{Hello! This is my first fanfic that I'm posting on an actual fanfiction site! At the moment the story is still being written. Please let me know what you think about my story!

All ROTG characters' rights belong to ROTG

Thank you for reading! }

Chapter 1: The First Day of Winter

It was early December when Jack came flying back to Burgess bringing an early winter with him. The first day there, he had spent the whole day getting the weather ready for snow. The next day, Sunday, fat flakes began falling really early in the morning. So by 10 there was already over an inch of snow covering the ground. Jack could see some of the kids looking out of their windows in awe at the first sign of winter. While waiting for the snow to slow down, most of the kids listened to Christmas music that played on the radio and watched the large flakes pile up. He overheard one of his favorite songs, "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire", playing as he passed by one of the houses just as it started. Hearing his name in the song made him hopeful that maybe today was the day that he would get some believers.

Jack let the snowfall slow down around noon and after all the kids ate their lunches they headed outside to play in the park. Some of the kids were building snowmen, but three of the boys, all around the same age, started a snowball fight. Whether the others wanted to play or not, all the kids were throwing them at each other after Jack saw them and joined in. After what felt to be ten hours, but was actually 30 minutes, the snowball fight was over. Even the older kids, that Jack used his magic on to play with them, were tired and cold. As most of the kids started to leave, Jack hoped at least one of them would believe in him! But that wasn't the case, again. A few of them even ran through him on their way home.

'How could this be? Why does this always happen?' Jack bemoaned to himself. All the kids have heard his name in that Christmas song; he even landed snowflakes on their noses to help them connect the dots! Jack had been ignored and passed through by so many kids at this point that he no longer got sad or just brushed it off. He was furious. Before Jack could storm off to let off his anger, a tall dark figure stepped out of the shadow of a nearby tree.

"Those kids don't appreciate anything you've done for them, do they?" The deep, smooth voice flowed over to Jack in a sympathetic tone.

"Why should you care?" Jack sneered.

The dark man took a step forward with a hand on his chest, "Because I know how you feel, day in and day out of being ignored and cast out like you don't even exist. With no one there to help or listen to you." The man spoke, his face showing the same pain Jack had been feeling. Then his expression changed to a softer one, "But I have a plan, one that will make kids believe and I need your help." He proposed.

"And why should I believe you?" Jack exclaimed, "No one's seen hide or hair of you in a long time, Pitch. What makes you believe that you know how to get believers all of a sudden?"

Noting Jack's disbelief, Pitch explains, "I've been spending the whole time building up my strength and perfecting my plan for the big day."

"If your plan is so perfect, why not just do it by yourself?" Jack retorted.

Pitch laughed snidely, "But where's the fun in that? Don't you want to leave behind the invisible life you live and have believers that can actually hear and see you? If you work with me, I can guarantee you will never go a day without believers again." With that, Pitch turned around and started to walk off to the woods at the edge of the town.

Jack stood there for a moment contemplating on what to do. He looked back at the aftermath of the snowball fight and remembered how it felt being walked through yet again. His temper started to rise again. Instead of following Pitch he headed for his lake on the other side of town. Jack was too angry to think straight, let alone decide whether or not to join Pitch.

It was getting late and Jack still hadn't calmed down. Pitch's offer was starting to look better and better as the day wore on. Exasperated, Jack decided to sleep on it and to cool off. However, when he woke up the next morning he was covered in snow. Shaking off his unexpected blanket, Jack looked around him. It was apparent that his emotions were so strong that even when he slept they caused a blizzard overnight. It was late morning by now and the snow had already stopped. Excited by the change in scenery, Jack jumped into the wind and let it carry him through town. Because of the large amount of snowfall, most businesses and all the schools were cancelled for the day. The beauty and silence of the snow covered town was enchanting. Not even the sound of snow plow trucks disturbed the silence.

As he neared the park from yesterday, he could hear the sound of children having fun. When he got there, Jack saw a group of kids from the snowball fight playing in the snow, he recognized the little girl sitting in the snow under a tree as one of the kids that ran through him. His good mood spoiled by the sight of her, he flew over to the tree and landed heavily on one of the branches causing a very large amount of snow to fall on top of the girl burying her. Half satisfied that he could get some revenge on the helpless child, he flew off, not bothering to check to see if she was alright. He was heading for the woods that he saw Pitch heading towards the previous day.

In the darkest part of it he found the frame of an old wooden bed that was falling apart from years of being out in the weather. Underneath the bed was a hole, large enough for a person to fall in and deep enough that if someone did happen to fall in, no one would be able to hear their cries. Jack walked over to the hole and without looking back he jumped in.