Rise of the Guardians 1. New Town, New Stories

There was a new girl in the small town that was home to the children that first believed in Jack Frost. She was a senior in high school that had moved from a busy city to live with her father who had been living in the town for several years, having moved there shortly after his divorce from the girl's mother. Her name was Nicole and she was an aspiring author, one who dreamt of specializing in faery tales. She loved all things that had to do with magic and the unseen people that she believed used it, though her father often chastised her for what he called her "idiotic and childish beliefs." The two didn't see eye-to-eye on many things, one of the most notable things being Nicole's hair.

She had always been a blonde, but when she began to experiment with her appearance at the beginning of high school she decided that she wanted to take it to the next level. She left behind the natural 'beach' blonde she was born with and instead picked up a shade of 'bleached' blonde that could only be called white. It made her feel more mystical and she loved the way younger children would stare at her hair as they asked her if she was born with it. Just before Nicole moved to the town she decided to add a bit of color to her hair, something she'd thought of doing quite often throughout high school, but decided against it as most girls, and even a large number of guys, in the area she lived in had neon and pastel colors in their hair. Nicole decided to color the tips, about four inches up, of her shoulder length white hair bright blue, as it was her favorite color.

When she was moved into the town and began to hear stories from the local children about Jack Frost it didn't take long for her to writer's instinct to inspire her to craft a short story about her supposed encounter with the famed winter spirit who touched her hair and turned the tips of her hair blue. She told the story to the little girl who became her neighbor and it wasn't long until all the neighborhood children knew of her wonderful stories and wanted to meet the older girl who not only believed in their friend Jack Frost, but had also seen and interacted with him. The enthusiasm Nicole encountered when telling the children in the area of her stories, she confided in a few of the older kids that some of her stories were just pieces of fiction she'd written, but she let the younger kids believe that all the amazing things she told them could happen to them.

Soon, word of Nicole traveled all the way to the Guardians. The stories that made their way to Jack by word of mouth piqued his curiosity, and just a few weeks after Nicole had settled into the small town Jack was on his way to 'investigate'. The thought that a teenager and a girl no less, believed in him made Jack's chest feel tight and made his heart beat a bit faster. When Jamie and the other kids recounted Nicole's tales to Jack he couldn't stop himself from imaging what kind of person she was. He liked to imagine that she was a nice girl, but the fact that she was telling false stories while claiming that they were true made him feel uncomfortable. Could she just be another one of the writers that lied about their beliefs and wrote about whatever would get them somewhere in life? Jack had come across those kinds of adults far more often than he liked, in fact he couldn't recall even one adult that wrote faery tales that had seen him when he'd peek in on their latest work. Eventually he couldn't fight the urge to see Nicole and her hair that he'd 'touched' any longer and he set out to bring a well-deserved snow day to his favorite group of kids.


	2. A Chilling Meeting

Gliding through the air Jack made his way to the infamous Nicole's house, she lived in a small house next door to Jamie and Sophie so it didn't take him very long to track her down. As he got closer to the house he heard faint yelling, which got louder as he approached the house. Looking through a window he saw the girl he knew was Nicole and an older man, both red in the face and yelling at each other. Jack heard snippets of their argument from outside, but tried his best not to listen, he did however take note that they seemed to be arguing because of a 'Carol'. After a few more minutes' words seemed to be done flying and a silence filled the house, interrupted only by the slamming of two doors heard two doors. Jack was nervous, but knew he couldn't leave; she would need him more now than ever.

He located the window of Nicole's room, opening it a tiny bit, and blew in a small ribbon of snow. The snow danced around the room until it curled around the girls crying form. Noticing the sudden chill Nicole wiped some tears from her vision and watched the snow, which was now forming into various shapes and patterns. When the girl was too distracted to cry anymore the snow changed back into a ribbon and made its way back to Jack, who was now inside the girl's room and leaning against the opened window. Nicole's eyes followed the snow back to Jack and upon noticing that someone else was in her room she began to panic. Her panic quickly turned into embarrassment when it dawned on her who her unannounced guest was.

"Are you really…?" She whispered, fearing that if she spoke too loudly she'd wake up and find that he was only a figment of her subconscious. The look she was giving Jack brought a smile to his lips; it was the look that he saw on every kid's face when they saw him. Being on the receiving end of that look was something that all the Guardians loved, and Jack knew that he'd never get tired of it.

He nodded to her, motioned for her to look at the new flurry of snow that he'd let loose of in her room. At first it appeared to just be the product of a small snow storm that had taken place in the room, but as Nicole watched the mishap of snowflakes began to take shape. First it formed as the silhouette of a girl. The snow girl was soon accompanied by the silhouette of a snow boy, or more specifically a snow Jack. The snow girl jumped out of surprise when she turned to face the snow Jack. Snow Jack responded by touching the girls hair, which then faded away. Both of the snow people faded away as a blush covered Nicole's face.

"So, I'm guessing you're the girl whose hair I've touched?" Jack spoke out, pointing towards the blue in Nicole's hair. The pink intensified on Nicole's face and sheepishly nodded,

"I-I'm sorry… It was a story I was working on for a class I was taking in my old town. The kids here are filled with such wonder and belief that I couldn't help but see what they thought." Her words were rushed and her head was tilted down, which made Jack softly chuckle to himself; she looked as if she were a small child that was expecting a scolding for having been caught after doing something they knew was wrong. A sweet smile spread on Jacks lips and he made his way closer to Nicole, who had been sitting on top of her floral bedspread. He put an ice cold finger under the girl's chin, prompting her to look at him. When she looked into his eyes she couldn't help but to shyly return his infectious smile. She then felt a chill on her ear as Jack coyly whispered,

"If you read me some of your stories I'll tell you what I think of them." This caused Nicole's face to once again turn pink, but she agreed to Jack's proposition and grabbed a few journals that were filled with some of her writings. She read him countless stories that night and the two stayed up until the wee hours of morning discussing how she could improve some aspects of her stories and make them more 'realistic' and believable.

Just before Jack said his farewell Nicole worked up the courage to make him promise to return and give her more feedback on her stories. He agreed, and made a mental note to himself to tell the other Guardians some of the stories he'd heard that night. Just as he was about to leave through the window he felt Nicole grab at his hoodie, she wasn't going to let him leave without a hug. He laughed at the blush he saw on her face, confirming the fact that she thought he was cute. Jack gave her a hug and before letting go he gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and waited for her to return the action, claiming that she needed to seal the deal with a kiss; Jack's cheek felt warm just as Nicole's cheek felt cold for the better part of that day.


End file.

Rise of the Guardians, Friendship, Romance