Like A Dream

Silence was finding each crevice, settling in nicely between the two friends. It had been covering the couple for the past few seconds or so, as Jack remained quiet dreaming about other situations that could be worse than this. Too bad there wasn't any that didn't still include Ebony or the face of Pitch as he attempted to destroy the children's hopes again. Surely there was something. 

He let the reality of this sink in. He couldn't smoothly ease his way out of this one now; he'd bolted from each and every confrontation Ebony began. This time it was necessary for him to stay and explain. However it would've been absolutely easier to discuss this, if Ebony had already known the reason for his constant disappearances and idiocy.

Jack ended the staring competition between them two and glared at the ground. If the floor melted, creating a black hole he would've voluntarily leaped into it without a second of hesitation. 

To be honest, he felt absolutely disgusted with himself; Jack Frost wasn't one to dwell in perverse disappointment, he was a boy whose name intertwined with the word mischievous. This was the boy who defeated Pitch Black, the one who lived for over three hundred years without real companions, the one guardian whom nobody believed in until recently. This sort of dilemma should be a dainty but cold piece of ice cream cake.

Jack inhaled a large percentage of oxygen and released. His famous blue gems averted from the imaginary hole and moved to the slightly swollen ankle of Ebony. He lived long enough to know how to treat twisted ankles and a friendly touch may contribute into making this conversation less perplexing.

He reached down, cradling the tender injury lifting it up to be placed on his lap. Ebony shifted as so she would be comfortable sitting in front of the boy whilst her foot was being massaged by a coincidentally sweet, cheeky and a quiet nice looking boy. A sort of warmth that she wasn't a stranger to, spread rapidly throughout her cheeks. Yes, it definitely wasn't a question anymore.

"So unlike the last times I'm not gonna run away," he said sheepishly. He truly was ashamed about his recent frivolous behaviour. Sure, he was labeled as the winter trickster but he definitely wasn't one to turn his back on any problem. The infamous Jack Frost faced them. 

Ebony laughed half-heartedly. Almost a snort. "Yeah you could say that again."

"I wasn't the one who broke a promise," he stated, ivory brows scrunching up together. 

"Oh, come on," she scoffed. "Don't say that you didn't provoke it. I will not have a whiny guy clinging onto me while I went to the movies with the boy he hates, for some unknown and probably stupid reason." He was about to retort when she stopped him. "And you can't say otherwise. Now will you tell me why you've been acting so weird?"

His throat cracked, all words depleted from his metaphorically dry tongue. It pained to swallow the lump in his neck. He doubted that this conversation would get through easily. There was no sense in retrieving any hope for him or their slowly dwindling relationship as so he wouldn't feel too disappointed. She hadn't even said anything and already he was feeling that this wouldn't work out.

Hoping it assisted with calming his nerves and preparing Ebony, he began massaging the width of her ankle. Though she tried to suppress the content sound deep within her throat with a frown, she couldn't. Jack always played unfairly without even cheating; she shouldn't have been surprised. 

"Okay so...you should know that this is really hard to explain." 

The blue eyed boy cast her a look that asked for a slice of sympathy. Ebony rolled her eyes. He realized that she probably had been waiting for this to happen and that she wouldn't let any puppy eyes prevent her from receiving the answers she'd been desperate to know about.

He flicked his tongue out, trailing it along his lips before inhaling and exhaling quiet deeply. "I should probably start from the beginning-or do you want me to go right to the main point?"

Ebony averted her gaze from his, eyeing the fingers that kneaded her tender flesh. All of a sudden, she really didn't want to know the reason behind this weird dilemma of theirs. She had an inkling that whatever he was going to say - the upcoming words - would cause a tremor within the two, if not, a massive impact. 

He understood her long silence. "Okay," he mumbled. "This didn't just start this year...it started around the start of last year, just before autumn here. It was my last days of being up top when I'd get ready to head down." He eyed the girl in front of him and saw she was expressionless.

"I, uh... I realized how much I m-missed you." As he stuttered this sentence out, he scratched the back of his neck, tousling up the feathery ivory hair. "I'd been having this weird weird feelings and I had no idea what to do. I've had them before but it was different this time...not like how I felt around Aspen, because I thought she was just pretty."

Something lurched within the cavity of her lower stomach. It felt as if she could easily choke on imaginary vomit. She wasn't all too bothered by the fact that Jack found her sister attractive. But the whole spiel that streamed from the boy's lips made her nauseous. 

She blinked slowly before completely covering her vision. Slowly breath. In, out, in. Ebony repeated this sequence for a few more seconds wishing that the sick feeling lingering within her inner body would just disappear or at least be gentle. 

After a while, she gained her eyesight again. Curious azure orbs gazed into hers. "I thought she was just pretty." Did that mean that Jack also found her to be easy on the eyes and that the attraction delved deeper than mere physical attraction? Ebony shifted her attention back to the blue eyes.

"But I figured it was just a - a phase," he mentioned. 

As the winter spirit's buoyant, audacious frame slowly frayed, the more words spilled out of his rambling lips. His tautness became seen through his now transparent veil. 

The nerves radiating off his stuttered sentences and fidgeting hands - which remained to massage her sore ankle though this time it came as a replacement for a stress ball - caused Ebony, herself, to be on edge.

When Jack began to ramble on about another sub topic for this conversation, she groaned and prevented him from speaking. She believed that if he continued further on with this confrontation that something drastic would eventually happen. 

"Okay, okay, just-" she sighed, "just please get to the point. I don't - I don't think I can handle any more of this." Ebony was partly breathless and she emitted a worn out, breathy laugh. 

The boy looked up from the mattress, their eyes meeting, hesitance and impatience colliding. His hand finally lifted from her ankle and she rolled her foot around, trying to get used to warmth again, since his skin was ice cold. It was refreshing though. That, she was glad of, considering their current status. She bobbed her head - a gesture that invited him to continue. 

For Ebony's sake, he obliged searching for a way to break this to her gently. Because, let's face it, admitting this whole ordeal to himself was perplexing enough; explaining to her would be harder. He licked his lips again. "Okay," he murmured under a breath. "The reason why I ran away was--well there are two reasons."

She gazed at him expectantly already knowing the first reason. "You know the first one - about how I really did need to spend more time with children. I'm lucky the southern and northern hemisphere are opposite or I'd be dead." He scoffed. "Bunny thinks it's easy being the guardian of Fun since y'know...it's fun-"

"-but it's not." Ebony couldn't help but feel the impatience rolling in. It wasn't as if she was utterly desperate to finally know the truth - she just needed this whole thing to be over.

"Alright, fine. And because to run away from all the weird things happening." She raised an eyebrow. "Hap-happening to me, Bonbon."

She sighed, not particularly in the mood for more in-depth explanations. "Just get to the point Jack. If you're stalling it isn't gonna work, I just-"

"I was jealous of Adrian," he blurted out. Jack's heart sped up, seemed as if each beat was overlapping the one before it. It thumped vivaciously against his chest and it was almost painful how hard his heart was going. 

Admitting this to Ebony wasn't as hard as he thought; but it's the drama that occurred later that he was scared of. Situations like these didn't lightly come by and leave without certain consequences. He was sure this would cause some type of problem between their friendship. As if the two needed anymore dilemmas.

For some odd reason Ebony felt both nervous and elated. She wasn't exactly sure if Jack being jealous about her going to watch at the cinemas with Adrian counted as Jack having feelings for her. It was necessary for him to clear that up.

But if he did think of Ebony as more than a friend then they'd have no problem. Depending on whether she acted on her mutual feelings for him. She was ultimately flattered and that could be a reason why she felt the need to reciprocate. 

Sure, she'd had a humongous crush on Jack when she was younger but that was because she looked up to him then. And sure, that crush could've developed into real feelings that she might still be hiding right this moment. 

Furthermore, she knew that not all best friends to couples theme didn't always work out. She had heard a story where they had messy break ups. But, contradicting that thought, Ebony had always wanted that 'we were best friends then we realized we're in love with each other' romance though she denied any accusations of being a romantic. She sure would regret this if she didn't take the chance.

"Ebony?" he mumbled cautiously. "What are yo-"

Without anymore hesitations, she leaped from her sitting position and - forgetting all about her twisted ankle- placed Jack between her knees. Her arms wound around his neck locking tightly together as if she never planned to let the boy go. Despite her confident poise, her heart was thudding manically and her nerves were absolutely crazy.

She closed her eyes and leaned in. At first he was pure cold, as if she was being shoved into a snowstorm. Ebony paused for a second allowing herself to calm down. Then she tightly placed their lips together and the winter spirit seemed to finally make sense of the situation and set his hands on her waist. She shivered at the contact but continued to kiss him. 

Ebony sighed, parting her lips, already prepared for slight opened mouth doings. When he didn't follow for a few moments, she leaned back though missing that feeling of cold lips upon hers. She blamed it on her seventeen year old hormones before being serious again. "Jack? What's-what is it?"

Her eyes widened. For the first time, she caught sight of a light rose tinge to his cheeks. Ebony softly smiled and cradled his left cheek which only made him blush even more. "I'm sorry Ebony."

She giggled. "What are you sorry for? I should be the one apologizing - maybe kissing you was the wrong thing to do. I-I shouldn't have-"

Jack stopped her ramble on by gripping her hips and harshly tugging her closer. She oofed at this but got the message and began to lean in once more. "I'm sorry Ebony cause I don't know how to kiss."