7 years old.

Jack wasn't sure why he was so protective over the small boy. Ever since he saw the child waving at him, seeing the child as his first believer; the first person who could see him, it made him protective. He wanted the boy to be safe, but so much so that he visited the boy almost every day? It was a bit much, even for Jack, but he still did it. Of course, he never let the boy see him. He wanted Jamie to have a normal childhood, and so he watched each day as the boy was driven to school, following the car until they reached the building Jamie spent a whole day cooped up in. Sometimes Jack would even catch Jamie while they were outside playing, watching from afar as the boy chose instead to read.

Jamie wasn't like the other kids at the school, Jack quickly realized. He didn't play with the others on the playground. He never really even talked to the other kids much, and this did worry Jack a bit. He worried that it was because of him, though he thought it odd since he never let the boy see him. Instead, he watched on in silence as the boy distanced himself from others and read by himself; books of myths and legends and monsters.

Today was a normal day, like any other; Jack was following the car to school and smiling as Jamie got out of the car and hesitantly went inside. He could hear Jamie's mom sigh; he knew she saw the same problems he saw. Jamie needed friends.

After Jamie was inside, Jack went for a quick fly, spreading snow over most of Canada and Russia before he quickly grew bored. All the kids were in school or at home with their families; none of them had time to go out and play in the snow. Thoughts of kids made Jack's mind quickly return to Jamie, and returning quickly to Burgess found that it was indeed break time, as all of the children were out playing; except for Jamie of course. However this time the small boy wasn't reading in his normal place, he was hiding in a dark spot behind the school, crying into his arms.

Jack's immediate response was to go to the small boy, and hesitantly touched his shoulder. He knew that it was wrong of him to show himself now, but the boy needed him! Jamie looked up at him with a shocked expression, one to match Jack's as the spirit saw the bruises and cuts on Jamie's face.

"Hey, kid. Don't cry…what happened?" Jack's voice was soft, soothing, despite the anger that was beginning to form in his mind as he knew exactly what had happened. The other kids had always noticed Jamie off by himself, and they didn't like it. They thought he was strange; abnormal, and Jack knew at once that the children must have chosen now to start doing something about it. It was awful and Jack hated it, but what could he do except to comfort the small boy? He couldn't teach the other kids a lesson; they were still too young to know better.

Instead, Jack stayed with Jamie, hugging him close, though careful not to freeze the poor boy, though he knew he was still cold to the touch. He told the boy jokes until he smiled and laughed. He liked it much better when Jamie was smiling rather than crying. The boy's break was almost over when Jack decided to speak up.

"Jamie, you should try playing with the others. You should make some friends, and then this won't happen," he said cautiously, playing with the small boy's hair. Jamie whined and looked at him.

"They don't like me. I don't want to play their stupid games. All they do is make fun of me because I'm not good at any of them." Jack looked at the boy sadly and sighed. Then he thought of an idea. He wasn't sure if it was really a good idea, but it was all he could think of.

"Then I'll be your friend. And we can practice the games until you're good at them!" Jack smiled when he saw Jamie's face light up at the idea. "Sound like a plan?" Jamie eagerly nodded before the bell to come inside rang out. Jamie looked disappointed but Jack promised that he could come and visit soon. With that Jamie ran back inside, and Jack wondered what exactly he'd gotten himself into.

Longest chapter yet! Wooo! Special thanks to mysticalgems for the awesome review :D ! Hope you liked this chapter!