Everlasting Snow: Chapter 37

A cough startles you.

Someone clearing their throat.

It came from Jack.

You remove your head from his shoulder and look up at him questioningly.

His cheeks are flushed a bright red color, contrasting the pale whiteness of his skin. He’s still staring out over the city.

You sit up properly, his arm falling from you.

“Jack?” you ask, concerned. “Is everything okay?”

He nods, his snowy hair shining slightly in the light, the silver in it emphasized as moonbeams weave in and out of the strands, dancing amongst them.

“I, uh,” he chokes out. He’s obviously nervous about something.

“I…have something to tell you,” he finally manages to say.

You raise your eyebrow. “Yes?” you say, curious. Is there something else about Jack Frost and his extraordinary abilities that you don’t yet know? Maybe it’s a deep, dark secret. Does he really know about your secret conversation with the moon and just didn’t say anything earlier? Your mind races with a million questions.

But you don’t voice them.

You patiently wait for him to speak.

He gulps.

“When…when Pitch, uh, captured you…”

You laugh to yourself, not audibly. You have to admit, he’s pretty darn cute when he’s nervous or embarrassed about something. You give him a warm smile.

“Augh, why is this so hard?!?” he exclaims as he stands, throwing his hands into his hoodie pocket.

He paces a little way away from you, kicking at the roof tiles. “Why can’t I just spit it out? C’mon, Jack!”

He turns back around and stands just in front of his staff. He touches it with his toes, rolling it back and forth slightly as he toys with it.

Looking down at the frost on the staff caused by his touch, he manages to continue, the red of his ears matching his blush. “When Pitch captured you, I panicked. Well, that’s a given. But it was a panic I’d never felt before. More extreme. I searched everywhere for you, for days on end, nonstop. Every crack, every crevice, light and dark, around where I thought you had fallen. I…I started to think the worse, and that possible truth scared me like no tomorrow. I kept searching.” He looks up at you, his piercing blue eyes meeting yours. “There was no way I was going to lose you.”

You smile softly. “It’s only natural that you’d feel that way. I mean, I am the only person who can see and hear you, after all.”

He shakes his head vigorously, taking his foot off his staff. “And then when I found you, I felt complete again. I mean, when I’d lost you, I felt like I’d lost a massive piece of myself.”

He scratches the back of his head, averting his gaze once again. “E-each time we got separated, whether it was my fault or Pitch’s or whatever, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Not just worry, either. And then Christmas, and then all this time we’ve been spending together…”

He uses his foot to flip the staff up to his hand, his other still in his hoodie pocket. He takes a place a bit in front of you, staring into the night sky. He shakes his staff slightly, as if brainstorming.

“The point is,” he says, removing his free hand from his pocket and waving it about a little with each word, talking with it. He takes a deep breath. “I don’t…think…I could…live without you, y’know? Oh, why’s this gotta be so difficult?”

He runs his fingers through his hair and sighs, turning to face you as his arm drops back down to his side. The moon is at his back, making him look like he’s glowing with a magical and mystical silver light, the frost on his hoodie glistening.

“(Your name), I think—No, I know—I…”

Your heart begins to race, your eyes widening in shock.

You slowly and steadily stand, unable to remain seated any longer.

Is he about to say…?

He takes a couple of steps towards you.

“I think I figured out why I’m here,” he reveals, clenching and unclenching his hand nervously as he stares deep into your eyes. His knuckles are white (if they could get any whiter) from the firm grip he has on his staff. “It took a while, but I figured it out.”

You don’t think your heart could beat any faster.

He turns his face up towards the stars in a brief and silent prayer. With an exhale, he looks back down at you. “I’m here...You are the reason why I exist. I…I exist for the sake of meeting and being with you. (Your name)…”

You hold your breath as he takes another, his face taking on an even deeper shade of red.

“...I love you.”