Author's Note: This is my first Rise of the Guardians story, but I hope you like it! I wanted to do a special story for the Christmas season. Let me know what you think!

Chapter 1: It Wasn't Me

Jamie Bennett sprinted home as fast as his legs could carry him, the frigid December air stinging his face. It was the last day of school before Christmas break, and he couldn't wait to get home to drink his mom's homemade hot chocolate. His foot landed on a patch of black ice. He slipped and fell with a thud, a loud laugh escaping his lips. Cautiously standing up, he thought about Jack Frost. He hadn't seen Jack since last winter. And it had been winter now for over a month, but the Guardian was nowhere to be seen. Maybe something was wrong. Jamie shrugged off the thought. He was sure Jack was fine. After all, Burgess wasn't the only town that got snow days.

He carefully watched the ground as he walked, trying not to fall again. He could smell the hot cocoa before he'd even opened the front door of his house. Jamie left his snow-covered boots outside the door and stepped in. "Mom, I'm home!" he called, dropping his frosty backpack on the floor.

"Jamie, close the door!" his mother cried when she came down the stairs.

Jamie spun. The wind was blowing snow inside. His eyebrows furrowed. "I-I thought I had," he muttered.

He shut the door and faced his mom. She looked down at his backpack then at him. "You can have some hot cocoa after you put that thing away and go get your sister," she said.

"But, Mom, I'm freezing! I can't even feel my nose!" he whined, slumping over.

Mrs. Bennett chuckled, hugging him. "Jack Frost again, huh?"

Jamie frowned. "No. He's gone."

"Where'd he go?"

"I don't know," Jamie moaned, picked up his bag, and bounded up the stairs.

His socked feet squished with each step; they were damp. He pulled them off and tossed them in the hamper. He flung his backpack to the floor. Sophie's room was just down the hall, so he hollered as he left his room, "Sophie! Hot chocolate!"

"HOT COCOA!" she squealed, hopping down the stairs after her brother.

Her blonde hair was a mess, she clutched a stuffed snowflake, and her bunny slippers squeaked as she walked. Jamie and Sophie ran to the kitchen, but their mom stopped Jamie. "Unh-uh, you have to go put your boots on the porch and clean up that puddle. How many times do I have to tell you to leave them outside?" she scolded, pointing.

The gray boots were dripping on the floor as the snow melted. Jamie stared at the boots in bewilderment. "Wait, what? I did leave them outside!"

"Then why are they inside?" his mom asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't know. But it wasn't me."

"Then who was it? Mr. Nobody?"

Jamie shrugged. "COCOA!" cried Sophie, her green eyes pleading as she tugged at her mom's jeans.

Mrs. Bennett handed her a mug. "I'm not kidding, Jamie. Put them outside or you won't get any hot chocolate," she stated.

"Fine," he sighed.

Jamie trudged up to the front door. He could've sworn he'd left them outside. He lifted them up, opened the door, tossed them out onto the porch, and closed the door. Mrs. Bennett handed him some paper towels to clean up the water. His mom gave him a mug of cocoa and put a chicken in the oven to cook for dinner. Jamie chugged the hot chocolate in a minute. "Can I go play outside?" he requested, putting the mug in the sink.

"I thought you were freezing. And now you want to go back out there already?" she inquired.

"Please? I'm warm now. I want to build a snowman before it gets dark."

"I guess you can. But promise me you won't get frostbite."

"I promise. Thanks, Mom!" he shouted on his way up the stairs.

He pulled on a fresh pair of socks and his sneakers. He sat on his bed to tie the shoelaces, noticing something wet under him. Jamie stood up to look. His soaked socks were on the bed instead of in the hamper. He gawked, his mouth agape. "I thought I put you away!" he told the socks, and threw them back in the hamper.

"You did," a voice whispered in his ear.

Jamie jumped. His warm brown eyes scanned the room, but no one was there. "Hello?"

There was no answer. Jamie ran downstairs and outside, ready to build the biggest snowman ever. He didn't know what to think of the voice he heard in his room; maybe he was going crazy. But he wasn't going to worry about. Instead, he was going to run to the park to see if his friends were there.

00000

Jamie had successfully built a life-sized snowman with his friends, and the weekend passed with still no sign of Jack Frost. But Jamie had noticed something else strange going on. He kept finding things in his house ending up in different places than he'd put them. It was first with his boots and socks, but then he couldn't find his favorite book, or the remote-control helicopter he got for Christmas last year. It was scary, but he was afraid to tell his mom. She probably wouldn't believe him even if he did.

The worst thing was that Jamie had to take the blame for what he didn't do. And one night, Jamie couldn't do it anymore. Mrs. Bennett had just finished washing the dishes, and when she came back into the kitchen, they were covered in dirt. "Jamie Bennett!" she yelled.

Jamie scampered down from his bedroom. "What's wrong, Mom?" he wondered.

"What's the meaning of this?!" she snapped, gesturing to the filthy plates in the sink.

"The dishes are dirty. Is it supposed to mean something?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know what I'm talking about. I just washed those! Why did you do this?" Mrs. Bennett interrogated.

"What? I didn't—I didn't do that. I mean it, I mean it!"

"Then who did?! Do you think I did it myself?"

"No—I don't know. Did you?"

His mom scowled at him. She was getting really mad now. And Jamie didn't want to be anywhere nearby when she blew up. "Can I go to my room?" he whispered.

"No! I'm not done talking to you. Why did you do this?"

"I didn't do it!"

"Don't tell me it was Mr. Nobody," she said.

Jamie paused. What if there really was a Mr. Nobody? Someone who you couldn't see but caused mischief in your house? Someone you'd blame for everything you did wrong? "Maybe it was Mr. Nobody. Think about it. That's the only way this could've happened."

"Mr. Nobody's just an excuse. He's not real, Jamie."

"But what if he is? That would explain why my helicopter went missing yesterday! The one I asked if you'd seen."

"Jamie—"

"And my boots, I'd put them outside! I—"

"Jamie, stop! Go to your room! You're grounded," she cut him off.

She wasn't in the mood for his games, and he wasn't going to confess to dirtying the dishes. "But, Mom, I didn't do it! I swear!" he cried.

"There'll be no swearing in this house! You're grounded, which means no TV, no computer, no video games, and no playing outside. The only time you're allowed out of your room is to eat and use the bathroom, do you understand?"

"IT WASN'T ME! You're punishing me for something I didn't do?!"

"Go to your room!"

"OKAY!" he yelled, stomping up the steps. "I wish you'd disappear!"

Mrs. Bennett sighed and started washing the dishes all over again. Jamie was so infuriated that he didn't come down for dinner when his mom called. He went to sleep with an empty stomach, and was woken the next morning by its growling. Jamie rolled out of bed, put on his slippers, and slogged down to the kitchen, expecting his mom to be making pumpkin pancakes like she did every year around Christmas. But the kitchen was empty. "Mom?" he called.

He checked the living room; no one. Then he tried her bedroom, but still she wasn't there. "Mom?" he yelled with more urgency. "Where are you?"

Sophie stumbled out of her room, rubbing her eyes. "Jamie?"

"It's alright, Sophie. Did you see Mom?"

She shook her head. "Mommy?" she asked.

"I don't know where she is."

Jamie knocked on the bathroom door. It was empty. He sprinted down the stairs, the sound of his feet thumping echoed through the eerily quiet house. Jamie pressed the side of his face against the window to check if her car was in the driveway, and it was still there. Mrs. Bennett couldn't have driven off. "Where did she go?" he asked no one specifically.

"I want Mommy," Sophie cried.

"It's okay—it's okay! I'll find her, I promise," Jamie assured her.

Sophie clung to Jamie's hand as if her life depended on it. Jamie opened the front door to poke his head out. "MOM!" he screamed, hoping she was outside.

But it was only twenty degrees out there, and she didn't like to go out when it was that cold. When no one replied, he and Sophie walked out onto the porch. "What're you gonna do?" she questioned.

"I'm going to call Jack," he replied, letting go of her hand.

Sophie sat on the concrete, squeezing her plush snowflake in her arms. "Jack! Jack!"

Jamie cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "JACK! JACK FROST!"

00000

Miles away at the Pole, Jack Frost snuck into North's office. With a mischievous grin plastered on his pale face, he struck the bottom of his staff against the floor, coating the entire room in a layer of ice. He chuckled, and jumped out the window when he heard footsteps. North opened the door to find the room frozen. He didn't look so pleased. "Jack!"

Jack was clinging to the wall outside; his head tilted just enough to peek inside. He ducked when North called his name. Jack glanced back in. "Go find Jack Frost," North told one of the yetis.

Jack clamped his hand over his mouth to suppress laughter. North trudged up to the window, and Jack knew it was time to get out of there. He leapt from the wall, letting a gust of wind take him away. North spotted him, and shouted out the window. "Merry Christmas, Santa Claus!" Jack yelled mockingly in mid-laugh.

"Jack!" North called.

Jack pulled a snow globe out of his pocket. He'd swiped it off North's desk. He threw it in front of himself, making a portal to Burgess. It was a lot faster than riding the wind. Jack flew through the opening, and dropped out of the sky above the town. He glided down, making an icy path on the sidewalk to slide across. Jack hadn't given Burgess a snow day all school year, but now that school was out for the holidays, it was too late for that. But he could still visit Jamie Bennett. The breeze rustled his stark white hair as it lifted him into the sky. He spun and dove toward Jamie's house. When he got closer, he could hear Jamie screaming his name.

Sophie hopped up and down when she saw Jack, and pointed, squealing, "Jack! Jack! Jack!"

Jamie looked up, smiling from ear to ear. "Jack Frost!" he cried in relief.

Jack landed on a mound of snow in their yard and leaned on his staff. "What're you two doing outside in your PJs? There's gonna be a blizzard today."

"Where have you been?" Jamie queried, running out into the snow.

"Around. North's got me doing chores, eckh," he replied. "I've been up to my eyeballs in work."

He shivered in disgust. Jamie frowned. "I can't find my mom," he mumbled, feeling guilty.

Jack's eyebrows furrowed. "She can't be far. When did you see her last?"

"Last night. It's all my fault. We had a big fight. I wished she'd disappear, and now she has!" he sobbed, tears filling his eyes.

Jack knelt down, resting a hand on Jamie's shoulder. "It'll be alright, okay? We'll find her," he whispered. "Is there anything else you can tell me about what happened to her, Jamie?"

Jamie lowered his gaze. "I think it was . . . Mr. Nobody."