Joy walked through the halls of South Mountain Middle School smiling broadly. A big contrast to the bleary eyed yawning students who actually went to the school. As she slipped through the crowds unnoticed she would touch students or blow some white powder in their faces. When she did this they would blink and begin smiling. Whenever this happened she would giggle, pleased with herself.

Once the bell rang and the hordes dissipated Joy simply walked outside. No one stopped her or told her to get to class. She walked across the parking lot and started down the sidewalk, skipping happily.

Joy was old. The first thing she remembered when she woke up nearly 100 years ago was that it was night. A full moon shone down on the silvery aspens that surrounded her. One of the bigger trees lied on top of her. She struggled and finally pulled herself out from under it. She looked around and then, heard a voice. Joy spun around and found herself looking up at the moon.

"Hello Joy," said the moon. "You may not remember everything quite yet, but don't worry. Everything will make sense in time. Good luck." And then it went silent.

"Wait!" she called. "What am I supposed to do?" But the moon didn't reply. She looked around again and saw a small, brown drawstring bag. She picked it up and opened it. Inside was... sand? Joy scooped some up and sniffed it. It smelled like... chocolate chip cookies and... grass? And something else she couldn't name. It made her happy. So the logical thing to do was taste some. Her eyes popped open as she realized it wasn't sand , but sugar. Joy laughed.

Back in the present Joy sighed and then shivered. She wore dark blue jeans and a yellow and white striped t-shirt. Her hair was long, blonde, and tied in a pony tail. It was the beginning of December and winter had most definitely come to Burgess. She sighed because she was still no closer to answering that question. She had no idea who she was or what she was supposed to do. For the past 100 years hardly anyone had been able to see or hear her. But they could feel her.

Joy first learned about her abilities about a week after she woke up. She was discouraged because no one could see her, but kept trying anyway. She was sitting on a swing at the local park when a young boy (maybe 5 years old), fell off the slide. The boy began crying- no, wailing. She ran over to help and put a comforting arm around him.

"Shh, Shh," she crooned. "It's ok. You're ok." The boy looked up at her with wide eyes. At least he had stopped wailing.

"Are you an angel?" he asked quietly. Joy was taken aback for a moment that someone had seen her, but quickly recovered. She smiled reassuringly.

"No," she replied with a chuckle. "But I am a friend. Are you hurt?" He shook his head and then brightened.

"Will you play with me?" he asked. Starting to feel like there was some hope for her she nodded. He jumped up and brandished an imaginary sword at her. She jumped up and brandished one back. The little boy ran away shrieking with joy. She chased after him and scooped him up.

They played for what seemed like hours. The sun was setting when a woman called out, "Jakob! Time for dinner!" The little boy looked up and yelled back, "I'm coming!" He looked back at Joy and said shyly, "I have to go now." Joy smiled and gave him a hug.

"I'll be back here tomorrow, alright?" Jakob smiled and ran across the street to his mother.

"Who were you talking to, sweetheart?" his mother asked.

"My new friend," he answered, smiling.

Over the years she had befriended many such kids. Kids who needed a friend, some comfort, and some happiness. Then they grew up. They remembered her, but no longer believed in her. She also learned that the sugar made people happy! So she had taken it upon herself to bring joy to those who needed it. This was why she hung around middle schools. You will never find a more depressed and dreary group than the students in junior high.

Back in the present (for real this time), Joy wandered the town looking in the shop windows. Almost all of them had their Christmas decorations up. She saw new toys and video games, fancy dresses and winter coats. She shivered again.

'I really need to get a coat this winter,' Joy thought. In the distance she heard the school bell ring and smiled. Nothing made kids happier than leaving school. Well, almost nothing. Christmas was one of the happiest times of the year and Joy's favorite holiday. She smiled as she saw all the decorations and said hello to people as they passed her by. Not that they could hear her of course.

Joy had made her way into the forest next to Burgess just as the sun was beginning to set. She wandered aimlessly and eventually found herself in front of a frozen pond. The moon was up now and created a silvery glow on the ice. She heard a mischievous laugh behind her and suddenly she was slipping down onto the ice. Up close she realized that frost covered the pond in intricate designs. However, Joy didn't have time to ponder on this because she was trying to keep her balance and keep the screaming to a minimum. Once she was confident enough she tried to skate. She didn't have any shoes, but managed to glide across the ice somewhat gracefully. Joy was almost to the shore when she slipped and fell. As she carefully picked herself up she heard some more mischievous laughter.

"Hello? Who's there?" Joy called into the night. She stepped onto the bank and looked around. Before she could call out again a blob of snow fell off the tree and hit her on the head.

"Hey! Come out! Who are you?" As she brushed herself off indignantly a boy about her physical age (15), stepped onto the pond. He wore a blue hoodie and no shoes. He had startling white hair and blue eyes along with what looked like a staff of some sort. They stared at each other for a moment and then spoke simultaneously.

"You can see me?" they both asked incredulously. Looking rather surprised they both exclaimed, "But you're so old!" Both of them took a step back. They could say the same thing once, but twice...that was just weird.

Joy was the first one to break the silence when she began to laugh. Soon she was holding her stomach laughing so hard. It seemed to be contagious because the boy began to laugh too. Soon they were both on the ground laughing so hard. When they finally calmed down the boy helped Joy up.

"I'm Jack Frost," he said. "And you are?"

"Joy," she said simply. He looked at her expectantly, but just shrugged her shoulders. "Just Joy."

"Well Just Joy, what brings you out here this late? And for the record, I bet I'm older than you." She laughed, which made him smile. They walked through the forest and she replied.

"Just going for a walk. And I highly doubt that," she said. He laughed in return.

"Alright then, how old are you?"

Smiling, she said triumphantly, "I'll be 103 this year!"

Jack scoffed and replied, "I'll be 316!" Joy couldn't help herself and her jaw dropped open.

"Seriously?" she asked. Jack nodded and tapped a tree with his staff. Frost spread out from that point into an intricate, swirling design. "You're the real deal, aren't you?" He smiled and nodded.

"I am the real Jack Frost. But what did you mean about I could see you?" Joy looked slightly embarrassed and explained her dilemma.

"No one can see me," she said. "Most people think I'm imaginary." Jack rolled his eyes.

"Tell me about it," he said. "300 years and finally someone sees me." He smiled and then muttered, "But it was totally worth it." He turned back to her and said, "Tell me about how you ended up like this."

So for about the next hour Joy told Jack about waking up under the tree, the moon, the sugar, and the children. He was very interested about how young children could see her, but no one else.

"Come on. There's this boy you need to meet." He grabbed her hand and stopped cold. Looking back at her he realized that her lips were blue.

"You're freezing!" Jack exclaimed. "Here." He took of his hoodie and handed it to her. Underneath he wore what looked like a threadbare, homespun shirt.

"N-no. I'm f-fine," she replied. But Jack was not going to take no for an answer. So she sighed and put it on. The sleeves hung down past her hands and the bottom of it nearly went to her legs. What surprised her the most was that for being Jack Frost, his hoodie was surprisingly warm. Before Joy could protest he scooped her up in the "lover's leap."

"Hey wind! Take us to Jamie's house!" A strong wind began to blow, howling through the trees and pretty much making the hoodie ineffective.

"Jack... What are you do-" Joy we cut off as the wind picked them up and sent them soaring above the trees. Joy tightened her grip around his neck as they soared towards town. The wind took them up and down the streets, narrowly missing numerous cars and pedestrians. Jack let out a whoop of joy as they turned and flew through the dark neighborhood. After 300 years, flying still hadn't lost its thrill. Once Joy realized she was not going to fall to her death she also let out a whoop. Flying was fun!

Jack looked down at Joy, concocted a devious plan, and laughed at his own brilliance. He dropped her.

Well, sort of.

She screamed as Jack's arms disappeared from under her. Her brain registered that she wasn't falling because Jack was holding her hand. This way she flew alongside him. It still didn't make her any more pleased with him.

"Jack!" she yelled. "I hate you!" He laughed mischievously and replied, "You're not the first!"

After soaring around Burgess for what seemed like hours, they landed gently on a snow covered roof next to a window. As soon as her feet touched the roof Joy rounded on Jack and punched him in the shoulder.

"Hey, hey! Take it easy!" he said backing away.

She let out a huff and said, "D-don't do th-that again," and then muttered, "Even th-though it-t was awesome." Jack leaned closer and said, "What was that? I didn't quite hear you?"

"N-nothing," she replied innocently.

"Did I hear you say you had fun? I'll have to drop you more often!" She shoved him, but with a smile on her face.

"Shut up! J-just g-give me some w-warning next t-time." Jack smiled triumphantly and opened the window. He gave her an extravagant bow and gestured for her to go first. Joy gave an equally extravagant curtsy (which was pretty impressive considering how cold she was), and jumped lightly through the window.

The room was faintly illuminated by a TARDIS nightlight in the corner. In the dim light, Joy could see a boy, about 10 years old, asleep in his bed. The clock on the dresser read 10:34 pm. However, the walls were the most interesting part. They were covered with drawings of... Everything. There was one of Santa Claus, an alien, Big Foot, the Tooth Fairy. The biggest one was of the boy and Jack while sledding. Jack hopped in the room after her, took a look around, and grabbed her hand.

"Come on. Let's go downstairs. I'll introduce you two tomorrow." Jack led her quietly down the stairs and into the living room. As they came down the stairs, they saw the back of a leather sofa which was placed in front of a fireplace with a coffee table in between. To the right was a small table with a lamp on it. To the other side was a basket full of blankets. To the left of the basket was a doorway leading into the kitchen.

Jack let go of her hand, sat down on the sofa, and put his feet on the table, which began to frost over. Joy sat down next to him, but curled up instead of stretching out. An hour out in the snowy woods sure made someone cold.

"Here," Jack said, throwing a thick green blanket over both of them.

"Thanks," she replied. Joy already felt a lot warmer and was really tired, but more than anything she was curious. She had never met anyone like her before. She had heard of the Guardians of course, but had never met one.

"So what else can you do with that staff of yours?" For an answer it begin to snow... in the room. Joy looked at the snowflakes in wonder and giggled. "That's amazing," she replied breathlessly.

"What about you? What can you do?" Jack asked her. Joy thought for a moment and then pulled out her bag of sugar.

"It took me a while to learn this trick," Joy said and turned toward him. "Close your eyes and think of the happiest thing you can, ok? And just relax." Jack gave her a skeptical look, then closed his eyes. Joy took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them. Above Jack's head bounded a hazy puppy being chased by a boy and his younger sister.

Amongst other things Joy had learned over the years, she had found out she was an empathic; like a psychic, but with emotions. Once she had died (she assumed she had died. She wasn't really sure), and became a myth, an Imaginary, her abilities were heightened. Not only could Joy feel what others were feeling, she could literally see emotions and memories. Joy closed her eyes and opened them again and the hazy puppy was gone.

"Ok, you can open your eyes now." Jack opened one eye and then the other looking around in confusion. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What did you do?" he asked warily. Joy smiled and grabbed a handful of sugar.

"This." She tossed the sugar into the air and formed it with her hands [think water bending] into the same puppy from Jack's memory. It ran around the room tongue lolling and tripping over it's long ears.

Jack gasped. "Sally," he whispered. Joy made the dog jump onto Jack's lap and lick his face. He laughed and tried to hold her back.

"Easy girl! Easy!" he called. Joy led the dog off his lap and onto the floor where it sat waiting expectantly. Jack suddenly jumped off the couch and began drawing something in the frost on the table, muttering under his breath, "This is going to be awesome!"

Jack grabbed his staff, tapped the picture, and Joy watched in amazement as a rabbit, made of ice, came to life and started hopping around the room. Joy lost her control on Sally as the puppy began chasing the frozen rabbit around the room. Joy and Jack followed their progress with stunned expressions on their faces. Sally was barking madly and kept tripping over her huge paws. Eventually, the rabbit melted and Joy put the sugar back in her pouch. But they couldn't stop there! For the next hour or so they brought different creatures to life through sugar and ice. They made dragons, birds, fish and cats. Mice, horses, flowers and trees. They were both exhausted by the time the clock chimed midnight. Finally, utterly exhausted, they both fell asleep.