I'll Guard You (A Rise of the Guardians fanfic)

Chapter 10: Love and Fear

**Rose's POV**

I woke up to find Jack already awake. He was sitting up, stretching. We climbed out of bed and walked into the hallway, heading for the 

That's when I noticed his hoodie. Everything about him had gone back to normal, but his hoodie was a dark navy blue color. It was as if it was returning to the bright blue it was supposed to be.

"Jack. You're hoodie is still dark." I stated in a worried tone as I stopped walking. Jack glanced at his clothes, but didn't look over at me.

"I know." he replied. He continued walking and went into the breakfast room where North and Tooth were sitting. I followed, understanding that he didn't want to talk about it. When we sat down, I sat by North while Jack sat across from me, next to Tooth.

"Morning North, Tooth. How are you?" I asked, but they were too transfixed by Jack's still dark clothes to reply.

"Jack, your hoodie isn't bright blue.. Are you sure you're fine?" asked Tooth suspiciously. Jack rolled his eyes, already hearing the statement once today.

"Yeah, I know my hoodie isn't it's normal color. What of it? I feel fine." he said. The next second Bunny walked in, grabbed an apple, and sat next to me.

"Hey mate, what's up with the jacket?" he asked somewhat nonchalantly. Jack's grip on his staff grew tighter as he became annoyed.

"Nothing's up. It's just getting back to the normal color." he said through gritted teeth.

Sandy floated in next. When he saw Jack and he made the symbol of a hoodie above his head, followed by a question mark. Jack hit his fist on the table in anger, obviously knowing what it meant.

"My clothes are fine and I am fine. Nothing is wrong. Everyone can stop picking on me about it, ok?" he shouted. Everyone jumped slightly. 

"Mate, calm down. We're just confused is all." said Bunny in an attempt to get Jack calm again. Jack sighed and sat down, but didn't reply. Instead he rested his arms on the table and put his head in his hands. Everyone gave each other silent looks of worry, except for North, who watched Jack carefully.

"Jack, are you ok? You seem a little... off." said Tooth. Jack sighed and put his head in his hands. 

"I'm fine. Let's eat. I'm starving, so let's just eat." he said, sighing again. We all spent the next half an hour in silence, and not the pleasant kind of silence either. This quietness was quite awkward and uncomfortable. 

Jack, you wanna talk? I asked, in a way no one could hear. I saw Jack set down his food, get up, and leave the room. Obviously a yes, so I followed. I found him sitting at the end of the hall with the balcony, messing with his staff.

"Jack, are you sure you're okay?" I asked. He groaned in reply.

"Not you too. I thought you of all people would get it." he said, upset. I instantly became confused. Nothing's wrong with asking if he's ok, right?

"Jack, all I asked is if you're okay. That's kind of an appropriate question with the way you've been acting. But I'll rephrase it, because you obviously don't prefer the original.. What's wrong?" I asked. He looked at me with a sad expression before looking away again.

"I-I don't know. Well I do know, but not the whole reason. Rose, I hurt people. I may have killed people. The people I am supposed to help protect! And you had to watch me hurt or kill them, too! I was supposed to protect the children and guard you and I failed at both!" he told me sadly.

"Jack, none of this was your fault. You weren't yourself." I told him reassuringly.

"I know, but now that I'm back, I can tell that everyone is afraid of me, and also afraid that they might hurt my feelings. They're treating my like a wild animal and a baby at the same time. It's like they know what I did, and they feel bad for me me, but they're still afraid. Heck, I'm afraid." he stated, wandering off into thought.