"How many?"

"Eight, since Christmas. Nine if you count Jack's friend who disappeared right before." North had his hands clasped in front of him on the table, thumbs almost at war with one another.

I held my hands up against the information so calmly dropped in front of us. "You're saying that more immortals have up and gone..." I paused, taking half a second to glance at the other's expressions. "In half a year, than in the past ten!" Jack and Tooth winced at my last words. Bunny just had the same grumpy and restless look he'd had since we'd started the meeting. North had an undertone of sadness, no doubt towards the lost immortals. Sandy, for once, was wide awake. "How did that many go missing and we still don't know why?"

"Mosta' them 'ave so few believers that it's 'ard ta notice 'til they're not there." I caught Jack's mouth twitch into a grimace for a millisecond while Bunny spoke.

"Most of them don't leave homes often enough to remember they exist." North sounded a little guilty about his phrasing, but I think we all knew it was accurate.

I rubbed at an eyebrow, very glad we hadn't invited the twins to the meeting - again. I mean, hell, I wasn't supposed to be invited - technically. Last year, the Guardians had agreed to put a lockdown on information about the disappearances. Do not spread it to anyone outside of the group. Hell, the only reason I was still allowed to come was because, not only had I been there since they first found out, but I was trying just as hard as them to find out the why. I wasn't even allowed to tell Sam anything. I was going stir crazy about it... especially when you looked at the list of recent disappearances.

Glacier, The Freeze and Thaw, caretaker of thin ice. Korrigan, The Drowned, farrier of drowned souls. Noeken, the Norwegian boogeyman. Marshall Boggs, protector of the Everglades. Dollie, the ghost of the Isle de las Munecas. Nanny, basically the real-life Mary Poppins. The Grey Lady, the ghost of the Dark Hedges. Baron Samedi, death loa of New Orleans, and one of the few death spirits Mors or Anubis weren't... And Mosy. I'd noticed that one the instant she disappeared. I was sitting at home and all at once a rush of new believers hit me. Not necessarily new but more like subconscious believers had just become real believers - which make no sense to me. At the time. After a week straight of trying to figure out what was going on as it happened more and more, I eventually figured out it was from my inspirational side and went looking for Mosy to see if she knew why... She wasn't at home or anywhere in her usual route, and when the winds couldn't find her I knew. Two months later and I still had a hard time believing she was just gone.

My bitterness must have shown on my face because Sandy patted my hand, giving me a sympathetic look. The desperation may have crept into my voice. "And we're still no closer to figuring out why?" It was starting to become an epidemic. Even at Legends, people were talking about it - which is more than I ever thought they would, if what Annie said had any merit.

Bunny shook his head. "It's a bit 'ard to do tha searchin' when we're busy, Mate."

"What are we supposed to do?" Tooth's eyes were pleading with me to understand the stress they were under. "Story, North and Bunny have to spend most of the year preparing for their holidays, if they don't go off without a hitch, the kids will stop believing in us and that'll be it." She gestured between Sandy and herself. "And Sandy and I barely have time for the meetings. Most days I'm multitasking." She lightly touched Jack's hand, catching his attention before she shyly pulled back. "The only one with any sort of time on their hands is Jack - and he's a Season."

"Between duties and holidays and showing to kids without letting them see too much, is not much time left over to do much else." I could see the regret in North's eyes... but he was right. They weren't being lazy, none of them were. They were all run so ragged some days that I was surprised they got any sleep. But this was important. If it wasn't, Manny wouldn't have asked them to look into it. If it isn't, why do I feel so guilty?

The room fell silent, everyone no doubt trying to avoid admitting that this was bigger than themselves. After a few moments, Jack broke the silence. "So what do we do?" All eyes were on him. "We can't tell anyone else, and we can't do this on our own." A lot of shared glances. "What do we do?"

There was silence again, this time, everyone lost in their own thoughts. I was absently glancing off the balcony, listening to the white noise of the factory. I zoned out while the others began halfheartedly shooting off ideas to each other. I could feel Sandy glancing at me occasionally, but otherwise, I wasn't paying attention. That is, until a beam of light started getting bright as the sun in the middle of the room.

I sat upright, following the light with my eyes. It began at the Guardian's symbol on the floor - or ended - and traveled all the way to... "Um." I cleared my throat, eyes glued to the source of the beam. "Guys?"

I didn't wait to see if they were listening. I stood up and rounded the table, walking towards the symbol on the floor. I sensed the bodies coming to rest near me. "Is this... what I think it is?"

I glanced at Jack, who shrugged. "How would I know?" We both glanced at North, who nodded, shrugging at the same time.

The circle split in two, sliding open to reveal a massive crystal that began rising out of the floor. Holy Crap. It rose to eye level and paused. I heard Bunny mumble under his breath. "It better not be the Groundhog."

"There's gonna be another Guardian?" I finally broke out of whatever trance I was in, looking towards the others for confirmation. "Who?"

Tooth shrugged. "Maybe Cupid?" A flower appeared above Sandy's head. "Mother nature? No, she's a Neutral Party, always and forever." Sandy looked a little dejected at that.

Light shot up from the crystal, starting to almost solidify as it did. I couldn't help but hold my breath, part of me hoping to see my own face there, though I knew it would never happen. It was almost like all the noise faded away then, even the white noise from the workshop below - gone, for an instant. And then - when the form was solid - all hell broke loose.

"No! Not 'im!" Bunny stormed a few feet away. He jabbed a finger towards the figure. "I refuse!"

"Bunny." North followed him. "Is Manny's choice, not ours."

"I. Don't. Bloody. Care." The murder in Bunny's voice was almost enough to dampen my excitement. "Frost was one thing, this is entirely different."

"So who's gonna tell him?" I was laughing slightly at Bunny's reaction, not noticing how everyone was looking at Jack and me. "What?"

-

"I'm not even a Guardian, why'd I get drafted?" I had my arms crossed, scuffing my toe across the floor of the Balcony as Jack twirled his staff.

"Because you were dumb enough to ask." He chuckled at me, coming to rest near me. It had been a few hours since the announcement, and the others had decided that Jack and I would be the ones to welcome the new recruit to the group and had left us to brainstorm ways to do so. "And because apparently, it's my turn to indict the new guy and I have no clue how I'm gonna break this to him without him thinking I'm completely lying to his face."

"Just don't do what North did." I chuckled at him and his expression. "What was that like anyway?"

He shuddered. "Freaky." He bumped shoulders with me. "Come on, ideas."

"You could play it off like it's a prank, then we're here and..." I gestured inside where North and the others were already decorating.

"That's half an idea." He eyed me out of the corner of his eye. "Besides, it's his turn."

"Do you even want to surprise him?" I turned towards him. "Do you wanna just tell him? You know, to his face? Break it to him all at once, prepare him for what's waiting here and let the news sink in?"

He nodded to the side. "That might be a plan. I mean with how Bunny reacted there may be a slight altercation when he gets here."

I rolled my eyes. "Bunny can get over himself." I took a breath, trying to not get worked up. "Manny chose both of them, so they're both equal and he can suck a lemon if that's a problem in his eyes."

Jack chuckled at my choice of wording. "Hey, um... I'm sorry I've been distant the past few months."

I glanced at him. "Don't be. Glacier disappeared, you have to cover the slack while mourning the loss of a friend."

He eyed me again. "Speaking from experience?" I hesitated a few minutes before nodding. I didn't want to admit it but with Mosy gone I had a lot more believers that we'd previously shared the load on. I had to cover all the footwork she usually did daily and I was almost as swamped as Jack. To make it worse, I felt guilty by how physically good I felt with the new believers.

I'd actually spent a lot of time lately just sort of holding the paint case she'd given me in my lap. I kept running my fingers over the stained wood, trying to absorb whatever of her was left. I hadn't seen her in decades but she was still a friend, and I couldn't talk about it to anyone at legends unless they brought it up first. The only person I could speak to about it was Jack and, like he'd said - we hadn't really seen each other since he'd raced off to immediately do glacier's job... every day until summer hit.

Which meant we were technically still dating because I'd never given him my answer. I cleared my throat, realizing that now was as good of a time as any. "Um... you know..." I could feel his eyes on me. "I never really got to give you my end of year answer." I looked up and caught his gaze. "We are technically still dating."

His eyes lit up and his arms fell to his sides. "Uh... I just sort of... I guessed that." He started smiling slightly. "Were you gonna say yes?" My eyes got wide and he waved it off starting to backtrack. "I mean - I probably messed up my chance by bailing and -"

"No! Jack, I had my answer figured way before that." I rubbed at my arm. "I mean, I had it figured out before we even went on our last date."

We were quiet for a second. "You do still, technically," He caught my eye. "Get one more date. Of your choosing. You were supposed to get one more but..." He gave me a sorry smile.

I chuckled a little. "There is a new movie out that I've been wanting to see..."

He grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

A few hours later, we were sitting in the projection booth - something now unnecessary but left in for nostalgia's sake at some theaters. No one would bother us there and we had the best view of the movie. Jack held my hand for what - as far as he was aware may be the last time. I let him. I didn't really pay attention to him through the movie though, I actually had been wanting to see it... actually I'd been wanting to see it since I was mortal.

A decade or so back they'd - Disney - decided that their older movies - the ones that had flopped or been cut - deserved a second chance, so they remade them, only changing things that either made no sense or that were reflections of the times they'd originally been written for. The day Treasure Planet hit the big screen again was one of my happiest days - even through the turmoil of losing Caeden, that was one thing that could get me to smile. Now they'd made the sequel that had been written even before the movie released the first time. I was ecstatic. It was better than I could have dreamed, Jim and Silver getting to live out their lives again, seeing the kind of people they'd become in later years. It was like watching Caeden grow up.

The movie itself was gorgeous, putting the original animation to shame - as difficult as that was in my eyes. The way Disney did their animation now was still obviously animation, but it was so lifelike the characters may as well walk off the screen. Actually, they did - sometimes. They had special theaters that played movies on holograms now, like Imax on acid, but with people all the way around it, the illusion was broken for me sometimes, so I still preferred this way the best. Call me a purist.

When the credits rolled and the lights came back on, I was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. We followed the throng of people out of the theater and onto the sidewalk outside. The cold rolling off of Jack gave me goosebumps in the summer air. We ducked into an alley, walking behind the buildings and letting the sound of the street fade into white noise.

He shook my hand a little, where he was still holding it. "So?" He leaned in a little, conspiratorially. "Where's that answer?" He stopped me, smiling.

I grinned back. Nothing was gonna change. He was gonna stay my friend, no matter what - I knew he was. "I -"

"Wait." He turned to face me. "Before you say anything... Can I get one last kiss?"

"If you can answer me a question first." My grin turned a little sly.

Another smile from him. "Shoot." If I knew him, he was up for anything that'd prolong this moment.

"Why did you fall in love with me." I think I shocked the smile off of his face because it disappeared momentarily. "Honestly."

He hesitated, no doubt really trying hard to get this right. "You cared about me." He wasn't looking at me, kind of off to the side. "You believed in me when you couldn't even see me." He squeezed my hand a little. "And the way you talked about me and magic I could see in your eyes the person you wanted me to be and..." He met my eyes. "I wanted to be that kind of person. Someone that deserved being a Guardian, who deserved all the attention that I'd been getting. Someone who was capable and knew what he was doing with his damn life." He chuckled a little, squeezing my hand again. "I wanted to do it for me, though. You made me care about my own life more than just whatever I was doing that day. You changed me for the better." He smiled up at me, eyebrows scrunching together in an expression that was just so honest and open I lost my breath for a second.

"I know what your answer is and it's okay." He dropped my hand after one last squeeze, rubbing his thumb across the back. "I knew I was pushing my luck at the start of this." He grinned, not a hint of sadness. "I'm just glad I got the chance, to begin with - and for this last date before it all ended." He leaned in and kissed me. Real quick, but a kiss nonetheless. "Thanks for the chance, Story." He grabbed my hand again, lightly. "Now, let's go get our boy." He jumped up, letting the wind carry both of us away.

-

Sam opened the door, smiling down at us. "Hey, what're you guys doing here?" We'd flown there slowly, finalizing the plan between us. When we'd knocked on his door, we really hoped he was home - lo and behold, we were lucky. He moved aside, letting us in, closing the door behind us before locking it.

I glanced at Jack while Sam had his back turned, nodding towards him and mouthing 'showtime'. "Guess what happened today at the meeting?" Jack was almost bouncing with excitement.

Slight confusion crossed Sam's features. We'd told him about the verdict by the Guardians to now share info with anyone so he didn't think we suspected him. He probably thought we were about to break the pact already. "What?"

"Manny chose a new Guardian to help with the search." I grinned at him, barely holding in the rest of what I wanted to say.

His whole face lit up. "Really?" He looked between the two of us for confirmation. "That's incredible - who is it?" He glanced between us again. "Anyone, we know?"

I stifled a giggle as Jack got a cocky grin on his face. "Oohhhhh, yeah." He walked over to Sam, hovering so he could swing his arm across his shoulders. "It's you, buddy." He looked at Sam from the side.

Sam froze for a second, his expression not changing except to widen his eyes a fraction. The same response when he'd found out Jack and I were dating. "What?"

"Manny chose you." I caught his eye, nodding a little to confirm that this wasn't a prank, it was real.

There was nothing but shock and surprise on his face. He shrugged out from under Jack's arm, staring between the two of us. "You're kidding, right? Ha, ha, funny, now why're you both really here?"

Jack shook his head, still smiling. "Not a joke. The others are waiting for you back at the Pole." While he spoke I'd pulled the snowglobe I'd swiped before we left out of my pocket. I whispered our destination into it and rolled it a little ways away, looking back at Sam. "We can go whenever you're ready."

He was stunned. I could understand why. He looked at me, mouth gaping. "Story...?"

I nodded again. "I was there. I saw it too. Beam of light, crystal, everything. You're about to be a Guardian, Sam - a great one."

"But." The shock was starting to fade from his face, replaced with confusion. "Why me?" Our smiles fell. I glanced at Jack. This had not been anticipated. "What am I gonna do as a Guardian? Make everyone costumes?"

"Sam -"

"No, really, why did Manny pick me to be a Guardian? I want to know." After half a second of silence, he turned around, seriously unlocked his door and threw it open. "Huh?" He stared up at the by now visible moon. "Why'd you pick me?"

"Sam, he's not gonna answer -" Jack started trying to explain.

"No, I want to know why he thinks I can do this... thing." He deflated a little, shooting one last glance upwards before weakly closing the door and leaning against it. After a moment he glanced at us. "Are you sure it's me?"

"One hundred percent." I said it with as much confidence as I could throw into my voice.

"Really?" He was finally starting to sound like he was excited.

Jack nodded. "Yep, no mistaking your sorry butt up there." Sam straightened up a little as Jack shot him another grin. "Welcome to the club."

Happiness was starting to crack through Sam's bewilderment like the sun through storm clouds. He smiled at both of us, barely containing himself. "I'm, um - give me a minute, then we can... go." He ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up and looking around his living room like he needed to clean it before people showed up. "Just let me..." He pushed past us, almost sprinting up his stairs. I could hear him throwing things around his room frantically, talking to himself as he did - though I couldn't really make out what he was saying.

I cast a grin at Jack just before Sam came back down the stairs. When he did, gone was the vest I'd always known him in and instead, he was wearing what I'd almost call a cloak. It was tossed over one shoulder and clasped on the side, a dark burnt orange, almost exactly the same color of his eyes. He hesitated when he saw us staring. "I uh, thought I should look nice for them..." He looked down self consciously at himself. "Sarah made this for me when I was alive, I used to wear it to outings her dad put together with his friends in the city..." He glanced back up at us. "Is it too much?"

"You look great, Sam." I gave him a smile, in case my compliment didn't come across as sincere as it was.

He grinned ear to ear like a kid that just won the science fair. "Okay, I'm ready." He took a breath, forcing the smile off his face and coming to stand between us in front of the portal that would stay open until we'd gone through. As one, we took the step forward into the portal. I was ready to reach out and steady Sam the second we landed because, sure enough, he swayed a little with the dizziness the portal had as a side effect. As soon as he regained his balance we were greeted to fanfare and elves and yetis marching in an elaborate dance that they'd prepared near a century ago and were now allowed to perform. Behind the festivities, I could see Bunny glowering.

Jack moved to take his place by the other Guardians, while I backed off a little. As much as I was a part of this... I really wasn't. This was Sam's moment to become a Guardian... I wasn't either of the subjects of importance here, now was I? So I stood to the side, letting some of the elves move in front of me with their instruments. One thing I was glad that Jack had vetoed before we left was the fire twirling. As cool of an idea as it seemed, no one really wants fire batons waved in their faces.

I could see that Sam was a little overwhelmed, but for the most part, he was just beaming. Tooth, Sandy, and Jack were all clapping for him, smiling and generally being joyous for the occasion. North already had the book in his hands, standing next to Jack like he was trying to hand it off. And Bunny... well, Bunny was hiding in the corner throwing a hissy fit. Sam hadn't noticed yet. I glanced up to where the moon was still visible. Why do you keep picking people who hate each other?

First, it had been Bunny and North - the great debate still going on to this day probably being the best indication of how they used to act towards each other. Then Bunny and Jack - Jack's pranks and general mischief involving snow and cold having ran out Bunny's patience long before Pitch came back. Now Bunny and Sam - fundamental differences on how they ran their holidays and lives. Bunny choosing to stay secretive whereas Sam flaunted everything. Both fully believing that their way best. With the others, Bunny had managed to work things out... I really hoped the same could be said for this new matchup before a smackdown reared its ugly head.

After a good ten minutes of fanfare, the elves and yetis started to quiet down. I turned my attention back to North, who all but dropped the Book into Jack's arms. Jack wobbled a little, off balance, but quickly righted himself, glaring at North as he did. Sandy pushed Jack forward gently, giving him an encouraging smile. He took a breath to steady himself before stepping up to Sam, clearing his throat before looking down at the Book to read off their oath. After half a second of hesitation, a smirk appeared on his face. He eyed Sam from where he stood. "Last chance to back out."

Sam - on his part - instantly understood the joke. Despite the nerves he no doubt had, he grinned, shaking his head a little. "If The Man in the Moon thinks I'm ready, then I am."

"Ah, come on. If he dunnet think he's good enough, we shouldn't force him into et." Bunny, I will kill you. I glared at the Pooka as he strode forward, towards the group, but still distant from Sam. "Honestly, I'm perfectly 'appy to let this un go." I was about ready to punch the rabbit on his nose.

Jack rolled his eyes - as did North and myself - and looked back at Sam. "Well? You ready to do this?" Sam glanced at Bunny, doubt starting to show on his face. I could almost read his thoughts on his face. Things were starting to go south.

Bunny pushed his way closer. "No I wunna 'ear whut 'e 'as ta say fer 'imself." He got right up in Sam's face, enunciating every word. "Whut. Makes. You. Think. You. Deserve. Ta. Be. A. Guardian."

Sam just stared him down, anger starting to cloud his features. I fully expected him to tell Bunny off, but no. "Nothing." I saw surprise flit across Bunny's face a second before triumph did. "I have no clue why Tsar Lunar chose me, but he did. And I'd be a damned idiot if I turned this down."

Bunny sneered at him. "Ye dun getta choice."

"Neither do you." Both of their eyes flickered to me. I didn't really realize I was talking until the words were coming out of my mouth. "Manny chose Sam. I saw it, you saw it, we all saw it. You can throw whatever size hissy fit you want, but that's not gonna change the fact that as far as Manny's concerned, Sam is a Guardian."

He blinked in surprise, hesitating for a second. "You're not a part of this." Over his shoulder, I noticed Jack wince.

"Excuse me?" I raised my eyebrows. "Did you forget that you all volunteered me to bring Sam here? Halloween is my life, Sam is one of my best friends, and you're all family to me. This most definitely does concern me." I stepped towards the two of them, not realizing that I was stepping between them as I did. "I don't take kindly to people I care about - or things for that matter - being insulted. Yes Halloween is scary, Sam is not. Yeah, you two have a beef with each other, but that doesn't make Sam unworthy of becoming a Guardian. How often have you seen him with the kids while they're trick-or-treating? Or when he's helping them come up with ideas for costumes? Or even when he's just being himself and not feuding with you?"

I took a few steps closer to him. As I got inside his bubble, he started to back away, just a bit. "Never, because you're too much of a hermit to leave your damn bushes even for your believers." I jabbed my finger at him. It didn't matter that he was over two feet taller than me or that he was a few hundred thousand years older than me, you don't mess with a short girl when she's angry. And I was pissed. "So don't you dare say that Sam shouldn't be a Guardian when you don't even know him." I felt Sam's hand on my shoulder and turned to glance at him.

A faint smile played on his lips as he whispered down to me. "It's okay." I shot a look at Bunny, letting out an angry breath before storming across to the other side of the room where I proceeded to glare at him, arms crossed. Sam whispered a thank you to me as I'd passed him, but I was too wound up to respond at the moment.

Everyone stood awkwardly for a moment, staring between the feuding immortals. "Why is Easter important to you?" Sam stood his ground though I knew stage fright most definitely had a hold of him.

Bunny got a confused look on his face for half a second before blurting out, "What the bloody 'ell does that 'ave ta do wit anythin'?"

Sam stood a little straighter, glaring at Bunny as he did. "What's so important about Easter?" He took his time repeating himself, making sure Bunny knew he wasn't gonna just drop it.

"Hope." Bunny glared right back. "Easter's about hope. New life, new beginnings, renewal." A little of his anger faded away... just a little. "A chance for people to start over."

Sam cocked his head in a very Jack sort of way. "Well if you ask anyone else, they'll say it's about egg hunts."

Bunny's eyes went wide, anger pulsing back. "Whaddya know about it?!"

"I'm not finished." Sam's voice was low and, in all honesty, a tad scary. "Easter to you is more than anyone else realizes. It's the same with me and Halloween."

Bunny huffed. "All you do is scare people."

"So what? People like being scared on Halloween."

"We fight fear!"

"No, you fight Pitch!" Sandy caught my eye across the room, warning me to not say anything about Pitch if I had any sense in me. "And Halloween isn't even about scaring people, that's a side effect of the traditions - that were around long before me." As Sam stared down the pooka, I took a look at the rest of the immortals assembled. The other four Guardians were standing halfway between the two of them and me. The other's didn't seem to notice Sandy's interaction with me - all eyes were glued to the altercation going on center stage.

"Halloween is the one night a year where everyone believes. Ghosts, witches, fairies, magic - it all exists on that night because that's what people believe in. Because it's universally accepted that, on Halloween, everything exists. And that is important for us!" He stared at Bunny with a fire in his eyes. "I don't give a damn if people like to go around scaring people, because at least they believe that we're real for one damn night! That's what Halloween is... It's a chance - for one night at least."

"A chance fer wut?"

"To be more than a figment of some kid's imagination. To be seen. To be alive. To remember that I'm not a ghost." Sam leaned back a little, his anger giving way to disgusted defeat. "You never had to worry about disappearing before Pitch stole all your believers from you. The rest of us have. Me and every other immortal not lucky enough to be turned while we were still alive are terrified every day that we're just gonna vanish into thin air. We take every chance we can get to be seen just so we have one person out there that has more to hold onto than the ghost of a memory of someone they probably dreamed up."

Grudging understanding flashed through Bunny's eyes and he backed off a little. Sam closed his eyes, talking more to himself than the Pooka. "Maybe that's why Manny chose me." After a second or two of mostly silence, he looked up. "Regardles of why or why not I was chosen, I was. And if you're done objecting, I'd like to make it official." He turned back towards Jack - who was awkwardly still holding the tome.

He and the others glanced between the two of them for a moment before he stepped forward. "You ready to do this?" Sam nodded, causing Jack's smile to return as he bent his head to read the oath. "Do you, Sam Owen, vow to watch over the children of the world? To guard them with your life, their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams. For they are all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be."

"Until my last breath." The conviction in Sam's voice was absolute. "I do."

Jack smirked, closing the book and handing it to a yeti I think was Phil. "Then welcome to the club, Guardian." The others swarmed Sam to congratulate him.

Sandy floated over to me afterward, flashing symbols as he did. 'What are you thinking about?'

"What do you think?" I gestured to the happy reception Sam was getting.

'You need to find a way to break it to them.' I look at him in confusion for half a second, before understanding the cryptic words.

I sighed, dropping my voice. "You don't think I know that?" Sam glanced over at us and I waved happily at him. "How would you drop this particular bomb on them?" I eyed Sandy without turning towards him.

'Carefully.'

No shit, Sherlock. I rolled my eyes slightly. I knew what he was getting at. Sooner or later the others may very well decide to jump on Pitch - whether he was responsible or not. And when that happened, and my secret got out, Sandy wouldn't be able to save me from their wrath... and now that Sam was one of them, I didn't know whose side he'd take in the aftermath. I could very well be ostracized from everyone I cared about over this.

My voice still low, I whispered back at him. "He doesn't even care about trying to fight any of you anymore."

Sandy hid his surprise very well. 'How can you be so sure?'

I gave him a quick deadpan look. "In all this time I've spent time with him, has he done a single thing to draw your attention?"

'If he is related to the disappearances, yes.'

"He's not." I hissed at him.

'How do you know?'

"Because he swore that he isn't." And also that he knew who was.I'd still never heard anything more about that.

'And you trust him, truly?' Sandy sat down near me, eyeing me as discretely as he could.

I took a breath. "Yes, I do."

'One way or another, you need to tell them soon.'

I didn't respond, hoping my silence was response enough. Instead, I finally walked over to congratulate Sam on his promotion, pushing thoughts of Pitch to the back of my mind.