Curse Of A Witch (Book 1)

Ch. 37 Stay

*No One's P.O.V.*

As he soared through the air, Jack took in a deep breath, taking in the scents of the air and the feeling of the Wind carrying him as if he weighed nothing. Though, he was indeed almost alarmingly light, he didn't notice nor did he care right now. He was back. He was Jack Frost again.

With his staff held at his side, he simply willed winter clouds to gather and form, allowing just the right amounts of snow to fall on it's own. In certain places he'd allow heavier snowfall and in other places, he'd allow lighter flurries.

The Wind whistled in his ears, singing happily as it carried it's friend. "I missed you too, old friend." Jack smiled. He looked down at the town below him, marvelling at how fast he was working on bringing winter. He was being exceedingly cautious of how much he was allowing to fall, however, which was surprisingly tiring for him.

It took quite a bit of concentation just to make a single snowflake, because if he wasn't careful it would turn into a clump of hail or multiply rapidly. He had also been out of practice for 3 months, so he was a tad rusty.

Passing over Hawaii, he flew a bit higher as the climate was a tad warmer than he was comfortable with. He sighed deeply and made his was back to the main land, and back to Burgess. "Man, has it really only been 4 hours?" He questioned more to himself than anything.

He was unusually tired now and to him, his body felt as if he had been working for a whole day or 2, nonstop. Jack floated to a stop at his pond for a quick break, and as his feet touched the ground, they felt a bit wobbly so he held onto a tree for support.

"What the heck?" He asked himself, shaking the drowsiness from his head, he chalked it up to the lack of sleep during his time as a human, and from his time being imprisoned by Pitch. The Wind swirled around him, an aura of concern for it's dearest friend. "I'm okay, just tired. Let's go." He reassured as the Wind picked him back up, carrying him to Gen's house.

Upon landing and approaching the door, he created a holster on his back to carry his staff in order to keep it on him and also have free hands. He took a slightly deep breath, briefly knocked on the door, and entered.

"There he is! That was fast!" Tooth exclaimed, everyone excitedly greeting him as he closed the door. He gave a smile and nodded, "yeah, I'm surprised too!" He exclaimed, greeting them as well. "Welcome home Sweet Pea! I made your favorite!" Gen waved from the kitchen as she was serving plates of Lasagna.

Jack grinned, he loved Gen's home made lasagna. "Gosh, I'm starving!" He exclaimed as he rushed over to claim his plate from Gen who smiled softly. "I figured, you hadn't eaten in a while now that I thought about it.." she seemed to trail off, a hint of worry in her voice. Though she smiled brightly as she watched him dig in and the others happily eat as well.

"Spirits don't really eat or sleep much, rarely even, but maybe Jack still has some human traits even as a spirit now," Tooth commented as she took a small bite while watching Jack finish his portion and go in for seconds.

"I think I recall hearing about that," Gen replied smiling at Jack as he smiled cheekily at her and Tooth, not caring to put his own comment in. "Thanks Gen!" Was all he said as he scarffed down his second serving, the kids chuckling at his stuffed cheeks. "Jack, you gotta chew!" Jamie laughed, but Jack ignored him.

Once everyone was finished and everyone's tummy, especially Jack's, was nice and full, it was now quite late and time for bed. "Alright children, time to go home!" North clapped his hands as he stood, brushing off the complaints from said children.

"Its a school night kiddos, we'll see you in the morning!" At Gen saying 'we' Jack looked over at her, slightly confused. Of course, Gen noticed. "What?" She asked, confused by Jack's expression. "I'm staying here?" He asked, he was sure that he would go back to sleeping in trees or trying to hunker down in North's shop for a night.

Gen blinked in surprise and mild disbelief. "Sweet Pea, I told you that this was your home now," she paused as Jack's expression grew a bit surprised. "That is, if you still want to stay with me. You're always welcome here." She smiled softly.

"You.. want me to stay?" His expression melted her heart. He looked exactly like a child full of hope and happiness. "Of course I do! You're my Sweet Pea!" She hugged him, shivering slightly at the chill of his body. She won't admit it aloud but she missed his warmth.

"Thank you," he hugged back but quickly pulled away, knowing she was cold. "We will see you soon, da?" North smiled as he pat Jack's shoulder, who nodded up at him with his own smile. "See you tomorrow Jack!" Pippa waved as the Guardians guided them out, taking it upon themselves to take them home.

Gen shut the door once they were gone and sighed as she turned back to Jack. The boy had begun to clean up the dishes from dinner and was almost done until he turn on the water to rinse them, however, the water was hot. "OW!-" he yanked his hand back, hugging ito to himself and grimacing intensly as it made a slight sizzling sound.

"What happened?!" Gen rushed over, shutting the water off and gently taking his hand. It was burned but not too badly, only a few blisters. Jack on the other hand was trying not to tear up and trying not to look hurt. "I-I'm fine, Gen." He tried to pull his hand away but she wouldn't let him, instead she silently pulled out the first aid kit and began to spray aloe vera serum on it and bandage him up.

Jack stared at the floor in embarrassment, until she spoke. "Sweet Pea, you're not fine. You're exhausted and the water wasn't even that hot. I touched it with my own hand," she paused as he continued to glare at the floor silently.

She sighed, "I know today has been- no, I know the past 2 and a half months have been extremely hard on you, but you can talk to me. Its okay to not be okay, sweetie." She let his hand go and watched as he held it close to himself protectively.

He sighed solemnly, then looked up at her slightly. "Sorry," he apologized as she shook her head. "No need to apologize, Sweet Pea. You're stressed, I understand that. How about you get some jammies on and go to bed, hm? I'll go turn on the sky projector for you too, how's that sound?" She smiled softly as he nodded and turned to head up the stairs, pausing to make sure she'd follow.

Upon turning the projector on and pointing it to the ceiling, she went to let him change in private, but paused before leaving. "I'm going to take a quick shower before bed, wanna take one first so I don't use all the warm water?" She asked but Jack shook his head. "Okay! Then goo-" she began to walk out but was interrupted by Jack's soft voice and pleading eyes, his hand grasping her wrist firmly.

"I.." he hesitated and Gen was starting to really worry about him. He was acting strange and his expression was worrying her. "What's wrong?" She asked, stepping back into the room. She couldn't figure out why, but her gut was twisting from his demeanor.

"I.. don't w-want to be alone tonight.." his voice was small and soft, Gen's heart nearly broke. "Okay, so lets have a sleepover then!" She tried to cheer him up with her excited tone, which seemed to make him smile, but only slightly.

"Okay," he replied, letting her go. "I'll be quick, I promise." She instinctively kissed his forehead and exited the room to quickly shower and change into pajamas. Jack let out a shaky breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, running his fingers through his hair.

"What in the world is wrong with me?" He asked himself, slightly embarrassed by what he'd done. After putting the pajamas on, he slumped to the floor in the middle of his room, hiding his face in his hands. "Why am I acting like this?" His hands were trembling slightly and he sucked in a breath.

"Because you've been through alot, sweet heart. You have alot of trauma.." Gen answered him from the doorway. The sudden response made him jump and scoot away from reflex. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! I knocked but when you didn't answer I got worried," she closed the door behind her and sat in front of Jack as he tried to take calming breaths.

"I-I'm sorry-" he hated feeling this way, feeling and looking weak. He had his powers back, he was strong again so why? Why did he feel so broken? So scared?

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Hello my bootiful Snowflakes!

Kind of a long chapter but I felt like getting into how Jack's feeling now that everything has settled. He's finally able to slow down and deal with everything that's happened.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed.

*Jack Frost*