Hope you lot enjoy funny, JackRabbit, shirtless Aster and all that jazz cuz its here. Read and Review! Reviews are what fuel me to write more lovely chapters, I live off them. It's rather unhealthy, but THANK YOU FOR FEEDING MY ADDICTION. Ta!
I do not own ANYTHING. Not a bit, which rather sucks but there ya go! If you don't like then I highly suggest you click away NOW.
Sweet mother of waffles, the building was frakking HUGE.
Like seriously, his neck was starting to hurt just looking up at the thing. Was it entirely necessary for a building that was only FIVE stories to be so tall? Not to mention expansive, the looming glass building branched out into what looked like two other wings, most likely studios. Oh, nope. Make it THREE. Fantastic, this place was REALLY frakking huge.
Well he still had a delivery to make, even if it was in the ginormous labyrinth that was GYG, a place he already knew he was going to hate with the passion of a rabid squirrel. He hadn't even taken three steps before this was confirmed by a rushing stranger bowling into him and his bike. He hit the ground HARD on his hands and knees, his bike clattering on the ground next to him. With a hiss of pain he felt the skin on his knee break and begin to bleed. OW.
"Oi! Watch where ya goin' mate!"
With a shake of his head he managed to look in the direction of the voice, "Whazzat?" He found himself looking into a tan, angry face with fierce green eyes. He looked about 6 feet tall and was wearing a rusty looking leather jacket. Couldn't really process much else besides the fact this guy's voice sounded…. FUNNY.
"Said watch where ya goin' mate! Coulda scratched me up and then what? Oh blinkin' hell, I'm late!" And with that the tall stranger was off, streaking into the direction of GYG. Figures he'd belong to THAT place. Good riddance, stupid Kangaroo man.
With a groan he stood up, hauling his bike with him. Checking it over he saw nothing wrong, which was a relief. Then he glanced at his knee; the bleeding had stopped, but such a LOVERLY gash did it leave. Apparently this place was like Mordor; you didn't simply walk in, you had to run or LIMP in. Ugh. He slung the bike chain from around his chest and locked the bike in place in a metal rack. Time to get this job done.
As he walked into the building he realized three things:
1. The receptionist chick had an unhealthy love affair with gum going on judging by the smacking sounds she was continuously making.
2. The Lobby was frakking huge too apparently.
3. Now he REALLY knew he was going to get lost in this place.
She had just gotten off the phone as he approached the front desk, "Welcome to GYG. Anything I can do to help you?" You could NOT put so much make-up on he thought to himself, but just grinned at her. "Just your friendly neighborhood bike courier here with a delivery for a Mr. North." He held up the his delivery; a large cylindrical canister. "Know where I can find him?" PLEASE don't be that receptionist that will make him wait a full hour before letting him through security.
She wasn't. With a casual shrug and wave of her hand she turned towards her computer. "Go ahead. He's in a shoot in Studio B right now."
"Alright." He nodded, looked around a bit, up and down and such, before turning to face her again. "Sorry, but where is Studio B?" She blinked and looked up at him in surprise, as if she had managed to forget him already within the span of 10 seconds. "Oh right. Um, go that way," she said, pointing to a hall on his right. "Go down the hall a bit and then take a left at a statue. You'll find it." Great. With a parting nod he started off in the direction she had directed him in.
You'll find it, she had said.
Take a left at the statue, she had said.
The STATUE, she had said. As in singular and NOT plural.
So why were there four statues of the freaking Four Seasons?! Where was the left?!
"GAH!" He banged his head against the statue of Winter. This delivery was taking FOREVER. He'd been here nearly an hour now, it was 11:30 and he had a class to get to at 1. He needed to get this job done and get OUT. "FRAZZERGIRAFFES." Another head bang on the statue.
"Um, are you lost?"
He whipped around to face a girl about his age carrying a large stack of glossy photos. HE WAS SAVED AT LAST. She jumped, startled by his sudden movement and dropped a few of the pictures. "Ack! Nononononono!" She hastily bent down to retrieve them and put them back into her pile she was carrying. He got down as well to help her, stuffing pictures of some dude's face into the haphazard stack. "Thanks." She murmured appreciatively, pushing a strand of randomly colored hair out of her face. Actually, if he thought about it, not random; her cropped short hair was in fact different shades of blue and green together. When she looked up he saw that her eyes were a startling shade of purple. Oop! Staring wasn't he? He stood up quickly, scratching the back of his neck with the canister nervously. "Sorry to stare, just never seen hair or eyes like yours. You got all that okay?" he asked as she clambered to her feet with the weight of papers in her arms. She giggled at him, "Says the guy with WHITE hair. I should be good, thanks. Are you lost though?"
"YES!" He flailed his arms dramatically in the air, "This place is like a huge MAZE! I just need to find Mr. North in Studio B to deliver this canister. Can you give me some actual directions? Bubblechops at the front got me lost."
She burst into giggles again, "Bubblechops? Hee, well actually you made it quite close. It's just to the left here. I was headed there myself, just follow me." She ducked quickly on by him past the Winter statue and he jogged to catch up with her. "So I'm here to deliver the goods. What are you up to? Blackmail photos?" he teased, gesturing to the stack in her arms.
"Heh, NO. I'm the assistant to one of the photographers. She's in the shoot right now with Mr. North so I'm running errands for her." She smiled brightly as she talked, somehow managing to quickened her already fast pace. 'She's the absolute BEST photographer here. And my big sister." She added shyly. "I want to be like her someday, especially to work with some of the models we have here! Phew!" She stopped, seeming to realize that she was babbling. "Er, right. Um, here we go! Studio B!" They stopped before a huge pair of double doors, above the entry way a red light was glowing. "Um – "
"C'mon!" She pushed through the doors and he followed behind her. It was…bright. All around there were stations for different types of photo shoots, none of them currently in use at the moment. Wait, did he just see a giant water tank? Woah. Looking up he saw stage lights, all of different colors, waiting to be shined on to set the mood. People seemed to be rushing about, typing, chatting, sipping lattes and generally looking prissy. Figures. They passed by an intern, loaded with coffee and paperwork. He noticed how stressed and harried she looked, it must REALLY suck to work here. Suddenly they were in the land of make-up and face creams. Ugh, his tolerance threshold was taking a SERIOUS hit today, couldn't he just find this North guy? His crazy haired companion suddenly came to a halt in front of a make-up mirror where a small golden haired man was snoozing peacefully in a chair. She began to shake him hard by the arm, "Sandy! Wake up! You're on the set!" With a start the sleeping figure came awake, looking about himself with startled amber colored eyes. "Sandy!" He focused on the girl, still looking lost and slightly dazed. "It's me, Baby. Have you had your coffee yet today?" Sandy shook his head in a sleepy no motion until he caught sight of the courier boy. Baby turned around, "Oh! I'm helping him find North, he's a messenger. Um…" She stared at him, " I never asked, what's your name?"
He smiled, "My name is – "
"BABY! There you are! Do you have those copies I sent for? I need to show those head shots to North ASAP!" The three looked up as a blaze of vibrant colors descended upon them. This must be Baby's big sister he had heard about. She looked a lot like Baby; same eyes and hair color, except her hair was long enough to be put up into a messy ponytail which had a streak of yellow and numerous feather braids in it. "Ah, perfect! Head shots! Now come on, we're in the middle of a shoot! Wait until you see Aster!" She grabbed Baby's free hand and dragged her off through the mirrors and away.
"Wait!" He needed her to find this North guy! He started after the sisters giving Sandy a quick wave goodbye. Sleepily Sandy waved back, but it looked like he was already dozing off to the Land of Nod.
Weaving through the people and equipment he searched for the two blue haired girls. How hard could THEY be to lose in a crowd? They looked like peacocks or birds of paradise with their vivid coloration. Finally he spotted baby and Tooth (What was up with those names?), tooth was commandeering a camera flashing photos of some model he supposed. While Baby was talking to the largest man he'd ever seen. The guy was a MAMMOTH, or maybe he'd just eaten one. From this distance all you could see was his size, large snowy beard and huge tattoos that were wrapped around HUGE arms. Security guard maybe? Eh, whatever.
"Hey!" he shouted over the sounds of the light bulb flash and hubbub, "I have a delivery here for Mr. North. Anyone know – "
SNAP. He was blinded by the sudden flash from the lighting and Tooth's camera. I'M GETTING HIT BY A TRUCK WHAT THE FLAPJACK. He stumbled and with a loud yelp tripped on a thick cord on the ground that sent him sprawling face first. Pain shot through his entire leg as his injured knee hit the ground hard AGAIN. What was WITH this place and injuring his knee?! All he needed was one more thing to complete the moment.
"Oi mate! Where'd you come from?"
Freaking CHERRY ON TOP.
"Ugh, go away Kangaroo dude." He moaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. He felt a presence at his side and looked up to see Baby. "Are you okay there buddy? I still don't even know your name."
He rubbed his aching skull and opened his mouth to reply – and was interrupted. Of course. "What didja call me? Kangaroo?!" He shook the fuzziness from his head and looked up at the angry face for the second time that day. And froze as he realized WHO this face actually belonged to. "Aster, leave him alone! He just hit his head!" Baby snapped at the tall Australian.
"H-hey, aren't you that Bunnymundo guy?" he blurted out, staring in disbelief at the man. "E. Aster Bunnymund! Isn't that you?"
Bright green eyes narrowed in his direction," Yeah, I am. What of it mate?"
Well now all that was left to say was the obvious according to his abused brain. "Dude, did you know that you're missing your shirt?"
Aster regarded him quietly for a bit before he began to chuckle. "As a matter of fact I was just wonderin' why it was so breezy in here." The two chuckled together while Baby glanced suspiciously between the two as if they BOTH had head injuries. Then came a voice of much booming and volume.
"WHAT IS THIS GOING ON?"
He felt himself suddenly get hauled into a standing position and twisted around to look into the bearded face of the Mammoth. Frig, he was gonna die and get eaten like the mammoth! Instead of mauling him however the giant just stared, eyes wide with wonder and great stormy eyebrows risen in surprise. Quick, while he's distracted: DELIVER!
"Um, I'm really sorry about your photo – thingy with naked people and stuff but uh, I'm here to deliver this to some guy named Mr. North!" The words zipped out of his mouth like lightning as he held the large canister in front of him like a shield. Please don't hurt me or get me fired!
"You – you are PERFECT!" What was happening now? "That snowy white hair, those brilliant blue eyes and such perfect porcelain skin. It is UNIQUE! It is next new thing!"
He blinked up at the obviously insane bearded goliath. Make no sudden movements and maybe he'll calm down and let you go away.
"What is name boy?" GULP. The huge hand on his shoulder weighed him down, giving no chance of escape. The entire set seemed to quiet, just blurred noise in the background. Everyone was staring at him, the sisters with their eyes wide and mouths agape in shock, the shirtless Aster regarding him coolly with his arms crossed against a VERY chiseled chest and this crazy huge guy with a manic grin on his face.
Oh, what the hell.
"My name is Jack Frost."