A/N: This story was inspired by a writing prompt I saw on Reddit way back in 2018, and since then, I've decided to change the characters and make it more geographically accurate.

******

Toronto, December 2001

Four months had passed since the move back to her birth city, and April Gauthier still wasn't any less bitter about saying goodbye to her old friends and the warm San Francisco weather.

Each afternoon, she would endure the bus ride home while making an effort to ignore the antics of her more rambunctious peers. Then, once she had arrived at the red brick house that her parents had bought, she would unlock the front door with a spare key and shake the snow off her sneakers against the welcome mat before staggering inside like a zombie.

Today was no exception. She had the whole house to herself with Jean and Claudia at work, though this didn't excite her. A note taped to the fridge reminded her to focus on homework and eat the leftovers from last night's dinner, but as usual, she rolled her eyes at it in frustration.

After placing her plastic water bottle and lunchbox on the kitchen counter, she retired upstairs to her room with a flapping schoolbag in tow. Upon entering, she dumped her heavy load on the floor, then crept over to her bed and collapsed on her back to stare at the white ceiling above.

With her light brown hair forming a halo around her head, April sighed while recalling when she and her so-called boyfriend Zach had combined their allowance money to buy Limp Bizkit's album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. Unfortunately, neither of them had been prepared for the sheer amount of profanity present in the song Hot Dog, and after overcoming their initial shock, they'd both laughed about it for a couple of minutes.

If there was any music that could help her release some frustration, that would be it. But, the CD had been in Zach's possession when she'd moved, and her parents just had to be lame enough to buy an album by NSYNC for her thirteenth birthday.

April sat up with a groan and removed her bright purple mittens. There was still something she could do: borrow her father's radio for an hour or two. He would be none the wiser as long as she changed the frequency back, so she soon rushed through the hall and into her parents' room to fetch the device.

Fifteen minutes later, she was seated on her bed again, tapping her foot and nodding along to Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down while dreaming up an eccentric music video in her mind.

The snow and sub-zero temperatures became completely irrelevant as she fantasized about her ideal friend - one who shared her interests, would listen to her every problem and could find a way to stay in touch no matter what happened.

If only, April thought to herself. If only...

******

Christmas break arrived, and with it came April's grandparents, who had flown all the way from Quebec. She tried her best to converse with them when necessary, but her French was still rudimentary, and all she could manage were the basic phrases as they subjected her to unwanted pinches and kisses on the cheek.

Fortunately, they were quick to realize her lack of enjoyment and leave her alone. She retired to the living room to watch television while the adults caught up in the kitchen.

There wasn't much to interest her on any of the channels, so April gave up on that plan and left to ask her parents for permission to play in the snow for a while.

Her mother gave her a stern look that suggested 'no,' though Jean promptly spoke up in her favor.

"Let April have this one. What's the worst that could happen this time of year?"

Claudia rolled her eyes with a sigh. "All right. But, come back inside within an hour. It's getting dark, and the roads are slippery."

"I know, Mum..."

April left her parents' side and headed upstairs to put on the proper outdoor attire, then ran back down in her eagerness to make the most of the remaining daylight.

Heading through the front door and closing it behind her, she heard the adults' voices and cheerful Christmas music fade. The sound of distant rushing cars caught her attention instead, and she smiled before raising her head to the sky. The sight of orange clouds against a violet backdrop was indeed dazzling. It made her feel small in a good way, and she wondered if Zach was also somewhere out there, admiring the sunset and contemplating the significance of his existence.

No, what am I doing? I'm only thirteen. I shouldn't be thinking about deep stuff like this...

April lowered her head to stare at the blanketed ground. She gave a forceful kick that exposed some of the frozen soil beneath, and finding this oddly satisfying, she crouched down to begin gathering enough snow to form a large ball.

She patted it gently when she was done, then repeated the process twice over so that her snowman would also have a torso and head.

Afterward, she spent a moment admiring her work and breathing out puffs of vapor before reentering the warm safety of her house to find additional materials for the snowman. She spied her father loading the fireplace with wood, so she asked him for spare twigs and lumps of coal.

He was all too happy to provide her with these things, and she returned to the front yard a few minutes later. She inserted the twigs on either side of the snowman's torso and gave it a smiling face, but as the time passed, she couldn't shake away the suspicion that something was still missing.

She turned to face the windows behind her, and it was then that she heard Frosty the Snowman playing faintly inside.

A hat! That's it!

In hesitation, she removed her beanie and stood up on her toes to place it atop the snowman's head. Suddenly, the snowman's eyes and mouth emitted a red glow that grew brighter by the second. Alarmed by this, April took hasty steps back until she slipped and fell on her rump.

Oh, God. Oh God... she thought frantically while unable to form words with her tongue.

The snowman's twig arms twitched as it opened its mouth to speak in a jaunty and high-pitched voice, not unlike that of Mickey Mouse.

"Oh, hi there, girl! Are you the one who created me?"

"Uh. Yeah..."

"Brilliant! Will you be my friend?" The snowman shuffled forward an inch and extended one of its arms.

April managed to fight back a scream by swallowing deeply. "You aren't going to end me, are you?"

"Of course not! That's a mean thing to do!"

"Mean?"

"Yes! I'm Frosty the Snowman, and all I want is to bring joy to every child I see!"

"O-Okay," April stammered. "I-I guess I'll be your friend, then."

Frosty clapped the ends of his arms together. "Oh, goodie! I should sing a song to celebrate!"

At that, he tossed his head back and let out a guttural scream that shocked April to the core and gave her goosebumps all over. Frightening as this was, she couldn't help but be impressed at the snowman's vocal abilities. He was certainly on par with some of her favorite rock and metal singers, so despite all reason, she allowed herself to nod along to his intense song and even applaud when he finished.