agreed. "But you're training to be one even if you're not immortal."

"Speaking of which…" Jamie bit his lip.

Jack sighed, eyes slipping shut. "I told you, Jamie. I'm not doing it."

"But Nicky-"

"Was able to get away with it," Jack cut him off. "because Silas is his only family. You," Jack brought his staff up, using it to gently poke Jamie's belly. "have a lot of friends, as well as a mother and a sister. What about your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousin? If I made you immortal, you wouldn't age anymore and people would ask questions. You'd have to leave your family behind."

As far as Jamie knew, he didn't actually have any aunts or uncles, or grandparents for that matter. And if he had any cousins, he'd never met them before. His mother couldn't afford to take them on too many trips, if they were to visit any family members. On top of it all, people were already asking questions about him, his sister included. If Sophie, Jamie, and their mother were ever out and about, the poor woman would often be interrogated. And Jamie heard the questions over and over again: Why do your children look so young for their age? Why does your one child walk barefoot? Why is your other child obsessed with Easter? These questions not only came from the adults, but from kids in their grades, as well.

"Immortal or not," Jamie muttered, resting his chin on his knees. "Things are getting real complicated nowadays." Jamie briefly thought of how older his friends appeared, compared to him.

"Don't worry," Jack waved his hand, and Jamie could've sworn he saw the snow slightly abate with the action. "We'll figure it out." Jack followed Jamie's gaze out the mouth of the cave. He chuckled. "Not a bad blizzard you got there."

"I didn't mean for that to happen," Jamie explained. "Those high school kids were already getting on my nerves. I'm sorry I almost lost your cloak, by the way." Jack only shrugged and said he was just happy he could find it. "Also," he continued. "They were messing with Sophie." Whether or not the bullies were even thinking about harming Sophie, it didn't matter to him at the time. He didn't want anyone harming his little sister, and if that meant having to create a spontaneous and totally accidental blizzard, then so be it!

"You're a good brother," Jack smiled. "At least you didn't sock 'em like I would've."

"I was about to," Jamie decided would probably be the case.

"But you went with the next best thing. Snow." Jack looked out at the weather again. "Seriously, though. They could be using this kind of snow in other states. Maybe it's time I finally take you to work with me," he grinned with a wink.

"Really?" Jamie sat straighter with a playful energy Jack found familiar to himself.

"Sure, why not? It'll give me a good chance to teach you how to control your emotions with the snow. Winter break's coming up and that's my most favorite time to spread winter." He shuffled closer to Jamie with a clever glint in his eyes. "I wonder if Hawaii would like a white Christmas this year."

* I only hope that the title of this chapter makes sense. Anyway, thank you to all who have read/favorited/followed/reviewed so far. I absolutely love the constructive criticism (as well as the compliments).