Along For The Ride(ROTG Fan Fiction)(UNDER EDITING)

Chapter 18

I wake up in Jack's arms. I can tell that he's still asleep, so I just lay there. A few minutes pass by when Jack starts to wake up. I get up and put on my shoes. I glance over at Jack as I grab my sweater. He rolls off the bed and face plants into the floor. I resist the urge to burst out laughing. I pick up Jack's staff as he gets up off the floor. I spin it in a circle and say, "You know, I could use your staff if I wanted to."

He walks over to me and takes his staff back. "Yeah, sure you could," he says sarcastically.

"No, seriously, think about it. We're similar in some ways, we really are. So it's possible that I could use your staff," I tell him.

"Keep tellin' yourself that, Jess." He says. I punch him in the arm playfully. "So," Jack says, smiling. "Want to go get breakfast?"

I pause for a second. "Um, no. I'm good. You can go ahead. I'll just be in here," I say. He looks at me, confused. "I don't want a repeat of what happened last night," I say.

"You definitely don't have to worry about that, Jess. The problem is going to be how much most of them won't talk. North completely freaked out on Tooth and the others. Mostly Tooth, though. He told them to not ask or speak of what happened until you showed signs of improvement," he says.

I process this for a second. "Okay, lets get breakfast." I say. Jack smiles again and we walk out of my room. We walk up the stairs and towards the dining hall. We reach the door and Jack opens it. I can hear the others fall silent before we've even walked into the room. I walk through the door and towards the table. I hear Jack following me. I take my seat next to Sandy, who's watching me along with the others. Jack sits next to me and the others begin talking quietly to each other, partially ignoring us. They glance at us every so often.

I put two pancakes and a watermelon slice on my plate. I glance over at Jack, who's quietly eating. I do the same. After I finish my breakfast, I lean over to Jack and whisper, "Do you think this is weird?" He nods and I sit back up in my chair. After sitting there for a minute or two, I realize how bored I am and form a small ball of green light. I start messing around with it. I make it float until it reaches a foot or so above my head. I roll it around on the surface of the table. I quietly bounce it on the table.

Jack taps on my shoulder. I look over at him and he points towards the door. I nod and we both quietly get up from the table. The others don't seem to notice us as we walk towards the door and leave the room. Jack and I stand near the globe. "Do they hate us?" I ask him. "No. They're just following North's instructions. A little too well, if you ask me." I smile at this, so does he. I begin to bounce my ball of light. Then Jack snatches it out of mid-air and starts rolling it around in his hands. We hear a door open and look towards the dining hall. The others walk out of the room.

"Hey guys. What-" They walk past us, not even glancing our way. Jack takes my ball of light and throws it. It hits Bunny in the back of the head and disappears. He spins around. "What was that for, Frostbite?" Bunny asks. The others turn around. "I don't know," Jack says. He shrugs. "I don't have a reason." He smirks and I give him a high five. He deserves it. "So," I begin. "I see that you guys have been ignoring us. Would you mind giving a reason?" Jack and I raise an eyebrow at the same time. "We don't want the same thing that happened last night to happen again." Tooth says. "That's not a reason, not a good enough one, anyway." I say.

I smile on the inside. I have a plan, complete payback. I grin wickedly and Jack smirks again. I can see a hint of fear on each of their faces. I look over at Jack. "What do we do with them?" I ask. Jack motions for us to talk privately. I look back over at the four of them. "If any of you move a muscle, you'll all regret it later." I tell them sternly. Then I walk over to Jack, who stands a foot away from me. " Do you think we should stop messing with them now?" I ask. He nods. "Yeah, I think they're afraid enough." He says. We turn back around and face them.

"Ha!" I shout. They seem to relax. "Payback." Jack says and I smile. "One of our specialties." I say. Tooth flies up to Jack and starts yelling at him. "What the heck, Jess?" Bunny shouts at me. I shrug. "Sorry, but it was just so funny, watching you guys be afraid. You know, I never thought that I'd see the great Santa Claus and the strong Bunnymund ever get as scared as that." "Glad you are better." North says. "I guess I just needed a bit of fun." I tell him. After Tooth's done shouting at Jack, she flies back over to Baby Tooth and two other fairies of hers and starts mentoring them about teeth. Sandy flies off to do his job for half of the world and North sits at a table, probably figuring out what we're supposed to do. I sit on the banister halfway between the stairs and the hallway. Jack sits on the couch and Bunny stands next to him. I form another ball of light and start playing with it.

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*Jack's POV*

"You're making it too obvious, Mate." Bunny says, interrupting my thoughts. I look over to my left where he stands, leaning against the wall. "What?" I ask. "If the others payed as much attention as I do, they would've figured out by now that you like Jess. You're making it too obvious." He says. I look over at Jess and see her slightly laughing as she tosses a ball of green light up into the air. She leans back to catch it and falls off the banister. I go to jump up but Bunny stops me. "It's moves like that, that make it obvious, Jack." He says.

I watch Jess fly back up to the banister, holding the glowing ball in her hands. She sits on the banister again. "She's not the helpless girl she was when we found her. She can handle herself. You don't need to jump in there every moment a bit of danger arises. If Pitch finds out that you like her, he'll torture both of you." "What's your point?" I ask Bunny. "Stop making it so obvious." He says. "How do I make it less obvious." "Don't go where she goes all the time. Do stuff by yourself sometimes." He tells me. "It'll help us all out if you keep your emotions hidden." Then he walks away.

How in the heck am I supposed to hide my freaking emotions? I doubt Bunny's ever loved someone, so he doesn't know how hard it is. I've been wondering if Jess really likes me. If she does, she's hiding her emotions way too well. If I really want to hide my emotions, I feel as if I'd be pushing her away. I can't push her away, I love her. But nobody needs to find out, at least according to Bunny. I'll have to hide my emotions, one way or another. It'll keep us both safe.

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*Jess' POV*

I watch Sandy fly through the window and land next to the table North is sitting at. North gets up and announces, "I do not know what we should do today." Everybody comes closer. "Oh, I know!" Tooth says excitedly. We all look at her. "Can I show Jess around? We haven't gotten to do that yet." "Of course, Tooth. You can show Jess around the work shop." North says. Tooth squeals. "Thanks, North," She says and grabs my arm. "You guys have fun. We'll meet you in the dining hall when we're done." She flies off towards the stairs, dragging me behind her.