The Vacant Years(Sequel to Along For The Ride)

Chapter 1

Yep, it's been three years. Three lonely years. I thought that by now there would be some sign of the other Guardians, just so I could talk to someone. Just going from place to place and talking to people here and there just doesn't work. I should probably tell you what happened, so all of this makes sense... It happened the day when we were fighting Pitch at the North Pole, or, at least, the other Guardians were. I got back just in time to witness Pitch admit that he was defeated. After he left, North turned to me. He was so angry that it wasn't even funny.

He asked why I wasn't there to help. I tried to explain, but he kept interrupting. Then he said that if I can't be there to help them, then I don't deserve to be a Guardian. And the whole time I kept glancing around at the others, hoping they'd help me out. None of them did. I thought that Jack, of all people, would be the one to stand up for me, but he just stood there with the others and watched. It's like we were strangers, all of us. North took away my Guardianship and told me that I can never come back to the Pole. At first, I thought he was just messing with me, but after a second or two, I thought otherwise.

So, I left the Pole, and that's what brought me here today, three years later. You know, I'd figure that they'd forgive me. After all, I did make the whole world believe in them, and me. For these past three years, I've only been doing what I guess I'm meant to do: bring spring to the people of the world. I guess being a Guardian isn't my thing. I kinda like it better this way anyway. I'm free and I don't have to worry about training and stuff. Plus, I have a nice family to live with: Jamie and his family. They accepted me, which was really awesome.

Speaking of Jamie and his family, I'd better get back to them. It's almost time for dinner. I climb out of the tree I'm sitting in and fly into the sky. I head towards the house. I get there in a few minutes. I walk through the front door and Miss Bennett greets me. "Jess, you got back home just in time for dinner." She says. "Your cooking is magnificent. I wouldn't dream of missing one of your meals." I say. She smiles. "Go ahead and sit at the table. Jamie and Sophie will be down in a few minutes." Did I mention that Jamie's eleven now? Oh, and Sophie's five. Cool, right?

I hear Sophie and Jamie running down the stairs as I sit at the table. They appear at the bottom and run over to the table. They take their seats on either side of me. "Hey guys." I say. "Hey, Jess. How'd everything go?" Jamie asks. "Great." I say, slightly smiling. Miss Bennett walks out of the kitchen with a few plates with food on them. "We're having breakfast for dinner!" Jamie tells me excitedly. Miss Bennett sets the plates down, which hold waffles and bacon. She leaves and comes back with two more plates and syrup and butter. One plate has extra waffles and the other has sausage.

She sets everything down on the table and sits across from me. I grab a couple of waffles and some bacon and set them on my plate. The others do the same. I grab the butter and put some on my waffles then grab the syrup and pour it over them. The syrup ends up drenching the bacon. It tastes good, actually. We all begin eating. "How was school?" Miss Bennett asks. "It was fun!" Sophie exclaims. We all smile at her enthusiasm. "I had fun, too," Jamie says. "Today, because alot of our class was gone, we just had fun the whole day."

I nod, only because I have syrupy bacon in my mouth. "And I bet you had fun, as always, Jess." Miss Bennett says. I nod while chewing. Sophie giggles. I finish chewing and notice the others just watching me. Then we all suddenly burst out laughing. After a few minutes, we stop laughing and finish our dinner. When we're done, Jamie and Sophie head upstairs to bed. "Well, I guess I better go. I need to finish my job." I say, getting up from the table. "Okay, be careful." Miss Bennett says. "I will." I say and walk out the front door.

I head back towards the forest. Earlier, I noticed a few places that needed more grass and stuff. The moonlight helps me get to the forest. I reach it and walk into the trees. I walk around for a few minutes before I come to a large clearing. I walk towards the middle of the clearing as I look around. Then I see something silver glinting in the trees. I stop and stare at it. Then it comes out into the open. I'm shocked. It's Jack. Happiness floods me and I want to run up to him and hug him, but I decide against it when everything that happened three years ago comes back to me.

"Don't you have some blizzards to make?" I ask, turning around. I start to walk away when Jack appears in front of me. I take a step back. "You're really not happy to see me?" He asks. "As a matter of fact, no. I am not happy to see you." I say. I turn back around and head in the other direction, but Jack blocks my path again. He puts his hand on my shoulder. "Jess, I need you to come back to the North Pole with me." He says. I shrug his hand off me. "Why on Earth would I go back with you?"

"Jess, I know that your upset-" "I'm more than upset, Frost. I mean, I've done so much or you guys and all you did for me in return was throw me away like I was a piece of trash." I say. I push past him and walk away. I can't help but glance back at him. Then I bump into something. I look up. Two yetis stand in my way. I turn around. Jack stands a few feet away from me. "You're really not gonna let me leave, are you?" I say. "Nope." He says. I smirk and then take off into the sky. I fly off in the direction away from Burgess.

Then something grabs my arm, stopping me. I turn around and see Jack. I rip my arm from his grip. "Jess, you have to come back." He says. "I'm not going back with you!" I say, tears brimming in my eyes. "You have no idea how much pain you've put me through. After doing so much for you. Making the world believe in you, being there for you, you decide to stop being there for me. I'm not coming back just so history can repeat itself." I say. A tear trickles down my cheek. There's a sad look on Jack's face.

I look away from him. "Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find us." I can hear the sadness in Jack's voice. I look up and see him already flying away. I watch him as he heads back to the clearing and floats down to the ground. I turn and head towards Burgess.