The Ties of Family (RotG Fanfic)

Chapter 22

Jack hovered outside the classroom window, peering in at the half-awake students, struggling not to doze off as the teacher rambled on and on. Jamie was among them, though he wasn't one of the sleepy ones. Caleb sat a short distance away and the pair were passing notes every time the teacher turned with his back facing the class. The only one who seemed to be paying attention was Monty, who was busy scribbling notes. Pippa had her head on the table, resting on her arm, somewhere in between the class and Dreamland while Cupcake who sat beside her was busy staring out of the window, most probably dreaming about unicorns despite her age.

Age. Aging. It had become such a foreign term for Jack. Ever since he became a Guardian, he was stuck at 17. But for the kids, they would still age and grow up, then stop believing. Well, not all of them would, but throughout the years of watching over children, Jack knew a huge number of them would stop believing in the end, having gained what they call, 'maturity'. Some still read bedtime stories of people like Jack to their kids but they didn't truly believe it. And some strictly prohibited their children from reading such books, so as not to fill their mind with fantasies. Half of the class Jack was watching at that moment had already stopped believing, he was sure.

He readjusted his position, so he would be seen by whoever who looked out the window. Cupcake spotted him immediately and beamed before waving. The teacher addressed her instantly and Jack smirked as he saw Cupcake struggling to answer the awkward questions. It would seem pretty strange to most people, as the classroom was situated on the third floor and the window looked out onto a field that was currently empty.

Jamie turned and spotted Jack. The 17-year old grinned widely, but quickly wiped it off his face and faced the front before he got on the receiving end of awkward questions. Claude and Caleb exchanged glances and shrugged, before pretending to copy notes. Jack's heart sank at this, but he reminded himself that it would happen.

But what Jack really feared was that it would happen to Jamie. His first believer. He couldn't imagine how things would be like if the boy stopped believing. Every day that passed, he was getting older. He was already older than Jack, biologically. The winter spirit's fears reached a crescendo the more he thought about it. Besides Jamie losing his belief, death also stood as a threat and a rather large obstacle between them. Jack was immortal. He had already been living for over 300 years. But Jamie was as mortal as mortal could be and anything could happen to him at any moment. Jack hurriedly shook all those thoughts out of his head and assured himself he would ensure the boy got through the day safe and sound.

But that was the problem. Jack had received a message from the Man in the Moon just several days before, reminding him that it wasn't just Jamie Bennett he was supposed to watch over, but also the children of the world. He couldn't harp too much on one boy. But Jack couldn't seem to stay away for too long from Jamie or Burgess. Furthermore, Jamie didn't really have anyone else; Sophie and his mother rarely talked to him and he hardly ever spent time with his friends. Man in the Moon had pointed out that it was because he, Jack Frost, had been spending too much time with Jamie Bennett, and in a way, it was also going to disrupt the boy's social life.

The bell rang, startling Jack and the sleepy students. The others hurriedly packed their things and were out of the class before the teacher could even dismiss them. Jack didn't budge from his perch on the windowsill, watching the kids file out of the classroom. The last one to leave was Jamie, who seemed to be taking his own sweet time to pack his stuff. When that was done, he walked slowly out of the classroom, but paused momentarily at the door and turned before performing a few gestures which Jack couldn't really comprehend. Thinking the winter spirit got it, Jamie ran out of the room.

"Hey!"

Jack swopped downwards and entered the school through the open front door, bringing with him a gust of chilly wind which sent papers flying about as the students scrambled to pick them up while shivering slightly. Jack knew it wouldn't be wise to fly through the hall in search of Jamie, but he couldn't be walking either. Still, he made his way through the crowd of students on their way to classes as fast as he could without making the wind billow about in the corridors. He headed to the third floor where he was suddenly overcame by an odd sensation. His sense of direction seemed to hone itself at that moment, and he knew where to turn. He wasn't aware of where his feet were taking him, but they seemed to know where they were going, and were moving on their own, carrying him along. Jack finally turned down one last corridor and bumped into Jamie.

"Jamie!"

"Jack!"

The boy cast quick glances around to ensure no one was about before grinning widely. "I have free period right now," he said. "Were you looking for me earlier? Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else in the world watching over children?" Jamie raised an eyebrow.

"You mean, you don't mind?" Jack asked.

"Sorry?"

"You don't mind me not being around all the time?"

Jamie fixed Jack with a weird look. "You mean, you didn't know it all along? I'm okay, Jack! You don't have to babysit me!" Jamie smirked slightly. "I guess before this I seemed pretty depressed, and I needed someone. But I'm okay now. Thanks for being there, Jack, but I don't want you to abandon your Guardian duties to keep watch over me."

"Yeah, you do seem pretty okay after you talked to your father. But your mom..."

"She'll be fine," Jamie said. "But there's something." He led Jack over to the notice board where a small crowd of students had gathered round as a notice regarding a science competition had been put up. Jamie pointed out one of the girls. "Jack, do you know that girl?"

Jack frowned slightly, trying to remember the girl's name. Of course he had seen her before, she was about the same age as Jamie and therefore fell under the category of 'children who need protection' as well. Sometimes Jack found himself questioning the rules, about watching over teenagers when they could very well fend for themselves, but there were times when he was glad such a thing existed.

"I can't remember," Jack finally said. "Well, you can't blame me, can you? I've seen millions of kids so there are millions of names running through my mind right now. I might've even seen her doppelganger!"

Jamie laughed, attracting stares from several passing students, as none of them could see Jack. "I heard she's really brainy."

"Why are you so interested in this girl?" Jack asked, smirking slightly. Jamie punched him in the arm, but not before looking around to check that no one was looking. The only ones in the corridor at that moment were the students at the notice board, however, who were still reading the notice, and taking down notes.

"Because I once saw her in a dream I had several months ago. She was supposed to be someone I was going to meet."

"Sandy has been playing tricks on you," Jack grinned.

Jamie turned to the winter spirit. "Do you think you can ask him about this?"

Jack nodded. "Sure. Look, Jamie, I don't think I can spend that much time with you anymore. I mean, there's a whole world of children to watch over."

Jamie shrugged. "Don't worry, Jack, I understand," he said. "It would be a bit lonely without you, seeing how my mom and Sophie have sort of abandoned me. But I still have friends, so don't you worry." To prove his point, Jamie waved and called out, "Yo, Monty!"

Monty, who had been one of the students gathered around the board turned and cocked an eyebrow questioningly at Jamie, who merely laughed out loud.

"Easter is in a week," Jack reminded the 17-year old. Jamie nodded.

"Is Bunny planning anything for Sophie?"

Jack smirked once more. "Yes, definitely. But he would need your help as well."

"Just tell me what it is," Jamie responded. "Anything to get Sophie to start believing again."

"Let's go somewhere quiet," the winter spirit replied, glancing around at several more students passing through the corridor. Jamie led him to the rooftop, where the Science and Garden club had some sort of mini greenhouse. They flopped onto the floor behind two large plants before Jack began, "Okay, here's the plan..."

Not very good, in my opinion. Thanks for reading.