Jack looked blankly at the paper, there was no way in hell he was going to join 'The Guardians'. They have always looked down on him ever since their first run in...basically implying he was a villain. Though as his eyes shifted to the bills on his counter he grimaced, he didn't have much of a choice.

Soon he was knocking on a massive oaken door, a large wreath hanging on it even though Christmas was months away. North was known for his...particular aesthetics. A woman with auburn hair and gray eyes appeared in the doorway, smiling pleasantly. "Hello Jack! We were expecting you! I'm Catherine in charge of managing things for The Guardians. Come on in!" She stepped aside and waved the boy in.

Jack looked at her warily, "Uh, huh." he managed, stepping inside. His hesitation was soon forgotten as he gazed around him with wide eyes. He couldn't believe it. Sure North had a Santa Claus theme but this... this was amazing. If Santa Claus was real this was what his place would be like. Christmas trees everywhere, small trains chugging merrily by, and tinsel hanging everywhere. Glancing up he even saw mistletoe, wait... Blush spreading quickly across his pale cheeks he looked uncertainly at Catherine, belatedly realizing that she was very pretty. However, she didn't pay any mind, simply talking about the guardians and their history with not even a glance in his direction. Jack couldn't help but let out a sad sigh in response.

Strolling through the corridor he heard powerful footsteps treading a purposeful stride. Surprise stealing over his features he saw one of the top ranking heroes Toothiana, one of the few guardians that had ever been kind to him. With her colorful feathers fluffed and head raised she looked upon the two. "I'm glad you decided to come Jack," she smiled gently at him. Her large, radiant bird wings were folded delicately behind her back, being too large to fly in this space. Her long slender twin swords sheathed at her sides, ready to jump into battle at a moment's notice, she didn't have the moniker of a warrior queen for nothing. Jack couldn't help but gape, unable to form a single word, let alone a sentence.

Catherine chuckled, "We have to see more of the place, we'll be in the meeting room soon." To which Jack nodded along quickly, a bit star struck.

"Well I will see you both later then." she nodded, continuing on her way past them.

Jack whispered in awe, "She's so cool!"

Catherine laughed lightly, the sound like small jingle bells, and dragged Jack along to show him more.

Soon they stopped before a large door, the auburn haired woman didn't pause for a moment before pulling open the door and ushering Jack in. This would be the first official meeting he had with them all... The first thing his eyes landed on upon entering was Bunnymund glaring at him. Rolling his eyes Jack sighed wondering if all of this was worth it.

A large, robust man in a heavy red coat stepped forward, with a jolly smile and open arms. "Hello JACK FROST!" Jack was a bit surprised at how much his voice carried, but then realized he should have expected it from none other than Nicholas Saint North, the leader of the guardians.

Toothiana touched North's shoulder signaling that she would talk, "Welcome Jack, I'm glad to see you accepted our offer. I think you will make a great addition to our team." Her voice was strong but considerably softer than North's booming baritone.

"Unlikely..." a distasteful voice muttered.

Jack turned his head looking to where he was sure it came from, Bunnymund. The large rabbit sat at the table in his usual green overcoat with his fuzzy paws crossed. "You're the one that asked me!" Jack hissed. The atmosphere rapidly turned dark.

"You're more a villain then a hero." Bunnymund glared. "What kind of hero reacts like that?" Before he could continue golden sand wrapped around and covered his mouth, much to the others distaste.

Blue eyes widening in surprise Jack found the small golden man that had been easily hidden behind North. The Sandman, he was the number one hero. His hands rapidly moved through a series of signs that Jack had an extremely hard time following. He could only understand a few words like 'Hello, my name is', what he assumed was Sandy, and 'What is yours?'

Jack slowly signed in return, 'Nice to meet you. Hi J-A-C-K is my name.' The golden man smiled and clapped happily in response.

North chuckled, "Sandy can hear perfectly fine. I am sure he would appreciate your learning though." Jack sighed and smiled, now determined to learn it. After going over many schematics that ultimately bored him to no end they decided that Jack is to train with the golden man and go on an easy mission as a trial run.

Once that was finally decided he was dismissed to the attention of Catherine and another woman, she was larger than him with a chocolate brown undercut and matching eyes. Her outfit actually looked cool and Jack was pretty sure she could kick his ass too.

"Seriously? You're going to wear that?"

Jack gazed around in confusion before realizing she was talking to him. "Um...what?"

"That get up, you can't wear that if you're going to be a guardian." She stated, looking almost annoyed.

Catherine sighed, "Jack this is Cupcake, she designs the outfits for the team."

"Yup. Someone's gotta do it," She grinned grabbing Jack.

"But I love my blue sweater and brown pants." He whined.

Making him strip off the bulky hoodie the brunette rapidly took his measurements with a tape measurer she seemingly pulled out of thin air. With a flourish she was through and sent him on his way with a wave of her hand, saying she'd have something in a couple of days.

In the fading light of day Jack left the workshop and quickly walked back to his apartment, trying not to draw attention. However, upon arriving at his door his good mood completely fell away leaving him with a sick feeling in his gut. There taped to his door was a slip of paper with large black letters reading 'EVICTION NOTICE'. Ripping down the paper he walked in, apparently he had a week to move out. The only person he could think to ask for a place to crash was Jamie. But he couldn't do that, he was caring for his family and his little sister already. He didn't want to make things worse on him.

As it was the week went by slowly and painfully. He trained a couple of times with The Guardians with little success. Unfortunately, Bunnymund and him clashed almost constantly and Jack was pretty sure they would simply kick him out at any moment.

With the end of the week upon him and nowhere suitable to go he grabbed his backpack full of meager belongings and the little money he had and walked out into the night. He simply wandered the city in hopes of finding a safe enough place to pass out.