Along For The Ride(ROTG Fan Fiction)(UNDER EDITING)

Chapter 13

I wake up, feeling a lot better. I put on my sweater and zip it up. I slip on my shoes and grab Jack's staff. I walk out of my room and join the others in the dining hall. I take a seat in the chair Sandy would normally be in. I grab two pancakes and a slice of watermelon and put them on my plate. I begin eating.

"So, today's a 'do nothing' day, too?" I ask North. He nods only because he has food in his mouth.

We all finish our breakfast and talk for a few minutes before we all go out to do our own thing. I sit on the roof and look around. Then I notice something. There's spots of brown here and there on the ground.

I go back inside to find North. I run into his office. He sits at a desk. "North," I say. You need to take a look at this."

"What is it?" he asks, turning towards me.

"Just follow me."

North gets up and follows me to the doors. I open one and walk out. North joins me. "The snow. It's melting. It doesn't ever melt up here." he says. He walks back inside and I follow. "Sandy!" he calls as he walks toward Jack's room. Bunny and Tooth appear at the top of the stairs. Sandy opens the door and steps out. "The snow is melting, Sandy. Do everything you can." Sandy nods and disappears back into the room.

"North, this isn't one of your tricks, is it?" Bunny asks.

North looks at him. "Go look for yourself." He swings his arm towards the windows.

Tooth and Bunny walk up to one of the windows. "Oh, my." Tooth says, covering her mouth with her hands.

They walk away from the window. I fly out the large window and sit on the roof again. More brown spots appear the longer I'm up there. Some even get bigger. I'm freaking out. There's nothing I can do, though. We just have to hope right now, but hoping isn't enough. I resolve to pacing, which isn't the best thing to do on a roof, but I do it anyway. I spin the staff in a circle nervously. Then I sit back down and start picking at the wood the staff is made of.

As I do this, I notice that the amount of blue ice the staff has on it is becoming less and less. I resolve to pacing again. I switch back and forth between these three things for about 2 hours. I risk a glance down at the ground. More brown spots, bigger brown spots. I switch back and forth again for another two hours. I can tell that it's noon just by the way that my shadow is made. I glance down at the staff in my hand. Few particles of the blue ice remain. I spin the staff in a circle again, trying to ignore the fact that I'm extremely freaked out here.

I finally just sit at the edge of the roof, my back towards the window. I stare at the ground and watch more brown spots slowly appear for at least ten minutes. I hold onto the staff tightly, occasionally glancing down at it. Then I stare off into the distance at the snow that seems untouched, but truly isn't. Sandy, please. I plead in my head. I plead in my head for a few minutes. Then I turn to hoping, hoping that it works, but deep inside, I know that it won't, and I know that Jack will be gone, forever.

"So, I see you're into stealing things now."

I freeze. Could that really be him? I slowly get up and turn around. My face lights up and tears of joy come to my eyes.

"Jack!" I exclaim.

I run toward him. I run into him. He stumbles backwards and I wrap my arms around him. I cry into his shoulder. He wraps his arms around me and strokes my hair. I don't want to let go of him, ever. I stop crying and continue to hold onto him. He doesn't seem to mind at all. He stops stroking my hair and just holds me.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry, for not helping you."

He places his hands on my shoulders and steps back. "Don't be sorry. There was nothing you could have done."

Just hearing his voice, it's amazing. "Are you happy that you're back?"

"Of course I am. And I have Sandy to thank. He gave me another chance to get the courage to do this."

I'm about to ask what he's talking about, when he suddenly places his lips on mine. He pulls away a few seconds later. He smiles and so do I. He takes his staff from me and walks back towards the window. He disappears inside, leaving me up here to contemplate what just happened.

Does it mean that we like each other now, that we're technically dating, or was it just something he meant to do awhile ago but didn't? Just something random?

I push the questions aside and walk towards the window. I go back inside. The main room is empty except for a few sleeping elves and Phil, who sits on the couch. Phil sees me and points towards the dining hall.

"Thanks, Phil." I say. He nods and I walk towards the door.

I open it and walk inside. Jack sits at the head of the table, which is weird, and North sits on his right. Sandy's on his left and Bunny sits next to him. Tooth sits next to North. I take a seat next to Bunny.

I grab an apple off the table, which, for today, is our lunch snack. I finish my snack quickly. The others must've had theirs already. I get up and walk over to one of the windows. I look at the ground. No spots. None at all. I smile to myself and walk back toward the table. I sit back down and listen to the conversation. Jack can't stop thanking Sandy. Tooth can't stop saying how great it is that Jack's back. North can't stop laughing at Bunny's comment of how he didn't miss Jack one bit.

"We have to remember to tell Jamie that you're alive." I say.

Everyone stops talking and looks at me. "What?" I ask. They continue to look at me. "You know what, whatever. Just let Jamie believe your dead. Who cares anyway? It's not like he was the first kid to believe in you or me." I say, suddenly angry. I get up and walk toward the door.

"Jess." I hear Jack say. I ignore him and walk out. I hear the others right behind me. I stop and turn around. Before Jack can say anything, Tooth says, "Jack, you're missing your staff." I realize he is.

"I'll go get it." I say, trying not to sound as angry as I am.

I walk back into the dining hall to search for Jack's staff. I spot it under the table. I lay down on my stomach and grab it. I get back up and notice something outside that's headed for the work shop. I stare out the window for a second. As it gets closer, I realize it's Pitch and some of his Nightmares. He's come back for a rematch.