Jamie's mom called me a few days later, asking if I could babysit Jamie and his sister for the night so she and her husband could go run some errands and have a nice dinner afterwards. Like always, I happily agreed. I enjoyed babysitting Jamie and Sophie Bennett, and honestly it was no trouble at all. Telling Mrs. Bennett this, I quickly hung up the phone and texted my mother my plans for the evening. My eyes were focused on my phone, and though Aphrodite laid across my lap, she made no move to warn me of another presence in the house. "Boo!" A familiar voice half shouted, causing me to jump and toss my phone in the air, adrenaline surging through my veins. "Pitch!" I hissed, turning to glare at my friend. He cackled deviously, clearly pleased with himself and his success in frightening me. "Hello Anara," He finally greeted me when he was finished laughing.

He stepped forward to sit in the seat opposite me. "How are you on this delightfully dreary day?" Pitch inquired, crossing one leg over the other in a relaxed position upon my desk chair. "Better now that I have some company," I smiled when I answered him. Pitch smirked, folding his hands over his heart. "I'm touched," He cooed teasingly. I rolled my eyes at him. "You may not be when I tell you where I'm going tonight," I murmured. Pitch's demeanor changed and his catlike eyes narrowed. "Let me guess, you're off to the child's house once again." He prodded in a bored tone, though I noticed he was scowling at me. I gawked at him. "How'd you know?" I questioned him curiously. He shrugged, sprinkling some nightmare sand in the air and swirling it around. "The only thing I do not think is a wise idea for you to be doing is spending time with those goody-goodies the Guardians and that little brat Jamie Bennett. But I will not presume to tell you what to do." I could almost see him shiver in contempt at the thought. "Relax, Pitch. I've never even met the Guardians. This will probably be a routine babysitting job. Jamie will tell me about school and what mythical being he has read about, Sophie will chase Abby around a bit, and then I'll put them to sleep. Besides, I have a way I may be able to make it up to you." I admitted, standing to approach the spirit.

Pitch rose an eyebrow at me. "I'm listening..." He purred. I reached around him to grasp an orange and purple card Jade had given me at school that day. It was a formal invitation to her annual Halloween party. "Come with me to Jade's party. I know a lot of people won't be able to see you, but you could still swing some scares and cause a bit of mayhem to get some energy from their fear." I offered. Pitch accepted the card from my hand, reading over it with a look of disdain. When he looked back up at me though, he nodded slowly. "Oh alright, but I'm not going to enjoy it. I'm simply coming to appease you and scare some annoying children." He groused. I snickered from his reaction, before nodding and grabbing my bag to get ready to leave. "Thanks Pitch! You're the best!" I complimented him, knowing the words would get a rise out of the Nightmare King. His face snapped up and he looked at me, his mouth hanging open as I winked at him and walked out the door, getting ready to go to Jamie's house.

About fifteen minutes later, I found myself standing in front of the small house where the Bennett children lived. I looked around, feeling a cool chill in the air. This was different than the one that generally accompanied Pitch. It felt like it was charged with energy. Shivering, I walked up to the door and knocked lightly against the wood three times. Jamie's mom greeted me almost immediately and ushered me inside so that she and her husband could get going. Exchanging only enough words to clarify that I knew what time the kids were to eat, shower, brush their teeth, and get ready for bed, Mrs. Bennett and I parted ways as I went to search for the children. I scanned room after room, with no luck. Jamie and Sophie were nowhere to be found.

The sound of something solid smashing against the glass window of Jamie's bedroom startled me. I turned toward the noise, watching as melting snow slid down the clear pane. Curious, I moved back out of the room, heading down the stairs and out into the backyard. The moment my shoes met the short green grass, a wet mass crashed into my face, knocking me off balance. Falling onto my side, I wiped the freezing ice from my cheeks and eyes. The two children I was supposed to be babysitting were staring at me with wide eyes, big grins splitting open their tiny mouths. "Gotcha Anara!" Jamie cheered and Sophie giggled gleefully. I narrowed my eyes playfully, attempting to get back on my feet. It was then that I noticed a large pile of snowballs towering behind the children. My mouth gaped open. "Where did you even get all this snow, Jamie?" I asked. "He got it from me..." A new voice spoke up.

Turning my head, my eyes fell on a new figure who was lightly balancing on the wooden fence posts. He was a tall and lithe teenage boy, with snowy white hair and icy blue eyes. His skin was the palest I had ever seen, contrasting with the dark navy fabric of his hoodie. He wore light brown breeches from a time long ago, though shoes were absent from his apparel. Of course...Jack Frost... "Well...that explains it. Jack Frost, I presume?" I offered him a small smile. Jack nodded, swinging a long hooked staff around his head absentmindedly. "And you must be Anara Rose." He responded, hopping down and striding toward me. "Jamie told me he had a pretty babysitter. He wasn't lying." Jack stated matter of factly. He seemed genuine in his remark, not creepy or ill intended.

I couldn't help the blush that tinted my cheeks from his statement. "Thanks Jack." I said politely. Jack dipped his head in acknowledgement, before he leaned down and picked up some of the wet snow on the ground. He used his hands to shape it into a ball, and then blew on it softly. A blue shimmer encircled the snowball, and Jack suddenly spun on his heel, aiming at Jamie. The enchanted snowball hit Jamie square in the chest, knocking the young boy onto the ground and causing Sophie and I to giggle.

Jack turned toward me again, a satisfied smirk on his face. "Impressed?" He asked. I nodded enthusiastically. "Very much so," I answered through my laughter. "You know, I haven't met someone your age who still believes in me." Jack commented thoughtfully, narrowly dodging a small snowball that Sophie threw at him while he was distracted. "Well, I've always had a feeling the stories were based on some reality, and I saw you and Jamie the night you fought Pitch Black. My house is near the park." I explained. Jack's eyes widened in realization and he chuckled. "Well...that makes sense then. So you watched us defeat Pitch then?" "I didn't watch it, but Jamie told me what happened." I explained. "I see...well, what do you say Anara? Wanna join our snowball fight?" Jack asked, conjuring up another smile pile of the frosty ammunition using his staff. I laughed again, reaching down to pick one up. "Sure, Jack." I replied, pulling my arm back and throwing the snowball at Sophie. It hit her arm and made her giggle joyfully, running off to find her own icy firepower.

And so the minutes turned to hours, with the children continuing their snowball fight with Jack and I. Jack and I continued to exchange friendly banter and questions. He asked about how long I had been babysitting Jamie, I asked what it was like being a Guardian. Of course, I had asked the same from Pitch, in a way, but Pitch's guardianship was not the same as the other five mystical beings. Jack showed me how he could use his staff to fly through the air on a breeze, and create icy slopes perfect for sledding across town. He was clearly as much of a free spirit as Jamie had made him out to be. But it was nice to speak with him, to understand his points of view.

Soon the clouds above turned rose and lavender as dusk fell on the horizon. Ushering the children inside, I followed them into the house as Jack waved goodbye to us. I made the kids some Mac-n-cheese for dinner, and then let them watch a bit of tv before taking them upstairs to get ready for bed. Soph was the first to fall asleep, tired out from the fun activities of the day. I carried her upstairs to her room, placed her in the bed, and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. Part of me wished I had a sister. Unbeknownst to me, Jamie had some questions to ask me before he could even think of getting any shut-eye.

When I turned to make sure Jamie was in his room, I ran right into the scrawny child, nearly falling over him. "Oof!" I grunted, stumbling backward. "Sorry Anara!" He apologized quietly, careful not to wake his sleeping sister. "It's alright Jamie, is something wrong?" I asked worriedly, taking note of his widened hazel eyes. "Yes! I mean, no! I mean...well, I don't know!" He admitted, kicking at the floor absentmindedly. I tilted my head in confusion. Then my eyes fell upon something dark poking out from behind Jamie's back. He was hiding something behind him. Thankfully, he noticed that I had caught him before I had to call him out on it, and he brought the object into the light.

It was the hoodie I had been wearing when I had arrived at the Bennett household, though I had left it on the couch when I had gone to make dinner. "I-I didn't mean to snoop through your stuff. Abby wanted to play ball while you were cooking, and when she brought it back after I threw it, she dropped it on your hoodie. But there was a bunch of drool on it, which was gross, and I tried to clean it up. But when I did...I noticed...this..." Jamie explained quickly, earnestly trying to prove he wasn't trying to nose through my things. He held up my hoodie, and I suddenly realized what had alarmed him.

There was black sand glittering in the hood, not much, but enough to be recognizable as Pitch Black's nightmare sand. It was a fine dusting of the material, likely caused by Pitch flinging it around in my room whenever he was bored. "This is his! Pitch Black's! He's been to visit you! You're not safe, Anara!" Jamie pressed, shaking the article of clothing at me. I sighed, nodding slowly at the child. "I know it's Pitch's. I've met him, Jamie." I admitted, taking the fabric from the younger boy. Jamie gaped at me in disbelief. "You...you what?" He whispered. I glanced down at him. "Pitch and I are friends, Jamie," I told him, watching his frown deepen and his breathing becoming more shallow. "B-but how?" He murmured, sounding as though he was in a panic now. "It's a long story Jamie. All I can tell you for sure is that he has seemed to change. But you can't tell anyone Jamie!" I pleaded with the boy, ushering him to his room.

He stumbled over his feet but crossed the hallway, repeatedly looking at me over his shoulder. "But Jack! The Guardians! They need to know that Pitch is back!!" Jamie exclaimed. I rolled my eyes, knowing that while I knew Pitch was not a threat, Jamie and the Guardians did not. "I will tell them about Pitch, I promise. Just...give me time Jamie. Pitch spends most of his time with me now, and I don't foresee him making any revenge plans anytime soon. I'll keep an eye on him for now, and I will tell Jack when the time is right," I assured him. Jamie hastily climbed into his bed, shaking his head. "I don't like this Anara...but I trust you..." He muttered, lying down on his back. I stepped forward, leaning down to kiss Jamie on the forehead. "Thank you, Jamie. I promise everything will work out." I whispered. "Now, get some sleep..." I bid him goodnight and slid out of the small room, heading back down to the living room to wait for Mr. and Mrs. Bennett to show up.

Pulling my hoodie back on, I hugged the fabric closer to my chest. Even though I wasn't alone in the Bennett household, I felt isolated again. The soft particles of sand that lingered on my hoodie were comforting, and I was once again reminded how strange being friends with the Nightmare King was. How missing his presence seemed insane. But I was counting down the moments until I could be home, in my own room, and in my own bed. I sat down on the couch, and Abby approached me. The female greyhound lay on the cushions and rested her head in my lap, allowing me to stroke her ears. We sat there for some time in silence, the room darkening as night fell on the small house, and I thought about what would happen if Jamie were to tell the Guardians about Pitch, and what would come after.