Chapter 1: Is This Real?

I sat in my room on my bed daydreaming as I usually did when I had nothing better to do. I was imagening that I was on the beach somewhere sunny and warm...

Then a chill hit me and I was snapped out of my daydream. I got up and looked out the window. It was still snowing... It had snowed all yesterday and the day before and was still snowing. I sighed and plopped back down on my bed and went into another daydream.

It was quickly interrupted by my mother who was calling my name.

"Serena!" she called. "Your father and I have a party to go to this evening. Could you go shovel the driveway?"

I groaned. Shovel the driveway? Why can't dad snowblow it like he normally does at five in the morning?

"What do I get if I shovel?" I yelled down to her. I was certainly not going to shovel the driveway without some sort of incentive.

"We'll see when your done with it!" she replied, which was her usual answer.

"Alright fine!" I said, knowing even if I got nothing I'd have to do it anyway.

I went into my walk-in closet and gathered my snow gear. I put on three long sleve shirts plus my snow jacket, two pairs of pants, my snow boots, two pairs of gloves and two different hats. I didn't want to freeze after all.

I walked down stairs and pressed the garage door opener, then headed out into the garage to find the shovel.

It was right by the stairs suprisingly, dad must have gotten it out for me. I grabbed it and took a look outside. I felt my mouth drop.

There had to be one or two, maybe three feet of snow outside...

I huffed as my nose was already getting cold. I went out to the end of the driveway and started to shovel the snow into a neat pile next to the mailbox.

"Heave... Ho!" I paused shoveling for a second, thinking that I had heard a voice. "Heave... Ho!"

I did, I heard someone. I looked around but there was no one for miles. No one was on my street, no one else was shoveling snow. I sighed to myself, thinking that I was going crazy.

I started shoveling once again.

"Heave... Ho!"

Every time I shoveled, I heard that same voice. It sounded like that of a teenage boy.

"Alright, alright enough. Who's there?" I asked finally, getting quite annoyed at the voice.

"You still can't see me? But you can hear me now! That's a start!" the voice said.

I looked all around to try and find where this voice was comming from, but I had no luck.

"You didn't answer my question. Who are you? And where are you?" I asked.

"I'm Jack, Jack Frost." he laughed. "And I'm right in front of you!"

I paused. Wait. Jack, Jack Frost? As in THE Jack Frost? The Spirit of Winter Jack Frost? Isn't he just a story...?

"You can't be Jack Frost..." I finally managed to say after about a minute and a half of processing.

"Of course I'm Jack Frost! If you believed in me, you'd be able to see me." he said.

I stopped to think for a moment. Did I believe in Jack Frost? My parents had told me at the start of middle school that Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Toothfairy weren't real. They never said anything about Jack Frost. So I guess that means....

"I Believe..." I said out loud, after hesitating a bit.

Then, there he was right in front of me. He was floating upside-down, his face very close to mine. He stared at me with his crystal blue eyes, and I swear he could see straight through me.

I couldn't breathe, I didn't know what to say and on top of that I felt my face get warm even though it was cold outside. I turned away after what seemed like forever.

He appeared standing in front of me the correct way, after I had turned away from him.

"Hey something wrong?" he asked. I still couldn't speak, so I shook my head no.

"So what are you shoveling for anyway? I made that snow you know. Its sad to see you throwin' it all in a pile like that instead of playing in it." Jack said.

"Well I have to shovel it because its blocking the driveway, my parents can't go out if I don't clear it... And I'm 18, I'm too old to play in the snow." I replied.

I saw Jack smirk for a split second before he disapeared. Then reappeared a few feet away with a snowball in his hand. The next thing I knew I was hit.

"Hey!" I yelled at him. "Don't throw snowballs at me!" I threw a snowball back at him, but he dodged it.

"You really want to start a snowball fight with me?" he said with a laugh.

"No, you started it!" I said, throwing another which still ended up missing him.

"I'll show you!" he said.

I tried my best to land at least one hit on him, but he dodged almost all of them. I on the other hand was hit with every snowball he threw and after a while my outermost clothes were covered in white. My face was as red as Rudolph's nose, and I could barely feel my fingers and toes.

I was laughing as I ploped down in a snow bank.

"You win!" I yelled at Jack.

"I told you I'm the best. I am the spirit of winter after all." he said, sitting down next to me.

"You should probably go in and get warmed up, your face is all red." he said with a laugh.

"Yeah your probably right, but I have to finish the driveway..." I replied, looking out at the unfinished driveway.

"Serena!" I heard mom call.

I looked towards the garadge for a second, then back to Jack. But in the second I looked away he dissapeared.

"Comming mom!" I replied to her as I got out of the snow bank. I ran into the garage and nearly fell over because of how numb I was.

"Come in and get warm sweety, you look like you were out in a blizzard." she said.

I giggled. "Yeah, it was something like that." I took one last look at the unfinished driveway before heading inside. I stripped off my outermost layer and took off my boots, gloves and hats. I went right over to the kureg machine to make some hot chocolate.

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After finishing my hot chocolate and cookie, I put on my second pair of boots and a different coat. "I'm going to finish the driveway!" I called to my mom before heading back into the cold. Although I had still not fully recovered from the cold, I had to finish the driveway.

I walked outside with my shovel and looked out at the driveway to see how much snow I had left to clear.

My mouth dropped. There wasn't a speck of snow or ice in the driveway at all. It was completely clear.

One thought came to mind, Jack.

I smiled to myself and put the shovel down. I walked out into the driveway an looked around for Jack, but there was no sign of him.

"Thanks Jack..." I whispered. Then I went back inside.

"I finished the driveway!" I said to my parents who were sitting in the living room watching TV.

"Already? You had so much to do the last time I checked." my mom replied.

"Well I got it done quick so I can do other things." I said to her, which was a complete lie. I couldn't exactly tell her that Jack Frost got rid of the snow in our drive way...

"Alright dear, here's your reward." my mom said as she took out a crisp twenty dollar bill from her small clutch purse.

"Woo!" I cheered as I took it from her.

"Your father and I are going to leave now, we don't want to hit any traffic. We probably won't be back until late tomorrow afternoon." she explained.

"Don't throw any wild parties or have anyone over while we're gone. Don't open the door and don't answer the phone, got it?" my dad told me, even though I knew the drill by now.

"Yes dad, I know." I replied as I was taking off my winter gear and putting it away in it's proper place.

My parents put on their coats and walked over to me, each giving me a kiss on the head before exiting out the garage.

I had the whole house to myself. Most teenagers love being home alone, but not me. I shivered as I walked back up the stairs to my room.

I entered and shut the door behind me and made my way to my bed to lay down.

I sighed, closed my eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep...

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I must have dozed off for a few hours. I woke up to a tapping sound at my window. My first reaction was to look over at my clock which read 11:00PM.

I got up and went over to my window, yawning I opened the curtains and to my suprise... There was Jack, floating outside my window smiling in at me.

I giggled and smiled back at him before unlocking and opening my window.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, still smiling at him.

"I told you I'd come back didn't I?" he replied, as he was still smiling too.

"Yes you did." I giggled, then continued. "So, do you want to come in? My parents went out."

"Your here all alone?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm home alone. Its no big deal though." I replied.

"Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to fly with me." he said smirking a bit.

"Fly? But I can't fly." I looked at him, and knew he had some sort of plan to get me to fly with him.

He held out his hand to me through the window. "C'mon, I promise you'll be back home before you know it." he said.

"Alright." I said, putting my hand in his. How could I say no, right?

He smiled and pulled me out of my open window.

I gasped as I looked down, we were several feet in the air and all of the buildings looked so tiny. It was very cold outside, I had remembered that I was in my pajamas and didn't even put my shoes on.

I had my light purple hoodie and my black sweatpants on with short white socks.

"Where are we going?" I asked Jack, starting to feel my hands and nose get cold.

"You'll see!" he replied with a short laugh.

A few seconds after I asked that, we landed next to a frozen lake.

"Its beautiful!" I said looking out at the frozen water. I had completely forgotten that I had no shoes on, and was not properly dressed for the cold.

"Isn't it though?" he said smiling. "I thought you'd like it."

I smiled at him. I was starting to get really cold, but for some reason I didn't mind.

"You know..." Jack began. "I've been around your house for a while now, but you haven't noticed me until now..."

I looked at him, a little confused. "You, you've been around my house for a while...? I-i'm sorry I haven't noticed you.... I feel kind of bad..." I said to him.

"Nah, don't feel bad about it... I didn't really try to get you to notice me until now." he said. "See, the truth is..."

I sneezed, then started to laugh. "Sorry, Its a little cold out." I said.

"Ah damn... Let me take you home then." he said, sounding a little dissapointed he didn't finish his sentance. "Hop on my back."

"Okay." I said, hopping onto his back.

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Jack's PoV

I took off as soon as she hopped on my back and rushed her home. I flew right into her room and put her down in her bed, covering her up with the blankets.

"Get warm, okay?" I said smiling at her. Her eyes were closed, so I assumed she had passed out on the way back. "Sorry I took you out in the cold. I'll see you soon." I said, as I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

After that, I left closing the window behind me. I looked back at her sleeping, before heading back home.

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Serena's PoV

I woke up the next morning, sat up in my bed, yawned, and streatched. I got out of bed and went to my dresser. I looked at my self for a second in the mirror to fix my hair, then a thought came over me.

Last night... Was that a dream...? Or was Jack really there...? I wasn't sure what to believe at the moment. I did believe in Jack Frost, that much i was sure of. But to believe he took my flying- I don't think that could be possible... I must have been asleep, it must have been a dream. I went to bed so early, that has to be what it was.

I headed down stairs to make breakfast, since my parents were not home yet.

I turned on the stove and got out a pan and other supplys to make pancakes. As I was about to pour the batter onto the pan, I heard the doorbell ring.

"Who could that be?" I said out loud to myself as I walked over to the front door. I peered out the window and I couldn't believe who it was...

I opened the door with a smile on my face. "Hi Jack." I said.

"Hey Serena." he replied. "Your parents aren't home yet are they?"

"No, they won't be back until later this afternoon. Do you want to come in for a bit? I'm making pancakes for breakfast." I replied, still smiling.

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, okay" he replied stepping foreward into my house.

I shut and locked the door behind him and went back into the kitchen to make the pancakes. Jack followed and took a seat at the kitchen table.

"So about yesterday..." he began. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have taken you out in the cold. I feel really bad about it..."

"Hey its alright, don't worry about it. It was fun." I said, trying to cheer him up about it. So I guess it really did happen then, but... I still can't believe all of this is real... I need more proof than just this... How do I know that my mind isn't making Jack Frost up so only I can see him? I'm so confused, I don't know what to do... I can't exactly talk to anyone about this because they'll think I'm crazy. I don't exactly have friends to talk to anyway...

"I'm glad your not mad at me... I thought for sure that you would." he replied.

"Oh stop it, how could I get mad at you Mister Jack Frost." I giggled. Even if this was just pretend, I was having so much fun. More fun than I've had in such a long time...

I made a whole plate full of pancakes and set them on the table, then got two more plates, two forks and two knives and sat them on the table. I got out the orange juice, milk and a cup for Jack and I.

We ate together in complete silence for a long while.

"So how do you like it?" I finally asked him.

"Best pancakes ever!" he said cheerfully.

I giggled. "I'm glad you liked them." I said with a smile.

"So- you remember last night, how I was going to tell you something before I had to take you home...?" he asked.

"Um, yeah... You started to say something but didn't finish." I replied, remembering how he threw me onto his back and never finished his sentence.

"So- there is something that I have wanted to tell you for a long time now..." he began.

I was almost afraid of what he was going to say next. I mean, it could be anything, but I had a certain thought in my mind that I was beginning to think was impossible.

"I-" he sighed. "I wish this wasn't so hard to say..."

I felt my face getting hot. I had a feeling I knew what he was trying to say...

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Jack's PoV

I don't know why I was having such a hard time telling her... I should wait because we have only really talked for a day, but winter is ending soon and I don't have much time left to be here until next winter...

"I-" I sighed. "I wish this wasn't so hard to say..."

I stared into her deep green eyes, and noticed her face turning pink. Did she know what I was trying to tell her? I felt my face start to get warm, which was odd because I'm the spirit of winter...

"N-nevermind, forget I said anything..." I said, turning away from her.

"Hey that's not fair, you can't tell me your going to tell me something and then not say it!" she said.

"Ah- sorry... but I just can't..." I replied.

"I think I know what your trying to say though..." she said.

I turned back to her, a bit suprised. I didn't know what else to say.

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Serena's PoV

"I think I know what your trying to say though..." I said.

He turned back to me with a suprised look on his face and didn't say anything.

"Jack I..." I began.

What am I doing? I can't tell him that I like him... I felt my face get hotter and I sware it was the color of an apple.

"I... I like you..."

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